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| T I G H T W A D T I P S |
| KITCHEN SAVINGS TIPS |
 Vegetable Band
Aids
Save the wide vegetable bands from bunches of asparagus,
broccoli, and other vegetables. Put them in your kitchen drawer and bring-em out
when you have a stubborn cap. Wrap the cap and twist away. The rubber band
will grip the cap perfectly. These bands are also great for wrapping up cords or
hanging up broom handles. Save the rest of these bands for packages and projects. |
| HOUSEHOLD SAVINGS TIPS |
 Don't Curse Junk Mail... Shred
It.
Shred your way through junk mail, old bags, newspapers,
messy papers and torn envelopes. Then make yourself gift basket stuffing, packing
material, animal bedding and biodegradable back yard mulch. Low cost shredders are
available everywhere and some cost less than $20. (See officedepot.com officemax.com
or staples.com) Junk mail doesn’t
have to be a waste, it can be a supply. A daily routine of shredding the
pages of junk mail catalogs can become your supply for back yard biodegradable fiber mulch
or absorbent animal bedding. A light spray of a fragrant oil such as cinnamon, peppermint,
clove, vanilla, or eucalyptus oils can help to keep the animal smells at bay. Try other
scents like a spray of lemon juice, citrus cleaner, or pine oil. Shredded envelopes,
newspapers or absorbent papers are better then slick printed catalogs for this
purpose. Biodegradable soy inks make most papers good for compost or worm feeding,
but avoid plastics and cellophane envelope windows (See worm stuff: The Burrow Supplies Happy-D-Ranch See compost info: Home Depot)  Save your cardboard and catalog shredding
for a great packing material. Next time you send a fragile item in a priority mail package
or box, pack it safely with a dense volume of shredded junk mail. Save supermarket plastic
bags full of the material for later use. Don't forget to keep a bag near the fireplace as
starter fuel also. |
| KITCHEN SAVINGS TIPS |
  Over Use Under Wear
How dare you throw out used underwear! Sufficiently worn
underwear will allow you to tear out the wide elastic strip.  Save the elastic for later use with sewing needs. Cut the worn, clean,
and undamaged material into a sheet to use like cheese cloth for straining foods or for
baking and cooking needs. Grossest tip yet.
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| BABY SAVINGS TIPS |
 Rubber Baby Beauty Bumpers
Child safety gadgets and devices are a million dollar
business that feed on the fears of new parents. These fears are not baseless. National
Safety Council statistics show death by poison ranks as the third most common type of
accident in America, and death by falls as the second most common. (The first is
automobile accidents!) Parents should maintain vigilance with toddler and newborn safety,
but purchasing gobs of junk is not the solution. One way to protect toddlers from fall
injuries is to cover sharp corners and edges of tables with a foam protector. One child
safety manufacturer charges more than ten dollars for less than two yards of foam edging!
Why not use the tightwad alternative... Foam pipe insulation. Available from home repair
warehouses, various types of foam pipe insulation is available in multi-yard lengths for
about one dollar per length. The insulation is made with  a slit along the entire length and adhesive
strips are applied to each side of the cut. The general idea is to apply it around pipes
and stick the adhesive together. Instead, use the insulation to apply around the edge of
tables or sharp areas. Insulation for 1/2" pipe to 1" pipe insulation is
commonly available and will work nicely. The adhesive will attach to surfaces on top and
underneath the table, and by cutting a "V" notch into the insulation at each
corner, the foam will fit the entire circumference flawlessly. And you'll have saved a ton
of $$$ on worries! |
| HOBBY TIPS |
 Slide & Negative Viewer
Turn your expandable extra leaf table into a slide and
negative viewer. Purchasing a light box for viewing slides and negatives is an
expensive hassle. Storing the contraption is head ache. Instead, I use a 3/8"
Plexiglas sheet that I cut into the size of the extra table leaf. Underneath the
table, I place a converted incandescent to florescent table lamp and vola! I have the
perfect lighted table. I can cut photos directly on the Plexiglas and I can compose
my work on the rest of the table. I never purchased the Plexiglas either!
Instead, I use old Plexiglas office chair-mats. I cut them to the correct size with
a radial saw and make neat edges by melting them slightly with a butane torch. I
use other Plexiglas pieces to cover and protect desk and counter tops. |
| HOUSHOLD SAVINGS TIPS |
 McGyver Cam-bat Flashlight
I have a Poloroid brand Sun-600 camera that works pretty good,
as far as instant photo cameras go. After you take about ten pictures, out comes the
used cartridge, ready for another pack of film. But did you know that each cartridge of
film comes with it's own built-in battery inside the instant film pack? Poloroid
recommends that you dispose of these used batteries in landfills specially designated for
toxic waste. They can not be disposed of in the trash! Probably only one percent of
the public knows that, so here's another earth-friendly use for those batteries:
Turn them into flashlights! These Poloroid Polarpulse batteries are found inside the
empty cartridge after the photos are used. Poloroid doesn't
recommend you even touch these batteries, so you do that at your own risk. If you're
willing, they always have extra juice even after their used. Put on a pair of
gloves and twist the plastic cartridge apart. Underneath the sharp sheet metal
spring is the flat Polarpulse battery. Throw the plastic junk away and get one large
and one small paper clip. gather your needle-nose plyers and get a six-volt mini bayonette
style light bulb. The battery is six-volts and works well with a HPR5 (6.5volt,
.7amp halogen) bayonett type bulb or a PR13 (4 or 5 "D" cell) bulb. This is the
type of bulb that might be in those old lantern battery lights. Get the right 6-volt bulb,
or it will burn out fast. Bend the large paper clip in half with one end around the
base of the  bulb and slide
the other end under one of the exposed battery contacts so it stays firmly. Take the
small paper clip and bend it in half with one half under the other battery contact.
Take the other end of the clip and bend it in such a way that it rests with a little
pressure on the bottom bulb contact. Flash! Once you complete the circuit, the light
is bright. Remove the little paper clip to turn off the light. This battery works great as
a midnight book light. Slip the thin battery into a few chapters before your current page
and let your room-mate rest without light in their face. |
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