What are your best cost-saving ideas??

[bykimbo]

p.s. this Google images search probably expresses the various forms best - everything from the original meal via the sausage shape through to dishes ready to serve. http://www.google.com/images?q=polen...N&hl=en&tab=wi

[HerMajesty]

Fantastic! You are amazing, Kimbo!!! Thanks!

[bykimbo]

Fantastic! You are amazing, Kimbo!!! Thanks!

Thank you, and you're welcome.

[Gothicina]

How much soda do you put in the wash?

So far these are all great ideas!!! However, even tho we live in the country, I'm not going the pig route.......vegetarian, you see. lol

I usually use a couple of heaped tablespoons.
I know some people use a mix of, 1 third, cheap powder, one third expensive powder, one third soda crystals.
I can't do that as I'm allergic to many types of washing powder/liquid & fabric softener.
I did have a file saved with tips like this but it was before I got a new hard drive, have to see if I can find it, or the web address I got it from.

[TiasTreasures]

For lino, or anything washable, when in doubt, I just dilute a tiny bit of dishsoap.......even plain warm water is good for cleaning things like floors....you walk on them, so most of us don't go the disinfectant route, I'd guess.........

In addition to using dishsoap as a general purpose cleaner . . . I like liquid hand soap next to the sink, but it's expensive, so I refill the pump bottle with the dish soap. Same stuff, just costs less, and smells like lemons instead of some kind of flower.

[TexasAda]

Somebody pointed out to me that most women's t shirts and blouses are too long to be flattering if worn untucked. If they are too long, they make one's legs look short. So I've begun hemming up my tops. I got this yellow Okinawa souvenir t shirt at a garage sale, and cut off about 4" from around the hemline. I also cut off the higher, tighter ribbed neck (it was probably a man's or unisex t shirt) and bound the lowered neckline with fabric cut off from the hemline. As well as possibly being more fashionable, it is cooler in hot weather. Not only cheap but the project kept me away from more buying sprees for a while.

[HerMajesty]

Very clever!! Makes me wish I could sew!!!! I could do the hem bit, but not the neckline. Very neat looking......shorter tops, besides being flattering, are more 'in' now.....

[Gothicina]

If you use the scented candles in a glass jar, I find you often get wax left after the wick has burned out.

If you stand the jars in a saucepan with water in it, & heat until the wax melts, you can pour the wax into the little baking cases, used for fairy cakes. Not too high, about a quarter of an inch is enough, once the wax has set again, you have wax melts ready to use in an oil burner.

As long as you have something suitable to melt them in, you can do it with other sorts of candles as well.
If they're plain not scented, just add a couple of drops of essential oil to the melted wax.

[bykimbo]

If you use the scented candles in a glass jar, I find you often get wax left after the wick has burned out.

If you stand the jars in a saucepan with water in it, & heat until the wax melts, you can pour the wax into the little baking cases, used for fairy cakes. Not too high, about a quarter of an inch is enough, once the wax has set again, you have wax melts ready to use in an oil burner.

As long as you have something suitable to melt them in, you can do it with other sorts of candles as well.
If they're plain not scented, just add a couple of drops of essential oil to the melted wax.

Clever though all that is, I fall into the camp of "can't afford to ponce about with scented candles in the first place", which saves even more money.

[astral276]

Clever though all that is, I fall into the camp of "can't afford to ponce about with scented candles in the first place", which saves even more money.

I'm of a similar mind but I go more on 'Is what I will save worth the time and effort involved in saving it?'.

Using the candle scenario...

How much is a candle scrap worth?
How much is your time worth in recycling it?
Does the latter exceed the former?
If 'Yes' then do it.
If 'No' then chuck it away and buy new.