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  • Make your own hot-flash spray, and other frugal hacks

    Posted Aug 22 2008, 12:21 AM by Donna Freedman
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    Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money

    An important part of frugal living is to do things yourself: cleaning your own house (and with vinegar instead of pricey products), cooking instead of buying takeout, cutting your kids' hair (or your own). But Smart Spending message board readers go way beyond replacing their own windshield wipers or crocheting baby blankets. After reading the "I make my own" thread on the message board, I felt pretty inadequate.

    Readers craft their own cat litter. They grow sunflowers and toast the seeds. They cook dried beans and turn them into refried beans. They make their own vanilla extract, dog biscuits, bath salts, jams, hummus, laundry detergent, dishcloths, toothpaste, greeting cards, croutons, modeling clay, shower curtains, carrot sticks and granola. They brew their own biodiesel.   Read More...

    Discuss ( 8 comments) 4,483 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this

  • Airing your clean laundry: Skip the dryer, rack up savings

    Posted Mar 24 2008, 09:33 AM by Donna Freedman
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    Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money

    Tired of putting quarters into the dryer? Save two bits and do your bit for the environment by getting a drying rack.

    According to a group called Project Laundry List, electric dryers amount for 5% to 10% of residential electricity usage in the United States. Racks are the green/frugal solution for apartment dwellers who don't have access to outdoor drying.

    They're also useful to homeowners in places where housing covenants ban clotheslines. Apparently the sight of damp clothing flapping in the breeze brings down property values. A Boston Globe article quoted Frank Rathbun, a spokesman for the Community Associations Institute: "If you imagine driving into a community where the yards have clothes hanging all over the place, I think the aesthetics, the curb appeal, and probably the home values would be affected by that."

    I wonder if he means all clothes, or just boxers and briefs?   Read More...

    Discuss ( 138 comments) 105,904 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this

  • Pre-treat to preserve your garments

    Posted Nov 28 2007, 09:01 AM by Donna Freedman
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    Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
    Last summer, I had to sit down abruptly while descending a slope and wound up with blackberry stains on my backside. Yesterday, I spattered my blue cotton blouse with turkey gravy. I'll admit it: I'm a mess. But then and now, Spray 'n Wash saved me. I've also had great success with Shout . And for whites, I use what my mom used: a cotton swab dipped in bleach. Some of you may be more interested in green laundry products . In addition, many stains can be removed with ordinary household items like vinegar or cornstarch. If you don't have a stain-removal product, get one. It'll pay for itself the first time you use it because you won't have to replace the sullied garment. Out, out, darned spot I thought everyone knew about stain removal. To me, it's basic Laundry 101: pre-treat the spots and you won't have the replace the clothes. But several university students I talked to seemed mystified by the idea. You're probably wondering how the subject came up. While eating my brown-bag lunch on campus   Read More...
    Discuss ( 4 comments) 614 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this