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Readers' Tips

Homemade HE Detergent

I own a HE washer and recently began to make my own powdered laundry soap, and have found it ideal for HE washers since it foams a lot less than commercial liquid soaps and it works a lot better. It takes less than 20 minutes to make and costs a lot less than super-cheap liquid detergent with materials that are inexpensive and easy to find. And it cleans better than liquid laundry detergent.

You can Google for homemade soap "recipes." I make a powdered version with 1 bar of Fels Naphtha and 2 or 3 bars of deodorant soap (Walgreens(r) 3/$1 works great!), 1 to 2 cups 20 mule team borax and 1 to 2 cups baking soda. You can also add a cup of an OxiClean(r) if you do a lot of very dirty laundry, but for most laundry, it works great without it.

Slice the bar soap with a paring knife as you would a chunk of cheese and then put it in the food processor to chop it fine. With a damp cloth on the open edge of the feed chute, add the dry powders and process in short bursts. This makes enough soap for approximately 25 loads, using the smaller measurements. Use 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of detergent per load, placing the powder in the detergent cup. Use hot or warm water to make sure the soap dissolves completely if you do not grind the soap finely in a food processor. Store airtight; an empty ice cream pail works great. If clothes are very dirty, add a little more soap. It will not create foam/suds in quantity but you will be amazed how clean your laundry will be.
Joan

editor's note: For more suggestions, please click here or check out the discussion in The Dollar Stretcher Community.

Bye Bye Fruit Fly

My friend was planning to bug "bomb" her home to get rid of the fruit flies that had been around for several weeks. She had tried everything else. I told her to put out a small container of apple cider vinegar with a few drops of dish detergent. She put out three in different parts of her home where she'd seen the flies. The next morning, there were no fruit flies to be found, except for in the vinegar! She was thrilled!
Roxanne B. in Bowdon, GA

Salad for Lunch

To keep salad greens crisp when transporting them to work for lunch, pour enough salad dressing in the bottom of a plastic container, place four slices of green or red pepper on top of the dressing, and put the greens on top of the peppers so that they stay above the salad dressing. The greens will remain fresh and crisp, and the pepper, or celery, carrot sticks, etc. will be marinating in the salad dressing until lunchtime.
Maggie

Free Crafting Supplies

As someone who has served as an arts and crafts instructor for kids, I have learned that many throwaway items, especially product packaging, can be put to good use in creative projects. If your kids enjoy these activities, set up somewhere in the home devoted to accumulating odds and ends. A set of plastic drawers on wheels or an inexpensive set of plastic shelves with labeled shoeboxes works great.

Now, be on the lookout for items that you might normally throw out for use in crafts. I save the unprinted cardboard inserts used in packing from many items (like underwear and pantyhose) for use in making gift tags, greeting cards, and bookmarks. The plastic mesh bags from many produce items can often serve as fun "gift wrap." Whenever an item comes in decorative wrapping and has a small bow or piece of ribbon attached, those scraps are saved for use in scrapbooking or for decorating card projects.

Styrofoam meat trays, when washed, can be cut into shapes using a cookie cutter as a guide. The shapes replace the pre- cut foam shapes that cost money at the store. By using a hole punch on green, blue, and white foam meat trays, you can also make flat beads that resemble the shells used in surfer necklaces. They're easy to thread because they are made of foam.

Some packaging is printed with great, full-color designs that, when cut out, make wonderful accents for cards and bookmarks. Look at tea boxes, such as Celestial Seasonings and boxes for scented soaps and other toiletries, which often feature images of flowers and fruits.

Don't throw away broken jewelry. Use beads again in new projects or as decor on any craft project, especially pressed into clay like Sculpey. Keep the clasps for another necklace. Pretty pendants can be used to decorate a package when threaded on a piece of ribbon. Speaking of jewelry, jars from face creams make excellent small gift boxes for giving a pair of earrings or a ring. Many are glass (and have removable labels) and lustrous gold or silver tops. Use craft glue to adhere old beads or seashells to the top for a very pretty box.

These are just a few suggestions. You'll find that with an area set aside in your home to neatly accumulate "scraps," you'll be in the mindset that encourages new and inventive ideas for re-using packaging. Get the kids involved in saving scraps all month long and then, at the end of 30 days, set everything out on the kitchen table, pop some popcorn, and have a craft day. You'll have a great time, produce some homemade gifts, and teach about recycling as well. Think beyond popsicle sticks and construction paper! You'll be surprised at the clever ways children find to give throwaway items a second life.
Z.

Save Your Nail Polish

I saw a friend put her nail polish in the fridge and thought she was crazy. But now my nail polish lasts for years without going bad (hard and clumpy). The manufacturers mean it when they say to keep them in a cold, dark place. When I go to paint my nails, I do pull the bottle out about 15 minutes early to let it warm up a bit to avoid the polish from being sluggish and cold. I keep about 10 bottles in a little clear Caboodle container I found at a garage sale for 50 cents. It fits in the door of the fridge along with my other nail polish gadgets inside. People think I'm a genius when I explain why I'm not so crazy for keeping the polish in the fridge now!
Joy

Powdered!

I love to bake and often decide to do it on the spur of the moment. I hate not having what I need on hand or discovering that what I do have has gone stale. Did you know you could make your own powdered sugar? Just place regular sugar in a coffee grinder. I bought one new at a garage sale for $2 and use it expressly for grinding spices and such. Grind the sugar until it turns into a powder. This way you can have fresh powdered sugar when you need it and in just the right quantity.

Do you like to make your own popcorn? Well, you can also save money by using your grinder to produce fine grain salt that's just perfect for your homemade popcorn. It's as easy as one, two, three.
Deborah H.

Muddy Van Carpets

As kids' sports season approaches (along with the rain and mud), I hate the muddy shoes in my van. After I checked the prices for new floor mats, I decided to make my own. I took a vinyl floor remnant left over from our kitchen floor and cut it to fit the floor of the van. Not only does it cover the area where the floor mats were, but it also covers the entire carpet. Now the kids can climb in and out, even spill their drink, and all I have to do is clean it up with a wet cloth. This also works for the back of the car where I put my groceries. No more messy carpet!
Michele

Plenty of Free TV Sports

It's college football season, but tickets are expensive, especially if you have to add travel costs. Pay-per-view is often an option, but who wants to pay? Check out ESPN360; all kinds of sports events are broadcast live for free, and there are no commercials, which is an added bonus! You do need to pay attention to the "check boxes" when you register. Some are for options that require payment.
M.

Fridge on Holiday

One of my tips for preventing mold in refrigerators that are empty and unplugged (like when you are on holiday) is to put a fridge magnet between the doors. It sticks nicely and lets in air, preventing mold.
Jackie

Freezer Organization

I have a large upright freezer in my garage. Every week I buy sale items like meat, bread or frozen vegetables. I used to just come home and put them in my freezer, but every time I would get ready to cook something, I had to dig for it.

I solved this problem very easily. I went to the dollar store and bought three large plastic containers. These are 14x14x7 so they are not very tall. They are actually called garment storage boxes. I labeled one for meat, one for chicken, and one for veggies. Now all I do is put the food in the correct container when I get home, and when I'm ready to cook a dish, I know right where to look for my ingredient. This size is perfect. It slides out of the freezer shelf easily and there is ample room all around each of them for other stuff I need to freeze. You could do one for bread, too.

I have one on each shelf of the freezer. It has sure been a lifesaver for me as I scramble around late at night for ingredients to get out for the next day's dinner. I am thinking I need to go organize my parents' freezer as well, as it would simplify their life as they get older.
Lynne T. in Georgia

Making Lunch Easy

I have been trying to bring my lunch to work most days instead of going out. Nowadays, most fast food restaurants are more than $5 per meal. I keep a stash of supplies to facilitate eating at my desk:

I have plenty of plastic utensils stored in a plastic pencil holder. It keeps them contained and handy. When I use one, I take it home, wash it up and return it to work. I usually bring them to work in bunches like when I'm running low. I also have napkins I brought from a big package from home and some paper plates.
I love eating salads in the summer. If I'm running errands over lunch at a discount store that also sells groceries, I'm able to pick up a bag of lettuce and a single tomato for lunch. I have salad dressing stored in the refrigerator at work and croutons at my desk. This also works for places that have pick-up salad bars (like some grocery stores), where they usually charge by weight. I can get lettuce and all the toppings I want and add a few extras like dressing later.

Carmen N. in Galesville, WI

Eyeglass Cleaners

There is no need to buy expensive eyeglass cleaners from the store. Just mix a solution of 1/3 rubbing alcohol, 1/3 white vinegar and 1/3 water and put it in a spray bottle. Use a clean cotton handkerchief or cloth to dry. It works just as well and costs a lot less.
Les L. in Tempe, AZ

Ready to Throw Out the Throw Rug?

We have an oatmeal-color area rug under our dining room set (don't ask me why I chose that color with two teens). It was spotted all over and had ground in "shoe dirt" in front of the seating positions. There was even a large stain where a plate of spaghetti had been dropped. The carpet had been cleaned many times and spot cleaned monthly, but in a word, it looked horrible.

I was just ready to have my husband haul it to the dump when he suggested using his new "toy," which was a power washer. It worked like a charm! We couldn't believe the amount of soap residue that came out from the previous attempts at shampooing it. Now he periodically power washes it, using just warm water. It comes out looking almost new every time. Check the fiber content on your carpet before trying this.

We have a slanted driveway, which helps it dry, but I'm sure moving a carpet around on a flat, clean driveway or deck on a couple of hot days should do the trick. I had nothing to lose and gained many more years from this carpet.
Conni

Too Many Peppers

When you have an abundance of peppers, wash them thoroughly, julienne them like you would use in a stir fry, lay them on a cookie sheet (do not let them touch), and put them in your freezer. They will freeze nicely. When frozen, place in plastic bags and put back in the freezer until you want to use them. They will not stick together. Just take out what you need and put the rest back in freezer.
Janice H. in Somerset, KY

Toilet Doesn't Flush Completely

If your toilet doesn't completely flush, the problem may be blockage in the rim that lets water into the bowl. I tried the expensive chemical treatment where you turn off the water and pour cleaner down the tank to the rim holes. It didn't work. So being a good NRA member, I have a variety of brass brushes used to clean gun barrels. The 22-caliber brush worked great on the smaller drainage holes and the 20-gauge brush worked great on the two larger holes. Just work the brushes into the holes under the rim. In five minutes, the problem was solved.
Jake

editor's note: In case you don't have a brass brush, any stiff bristled brush should work.

Special Pet Foods

If you have a cat or dog or other pet that is on a special diet, or particularly loves a kind of treat food, you may be able to get that food cheaper online. I have a 17-year-old cat with health problems that was getting very thin and bony because he wouldn't or couldn't eat his regular cat food any more. There is just one kind of cat food that he really does like, but these were expensive little packs at the grocery store. So I went online and searched for his favorite food. I found it on Amazon.com in larger packages, and bought enough of them to get free shipping!

The cost per ounce of food is much less than in the grocery store packages, and I don't have to search for them. Please note that I did check this with my cat's veterinarian; you want to be sure that you are feeding your pet food that includes everything they need.
Anne

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