I don’t pretend to be thrifty.  Thriftiness is far too much work.  I will say that I try to be conscious of what I spend and how I spend it.  To this end, I spend hours staring at an excel workbook where I track my expenses.  It’s exhilarating, I assure you.  The pretty colours, the dainty little number signs, the mind-blowing amount I spend at Target (!#$% thieves!). 

I wanted a place to pass on the true money savers I run across.   Which is why we find ourselves here at:

Penny Pincher #1:

Soft Scrub substitute – 1/4 baking soda, 1 TB liquid dish soap, distilled vinegar (enough to create a thick paste). 

After 10 years of living together I found out that my wonderful husband throws away Soft Scrub when it “gets crusty”.  Well, considering how often we clean, he was throwing away bottles that were half full! 

You think you know the ones you love and then you find out something truly crushing like this.  Can you believe it?!  Half full bottles.  Thrown away like so many of my dreams.  

The point of the story is that my husband refused to use anything but Soft Scrub.  I made him this mix and he scornfully walked away muttering something about my “witch’s brew” being a paltry substitute for his precious Soft Scrub.  He cleaned the shower and came back with words of praise.  He liked it.  He REALLY liked it!  If it can win my husband over, just think what it can do for you.  Give it a shot. 

For more tips on saving money using vinegar try this site:

http://www.vinegartips.com/Scripts/

Olive Garden Soup and Salad Lunch Specials
I’m a hybrid of Lady Greenwise and Penny Pincher; under these auspices, I have a yen for healthy food and good bargains. Here’s a solution that works: Olive Garden’s lunch all-you-can-eat soup, salad and breadsticks for $6.95.
Read on…

Back-to-School Shopping: Why You Should Avoid Second-Hand Stores
When you shop for back-to-school clothing for children, my advice is to avoid second-hand stores. I’m a penny pincher, but second-hand clothing isn’t always a bargain. Sometimes it’s not even sanitary or healthy.
Read on…

One of the blogs I keep up with lists a bunch of “deals” — freebies, coupons for free or nearly free items, Walgreens specials, and also her own personal Walgreens trips, where she proudly announces that she bought $115 worth of stuff and spent $6.

Sounds good, so why not?

First, when I check the things I have or can get coupons for, they’re usually not that great of an item to start with. For instance, our family rarely uses much in the way of medicine, so who cares if I can get 10 bottles of Robitussin for only $5 (after all rebates and refunds and coupons)? I don’t need ten bottles of Robitussin. I’d be surprised if we use even one per year. So, I’d have nine bottles of Robitussin to get me through the next nine years… except it goes out of date in a year or two. So, you’re spending $5 on two or three bottles of Robitussin, when you can get the generic for $1 apiece, any time, without having to crowd my limited space with big bottles of something I’m not going to use.

The same goes for “gadgets” — they take up space, I’m not likely to use them, and even if they’re “good” at what they do, the peripherals end up costing a lot — for instance, I’ve got a coupon for a free food vacuum sealer thing, and I’m considering getting it, but probably won’t. While it might help reduce freezer-burn, I have a method which is already pretty dang good, and it doesn’t cost me a cent. Plus, to use this gadget, you’ll have to purchase the special bags to go with it, and I daresay those are a bit more expensive than freezer bags.

While I kind of drool over her ability to get so much stuff for so little, when I look at the actual items she gets, I just kinda go, “huh?” Because almost without exception, these items are something that I would usually not purchase anyway, or I shouldn’t purchase them because they’re junk food. So, even if it only ends up costing me 50 cents to purchase something, if I don’t need it, shouldn’t eat it, or wouldn’t get it anyway, instead of “saving” me whatever amount of money it is between the usual price and the register price, I actually spend 50 cents that I otherwise would not have spent. And it’s for something I don’t need, shouldn’t eat, or wouldn’t get. Just because it’s “a good deal.”

Yesterday, I went out yard-saling, and found so much stuff!!!

I live in Mississippi, so, yes, it’s still warm enough to have a yard sale on the first day of November. It would not be unheard-of to have yard sales year-round, although we live in North Mississippi, so it does get cold and even snows a few times in the winter. Yesterday, it was chilly in the morning, but was about 75 degrees by the middle of the day.

In our area, we have what’s called “First Monday,” which started out over a century ago as a local cattle-trading meeting for the area farmers. It took place on the first Monday of the month, at first it was on the square, and then eventually moved to its present location. Over the years, it has changed from livestock to a monthly flea market in the same area. And it happens on the weekend of the first Monday, but unless that weekend is a holiday weekend, it really is only open on Saturday and Sunday – on the actual Monday, it’s a ghost-town. Some dealers sell dogs (I always think they run puppy mills, and feel terribly sorry for the cute little puppies, and all the other animals in cages), rabbits, roosters, or even goats; in the springtime — especially Easter, they have a lot of ducks, chicks, and rabbits. But most of the dealers have your basic flea market-type stuff — old glassware, kids’ toys, antique farm implements; and some have salvage food (still in packaging, but most likely out of date or perhaps the box was damaged so the grocery store had to toss all the contents) or cosmetics (hair-care products, toothpaste, etc.); while others sell cheap Chinese-made things — pop-up hampers, pencils and pens, etc. And of course, there are also people who only have fast food — pork skins (yuck!!), hot dogs, corn dogs, popcorn, drinks, etc.

Because the first of the month is when all the people on government assistance get their checks (either the 1st or the 3rd of the month; or if either of those days falls on a Sunday, then they will get it the day before), and because this stuff is cheap, people come out in droves! Since people are already out (and have cash, thanks to the government checks!), it can be a very good day to have a yard sale. (But, when Monday falls on the first day of the month, people who don’t get paid or don’t get their check until then will typically be out of cash and those weekends are not so good.)

So, for yard-salers like me, First Monday weekend is one not to miss. You may think I’m horrid for giving my children presents I got used at yard sales; but a lot of the stuff there is in very good condition, and when I pay just a couple of bucks for something, I know I’ll get my money’s worth; when I pay $20-50 for toys, it’s a toss-up. Now, onto the stash:

From various yard sales:

• The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, paperback, good condition, 50 cents
• two Christian relationship books I’d heard of and wanted to read — one geared toward men, the other toward women, by Gary Smalley, a quarter apiece
• 4 candy molds for chocolates (for my mom), $1
• a small bag of mixed toys that had some of the old-fashioned Little People toys like my husband and I played with when we were kids — my mom still has some of the things at her house — $1
• free Mrs. Fields cookies in their packaging, just out of date
• a small bike for my older son (seat torn a little; may need to buy training wheels) — $6
• a Sit-n-Spin, with batteries (my kids love the one at my mom’s house) — $3
• a Pooh counting book with audio — 50 cents
• a large-ish toy (not big enough for ride-on, but close) for the sand box — 50 cents
• a Take-Along Thomas playset piece (no track, no trains, no coal-loader, just the building) — $1
• a “Tot Spot” folding chair (like this, but different colors) — $1
• a black purse, excellent condition — $1
• an 80s version Trivial Pursuit game, box a little worn, but in mint condition inside — the little wedge pieces had not even been removed from the little stick — $2
• at a “stuff a bag for a dollar” yard sale, I got a long sheer curtain (to replace the current short curtain in our bedroom), and then filled the bag with a T-shirt for my mom and a sparkly shirt for my niece (it’s much too “old” for her to really wear, but she’ll have fun dressing up in it) — $1
• a brand-new still-sealed basket of play food — $3
• a good-quality big backpack (to replace my worn-out smaller backpack that is my diaper bag — it also came in handy at our First Monday excursion — I put our stuff in it, my younger son on my shoulders, and my husband carried what wouldn’t fit in the backpack and was in charge of my older son) — $2
• inside the backpack was a beautiful, soft Pooh-bear, which my older son immediately claimed (I had seen it inside the bag, and had intended on saving it for his birthday or Christmas, but emptied the bag in front of him); a few different craft items (paint-by-numbers type things); some girly stuff — brushes, combs, mirrors; and a few miscellaneous items — absolutely free!
• a 100-piece puzzle of David & Goliath — 50 cents
• a small “white-board” (I’ll use it like people used to use the old-fashioned slates [remember Laura Ingalls Wilder or Anne of Green Gables?], for my kids to learn how to write their letters and numbers) — 25 cents
• two cheap curtain rods that go with the brackets I already have on some of our windows — 25 cents
• a curtain set (valance, two floor-length panels) which should go with our bedroom –  (this looks like good-quality, and I shudder to think what the lady originally paid for it; even if it was just from Walmart, each piece probably cost between $10-20) — $1
• and I saved the best for last! — a Duplo (larger-sized Legos) table that had the top come off in two pieces for storage underneath, with 4-color Duplo boards on each piece, and on the reverse side of the top, a painted-on road. It was the same that the pediatric dentist had in his office, but in better condition. My kids will be able to use it for a train table, drive their cars on it, or build with Duplos (I’ll have to get some more). In the table there were a few Duplos, some cars to go with it, and a few odds and ends (including some things that were thrown away). While the condition was not excellent, as I noticed afterwards (two of the Duplo boards had fallen off and will need to be re-glued, the corners showed some definite signs of wear from being moved, bumped, and played with), I think it probably cost at least $300 when new, and when I asked the price, was fully expecting her to say somewhere in the $30-50 range, and was already thinking about how to talk her down. I think my eyes bugged out of my head when she said, “five dollars.” Then she said in a tired voice, “I’m just ready to go home,” and gave a tired smile. My kids will play with this thing for years. It is definitely worth — $5

Then we went to First Monday, where we got

• black socks for my husband, 3 pairs to a package, 3 packages for $5
• several wire baskets for frying things in oil (my mother-in-law envied me mine when she was here, so we got her a set plus a few more in case other people want them); also usable for any sort of straining or storage (I think they were $1 apiece, but they could have been $1.25)
• some pencils (about a nickel apiece) — $1 per package
• hair gel (50 cents apiece, and my husband liked it when we got it last time)
• hair color (I have a gray streak, plus many other strands throughout… hope it doesn’t turn me blonde or red — a little worried about it being salvage, hope not out of date or somehow messed up) — $1
• some gourmet coffee (not sure how much, but think $1 per package)
• a couple of DVDs for the kids, new and sealed – $5 apiece
• sheet set for our king-sized bed, new, in the package, with pillowcases, actually match/similar to the color on our walls (I’m not too picky about this; and the last sheets I was able to find were navy blue, and our walls are green; I prefer to match or coordinate when possible, but I’m too tightwaddy to spend that much money on it, when cheaper but non-matching ones are available… within reason, of course – I usually prefer neutral tones anyway, so I’m not going to be clashing hot pink with fire-engine red anyway) – $20

I think that’s about it! I had a great time yard-saling (my husband took our boys to a father-son thing at our church Camp — he doesn’t like “roughing it” so didn’t want to spend the night in the cold, but was more than willing to take them up for some games and stuff in the morning, so I got to stop at all the yard sales I wanted without the kids getting crabby, or worrying about them needing to go to the bathroom or being hungry or thirsty), and I got some great bargains! I’m so jazzed about that table!! I want to give it to my son for his birthday this week, but am going to try to talk myself out of it, and reserve it for Christmas as a present to both boys. I’d already gotten everything I needed for his birthday anyway, so definitely should keep it until Christmas… but it’s so tempting to give it to him now!

People call me ghetto, stingy, pennypincher, “coda”, “takaña:”. I prefer the term cost-effective/freegan. What is wrong with trying to save a few bucks here and there? I always try to find ways to save money and reuse things. If you ask me I’m also being “green”. I love flea markets, thrift shops, discount stores, food 4 less, biglots, and DIY projects. Its become kind of like a game. I’m a ghetto Marth Stewart. My favorite words are bargain, discount, free, and “gratis”. I’ve noticed my ideas aren’t very popular amongst my collegues so I decided to write about it and hopefully find other fellow frugals.

With gas prices about $4 a gallon, and the housing market in the toliet, who wouldn’t want to save money? I’ve always been frugal, but have taken this attitude to new heights. Here’s how:

1) Use cloth rags, and cloth dishtowels instead of paper napkins and towels.

2) Use reusable sanitary napkins. You can order them online. Search by “reusable sanitary napkins.” This is not as gross as you might think. You just soak the sanitary napkins in a bucket with laundry detergent when you are done with them, and then dump the entire bucket’s contents into the wash every few days.  The products do cost a lot initially, but you get that cost back over several months when you use the products over and over.

3) Use reusable bags for grocery shopping, library trips, and anytime you go outside, and need to carry your stuff.  You can find these online too at http://www.reusablebags.com .

4) Go to the library. You can get free books, videos and books on tape for FREE! Just don’t forget to return them on time!

5) Go to the library again for theri free children and adult programs. Watch a puppet show. Learn how to use a computer. Listen to a story. Do a craft.

6) Trip link! This means not taking twenty million little trips a day. Plan ahead, and see how you can travel more efficiently by combining all your errands. For example, go to the grocery store for bread on the way to the craft store for yarn. Caution: When taking a small child, take something for the child to do, and limit the trip to three places. Also take snacks.

7) Make your own granola for breakfast. You can find recipies online.

Go online when you need something. Sometimes you can get stuff for free by going to freecycle (go to Yahoo Groups), or craigslist. Also, sometimes when you buy online, you save money. Do the research, and see what works for you.

9) Cut the fat. Go through your house, and see what you really don’t need. Is it just taking up space? Get rid of it, and don’t get something to replace it. Less stuff means less stuff to clean, resulting in less cleaning materials to buy, meaning more cash in your pocket.

10) Check out thrift shops. They’ve come a long way! We got a very nice sofa at a thrift shop for $30, and it’s lasted us for three years and counting. We’ve also gotten pants, swimming suits, children’s clothing, and toys at thrift shops, and have always been very satisified. The prices can’t be beat too! Just examine what you’re buying for defects, and you’re on your way!

These tips are just the tip of the iceberg for saving money. Basically, you simpify and try to find a cheaper, easier way of doing things. For example, how about making your own coffee instead of going to Starbucks, or even giving up coffee altogether?

There are also many frugal web sites that you can explore. Just search by “frugal” on http://www.google.com, or search by “frugal” in Yahoo Groups (http://www.yahoo.com). There also used to be a leading expert in frugality, the Frugal Zealot, but I think she may have retired. She may still have a web site though, so you could search by “frugal zealot,” and see what comes up.

Thank you for visiting, and don’t forget to visit my web site at http://www.idontmatch.etsy.com for all your young children’s and women’s clothing needs! You will be spending money, but you will also be benefiting the local battered women’s shelter, because a portion of every sale goes to the shelter. Also, you will be purchasing quality items that will last a very long time (months to years).

Thank you again for visiting, and have a great day!

Sixty-One Uses For Baking Soda

Bicarbonate of soda or baking soda has many different uses in the household!

1. To make your own baking powder, stir and sift together 2 parts of Cream of Tartar to 1 part baking soda and 1 part cornstarch.

2. Be sure to keep an extra box of baking soda by your stove in case of grease or electrical fire. Scatter the powder by the handful to safely put it out.

3. Keep a container of baking soda in your garage as well as in your car to put out a fire. It won’t damage anything it touches.

4. Baking soda will also put out fires in clothing, fuel, wood, upholstery and rugs.

5. Clean vegetables and fruit with baking soda. Sprinkle in water, soak and rise the produce.

6. Wash garbage cans with baking soda.

7. Soak and wash diapers with baking soda.

8. Oil and grease — stained clothing washes out better with baking soda added to the washing water.

9. Clean your fridge and freezer with dry baking soda sprinkled on a damp cloth. rinse with clear water.

10. Deodorize your fridge and freezer by putting in an open container of baking soda to absorb odors. Stir and turn over the baking soda from time to time. Replace every 2 months.

11. Soda absorbs kitty litter odors. Cover the bottom of the kitty box with 1 part baking soda; then add a layer of three parts kitty litter on top.

12. Always add 1/2-cup baking soda to your washing machine load.

13. Clean combs and brushes in a baking soda solution.

14. Wash food and drink containers with baking soda and water.

15. Wash marble-topped furniture with a solution of 3-tablespoons of baking soda in 1 quart of warm water. Let stand awhile, then rinse.

16. Clean formica counter tops with baking soda on a damp sponge.

17. Wash out thermos bottles and cooling containers with baking soda and water to get rid of stale smells.

18. To remove stubborn stains from marble, formica or plastic surfaces, scour with a paste of baking soda and water.

19. Wash glass or stainless steel coffee pots (but not aluminum) in a baking soda solution ( 3-tablespoons soda to 1 quart water).

20. Run your coffee maker through its cycle with a baking soda solution. Rinse.

21. Give baby bottles a good cleaning with baking soda and hot water.

22. Sprinkle baking soda on barbecue grills, let soak, then rinse off.

23. Sprinkle baking soda on greasy garage floor. Let stand, scrub and rinse.

24. Polish silverware with dry baking soda on a damp cloth. Rub, rinse and dry.

25. For silver pieces without raised patterns or cemented-on handles: place the silver on aluminum foil in an enamel pot. Add boiling water and 4 tablespoons baking soda. Let stand, rinse and dry.

26. Reduce odor build-up in your dishwasher by sprinkling some baking soda on the bottom.

27. Run your dishwasher through its cycle with baking soda in it instead of soap to give it a good cleaning.

28. To remove burned-on food from a pan: let the pan soak in baking soda and water for 10 minutes before washing. Or scrub the pot with dry soda and a moist scouring pad.

29. For a badly-burned pan with a thick layer of burned-on food: pour a thick layer of baking soda directly onto the bottom of the pan, then sprinkle on just enough water so as to moisten the baking soda. Leave the pot overnight, then scrub it clean next day.

30. Rub stainless steel and chrome with a moist cloth and dry baking soda to shine it up. Rinse and dry. On stainless steel, scrub in the direction of the grain.

31. Clean plastic, porcelain and glass with dry soda on a damp cloth. Rinse and dry.

32. Remove that bad smell from ashtrays with baking soda and water.

33. Sprinkle a bit of dry baking soda in your ashtrays to prevent smoldering and reduce odor.

34. Clean your bathroom with dry baking soda on a moist sponge — sink, tub, tiles, shower stall, etc.

35. Keep your drains clean and free-flowing by putting 4 tablespoons of soda in them each week. Flush the soda down with hot water.

36. Soak your shower curtains in water and baking soda to clean them.

37. To remove strong odors from your hands, wet your hands and rub them hard with baking soda, then rinse.

38. Sprinkle baking soda on your wet toothbrush and brush your teeth and dentures with it.

39. Sprinkle baking soda in tennis shoes, socks, boots and slippers to eliminate odor.

40. Add 1/2-cup or more of baking soda to your bath water to soften your skin.

41. Putting 2-tablespoons of baking soda in your baby’s bath water will help relieve diaper rash irritations.

42. Apply baking soda directly to insect bites, rashes and poison ivy to relieve discomfort. Make a paste with water.

43. Take a baking soda bath to relieve general skin irritations such as measles and chicken pox.

44. Take 1/2-teaspoon of baking soda in one-half glass of water to relieve acid indigestion or heartburn.

45. Gargle with 1/2-teaspoon baking soda in one-half glass of water. Freshens and cleans your mouth.

46. Used as a mouthwash, baking soda will also relieve canker sore pain.

47. To relieve sunburn: use a paste of baking soda and water.

48. Bug bites: use a poultice of baking soda and vinegar.

49. Bee sting: use a poultice of baking soda and water.

50. Windburns: moisten some baking soda and apply directly.

51. Making Play Clay with baking soda: combine 1 1/4 cups water, 2 cups soda, 1 cup cornstarch.

52. Use baking soda as an underarm deodorant.

53. If your baby spits up on his shirt after feeding, moisten a cloth, dip it in baking soda and dab at the dribbled shirt. The odor will go away.

54. When scalding a chicken, add 1-teaspoon of baking soda to the boiling water. The feathers will come off easier and flesh will be clean and white.

55. Repel rain from windshield. Put gobs of baking soda on a dampened cloth and wipe windows inside and out.

56. Add baking soda to water to soak dried beans to make them more digestible.

57. Add baking soda to water to remove the “gamey” taste from wild game.

58. Use baking soda to sweeten sour dishcloths.

59. Use baking soda dry with a small brush to rub canvas handbags clean.

60. Use to remove melted plastic bread wrapper from toaster. Dampen cloth and make a mild abrasive with baking soda.

61. To eliminate dog odors or just freshen up the air, sprinkle baking soda on your carpet where your dog lies and vaccuum up. Leave the soda on the carpet for half an hour. It also eliminates odor in your vaccuum after it has been vaccuumed up. A great way to freshen up your home air during the winter when everything is closed up.

Baking Soda : Over 500 Fabulous, Fun, and Frugal Uses You’ve Probably Never Thought of(2004)
by Vicki Lansky, Martha Campbell (Illustrator)
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Baking soda gets its due in this fun collection gathered by Vicki Lansky and her readers over more than twenty years. From making an omelette extra fluffy or deodorizing those musty household smells, to improving flossing and mouth freshness or washing clay flower pots without leaving residue, the book offers hundreds of tips for making the most of this environmentally friendly and inexpensive product.

25 Amazing Uses for Baking Soda You’ve Never Thought Of

Use Baking Soda to Make Your LIfe Easier Than Ever

1. One part baking soda mixed with two parts of ground oatmeal makes a great scrub for your face. Just mix together the two ingredients and add enough water to make a paste. Gently rub the paste onto your face, avoiding the eye area. Leave the facial on for a few minutes. Then, gently remove it with plenty of cool water and a wash cloth. Your face will feel noticeably soft and smooth!

2. Is your skin suffering from a case of Poison Ivy or Sumac? Or, do the kids have Measles or Chicken Pox? Add a half cup of baking soda to a bath tub full of warm water. Soak the entire body. The baking soda will help relieve the itching and irritation. It will also help to soften skin!

3. There are many teeth whitening products on the market today, but the most natural is plain old baking soda. Simply dip your toothbrush into some soda everytime you brush! Not only will it help whiten your teeth, but it will help to clean your breath as well!

Baking soda can also be used to safely clean dentures, partials, and other dental apparatus.

4. You can use baking soda just like a dry cleanser to clean sinks, bath tubs, and toilets. It works especially well on chrome fixtures! It rinses off easily and you don’t have to worry about scratches either.

5. Hairbrushes and combs pick up not only loose hair, but they also get oily.
Clean yours once a month by soaking them in a solution of warm water and a teaspoon or two of baking soda. Scrub them with a soft brush, if needed, then rinse them with clean water and let them air dry.

6. Is your hair dull and dingy? Maybe you have a build up of shampoo, spray, mousse, and other products in your hair. Mix a teaspoon of baking soda in with your shampoo the next time you wash your hair. The soda will remove any build up and leave your hair soft.

In the Kitchen

7. A pan with burnt food in it can be cleaned with less effort if you soak it in baking soda and hot water first.

8. To open up a partially clogged drain, pour a half cup of baking soda into it. Follow this with a cup of vinegar. Allow the solution to bubble for several minutes, then run hot water down the drain.

9. Do you love dried beans, but not the gas and bloating they cause? Sprinkle a teaspoon of baking soda in the water when you soak beans. Oila! No more digestion problems!

10. You don’t need a store-bought cleaner to remove dirt and insecticides from your fresh produce either. Just mix a quarter of a cup of baking soda in a sink full of water. Wash your fruits and vegetables in the solution, then rinse with clean water.

11. Baking soda makes an effective cleaner and deodorizer for your refrigerator too! Sprinkle a little on a damp sponge and clean the inside of the appliance as you normally would. Rinse clean, and see and smell the difference!

12. Your oven is another appliance that baking soda can easily clean and deodorize. Mix some baking soda and enough water to make a paste. Use a sponge
to spread the paste over the inside of your oven. (Make sure that you don’t touch the element if your stove is electric!) Allow the paste to set undisturbed for several hours. Then, scrub your oven clean!

In the Laundry Room

13. Do you need to use a laundry booster to help get your clothes clean? Then pour in a half cup of baking soda to every washer load of laundry. You can also use baking soda with bleach too. Your laundry will look brighter and smell fresher!

In the Living Room

14. Carpet and cloth-covered furniture make beautiful additions to your house. But, they do tend to hold body odors, pet smells, cigarette smoke, and other unwanted aromas in your home. To freshen your carpet and upholstered furniture, sprinkle them with baking soda. Allow them to sit undisturbed for a half hour or so. Then, simply vacuum the baking soda up.

15. Fireplaces can also help make your home warm and cozy. But, the soot can also give your house yet another unwanted odor. To help freshen up your fireplace, clean the ashes out, then place a bowl of baking soda in it.

16. Fill a pair of old socks with baking soda. Tie a knot in the top of each sock. Then, place the socks in a pair of shoes or slippers that you want to deodorize and freshen up!

17. Are there light water rings on your finished wood nightstand? Mix together a paste of baking soda and toothpaste. Dip a soft cloth in the paste and rub the water spots away!

In the Garage

18. A paste made up of baking soda and water will clean and polish the chrome on your vehicles!
19. A box of baking soda can make an effective extinguisher if a small fire erupts in your garage.

20. Baking soda works better than one of those hanging pine trees in your vehicles. If your vehicle smells musty or smoky, fill up the ashtrays with baking soda. The soda will absorb the odors and effectively freshen the interior.

21. Corroded battery terminals can make your car, truck, van, or SUV refuse to start. Eliminate this problem by periodically cleaning the terminals with a paste made of baking soda and water. Wipe the paste and grunge off with a clean rag.

Elsewhere Around Your House

22. Does the smell of the litter box in your house announce to visitors that you have a cat? If so, you can remedy the problem by starting with a clean box. Then, pour baking soda in it until it’s a couple inches full. Finally, add kitty litter as usual. The soda will help absorb the ammonia smell.

23. Ants in your house? Keep them out by mixing up equal parts of baking soda and salt together. Then, sprinkle the mixture wherever you see the intruders coming in at.

24. Do you need to fill in some nail holes in a plastered wall? If you don’t have any spackling handy, you can simply mix together some white toothpaste and baking soda. Fill the holes in completely, then allow the mixture to dry. If you want to match the wall color, add a drop or two of food coloring to the mix before you use it.

25. And finally, many flowers, fruits, and vegetables need to be planted in acidic soil in order for them to grow to their fullest. If you’re not sure whether the soil in an area is acidic or not, then perform this test: mix up a quarter of a cup of baking soda with two cups of water. Then, stir in a cup of the soil. If the mixture foams up, then the soil is acidic.

Sources:
http://www.bellybytes.com/articles/bakingsoda.shtml
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/14781/25_amazing_uses_for_baking_soda_youve.html
http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/154/1/30-baking-soda-tips.html

Hi, my name is Vicki.  I have been a minimum wage and low-wage earner for most of my life.  This has forced me to live the simple life, or to live frugally.

Although I don’t have it quite down to an artform yet, I’m working on it.

I hope to, with this blog, cover topics that may be useful to those who happen upon my site.

So thanks for stopping by.  I’ll be posting very soon!

Yesterday when I was blog-surfing, I found a blog that talked about great deals at Kroger. We have a Kroger sort of nearby (about 30 miles away), so I checked out the deals. Pretty good, and they expired that day, so I decided to go. There are some things that I get (mostly cereal bars, which my husband has for breakfast because he doesn’t like to eat a lot first thing in the morning) that I can’t get at my local grocery stores–well, I can get them, but not at the price I’d like. The nearest place I can get them is about 30 miles away, so it’s not really a wasted trip. There are other deals I get, so I’m pretty sure I’m still saving money, even counting gas. Perhaps the prices of gas these days, I’m not doing that much better than driving 8 miles to my local stores. So, I spent 67.60 at Walmart, which included charcoal, fluoride-free toothpaste for the kids, and peat moss and compost for the garden ($19.96 plus 7% sales tax); and the rest was groceries (12 boxes of cereal bars, so I wouldn’t have to make another trip for a long time, powdered milk, eggs, and non-stick cooking spray). Then at Kroger, I spent $26.74, and my total savings was 49% or $24.28. That’s pretty good. They had a 10/$10 sale, and if you bought 10 of those items, you got $5 off, so I got 10 bags of Cheetos and Fritos for 50 cents apiece; plus I got grapes for $1/lb (excellent price!) and sweet onions for 40 cents/lb (another great price); plus oil, jelly, cocoa, feta cheese, popcorn and soy flour. I’ll have to compare the prices of these other items to my local stores to see if that’s really such an excellent price. I also went to the thrift store in that town (only got a few books for the kids [80 cents], because I didn’t see any shoes I wanted), and went to the salvage store ($3.93, for pectin, a box of cereal, some lentils, and some cans of refried beans).

The difference in mileage from my local stores to this other town was about 23 miles, which is probably a bit less than a gallon of gas, but for ease of figuring, we’ll round it to a gallon. I spent $3.09 per gallon of gas yesterday, so we’ll also round that to $3 to make it easy. That means that it costs me $6 to drive there and back, so I’d better save more than that in order to make it worth the trip — not to mention the time involved. So I technically “saved” $24.28 at Kroger (but I probably wouldn’t have bought all of those snacks–although we will eat them eventually, they’re not healthy) plus I probably saved a bit more, maybe a couple of bucks, by buying the other things at Kroger which would probably have better prices than our local stores. I also saved $6 by buying generic cereal bars at Walmart ($2 per box, instead of $2.50 per box of the brand name at Walmart, or even more at grocery stores — our local Walmart doesn’t stock the generic), and I was able to get the powdered milk, which is hard to find locally and is much more expensive. So technically, I probably spent $6 in gas to save about $30-35, which makes it a good deal.

This afternoon I snuck up on the office coffee pot hoping to get a final cup before the pot was shut down for the day. I was still several feet away from that three-burner alter of Java when my nose told me that I was in big trouble. That last little bit of coffee was obviously burnt worse than a well-done steak from Ponderosa. When I finally poured my cup (emptying the pot to the last drop), and took a sample taste, I wondered whether I might be far better off to dump it and just go for a drink of water.

It was then that my well-refined Hollander instincts kicked in. “Why, I think I can make this work,” I said. “No sense having it go to waste.” So I reached for the creamer and creamed the devil out of my mug of mud! The cream made the joe somewhat tolerable, and I want you to know that I drank to the bitter bottom of the cup.

We’ve all heard the expression “making lemonade out of lemons” when faced with a bad situation. Maybe “creaming up the bad coffee” is a better expression for us die-hard coffee freaks.