Daily Thrifty Tips - September 23, 2009

Vol. 8, Num. 186, September 23, 2009 (Read It Online) Do you have any fall gardening tips to share with the ThriftyFun community? Submit them here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_contest.ldml Be sure to give a "thumbs up" to tips and recipes and that you like. Your ratings are used to pick the winners. The newest batch of contest winners will be announced tomorrow. Do you have a question for the ThriftyFun community? Submit it here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_request.ldml?email_source=newsletter Thanks for reading, The ThriftyFun Team Send to a Friend! Share a Tip (You could win $25!) Share a Photo (You could win $25!) Have a Question? Submit a request... Link to ThriftyFun.com View Active Topics! Edit Your Subscriptions: To edit your ThriftyFun subscriptions, click the Update Profile/Email Address link at the bottom of this newsletter. Today's newsletter contains: Today's Photos: Uses for Shoe Organizers Brett (Guinea Pig) Dry Your Own Flowers Skippy (Pomeranian) Today's Tips: Give Halloween Pencils Instead of Candy Rubbing Alcohol for Cleaning Windows You May Be Eligible for Food Stamps Using Leftover Soap Pieces Use Bandaids For Emergency Eyeglass Repair Baking Soda as a Clothes Softener Burnt Oil on a Stainless Steel Pan Garbage Bag for Cat Litter Pan Joke of the Day New Requests: Tips for Selecting Dog Food Carpet Color to Coordinate With a Grey Couch Finding the Value of Old Vinyl Records Bissell Carpet Shampooer Isn't Working Painting Kitchen With Pink and Grey Countertops Removing Dog Urine Stain from Carpet Washing Microfiber Cushion Covers Coffee Stains on a Corian Sink Musty Smell on Clothing Making a Bar of Soap from Soap Scraps Cleaning a Linoleum Floor Finding Vintage Yardley Lipstick Homemade Natural Shampoo and Conditioner for Color Treated Hair Relieving a Dog's Itchy Feet 13th Birthday Party Ideas I Need Help Planning a Bridal Shower More Reading: My Frugal Life: Ways To Save Today's Sponsor: Crafting for Fun and Money! If you are an avid crafter, capable writer and own a digital camera, you are eligible to participate. Submit your craft projects to ThriftyFun and we will pay $15 for any crafts that we publish. More Information: Click Here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_craft.ldml Today's Photos: Uses for Shoe Organizers I love the cloth shoe organizers, I use them for everything. This is my arts n crafts/school stuff. I painted tin cans with spray paint and stuck them in the slots. One row is for erasers, pencils, makers, etc. One row for beads, gems, shapes, etc, and so on. I have one in the bathroom for brushes, hair products etc. One in my cellar way for spray paints,poly etc. One in each kids room for whatever they use; hair stuff, cars, crayons, etc. I am working on making my own for my kitchen to hang on stove for spices, utensils, etc. Some of my cans are actually the lumineers I made for a party this summer. By Moonseekerjade from Onset, MA Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf935676.tip.html Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Brett (Guinea Pig) Brett is 2 years old. Brett is an Abyssinian guinea pig. Brett came from the pet store. He likes to chew on his tunnel and loves to cuddle. He is my daughter's guinea pig, named after her favorite football player. By Karen from Huntington, WV Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf43367155.tip.html Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Dry Your Own Flowers Make your own beautiful dried flowers. Simply hang fresh flowers in your front room on a plant hook, leave for about two or three weeks. Voila! Beautiful flowers. By Lyn from Taylorville, IL Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf34178700.tip.html Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Skippy (Pomeranian) Skippy is almost 5 months old. He is a Pomeranian. We got him on the 18th of May at 10 weeks old. He likes to play with us, play with his toys, run in the garden, and most of all loves his treats. He sat in a child's pushchair for the photo and loved being wheeled about in it. I think he is rather vain, as when I take photos he really poses for them. A great joy for me. This is the first time I have had a Toy Pom (or any dog for that matter) and have fallen madly in love with him. He has changed my life and made me understand so many things I was unaware of before. I am taking a serious interest in animal welfare. I read all the posts on your animal sites. I love all the dogs or other animals featured there. Never knew a little baby dog could do all that. I am now looking at helping out with local SPCA and other agencies on prevention of cruelty to animals. Please keep up the good work. By Guddo from Zambia Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf70598191.tip.html Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Contests: Tip Contest Submit a Tip or Recipe! Photo Contest Submit a tip with photo! These contests are weekly. We pick 2 tip winners and 1 photo winner at the end of each week. Each winner will win $25! My Frugal Life Submit a My Frugal Life Essay! Today's Tips: Give Halloween Pencils Instead of Candy For Halloween I give out Halloween pencils. You can get them at the Dollar Store, there is usually 10 in a package. They always get too much candy, and it can be used after the holiday. The kids love it, so do the parents! I have been doing this for years now. By Lynda (crabby) from Kearny NJ Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf39199080.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rubbing Alcohol for Cleaning Windows The best and easiest way to clean windows and any glass at all is to use rubbing alcohol. I reuse a sprayer that will screw onto the alcohol bottle and spray. It will clean anything glass including eyeglasses. It dries fast and is streak free and the only thing easier is using Glass Wax, only available at Ace hardware stores. It's great since you just wipe it on like any car wax and let it dry to a haze and then just wipe it off with a dry cloth, all done! You can also use glass wax to polish anything metal like toasters, sinks, etc. and if used on car windshields it helps repel water (driving in Oregon makes this a necessity)! Better than Rainbird products. I have even let my grandson "paint" on my windows with glass wax and a q-tip, keeps him happy and just wipes right off. By Wolfbytez from Brownsville, OR Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf93531921.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | You May Be Eligible for Food Stamps Apply for food stamps in your state. I thought I wouldn't get them, but surprise, I was eligible. There is no disgrace in getting help when you need it. Be brave and just go apply. I paid into these government programs all the time I worked. Now that I am retired on limited income, driving an old car, and about to be foreclosed on, I decided to just go for it. So that is my story. By CJ from Ohio Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf56223499.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Using Leftover Soap Pieces We have all had needs for bath soap etc. and I have found that each bar costs lots of money. I have made up my mind to recycle all of the bits of soap-ends that I have accumulated over the years and I made my own beautiful hand made soap. It includes olive oil that makes my skin extremely soft and non dry. Just use the following: All of the ends of soap in your house and a cup of olive oil. Put all of the soap ends into a small sauce pot and one cup of olive oil (extra virgin is ok). Then simmer it stirring until it comes to a simmer. Then let cool and turn into a mold such as an ice tray. You can add a few drops of essential oils such as lavender or citrus. Put into the freezer for a few hours, then let each cube dry out of the freezer. This soap will let you save money on commercial soap and put your own spin on fragrance and softening your skin. It works! By Sue123 from Oroville, CA Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf109281.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Use Bandaids For Emergency Eyeglass Repair If you ever have to tape eyeglasses of any other small item temporarily, instead of scotch tape or even electrical tape, cut off the sticky portion of a band-aid and use that instead. The adhesive on it is a lot stickier than any other kind of tape. Source: An optical technician many years ago. By Mary T Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf93929569.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Baking Soda as a Clothes Softener Use it in the laundry wash cycle to take the place of clothes softener. I used it once to get the white socks cleaner and noticed that when I took the clothes from the dryer, they were softer and no clinging was present. I used about two tablespoons to a large load. By Ms. Jany from El Cajon, CA Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf10501520.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Burnt Oil on a Stainless Steel Pan After leaving a small amount of oil to heat up in my Cuisinart frying pan a little bit too long, it left a large black and also brown oil stain. I tried everything suggested on how to remove the oil stain on my stainless steel fry pan and nothing worked. So I decided to try a razor blade scraper. First I heated the pan slightly; I then applied a small amount of now abrasive powder. Using a gentle pressure I used the scraper and presto the oil stain was removed. It left small fine scratch marks, but it did not alter the cooking or cleanup. And the scratches became almost invisible after a few more usages. Thank goodness the black and brown oil stain was gone. By Juneyb1 from Mt Dora, FL Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf90920262.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Garbage Bag for Cat Litter Pan Insert a clean empty litter box into a large plastic trash bag. It should fit in the bag loosely. Dump the kitty litter into the the box. Using the bread tie twisters or other type plastic twisters, close the bag. When it is time to remove the dirty litter, pull the bag over the box and the litter will be contained in the plastic bag. I would only recommend this for cats that don't scratch very hard, or are declawed. By Mkymlp from NE PA Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf730391.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Dear Webby's Joke of the Day A college student in a philosophy class was taking his first examination. On the paper there was a single line which simply said: "Is this a question?" - Discuss. After a short time he wrote: "If that is a question, then this is an answer." The student received an "A" on the exam. Read More Jokes Here: http://webby.com/humor New Requests: Tips for Selecting Dog Food What kind of dog food should I feed my boxer puppy? By redrubyslippers09 from Covington, IN Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf35160971.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Carpet Color to Coordinate With a Grey Couch I want to replace my living room carpet and would like to know what color would match a grey sectional couch? By mhamrick from Youngstown, OH Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf52790008.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Finding the Value of Old Vinyl Records Does anyone know the value of old 78 RPM records as well as 33 records? Someone said there is no value. Surely there is some value. Does anyone have experience in this area? I have a fairly large number. Thanks for sharing. By oredwine1933 from Fort Worth, TX Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf64966032.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Bissell Carpet Shampooer Isn't Working My Bissell carpet shampooer does not spray water and solution. Any ideas on what to do? By oredwine1933 from Fort Worth, TX Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf97774360.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Painting Kitchen With Pink and Grey Countertops We are purchasing a home with Corian kitchen countertops in a mauve pink with gray flecks and a pink and gray tile backsplash. I want to paint the kitchen cabinets white. What color should I paint the walls? Maybe gray? I don't want it to be too dark, that's why I'm painting the cabinets white. The living room and dining room kind of flow into the kitchen and I'm not sure I want those rooms gray, but I want it to flow nicely. Any suggestions would be appreciated. By Jacklin30 from Glendale, CA Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf63680389.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Removing Dog Urine Stain from Carpet How do I remove dog urine stains from a carpet? By AnnaR. Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf356668.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Washing Microfiber Cushion Covers Can I wash my microfiber cushion covers in the washer on the delicate cycle? They seem to have water rings on them when I wipe them. By rcain Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf14193573.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Coffee Stains on a Corian Sink How do I remove coffee stains from a Corian sink? By Migrams from Holt, MI Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf70651109.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Musty Smell on Clothing Last spring, I put my winter clothing in my garage. Now that I am getting them out, they smell very musty. What can I do to get rid of the smell? By Settler from Springboro, OH Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf168818.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Making a Bar of Soap from Soap Scraps How do I make a new bar of soap from left-overs? By bennachie from Scotland Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf48963858.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Cleaning a Linoleum Floor I live in an old flat in a large city and would like to know how I can clean the old, fake wood linoleum (roll type) that is on the floors? Anyone have any idea of how to get all the grime off? I would so appreciate knowing. I have been waxing it for years and need to strip it clean and start again. Thank you. By Lisingreece from Greece Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf193669.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Finding Vintage Yardley Lipstick My sister does not remember our mother as she was only 6 when our mother died, but when she was a bit older she suddenly "smelt her". It transpired that it was a Yardley lipstick, probably around 1960 or early 1970. The smell enabled her to visualize our mother. Mummy died in 1956. I would like to find Yardley lipstick from that era. Any ideas? I thought it would make a fantastic Christmas present for her. I had to put down my nickname as there are a lot of Liz's. Shrimp By shrimp from Ledbury, UK Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf92917097.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Homemade Natural Shampoo and Conditioner for Color Treated Hair What is a good homemade recipe for an after-coloring deep conditioner for hair? I regularly highlight my own hair, but I don't want to keep buying the salon conditioners for after color treatment. Any ideas? By Carriebethb from Flushing, MI Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf179948.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Relieving a Dog's Itchy Feet I have a three year old white Bichon/Poodle. For the past two or three weeks he has chewed on his feet until one of the pads is partially chewed off. I have taken him to the vet. He was given a shot of something, it didn't work. I have given him Benadryl and that hasn't worked. Any suggestions please? By SeniorOkie from Del City, OK Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf42125599.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | 13th Birthday Party Ideas Can you please give me some ideas on my sister's 13th birthday party? By lill_miss_donna from Sydney, NSW Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf817353.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | I Need Help Planning a Bridal Shower We are planning an autumn bridal shower for a young friend, and looking for some decorating, food and fun ideas from the ThriftyFun community. Thanks for your help with this. By Sally M. from Chewelah, WA Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf44283696.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Today's Sponsor: Crafting for Fun and Money! If you are an avid crafter, capable writer and own a digital camera, you are eligible to participate. Submit your craft projects to ThriftyFun and we will pay $15 for any crafts that we publish. More Information: Click Here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_craft.ldml More Reading: My Frugal Life: Ways To Save Here are some frugal ideas, we use in our home. Always buy used when we can. We visit many garage sales, thrift shops and online resources like eBay. Just keep a "need" list in your car or purse for when your out & about hitting yard sales. Read More: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf45194608.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Interactive Coupon Swap! Swap coupons with other ThriftyFun.com users. Seed Swap! Swap seeds with other ThriftyFun.com users.