November 3, 2004

Decorate a Vase Like a DollIf you have extra, empty vases, cover them with cloth of your choice. Place a heavy object in bottom to keep the vase from falling over. Buy Styrofoam craft balls or doll heads to fit in the vase opening. Add facial features to Styrofoam balls.

 

No Burn Cookie BakingI bake all of my cookies on a stoneware pizza pan. Any stoneware oven piece is perfectly good. I spread a very thin layer of oil on. Just enough to coat it but not enough to fry the cookies.

 

Taming A Snake To Keep Out DraftsDrafts from under doors or windows can be blocked by laying a handmade "snake" across the crack. Make a tube out of material or use a knee sock or several socks sewn together. Stuff the sock with any bulky material, and then sew up the open end.

 

Free Investment Advice at the LibraryInvestment newsletters that give advice on buying and selling securities can cost more than $500 a year, but you can often pick up free investment advice by looking for those same publications in your local library.

 

Don't Lend The IRS Your MoneyAvoid tax refunds. Getting one usually indicates poor tax planning. It means that you have overpaid your taxes throughout the year. What's worse, you're not even collecting interest on the funds you're "lending" to the IRS.

 

Cleaning Baby BibsBabies are messy eaters. Bibs tend to stain badly. I've found an easy way to keep my baby's bibs as nice as possible..

 

Trash NightOn trash night in our neighborhood my mom and myself take the pickup and go around to houses and look at their trash. (We don't dig through it, we look at it.) This is legal from what I hear because once someone has put trash out it is fair game. We have found things from perfectly good toys to play outside, to antique furniture that looks great and has that old look and feel to it. By Casey

 

Paying Bills Online - Save Money on StampsMost utility companies, credit card companies, etc. offer the option of paying your bill on-line. This is an easy way to save money on stamps, checks, and bank processing fees.

 

Reprogramming the Universal RemoteIf you are using a universal remote it will lose its programming when you change the batteries. Instead of having to look up the correct code, etc., write the code on the remote-either inside the battery cover or on the back.

 

Safe Baby and Adult WipesRecipe for baby and adult wipes using water, baby oil and baby bath or shampoo.

 

Dealing with GreaseI use a cleaned out mayo jar to store my bacon, hamburger, tuna grease/oil in. Store it in the fridge until full, then toss in the trash when it's full. This saves it going down your drain and clogging it up or smelling up your trash, or worse yet, leaking through and getting everywhere. By Andrea from MI

 

Saving Money on DeodorantTips for saving money on deodorant. Post your ideas.

 

Instant Oatmeal For OneWhen making a single serving of oatmeal, put the oatmeal (not the packet kind - too expensive!) into the bowl, then pour boiling water in, and stir. No boil-overs! By Linda

 

Flea Prevention Saves MoneyPrevention and maintenance are the keys to saving money in many areas. For example: I failed to use the between-the-shoulder-blades flea preventative on my dog this summer. As a result, I had to deal with a nasty flea infestation.

 

Coffee Can Paper Towel HolderDecorate an empty (large) coffee can with contact paper, or decoupage. Place the cover on the bottom. It's just the right size to hold a roll of paper towels on your counter. I have an entire canister set made of matching decorated coffee cans : ) By Doggy

 

Keeping Track of EarringsDo you have a hard time keeping up with earrings? Here's a thought. I bought 4 plastic ice cube trays. In each of the cube spaces I put a single pair of earrings. They stack easily and you can see 12 at once and find the pair you are looking for in a jiffy.

 

Coffee Can Ash ApplicatorA coffee can makes a handy shaker for applying ashes to your garden. Simply punch holes in the plastic lid with a leather punch, fill the can with ashes, and you're ready to go.

 

Saving Money Toothpaste?Tips for saving money on toothpaste. Post your ideas!

 

Empty Wine Bottle Gift Ideas?We recently attended a wedding where homemade wine was served with special wedding day labels. We have saved a few empty bottles and would like to fill them as a Christmas gift to the newlyweds. Any suggestions what we could fill the bottles with?

 

How do you reduce the risk of mold on stored clothes?We have a lot of baby clothes that we would like to store now that she has grown. I purchased some of the clear plastic, flip-lid boxes from Home Depot, and we have put the clothes in plastic bags.

 

Garbage Can Organization?Does anyone have suggestions for storage of outside garbage? We have a lot of squirrels and my teens don't always put the garbage in efficiently. I was thinking of some kind of little shed but am trying to keep the cost down as 4x8 pressure treated wood is about $25 a sheet-any thoughts?

 

Discontinued Wallpaper?We get a lot of requests from readers looking for wallpaper that has been discontinued or is just hard to find. Feel free to submit your request for wallpaper in the feedback forum below.

 

Christmas Basket Food Wrapping?I have decided to make baskets of homemade goodies this year - brownies, cupcakes, cookies, etc. I am trying to come up with a festive, inexpensive way to wrap them and keep the food fresh. The easiest (yet less-thrifty) method I can think of is red and green cling wrap courtesy of Glad, but I'd really like to do something less expensive. At the same time, I plan to make them several days before Christmas (and gradually), so I don't want the food to get stale/yucky before delivery. Thoughts? TIA!

 

Grandma's Cupboard Wallpaper?Patricia from Wisconsin: I'm looking for a few rolls of discontinued wallpaper. It is from the Warner "Grandma's Cupboard" book, stock # CUP7181. Thanks for your help.