10/22/24: Dollar Stretcher Tips

An Alternate Use for "Chip Clips"

I use those colorful plastic-coated spring clips you can find at the dollar and other stores for keeping opened food bags closed to hang things up. For hanging, I pry open one of the loops where you pinch the clip to open it, so it becomes a hook. I hang my dish drying pad from a cabinet handle and the same with my rubber gloves if they get damp inside. I fixed a curtain rod in a closet and use it to hang a collection of baseball caps, each clipped to one of these "hooks."
Lorraine in NH

Transforming Soups Into Other Meals

Try thickening meat/vegetable soup with a flour/water mixture and then using it for a pot pie or pasty filling. If it's pure vegetable soup (like tomato), thicken and add leftover cooked meat or cook those single pieces of meat that you stick in the freezer and eat over rice or egg noodles.

Also, if your kids like pizza but not spaghetti, use pizza sauce on macaroni noodles and sprinkle with mozzarella. Sneak in some diced veggies like onions or green peppers.
Jane

Related: Meal Planning Around Leftovers To Stretch the Food Budget

An Ounce of Prevention: Part One

Here are some tips to make it easier and cheaper to maintain your home.

1. Leave outdoor shoes outside or on a mat at the door. Dirt and germs stay outside. I keep gripper slippers in a basket by the door for visitors, though they generally turn them down.
2. Squeegee or wipe down the shower after use. This prevents mold and soap scum buildup. I use a dedicated hand towel and put it outside to dry. I seldom have to scrub the shower.
3. Before you wash your hair, brush it. This removes any loose hair and prevents clogged drains. I use a Swiffer or a microfiber cloth wrapped around a mop to pick up hair on the bathroom rug, so I don't have to shake or wash it often.
4. Put doormats at every entrance, outside and inside, and use them. Shake or vacuum often.
5. If you have a separate or unused tub, use a clean dust mop or Swiffer to clean it often. Remember to run water in it occasionally to fill the trap so that odors stay out.

Barbara in SC

Editor's note: Read Friday's issue for five more tips for making home maintenance easier and cheaper.

Related: Inexpensive Homemade Swiffer Cloths

Don't Forget Your Flu Shot

Nowhere in Amy Keeley's article (11 Frugal Ways To Prepare Your Family for Cold and Flu Season) was a flu shot ever mentioned.

Flu shots are cheaper than doctor visits and are good at preventing them. They are far cheaper than hospital bills.

They are also more frugal than funerals. I lost one good neighbor and one good former neighbor during the last flu epidemic before COVID-19, both on the same day. Neither got the shot, and I told one to get it.

Be good to yourselves and your families, and be grateful to all the scientists who work to save lives. Get the shot — the knot in the arm will disappear fast. And stay alive.
Margaret

Related: Inexpensive Natural Chest Congestion Remedies

Start Saving Those Seeds

Whenever I fix fresh vegetables or fruit, I save the seeds in tiny dishes and let them air dry. Next, I package them using paper bags I save from inside instant pudding boxes.

When ready to use, I take a "pudding" paper bag, mark it for what seeds will be going in there, date it, place the dry seeds inside, fold it over twice, and staple it shut. I put the bags in a shoebox and keep the box in a cool, dark place. Seeds can also be stored in a tin can in the fridge! Next spring, I will have all kinds of seeds to plant at no cost.

I do the same thing with my marigold flowers. Last fall, I pulled all the brown, dry flowers from their pods. I then placed these strands/seeds in an envelope I marked, dated, and saved. This past spring, I planted them. They came up beautifully. I have marigolds all over the yard! As my brother always says to me, free is good!
Martha

Related: Frugal Seed Starters for Cutting Gardening Costs

Free Fire Starter

When my paper shredder is filled, I empty it into a basket I keep for our wood stove. When starting fires, the shredded paper ignites fast with smaller wood, and my fire starts quickly. Burning shredded paper with personal information is a sure way of preventing it from falling into the wrong hands of identity-seeking individuals.

Using shredded paper is simple, free and safe as long as a little is used and not enough to cause a chimney fire. For years, this has worked well for us, and we're not buying any form of retail fire starters, which saves money.
S.

Editor's note: Just a reminder to be careful about chimney fires. You never want to risk burning the house down to save a few dollars. Have your chimney serviced regularly and be cautious about what you burn in the fireplace.

Related: Affordable Chimney Care and Safety