Daily Thrifty Tips
Volume Three, Number 195, November 27, 2004
http://www.ThriftyFun.com
Hello
Now that Thanksgiving is behind us we will concentrate on filling up the Christmas Topic site. It already has nearly 200 tips, articles, recipes and gift ideas. More is added everyday. Visit the Christmas Topic Site at:
http://www.thriftyfun.com/Christmas/index.html?mode=clear
Thanks for reading,
Susan
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Today's newsletter contains:
Today's Tips:
- Building With Recycled Windows
- Keeping Trash From Smelling
- How To Use Freecycle
- Dusting Big Screen TVs
- Line Trash Can With An Extra Bag
- Gift Wrapping Center
- Store Addresses On The Computer
- Cleaning the Computer Screen
- Composting Pet Hair
- Baking Apples in the Microwave
- Softening Brown Sugar
- Oops Paint
- Favorite Stores?
- Feeding Big Dogs
- Swapping Clothes With Friends and Family
- For A Frugal Face Routine
- Cleaning Your Car Interior
- Free Cooking Magazine At KraftFoods.com
- Firing Small Clay Items
New Requests:
- Christmas Gifts Using Dried Milk
- Looking For Transfer Rub Paper
- Help, I don't have a whole lot of money and it's Christmas time!
- Felt Gingerbread Man Ornament
- Cheapest Cell Phone
- Looking for Feather Bed Advice
- Old Fashioned Cloth Doll Patterns
More Reading:
- Light Bulb Santa Ornaments
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Today's Tips
Building With Recycled Windows
Glass windows cannot be recycled commercially. They get destroyed.
Stores replace their l l/2 thick double windows. I found 5 of them and used them to fill in my back porch. They were 300 to 400 lbs. Two men had a hard time lifting them.
They were free so I completely enclosed my porch making it into a sun room that is wonderful.
I collected free windows for my front porch and made a window wall with a plexiglas double roof purchased from a RR damage place at $12/sheet. I got shorter 2 x 4 wood from a building recycling bin so I only had to buy the long ones. It saves a lot of heat and makes a wonderful place to nap, read and enjoy the outside without being outside.
I am sure everyone can locate a window replacement store nearby. Patio doors come in double panes. I remove the aluminum--recycle it--and put the glass in two by four frames with one by twos to hold them in. I calk every crack inside and out.
I even built a glass greenhouse in my back yard and put rows of pine garland across the roof with pine cones and flowers woven in between and down the sides of the window. These rooms are lovely and make my house warm and very livable.
By Jill
View Article: Click Here
Keeping Trash From Smelling
Tips for keeping trash from smelling in the kitchen. Post your ideas.
Keeping Garbage from Smelling
To keep the garbage from smelling in between trash days, I keep all food scraps in a plastic bag in the freezer. Before taking the trash out, just pull out the bag and slip it in the trash.
By Teresa
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How To Use Freecycle
If you have unused items in your home (and who doesn't?!?), a wonderful way to get rid of them is to use Freecycle. Freecycle is a form of recycling, using the Internet. Freecycle groups are formed by geographical location, and there are more every day, so chances are good that there is one near you.
To find a Freecycle group near you, go to http://groups.yahoo.com
There, in the middle of the page, under "Join A Group", is a Search box. In that box, type Freecycle and the name of your state (for example, Freecycle Michigan).
You will then get a list of all the Freecycle groups in your state. If you live in or near a reasonably large town (20,000 and up), enter BOTH the name of your state and the name of your town, and you will be able to restrict your search results to your local area and cut down on the number of results.
The list of Freecycle groups in your state will tell you the total number of groups (at the top and bottom), and will have a clickable link to each group. Select a group to see exactly what geographic area it covers.
Once you have determined the appropriate group, all you need to do is to click on that group's link and join the group, using the big button named, surprisingly enough, "Join This Group!" Click on that button, and you will be given instructions for joining. You can opt to have the group's emails sent to your email account, or you can read the email on the web site.
This is a terrific way to have people COME TO YOUR HOUSE AND TAKE AWAY YOUR UNWANTED ITEMS! No hassle with a garage sale or hauling the items to the dump.
By Darren Meahl
View Article: Click Here
Dusting Big Screen TVs
With the big screen TVs they have out now, it seems like dust is a magnet on them. To avoid dusting and cleaning the screen almost every day--use a bounce or some kind of fabric softener to eliminate the dust and cut down on how often you need to dust the screen. Simply wipe a bounce on it and the dust falls off and prevents dust build up on your screen. (Special note: This technique also works on vertical blinds---the static you get with them is eliminated by wiping the blind down with a bounce or fabric softener.) So it's not just for your wash anymore!
By Pammyd
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Line Trash Can With An Extra Bag
In our effort to stuff our trash bags to the fullest we can't always slide them out of the can without great effort or breakage. The solution to this is to put one bag in the can and then put one on top on the first one. When the top bag is full it slips right out of the can with very little effort and no breaking the bag. Thus saving bags and frustration.
By Joan Gazzilli
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Gift Wrapping Center
I have an old dresser that I converted into a gift wrap center. The dresser has four good sized drawers to hold: tissue paper, cards, gift bags and bows. I keep my rolls of gift wrap in plastic boxes on top of the dresser with tape and a scissor. When I need to wrap a present, I just remove the two boxes of gift wrap from the top and I have a nice wrapping surface.
By Tammy B.
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Store Addresses On The Computer
For a fast, easy access to addresses, I keep an address book file on my home computer. That way, when Christmas time comes around or for birthdays, announcements, and such, it is there with just a click of the mouse. I try to keep the addresses updated regularly.
By Robin
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Cleaning TV and Computer Monitor Screens
Both screens accumulate fingerprints, dust and grime as a result of static electricity. With the set or screen turned off, use glass cleaner sparingly. Wet a rag or paper towel with the cleaner rather than spraying it on, to avoid getting cleaner on the cabinet.
By Donna Gros
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Composting Pet Hair
Pet hair is compostable! When you brush your cat or dog, save the hair from the brush in a bag, and put it in your compost pile; it's mainly nitrogen.. People's hair trimmings can be composted too!
By Ness
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Baking Apples in the Microwave
You can make a nice "baked" style apple easily in the microwave. Use any type of apple except for Red Delicious. I like to use harder cooking apples like Northern Spy, Yellow Delicious, Crispin, and Jonagold, but softer types like Cortland and Macintosh also work well.
Wash and core the apple. Don't peel it. Place in a microwave safe dish or bowl. Pack some brown sugar, raisins or dates, and walnuts or pecans in the cored hollow. Put a small pat of butter on top. Drizzle with a little maple syrup if desired.
Now microwave on high for about 4-5 minutes, more on less depending on the hardness of the apple. When soft, remove from microwave, let cool a few minutes, and serve warm. Yum!
By Ness
View Article: Click Here
Softening Brown Sugar
I've tried many different tips for softening brown sugar, but this one works better than all the rest. It even works on an entire bag that is completely solid. All you do is put the brown sugar in an airtight container with a lid (you may have to break the sugar into pieces so it will fit). Cover the top with a layer of plastic wrap, then lay a wet paper towel over the top. Put on the lid. In a day or two, depending on the amount of brown sugar to be softened, the sugar will be as soft as sugar just purchased!
By klawrence34
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Oops Paint
Shop Lowe's and Home Depot or any hardware type store in your area for oop's paint. Its paint that was not mixed to the right color and the customer cant use it. So the store will put it out and sell it for a few dollars. You can get bent can's of stain too. I used oop's paint for trim and small areas in my house. The cost of a gallon of good paint was 3.00!! You can't be too picky on color though.
By Diane Stein
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Favorite Stores?
What is you favorite store to shop at and why?
The Dollar Store
My favorite store to shop in is our local Dollar Store. They have everything from the every day items you need to many birthday and Christmas gift items at a lower cost than most other stores. They even carry decorative holiday items. Their greeting cards are only .50 cents a piece! Definitely worth shopping there!
By Robin
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Feeding Big Dogs
We have two large breed dogs and so it does get quite expensive to buy dog food at times. We don't like to buy the generic brands because they are full of nothing but filler which means that even though they may get full, it takes more of it to fill them up than the more expensive, higher quality brands. The higher quality brands are so expensive, though, that I have found a good alternative. Try buying your dog food from a feed store! They carry several different brands and they usually very good quality and a much better price!
By Robin
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Swapping Clothes With Friends and Family
When our children were small, one of the biggest money saving things we did was swap clothing with friends and family. Children grow so fast and their clothing is so expensive. It has always benefited us to do this. Not only does it help our finances, but it helps others as well.
By Robin
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For A Frugal Face Routine
Wash face with soap of choice then with a cotton ball use rubbing alcohol to cleanse the other areas prone to blackheads etc., follow this with a good lotion, then apply makeup if starting the day or if it's before bed add vaseline to the wrinkle areas:) My face never breaks out. Be careful with the rubbing alcohol around the eyes/mouth of course.
By Melanie
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Cleaning Your Car Interior
To detail the inside of your car yourself after thoroughly cleaning the inside use cotton swabs dipped in rubbing alcohol to give it that finished look around buttons, knobs, and those hard to get little cracks.
By Melanie
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Free Cooking Magazine At KraftFoods.com
For a free cooking magazine sent several times a year go to http://www.kraftfoods.com/free It has great ideas and recipes.
By Melanie
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Firing Small Clay Items
You can use your self-cleaning oven as a kiln. Not as hot as a real kiln, so it probably would not work for serious potters, but great for firing clay beads and other small clay items. Run creations through 2 cleaning cycles, then paint with acrylic paints. Fun!
By Mary
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Other Active Topics
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http://www.thriftyfun.com/board.html
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New Requests:
Christmas Gifts Using Dried Milk
I have recently found myself with an amazing amount of dried milk. Being a person who believes that any food can be used, I am on a quest for Christmas gifts I can make with dried milk. I believe I have exhausted the hot chocolate or mocha recipes gifts. Does anyone have any other ideas?
Thanks and God Bless-
Beverley
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Looking For Transfer Rub Paper
I am trying to find (or figure out how to make) the transfer paper that we used as kids to rub on a face shape, then choose hair, eyes, ears, nose and mouth to complete the picture.
I know it was a waxy type of paper and we could also rub the colored sunday comics and transfer them to another piece of paper.
I know there are tracing books for kids that allow them to complete faces, but I really want to find that waxy transfer paper that we used as kids in the 40s and 50s.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Marty
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Help, I dont have a whole lot of money and it's Christmas time!
It's Christmas time and I'm low on cash. I've asked my mom if she will pay me a little extra money if I did odd jobs and she agreed but i still need more to cover my family. I was also thinking about making my own gifts for everyone but I'm not sure what everyone would want. I have the pickiest brother in the world, he asked me to buy him a 100 dollar chair for him, so far that's all he wants. I don't have that kind of money. Should I make him something? Any ideas? He's 19, we are an irish family, he likes rap music and progressive rock (OAR and Wheezer). He also has a white Ford truck. If you have any homemade ideas, let me know.
Thanks,
Molly
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Felt Gingerbread Man Ornament
I had a pattern for a snowman ornament that was made out of brown felt with a gingersnap for the face and another gingersnap for the stomach area. A face was attached to the face cookie and a red ribbon bow was attached to the neck. The pattern fit store-bought ginger snaps and was a darling decoration for gifts and for a tree. If anyone has this pattern, I would really like to get a copy of it. Thanks to any who might have information about this.
Marty
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Cheapest Cell Phone
I am looking for the cheapest, absolutely basic cell phone I can find. I borrowed one that was supposed to have unlimited calling, but after a certain number of minutes there was a charge of 40 cents per minute!
Are there any cell phone services with which one can use a calling card, getting the cost down to 3 to 10 cents per minute?
I want to buy a phone without a contract, Is there such a thing?
Any suggestions?
Marty
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Looking for Feather Bed Advice
Please tell me about feather beds, the under sheets, the over sheets and how to clean.
Thanks for any help!
Sandra
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Old Fashioned Cloth Doll Patterns
I'm looking for old fashioned cloth doll patterns. I can't seem to find any of the plain kind of "Raggedy Ann" type.
Tess40
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More Reading:
Light Bulb Santa Ornaments
By Monica Resinger
Here's a great way to recycle light bulbs! Make a bunch of them to hang on
the tree or give as gifts. This also is a great craft to sit down and do with
the kids.
View Article: Click Here
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