Do you have some helpful advice for saving money (and time)?
Sorry, but I just can't make it a question; it doesn't make any sense as a question.
I'd remembered seeing something about rescuing a shower curtain, and had to use Google to find it. It was a comment from La Vikinga, and was really an example of how to save the cost of a replacement shower curtain.
http://deals.woot.com/deals/comment/f0451d68-98b9-4cf6-824c-683097133e83
I expect that the tags will get changed, and I don't mind. I'm just hoping that it doesn't get changed into a question. If it does, the original title was "Helpful advice for saving money (and time)."
Everything else is in the comments.
by
shrdlu
asked 8 months ago
My mother was raised in the depression, and (unlike many of my generation) I took the lessons she'd learned to heart. It never mattered how much money she had, she was still careful, and still thrifty. I learned to sew, and cook, and understood that there was a household budget, and learned to manage my own. Some of the things my mother did, I still do. Others I found on my own. Here's a sampling:
No need to buy those little Tuffy scrub pads, when you can just take a quick string, and thread it through the bag that your onions came in, and make your own.
Out of laundry detergent, and no money to buy more? You can use shavings from Zest or Dial, which are detergent-based soaps, and get your clothes clean. Please note: I doubt this will work with the new HE washers.
I have many more, but am hoping others will contribute useful suggestions.
It's never too late to be thrifty.
"Do you have any helpful advice for saving money and time?... Now it's a question. That wasn't so hard, was it?
vinegar or rubbing alcohol - cleans about anything
If you don't have a "garbage disposal" on the kitchen drain (were illegal in NYC & may still be), get a dome-shaped screen that fits your drain well (there are metal with plastic ones & all metal ones; you want an all metal one, like $4).
Either way (screen or disposal), run about two gallons of boiling (not just hot) water down the drain about every two weeks. Never had even a slow drain.
For the shower, get a plastic hair screen (remove the metal plate with big holes from the drain & the strainer fits over & into the drain an inch or so). I wipe it clean after ever shower using the same half-sheet of "bounty" that I used to clean my glasses (hmm... see next message for the recipe for the glasses cleaner). This with the boiling water every month or so, and I've never had problems (and I have two daughters w/ long hair).
Don't overlook soap & hot water. Neighbor asked me the other day how we keep our marble counters so shiny and clean... Soap & Hot Water. Ditch the $100 worth of fancy store-bought cleansers.
If you wear glasses, you can clean them with various things but if you've ever used the little spray bottles from the eyeglass store, they actually work well, are convienent & free (w/ a pair of glasses). I have one at work & several at home.
Problem is they run out & you can only get so many free samples before the people at the eyeglass store expect you to buy another pair of glasses (or pay $5 for a 2 or 3 oz bottle).
After some research, I'm 99.44% sure that this stuff is just alcohol and water with a mild detergent (and color). Even for the stuff that is "safe for A/R coatings."
I mix one part 91% isopropyl alcohol to four parts filtered tap water (use bottled if your water is hard) and add a drop of Dawn dish detergent to about 5 oz of the mix. With 70% alcohol, use three parts water.
BTW- My current pair of A/R coated lenses is just under three years old & still as anti-reflective as when I got them, same for my daughter's, though hers are only about 18 months old.
Check the Craigslist free section before buying anything. We picked up a huge collection of boltless shelving for our warehouse for free. They're a little banged up but who cares...it's a warehouse!
Now on the lookout for a free shed for the backyard, and, yes, I will wait until I find a free one. I also feel good about keeping something useful out of the landfill.
Cold air is heavier than warm, so every time you open your fridge, most of the cold air "falls out" on the floor. The warm air that replaces it has to be re-cooled, which uses energy & costs money.
This is less of a problem when your fridge is full, but I have a large one & it is usually not that full (the containers I mostly use for leftovers stack with little wasted space vertically).
So I keep plastic jugs of water in the back of the fridge & have several that I can easily take out when I need to keep a huge tray of potato salad or some such. (Added benefit: fridge stays cold longer during power outages.)
Also, use LED bulbs in your fridge & freezer. Much less heat to be removed & they will probably outlive the fridge.
@shrdlu: Shower curtain? Only thing I know about shower curtains is they get amazingly clean by throwing them in the washing machine with a few towels and cycling them through with detergent and OxyClean.
Save money? Hmmm, well...Get a chest freezer, shop the sales, buying only stuff you'll really use, use coupons when you can but again only buying products you know you'll use. But you already know these things.
Stay away from the book and jewelry auctions and never take me shopping with you because I will talk you into buying everything--better you buy stuff than me!
@ohcheri: also check out freecycling, it's by region and has the same mission. keep stuff out of landfills and give stuff away or pick up stuff for free. most have a discussion area also for local talk
http://www.freecycle.org/group/US/California
^^ or look for your state and city/town. they'll ask for your address to confirm where you live falls into their operating area. pretty close-knit group. there are several freecyclers in my building or just very closeby.
you can also post "wanted" items if you're looking for something and keep missing it or need other quantities/colors
@lavikinga: You are too funny. :-D You do realize the comment I'd linked to was the one where you'd said precisely that? I had just been noticing that my shower curtain was due for a refresh, and then remembered you'd posted that, and spent a few minutes hunting it down.
When cleaning windows, a solution of ammonia and hot water, and a bunch of rags, works the best. I actually have cleaning squeegees on long poles to do my second floor windows. I always wear rubber gloves, since ammonia is not kind to the hands, nor pleasant smelling as a perfume.
Every window cleaning item on the market has ammonia, and a bunch of other random items, and not one does a better job than just good old ammonia. I like Parson's Ammonia, although it's often hard to find.
I just saw someone's comment downvoted. Please don't do that. I posted this question in an attempt to get away from all that, and I'd like to see everyone show a little courtesy and kindness. I voted the comment back up, and I'm hoping that's the end of it.
@baqui63: If your freezer is partially empty, tuck one or more of those bottles of water in the fridge into the freezer. Same principle.
@w00tgurl: I am part of the freecycling group in my area, thanks for reminding me. I haven't checked it in so long I had forgotten about it.
@shrdlu: i think it was just someone thinking they were protecting you ;9) it's hard to hear the inflection in a person's letters so could have come across as smart-butt ;9) (i wasn't the downvoter, but did read it twice before i registered it ;9)
Shower with a friend.
Saves water and the cost to heat it. Most of the time.
@xdavex: hehe
Yep, do that too, using orange-juice cartons with screw-top lids, as they fit the freezer better. (Just remember that water expands a bit as it cools below 4degC...)
This article which I first saw a few years ago is what got me thinking about this.
I've considered buying a smaller chest freezer specifically to use as a fridge (with an external thermostat control) for fermenting beer with lager yeast, but also to see how much energy it actually would save (using Kil-A-Watt sensors).
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