Daily Thrifty Tips - June 29, 2006

Free Photo Organizer From Google

"Picasa is software that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC. Every time you open Picasa, it automatically locates all your pictures (even ones you forgot you had) and sorts them into visual albums organized by date with folder names you will recognize. You can drag and drop to arrange your albums and make labels to create new groups. Picasa makes sure your pictures are always organized."

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Picture of the Sunset in Denton Texas.

By Trish from Lubbock, TX

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When planting a peony, try planting it within the bounds of a permanent structure like a metal windmill to keep the plant standing upright. Additionally, continue to push the stems back inside the braces of the structure as it grows.

By Elizabeth Bouchard from Massena, NY

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Don Vito is a 7 month old short haired guinea pig. We adopted Don Vito a while back from a local petshop who has local rescued animals up for adoption. Don loves to eat and ...hmm eat and oh eat. He also loves to talk to you. If you make little squeaks, he will reply everytime.

By Michele from New York, NY.

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Benji is our 11 month old Lhasa Apso. I bought Benji from an advertisement on the internet from a breeder. I bought him when he was just 10 weeks old.

Benji loves the garden and has a favourite spot just under an old shrub. He lies there to chew on whatever chewy toy he's taken outside. He loves to play fetch and when he wants to be cute in order to get treats he'll do all of his tricks to get attention.

He's a really loving little boy and loves to snuggle up on the settee at night when we're watching the TV. He's a real part of the family and loves to come visiting with us.

By JeanieMagic from South Wales, UK

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If you are painting and don't want to get paint on your shoes or the floor throughout the rest of your house, tie plastic grocery bags over your shoes. Then tear off the grocery bags when you need to leave the room you are painting and put on a new pair before you re-enter the room. It's not very fashionable but it does the trick.

By Fisher

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Don't throw away the remaining "Lansinoh" tube remaining from your breast feeding. It can be used for any burns, cuts or as lip balm. I use it all the time. I got a big tube as baby shower gift and a small tube in the hospital.

By Tanya from Chelmsford, MA

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When cooking, I keep a crock or bowl on the counter for food scraps. This saves trips to the trash can and prevents food odors in your kitchen trash can. The bowl can then be washed with your dishes. Even better, I recycle my used gallon size plastic bags to line the crock or bowl. Clean up is a snap. Just seal the plastic bag and toss in your outdoor garbage can.

By blueheeler1998 from Lakeville, OH

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I have found that a cheap and easy way to increase security with deadbolts and door locks is to buy a box of 3" screws to secure the strike plate instead of the puny 3/4" screws that commonly come with a lockset. I figured this out one time when I was looking at getting new door locks and noticed there was different "security levels" with the locksets. The only difference I could see with the higher security lockset was longer screws for the strike plates.

By Roger from Hampton, VA

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I used to just pour mouthwash into a bathroom cup without measuring. Now I know I was wasting a lot of Listerine. The recommended amount per use is just 20 milliliters. I noticed the plastic dispenser cup on one of my almost empty cough syrup bottles also used milliliter measurements, and it is clearly marked to aid in dispensing. I now keep that cup on top of the mouthwash to measure the exact amount needed. This is saving me money.

By Bobbie G from Rockwall, TX

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For my 2 year old son's "Old MacDonald" themed party, I used empty egg cartons for the favors. I filled them with plastic easter eggs which had inside them little toys, animal cookies, and stickers. Then I handed them out while my son was opening his gifts so none of the kids felt left out.

We sang the song while opening gifts, when the part came to decide which animal (or not so animal) noise to make, the person giving the gift has a "solo!" We had everything from chickens that said "quack" to fish that went "blub, blub" and barn doors that creaked!

By Malinda from Sausalito, CA

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If you are painting, an hour or two spent preparing the room will have huge a impact on the final result. Remove molding, outlet covers, and light fixtures so that they don't get paint on them. Anything that you can't remove, cover with plastic or masking tape. Your reward will be a much more attractive and professional looking paint job.

By Fisher

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Frugal For Life

A great blog with posts about frugal living.

More Information:
http://www.frugalforlife.blogspot.com/

I recently came across some dried lavender flowers. Does anyone know of a website or ideas for soaps, scrubs, etc. I would also like to find out how to make my own lavender oil. Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Elizabeth Gellise from Midland, MI

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We had a few zucchini ready for picking yesterday, so we picked them. This morning I went to check on the garden and all 3 of our plants are limp and the leaves look like they closed up for the night! What on earth is happening?

Hardiness Zone: 5b

Sarah from Delaware, OH

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I just bought a pot of asiatic lilies (3 stems). I was wondering could I just grow them in a pot instead of ground? What about next year? Are they going to shoot in the pot for next year? I am a totally newbie at gardening. Any advice is welcomed.

Helen from London, Ontario

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We just moved into a rental townhouse. I am pretty sure who ever lived there before us had a litter pan in the upstairs linen closet. It does NOT have a urine smell, but more like the actual kitty litter itself. I have tried several things to get this smell out -- washed the closet down, aired out the shelves in the sun, baking soda in the bottom -- I am at a loss now. Someone please help me, I have been in this place for 3 months and it makes my whole upstairs stink if I leave the door open, and my linens are still in a basket beside the closet. Ugh!

Monica from Ontario. Canada

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I would love to hear other people's camping hints. Here are some of mine:

• I save plastic bowls (margarine, cottage cheese, etc.) to use when camping. I keep plastic baggies to use, also great for leftovers.
• I save foil pie pans to cover with foil to keep food hot.
• I purchase cookware at yard sales and keep those items in a large tote to carry out to the picnic table.
• I keep most of my condiments in a baggy so I usually have a variety of stuff.
• I put clothing in a gallon size baggy with underwear, a shirt, and short. I then seal the bag as airtight as possible which saves space keeps clothes dry. It's also great for smaller kids going on vacation to fix a bag for each day (maybe two).

Hope these suggestions help others and maybe someone has thought up some more.

Have fun camping!

Pat from TN

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I broke the smooth glass on my cooktop. Any where I can buy cheap replacement? Or do I have to replace the whole thing (cooktop/oven).

Linxie from Tampa

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My whites always come out grey or yellowish. What can I do?

Vanessa from Ohio

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Any ideas on a homemade hardwood floor cleaner (shiner). The store bought (Orange-Glo) work great but so expensive. My entire house is hardwood floors.

Vinnie from Saugerties, NY

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I would like to know what is more energy efficient: Using central air with ceiling fans OR using window fans with ceiling fans to cool the house. I really wonder because the central air only comes on when needed but the window fans are running constantly and are set at the highest settings. Does anyone know?

Michelle from Newark, DE

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I went to my 25th high school reunion on Saturday. it was good to see people but my best friend was not there. Everyone has lost touch with her. I googled her name yesterday and actually found something, but it is old. Is there a place I can go that is free and look for someone?

Thank you,
Sandy from Baltimore, MD

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I would like to know if someone has a homemade recipe to make my hair healthy and grow fast. I would like to have a long hair. If you do, please post it here.

Thanks a lot,
Hanouda from St. Louis, MO

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My first year gardening using 'natural predators', so maybe your knowledge about spiders would help answer my question. I know that having spiders in the garden are beneficial since they eat insects. But do they do this for their whole life cycle or just during their infancy? I am wondering if it best to keep the spider webs up (to catch those insects for them) or not.

Hardiness Zone: 9a

Jaime from USA

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My dog is 2. He was crate trained but he pees in the house when I leave him to go to work for 9 hours. How do I stop this he is ruining my carpet?

Erica from Dallas, TX

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Just a warning to people who own Macintosh computers and need to get them repaired. I sent a G4 iBook in for repair and when it was returned, it was missing the 512 of RAM that was in the secondary RAM slot. The logic board was replaced, so it certainly had to be taken out to make the repair, but the tech never noted that it had the 512 MB of RAM. So it's as if it never existed. They refused to do anything about it. Has anyone had this type of problem before? What did you do? Any advice would be appreciated.

Lewis

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I am looking for a recipe for peach pound cake. The ones I have all contain cinnamon, which makes the cake dark. I want a different color batter.

Thank you,
Bertie from Ohio

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When is the best time to prune a (star) jasmine plant? I haven't done this yet so how much can I prune it? Do I cut it back a little or way back? Do I have to to this during a particular season or anytime I am up for a bit of gardening work?

Hardiness Zone: 9a

Jaime from USA

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I am a single parent and I only get paid at the end of every month. Like all parents, I have my child involved in an extracurricular activity. I cannot make it with one paycheck each month. I thank God for my transportation, however, I am putting oil in the car at least twice or three times a week and that takes money. I really need some sound advice.

Kitten from Laurinburg, North Carolina

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How do you remove slug slime from your skin, fingers and hands?

Dale from Marysville, WA

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I am looking for tips for removing perspiration stains from white t-shirts.

Carol from Buffalo, NY

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Can anyone recommend a gentle homemade facial scrub for a 55 year old lady with a non-problematic skin? There are so many suggestions in here, I have no idea which is right.

Thanks,
Ya'ara

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Eversave

Sign up for Eversave and receive saving alerts from the nations leading brands via email and local coupons.

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If you have a downspout on the side of your house or garage that directs water away from your house, you're potentially letting a big part of your water bill wash down the rain gutter. Just 1 inch of rain on a 1000 sq ft roof yields a whopping 62.3 gallons of water! While this water might not be fit for human consumption, reclaiming it for use on the yard and garden make good financial and environmental sense.

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Selecting High-Quality Celery: Celery loses its crisp texture when frozen, but it still suitable for use in cooked dishes. Select crisp, green, tender stalks, free from coarse strings. The ribs should be firm and rigid, snapping crisply when broken in half.

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