Thrift Tips 5/9

How to Save a Scratched CD/DVD

Spray the entire surface down with Pledge. Wait about 10 - 15 seconds. Wipe of Pledge until the product is completely dry. Something in Pledge smooths over the imperfections making the DVD/CD playable again. It is amazing! With 2 girls under 10, we were always having "accidents" that ruined their favorite movies or music. This tip has saved us a lot of disappointment and money.

--Kristin from Leroy Township, Ohio

Cleaning and Polishing Leather with Banana Peels

Stop buying leather/shoe polish. To clean, buff or moisturize leather/pleather/vinyl or any shiny outerwear use a banana peel. Simply rub the inside of a banana peel over the item to be cleaned and buff with a soft cloth. I have done this to my husband's motorcycle gear and it takes off dust, dead bugs, and buffs out small scuffs and scratches. I have also used it on kids shoes, purses, suitcases etc. It does work and no messy polish it deal with. I have heard that it works with potato peels too but have not tried that yet.

--Princesshammerhead from Saskatchewan, Canada

Add Baking Soda to Dish Water

Place a tablespoon of baking soda in your dish water when washing dishes by hand. It helps take off hard water stains and makes your soap last longer.

--Debbie from Bewick, ME

Use Fabric Softener Solution As Febreeze

If you're looking for a really cheap, but effective alternative to Febreeze, try this: Fill a spray bottle with 1/4 parts fabric softener to 3/4 parts water. Works just the same. I stumbled upon this tip when I ran out of Febreeze once and couldn't get to a store. I've been using this solution ever since.

--sbb1 from Umm al Quain, UAE