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Hello,
We published Gardening Q and A in this week's TF News. Ellen Brown, our Gardening and Green Living expert, tackles 10 new questions. Here's a list of the questions she answered.
You can read the issue here:
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf549354.tip.html
If you have a Green Living or Gardening question for Ellen, feel free to submit here:
http://www.thriftyfun.com/add.ldml
We have a family picnic tomorrow so there won't be an issue of the Daily on Saturday. The next issue will be on Monday.
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend,
Susan
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Today's Photos
Since I have a very shady yard I have planted my favorite flowers (Star Gazer Lilies) in pots which I can move around for best sunlight and also enjoy their beautiful fragrance. This is the second year they have bloomed in these pots.
GraNita
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Closet Conversion
By Shauna Smith Duty
Need to tuck your television or computer into a nook so that you have more floor space in a bedroom? This simple closet conversion is inexpensive, functional, and just plain cute. Often the things tucked away in spare room closets can be discarded or stored elsewhere. That extra closet is wasted space.
What you'll need:
Remove and store the closet doors. You may need them if you ever plan to sell your home, or if you convert the space back into a closet. Just store them in the attic, out of the way, with the hardware attached in a plastic baggie.
Measure the shelves or desk you want to use in the space to make sure it will fit without sticking out past the interior closet wall. This conversion looks best if the furniture in the closet fits properly. The shelves in the photo were created by cutting down an old shelving unit. The two doors beneath the television are a pre-existing VCR cabinet slid onto the shelves. Painting the whole unit solid white to match the trim of the closet makes it look custom built to fit the space. Electronics wires can be hidden behind the unit and fed through a hole cut in the shelf, behind the television.
In the photographed entertainment area, lace sheers were hung on a shower curtain rod and pulled back with tiebacks. To conceal the area, use drapes, bamboo shades, or tab curtains and pull them closed.
This project works for not only entertainment centers, but also for bookshelves, computer desks, or a child's dress up area.
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Zeus (Norwegian Elkhound)
This is Zeus, my six-year-old Norwegian Elkhound. He is a good and loyal friend and is very protective of our family. Having grown up with our five cats he loves them and protects them as well. His best friend is an orange tabby named Dre. Zeus enjoys bones, breath mints and riding in the car. This summer Zeus got a baby sister named Boba. She is a black lab and is keeping Zeus very busy.
By Marta
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This is a picture of my beautiful daughter, 7 years old, and my beautiful new niece, 4 weeks old.
By Belinda Burtz
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Plant Sparklers
By Connie Decker Brown
This is an easy project where you get to be very creative!
Supplies:
Directions:
1. Cut a 12" - 18" long piece of bead wire. The length will depend on how tall your plant is.
2. Wind the wire around a marker to give it a spring shape.
...or Bend it in a zigzag pattern.
...or Leave it straight.
...or Bend it in an arc so the sparkly part will hang down rather than stand upright.
...or Bend the bead wire in any way the spirit moves you!
3. Place a small dot of glue 3" from the bottom of the bead wire. This will hold the bottom bead.
4. Place the bottom bead on the bead wire.
5. Place a small dot of glue on the bead wire just below where you want the next bead.
6. Place the next bead on the wire.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until you're happy with the look of your plant sparkler.
8. Stick the Plant Sparklers into your plant and enjoy the play of the sun on the beads.
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Today's Tips
Tips for saving money on hand soap. Post your ideas below!
Refilling Soap Bottles
I love the Bath and Body works liquid antibacterial soaps. I wait for the 5 for $10 specials and I take one bottle and mix it with 3 of the container filled with water. After it sits a while it still has a slightly gel like consistency. I then fill the bottle back up and save the rest for future refills. I get 4 bottles for the price of 1. Including tax that makes it $2.10 for 4 bottles. Lasts a long while. I always have a supply of liquid soap at a very low cost.
By Sheila Shepardson
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Tips for patching nail holes in dry wall. Post your ideas.
Patching Nail Holes
Unsightly nail holes on your walls? Make up a paste of cornstarch & water. Fill the nail holes with this paste, and let dry.
By Terri
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I'll Never Buy Commercial Fabric Softener Again!
I save an old fabric softener or detergent bottled (rinsed well). Using a funnel I carefully pour the following into the bottle:
2 cups vinegar
2 cups baking soda
4 cups hot water
Be careful when adding the baking soda, do so very slowly as it will foam up. Cap and shake gently from side to side, opening the cap to allow air to escape (you may need to do this several times). Add about 20 drops of essential oil. I love lavender but you can use cedarwood, rose, eucalyptus, whatever you love.
Shake side to side before each use as the baking soda will settle. Pour just past the line in a downyball (I find this method works better than the machines fabric softener dispenser). Toss the ball in and that's it.
It costs a mere pennies to make. Buy the huge boxes of baking soda now available and gallons of white vinegar.
No static cling whatsoever and leaves a lovely scent on your clothing. For extra fragrance, put some in a spray bottle and spray your load of laundry as it goes into the dryer.
The serviceman where we bought our Whirlpool washer and dryer combo said NEVER to use any type of dryer sheets in a dryer. They leave a residue on the lint screen. Take your screen and hold it under a running faucet. If the water beads and doesn't run thru freely, it's clogged by use of dryer sheets.
Try this cheap, environmentally friendly verison instead. It's safe to use on children's sleepwear and doesn't diminish the absorbency of towels or clothes as it does not coat the fabric.
Thank you! Melissa
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When you combine steroids by accident, like my husband did, they can cause cataracts. When he hurt his neck, he went to pain management for steroid shots in the neck. Then, later when he had a bad allergy infection he was given flonase for his sinus, it is a steroid spray. Now he has cataracts. It is not that flonase is bad, but the combination of it and the pain shots caused it. Please be careful about not combining certain meds like these nose sprays and other sorts of steroids.
By Racer
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Dots for Distinguishing Clothing: To distinguish between clothing for near-in-age or size children, place a permanent Magic Marker dot in an inconspicious place. One dot for the older child, two for the second, etc. If an item can be passed to the next child, simply add a dot.
By Ann
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Dawn for Roaches
To kill roaches on contact without using any harmful chemicals, mix 1 part Dawn dishwashing soap to 2 parts water in a spray bottle. Just spray on roach and they die in seconds! I tried this and it really works!!
By Jojo
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Tips for using beer in the garden. Post your ideas.
Beer for the Plants
Have any flat or stale beer? Pour it into your garden. Your plants will love you for it. They love yeast.
By Terri
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Cleaning and Sharpening Your Coffee Grinder
If your coffee grinder takes longer than it should to work, instead of thinking about replacing it, just resharpen the blades. Toss in a handful of uncooked rice. The rice will re-sharpen your blades for you.
By Terri
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A Remedy for Ants in the Hummingbird Feeder
I had the problem of having ants in my hummingbird feeder. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a couple of small plastic bowls and some super glue. I drilled a hole in the bottom of the bowl and ran the wire from the feeder through it and covered the bottom of the bowl with the glue where the wire passes through. Let it cure for a few hours, and voila! No more ant problem after putting water in the bowl! Now both of my feeders are ant-free. Cost about $4.00. Good luck.
By Chris
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Store Brand vs. Brand Name Products
Tips and opinions about Brand Name products versus their store brand counterparts. Post your thoughts and tips.
Store Brand vs. Brand Name Products
When shopping for anything from food to cleaning supplies, buy the store band rather than the "brand name" products. It'll save you a lot of money and the products really are the same thing.
Anna
Using Generic or Store Brands
One of the biggest ways I save money is to use generic or store brands. Most of them are the same ingredients as the name brands and work and taste just as well.
By Robin
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Tips for planting and growing tomatoes. Post your ideas.
Tip for Planting Tomatoes
To make your tomatoes grow better, dig a hole about a foot or so deep, fill with wet, crumpled up newspaper. Then pour water on top of that, then put dirt over it and plant your tomatoes. Then put the dirt around them. This helps them to grow their roots deeper by going to the water, which is in the newspaper. This has worked great for me.
By Dede Payne
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Tips for getting rid of ants. Post your ideas.
Spicing up the Ants
If you have a problem with ants and don't want to use anything toxic--they hate anything spicy. Just sprinkle cinnamon, black pepper, or cayenne pepper around in the vicinity.
By Terri
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Summer Keepsakes
By Rondi Hillstrom Davis
The song says it all, "Hot Fun in the Summertime." Our summer was certainly full of fun: outdoor barbeques, neighborhood cookouts, making ice cream, 4th of July parades, a trip to grandpa's house, sleeping late, moving my oldest daughter into her first apartment. It never seems like the season is long enough to do everything we want to do.
Now that the summer is almost over, how do we preserve these memories? Take a few minutes before the busy routine of school begins to put together a family album of summer keepsakes. Whether it's in a scrapbook, photo album, or shoebox, these mementoes chronicle tidbits of family life that often become lasting traditions. Your kids will love showing friends and family how they spent their summer vacation.
Want a quick and easy way to make a time capsule of your summer vacation? Make a keepsake jar.
Find a large, clean, wide mouth jar (mayonnaise jars work well) to hold your treasures.
Paint and decorate the lid.
Gather together pictures, ticket stubs, sea shells, maps, souvenirs, pressed flowers or anything that has sentimental value from you summer vacation.
Write names and dates on the back of photographs. Place all of your items inside the jar. On brightly colored paper, write a few notes about each event. You may want to interview other family members for their thoughts as well.
Preserve your summer stories in a place of honor. Kids will enjoy getting their keepsake jar down to tell stories for many summers to come.
By Rondi Hillstrom Davis
http://www.togetherparenting.com
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I, mostly, have white socks and I buy them in packs of 12. I use 4 colored markers to put dots or Roman numerals on the bottom of each pair. 3 with red, 3 with blue, etc. Then I separate them after the wash. You can use whatever color shows up best on any socks.
By Bob Hollinger
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Let your children help prepare lunch or dinner. While you're fixing the meal they can put ice in the glasses, set the table, wash and tear lettuce or salad mix, place napkins on the table, etc.
By Terri
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New Contest - More Prizes
We are giving away 16 $25 prizes in a variety of categories.
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Contest ends August 31, 2005
Syndication Spotlight:
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Dear Webby's Humor Letter
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New Requests
I would like to know remedies for bee stings that works. I usually put ice pack and baking soda. Anybody have a good remedy?
Seamstress
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Can anyone give me any tips on cleaning vinyl? I got a stain on one of my purses. It's a grass stain.
reeza
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Cattleman's Banquet Decorations
I am looking for helpful ideas for decorating a Cattleman's banquet. Most of the guest will be ranchers and farmers. I am having a hard time trying to come up with ideas for decorations that are not too "cutesy" or childlike. I have a sophisticated affair in mind but I can't think of any decorations that I could use.
Please help!
Alissa from California
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Stains on a Hand Painted Shirt
I've recently returned from a long overseas holiday. At some point during that time, my expensive hand painted silk shirt has managed to make it from the laundry to the patio outside and now has dirty grey looking areas on it. Can anyone please recommend a solution to this, as I'm not sure if the problem is due to sun bleaching or anything else. I don't want to wash it until I know what the problem is.
Cathy
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After advice from the wedding shop, I used a baby wipe to remove make up from a wedding dress. I am now left with a water mark and due to wear the dress on october 1st. Any tips on how to remove the water mark?
Thanks,
Lynn
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Repairing a Chipped Marble Vanity
I need to know how to repair a small chip in a marble vanity. Please Advise.
Thanks,
Bonnie from LA
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Birthday Party With an Asian Theme
I'm having a slumber party for my 14th birthday. The party will be on September 17th and I need activities a decorations. The party will have an asian theme, and I don't want my party to be "baby-ish" so it is hard to find already made decorations. Please let me in on some good ideas!
Thanks,
Alicia, almost 14
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Hello inventive people. I am looking for someone who has made their own blinds. I have one window to cover and the blinds I like in the stores cost over $800! I'm sure I can get the fabric, blackout and the hardware, I just don't know how to make a precise, perfect fitting blind for my bedroom window (the dimensions of the window are quite odd so I cannot buy a ready made blind). I do not own a sewing machine, which is probably a drawback. I think I can handsew the fabric and blackout. Has anyone ever made their own fabric blinds?
Thanks so much.
Newbie
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I ruined my favorite shirt and tried to buy another one but they don't sell it anymore. I can't even order it. It is dark purple and made out of rayon. It has a huge light pink spot on it in a couple of places. It looks like the color faded out of it for on these spots. How can i fix this? Can I dye rayon? I read something about a crayon and iron. Can I iron rayon? Please give me ideas, I will try anything.
Melissa
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I'm deciding on having our wedding in Jamaica this coming March. Has anyone been to Jamaica or had a destination wedding and honeymoon? We're thinking of going to Couples Resorts "Swept Away". Any feedback would be great.
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I have thin, lifeless, hair with no body. I wear it short. Does anybody have any suggestions to give body to my hair?
Thqnks,
Judy Fom Texas
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Color Advice for a Princess Room
I'm getting ready to fix up my little girls room. She is 5 years old and loves princess things (not the disney princess), glitter, tiara's and all that girly girl stuff. My problem is we don't know what color to paint the walls, either a hot pink or dark purple. All of her furniture is white and I want to keep it that way. I have lots of other cute ideas for the room but I just don't know what color to paint. If anyone can help, please let me know.
Thanks,
Michelle from WV
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I'm trying to get fabric to make quilts to be able to sell them and make a little extra money on the side. Does anyone know where I can get large amounts of fabric, cotton, yarn etc. for a low cost. What I'm really looking for is a buy now pay later option on this type of stuff. Any help would be appreciated.
Amanda
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More Reading:
A Guide to Non-Toxic Cleaning
By Ellen Brown
If you're like me, one trip down the cleaning products aisle at your local grocery store can leave your eyes burning, your head pounding and leave you gasping for fresh air. Making your own green cleaning supplies is not only better for your indoor and outdoor environment and your health; it can save you a bundle of money. On average, $20 dollars of commercial cleaners will cost you less than $5 to make.
Non-toxic Cleaners Shopping List
Recipe for All Purpose Cleaner:
Kitchen
Tile and Linoleum: Mop with 1-2 teaspoons of dishwashing soap dissolved in 3 gallons of warm water. Rinse with a mixture of 1 cup white vinegar and 3 gallons water.
Sinks and Counters: Baking Soda or Bon Ami makes a great scouring powder to clean or "bleach" refrigerators and shelves, coffee pots, cookware, wooden cutting boards, stainless steel and plastic dishes.
Oven: Sprinkle the inside with warm water and baking soda. Let stand overnight and scrub with a moist pad. Also try salt or white vinegar.
Dishes: Pour 1 Tbsp of Borax in the rinse dispenser for an alternative to dishwasher detergent. Use Seventh Generation, Palmolive or Ivory dish soaps for hand washing dishes. Sprinkle burned pots and pans with a generous portion of baking soda and a small amount of water and let stand for several hours before scrubbing.
Bathroom
Shower Stalls, tubs and toilets: All Purpose Cleaner (see recipe above)
Shower Curtains: Wash them in the washer with a towel. Add in 1 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle and hang or briefly tumble dry.
Soap Scum on Chrome Fixtures: Pour on undiluted vinegar and let stand for 5 minutes. Rinse with water and repeat as needed.
Lime Deposits: Soak showerheads and faucet parts in vinegar overnight.
Glass Cleaner: 1/4 cup vinegar in 1/2 gallon of water. Use a spray bottle to apply and wipe with newspaper. A great alternative to this mixture is plain club soda.
Clogged Drains: Use a generous amount of baking soda followed by a cup of white vinegar. Expect to see white foam. Flush with hot water and repeat as necessary.
Rust Remover: Sprinkle a little salt on the rust and squeeze a lime over the salt until it's thoroughly soaked. Let it stand for 2-3 hours and use the leftover rind to scrub it off.
Laundry Room
General Stains: Soak in Borax and water.
Cola, Wine & Ketchup Stains: If clothing is 100% cotton or a cotton-poly blend, sponge with diluted vinegar within 24 hours. Wash normally.
Deodorant and Antiperspirant stains: Rub with white vinegar before washing.
Bleaching: Use non-chlorine bleach.
Fabric Softener: Add 1/2 cup of vinegar and 1/2 cup of water in rinse dispenser.
Recipe for Detergent:
Other Living Areas:
Woodwork: All Purpose Cleaner
Wood Floors: 1/2 cup of vinegar per gallon of water. Wipe dry.
Walls: Baking Soda will remove scuffmarks.
Carpet & Rub Stains: Blot spill immediately. Sprinkle with baking soda, cornstarch or borax and let dry. Wash with club soda and vacuum.
Furniture Polish: Mix one part white vinegar and three parts olive oil. Add a small amount of natural lemon oil.
Upholstery: Sprinkle on cornstarch and vacuum to freshen up and remove minor dirt.
Copper & Brass: Saturate a sponge or towel with vinegar or lemon juice and salt. Lightly rub, rinse and dry.
Recycled Scrubbing Pads: Try old balled up panty hose or a half a used lemon sprinkled with salt.
Buying Ready-Made Cleaners
If your store doesn't stock them, let the manager know you want them to carry environmentally friendly products. Until they do, keep the following in mind:
Read labels carefully. By law, toxic chemicals need to carry one or more signal words: Danger, Poison, Warning, Caution. Look for products containing non-petroleum based surfactants, and those that claim to be non-toxic, biodegradable, and are free of chlorine and phosphates.
Don't buy products containing ammonia or chlorine (usually found in scouring powders, dishwater detergents, bathroom cleaners and laundry bleach). These two chemicals cause health problems and damage the ozone.
Stay away from traditional toilet bowl cleaners, oven cleaners and furniture polish. These contain the highest amounts of toxic chemicals.
Buy non-chlorine bleached paper products. The process of bleaching paper releases dioxin, a known carcinogen, into the atmosphere. Buying paper products labeled "non-chlorine bleached" will help cut down on dioxin pollution.
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