Daily Thrifty Tips
Volume Three, Number 60, June 11, 2004
http://www.ThriftyFun.com
Hello,
We have a lot of new information and requests posted today. Thank you everyone for all the participation. We don't publish newsletters on the weekends but we do post new information and requests so be sure to check out the website if you get a chance.
Add a quick note about contest tips since we have a lot of new users. We operate with a 7 to 10 day backlog of tips so if you haven't seen your tip posted yet you will in the near future.
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Have a wonderful weekend,
Susan
Today's newsletter contains:
Today's Tips:
- Using Ammonia to Clean Stains from Carpet
- Reusing Magazines
- Coffee Filters as a Tearaway Stabilizer
- Organizing Cooking Sheets and Plates
- Use Shredded Paper as Litter for Your Guinea Pig
- Cook Rice with Shrimp Boil Mix
- Make Your Own Dryer Sheet Rag
- Cleaning Tomato Sauce Stains from Plastic Containers
- Keep Your Shower Curtain Clear!
- Storing Corn or Flour Tortillas
- Featured Feedback: RE: Cover the Gray with Tea!
- Featured Feedback: RE: Ginger as a Beano Substitute and Other Uses
- Featured Feedback: RE: Keep Bugs out of Flour
- Today's Recipe: Lemon-Basil Grilled Chicken
New Requests:
- Cleaning Ink out of Inside of the Dryer
- Making Furniture with Milk Crates
- Uses for Leftover Crayons
- Decorating with a Paris Theme
- Cleaning Urine Off a Couch Cushion
- Preserving Fresh Cilantro
- Freezing Fresh Vegetables From My Garden
More Reading:
- Inexpensive Dating Ideas
- Your Frugal Freezer!
- So Far in Debt; Can't Seem to Breathe
- The Perfect Porch Swing
Today's Tips
Using Ammonia to Clean Stains from Carpet
This past weekend I steam cleaned my carpets. I had several areas of stains that I have not been able to get out of my carpet since we bought our house two years ago. I put about a 1/2 c. clear ammonia in with the carpet shampoo and water in the tank and it all came almost all the way up. My only problem was the steam cleaner threw it's belt and I couldn't get the dining room done too! The strong ammonia smell only lasted about five minutes and then evaporated away. By Tawnda
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Uses for Old Magazines
My hairdresser subscribes to about 50 magazines monthly which he displays for customers to read. Every month he weeds the prior month out and gives the magazines to me. I read what interests me and then along with the other magazines I bring them all to the nursing home that I visit weekly. Rather than him toss them out he has enriched peoples quiet time. And it hasn't cost us a penny.
By Joesgirl
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Coffee Filters as a Tearaway Stabilizer
Coffee filters can make a wonderful substitution for tearaway stabilizer when doing a small hand or machine embroidery project. By Patti
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Organizing Cooking Sheets and Plates
Here's an economical way to organize cookie sheets, plates, or anything that can stand on its side. Go to your local builders supply and get some unfinished corner molding. It usually comes in 8' lengths, so have the store employee cut it into 12" sections, or whatever length you prefer. When you are ready to install these, simply use a couple of finishing nails to hold them in place on a lower section of your cabinets, and in 10 minutes, you can have eight wonderful organizers for about $2.00. By Melna
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Use Shredded Paper as Litter for Your Guinea Pig
I have found a great use for my shredder. My 8 year old daughter has a hamster and a guinea pig. It was getting expensive to buy various items to use as cage litter. I had always lined the cages with newspaper and then put the litter on top. I still line them with newspaper, but now I use shredded newspaper, ads, and junk mail. I've been using this for almost a year with no ill effects to the animals. By Nancy
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Cook Rice with Shrimp Boil Mix
For a better tasting rice, cook it in shrimp boil mix. By Mary Adair
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Make Your Own Dryer Sheet Rag
Soak a clean rag in ultra fabric softener and let dry. Put the dry rag in your dryer and leave it there. This will soften your clothes like a dryer sheet, but will last a long time. I have just started using it and have done 30 loads and the same rag is still working. I have another rag ready and waiting for when this first one runs out.
By Lady Sharon
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Cleaning Tomato Sauce Stains from Plastic Containers
Clean tomato sauce stains from your plastic containers using hot water filled to the top and plopping a couple denture tablets in. By Rhonda
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Keep Your Shower Curtain Clear!
I found that if I spray the plastic shower curtain liner about once a week with a tub and tile foam cleaner, it will look almost new. I use the Dow Scrubbing Bubbles - just spray on the inside of the shower liner, wait a couple of minutes and wipe off with a sponge or spray with the shower head. Works great! By Melna
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Storing Corn or Flour Tortillas
Corn or flour tortillas can be stored indefinitely. I used to think they had to be refrigerated, but after a while, they dried out and got crumbly. I have stored mine in a cabinet drawer in the original ziplock style bag they were purchased in for as long as a year, and they are as fresh and delicious as the day I brought them home from the store. By Harlean from Arkansas
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Featured Feedback: RE: Cover the Gray with Tea!
Hi Starla,
I brew a very strong mug of black (regular) tea with 2 or 3 tea bags. After it cools, I comb as much as I need into my hair after I shampoo in the morning. I have found that it covers better if I dry my hair first, then comb the tea in. If you comb it in when your hair is still wet from the shampoo, you won't get as good coverage, and you'll get all that brown color on your bath towel.
You can store the unused tea for the next day or two, but don't keep it past a week, or it will begin to get moldy! I would advise brewing small amounts at a time.
Good luck!
By Nancy from PA
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Featured Feedback: RE: Ginger as a Beano Substitute and Other Uses
You can store fresh ginger root pretty much indefinitely in the freezer in a zip-lock bag. When you need to use some it thaws in just a few minutes! No more moldy ginger!
By Jennifer
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Featured Feedback: RE: Keep Bugs out of Flour
Guess I will revive this topic with new feedback. I also bake my own bread and use lots of flour. I buy flour in 10 pound bags, place the bag in my freezer for about 3 days, and then open it and pour it into my flour bucket (which is a 5 gallon bucket with tight fitting lid that I got from a donut shop). Due to the freezing and then storing in a tightly closed container, I never have buggy flour. And to keep bugs out of other pantry products, such as oatmeal, crackers, rice, pasta, etc., open the packages and transfer them to gallon glass jars or plastic containers that have screw on lids or other tight seals before you put them in the cupboard.
By rockytopp61
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Today's Recipe: Lemon-Basil Grilled Chicken
Lemon, garlic and basil flavors come together to make some tasty grilled chicken.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon shredded lemon peel
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Directions:
- In a shallow dish combine oil, lemon juice, half of the basil, vinegar, garlic, lemon peel, salt and pepper.
- Add the chicken and coat both sides.
- Store covered in the refrigerator for 45 minutes before using.
- Preheat Charcoal Grill or Broiler.
- Grill or Broil the chicken breasts 4 inches from the heat source for about 5 minutes on each site or until the internal temperature reaches 175F and is cooked all the way through.
- Transfer to a clean serving platter and sprinkle with the remaining basil.
Source: Adapted from a recipe in Recipes From America's Small Farms by Joanne Lamb Hayes, Lori Stein and Maura Webber.
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New Requests:
Cleaning Ink out of Inside of the Dryer
Help! Had a pen get loose in the dryer. citecr
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Making Furniture with Milk Crates
How can I make a foot stool and table out of milk crates? CEE CEE
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Uses for Leftover Crayons
Is there anything creative or charitable that can be done with leftover stubs of crayons from the school year? After picking out the large crayons, there are still many, many stubs left. I've read to donate pencil stubs to churches, etc., but what to do with the crayons? Tina in SW IN
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Decorating with a Paris Theme
Hey all, i was wondering if you could help me with my room problems. I'm 15 years old and i want to do a Paris theme for my room. i already have a bedspread that i found at wakeupfrankie.com so if you have any ideas for me please, please reply! thx lots Bri from Bama
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Cleaning Urine Off a Couch Cushion
My 2 year old wet the bed, as so to speak on my couch. Is there anyway of removing urine from a couch cushion. I'm afraid if I throw in the washer it will mess my cushion up. I need all the suggestions I can get. Thank you.
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Preserving Fresh Cilantro
They have a great deal on cilantro right now. What is the best way to preserve fresh cilantro in your refrigerator? I may dry some but I want to use some fresh as well but it always seems to go bad on me so quickly.
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Freezing Fresh Vegetables From My Garden
I planted my first garden this year and a lot of the veggies I planted are becoming ready to pick. I need to know how to go about picking the veggies and freezing them. Can I just pick them out of the garden, wash, and put in Ziplock bags or do they have to be cooked ahead of time? Most of the veggies I have are typical garden vegetables (peas, carrots, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) Thanks for any ideas!!!
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your request here: Click Here
More Reading
Inexpensive Dating Ideas
By Jeffrey Strain
Dating and saving money. For many, the two concepts don't equate. There's an automatic reaction for most when suggesting the two together that the person paying is trying to be "cheap" and the resulting date will naturally have the same feel. Contrary to popular belief, however, dating doesn't have to be expensive to be fun, entertaining and memorable. It doesn't even have to take a whole lot of extra preparation time. What it does take is a little imagination and breaking from the typical date routine. You have to be willing to think beyond dinner and a movie and be willing to try something new for a change. Here are 15 inexpensive dating ideas: 10 for anyone plus 5 for the adventurous.
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Your Frugal Freezer!
By Cyndi Roberts
When you're trying to make those grocery dollars stretch as far as possible, a home freezer can truly be your budget's best friend!
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So Far in Debt; Can't Seem to Breathe
By Scott Bilker
Scott,
Help please! I heard you on the radio and what you had to say made sense to me. I am so far in debt and can't seem to breathe. I have 6 credit cards and I am $25,000 in debt. I know you hear this all the time, I have been paying for over 2 years not charging anything and still cant get anywhere. I cut them 2 years ago, and called the companies to ask for a lower rate. They gave me like a year with low interest, and lower payments so my credit reports would not be hurt. Bottom line, my credit report looks so bad, we can't even refinance our home. I am in so deep that if I had a pill I'd take it! When I called a company to help me all they wanted to do was charge me more money that I don't have. I am not sleeping, and just don't want to leave my home. I own my own business, and I am just asking for your personal help. Please, please help me. Thank you,
Stephanie
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The Perfect Porch Swing
By Debbie Rodgers
There is a magical quality to porch swings. In his summertime classic Dandelion Wine, Ray Bradbury describes the "ritual of the front-porch swing."
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Thanks
Susan
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