Daily Thrifty Tips
Volume Three, Number 188, November 20, 2004
http://www.ThriftyFun.com
Hello,
I hope everyone is having a relaxing weekend.
Thanks for reading,
Susan
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Today's newsletter contains:
Today's Tips:
- Make Your Cut Flowers Last Longer
- Watching Waste And Saving Money
- Ants in the House?
- Presoaking Silverware and Utensils
- Emergency Numbers
- Parking the Toy Cars
- Using Stale Bread
- Keep Reflector Tape In Your Car
- Starting Trees (and other plants) From Slips
- Composting Fall Leaves
- Dehydrate Bargain Priced Fruit
- Velcro Your Cellphone To The Dashboard
- Dealing with Ring-Around-The-Collar
- Important Event Next Day and You Have a Pimple?
- Removing Grease And Grime From Dishwasher
- Keeping Pan Lids Organized
- Long Hair Styles
- Alternative Uses for Dryer Sheets
- Uses for Ice Cream Buckets
- Refilling Hand Soap Dispenser
- Saving Money on Meat - Buying the Biggest Roast
- Stop Crying Over Sliced Onions
- Stuffing Muffins With Soup
- Make Your Own Air Fresheners
- Cleaning the Toilet
New Requests:
- Getting Vaseline Stains out of Laundry
- Recipe for Fish Cakes
- Making Mini Pies Without Tart Pans
- Cheap Outdoor Holiday Decorations?
- Removing Hair From Hairbrushes
More Reading:
- Easy Angel & Snowman Ornaments
- Things You Should Never Feed Your Dog
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Today's Tips
Make Your Cut Flowers Last Longer
Mix two tablespoon of both, sugar and vinegar to a quart of water. Mix it well. Place flowers in a vase, and add needed amount of this mix in vase.
Sugar feeds and vinegar keeps your flowers fresh.
By Gladys Hill
View Article: Click Here
Watching Waste And Saving Money
The best way to save money is not to waste ANYTHING! Don't use more water than you need (saving you the cost of the water and the heating of it). Don't waste food. For everything you throw out you are throwing dollars out the door. I cleaned my fridge the other day and found a bag of salad mix that we had only used 1/2 of before it got shoved to the back of the fridge where it froze. $1.00 thrown out!
Don't run your car longer than it needs to be run (wasting gas). Do only full loads of clothes and if you use dryer sheets cut them into 1/3s or 1/4s. They still work the same but you save $. Same with laundry soap. Don't use more than you need and if you have to wash a smaller load of clothes adjust your water level and your soap amount.
Don't overfeed your pets. Don't overfeed yourself either. Turn out lights not being used and turn off tv's and stereos not being used. If you think about it on an average day people waste so much. You have to THINK ABOUT IT!
By Sandy Schmeling
View Article: Click Here
Ants in the House?
I am allergic/chemically sensitive to a almost all bug sprays. I had a friend tell me this tip and have used it ever since.
Fill a used squirt bottle (mustard or ketchup bottles, cleaned and washed work really good) with the hottest strongest ground cayenne you can find. Find every hole you see a ant come thru and fill with the cayenne. Seems to work for me.
By Leila78238
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Presoaking Silverware and Utensils
When cleaning up the kitchen, I put all the silverware and cooking utensils in a jar or bowl with hot soapy water. By the time I'm ready to wash dishes, caked on gunk has softened and cleaning is easy.
By Lynn
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Emergency Numbers
Keep an easy-to-reach list of emergency phone numbers by the phone and teach your child how and when to use them. If the child is too young to read but can pick out numbers, place pictures of a police officer, fire truck, etc., with the appropriate telephone numbers in larger writing next to each picture.
By Tracey
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Parking the Toy Cars
My daughter just loves little cars. So instead of stepping on them each and everyday. I saved a bunch of the apple juice containers. Cleaned them out, cut a hole in the front of them and made her some "garages" to park her cars in when she is done playing with them. We have 6 "garages" of parked cars on her play shelf.
By Tracey
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Using Stale Bread
Don't throw out stale bread or buns. Keep in baggie in freezer and use to make dressing or bread pudding.
By Anne
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Keep Reflector Tape In Your Car
Lets hope this doesn't happen, but if you become stranded at night and need to make your car seen. Put a large X of reflector tape across the inside of the trunk lid and on the inside of your hood. Lift the trunk and hood, and your car can be seen from a distance.
By Tracey
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Starting Trees (and other plants) From Slips
I have used several methods for starting plants for my own use. I once moved on to property that had no trees. Early the next spring, with the blessing of a neighbor, I clipped very thin branches that where long and straight and more then 3 ft long and had buds barely cracked. I put them in 5 gal pails with warm water to which I add willow starter tea. I then changed the water daily by overflowing the pail (not letting the tree slips out into the air). I continued to watch them and eventually about 30-40% sprouted roots (which is good for free). This method works best with the soft wood trees I found.
Organic Willow Starter Tea (must be fresh)
It is made by boiling about a quart of water on the stove for about 15 minutes, then adding at least one heaping measuring cup of soft willow branches. The branches are prepared by stripping the leaves and cutting them into about one-inch lengths. The point is to get the branches from the current years' growth that has a thin bark. Also, recommended is to smash them with a hammer. The willow branch clippings are dumped into the boiling water; the heat turned off; stirring occasionally; and left covered to cool overnight. DO NOT BOIL THE WILLOW ITSELF. This steeps out the chemicals that are beneath the bark. When cool (overnight or longer) the woody clippings may be strained off. The solution put into a clean quart jar and capped. It is best if it is used up within three days. This solution is then used for soaking the cutting ends in overnight before planting them in starter medium.
By Muslimaleila
View Article: Click Here
Composting Fall Leaves
When raking your leaves, instead of putting them out to the road for pick up --- Put them in large trash bags, in spring you have ready made compost, use in your veggie or flower garden. also can be used to "refresh last years soil" Be sure to poke a couple of holes around the bag for air circulation. I never throw away valuable leaves, put them on or in you compost pile or compost maker. You can rake them in piles, or if you have a shredder on your mower, shred the piles with your push mower, or just leave the shredded leaves that you mulch with your mower on the lawn, gives great nutrients for you lawn over winter. Do not throw away, Natures finest, use them to cover your plants in ground, use them to protect your roses over winter.
By Rosa
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Dehydrate Bargain Priced Fruit
When you find fresh fruits on sale, buy a big amount and dehydrate it. Your pantry can hold only so many jars. A dehydrated item can be stored in an air tight bag or in the freezer and uses a lot less space.
By Gladys Hill
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Velcro Your Cellphone To The Dashboard
I've seen so many Velcro tips that I just had to submit mine.
This is only for people who drive cars with a carpet-like dashboard cover. In Australia they are quite popular and keep the car's dash from cracking.
Use the Velcro dots on the back of your mobile (cell) phones so that you can secure your phone to the dashboard cover and easy to access if it rings or you need to find it in an emergency. No delving into the black cavernous handbag.
Of course, make sure that you are careful about using your phone when you're driving. In my state it's illegal to drive and use my phone at the same time (makes a lot of sense really). I have to use a hands free kit. So if you're planning to use your phone while driving, it's best to do so wisely.
Cheers
By Bev Cull
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Dealing with Ring-Around-The-Collar
Vinegar
Vinegar works great in the laundry to remove the yellow ring-around-the-collar and yellow spots in the under-arm areas of clothing.
By Robin
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Important Event Next Day and You Have a Pimple?
You don't need the expensive medicines from stores or drug stores. When it flares up, touch pimple with a tiny dab of toothpaste, at night. It will help dry up the pimple.
By Gladys Hill
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Removing Grease And Grime From Dishwasher
Buy lemon or orange powdered drink mix. The inexpensive brand will do.
Fill the soap dispensers with the powdered mix and run through normal wash cycle. This will leave the inside dishwasher very clean!
By Gladys Hill
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Keeping Pan Lids Organized
To keep my lids to my pans organized, I purchased a wire dish drainer and placed it in the cupboard beside my pans. I slide the lids in the slots the same you would do for plates and I no longer waste time and cause a lot of racket looking for the right lid. If some lids are too thick to fit into a slot you can remove the wire that holds the lids/plates into place to make it wider.
By Tammy R.
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Long Hair Styles
Growing your hair long can save money on hairdresser appointments. Long hair styles tend to "hold" a style longer than those short styles that require precision shaping, so you can go for longer periods of time between haircuts. (This tip comes from personal experience with my straight hair, and may not be true for curly-haired folks.)
By Lynne from Albuquerque
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Alternative Uses for Dryer Sheets
One more use for those old dryer sheets - I wrap mine around my toilet paper holder. Every time you take a sheet, it freshens the air for free!
By Glynda Lomax
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Uses for Ice Cream Buckets
I live in a small house so storage is always a problem. One of the things I do is to save the large plastic ice cream containers and lids to store small odds and ends. They stack well on our garage shelves too.
Another use for the plastic ice cream containers is to hold water for our two large breed dogs. I try to keep 2 of them full of water. This way I only have to add/change water about once per day. With two big dogs, they drink a lot of water, especially in the warmer months of the year.
By Robin
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Refilling Hand Soap Dispenser
Next time you need to refill your hand soap dispenser, use inexpensive bubble bath. I purchase a 32 ounce bottle for about a $1.99 or less. And they come in various colors and scents!
By Liza, Ontario, Calif.
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Saving Money on Meat - Buying the Biggest Roast
When I buy a beef or pork roast, I buy on sale and get one of the largest they have. We are a family of 4 and the roast will last us for 3 of 4 meals that way. Usually this is even more economical than buying the cheapest hamburger.
By Robin
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Stop Crying Over Sliced Onions
Peel onion under water. When ready to slice, run a small piece of bread, cut through the middle, up on the blade next to handle. The bread will help absorb the fumes.
By Gladys Hill
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Stuffing Muffins With Soup
I saw this idea on tv the other day, I think it is such a cool timesaver.
Take any stuffing recipe, and scoop it into muffin tins, then bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes of until crunchy on the out side.
You can also make a quick and easy matza-ball-like soup with it!
Take a can of chicken or turkey stock and heat it up with any leftover vegtables you have on hand. After it comes to a low boil pour it cafefully over the muffin into a small soup bowl. YUM!
Juniorbaker
View Article: Click Here
Make Your Own Air Fresheners
Making The House Smell Good
To make my house smell good in a hurry and to save money I simply add a few drops of vanilla extract to a small pan full of water. I also add whole cloves and cinnamon and let simmer on lowest heat for an hour on the stove.
By Tammy R.
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Cleaning the Toilet
To save more time when cleaning the bathroom. Before going to bed drop a denture cleaning tablet in the toilet bowl and may also be used in the tank as well. Let sit overnight and in the morning you can make a quick pass around the bowl with the brush and then flush!
By Tammy R.
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New Requests:
Getting Vaseline Stains out of Laundry
Does anyone know how to get vaseline stains out of laundry? I regularly cover my hands in vaseline at night while wearing cotton gloves. Somehow one night, a glove came off and I got vaseline all over the sheet and pillowcase. It already went through the washer and dryer.
- Leann D
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Recipe for Fish Cakes
Can any one help me with a recipe for fish cakes? I made it once before and lost the recipe. It calls for grated raw potatoes, chopped onion, chopped fish. I think we added flour to the potaotes,onions and fish and then made cakes to fry, but I cannot remember what held it all together.
Thanks,
Susan from Hamilton
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Making Mini Pies Without Tart Pans
I absolutely LOVE making pies! But I would love to make mini pies for thanksgiving instead of the traditional 9". Sort of like tarts I guess. But I really don't want to buy and tart pans, I was wondering if I can use muffin tins and if anyone had a recipe. Thanks in advance! :)
Juniorbaker
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Cheap Outdoor Holiday Decorations?
How can I decorate the outside of my home on a limited amount of money?
Jazzlyn
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Removing Hair From Hairbrushes
I'd like to know how to remove hair from hairbrushes with plastic bristles, like the kind used for blow-drying. I soak my brushes in a ammonia solution but getting all the hair off is tedious. Any suggestions?
Jeanne from Wisconsin
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More Reading:
Easy Angel & Snowman Ornaments
By Amanda Formaro
There are plenty of holiday and seasonal ornaments you can make
with few supplies and a little creativity. Here are some to get you
started, but be forewarned! Once you begin, you may not be able to stop!
View Article: Click Here
Things You Should Never Feed Your Dog
By Aaron Wilmont
Unfortunately, there are a number of household items which we tend to take for granted that are potentially very dangerous to your
dog's health. It is especially important to be aware of this because as you know, dogs are essentially scavengers and will often eat just about anything
they can sink their fangs into. I would say that may own dog is more like a mobile garbage disposal. It is also very important to be aware of these items
since their sense of smell is so well developed that your pooch will be able to find what you may think is well hidden.
View Article: Click Here
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