Tuesday's Tips for 5/3/2011

This week's three tips to help you conserve time, money and/or resources.

• Tip #1: Remember your reusable shopping bags when you go to the store. Not only are you helping to keep down the use of plastic bags, some stores even reward you for being so conscientious. (Target gives you a 5-cent credit for each bag used. Might not seem like much, but it adds up!)
• Tip #2: For many of us pet owners, it’s time to start thinking about flea and heartworm meds. Instead of purchasing these from your vet’s office, you can save some money by getting a written prescription instead. Then shop online (at reputable sources) to get these meds online. (For other ideas for saving on pet care, see this post or my guest post on My Pet Savings.)
• Tip #3: Use olive oil around the house: rub or spray some on your measuring tools for easy clean-up of sticky substances like honey; rub it onto hand and arms (or faces) and allow the oil to soak into the skin for five minutes, then rinse with soap and water to remove paint from skin; rub a bit on a clean rag to prevent streaks, corrosion, and tarnish on stainless steel or brass.

You can check out last week's tips here. All of the tips so far are available here. And if you have a tip to share, I'd love to hear it. Email me.

Tuesday's Tips for 4/26/2011

This week's three tips to help you conserve time, money and/or resources.

• Tip #1: Keep moving without spending a cent! For a low-cost workout, check to see whether you cable plan offers any free on-demand fitness channels. Netflix has a good selection of online exercise videos. And your local library likely has a good selection as well. 
• Tip #2: Save time, energy, space and money when wrapping gifts. Instead of having various rolls of paper or gift bags for birthdays, weddings, baby showers, housewarmings, retirements, hostess gifts ... stock only white paper and gift bags. You can then customize with colorful ribbons and/or tissue paper to suit the occasion.
• Tip #3: An easy, inexpensive way to clean your microwave: Add four tablespoons lemon juice to 1 cup water in a microwave-safe, four-cup bowl. Boil for five minutes in the microwave, allowing the steam to condense on the inside walls of the oven. Then wipe clean.

You can check out last week's tips here. All of the tips so far are available here. And if you have a tip to share, I'd love to hear it. Email me.

Tuesday's Tips for 4/19/2011

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In honor of Earth Day (April 22), here are three things you can get for free this weekend:

• On April 22, bring a reuseable mug or tumbler into Starbucks and get a free brewed coffee or tea, hot or iced. Or you can get your free drink in a "for here" cup and enjoy it in the store. (Linmited to participating stores in U.S. and Canada.)
• Lowe's is celebrating Earth Day by giving away a million trees
  Visit your local Lowe's on April 23 to get your tree.
• Home Depot is offering free classes on April 23: Live Green. Save Green. Spring Eco Workshop, Eco-Friendly Gardening, Spring Interior Projects Checklist, and/or Spring Interior Projects Checklist may be available in your area. Call your local store or visit http://www.homeimproverclub.com/workshops.aspx?Type=3 to see what they are offering.

You can check out last week's tips here. And if you have a tip to share, I'd love to hear it. Email me

Tuesday's Tips for 3/29/2011

This week's three tips to help you conserve time, money and/or resources.

• Tip #1: While I love to cook from scratch, I don't always have time. So, for example, when you're making brownies from a box, consider customizing them a little. It's easy to use rum or flavored coffee creamer instead of water. You can also throw in some chocolate chips, Reese's pieces or M&Ms. 
• Tip #2: If you happen to get your cell phone wet, immediately remove the battery from the phone and place both in a shallow container filled with a layer of dry rice. cover with rice and set aside. Leave for at least 24 hours. Hopefully, the rice will draw all the moisture away and save you from having to buy a new phone.
• Tip #3: Use witch hazel and dry oats to wash your face. The oatmeal nourishes your skin while witch hazel soothes, tightens and heals. You can use oats right from the box, but might want to consider grinding them in the food processor a bit. Put some in your hand, dampen with a little witch hazel. Then add a little water. Rub on face and throat, then rinse for an inexpensive, natural face wash.

Check out last week's tips here.
And if you have a tip to share, I'd love to hear it. Email me

Tuesday's Tips for 3/22/2011

This week's three tips to help you conserve time, money and/or resources.

• Tip #1: Do you have plastic containers that have picked up an orange color from tomato-based products? Just leave them outside in the sun for a day to bring them back to their original color.
• Tip #2: You can refill a foaming handsoap pump. When empty, refill about 1/3 with regular handsoap and about 1/3 with water. Leave 1/3 empty for now. Gently tip--don't shake!--the container back and forth until the water and soap are completely mixed. You can add a little more soap or water if needed to get the proper consistency.
• Tip #3: Sign up for Kraft First Taste to get coupons (often for a free item) for new Kraft brand products.

Check out last week's tips here.
And if you have a tip to share, I'd love to hear it. Email me

Tuesday's Tips for 3/15/2011

This week's three tips to help you conserve time, money and/or resources.

• Tip #1: To get the most out of doing laundry, add vinegar to the process. Distilled white vinegar can help remove stains and when you add 1/4 to 1/2 of a cup to the last rinse cycle, it will help brighten colors, fluff up sweaters and make your soap work better. Add 1/2 cup to the wash water to help minimize static and odors.
• Tip #2: Dried Herbs and spices lose their potency quickly so buy only a small amount at a time. You can likely find spices in bulk at your local health food store or co-op.
• Tip #3:   If your romaine or leaf lettuce starts to wilt, cut a small piece of the bottom end off and put the rest of it in water in the fridge (kind of like a bouquet of flowers). It will perk right back up. Same goes for celery. (Go here for more tips on storing produce.)

Check out last week's tips here.
And if you have a tip to share, I'd love to hear it. Email me!

Tuesday's Tips for 3/8/2011

This week's three tips to help you conserve time, money and/or resources.

• Tip #1: Most Classico brand pasta sauce jars can be re-used for home canning. Check by seeing if a standard home canning ring will fit.
• Tip #2: If you live in the Rochester area and plan to adopt a pet this year, have a pet spayed or neutered or make a donation to Monroe County Dog Park, be sure to take advantage of Pet Saver Superstore's Responsible Pet Owner Club. They'll give you up to $50 in gift certificates to the store for these things.
• Tip #3: Keep a flat head screwdriver, phillips head screwdriver, tape measure and a pair of needle-nose pliers in the kitchen for quick access to tools for small repairs.

Check out last week's tips here.
And if you have a tip to share, I'd love to hear it. Email me!

Tuesday's Tips

So, each Tuesday, I’ll be sharing 3 tips—to help you conserve time, money and/or resources.

For this week:

• Tip #1: Use a potato to remove a broken lightbulb from its socket. Detailed instructions can be found here.
• Tip #2: Wash and reuse plastic food storage bags. You can buy fancy drying racks, though I’ve also read that chopsticks in a glass will work. I use magnetic bag clips to hang them by their corners on the side of my refrigerator. By the way, if you cut off the zip or slider part, these CAN be recycled with your grocery bags.
• Tip #3: Remember to weigh produce that’s pre-packaged by weight to get the most for your dollars. If you’re buying a three-pound bag of apples, weigh three or four different bags and pick the one that weighs the most. Generally, they weigh more than 3 pounds. But if one bag weighs 3.2 pounds and the other 3.7 pounds and are in all other ways equal, why not get the extra half pound for the same price?

Have a tip you’d like to share? Email me! I’d love to hear it.