I haven’t thrown any thrifty tips your way in over a week.  Here are some of the ideas and tricks that have come my way since then.

Melt Candles on a Coffee Cup Warmer

Extend the life of scented candles:  Instead of burning them
(which uses oxygen, may generate soot, and could be a fire
hazard), melt them in a heatproof jar atop an electric coffee cup
warmer. The pleasant scent will waft through the air, and the
candle will last almost forever.

Homemade Swiffer Wet Pads And Solution

Using a wet Swiffer mop can get expensive with the wet
replacement towels that cost about $4.00 for a dozen. It adds up
really fast! To combat that, I decided to try using some old thin
bath towels cut to size. I dampen them them with a cleaning
solution of about 2 Tbsp. Murphy’s oil soap to 2 quarts water,
place them on the mop as I would the Swiffer cloths, and clean my
laminate and tile floors. Cloths can be washed and reused over
and over. I save the cleaning solution in a container and it
lasts a really long time. Cost is pennies compared to what I was
spending! (Flannel cloth can work great as well! )

By Debbie from Fisher, IL

Make Liquid Non-Dairy Creamer from Powdered

I make my own liquid non-dairy coffee creamer from powdered
creamer.  I buy the 16 oz. size store brand of powdered creamer
for $1.00. I add one cup of hot water to one cup of dry creamer
and shake. Then I add one cup of cold water and shake it up
again.

I store it in a plastic bottle in the fridge. It makes 24 oz of
creamer each time, and I think I get about 3 bottles per 16 oz.
canister. I have also done this with flavored powdered creamers
as well, always with excellent results.  This way I don’t have to
worry about checking expiration dates, and I can control the
richness of the creamer by adding more or less water.   It has
really saved us money, as we drink lots of coffee!

Source: I took the recipe from Dollar General’s brand of
non-dairy creamer, and it seems to work the same way for all
other brands I have tried.

By Cynthia from Pittsburgh  PA

Bargain Hairstyling At Adult Education Classes

I just got my haircut at an Adult Education Class. They learn the
trade and are supervised and watched close as they work on
client’s hair.

I received a cut and color and paid less than $20.00. Tip is
separate. I have never had a bad color or cut. You can see if
your local High School knows of classes such as this.

By Sall from West Seneca, NY

Make Yourself Climb Stairs For Exercise

Great way to get fit? Try putting something in the basement, or
up stairs that you use daily. Sounds silly, but now that we’ve
added a playroom/computer room in our basement, I’ve lost 8 lbs!

Source: Just noticed the scale this afternoon, and realized I now
climb stairs at least 5 times a day!

By Amy from Canton, Ohio


This entry was posted on Monday, March 10th, 2008 at 7:32 am and is filed under Thrifty Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.