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No, It's Not Trash
I am not a fast-food aficionado, but lots of folks in my office are and the table and drawers at work had accumulated tons of those little ketchup and soy sauce packets. During a recent cleaning binge, all those packets had been gathered up and were going to be tossed out if no one claimed them so I scooped them up, took them home and emptied the contents into my ketchup and soy sauce bottles, filling them completely back up! Great freebie that would have been wasted.
Chris in Everett, WA
Custom T-Shirts
Anyone with access to a scanner and a printer can do this. You start out with a picture that you would want on a t-shirt. Get an inexpensive, plain t-shirt from a department store. While you're there, pick up some iron on transfer paper for your printer. Scan in the picture and flip it so that it looks backwards before you print it. After it's printed, you can iron it onto the t-shirt. I made a quilt for my mom one year using these same steps but used white fabric instead. It turns out looking like a professional job at less than $1 more than the cost of the shirt!
J T
Wintry Luxury
I live in New England where I seem to be cold all winter, especially at night. I used to relish a hot bubble bath on cold winter nights, but with the cost of the fuel to heat my tub of water, I've come up with a better plan! I fill a dishpan with warm water and bubbles. Then I give myself a luxurious foot soak while I sip herbal tea and relax in my cozy fleece robe. I'm nice and warm, and I've spent only a fraction of the cost of heating a tub full of water!
Lynn C. in Cape Cod, MA
Tangle-Free!
Instead of buying expensive detangler spray, I make up my own and it leaves my hair moisturized and smelling great. First, I take a regular 16-ounce spray bottle and put in two tablespoons of hair conditioner. Then I slowly fill the rest up with warm water and shake until conditioner is completely dissolved. To take care of my curly perm, every morning I spray my concoction on my hair. My hair just comes untangled and I am able to work out curls with my fingers.
Cynthia
Reducing the Cost of Conferences
I recently attended a conference out of town. First, I looked up the hotel where the conference was being held and looked for a cheaper motel nearby. I looked for amenities to be included, such as free breakfast, microwave, refrigerator, and coffeemaker. It turned out that a super Wal-Mart was within walking distance. We marched over and spent $20, which included three dinners. We bought roasted chicken, frozen dinners, vegetables that are steamed in the bag, fruit and beer. It would've been cheaper if we didn't have the beer. I know we saved a lot of money because many of our fellow attendees went out to eat every night. We only ate out for two dinners and one lunch.
Sophia in NY
A Memorable Holiday Gift
Recently when organizing my photographs, I realized I had a lot of duplicates and other photos that I wasn't going to put into my scrapbooks. I had enough extras that I ordered simple and inexpensive 2009 photo calendars from a popular mail order catalog. These are the calendars that have a slot for inserting a photograph and the "frame" around the photos is decorated with a theme for each month.
I used photos of my 4-year-old throughout the years to fill up the pages. I am sure my family will adore these functional and thoughtful gifts. Since I had already paid for the developing of the photos, the price was right!
Alison
How We Save
Pay yourself first, meaning put some money away in a savings account every payday. Then, forget it's there. When a major appliance goes on the fritz or the car needs work, you won't need to pull out your credit card.
My husband and I saved his mileage money he was paid by his company and were able to pay cash for a two-year-old almost new car when our old one died. We not only saved ourselves the interest of a car loan, but we got a much better price on the car because we paid cash.
RTL
The Whole Family
Our family has been following the cash envelope system for over a year and it's really working. We have a graph taped inside the kitchen cupboard where we can watch our debt decrease, our expenses decrease, and our income increase. Every month we sit down as a family and make our financial plan for the upcoming month based on income from the previous month. In other words, we're spending money we already have and not spending tomorrow's money to pay for today.
Today my 13-year-old daughter asked me if she could have an advance on her weekly allowance to buy a shirt. I hesitated only briefly before firmly saying "no" and reminding her that we're almost into the next month's budget when her clothing envelope will be re-supplied. If she still wants the shirt, she's welcome to buy it then. She didn't argue, and I felt great about further reinforcing the concept that we don't take on debt. Instead, we plan, and we save, and we make choices.
Virginia R. in Victoria BC Canada
Kitchen Compost Collection
I have a tip for mess- and stress-free kitchen compost collection. Since brown paper bags and (soy-ink based) newspaper are compostable, rather than having a big container collecting wet compostables, I just take a small plastic container, line it with newspaper or a brown paper bag, and collect compostable kitchen scraps there. Either once a day or when it's full, I just empty the plastic container right into the compost box, bag and all.
The plastic rarely gets wet because the paper barrier catches almost all of the mess. No more fruit drippings, potato peels or coffee grounds sticking to the container. I keep my container right in the kitchen sink instead of on the counter, so spills can be easily rinsed away.
Best of all, I'm meeting the "brown waste" component of compost without having to try.
Natalie L. in Vancouver, Canada
