* Cut off the top of empty plastic milk cartons
and use the top portion as a funnel.
* Cut up old ironing boad covers to use as potholders.
* Keep your slacks, suits, shoes, etc organized in a specific order that way when you want a particular one you know exactly where to find it. If you have trouble remembering if you already wore a piece this week or last week you can work your way through the order to make sure you get a different one each day of the week.
* Keep blinds closed on hot days to lower the
temperature in your house and raise them to let sunshine in on cold
days if the window is facing the sunlight.
* Take your lunch to work--do the math on the
difference in cost of taking your lunch to work for say $2.00 a day
or less in some people's cases vs. buying lunch and spending $5 or $6
on lunch and the savings really add up over the course of a month.
* Carry coupons for
fast food restaurants you eat at in the car, so that you have them on
hand when you need them.
* Save gift bags and bows and reuse them.
· TracFone has the largest
digital coverage area in the U.S.
· TracFone Wireless service requires No contracts, No deposits
and No monthly bills
· Tracfone digital service includes free voice mail, free caller
ID and free call
waiting
· TracFone Wireless service is pay-as-you-go so that subscribers
control their costs
· TracFone currently sells the very popular Nokia 5100 Series
digital cell phone
· TracFone offers its customers the highest rated customer service
in the wireless
industry (source: Planet Feedback, 2002)
The Thrift Meister and
Mrs. Thrift Meister both use TracFones. If you were going
to do a lot of talking the cost of minutes relative to other services
would not be a good buy. But if like the Thrift Meisters'
you are only going to use it for emergency situations then it is the
best buy the TM has found. You save your unused minutes from
one month to the next and you can get a cell phone for a price that
works out to only $9 a month. (buy the two month service agreement
for 30 units). You can activate the phone on their web site in minutes
after you receive it.
* The federal government has consolidated recall
lists in one Web site: www.recall.gov.
* Refill printer cartridges with kits available
in stores or at least buy a generic refill instead of buying the manufacturers
brand.
* Sell your used ink cartridges to re-manufacturers.
It is easy to find buyers on the web. Search for cartridge buyers on
the major search engines.
* Use coupons where ever you can—check local
newspapers, on-line coupons and the mail.
* Instead of buying small trash can bags use plastic
bags from grocery and discount stores.
* Use rechargeable batteries.
* The water that is run before taking a shower
which usually goes down the train—keep a bucket handy to catch
it and then reuse it to water the plants, use as pets drinking water,
use in humidifier etc.
* The picture on Christmas cards can be cut off
if there is no writing on the back and used as a post card.
* Putting a drop of clear nail polish on thread
that secures buttons will harden and help secure buttons so they don’t
fall off.
* Old newspaper can have many uses saving more
expensive paper such as cleaning windows, wrapping feminine hygiene
articles, wrapping up table scrapes to dispose of etc.
* Take broken crayons and separate by color and
remove paper. Put into glass jar put into hot water pot on stove and
heat water, don’t let water get in jar. Stir crayons until they
melt then pour into small candy molds creating new crayons.
* Use the liner in breakfast cereal boxes for
wax paper.
* Breakfast cereal boxes can be used for a gift
box—store flat till needed to save space.
* Soap bits can be put in a jar with water (heat
it help melt the soap) to make your own liquid soap.
* Soap bits can be used to mark fabric for cutting
when sewing—it washes right out.
* Sew up a washcloth leaving one side open and
stuff the soap silvers into it. Just wet and you are ready to wash.
* The long plastic bags from newspapers can be
worn like a glove then you can pick up things you don’t want to
touch and pull the back inside out over the “untouchable”
and then throw it all away.
* What to do with old telephone books—use
the pages to wash windows, shred and use for shipping material, cover
(or not) and use as a child booster seat.
* To remove makeup from around the eyes use diluted
baby shampoo.
* To make colorful homemade envelopes unfold a
regular envelope to use as a pattern then place on the picture from
a calendar and cut out and glue together. Use white mailing labels to
address.
* If your phone company charges extra for tone
dialing use a phone that switches between tone and pulse and dial using
pulse then switch to tone for any prompts that require tone to navigate
through a menu or leave a message. If your phone company charges $1.50
for pulse dialing then you save $18 a year just for the way you dial.
* Cheap knee pads—use a bubble envelope—tie
it to your knees.
* To make cleaning
a crock pot easier—cook your food in one of the oven cooking bags.
Then store the leftovers in the cooking bag to save on freezer bags.
* If you can cut your own hair you can save hundreds
of dollars over a few years. An electric hair trimmer like those used
in barber shops costs around $15 - $20 in Wal-Mart and will pay for
itself in one or two haircuts. The TM does this and its not
as hard as it seems. Start out by just giving yourself trims instead
of cuts. After you go to the barber keep it trimmed a little every week
which will greatly extend the time between cuts. As you get more comfortable
you will gradually be able to take over the entire process.
* Before printing off the internet do a print
preview and if the last page is just useless icons or not relevant to
the part you want to print then select the pages you want to print thereby
saving paper and ink.
* Buy gift wrap on sale after the holidays and
buy solids and plaids which can be an all purpose wrapping paper for
different occasions during the year
* If you need an extra battery for your cell phone
check garage sales for old cell phones which might still have the battery
in them and would be cheaper than buying a new battery.
*Brown bag your lunch. If you add up the cost of buying lunch everyday and compare that to the cost of bringing your lunch you can see a huge savings over a period of a month, a year, a working career.
Following are Tips on Jewelry Care
* Use a smooth, soft 100% cotton
cloth to wipe each piece of jewelry clean of make-up and skin oils after
each wearing. Use 100% cotton because paper or coarser fabrics can scratch
jewelry.
* Don't keep all your jewelry pieces
in one drawer or box thrown on top of each other. A diamond can scratchh
softer surfices. Keep pieces stored seperately.
* Check for loose stones frequently.
* Get pearls restrung every two years
at least or each year if they are used frequently.
* Clean jewelry by soaking for 10
minutes in warm soapy water using a non-detergent soap. Don't use toothpaste--it's
too abrasive.
Forbes Magazine Favorite On Line
Jewler
