Daily Thrifty Tips - January 30, 2006

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Lil-Samy is a 4 month old tabby.

I found him when he was approx. 2 mos. old. He was lost or abandoned in a mall parking lot. He was so thin, near death. He was hungry, cold and infested with fleas. I took him to my vet. and I now have a beautiful healthy loving kitten.

He enjoys playing with his cat toys and pulling the toilet paper off the roll. He also enjoys chasing our older cat.

He is our little gift, he brought a lot of joy into our home during the holidays. He's very loving and likes to snuggle with my son at bedtime.

By Angela from San Francisco, CA

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Maggie (short for Magnum PI) is about 3 or 4 years old. The shelter said she was Australian Shepard/Chow Chow mix We adopted her from Table Mesa Animal Shelter about 6 months ago.

She loves to squeak.... with her squeaky toys. She also loves to herd the small dogs at the dog park and go for long walks around the lake where there are lots of geese.

I have no idea why someone would have "lost" her! She is so sweet and gentle, smart and fun!

By Becks from Denver, CO

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I always feel refreshed when I look at this.

By Theresa from Ventura, CA

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Rub baby oil or Vaseline type petroleum jelly into your hands before painting. It will be a lot easier to wash the paint off when you are finished with the job!

By Robin from Washington, IA

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When making Chocolate pudding with Oreo Cookies smash the cookies up then add 1 egg to it and put it in the microwave for 3 minutes. It makes the cookies soft and pudding warm and cooks the egg which makes the pudding thicker and fuller and has a richer taste!

By Tiffany Coburn from Houston,TX

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When having a birthday party, please please make a separate cake for the birthday person. Imagine if the person has a cold or something worse and he blows on the cake. Personally I don't eat it. I don't eat box cakes either so my friends can keep guessing about why I didn't eat the cake. But for me I don't want to eat someone's spit and germs. By Sandy from Baltimore, MD

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My tip for pets is to feed them your vegetable scraps. My dogs personally love all kinds of things I would never dream of from carrots, lettuce and apples just to name a few. A few words of caution, don't feed them onions, garlic or chocolate. They are not good for them.

Another tip; when I want to give my dogs a treat I make them pinto beans. They absolutely love them! Just make sure that the beans are throughly cooked. Who ever said human foods were not good for dogs wasn't thinking of whole foods, they absolutely are very nutritious and also help my dog Brandie with allergies.

Have a nice day.

By Dawn Csernai from Austin, TX

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If you are low on storage, like me, you can take a towel rack or two and attach them to the back of your bedroom door to hold any extra blankets or comforters from your bed.

By Robin from Washington, IA

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A great way to save! I take a large container, any type will do. I cut a hole in the top about the size of a quarter and super glue the top on. What goes in the container, stays in the container. I put my pocket change in this container all year. I also might put in money from rebates, part of any mad money I come across. Sometimes, I just make a small donation. My husband contributes as well. We cut open the container once a year and take a small holiday. We usually have between $300 - $500 saved. One year we had $1500 and treated ourselves to a trip to Atlantic City. You could use this for a Christmas fund or whatever.

By Jayne from Bristow, VA

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My son's pet hamster loved to be in his hamster ball, but it was hard to open and close. It broke easily, was expensive, and was small enough to get lost under furniture. We had a big plastic barrel from pretzels. We punched holes in the cap and the bottom. It is easier to unscrew the top, put him in, screw the top back on so he run around the floor. He loves it.

By Denise from Charlevoix, MI

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We enclosed our south facing front porch with five sets of glass sliding door units. On the coldest winter days that are sunny,the porch heats our entire home. We installed a dark stone floor to hold the solar heat. When the porch is hot we open the door. We use a small fan that faces onto the porch and sits on the floor. The fan collects the cold house air, pushes it into the hot porch, forcing the hot air into the living room. Another small fan is placed on a table to draw the warm air to where it is needed.

At dusk we use our fireplace and small fans to direct heat. We have cut our oil dependency drastically.

By RexAnne from Newburgh, Ny

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Commercial canned dog food has a lot of fillers in it and that can sometimes cause problems with dogs and their "poop".

I used to buy the generic or "retailer's own" brand of canned dog food until my Border Collie had puppies.

I discovered a little known fact. The more expensive dry dog food, is better for your pet than the generic or low cost dry food and surprisingly it ends up to be cheaper in the long run.

You can expect to pay around $90 for a 20 kg bag of dry food in Australia. That is a premium dry food usually bought from stock feed merchants. I thought the salesman was trying to push me to buy when he told me that it was cheaper to buy the more expensive brand, until my vet confirmed his story. So I decided to go back and buy it.

I needed a good food for my dog when she had the puppies and got the one for lactating dogs. The salesman told me that if I gave some to my other dog, I should cut down on other food because it was very concentrated and I should only give him a little because it would give him too much energy and that I didn't want. So I bought another bag of food similar in quality but without some of the extra vitamins.

I ended up saving around $18 a week by doing this.

Also, if your dogs like bones, why not try this cheap alternative. In Australia, we have a franchise that sells everything to do with chicken meat. That means they are left with huge amounts of chicken frames. I used to buy them for soup at 20c a frame or 45 frames for $5. I have an upright freezer which I used to freeze them.

When I get them home I break them up (believe me you don't want to freeze them in the bag together, we learnt the hard way they all stuck together).

Every day the dogs get a chicken frame each. That's 2 frames per day at 11c each, or 20c each if you only buy enough to last a week. 22c or 40c a day is a huge saving.

Cooked chicken frames are a no-no for dogs, but uncooked ones are fine. It's only when the bones are cooked that they become brittle and can cause damage to the dogs' throats.

Also, we found another "side effect" of feeding the dogs the more quality of the dry food. The dogs' poops are smaller and not messy at all. The reason for this, I was told by my vet, is because the food is better quality, there is not much left over after the food goes through the animals' systems.

I love our dogs and want the best for them, so finding a quality food that is cheaper than I expected, was certainly a bonus for me.

By Ozbev from Rockingham, Western Australia

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Does anyone know how to remove liquid embroidery from a black sweatshirt? It has been on the fabric for about 2 years.

Thanks,
Sue M. from Detroit, MI

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Does anyone know how to make something similar to the "AirWick" type of air freshener?

Bev from Grand Rapids, MN

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I am looking for free patterns for the "Knifty Knitter" by Provocraft - can anyone help me out?

Thanks loads!
E from Billings, MT

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My kitchen is decorated with and Inca and Mexican theme. I needed extra light so I brought in a nice lamp. Instead of going out and buying a new shade I want to make over the one I have in complimentary design. Any suggestions? I love to experiment.

charliesquirt from So. Pines, N.C.

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I have a hole in my broomstick skirt near the hem. I don't want to shorten it because it would be too hard to sew another hem. Any ideas on what I can do with the wrinkly material?

Thanks!
Maryeileen from Brooklyn, OH

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I have a spray can of Silicon boot spray that still has one quarter left but it won't spray anymore. The nozzle is not clogged, is there any thing I can do?

Thank you,
Leslee from Calgary, AB

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My son spilled the grease from the Fry Daddy all over the kitchen (linoleum) floor, I have moped it several times and it is still really slippery. Any ideas on what to do?

Thanks,
Kellie from Lake Erie Islands

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I am new to the Denver area. Does anyone know the location of a good Grocery Salvage Store? I'm sure a town of this size MUST have one somewhere!

Thanks for your reply!

Penny from Denver

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I have noticed lately that on my bathroom walls from using the pump hairspray I have little hairspray drops now on my walls. Does anyone have a rememdy to take it off without removing the paint? Hope you can help.

Mandi from PA

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How does one keep cats out of flower beds without spending a lot of money?

Alice from Arkansas

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I would like some recipes for smoothies.

Aaron from Woodbridge, VA

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What product do you use with water to mop hardwood floors, that doesn't leave a dull film?

Carol from Fairview, TN

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What is the simplest way to refinish the top of a cherrywood coffee table?

Bev Sobkowich from Chilliwack

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I recently started Weight Watchers and I am looked for easy and simple recipes I could use for cooking dinner. If there is anyone out there that has some good ones please let me know it would be much appreciated. I loved the recipe for the Pineapple Anglefood cake. YUMMY!

Mandi from PA

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My 20 month old has drawn on my new cream leather sofa with green washable felt pen, any ideas on how to remove it? I have tried hairspray and general cleaners with no luck.

Marie from York, UK

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I am looking for white Eiffel Tower vases that are stored in your closet after your wedding. I am helping a friend plan her wedding for September 2006.

Thanks,
Lisa Ann from College Staton, Texas

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My husband went outside to our big freezer the other day. It is in a room of the house that is not accessible from inside (thank goodness). He opened the door and was assaulted by the smell of rotten meat. The freezer had probably been standing open a week. We were able to get the smell out of the freezer with baking soda, newspaper and charcoal. How do we get the smell out of a small cinderblock room? It is AWFUL! I can smell it before I open the door and I have a cold! I have the door open attempting to air it out, but any suggestions would be great.

Miranda from Arkansas

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Yesterday on Sandy Genovese, someone used a special pen to transfer things printed on a computer. I don't remember the exact name, but she said check online. Which has been a nightmare all by itself. It was either a water pen or a similar pen with special fluid in it to make the transfer. What was it?

Donna Ross From Cincinnati

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How do I get print (the design) off of a cotton shirt?

Ramona from Cedar Rapids, Iowa

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I am looking for a book from my youth (about mid 1940's) called "Fifty Famous Fairy Tales." I found it in the water heater closet of the house my mom bought during WWII. I was my first real hardcover book. Has anyone heard of it or know how to find a copy with just the title? I would like to get it for my great granddaughter. Thanks for your input.

Great Granny Vi from Moorpark, CA

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