Money & time saving ideas

I usually hang my clothes outside on a line too. Last month we had a very rainy month and I had to use the dryer a lot. When the bills arrived, I figured that it cost me about $50 to run the dryer!!

I save rain water to water my indoor plants as well as to water the garden.

I compost and recycle everything I can.

We keep our heat down low and wear sweaters. In the summer we keep the blinds down to keep the heat out. Our house came with central AC, but we never turn it on!

 

Saw this on another site and thought we could use it here, too.

And all this time we've just been putting Bounce in the dryer! Most of these should be done with used sheets.

It will chase ants away when you lay a sheet near them.
It takes the odor out of books and photo albums that don't get opened too often. Repels mosquitoes. Tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season.
Eliminates static electricity from your television screen. Since Bounce is designed to help eliminate static cling, wipe your television screen with a used sheet of Bounce to keep dust from resettling.
Eliminate shock - keep one in your coat pocket to help eliminate that nasty shock you can get from touching your car, esp in winter.
Rub a used sheet over your panty hose to get rid of static cling.
Dissolve soap scum from shower doors. Clean with a sheet of Bounce.
Freshen the air in your home. Place an individual sheet of Bounce in a drawer or hang in the closet.
Prevent thread from tangling. Run a threaded needle through a sheet of Bounce before beginning to sew.
Prevent musty suitcases. Place an individual sheet of Bounce inside empty luggage before storing.
Freshen the air in your car. Place a sheet of Bounce under the front seat.
Clean baked-on foods from a cooking pan. Put a sheet in a pan, fill with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. The antistatic agent apparently weakens the bond between the food and the pan while the fabric softening agents soften the baked-on food.
Eliminate odors in wastebaskets. Place a sheet of Bounce at the bottom of the wastebasket.
Collect cat hair. Rubbing the area with a sheet of Bounce will magnetically attract all the loose hairs.
Eliminate static electricity from venetian blinds. Wipe the blinds with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from resettling.
Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sand papering. A used sheet of Bounce will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.
Eliminate odors in dirty laundry. Place an individual sheet of Bounce at the bottom of a laundry bag or hamper.
Deodorize shoes or sneakers. Place a sheet of Bounce in your shoes or sneakers overnight so they will smell better in the AM.
I also heard that by putting one near or by where mice come in, it will keep them out of motor homes, campers, etc.

I got this in one of my emails from a friend so I don't know who real author is.

 

I don't use mine because of the saving money thing! Plus your clothes last longer if you don't use one.

muddy

 

I have too many seasonal allergies to hang my clothes out. I can control the allergies as long as I control how much I am outside, but to heve pollen in my clothes all day . . .

I can just see the headline
"Woman Sneezes to Death in North Carolina"

 

Close off all vents in rooms not being used.I have one room that isn't used but ever now and then so I close the vents.

 

plant markers

Don't throw away old or broken mini blinds. Cut up the good slats to use for plant markers. I usually round one end and cut the other into a point. If you don't have any old ones, I recently bought a brand new set at the Evil Empire (aka wal-mart) for $2.50.(hubby threw away the old ones I had saved) I got about 180 markers from that one small set.

I will use permanant marker to write on them. The ones I did last year are still legible.

 

Save by buying cheap chicken.

I save lots of money on meat by buying Chicken quarters by the large bag full..48 cents a pound and freeze it in separate bags..........
then i make soup or oven fry chicken , or any chicken dish I want.............
It goes a long way to feed a family.

barb

 

I always save any chicken bones after we have eaten. Throw them into a pot with some water and boil 'em up. Then I have home-made chicken stock to can or freeze. If I don't have enough to boil at one time or don't have the time to do it, I toss them into a freezer weight zip top baggie til I'm ready.

 

Ham and Beef soup................

I also use fresh bone from Ham, and beef....

Makes delicious soup.. We eat the ham mostly off it and boiling in water with cabbage and tators or rice or barley.......Or green beans.
Nothing like it.

Beef soup I use either bones or a roast fresh and cut up in tiny pieces............Add bouillion cube.Beef
And carrots, cabbage, tators, beans, or whatever you like......

barb

 

It is nice to know what is in our stock. No high fructose corn syrup, etc.

 

yes it is

It is also healthier too.
Fresh.......I make lots of extras and pass them along to my married son's & his family..
They appreciate it now that baby makes 3.....

I freeze lots of whole mades and keep till someone needs it .......I enjoy helping.
I've a large garden as well as flowers.....keeps my mind in a good shape.. Ha ha

barb

 

OK, more "found" garden supplies:

Lately, we have been getting "jugs" of kitty litter instead of the big buckets. I cut them off just below the handle, poke holes in the bottom, and use them for containers. Right now, I have a row of them across the ledge on the end of the trailer. They blend right in.

Then, I uase the plastic that is left around the handle as plant markers. Just cut it apert and shape how you like.

 

OOH! OOH! I just remebered a cooking "tip"!


I was baking LOTS of zucchini bread this summer. I do not own mini loaf pans, and did not have the $ to buy them. I started thinking about the "gifts in a mug" books and the special flower pots for baking a friend has.

So, I experimented, and discovered that a clean tuna can works wonderfully. You could use any can that is shorter than it is tall.

They come out about the same size as a giant muffin.