Saturday, August 20, 2011

And even more ways to save money

Here's a few more things to save money - I don't think I've listed them before, but a million other bloggers have...

Crank out the vacuum cleaner and hit the things you normally don't think about vacuuming - the refrigerator and freezer coils, anything with a fan.  This one I probably have listed before.

Canned air is great for some things, but not always great for your computer.  I use the vacuum instead (sucks dust out instead of blowing it deeper inside of some sensitive parts) BUT use some caution.  You don't want to suck out any sensitive part, either.  I put my hand loosely over vented areas and then vacuum on top of that hand.  Bill (on the other hand) just goes to town with the vac.  He had to retrieve his keyboard's G key from the bag one time.

Replace the furnace and a/c filters often.  We buy the cheaper ones and try to remember to replace it once a month.

Save your sugar and flour bags.  Cut off the bottom and up one side and you have a heavy, flat sheet that can be used to drain bacon, etc.  I was using a coffee filter for a while, but it's just not quite big enough.  We have bacon a lot during tomato season, so now I'm going to save all those bags during the baking season.

Do you buy cold cereal in boxes?    All of the following I found at http://frugalforlife.blogspot.com/ .  The link is to her home page.  It's a pretty interesting read.

Here's what you can do with the wax paper liner:


Store bread ends for bread crumbs
Cut to the size of your cake and then put the frosted letters on the liner and freeze, then peel off the letters and place on your cake
Roll into a funnel and pour your spices into the little jars
Crush nuts and graham crackers in them
Use as a cover for nuking items in the microwave
Line the top of cabinets that don't go to the ceiling for easier cleanup
Cover your cutting board with a liner or two to cut down on meat juice soaking into the cutting board
Wrap a piece of liner around the cork to cooking wine for easier removal
Use in freezer to protect food products from moisture and preserve freshness
Easy to wash and reuse due to their sturdiness
Freeze meat in them
Place food on to cool, such as cookies
Use for your lunch to place your sandwich in
Roll out your pie or cookie dough on an opened bag
Use to separate meat, cheese and other food products
Cover your hand and push down rice krispy bars


Now as for the cereal boxes here are a few items to try:

The standard use as a magazine holder. Just cut diagonally in half.
Cut them up into hundreds of bookmarks, punch a hole in the top and add a ribbon
Open them up, tape the creases open and you have a temporary placemat or something to color on.
A mystery gift box for clothing
Fill with shredded paper and use as a lightweight box filler when shipping
Give them to kids for playing house and shopping
Great for the block builder in your family, and cheaper too.
Cut off the back and flaps and use as a temporary tray
Store your plastic bags, printer paper and other desktop items
Use them as backing in frames for posters and pictures
A quick file folder or mouse pad