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Thrifty Tip Contest
(August 27 - September 2, 2011)

This contest is over. See the winners and other entries below.

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Duration	Entries
August 27 - September 2, 2011	61

Tip: A Treat For The Birds

leanne chaisson

September 1, 2011

Before cleaning a greasy frying pan, wipe it out with a slice or two of bread. Feed the bread to the birds in your yard. Birds flock to this treat, which is a good source of nutrition for them and makes washing the greasy pan easier.

Comment Was this helpful? 21

Tip: Gift Idea Envelope

leanne chaisson

August 30, 2011

Does your husband or significant other never know what to buy you for your birthday or other special occasion? Create a "gift-idea envelope" for each of you.

Comment Was this helpful? 18

Tip: Quick Aluminum Foil Funnel

dorothy wedenoja
Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 170 Posts

August 28, 2011

If you are in a hurry and need a funnel just double a sheet of aluminum foil and then roll in a funnel shape. It works for me!

Comment Was this helpful? 16

Add Cardamom To Ground CoffeeAdd a cardamom pod while preparing coffee for a richer and more fragrant smell.

3 Comments Comment

Cumin and Mint For IndigestionTake 2 tsp of cumin and boil it with 1 glass of water. Add a few mint leaves and let it simmer till it reduces to half a glass. Strain the mixture and add sugar as per taste and drink it.

3 Comments Comment

Doily pinned to outside of lampshad

Doily to Brighten Up Drab LampshadeI recently set myself up a little table for just paperwork, radio and desk calendar. The only shade I could find to fit my lamp was a bit drab. I was unpacking crafts when I ran across a Michael's doily that I only paid $1.00 for.

3 Comments Comment

Framing Pictures CheaplyI love photos. In fact, almost all the wall hangings in my little beach home are pictures that I took; friends or prints, even shells and a sand dollar from a special friend. This could cost a pretty penny if I went and had it done professionally. Instead most of it, I have done myself.

Guidelines for First Time RentersYour first place is like establishing credit. Start out right and it's smooth sailing. Make bad choices and it will follow you. Some pointers from my years of managing property are here, so I hope they help.

Keep Zucchini/Banana Bread FreshThe end piece of cake bread tends to be dry anyway. I slice the end very thin and after I get the next piece, I put the end back on bread and wrap up. Next slice is always fresh.

Maximizing Small SpacesI used to live in a small one-bedroom apartment with my 4 year old son. We didn't have a lot of room so the space we did have was very important! Some of the inexpensive and easy ways I used to maximize space were:

1 Comment Comment

Mini Greenhouses Made From Water JugsI use large, clear, round plastic water jugs from the grocery store as greenhouses. I cut them with a coping saw and leave a small attached area. I put the seeds inside in proper soil and close the top.

1 Comment Comment

Removing Permanent MarkerAs a teacher, once when I was preparing for a class, I used a permanent marker on the new dry eraser board. I read the marker and found EXPO's 1-800 number and called it for help. You can erase permanent marker by writing over it with another marker and wiping it off with a tissue.

2 Comments Comment

Plastic shoebox in file cabinet drawer.

Shoe Boxes Double Storage in File Cabinet DrawersI was setting this shoe box on my open craft file cabinet drawer, and I accidentally put something heavy inside the box, and it fit right in! Imagine my surprise when it not only fit but closed!

1 Comment Comment

Use Boiling Water to Peel PeachesThe easiest way to peel a lot of peaches for canning or freezing is to bring a large pot of water to a boil and fill the kitchen sink with cold water.

Using Shampoo and Conditioner as Body WashSave the soap, people! Don't buy another bar of soap or container of liquid soap. I have found that the cheapest WalMart brand hair shampoo and conditioner combination work well.

3 Comments Comment

Waking Up the TroopsI have one child who does not like to get up in the morning, so I set two alarm clocks. The one by her bed is set fifteen minutes earlier than the one that is set across the room. By doing this, she has extra sleep time or time to lounge in bed before having to get up.

Are You Ready For An Emergency?What everyone recommends is 3 days worth of everything such as WATER; drinking water and water for cleaning yourself up. In a case where we know it's going to hit, have everyone take showers or bathe and be clean. Fill tub up with water.

1 Comment Comment

Don't Overbeat CakesNever over beat the egg and sugar mix as this causes incorporation of more air in the cake which will cause the cake to rise initially while baking and then fall. One minute of beating using egg beater on high speed is sufficient for a good soft cake.

1 Comment Comment

Make your own crustless sandwiches for school lunches.

Homemade "Uncrustables"My 2 girls take a bag lunch most days for school and neither cares for the crust of their sandwiches. I hated buying the frozen uncrustables from the store because of the price so I decided to make my own.

6 Comments Comment

Know The Rules Of The Road When You TravelWhile planning your road trip vacation, don't forget to check the rules of the road, especially out of your province or state. For example, in Canada, cell phone use is banned while driving in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador.

2 Comments Comment

An active yard sale in the front yard of a house.

Labor Day Weekend Yard SaleUsually Memorial Day and Labor Day are big yard sale days, but I have noticed it depends on your area. Let's be positive and say your area is big on yard sales these days. Labor Day is just around the corner.

3 Comments Comment

A pot of tomatoes growing on a patio.

Preparing Flower Pots for WinterI love my flower and vegetable pots. As I've gotten older, growing my favorites in pots helps make gardening easier and lower maintenance. I like to buy used and even damaged pots at garage sales, cheap, and restore them with glue, paint, and TLC.

Reuse Dishwashing Liquid Bottles For BleachDon't throw away those empty dishwashing liquid bottles. Wash them out and fill them with bleach. The plastic caps open easily and close securely.

5 Comments Comment

A bag of frozen peppers.

Saving the HarvestSometimes I find veggies at a super price, but don't have enough cash to buy enough for canning, or I find a small amount at reduced price, but still high quality. Well, freezing them is the perfect solution.

5 Comments Comment

Old cell phones on wood desk

Sell Your Broken or Unwanted ElectronicsThere are a number of online services that accept your broken or unwanted electronics and give you money in return. My son has a number of cell phones. For two of them, he can get $30.

2 Comments Comment

Cleaning Paint RollersI clean my paint rollers and remove them from the arm of the roller. Paint still remains of course. So, I put the roller in a large plastic Ziploc bag and freeze it. The next time I need a roller, I let the bag defrost or take the frozen roller and put it in hot water.

1 Comment Comment

Leave Blouses ButtonedI have arthritis and don't like tight clothes; so, even my cotton blouses are loose. That means that when they are buttoned, I leave them that way all the time. They are easy to get over your head like a T-shirt, easy to leave on the hanger, and easy to throw on when you don't have much time.

4 Comments Comment

A plastic dartboard used for storing crayons.

Plastic Dartboard for CrayonsThis was not being used anymore because the kids could not get the darts to stick on it. They would throw the darts at the board, and the darts would hit sideways and fall to the ground.

2 Comments Comment

Store Paprika In RefrigeratorPaprika has always been the first spice to end up with bugs in it. If you will keep it in a jar with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator from the time you buy it until the last of it is used, you'll probably never see a bug.

6 Comments Comment

Stretching Coffee with EspressoAs coffee prices rose, I started using less, but it didn't taste as good. Now I have started to experiment with espresso. I added it a little at a time, until I got a great smelling, tasting, flavorful cup that is satisfying.

T-shirt for Soon-to-be Big Brother or SisterShort-circuit sibling rivalry! When you know a new baby is coming into a home with an older child, make a personalized t-shirt for the older one(s) using plain t-shirts and fabric paint.

Use Facecloths to Keep CoolThe heat in Europe is fierce these days, and I had been suffering until I remembered a trick I learned in Africa, but is surely well known in the southern USA.

4 Comments Comment

Use Flat Bottom Sled for Garden WasteI use a flat bottom sled for garden waste. I find it very easy to pull all year round, and it holds tools as well as garden weeds. I put an old dog leash on the sled by using hooks through each end to put through the holes on each side of the sled.

2 Comments Comment

Use Short Grained "Pudding" Rice For RisottoArborio or carnaroli rice, the kinds that cookbooks recommend for making risotto, are extremely expensive. I always use ordinary short-grained white rice which is much, much cheaper, the kind called "pudding rice" in Britain as that's what it's generally used for.

Zipper FixAs a fix, I have rubbed a #2 pencil on the zipper. It sometimes does the trick. Also you can try rubbing the zipper with bar soap. Anything is worth a try so you won't have to replace the zipper.

2 Comments Comment

A wall with picture frames around words.

An Expensive Looking Home For CheapI love decorating and pore over magazines and books for ideas. So many of these ideas are way over budget for me. What I do is take the pictures of the ideas I like best, and go to places like thrift stores and even the dollar store and I look for similar items and styles.

2 Comments Comment

Have a Cleaning ScheduleI find it's easier to keep up on the housecleaning if I have a cleaning schedule. It's also easier for my 4 year old son because he is learning that each day we have different chores and he knows what is expected.

1 Comment Comment

An apron stocked with helpful household tools.

Keep Apron Stocked for Household ProjectsSwapping the rooms in my apartment has been a huge undertaking. I get up each day and put on my denim apron with all the stuff in it I need to do what needs to be done without walking all over the place.

5 Comments Comment

Keeping CeleryIf you unwrap celery when you get home from the store, then wrap it tightly in aluminum foil and refrigerate, it will last for several weeks. I always had celery go bad very quickly until I found this out.

2 Comments Comment

Keeping S.O.S. Pads LongerI use S.O.S. scouring pads for scouring pots and pans. When I'm done, I put the pad in a little plastic baggie and pop it in the freezer until the next time I do pots and pans.

5 Comments Comment

Pack An Overnight Bag With Your LuggageWhen making a trip and you need to stop for one night, pack a overnight bag with the things you will need that night. Also, pack one set of clean clothes for the next day for self and other family members. I also include basic toiletries.

1 Comment Comment

Product Review: Bradford Exchange Illuminated PicturesDo not buy any of those Bradford Exchange LED illuminated pictures! We bought a Kinkade one about 6 years ago. We never even turned the lights on that often, usually only when we had guests, all the bulbs have either burned out or are so dim that they're hardly lit at all.

Quick Crab CakesI use Zatarains crab cake mix and a package of imitation crab meat when I make crab cakes. I just use the basic recipe on the box. The imitation crab meat substitutes really well for real crab and the crab cakes taste really good.

Storing Collectible Toys for the Future

Storing Collectible Toys for the FutureMy son got married and left dozens of StarWars and other collectible cars, toys and beloved things from his childhood jammed into a crate. I wraped each one individually in a brown lunch bag and taped the top shut.

2 Comments Comment

Styrofoam Fun GlobeRarely is there recycling in small towns for Styrofoam. A green and fun thing to do with Styrofoam is to use it to make fun globes. Fun globes are similar to snow globes.

Substitute Canned Turnip Greens For SpinachI wanted to make a spinach frittata recipe, and forgot to get the spinach!

1 Comment Comment

Write Names On Class PictureEach year when your child's class picture is taken, make a copy and write the names of each classmate over their respective photos. This way, in years to come when your child looks back at the pictures, they won't be at a loss for the names of their childhood friends.

1 Comment Comment

A patch of brightly colored coleus.

Your Spring Garden for PenniesMany plants, including those considered annuals in your area, can be over-wintered indoors and used as starts in your spring garden, whether it be in the ground or in containers, or both.

1 Comment Comment

Caring For Unvarnished Wood FurnitureAn easy way to care for unvarnished wood pieces. Make a mixture of the juice of one lemon, strained and 1/2 cup olive oil. Rub the mixture on unvarnished wood with a sponge, and the wood will shine.

Cut Down Straws For ChildrenWhen my husband saw our grandchildren were having difficulty getting those long straws to their mouths when we ate out, he pulled out his small pocket knife and snipped the straw down to a length which they could manage.

5 Comments Comment

Get Every Bit Out Of The Lotion BottleTo get that last bit of lotion out of the bottle, heat one cup of water in a two-cup measuring cup, in the microwave for a minute or two. Then set the almost-empty bottle in the hot water and let it sit for a few minutes.

11 Comments Comment

Hummingbirds And "Four O'Clocks"For the first time, I have hummingbirds in my yard. For the first time, I grew salvia coccinea, and the hummers love it. I also have petunias, nasturtiums, and some "four o' clocks" that I've heard hummingbirds like, but have never seen them at those flowers.

2 Comments Comment

Making Seed TapesContrary to popular belief most seeds will germinate for several years. Now is the time to make seed tapes from those leftover seeds from this year's garden.

2 Comments Comment

Making Shower CurtainsI was reading all about shower curtains on here, on how to wash them. I made one and I cut it about a foot from the top all the way across. I sewed a zipper on it and now all I have to do is unzip it and wash the bottom part. I don't need to mess with the hooks.

7 Comments Comment

Prevent Muffins And Cupcakes Sticking To LinersDo your muffins and cupcakes stick to the cupcake liners? I now give each cupcake paper a quick squirt with nonstick baking spray before I put the batter in, and have had great success.

1 Comment Comment

Use Coffee Grounds To Deter SlugsI found out by accident one day that slugs hate coffee. I had spilled some from my cup while working in the garden and a slug nearby reversed course and "ran" away from the coffee. So I began saving used coffee grounds and sprinkling them around my plants.

2 Comments Comment

Castor Oil For Christmas CactusIf you add 2 Tbsp. of castor oil around the roots of a Christmas cactus in October, it will bloom in December.

3 Comments Comment

A kitchen towel with a ribbon to keep it on the oven door.

Keeping a Towel on Oven DoorI had a towel on the oven rack that kept slipping out. Putting it back in was a pain, as the slot between the handle and the door wasn't very wide.

2 Comments Comment

Reuse Pasta Sauce/Pickle Bottles For Food StorageUsually every month, I ended up with 7 or 8 empty pasta sauce or dill pickle bottles. I started of thinking how efficiently I can use them, apart from their regular dry food storage. Here are the tips.

Fight Foot Odor With CoffeeThis was one of the most interesting experiments I ever did before with my shoes and boots. I got curious one day. I kept buying foot powder that was too expensive and would cause allergic reactions to my skin, even if I'm wearing socks.

2 Comments Comment

Hang extra hangers on a closet rod in the shower.

Spare Room for HangersBecause I am a crafter, I am always needing hangers. But, even with a 6 by 6 foot walk in closet, my clothes take up one side and the vests half made take up the other. So, I got a $.97 curtain rod and nailed one side to the wall, hanging the other side on the shower rod.

2 Comments Comment

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