Serving sizes

Okay, first thing that came to your mind when you read serving size? Maybe, "No, I can't eat that, I'll be starving in 10 minutes!" Or "You're kidding, that much has this much calories?" Well let's take another spin on a serving size. Sticking to serving sizes will save you in more ways then one. You'll eat less and therefor use less food and save money. Also, using the correct portions in non-food items. For example, instead of guessing how much laundry detergent to put in, measure it. You could be using what should be an 80 load bottle as a 45 load bottle.

Look for ways to save

Ideas on looking for ways to save

• Move closer to your work or school.
• Reduce your cell phone bill (do you really need to pay $10 more for unlimited minutes?)
• Reduce your TV bill (do you really watch all of the HBO shows and other extra channels?)
  
• Walk, ride your bike, carpool, use public transportation
• Stop buying soda, coffee, smokes, etc. The small purchases add up fast
• Do your own maintainance. You could pay $30 for an oil change, or $14 by doing it yourself.
• Save to buy good quality products. It's better to pay the $150 for a product instead of paying $50 every few months to replace the cheaper version.

Dumpster Diving

Now, this may not be feasible for everyone, but if you live near a college than it is! Over a year ago we had the crazy idea to go dumpster diving at the end of the school semester. It's amazing the things that you find student's throwing away. We learned after a semester or two of us doing this that we were not the only ones! There were people from the community who came in trucks with trailers to collect their finds. Here is an list of some of the things we have found: boxes of canned food, desktop computer, clothes, cleaning supplies, full size mirrors, storage buckets, baskets, suite cases, bedding, perfumes and other beauty supplies, couches, desks, tables, book shelves, books, spiral notebooks that are barely used... The list goes on. We've also started asking students before they leave what they are doing with their food and then we pick it up before they go.

Basic energy saving tips

• Update or replace your windows. This will save your money literally flying out the cracks.
• Find a way to block the draft from your door. Try something like this or make it yourself.
• Turn off unused kitchen/office appliances. Are you really using your printer all day? Or your toaster? Really now...Even if your appliance is turned off, it still is taking some electricity (think of the little light on your TV when it's off.)
  
• Use power at off peak times. (like doing laundry, showers, dish washer) First, check with your power company and see if they offer Critical Peak Pricing or if they are putting together a pilot program in the future.
• Take a few extra minutes and hang dry your clothes.
  
• Turn your thermostat down at least 1 degree and then see the change in your heating bill.
• Turn your thermostat down during the day when no one is home or at night when you're bundled in your bed warm.

Need something?

Do you need something, but don't want to pay the full retail price on a brand new one? Do you need to sell something?

Utilize the internet if you've got it. If not, go to the library and use it there! There are several websites that have "garagesales" or sites that you can sell of buy on. Here is a list of just a some that come to my mind:

• Craigslist
• Ebay
• Your local news website
• Local classifieds...like this one
• Your church's bulliten
  

Household Cleaners

This post is based off of an article and the comments that came with it that I thought were helpful!

Cooking Oil
Original purpose: A hot bath for fried foods.
Aha! use: Removing adhesive from glasses. Apply cooking oil to the sticker using a paper towel or a soft cloth, rub firmly, then rinse with warm, soapy water. (If the adhesive is stubborn, use a dab of toothpaste along with the oil.)
Reward: Goo Gone be gone—one less cleaning product to buy.

Car Wax
Original purpose: Shining up the sedan.
Aha! use: Polishing faucets, sinks, tile, even shower doors. Turtle Wax leaves behind a protective barrier against water and soap buildup, so your hard-earned sparkle will last past the next tooth-brushing.
Reward: A gleaming bathroom all week long.

Newspaper as Food-Container Deodorizer
Original purpose: Daily source for information.
Aha! use: Food-container deodorizer. Stuff a balled-up piece of newspaper into a plastic container, seal it, and let sit overnight. By morning the paper will have absorbed food smells.
Reward: That lingering curry scent is yesterday's news.

Vegetable Oil
Original purpose: Frying up a tasty batter.
Aha! use: Shining leather shoes. Use a damp cloth to wipe away dirt, then apply a small drop of oil to a soft cloth and rub the surface to remove scuff marks.
Reward: A polished look from heel to toe.

Lemonade Kool-Aid
Original purpose: Quenching your thirst.
Aha! use: Cleaning lime deposits and iron stains inside the dishwasher. Pour a packet of lemonade Kool-Aid (the only flavor that works) into the detergent cup and run the (empty) dishwasher.
Reward: Citric acid in the mix wipes out stains; you don't have to.

Mesh Vegetable Bag
Original purpose: Toting home potatoes, onions, and tomatoes on the vine.
Aha! use: Scrubbing up after dinner. Cut ends open, scrunch, and add soap and water.
Reward: After a gooey mac-and-cheese cleanup, you can throw this freebie sponge away guilt-free.

Lint Roller
Original purpose: Restoring your black turtleneck to its fuzz-free glory.
Aha! use: Dusting a lamp shade. Run the roller up and down the outside to get rid of small particles that shouldn't be there.
Reward: The satisfaction of knowing that every surface in your living room will pass the white-glove test.

Lemon
Original purpose: Adding zing to soups or salad dressings.
Aha! use: Removing tough food stains from light wood and plastic cutting boards. Slice a lemon in half, squeeze onto the soiled surface, rub, and let sit for 20 minutes before rinsing.
Reward: A house that smells like a lemon grove rather than chemicals.

Baking Soda as Silver-Polisher
Original purpose: Making cakes rise.
Aha! use Polishing silver. Wash items, then place on aluminum foil in the bottom of a pot. Add a baking-soda solution (1/4 cup soda, a few teaspoons salt, 1 quart boiling water) to cover for a few seconds.
Reward: A chemical reaction that gets the black off the gravy boat.

Salt
Original purpose: Unlocking flavor in your favorite dishes.
Aha! use: Cleaning up a spilled egg. Heap a handful of salt on the mess, leave for two minutes or so, then wipe up.
Reward: The egg sticks to one paper towel instead of sliding off five or six.

Coasters
Original purpose: Keeping wet glasses from making rings on Mom's mahogany coffee table.
Aha! use: Catching escaping drips of sticky stuff from bottles and jars in cupboards.
Shelves that don't require a full wipe-down after every spoonful of honey, slather of jam, or glug of olive oil.

Comments on Article:
Bounce dryer sheets also cleans glass shower doors wonderfully. Just use a new sheet and it will take off these spots and prevent soap scum to stick.

Salt is also great for taking the smell of onions off your hands after cutting up onions. Just put a teaspoon in your hands and add a little water, rub your hands together and then rinse. No more onion smell.

Salt has been mentioned for cleaning up wine, but another use is for puppy "mistakes." Raised dogs for years and it works great. Just pour some on the wet spot on a carpet, leave it for a few minutes, then vacuum it up. Kills the odor and dries quickly. Might want to test it first to make sure it doesn't affect your carpet color.

To clean carpets, add 1 cup undiluted white vinegar to the hot water in a steam cleaning machine. Deodorizes, cleans well and no expensive commercial soap product to buy. Plus, that soap stuff can actually contribute to the carpet getting dirty more quickly because of the residue it can leave behind.

A tip i learned from a Hotel. When a room smells bad or if you want to get rid smoke smell, sprinkle coffee grounds on the carpet and let sit for a few hours. Then vacuum. The coffee takes in the odor out of the room. And coffee smell is better than smoke or any other nasty smell that is left.

I have children with allergies to soap. I was told to add vinegar ¼ cup to the rinse cycle when washing their clothing and it would take the extra soap out. WOW, I started with the towels. I took 10 washes with the rinse cycles and a full bottle of vinegar, before the soap out. I now add it to the Downey bottle (half and half) to make it a little easier.

I have another way of cleaning patent leather items. My family has always used vaseline patroleum gelly. It works great, just apply to clean item and then take clean cloth and wipe off. No mess and the item looks like new!

You can use a can of coke to clean around the tub and sink rings. also it helps clear the drains out. we use it in out garbage disposal. also with the garbage disposal we use lemon peels or orange peels. just stick them down in it and turn it on. the acid eats any leftover food that may be in it also makes your kitchen smell very nice.

I just wanted to say that if you want your house to smell fresh here is one cheap way to do it. You Go to Dollar Tree and buy one bottle of their fabric softner and one spray bottle. Fill the spray Bottle half way with water and half way with fabric softner. Shake well. Spray it on you walls and wipe down with a wash cloth. Don't use on drywall it will peal the paint off( drywall with regular paint on it you know with no kind of sealent to seal in the paint). One of my good friends taught me that and now I do it!