It never fails. Shortly after you put a clean plastic liner in the kitchen wastebasket, something really smelly gets thrown away before the bag is full. I’ve found I can eliminate rotten odors in a wastebasket by completely covering the offending waste with a few layers of newspapers. I use the newspaper ad supplements that fill up my mailbox each week. The paper absorbs the smell entirely so you can use each bag to capacity.
Julie B. in Houston TX

I did something very inexpensive this year that made a huge difference in the temperature of our kitchen. It would work on any room in the house.

We live in Texas. Summers are very long and very hot here. The large window in the eating area of our kitchen faces West. From about 2pm on each day, the sun pours through that window and bakes the room. By the time we sit down for dinner, the area is unbearably warm (despite air conditioning) and the bright sun is blinding to those of us facing the window.

This year, I cut a large piece of “black-out fabric” a bit larger than the window. Black-out fabric is actually white and can be purchased very inexpensively at fabric stores. I installed three grommets across the top. Then I tacked three small finishing nails above the top of the window above the wooden trim. At noon each day, I can easily hang up the curtain, and by 5pm when we eat dinner, the area is much cooler and there is no more glare! After 30 years of eating at a miserably hot dinner table, it’s finally very comfortable!
JR in Houston

Many people in our area enjoy the raspberry flavored iced tea available at restaurants. Enjoy it at home by using dry drink mixes as the flavoring agent. Kool-Aid is a very concentrated flavor so use sparingly. Select a flavor (raspberry, lemonade, cherry, orange, etc.) and add to dry instant tea to make a dry mix. It can also be added to reconstituted instant tea or brewed tea for a ready-to-drink beverage. Store it in the refrigerator. Add your own preferred sweetener.

For a flavored hot tea, an alternative with more flavors available would be the gelatin dessert mixes such as Jell-O. Besides more easily accommodating different preferences, these also can be more frugal than other flavored tea options.
ALJ

I bought three cylindrical plastic containers with lids. I no longer buy a cereal just because it tastes good since we normally go through 15 to 20 boxes a month. I now buy the bags, discounted damaged boxes, and cheaper brands. I pour the cereal in the clear plastic container when I get home and then everyone can see what it is and won’t shun it because it’s generic or has a dented box.
Candy M.

If you have dogs, you know how expensive and short-lived dog toys can be. Instead of purchasing new, consider your local Goodwill or Salvation Army. We can buy a large box of children’s stuffed animals for the price of one PetSmart dog toy (without putting a dent in the thrift store’s sad, abundant supply!). Our box will last all year and the dogs love the suspense of a “new” toy, especially at Christmas. Best of all, the money dished out goes for a good cause. If you don’t have a thrift store nearby, consider http://www.freecycle.org. Just be sure that there’s nothing that could be chewed off of the toy that would be dangerous for your pet.
Mary in IL

One of the things that drives me absolutely bonkers is when a charity I have never heard of before sends me a solicitation that includes nickels or dimes and then goes on to explain how even these small amounts can do wonders for their cause! I am also aggravated when some organizations send me return envelopes that already have the postage on them. To the organizations that send cash, I send nothing and give that money to other charitable causes. As for the stamped envelopes, I soak the stamps off guilt free and again use them when I mail to other charitable groups.
Ed G.

When we needed to travel across the country to spend time with our grandchildren, we went as inexpensively as possible. I doubled the recipe of some of our favorite meals while I made them for supper and froze them in resealable bags. We were gone for four weeks and traveled 2,000 miles in our little camper trailer we pulled behind our truck. I also bought chips and snacks ahead of time while they were on sale. I made meals of fried chicken, meatloaf, etc. and we kept them in the cooler with dry ice.

I would take supper out of the cooler when we ate breakfast, place it in the fridge while we traveled, and it was ready to eat cold or warm up when we stopped for the night. I also put a frozen breakfast in the slow cooker on low at night and it would be thawed and ready to eat when we awoke in the morning.

We saved a lot of money, especially at campsites since it was out of the normal tourist season. We did not have any upset stomachs from eating out all the time and saved a lot of time by having our meals already prepared. We only ate out once when our kids took us out to eat before we left!
Judy in NE

If you will slam your iceberg lettuce against the inside of the sink with the core taking the hit, it allows you to pull the whole core out by hand and rinse the lettuce without inserting a knife. It doesn’t bruise the lettuce at all and this will help it stay fresher in your refrigerator.
Diane S. in Oklahoma

Recently, I redid our home office and found myself in need of several different sized containers for organizing things. I bought a roll of contact paper and just covered cardboard boxes (with the top flaps cut off) in sizes that I needed. I reinforced the bottoms and corners with packing tape to help them last longer before covering them with the contact paper. When I was finished, I had several really nice matching and perfectly sized organizers for the cost of a roll of contact paper.
Heather B in CA

Suspend a gallon baggie half full of water from each section of your porch (between each post). Stapling is the best way to secure. The light refraction through the water in the bag repels flies. We have even had a large table filled with food set out and not a fly on any of it. It’s nice to not be bothered by flies without having to spray expensive chemicals or light stinky candles.
Jennifer K. in Ingraham, IL

Curtains for the sewing-challenged can be easy. Use the curtain hooks that have little clips to hold the fabric on them. They are sometimes called curtain clips. Then you can use any fabric you like with the hooks, such as a patterned flat sheet. You don’t have to sew at all and you can use the fabric later for something else. Curtain clips are inexpensive and can sometimes even be found at dollar stores at ten for a dollar. They seem to be very fashionable now.
Emilie J.

For a sample copy of The Dollar Stretcher newsletter, send $2 to: Dollar Stretcher Sample, 6695 Cortez Road W., Bradenton FL 34210. Copyright 2007 Dollar Stretcher, Inc. Visit The Dollar Stretcher for even more tips & ideas!

As the temperature outside rises, so does our electric bills, elevated by all those fans and air conditioners. To minimize their elevation, prepare your air conditioner for the cooling season.

Clean the condenser coils on your window or through-the-wall units. Remove the cover to gain access to the coils and clean them with a soft bristle brush. While you’re in there, clean out any lint build up and oil the motor if it is equipped with oil ports on the sides.

Outdoor compressors for whole house units could use a good cleaning, too. Remove sticks, leaves and those fluffy seeds with a hose sprayer.

Protecting your outdoor compressor or your window unit from the hot direct sun can help increase its energy efficiency.

Don’t forget to clean or replace your air conditioner’s filter.
Naomi K.

My daughter often has rashes from unknown causes so we tend to keep some of those expensive oatmeal bath preparations in the medicine cabinet. One night she came in from a long evening of playing outdoors, and of course, she had a rash. I discovered that we were out of the normal Aveeno oatmeal bath! Ugh! I decided to try regular oatmeal (not the instant flavored oatmeal) and put it into our coffee grinder. We had an instant oatmeal bath, and it worked even better than that drugstore stuff!
Roben K. in Fresno CA

For our vacation this summer, my family will be staying for a week in a beach condominium with a full kitchen. In order to save money and eat healthier, we have decided to keep eating out to a minimum. But, who wants to spend a lot of time cooking or haul a lot of ingredients? So, I decided to pre-assemble freezer meals here at home using ingredients I bought on sale. The dinners will fit in a zipper bag and will stay cold in our ice chest until we get to our destination. They will go into the freezer and I will cook them up when we’re ready to eat them. I’ll just add a salad and some bread. We look forward to easy-to-prepare, affordable, and healthy meals away from home, and some great beach memories.
Erin J.

While processing 400 ears of corn for freezing this week, our family needed extra corn silk brushes, so we improvised and discovered a great tip. Use a microfiber cloth to silk the corn before blanching. The microfiber cloth is slightly sticky to the corn silks and absorbs any corn milk. This eliminates the corn silk beautifully and makes less mess than a brush.
Linda in Raleigh NC

I read in a book about putting basil around and the mosquitoes will leave you alone. I had a plant growing in my home and took it outdoors on the 4th of July. I sat on the porch for about four hours to watch the fireworks and did not see one mosquito.
Janet

Cleaning products are so expensive and take up an unbelievable amount of space to store. We mix equal parts of vinegar and water and a few drops of dishwashing liquid into a spray bottle to use as everyday household cleaner. This works great on sinks, shower stalls, tile and linoleum floors, counter tops, etc. Plus, it saves a ton at the discount stores at check out.
Denise O. in Beemer, NE

To get rid of gnats, fill a disposable pie pan with 1 3/4 cups white vinegar, 1 tablespoon liquid dish soap, and 2 cups water. Let this mixture sit on your kitchen counter or other problem area. You will be surprised at how many you’ll get.
Melissa J. in Madison, IN.

When I buy any plant at the store, I separate the perennials when I get home. I bought a plant for $4.99 and was able to get five plants out of it, putting it in different parts of my yard. Make sure to only buy the healthiest plants.
Melinda M.

Place a wet washcloth somewhere on yourself when you lie down to sleep with a fan set on “Low” blowing directly on you. You’ll cool off fast because the heat of your body will be drawn to the “cold spot.” This works the same way if you put a cold wet towel around your neck while you do yard work, etc.
Diane S. in North Olmsted, OH

Borax is one of those often forgotten cleaners our grandparents swore by. To remove mildew from upholstery and other fabrics, soak a sponge in a solution of 1/2 cup borax dissolved in 2 cups hot water, and rub it into the affected areas. Let it soak in for several hours until the stain disappears, then rinse well.

To remove mildew from clothing, soak it in a solution of 2 cups borax in 2 quarts (2 liters) water. Of course, modern fabrics can be a bit more fragile than our grandmother’s generation, so it’s a good idea to test a hidden corner first for sensitivity, but so far I haven’t found any problems.
Pam M.