November 27, 2004

Baking Apples in the MicrowaveYou 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.

 

ThriftyFun News November 27, 2004 - Christmas Gift Advice and TraditionsOnline version of the ThriftyFun News. Christmas Gift Advice and Traditions. Volume Six, Number 46 November 27, 2004

 

Store Addresses On The ComputerFor 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.

 

Light Bulb Santa OrnamentsHere'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.

 

Dusting Big Screen TVsWith 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.

 

Friendship BallsI purchased a Friendship ball for my best friends several years ago to avoid the increasing costs of Christmas gifts while our own families have increased in size!

 

For A Frugal Face RoutineWash 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:)

 

Discounted Paint at LowesWhenever I visit my local Lowes home improvement store, I check out the discounted paint rack. These are 1 gallon and 5 gallon pails of tinted paint that someone did not purchase.

 

Composting Pet HairPet 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!

 

Feeding Big DogsWe don't like to buy the generic brands because they are full of nothing but filler. The higher quality brands are so expensive, though, that I have found a good alternative. Try buying your dog food from a feed store!

 

Building With Recycled WindowsGlass 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.

 

Firing Small Clay ItemsYou 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

 

Line Trash Can With An Extra BagIn 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.

 

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?

 

Felt Gingerbread Man Ornament?I'm looking for 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. The pattern fit store-bought ginger snaps and was a darling decoration for gifts and for a tree.

 

Hamburger Jerky Recipe?I saw an idea in here from about a year ago about how it was cheaper to make beef jerky from hamburger but there were no directions. Can anyone help?

 

Favorite Stores?What is you favorite store to shop at and why?

 

Living Green?I would like to see a section on Living Green, for the environmentalists in our group. Being involved in an anti-landfill project as well as being on the local earth day committee, I'd love to hear what other communities are doing to keep their air, water and earth a pristine place to live. Lois Ann from New York

 

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

 

Composting Pine Needles?Please share your thoughts and "Do's and Don'ts" for composting pine needles. I have to circle the wagons and the troops and rake up all of them. I want to fill up the new 'wiz-bang' recycled plastics composter I purchased from the local landfill district office (It's about 42" high, and 4' across). Thank you! ~Ooo~ Bill in SE Mass.

 

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