free movies!

This afternoon, on my way out of Kroger, I noticed there was an automatic rental machine between the two exit doors, with coupons in a cubby on the front. The coupons were good for one night's free rental on one in-stock movie. I had never used one of these machines before, but they seem rather convenient and affordable. There is a straightforward fee of $1.00 per night, per movie. The movie we rented tonight will be free as long as I can return it by midnight tomorrow night.

I also like the cases they distribute the movies in, as they are felt-lined & seem less harsh on the DVDs. (If we pay for one more DVD rental that skips throughout the movie, I might swear off rentals forever.)

The selection wasn't nearly as extensive as the Blockbuster a few doors down, since they only carried new releases. But, I see it as a great option to those times when the movie you want to see already has 126 people on the waiting list at the library. Or when you want to watch a movie on a Saturday night, but the library is already closed.

By the way, the movie we chose for tonight was "Polar Express." I'd have to say, I really enjoyed it -- mostly because it was obvious that the animators who made the movie were thoroughly enjoying themselves. And I think each of them had the chance to throw in some of their personal style. It was a mish-mash of animation styles, but congruent nonetheless. I would highly recommend it.

holiday photo gifts

Many of us parents like to buy holiday photo gifts for Christmas. This Christmas, I plan to buy a calendar (or 2) and a photo book (up to 4 of the exact same photo book). Since prices can vary wildly from vendor to vendor, I'm listing the going rates for December, 2007.

Snapfish
Calendar - 18.99
Photo books - 5.99
note: duplicate items receive 25% off automatically

Photoworks
Calendar - 17.96
Photobooks - 12.99
note: Photoworks creates many of their photo books on the highest quality, archival paper, but you will definitely pay for it, to the tune of $69.99 on the higher end

Winkflash
Calendar - 9.95
Winkbooks - varies, but starts at 3.99 for a small book plus 89 cents each additional page
note: your "winkbooks" could get expensive very quickly, considering most photo books are 20 pages or more

All prices listed are the starting prices. As options increase, so do prices. :-)

Christmas Season Job Ideas

Whether they're employed outside the home full-time, part-time, or not at all, many people take on an extra job around the holidays. Tightwaddy folks in particular are more prone to picking up extra hours. Aside from meticulous year-round planning or a windfall Christmas bonus, there's just no other way to avoid pulling out those credit cards. Here's some ideas for seasonal or occasional work. As you make your way down the list, hopefully you'll find something that meets both your interests & talents.

Babysitting
The Christmas season is a busy one for all families, increasing the need for good babysitters. If you have children of your own, you can often tag them along. One of the best ways to get babysitting business is word of mouth. Other ideas include hanging up flyers at the library, the grocery store or church.

Retail
Retail work is the first seasonal job that pops in our minds during Christmas. Its benefits include the massive amount of opportunities available, as well as the higher hourly wage that seasonal workers often make. Its drawbacks are few, and mostly apply to families. Since the hours are long, busy and sometimes inconsistent, it can make scheduling a real headache. Plus, this is very rarely the type of job where wee ones can tag along.

Catalog call centers
If you have one of these in your town, they often hire seasonally to handle the increase in calls. While you likely can't bring your kids to work, you will most likely get predictable hours.

Fed-Ex
Like clockwork during the month of November, Fed-Ex starts posting its signs for seasonal workers. Again, no children allowed, and you'll also have to be able to handle physical labor for several hours at a time. But, you will get predictable hours and you can make money working off those holiday calories, therefore saving money on a January gym membership.

If none of these seem up your alley, be sure to check out your local Craigslist. Start by searching the keywords "occasional," "temporary," "on-call," or "seasonal" in the jobs section. If nothing you like comes up that way, browse the pages of the industry you prefer.

And don't forget that Christmas is buying season everywhere, including consignment shops and eBay. If you have things to sell, now is a great time to try.

30 Days of Tips - Supper in Seconds

Tip #30: To save yourself from unexpected dining out bills, bookmark a site like our sister site, Supper in Seconds, for busy, rushed, or sick days. All recipes require only 5-10 minutes of hands-on preparation, making these homecooked meals even faster than a restaurant!

30 Days of Tips - Butter Wrappers

Tip #29: If you purchase your butter or margarine in sticks, don't ever throw out another wrapper! Stash them in a plastic baggie inside the fridge & use them to grease baking dishes. This works surprisingly well, and doesn't contain any chemicals or vinegars that can harm certain baking dishes.

30 Days of Tips - Christmas Gifts that Save

Tip #28: Does anyone commonly ask you what you or your family wants for Christmas? Or do you like giving gifts that save money for the recipient year-round? Consider these Christmas gift ideas that keep on saving.

• an Entertainment coupon book
$30 or so on the front-end can easily save hundreds throughout the year.
• a large toaster oven
An oven in a busy kitchen often consumes the second largest chunk of energy money next to the furnace. With its smaller size and zero preheating time, a double-tray toaster oven can significantly reduce that bill for somewhere in the range (no pun intended) of $100.
• passes to local museums & other attractions
What is more fun than taking off to the museum on the spur of the moment? That's quite possible with a membership pass. Family passes often pay for themselves in less than 3 visits.
• time-saving cookbooks
Cookbooks are a popular gift idea, but the ones focused specifically on time-saving meals can save the most money over the long-term. It's always the times when we are stressed, hurried, or sick when we want to blow our grocery budget on dining out. Meals that only require 5-10 minutes of hands-on prep time could save $30 with each use.

30 Days of Tips - Hosting Dinners

Tip #27: Eating out can be extremely expensive and is a common budget buster for many families. We struggle with this in our own family, even though most of our dinners out are treats from our parents or other older family members.

If you have a relative that commonly takes you or your family out to dinner, consider hosting a dinner at home instead. They can provide most (or all) of the food and you will provide the space, ambience & clean-up. Your relative will probably spend less than half of what he or she would have spent at a restaurant and you will be able to keep the leftovers for an extra meal or two later.

30 Days of Tips - Winter Energy Savings

Tip #26 - For extra winter insulation, try using fabric on exterior walls, especially if you have an older home (which were often built without insulation inside the exterior walls).

Ideas include hanging extra-thick "winter curtains" over the windows or hanging rugs or quilts on blank exterior walls.

30 Days of Tips - Halloween Decorations

Tip #25: Try these ghostly cheap Halloween decorations.

Make small ghosts from a white washrag (or square of fabric) wrapped around a few cottonballs. Tie tightly just under the cottonballs to form a little ghost head & body. Draw or glue on eyes, mouth & other details. Put an ornament hook through the top of the fabric for hanging.

Make a large ghost by hanging a white sheet over a tomato cage. Stuff with a small pillow on top & tie if desired to form a head & body. Cut out eyes & put a lamp (no candles, please!) under the ghost to make him glow or draw on eyes with black or glow-in-the-dark paint. Consider a blacklight lamp under your ghost for a strange effect.

30 Days of Tips - Halloween Candy

Tip #24: Don't groan until I finish this tip for all the parents of trick-or-treaters out there. When you purchase Halloween candy, purchase candy you like because if there is any left over, you'll be able to enjoy it. If you run out of candy, hand out the candy that your child has already received that your family doesn't care for.

I know it's tempting to think it's "too tacky," but let me ask you: is it better to buy more candy than you actually need, thereby stressing your wallet and increasing the demand for unhealthy foods, and then ending up with a bunch of candy you'll never eat that you have to either throw away or constantly fight over with your children? I would prefer to redistribute the candy we'll never consume.

When you dump the contents of the little plastic pumpkin into your hand-out bowl, just do it inside, not on the front porch, OK?

30 Days of Tips - Storing Large Containers

Tip #23: Large items can throw in a wrench in the best storage plans. But using those items as storage containers themselves can open up more space & create a more intentional, less cluttered look to your home.

Here is an example of over-the-refrigerator storage. Inside the fabric-lined canner, you'll find dog leashes, toys & bones. Inside the orange canister, you'll find dog treats. Inside the basket in back, you'll find our dog's supplement powder on one side and clothes pins mixed with a child's garden tool set on the other. And finally, way in the back, we've placed a tall open basket lined with a paper bag that houses old batteries until we can take them to the trash center on a toxic waste day.



Why does TTT spend so much time on creative storage? Because most of us have a single largest payment each month...the one we make to our mortgage company. By deliberately choosing to live in a smaller home, we can significantly reduce this expense. However, living in small spaces requires constant creative solutions, lest we risk becoming so dissatisfied that we start eyeing the larger homes.

30 Days of Tips - Filtered Water

Tip #22: Not only does chlorinated tap water taste bad, it is also not very good for your health. The problem is that the cheap filtration systems (the pitcher & faucet mounted types) don't filter out chlorine & the filtration systems that do are very expensive.

Try this homemade solution. Since chlorine will evaportate out of the water given enough time & air, let your water sit on the counter for 24-48 hours before running it through an inexpensive pitcher filter. In time, it becomes an easy system to maintain. Before bed each night, fill your water containers & set them out. Use the oldest one first for the least chlorinated water.

30 Days of Tips - Handmade Cross Ornaments

Tip #21: Here's a rainy day activity that can double as a Christmas gift when complete. Thanks to L for contributing this activity!



Cut one pipe cleaner into a 2/3 piece and a 1/3 piece. Wrap the small piece around the large piece to make a cross shape. Thread on beads of your choice. Twist the ends to "seal." Twist the top to form a loop to hang from the tree.

30 Days of Tips - Wall Art

Tip #20: Don't spend money on wall art. For larger pieces, try maps, photo collages, or themed item collages (think dried leaves, small twigs, dried flowers or flower prints on a warm-toned fabric background for a Fall theme).

For smaller pieces, try framing children's artwork, old magazine covers, or make your own art. If you aren't confident enough in your drawing or painting ability, consider stamping or stenciling.

30 Days of Tips - Saving Socks

Tip #19: Don't throw away holey socks. Cut them off straight across the top, sew the seam with as little allowance as possible (for comfort) & pass them down to the next-sized person. Dad passes holey socks to mom who passes hers to teenage child who passes to youngest child.

Even socks that aren't your style are warm & comfy under winter shoes.

30 Days of Tips - Coffee Savings

Tip #18: If you drink coffee every day, don't dump out leftover coffee. Refrigerate it for up to 3 days for mid-day iced coffee. If you prefer your coffee sweet, you can make a simple syrup by mixing half sugar with half boiling water. Stir to dissolve the sugar & store the syrup in the refrigerator for up to a month.

30 Days of Tips - Cheap Lodging

Tip # 17: We are planning a trip in two short weeks that will require us to find one night's lodging. After an hour or so of research, I came up with some alternative ideas to a standard motel.

Since our destination is in the south, a camping cabin appears to be our cheapest option for a family. Camping cabins range in price from $35 per night to $150 or above, depending on size & amenities, such as bathrooms, kitchen areas, & linen service. If you are willing to walk to the group bathroom & bring your own towels & bed linens, a basic 10' x 13' sleeping cabin should be found for under $40. These almost always include beds or cots. Note that a camping cabin is very different from a "chalet." Chalets are upscale cabins popular in mountainous tourist regions. They are usually far more expensive than a motel.

Another great option for a single traveller or a couple is a hostel, which I was surprised to find in both US cities that I searched. I had always assumed hostels were only available abroad, but there are in fact many operating here, particularly in more "liberal" or college-oriented towns. Hostels can have dorm-style sleeping only, or some have private rooms available. Most hostels charge by the person, and the average price in the two towns I searched was $22/person making it quite expensive for a family. Private rooms were advertised between $50 and $75. The draw to a hostel was the community atmosphere, the full use of indoor bathrooms & kitchens, & the proximity to the college area. If my husband & I were travelling alone, this would have been my first choice. Things to notice when you search for a hostel: Is there a curfew? How is the security within the hostel (lockers, etc.)? Is there a minimum or maximum stay allowed?

Many homeowners are renting out all or part of their homes on a nightly basis. You can check the classified section of the local independent paper to find these listings. Prices can range from $50 to $200, depending on the size & location of the home. The benefit to renting this way is that you usually aren't charged extra per person, so large families could be quite comfortable for the same price as a motel.

Of course, camping in a tent remains the cheapest overnight option short of sleeping in your own car. Tenting tips deserve an entry of their own; however, you could expect to pay anywhere from free (in state or national parks) to $22 for a campsite with electric & water available.

30 Days of Tips - Snack Dip

Tip #16: If you like sour cream dip for veggies or chips, try this inexpensive, all-natural recipe. To sour cream or unsweetend yogurt, add garlic powder, onion powder (or minced onion), dill & salt.

For an inexpensive fruit dip, try cream cheese & unsweetened yogurt in equal parts, mixed with brown sugar, molasses or honey. Add chopped nuts or vanilla extract if desired.

30 Days of Tips - Toy Sailboats

Tip #15: Save those styrofoam mushroom containers for a perfect rainy day activity: sailboats! Take an empty mushroom container & poke a straw into the bottom (cut off any bendy part at the top). Attach a construction paper triangle to the top of the straw & enjoy watching your sailboat float away.

Kids can float their sailboats inside the bathtub or on sunny days, in a swimming pool. On rainy, rainy days, what's more fun than sailing the boat down the street?

30 Days of Tips - Large Scale Artwork

Tip # 14: Finding artwork for larger scale spaces can be difficult. Bigger pieces of artwork can cost a bundle. From my experience, you can easily find larger frames at yard sales or thrift stores, but the "art" that comes inside is rarely my style.

Try putting maps inside those thrift store frames for an inexpensive large wall decoration. National Geographic magazine puts out lots of different kinds & styles of maps in many color schemes. Try a "Peopling of the Ancient Americas" map in rich hues of brown and red for a study. Or try a "Solar System and Beyond" map in cool black and white for a boy's room. Maybe a map of your favorite European country would look great in the dining area (especially with artisan bread served on the table).

Look for maps of all kinds at thrift stores, yard sales & used book sales. And don't forget to put the word out among family and friends -- almost all of our maps have come to us that way!

30 Days of Tips - Recycled Paper Sources

Tip #13: When you're printing something just for use in the home, like a recipe, map directions, copies of articles for your spouse, or activity pages for the kids, don't use a fresh, clean piece of paper when you can use free paper instead. When you keep your eye out, you will quickly find lots of recycled paper sources.

Try the backs of these:

• employee paperwork, like codes of conduct, policies, announcements, etc.
• any mail that comes in a 9 x 12 envelope
• articles given to you by friends or family that you've already read
• church paperwork you don't need to save
• extra copies of materials you prepared for a group

If someone in the family works in an office, they could set up a small scrap paper collection area. Usually the lid to a paper ream box works great for this. Other office workers are usually glad not to have to throw away all that paper & you can do most of your at-home printing for free. Just be sure to let them know what you're doing so there are no ethical issues.

30 Days of Tips - Workbooks

Tip #12 - For all the home learners out there, when you do workbooks with your children, don't let them mark on the workbook pages. Instead, if the workbook's copyright allows, make a copy of each page you want to use that day. Having an all-in-one copier, printer, scanner makes this very easy, so if you are replacing your computer's printer anytime soon, consider one of these instead of a standard printer. Of course, whenever you're making a copy for one-time use in the home, don't use a fresh sheet of paper. Try recycled sources instead.

If the workbook's copyright doesn't allow for in-home copies & you like to do workbooks together anyway, letting the child "write" with his finger is just as effective for learning the material. Some would argue more so, since you are sitting & learning together.

Clean workbooks have obvious advantages: they can be passed from child to child, traded with other families & sold when you're all finished with them.

30 Days of Tips - Freezing Meat

Tip #11: Here's a tip for freezing meat & other items in perfect serving sizes that comes straight from Amy Dacyczyn in her Tightwad Gazette. I'm allowing myself to reproduce it here because I used it just today and love its simplicity as the perfect solution to my problem.

When we purchase ground turkey, I like to separate it as soon as I bring it home into dinner portions for our family of three. A bread bag is perfect for this job, as you can put in your portion, twist & tie, put your next portion, twist & tie, and so on. When it comes time to use the turkey, simply cut off each section as you need it. (You can't wash & reuse bags that have held meat, anyway.)

This tip also works for rice (we always cook rice in double or triple quantities), turkey burger patties, and summer watermelon.

If you're interested in reading the original idea in Amy's book, pull the first Tightwad Gazette off your bookshelf. If you have no Tightwad Gazettes on your shelf, then that's your far more valuable tip for today: purchase (not borrow) your own copy of the Tightwad Gazettes. Then read them cover to cover, several times a year.

30 Days of Tips - Bulk Business

Tip #10: Certain things really are much cheaper when purchased in bulk. Here are some examples:

• dry active yeast - purchase at warehouse store for $3/pound
• spices - health food stores carry these in bulk for a fraction of the cost of the little grocery store containers
• organic coffee - buy at Wild Oats for $12/lb or buy online from The Organic Coffee company (Spend $30 at once & get free shipping, too. Split coffee with friends or freeze until needed.)
• vinegar for cleaning...always buy the large bottle
• specialty magazines (not owned by the library) you love and/or want to keep for reference....it's always cheaper to get the subscription

30 Days of Tips - Mops and Buckets

Tip #9: Instead of storing a separate mop bucket somewhere near your regularly-mopped area, use your plastic wastebaskets instead. Most of us have a plastic wastebasket in our first-floor bathroom. It needs to be cleaned anyway, so use it as your mop bucket, rinse well when done & no need to store more stuff & get more unhappy with your (lack of) space.

And on the subject of mops, always buy a mop that has a washable head, like a deck mop. You won't have to replace the head for years. Conveniently, these are also usually the cheapest.

30 Days of Tips - Tambourines

Tip #8: A rainy-day activity to file away that takes virtually no special materials.

Homemade Durable Tambourines
Take two coated cardboard dessert plates (like the decorated ones we usually serve cake on at parties). Put a handful of rice or lentils on one & glue the other onto it, face down, with Elmer's glue. The plain, white sides of the plates will be on the outside. Ideally, this should sit overnight.

When the glue is dry, let your little one decorate it however she wishes. Think about gluing on yarn, sparkles, glitter, fabric scraps. Very wee ones can draw or use stickers. When you're finished, put on some fun dancing tunes, like those from Jim Gill, and get some rainy day exercise!

Even easier tip: I like to keep a small stockpile of plates already glued. If you have any extras from a party, it only takes a few minutes to turn them into undecorated tambourines that will be always be ready for an impromptu activity.

30 Days Of Tips - Accept and Give

Tip #7: Graciously accept whatever is given to you & generously give any excess you have. Stinginess begets loneliness begets poverty in many forms.

30 Days of Tips - Long-Term Grocery Savings

Tip #6: For grocery savings that can easily become habits that last a lifetime, consider these ideas.

• visit the asian and hispanic grocers in your area for deals on produce & high-quality ethnic foods
• make your own baby food for baby by pureeing what you are having for dinner before adding your spices & salt
• maintain your garden, harvest often & freeze the excess if you don't have time to can
• scour the refrigerator twice weekly for leftovers that are soon to reach their expiry & freeze them or turn them into that night's dinner
• become familiar with making popcorn on the stove & serve this as your snacking food
• don't waste undesirable parts of meat -- boil for a nourishing bone broth & make a filling meal of soup & bread

30 Days of Tips - Short-Term Grocery Savings

Tip #5: Here are some quick ways to reduce grocery spending when you're in a crunch. Some of these tips would get tiring after awhile, so are most appropriate for short-term savings.

• eat what you have on hand rather than planning menus based on new recipes
• purchase only in season produce
• plan to eat 2 meat-free meals each day -- use cheaper sources of protein for these meals such as nuts, nut butter, beans, cheese, milk, yogurt & eggs
• use your freezer supplies!
• rather than discard dinner-gone-wrong, modify food that isn't your favorite (as long as it's in your diet plan)
• stop buying plastic wrap, aluminum foil & plastic bags -- recycle consumer packaging instead
• stop buying napkins & paper towels -- use cloth instead & designate specific selections for paper towels
• never accept substandard grocery items -- take it back to the store or write the company to receive coupons for free food
• accept any meal invitation that is extended
• vocalize to friends and family that you would love to take off their hands foods they have purchased but didn't like

This is the time to really use your crockpot & to double recipes each time you make them. As the house gets emptier of food, temptation to eat out increases exponentially. If you plan dinner at 11:00 a.m. (and even start it in the crockpot), you'll be safe from this temptation. Trying to pull together strange pantry ingredients at 4:45 p.m. is a recipe for credit card disaster.

30 Days of Tips - Scattering Money

Tip #4: I usually don't give suggestions on investments or how to keep your money or any bank matters at all, really. But I have found this one to be very useful & I want to share it. Most of us suffer from Burning Pocket Syndrome. It's evident in that once we have a certain amount of money banked, we always tend to spend it. Now the amount that we need to have banked before spending varies for each of us, but we all have that dollar amount where, when we see it on our account statement, we start spending. I believe this is a psychological phenomenon, similar to how it feels much easier to put $250 on our credit card than to spend $40 in cash.

So one of my solutions for this has been to scatter our money. We currently have several different bank accounts, none of them very full, but each of them with some small sum. We rarely reach that psychological point of spending, plus, we usually have money to draw on if we decide we need something right away.

30 Days of Tips - Modifying Clothing

Tip #3: Let's face it, there are some great deals to be found at The Crap & all its associated venues. The regular stores have decent clearance racks, Old Navy stores have great end-of-season clearance racks & The Crap Outlet almost always has something on sale for 99 cents. Just tonight, they had all women's & girls' sleeveless & tanks on sale for 99 cents & all men's short sleeves for the same. Problem is, when you get them home, they just hang blandly in the closet along with all the other Crap clothes that look the same as the one next to it as the one in the next house over as the one in the house after that. What to do?

Some ideas:

• dye it, one color or tie-dye
• add vintage elements picked up on a thrift or garage sale budget
• add an image to the front using ink jet iron-on transfers
• add an embroidered or knitted shape to the front
• add a fuzzy collar to a plain sweater from that old boa in your daughter's dress up clothes
• cut jeans into capris into shorts
• use advanced sewing skills to turn a dress into a shirt or a tank into a toddler dress
• buy the "tent dress" for $1.99 & use the fabric for a skirt and a shirt and a tablecloth and a dress for your daughter (I must wonder, who really thinks they can wear a "tent dress" well?)

30 Days of Tips - Nine In Nine Out

Tip #2: Who thinks they could use some more space, raise your hand. Who wants a larger mortgage payment, raise your hand. Now who wants more space with the same mortgage payment? Ah ha, now we're talking.

This is your new rule, whatever comes in, the same number goes out. Nine new articles of clothing at Christmas time? Nine articles to Goodwill the day after. Food & other consumables can be an exception.

On a practical note, the system works best if you keep a box somewhere unobtrusive & fill it with your outgoing items, then donate when full.

30 Days Of Tips

The Tightwad Trainer has returned! A month late & a month more knowledgable, I will bring to the table 30 days of tips! Why? Because everybody loves tips. Because tips are easy to implement. Because tips are short & easy to read. Because I want to reward the tightwads-in-training who haven't removed me from their bookmarks this summer.

Tip #1: Fall in love with handwashing again. This method is great for small loads & helps break the dependency on the automatic washer, plus, you don't have to trek up & down the basement steps. And since it's an organic, hands-on activity, it's more fun, too.

First, figure out what container you're going to use for washing. Ideas include small plastic wastebaskets, empty plastic cat litter containers, plastic mop buckets, plastic paint buckets. Add water, detergent or soap of your choice & small load. Swish with your hands or a long spoon. Let sit for at least a couple hours. Next day, swish again & let sit a bit. Dump out water. Rinse. A laundry basket can be a great container for rinsing. Wring out wet clothes. Hang to dry or lay on heating vent in winter.

what to do with a watermelon surplus

If your family is anything like mine, sometime in late July, the watermelons start piling in. They are a welcome treat at first -- so sweet as to be almost pure sugar. As the weeks go on, though, we tire of watermelon every night; yet, still they keep coming in the house. Once all the grandparents catch wind that their grandchildren love watermelon, they bring them as gifts each week. Leftovers from grillouts make their way home with us. And don't forget the Farmer's Markets watermelons! We have to buy those since the taste is incomparable to supermarket melons.

At least once during each summer, we lose a watermelon to letting it sit too long before cutting it. It's a shameful waste of food. Throwing away 25 pounds of food is embarrassing and very, very not tightwaddy. Finally, we have found a way to use these surplus melons throughout the year. We cut, de-seed & freeze any extra melons (even those not yet rotten but a little past their prime) & make watermelon popsicles.

Have you ever tried making homemade popsicles? They are incredibly easy & you can make them to suit your own diet. They can also be a great way to use up frozen fruit. Watermelon popsicles are probably the best popsicles we've ever made & they couldn't be simpler. Blend watermelon to a juice. Pour into popsicle molds. Freeze. Eat 12 hours later.

Watermelon popsicles are so sweet, you (and your friends) will be astonished that there is no added sugar in them. And if your kids like watermelon, these popsicles are a guaranteed hit.

Get Moving: Figure out what you are going to use as your popsicle molds. Consider small cups or jars covered with plastic wrap & a popsicle stick or baby spoon stuck through the plastic on top. Also, keep on the lookout for plastic pre-made popsicle molds at yard sales & thrift stores. They will be well worth your small investment!

summer break

After much thought, I've decided that TTC will take a summer hiatus and pick back up in early September. The reason is simple: the true work for any tightwad homesteader takes place in the summer. If I want to build up our supplies & reserves for the winter, I can't take 4-5 hours of each week to write.

I plan to continue the current gardening series throughout the summer, but not on any particular schedule. I will probably post new articles on rainy days. : )

I hope everyone enjoys a prosperous summer and I look forward to engaging again in the fall.

-The Tightwad Trainer

gardening on the cheap -- creating healthy soil

Have you started your vegetable garden yet? In our smack-in-the-middle Midwest Zone 6, we get the green light on Mother's Day. Since the weather is 70+ degrees & sunny this week, most of us are busy prepping the garden bed in eager anticipation of Sunday.

My grandparents graciously gave us their walk-behind tiller two years ago. Two years ago, I started with a tiny plot about 4 foot by 4 foot. Last year, I more than doubled the size. This year, I plan to do the same. We have always broken new ground with our tiller, so I have been looking forward to prepping the new ground in under 30 minutes. But, as chance usually has its way at just the wrong time, our tiller last month refused to start. This led me down the path of figuring out alternatives, and as it turns out, the broken tiller was a blessing in disguise as I've learned to look at gardening as less a hobby and more a process of nature.

As we all know, while hobbies can be quite expensive, living in sync with nature is about as free as you can get. So, this year I have even healthier soil as well as several tips to help keep your vegetable garden from busting the budget.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty details, picture this in your mind: you are hiking in the forest. You stumble upon a log overturned on the path. On the one side, you see where the tree has uprooted. There is lots of debris around the spot -- dead, rotting leaves, rotting bark, bugs galore. But, you also notice that there is also very lush new growth from ground plants in that same area. There is a low ground cover and many other taller plants, probably flowers.

Our goal is to recreate this scenario in our own home gardens to help our vegetables thrive as much as those flowers are on the forest floor.

So to begin our summer gardening series, let's look at how we can cheaply create the soil that will feed our plants.

Healthy Soil
The picture I laid out above is a perfect example of healthy soil because it contained lots of decaying plant matter. To recreate this in a home garden, many people like to use compost. Remember that compost is simply decaying plant matter. The easiest way to start a functioning compost pile is to designate a back corner of your property for yard waste & start dumping in there. You don't have to turn the pile over to create compost, but if you do turn it, you'll acheive the desired result faster. Do remember that anything that goes in your compost pile will eventually make it back into your garden, so don't dump anything with chemicals on it (such as pesticides or weed killers) and don't dump any diseased plants back there.

To prepare your garden bed, till only when you're breaking ground for the first time and maintain the bed by using an overwintering ground cover or mulch. In our forest floor scenario, nobody tilled anything. Contrast that with the scenario of new home building. If you've ever had a home built, you'll know that only very hardy weeds thrive on the disturbed soil. The function of soil on this earth is to allow plants to thrive and it does its job quite well without our intervention.

If you have a motorized tiller, use it on new ground, then cover the bed with something that blocks the sun, such as a tarp or heavy layer of newspapers for about a week. If you don't have a motorized tiller, you can simply cover the ground for at least a week, directly over the grass & weeds before tilling. Since covering it will weaken & begin to kill the growth underneath, this will make the ground much easier to till.

After the week is up, uncover the bed. If you're tilling by hand, you can now till the new ground. Concentrate on getting only hardy weeds & grass tilled up. If you have an existing ground cover in that area, you till it less aggressively or leave it alone altogether.

Next, apply about 1/2 inch of compost across the whole bed. If you don't have a compost pile yet, you can find compost under decaying trees in almost all wooded areas you might have (legal) access to. After applying your compost, you can lightly till new ground a second time to mix in the compost. Plan to plant on or after a rainy day.

Mulch helps retain water & prevents water run-off. In layman's terms, you can water your garden less and your plants will be healthier & more resistant to disease & bugs if you use some sort of mulch. Options for traditional mulch include newspapers, cut grass, dead leaves, wood chips, sawdust, shredded non-glossy black & white junk mail, and pine needles (which will acidify your soil, so be prepared to make soil amendments). Living mulch or ground cover can be very effective since you can plant it once & be done -- no need to continually add more.

At the end of the growing season, be prepared to put in a few hours work on your bed to help it build itself while it overwinters. Plan to apply another 1/2 inch of compost across the bed and cover it with a mulch of some sort. Many people like to use newspapers, as they still let in air & water, but block the sun. Others like to sow in a crop like winter rye that will feed nutrients into the soil during this downtime.

Next time, we're going to talk about planning our garden for the most effective use of space as well as each plant's preferences.

thursday Q & A - best investment for extra income

Cyndi writes:

My husband recently switched jobs, and we will have a one year lapse in 401K benefits. We contributed 5% which was matched dollar for dollar by his former employer. I'd like to keep growing dollars somehow while we are without this benefit. What makes the most sense? IRA? Stocks? Paying down debt? Thanks!

Cyndi, from a purely numbers perspective, you can easily compare your options based on what is going to gain you the highest interest rate. For example, you could contribute to a low-risk retirement-oriented investment account. These are currently running at 4 -5%. Higher risk investments might or might not earn you more money. My expertise is not in high-return investment accounts, so I would start by doing a lot of research before choosing that option.

Paying down consumer debt would usually gain a higher return. Paying on a line of credit would give you something in the range of a 7-9% return. A car loan or personal unsecured loan is likely to be around that. Paying down any credit cards that are carrying a balance could earn up to 22%.

Personally, I wouldn't make the decision based on a side by side comparison of interest rates. I would use the extra money to achieve a goal I might not have had the chance to achieve before. Here are some that were or are important to us. Some we have achieved, others we are still working toward. I would welcome the chance to use an unexpected source of income to accomplish things like these:

• A continuing education account for ourselves and/or our children (such as a 539 account)

• A life insurance policy for the main breadwinner

• Classes to teach skills that would either provide additional income or greater self-sufficiency

• Acreage that could one day provide us a homestead

• Building or retrofitting with solar and other renewable sources of energy

• Building or purchasing a slightly larger home

You could work toward goals similar to the last three by contributing to the new types of CDs that allow you to make periodic deposits, but still do not come due until a certain date that you choose.

My larger money picture is a little bit off the beaten path. We funnel very little income into retirement accounts. Instead, we focus on adjusting our lifestyle to not need much money upon retirement. We intend to have a paid-for home that functions mostly on renewable energy with zero consumer debt when we retire. We also intend to have vehicles that can function on a renewable source of fuel (such as biodiesel) and the skills and health to keep things in repair by ourselves. Obviously, we can't guarantee that our health will be in the kind of shape necessary to live that lifestyle; however, we honestly can't guarantee that we (or anyone) will live to retirement age either.

I would keep this one hard, steadfast promise I would keep when using your extra income:

I will not spend that extra 5% on depreciating items of any kind.

If you stick to this one rule, I don't think you can go wrong with your decision.

Good luck, Cyndi, and thanks for writing! Every Thursday (-ish) The Tightwad Trainer will answer one of your questions. Email me at tightwad_trainer@fuse.net and I will do my best to solve your dilemma. Sign your name if it's OK for me to include it!

Annoying but necessary disclaimer: All information contained herein express my opinions only and are based on my health status & location. Each person's situation, health, and local laws & ordinances are different. By all means, use your own common sense & don't do anything you see here if someone more important than me (like your doctor, your local police, your own conscience) would disagree. If you're easily persuaded by everything you read, and you think I might cause you to hurt yourself or break the law, quit reading my site, please.

bill-paying system

We recently applied to refinance our mortgage to take cash out for the purchase of 15 acres of raw land. After they ran the obligatory credit report searches, they sent us a copy of our scores with each of the three agencies. I was very pleasantly surprised to see our scores less than 50 points away from the max in every single agency's report. Remember, I was once a notorious spendthrift and I had the credit scores to match.

I attribute much of our credit report success to our bill-paying system. It is one of the easiest systems I have seen out there and it works so well for us that we rarely (less than once per year) overlook a bill. This has allowed us to have credit reports without a single late payment in the past five years. I don't personally agree with most of the criteria used to determine credit scores, such as the enormous emphasis on a long credit history. In my ideal world, everyone would pay cash or trade for everything and credit would be rarely used and therefore, the history would be irrelevant. However, the credit score criteria is absolutely out of my control and is essentially a game. To win the game, you must avoid late payments. Perhaps our system will work for you too.

Our bill sheet is simply a spreadsheet file entitled "Bills2007." I have four columns in the spreadsheet as follows:

Column 1: the bill's due date
Column 2: the creditor or company
Column 3: the amount due
Column 4: the amount paid

I begin each month with the name of the month and then list the bills under it. My husband is paid weekly, so there are four color-coded sections of each month. The bills to be paid from Week 1 are blue, from Week 2 are purple, and so on. Each time I pay the bill, I fill in the amount paid column with the amount and color code just that amount paid column in red. This makes it easy to see what's been paid at a quick glance.

A single entry might look like this:

Column 1: 18th
Column 2: Duke Energy
Column 3: 186.00
Column 4: 186.00

When new bills come in the house, I have a designated spot near my computer where I stash the bills until I go to pay bills again the next week. At that time, I sort through anything new that has come in and update my spreadsheet with the new bills, putting them in the appropriate week with their due date and amount due listed.

On paper, it's very easy for us to see what bills we have during any given month, so if we're looking to cut expenses for awhile, I can pore over the bill sheet to see how we might do that.

It is also a great budget helper. In most weeks, we owe in bills about $150 less than we have coming in. If new bills have come in, it's easy to see which week we should put them in based on how much overage we have that week and when the bill's due date is. Also, once bills are paid for the week, there is an exact dollar amount left that has to be budgeted for gas, groceries, gifts, savings, giving and entertainment. This is the easiest way I have found not to go over-budget.

One final tip I recommend is to make two or more payments on each credit card in each cycle. For example, if your credit card is due on the 3rd of each month and your allocated payment is $60 per month for that card, list it and pay it twice in the cycle: $30 due on the 3rd and $30 due on the 18th. This one method will eliminate all late charges on your card. Since credit cards have the steepest late payment charges of any creditor we've ever had, this can be a huge savings if you get delayed in your bill-paying process during busy months. If you have any other creditors that charge steep penalties for late payments, try to use the twice-monthly method with those bills, too.

Get Moving: If you don't have a bill-paying system that is working for you (i.e...you are not incurring late charges, each bill is paid on time, & you can easily see what needs to be paid each month), take some time to make one. It may take about an hour to set up the initial spreadsheet, but after that, the maintenance only takes a few minutes each month.

Annoying but necessary disclaimer: All information contained herein express my opinions only and are based on my health status & location. Each person's situation, health, and local laws & ordinances are different. By all means, use your own common sense & don't do anything you see here if someone more important than me (like your doctor, your local police, your own conscience) would disagree. If you're easily persuaded by everything you read, and you think I might cause you to hurt yourself or break the law, quit reading my site, please.

an early mortgage payoff discussion

On Sunday morning, Yahoo! featured this story about whether or not paying off your mortgage early was a sound financial decision. For you Janey's-come-lately that click after Yahoo! changes the link, the ultimate conclusion of the author was that an early mortgage payoff was a poor financial decision because your money would make a better return in even a mildly aggressive retirement account.

As soon as I read the headline, I knew I would disagree. But, I gave the author her fair chance to persuade me & I'm still unconvinced. Here's why.

Above all, I think the author assumes that everyone has the same goal as she does -- to accumulate a lot of money. (She also assumes that everyone who pays extra toward their mortgage principal has a payoff goal of 25 years as opposed to 30. I'm not sure why she makes all these assumptions.) Personally, my goal is not to accumulate a lot of money. My goal is to do what I am clearly called to do, which is to take some financial responsibility for my family's well-being while still filling my daughter's proverbial cup (as Dr. Sears describes) and taking control of our children's education by homeschooling. These goals are much easier to achieve when you don't have that niggling mortgage payment sucking up over a quarter of your net income.

I would venture to bet that although the majority of Americans probably don’t have homeschooling as their top priority, they very well might list freedom. In fact, I would venture to bet that if the majority of Americans were given the choice between loads of money handed over at age 65 or the ability to spend the last 10 years of their working career doing whatever job they choose and not being a slave to the man, they would choose the latter. It probably didn’t occur to the author because, well, authors are usually pretty happy with their professional life since they already have the gig that fulfills them. A writer is a writer from the day she’s born.

The other huge reason that I disagree with this article is that it violates one of our family’s basic principles: always be prepared. If you did get to the link before it disappeared, you probably read the author’s assertion that this silly early mortgage payoff business started during the Great Depression, when over 25% of the population was unemployed. This little factoid is presented as if it is completely contrary to modern economics.

Have you all been paying attention to the unprecedented deficit the current administration is racking up? What do you think it’s going to take to pay that back? Have you also been paying attention to the percentage of tangible American goods that are being produced out of this country? And how most American middle- and upper-class workers specialize in intellectual, intangible goods & services, mostly dependent on a giant web of marketing, rather than any tangible items? What would happen if the public didn’t buy into that marketing scheme anymore? Is it being a chicken little to assume that another Great Depression is completely possible...or even probable? I think it’s naive not to.

So how’s that retirement money (you know, the money that you can’t touch without penalties of 10% or more, if at all) working for you when the bank is seizing your property and leaving you without shelter for your family? And even worse, what happens when that high-return (read: risky) account crashes and you don't even own the land your home sits on?

It all boils down to what your goals are. If you love your job, would love to retire in that field & your biggest goal is either to accumulate wealth for its own sake or to make a major purchase of some sort, then your best bet might be to funnel your extra funds into a retirement account. But, if your career is low on your fulfillment list & you could see yourself doing a hundred more interesting things before you die than what you do for 40 hours every week, don’t base a lifestyle decision on the numbers and the math. And don’t be satisfied with cutting just 5 years off your mortgage.

If you value security & freedom over wealth, here’s my advice: first, build yourself an emergency fund of 6 month’s bare bones expenses. Next, pay off all your creditors. When allocating your money to different creditors, be sure you can allocate at least enough money to those persnickety credit cards so that they will be paid off in no more than 2 years. If there’s any money left over, put it toward your mortgage. Not just once a year, but every single month. And of course, make do with what you have, now and for always, and never, ever rack up any more debt for depreciating items. In the end, you’ll be sitting in the exact position that most people dream about, even if it’s not what pads your investment portfolio.

Get Moving: I can’t say it enough. You must figure out what your goals are or you could have all the money in the world and it would be useless.

Here’s some keywords to think on...do you value your time? Traveling? Your home? Your career? What would you change if you could? Your job? Your self-esteem? Your experiences? Your time (or lack of time) for family, church, hobbies? I truly believe we all know what we’re called to from the time we are very little. Sometimes we forget or push it away, but deep down we know. That thing you keep coming back to? That thing you’re probably thinking of right now? That’s it.

Keep reading this site and you will get there one day, because once you get the financial monkey off your back, just about anything worth acquiring is possible.

Annoying but necessary disclaimer: All information contained herein express my opinions only and are based on my health status & location. Each person's situation, health, and local laws & ordinances are different. By all means, use your own common sense & don't do anything you see here if someone more important than me (like your doctor, your local police, your own conscience) would disagree. If you're easily persuaded by everything you read, and you think I might cause you to hurt yourself or break the law, quit reading my site, please.

alternate laundry detergent recipe

In this post I gave a basic 3-ingredient laundry detergent recipe. I've used the recipe off and on for a couple years and I have always found it adequate; however, it has its drawbacks.

First, it's not what I would consider "natural." The Fels-Naptha soap burns my hands after 15-20 minutes of exposure during the grating process. In fact, it prominently states on the soap's label to wear gloves when handling. Also, the Borax in the recipe contains boric acid, a known pesticide, used mostly on roaches and other hard to kill nesting bugs.

Second, while its cleaning job is adequate, it is in no way outstanding. I always practice stain prevention because I know that while using that particular laundry recipe, I will have to pre-treat all stains or they will set in during laundering. In other words, you can't just pile 'em in the basket & dump 'em in the machine if they have stains unless you're comfortable with stained clothing.

Unfortunately, I'd never found another homemade laundry detergent recipe at all until now. I can't give personal feedback on the effectiveness of the new one because I actually just ordered a starter bag of Charlie's Soap before I found the recipe so I need to work through that bag first.

But if you have the same lackluster response to the Fels-Naptha recipe that I do, you might want to give this one, found on the Gentle Christian Mothers message board a try!

1 cup of Castile Soap
1 /3 cup of Salt
1 cup of Dissolved Borax or Washing Soda (Optional)
1 cup of Vinegar (Optional)
40 drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract. ( Optional)
1/2 gallon of hot water

In a gallon jug, dissolve the salt & Borax or washing soda. Add the rest of the ingredients & shake well to mix.

From what I've read, this is not just a laundry detergent, but also a great all-purpose cleaner. And if you substitute baking soda for the Borax or washing soda, you can even use it in your automatic dishwasher.

If anyone decides to give it a try, let me know how it works out!

Get Moving: If you haven't discovered the cleaning power of pure castille soap yet, you're missing out! It only takes a little to cut through greasy grime on porcelain sinks, easily mop any kind of floor, or even wash little hands. Next time you're in the store, take time to locate the liquid castille soap (Dr. Bronner's is the well-known name brand) and see if your budget will allow for a bottle. If you have Trader Joe's nearby, you can pick up a large bottle of the TJ's brand peppermint castille for only $4.99.

Annoying but necessary disclaimer: All information contained herein express my opinions only and are based on my health status & location. Each person's situation, health, and local laws & ordinances are different. By all means, use your own common sense & don't do anything you see here if someone more important than me (like your doctor, your local police, your own conscience) would disagree. If you're easily persuaded by everything you read, and you think I might cause you to hurt yourself or break the law, quit reading my site, please.

Thursday Q & A - credit cards vs. cash

Lara writes:

I heard the other day that people tend to spend more money when paying with plastic (debit or credit, and even if they pay if off every month). What's your opinion?

Lara, as you might have read before, the financial gurus will always tell you that the first step in your decision to increase savings and reduce debt is to go on a cash system. The reason is that consumers do tend to spend more -- often much more -- when using credit cards. Using a debit card where the money is directly transferred from your checking account is a step in the right directions; however, it still will increase spending.

Why is this true? Well, first the psychological aspect plays a huge role. I remember in my spendthrift days (yes, I was once quite the spendthrift!), I would think nothing of pulling out my credit card for a $120 purchase at Ann Taylor. I assure you that if I had to hand over six $20 bills, it would have been very hard to make that purchase. Using plastic allows us to separate ourselves from the money so much that it never seems real. When I pay with my debit card, I see columns of numbers in my head, represented on my bill-paying spreadsheet. It's very different imagery when I pay with cash.

The second reason is that it's ridiculously easy to go over your self-imposed limits when you use cards instead of cash. For example, if you had $100 in your checking account after paying bills, you might leave it there to cover gas for the week, a trip you plan to make to the drugstore, and a gift you need to buy. But then, two days later, while browsing the fabric store with a friend, you find a great deal on fabric that would be perfect for a project you have in mind. You pull out your card to make the purchase, thrilled with your discount. Of course, when it's time to buy that gift, the money is no longer there.

You might argue that if you know your limits and upcoming purchases, you would have enough self-discipline to pass up the sale at the fabric store. For some, this may be the case. But for most people, just carrying the debit or credit cards sets up a mentality that money is always available. You can always take advantage of great deals when you stumble upon them because the money is always in your wallet in plastic form.

Here's a personal example. At the beginning of this year, I decided that because I had finally established good credit, I wanted to take advantage of it with a "rewards" credit card. I made plans to use it responsibly. I would only use it for gas and groceries, items I would buy anyway regardless of plastic or cash. In fact, in order to stick to my budget, I planned to put in checks and balances for myself. Rather than pay for gas each time I purchased it, I would buy one gas card at the beginning of the month on the credit card, receive the rewards, then pay it off the next week. At the grocery store, I could buy a gift card on the credit card as soon as I walked in the door to receive the rewards but still stay in budget.

Three months later, I discovered the major problem with my plan. I am about as organized as any mother, which means that getting out the door to begin with is a fiasco and adding in more things to remember to bring would increase the already stressful situation. Because I make weekly grocery trips, and at least one gas purchase a month, I had to keep my credit card in my wallet all the time so I didn't forget it and lose my "rewards." What resulted was that I never broke the habit of having money always available. That made it way too easy to charge a dinner out because I "really needed the break" or to charge that great deal at the fabric store.

In the end, of course, the rewards were never worth it. I spent at least 10 times the amount I earned on purchases that were mostly impulsive. Now, the credit card has retired into a drawer and it never graces the inside of my wallet.

It takes a lot of guts to go to a cash-only system. It's a great plan to use when you need to save money or reduce debt quickly. In today's society, it would be hard to maintain a cash system permanently, and for most people, to maintain it long-term would definitely require a complete shift in our modern, fast-paced consumer habits. It is, however, an admirable goal to pursue.

Thanks for writing, Lara! Every Thursday The Tightwad Trainer will answer one of your questions. Email me at tightwad_trainer@fuse.net and I will do my best to solve your dilemma. Sign your name if it's OK for me to include it!

Annoying but necessary disclaimer: All information contained herein express my opinions only and are based on my health status & location. Each person's situation, health, and local laws & ordinances are different. By all means, use your own common sense & don't do anything you see here if someone more important than me (like your doctor, your local police, your own conscience) would disagree. If you're easily persuaded by everything you read, and you think I might cause you to hurt yourself or break the law, quit reading my site, please.

selling excess stuff to raise money

Selling your excess stuff online or through real-life venues can be a great way to quickly raise some extra cash. What would you do if you found you needed a $400 car repair right now? Many (probably most) people would reach for their credit card. Any financial expert will tell you that this is why building an emergency fund is so important. But if you don't have that fund built up yet, selling your extra stuff can serve as a good method of not using credit in the interim.

There are several venues for online and real-life sales to meet your specific needs and audience.

eBay
eBay is the most famous site for selling goods. But, eBay is not the best choice for many items and its format has its pros and cons. eBay has a huge audience which makes it a great choice for collectible items, clothing, and other hard to sell goods. Shipping costs can be very prohibitive, so lightweight items tend to sell most easily. A definite plus to eBay is that it is monitored with very specific rules of behavior and it uses a feedback system to help buyers evaluate a potential seller. Drawbacks to eBay include the myriad fees, such as a listing fee, a percentage of sales, and a PayPal fee if you wish to offer buyers electronic payment capability. In addition, PayPal and eBay accounts are the target of countless hackers and it is not uncommon at all to hear of someone in your direct circle of friends whose bank account has been violated.

When you first try eBay, start small and build up. Don't decide after your first successful eBay sale that this will be your new income. After 10 sales or so, you might be right in your aspirations, but eBay selling takes twice as much time (at least!) as you expect it will. Personally, I like to use eBay as a way to gradually bring in petty cash. If I have something I want to purchase in the $20 range, I will try to find something I can sell on eBay in the $20 range. This keeps the stress level down.

Craigslist
Craigslist is a network of hundreds of local advertisement sites. For this reason, it is a great choice for large items since only local pickup is encouraged, eliminating the need for shipping. The best part about craigslist is that it is absolutely free. You can even include pictures in your listing for nothing. The drawbacks are few, but significant. Number one, you reach only a local audience, and the majority of craigslist users match a certain profile: college-grads between 20 and 50 years old, who are firmly in the middle class. If there is a different audience for your item, you may not get many responses from a craigslist ad. Number two, there is the fact that local sales include an actual meeting between buyer and seller. It can be very risky to meet anyone with whom your only contact has been online and you must take the usual precautions, such as never allowing them inside your home (especially when you are there alone), always meeting in an open public meeting spot, and never revealing any personal information. And number three, craigslist users are commonly targeted by scam artists, so remember to only deal locally and in person. Never accept a cashier's check for any reason.

Local newspaper ads
You can place ads in local newspapers for a fee, and many now offer this capability online. "The Classified Section" was the primary way of placing ads for the past several decades, and it still has its staunch followers. Your audience will differ depending on what newspaper you are using, but in general, a local arts paper with liberal commentary will reach a similar audience to craigslist. A major newspaper with local and world news will effectively reach the over 50 audience, as will the community papers.

Consignment shops
If you have clothing or household goods that are name-brand and potentially in demand, a local consignment shop can be an easy way to sell these. Many charge a one-time startup fee and then a certain percentage of each sale. This is not the best option for raising cash quickly, since the turnaround time on receiving your money is often over a month.

Yard sales
Yard sales are always an effective way to make a few bucks. I like to save things throughout the year in a few designated yard-sale bins and combine a sale with several friends to draw in more people. There have been entire books written on running profitable yard sales, but I'm going to lay out just a few quick tips. First, use a table system rather than marking every item to save time. Set up 5 or 6 different tables or large blankets and mark the price just once for everything in that area. I typically do a 50 cents, $1.00, $2.00, $3.00 & $5.00 table. Don't accept very lowball offers first thing in the morning. These are your professional yardsalers, who just intend to mark up & resell your item. If they can see the value in it, hold onto it until a respectable offer comes in. Plan to stay out all day on a bright, sunny day. Gradually put things away as you have time. Relax and enjoy yourself. One day yard sales are usually sufficient. As a general rule, the second day on a two-day yard sale will only yield 25% of the first day's profits. Finally, I love to put up a big sign declaring "Half Off EVERYTHING" around 2:00. This always seems to bring in a steady stream of late-afternoon shoppers.

Familiarizing yourself with the selling venues mentioned is an invaluable tool to keep in your arsenal to eliminate consumer debt.

Get Moving: Look around the house for items you could easily part with and designate a spot to collect them. Decide which venue appeals to you most and try to sell one or more of your items there.

Annoying but necessary disclaimer: All information contained herein express my opinions only and are based on my health status & location. Each person's situation, health, and local laws & ordinances are different. By all means, use your own common sense & don't do anything you see here if someone more important than me (like your doctor, your local police, your own conscience) would disagree. If you're easily persuaded by everything you read, and you think I might cause you to hurt yourself or break the law, quit reading my site, please.

Walgreen's rebate program

I rarely purchase shampoo, conditioner or toothbrushes anymore. I'm not picky about what brand of these items I use, so Walgreen's rebate program works great for me.

Here's how it works. When you walk into the store, find the display set up just inside the door with that week's circular plus that month's rebate booklet. Open the rebate booklet to find nearly a hundred items listed. About half are money-off coupons at the register and half are rebate items. Usually, there are 2-5 personal care items listed as "Free After Rebate."

Collect the items from around the store. When you pay at the register, be sure to save your receipt as well as the rebate booklet! I simply tuck mine inside the rebate booklet and keep it at home inside my bill organizer. If you make multiple trips for eligible rebate items, save the receipt every time.

Check the deadline inside the rebate booklet and plan to mail your rebate form & receipt in by this deadline. It is usually the last day of the month or later but not always. If you are a day or two past the deadline, mail your rebates anyway.

Filling out the form is very simple. Follow the directions carefully and you will have no problem. You do not typically need UPC symbols or any other snippets of the packaging materials. You will need your receipt(s) and rebate form from inside the rebate booklet. If, by some chance, you have misplaced your rebate booklet, you can download a copy online from walgreens.com.

You have the option to request a check or a Walgreens gift card. If you choose the gift card option, you will get 10% more than what you actually spent added to the card. I use this option every time. It's an easy way to grow my rebate dollars so that after a month or two, I don't have to spend any actual out-of-pocket money on my next rebate trip. You can expect to receive your rebate check or gift card within 4-8 weeks.

By the end of each year, I have a closet full of shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste & toothbrushes that I can either use or give away. If you have a surplus, these could make nice gift baskets for Christmas presents or for new parents. You could also do as my dear friend does and donate your surplus to women's shelters or other similar charity groups. What a great return on just a few mintues of work!

Get Moving: If you have a Walgreen's in your area, go to the Walgreen's website and download their rebate booklet. If you see anything that could be useful in there for free, you can schedule in a quick stop.

Annoying but necessary disclaimer: All information contained herein express my opinions only and are based on my health status & location. Each person's situation, health, and local laws & ordinances are different. By all means, use your own common sense & don't do anything you see here if someone more important than me (like your doctor, your local police, your own conscience) would disagree. If you're easily persuaded by everything you read, and you think I might cause you to hurt yourself or break the law, quit reading my site, please.

spring break - the real deal

Wondering where the new posts are? The Tightwad Trainer is on vacation this week. And true to my nature, I'm spending no money to take this little break.

My freelance job is cancelled for this week, so I decided to take the week off from (almost) all responsibilities & spend some time doing stuff that I want to do only. So far, it's been one of the more fulfilling vacations in the last few years. It seems all of our after-kids vacations have ended up being more stressful than regular day-to-day life....certainly not the "Great Escape" we all seek on a vacation.

So, we have no gas money spent, no overpriced hotels of questionable cleanliness, no pop-up tent with hard dirt to sleep on, no low-quality food from countless restaurants. The props for this retreat are just me & the kid & a lackadaisical attitude.

TTT will return on Monday, hopefully quite regenerated, with more money-saving tips & tricks.

thursday q & a - restaurant savings

Lisa writes:

Our biggest spending habit is eating out. I just don’t have the energy to cook every night! What are the ways we can save money if we do choose to eat out?

Lisa, your question is shared by tightwad trainees and seasoned veterans alike. For some reason, we all have those nights where we have no energy to cook, let alone face the clean-up afterward. Then, of course, nothing we have even sounds good. The eating out bug is one of my own family’s biggest potential budget busters, so we have tried many techniques for saving at the restaurant. Here are some of our ideas.

Collect your coupons
Coupons may or may not pay inside the grocery store, but for restaurants, you can find some great deals. Actively seek out two-for-one restaurant coupons and other deals. They can often be found in the Sunday paper or in coupon mailings to your home. College areas often have their own coupon books set in stands around town. You can even have your friends and family on the lookout for you. When you know it’s going to be a dining-out night, don’t choose based on what you’re “in the mood for,” but instead, choose based on what you have the best coupon for. This tip alone can cut your bill by 40% or more. If you like to eat out quite a bit, an Entertainment Book (usually $35-$50) might be worth the money for you. If you buy after the first of the year, you can get a substantial discount.

Carefully consider kids’ meals
In most restaurants, the kids’ meals are not only overpriced but are also void of any real nutrition. If you made those chicken nuggets & french fries yourself at home and added all of the ingredients in them by hand, such as the teaspoons full of chemical preservatives and MSG and salt and sugar, I doubt you would want to eat them yourself, let alone feed them to your children. Instead, it helps the immune system and the budget to let your children have a little from the adult meals on their plates. If you have more than two children, perhaps they could split an adult meal.

On the other hand, some children’s meals, especially in ethnic restaurants, are the same food and nearly as large as the adult meals, but at half the price. Perhaps your family could split one adult meal and one children’s meal and still be full.

Order water
If you can just save your more expensive drinks for home, you will save considerably on your restaurant bill. A cup of coffee at home, for example, costs less than 10 cents. At the restaurant, you will pay $1 or more.

Save dessert for home
Many people, myself included, never purchase desserts at the store so that there is no temptation to eat them in the house. What results is that when I go out to eat, I want to enjoy a dessert since I don’t eat them at home. Of course, I end up paying the price for this little self-indulgence. A better idea is to purchase a gourmet-type dessert from the grocery freezer case and keep it in the freezer. When you’re tempted at the restaurant, you can just come home & eat one of your pieces. Or, you could put a piece in a little plastic container & let it sit in the car until you are finished with dinner.

This method takes a little forethought, but the benefits are huge. Dessert typically adds $5 for each slice to your restaurant bill – more if you decide to have coffee with it. Plus, you’re limited to whatever the restaurant serves, whether it’s your favorite or not. Buying frozen desserts at the store will add $5 to your grocery bill for the whole dessert. Plus, it’s not that much of a temptation for many people since you have to think ahead and plan for defrosting time to enjoy a frozen dessert. If you feel you would be tempted by this and you’re trying to watch your weight, consider purchasing frozen desserts such as cream pies or other egg-based items that cannot be defrosted in the microwave.

Always get a box
I joke to my family that I have no shame. I will ask for a box for half of an uneaten pancake and I’ll throw in all the condiments that have been served to the table as well. Why? Well, the half a pancake makes a great pint-sized breakfast the next day. And those condiments can definitely come in handy for on-the-go meals or next time I run out of something and I don’t want to make an unscheduled trip to the store. The fact is, most restaurants have a policy against serving condiments to another table once they have hit your table. Why just send them to the trash when you can use them later?

Lisa, I hope some of these ideas help you reduce your dining out expenses. You’re very smart to be thinking ahead on this instead of waiting until hunger strikes along with its notorious side effect of no self-control.

Thanks for writing, Z.T.! Every Thursday The Tightwad Trainer will answer one of your questions. Email me at tightwad_trainer@fuse.net and I will do my best to solve your dilemma. Sign your name if it's OK for me to include it!

Annoying but necessary disclaimer: All information contained herein express my opinions only and are based on my health status & location. Each person's situation, health, and local laws & ordinances are different. By all means, use your own common sense & don't do anything you see here if someone more important than me (like your doctor, your local police, your own conscience) would disagree. If you're easily persuaded by everything you read, and you think I might cause you to hurt yourself or break the law, quit reading my site, please.

haircuts at home

This is one of those frugal topics that women, in particular, often draw the line on. But, in most cases, there no real reason to fear the home haircut. You only need one specialized tool - hair scissors ($10 or less) - a little knowledge & a good dose of chutzpah to be ready to go. If you learn to be successful at this task - or perhaps I should say, art - you could save your family $100 or more each year plus eliminate the hassle of more appointments with your new self-sufficiency.

First, you need to determine what type of hair you're going to be working on. Hair that is perfectly straight is much harder to work with than wavy or curly hair. Thinner hair can also be a challenge. Personally, I wouldn't attempt a short haircut, but my husband does his own with a pair of clippers. If you or your "client" were OK with an all-over clipper cut, this is an easy way to accomplish a shorter haircut.

By far, the most forgiving hair is thick, wavy or curly hair that is shoulder-length or longer. If you or your children have this type of hair, you really have nothing to lose by trying. I would suggest that if anyone in the family has this type of hair, that you try cutting their hair once or twice before attempting the more difficult types.

Now, there are many different haircuts for the shoulder-length or below. Do you want any layers? Do you want it shorter in the front? Longer in the front? Anything with the bangs? Determine what you want the final look to be and start cutting. I like to pin the hair up in layers, just as they do at the salon. If you are too nervous to add in layers at first, you can always do a straight cut all around (easiest and more flattering on straight hair).

For beginners, it is easier to get a good cut with dry hair. Cutting wet hair always sets you up for a surprise when the hair dries. Even professional hair stylists hold their breath a bit during the drying phase.

This is really the only knowledge you need. For most people, the hardest part is psychological. This is why a courageous attitude is the key. You need to trust that you can do it and if you don't succeed at first, it's really not the end of the world. Most of us on a budget end up using the stripmall haircut places anyway when the budget gets tight. While there are many talented hair stylists in these places, your chances of walking out with a great haircut are always 50/50 with someone you don't know.

If you do shoulder-length or below cuts, what's the worst that can happen anyway? You would have to keep the hair worn up until you can take that trip to the nearest haircut joint with your head down & sheepishly ask them to fix it, knowing that they will probably laugh at you after you walk out the door. Don't let your fear of being teased by people you'll never see again stop you from taking a risk. All skills are learned by practice, and cutting hair is no different. But you have to do the first cut.

On a final note, you can cut your own hair. You might want to start with your children and get familiar with hair-cutting before you do it. Or, you might want to just throw caution to the wind and see what happens. Whether it's hair or sewing bobbin adjustment or auto oil changes or landscaping, don't fall prey to those who want to convince you it's only the business of "experts." Unless the financial or other risk is extreme, what do you have to lose by giving it a try?

Get Moving: Next time you are in the salon for a haircut for yourself or another member of your family, pay special attention to exactly how the hair stylist does his or her job. Next time, you can try to duplicate the procedures on your own at home.

Annoying but necessary disclaimer: All information contained herein express my opinions only and are based on my health status & location. Each person's situation, health, and local laws & ordinances are different. By all means, use your own common sense & don't do anything you see here if someone more important than me (like your doctor, your local police, your own conscience) would disagree. If you're easily persuaded by everything you read, and you think I might cause you to hurt yourself or break the law, quit reading my site, please.

changing habits to save

We all have them--the things we thoughtlessly do day in & day out that are drizzling into our household expenses. Changing your habits to save is a two-part process. First, you have to identify the habits that are costing you money and secondly, you have to purposefully focus on them for at least 7 days to invoke a permanent change.

Here are some common habits that are worth investigating:

Too much detergent
I have participated in many consumer surveys for a large consumer-products company based in our town. I remember one in particular where it seemed the entire point of the survey was to see if I would notice that the cap size on the laundry detergent was larger on the new bottle than on the older one. Conveniently, the cap doubles as a measuring cup for the liquid detergent. Do you automatically fill the laundry detergent cup when you put in your detergent? How about your dishwasher detergent? Your dish soap for handwashing? Your shampoo?

A good rule to remember is that soft water needs less detergent and hard water needs more. Use this as a starting point and then experiment. I have found that 2 Tbls. of laundry detergent works well for me & 1 Tbls. of dishwashing detergent in only one dishwasher compartment. However, more dish soap works best for me so that dishes don’t come out greasy. Find the perfect amount for you rather than acting out of habit.

Tossing dinner-gone-wrong in the trash
I’m certain there is not a single cook out there who hasn’t experienced dinner-gone-wrong--multiple times, most likely. My last experience was just last week. I made 8 loaves of sourdough bread and used two entire bags of whole wheat flour in the process. I accidentally pulled 2 of the loaves out of the oven too early, so after they cooled, they each had a large, doughy middle. I considered what I could do with the loaves. Since they had no preservatives or other added chemicals, I mixed some of the doughy parts into some chicken broth for our dog (she has no wheat allergies). Then, I cut the rest into small squares, coated them with oil & spices, and baked them in the oven at 250 degrees to make croutons. My daughter loves them.

Unless your food has been burnt beyond recognition, you can probably think of a way to save it.

Tossing food & garden waste in the trash
You don’t have to be a gardening genius to make compost. First, forget all the green/brown business. Throw out calculations, specialty boxes, and watering requirements, too. If you have a yard of any size, find a corner of your lot and start dumping at least your cut grass & raked leaves there. Add your kitchen food waste (no meat or fat) if you can. We don’t add kitchen waste because our dog would consume it all and a fence for the compost pile is not currently in our budget.

Don’t worry about taking the temperature of your pile or anything else the “experts” tell you to do. Trust that mother nature will do its job.We know that plants would keep growing with or without humans in the picture, because when dead matter falls in the forest, it decomposes into the soil and creates a nourishing environment for future growth. This is what will happen in your pile, too. Use the compost as soon as it’s dark & crumbly.

Loading your computer printer with fresh paper
Do you need to print your MapQuest directions on a fresh clean piece of paper? Or would the back of the article you printed out a couple night ago suffice?

Renting a Saturday night movie
Do you need the newest release every Saturday night? Is it possible that the library has a movie you’ve been wanting to see sitting on its shelves? Or, maybe you could plan ahead and request something you’ve been wanting to see so that it’s waiting for you at the library on Saturday afternoon?

Saving money is part discipline, part attitude & part creativity. Develop an attitude of examining every habit, use your creativy to come up with a new routine, then be disciplined in using your new routine for at least a week. At the end of the 7 days, you will likely have a new habit--one that’s keeping your money in your bank account.

Get Moving: Examine your usage of non-food consumer products this week, such as laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, hand dishwashing soap, shampoo, conditioner, liquid soap, toilet paper & paper towels. Experiment with using less until you find the amount the works for you. Make that amount your new habit.
hint: it can be helpful to replace the measuring devices provided by the company with a smaller one of your own

Annoying but necessary disclaimer: All information contained herein express my opinions only and are based on my health status & location. Each person's situation, health, and local laws & ordinances are different. By all means, use your own common sense & don't do anything you see here if someone more important than me (like your doctor, your local police, your own conscience) would disagree. If you're easily persuaded by everything you read, and you think I might cause you to hurt yourself or break the law, quit reading my site, please.

thursday Q & A - indigestion remedies

Ann writes:

Do you have any cheaper remedies for indigestion, heartburn & nausea?

Actually, I do have a few that can be made with very simple and inexpensive ingredients.

My husband swears by his baking soda mixture for indigestion. To prepare, mix a teaspoon of baking soda into a small glass of water and add lemon or lime juice to taste.

For heartburn, many people find relief in yogurt. About a half a cup is enough to soothe most episodes.

My favorite nausea remedy is strong ginger tea. You can buy bulk ginger root as an herb in many health food stores or herbal shops. Make a strong tea and take it by the tablespoon for relief. Or, you can mix it into sparkling water and add some simple syrup to make a "ginger ale." To make simple syrup, dissolve 1 part sugar into 1 part hot water. Refrigerate to store.

As with any food items you plan to take for medicinal purposes, you should ask your doctor to be sure they are OK for your particular health situation. And always consult your OB if you are pregnant or nursing.

Thanks for writing, Ann! Every Thursday The Tightwad Trainer will answer one of your questions. Email me at tightwad_trainer@fuse.net and I will do my best to solve your dilemma. Sign your name if it's OK for me to include it!

Annoying but necessary disclaimer: All information contained herein express my opinions only and are based on my health status & location. Each person's situation, health, and local laws & ordinances are different. By all means, use your own common sense & don't do anything you see here if someone more important than me (like your doctor, your local police, your own conscience) would disagree. If you're easily persuaded by everything you read, and you think I might cause you to hurt yourself or break the law, quit reading my site, please.

finding more summer clothes

Some years, kids grow up and not so much out. If that's the case with any of yours this year, don't immediately retire their old winter clothing. Girls' pants that are too short can make great capris by taking them up another inch or two. Boys' pants that are too short can often be made into summer shorts.

What about those girls' dresses from last year? Some of them might make a great summer baby-doll style shirt. My 4 year old is still wearing one shirt this summer that is actually a size 18-month dress.

How about clothes that you might have received from others that are actually a bit big for your children this year? Little boys who are still in diapers can fill out the next size up if you quickly hem the bottoms. Girls' sleveless dresses that are a size too big can sometimes be "shortened" by a few quick stitches across each strap. In a pinch, I have even tied a small knot in small dress straps & no one has noticed.

And how about for the adults? My husband has been making his own long summer shorts out of cut-off pants for a long time, as have I. But, last year, I added no-sew capris to my Spring wardrobe by using large folds to fold up the bottoms 2-3 times until they were the desired height for my 5'8" frame. Then, I ironed them down & put a safety pin on each side. This way, I can take them down in the winter & put them up in the summer. Of course, if you don't care for the pants as pants anymore, hemmed shorts or capris would give a cleaner look.

If you don't plan to have a large family and continually pass down clothing, this is an easy way to stretch your clothing budget, allowing you to "shop at home" for free.

Get Moving: When you switch out your Winter & Spring wardrobes this year, try to identify clothes that can be used again this year in a different way. Pay special attention to girls' dresses that can become no-sew shirts & your own pants that could become no-sew capris.

Annoying but necessary disclaimer: All information contained herein express my opinions only and are based on my health status & location. Each person's situation, health, and local laws & ordinances are different. By all means, use your own common sense & don't do anything you see here if someone more important than me (like your doctor, your local police, your own conscience) would disagree. If you're easily persuaded by everything you read, and you think I might cause you to hurt yourself or break the law, quit reading my site, please.

Thursday Q & A - packaged food vs. homemade

Anonymous writes:

Do you really save money by making your own convenience foods like bread and condiments or is it mainly done for quality of food purposes?

Good question, A. The main thing you want to keep in mind when you’re comparing packaged foods and homemade foods is to be sure you’re comparing apples to apples. For example, if you compared the cost of your 100% whole wheat, honey-sweetened bread to a loaf of store-bought white stuff, you’ll find you’re paying much more to bake it yourself. But, if you’re comparing your homemade loaf to the specialty artisan loaves in the store, yours is going to be much less.

I compare my prices based on usage. If I were baking my bread to take the place of a sourdough boule and I plan to serve it French-style with soup or fruit & cheese, then I’ll compare my price to that of the specialty artisan loaves. However, if I’m baking in the breadmaker just to have a loaf for sandwiches, then I’ll compare to the price of the preservative-free soft wheat bread on the shelves. You will want to ask yourself, if I were not baking this at home, what loaf would I actually be buying at the store? That is your comparison point.

You also need to factor your time into the equation. A loaf of bread does not take very much hands-on time. Of course, if you bake three loaves at the same time, your hands-on time per loaf reduces considerably. If you saved $1.00 per loaf and your hands-on time equaled 30 minutes, you will be “earning” $2.00/hour per loaf. Could you “earn” more at other activities? Surely, yes. However, say you really enjoy baking. If you weren’t baking that day, would you actually be spending money on another activity you enjoy for its entertainment value? Also, don’t forget to factor in your time spent in the store. If you can make at home half of the items on your grocery list with ingredients you already typically buy, then you have cut your time in the grocery store by half.

The actual dollar amount saved per homemade item varies greatly according to the price you’re spending on the ingredients. If you can find a source of high-quality bulk wheat flour and you use it up before it goes rancid, your price is going to be much better than the rest of us buying the 5 lb. bags in the store. Even with the 5 lb. bags, the price fluctuates according to sales.

Some convenience items would take too much time & frankly, don’t interest me a bit. I have never tried to make mustard, ketchup or mayonnaise, for example. Perhaps one day I’ll try it & find it so easy that I’ll regret buying all those pre-made bottles for years. But for now, the time spent would not have enough enjoyment value to justify the pitiful earning wage.

I do, however, regularly make my own salad dressings. Store-bought salad dressings are chock full of salt & MSG. My dressings are simple & my honey mustard can usually be made in minutes even at a friend or relative’s house with common ingredients.

Here are a couple recipes:

Honey Mustard Salad Dressing

1 part honey
1 part yellow mustard
1 part olive oil

Mix with a fork & serve.

Sweet Asian Peanut Dressing

1/4 cup raisins, soaked in 1/2 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup peanut butter or other nut butter
1 lg. clove garlic
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. mustard

Blend all ingredients except raisins. Add the raisins with their soaking water. Blend until smooth. If you want a thinner dressing, you can add more water until it reaches the right consistency.

Get Moving: It is a good exercise to figure out your “hourly wage” on frugal activities. Although food items usually bring a lower wage, once you get in the habit of figuring this number out, you can better decide if some of the activities you just don’t enjoy would be worth your time or not.

Choose one of your homemade items (cakes, muffins, breads, & pies are common ones). Add all of the ingredients together. The more exact you are, the more reliable the number will be, but don’t stress over your exactitude if it prevents you from doing the exercise. You will also want to add the cost of heating the oven. As a general rule, you can figure 20 cents/hour for 350 degrees on an electric oven and 18 cents/hour for 350 degrees on a gas oven.

You can then compare the price of the homemade item to that in the store. The difference between the two items will be compared to the hands-on time spent preparing your homemade version to determine your “hourly wage.”

For example, here is my rough price per loaf of wheat bread:

Wheat flour - 60 cents
2 Tbls. honey - 15 cents
2 Tbls. oil - 9 cents
1 tsp. salt - 1 cent
2.5 tsp. bulk-purchased yeast - 6 cents
water - free

My ingredient price for this loaf is: 91 cents
My oven price is: 20 cents
My total price is: $1.10

If I did not make my bread, I would only buy Trader Joe’s sprouted wheat bread at $2.50/loaf. Therefore, my savings is: $2.50 - $1.10 = $1.40

I only make one loaf at a time, and it takes me about 15 minutes hands-on cooking time. I would divide an hour by my cooking time. 60 minutes / 15 minutes = 4. I would multiply my savings by this number to find my hourly wage. $1.40 x 4 = $5.60.

I am “earning” $5.60/hour with this activity.

Credit to the hourly wage idea should go to Amy Dacyczyn in her Tightwad Gazette books, which are invaluable sources of frugal information.

Thanks for writing, A! Every Thursday The Tightwad Trainer will answer one of your questions. Email me at tightwad_trainer@fuse.net and I will do my best to solve your dilemma. Sign your name if it's OK for me to include it!

Annoying but necessary disclaimer: All information contained herein express my opinions only and are based on my health status & location. Each person's situation, health, and local laws & ordinances are different. By all means, use your own common sense & don't do anything you see here if someone more important than me (like your doctor, your local police, your own conscience) would disagree. If you're easily persuaded by everything you read, and you think I might cause you to hurt yourself or break the law, quit reading my site, please.

onion bag kitchen sponges

One of the disposable items that has been hard for me to replace are kitchen sponges. Even though I find their cleanliness questionable after about a week, I continued for a long time to purchase & use these sponges. One of my favorites was the "Dobie" sponge.

Finally, as I was about to throw away another mesh onion bag, it stuck me that it was a very similar material to the outside of the Dobie sponge. I inserted one of my kitchen rags and I am thrilled with the final product.



Not only was it free to make, and thus eliminating another item from my grocery list, but I can replace the rag inside every couple days so that it is always clean.

Another use for a mesh onion bag is to hold things that repeatedly get wet. They make great bath toy bags when hung up to let the toys drip dry. Swim toys are easily toted to the pool & back in one of these bags. We have been using one for quite some time to hold our cookie cutters. After we use our cookie cutters, I throw them into the bag & close with a bread tab. They then go through the dishwasher cycles enclosed in the bag & are put back into the drawer still in the bag. We have not yet lost a cookie cutter. You could use the same process for any other small items you regularly wash.

Get Moving: Next time you buy onions, save the bag & put it with your stash of consumer packaging that could be useful. Don't have a stash yet? Clean out one drawer, cabinet or shelf so you can start one!

Annoying but necessary disclaimer: All information contained herein express my opinions only and are based on my health status & location. Each person's situation, health, and local laws & ordinances are different. By all means, use your own common sense & don't do anything you see here if someone more important than me (like your doctor, your local police, your own conscience) would disagree. If you're easily persuaded by everything you read, and you think I might cause you to hurt yourself or break the law, quit reading my site, please.