From the category archives:

Frugal DIY

Easy to do Steps in Winterizing Your House

by BlondieWrites on March 2, 2010

Planning ways on how to go about winterizing your homes can be done anytime. It is better to be prepared for just about anything so no matter what happens in the coming months, you can take a look at your list come wintertime. If you intend to start executing the plans, the best time for this is at the fall Equinox. At this time of the year, the temperature is beginning to decrease that your house needs to be maintained so that it would be ready for the next season.

How do you go about preparing house for winter? Here are some tips that can help you with the task at hand.

1. First up, you should call an HVAC professional to inspect the heating system. They will do vital furnace inspection as well as clean the ducts. You should have stock of furnace filters with you because this must be changed every month. The furnace must be clear of all flammable materials that may cause other risks and dangers. It will be better if you can avail the kind of thermostat that is programmable. If you are utilizing a hot-water radiator at home, the valves should be opened slightly and close immediately when water appears.

2. Check for crevice cracks at the exterior of your home. Make sure that there are no exposed entry points on the pipes. If you found anything cracks or holes, seal these fast.

3. For the doors, you can use weather stripping to prevent cold air from coming inside the house. To achieve the same for windows, these must be caulked. If the house has a basement, you can protect the window wells by covering these with plastic shields. It’s time to keep the summer screens for later use and get glass replacements installed. You can also put storm windows if you have these or you simply want to.

4. The fireplace must be ready for the coming season. Put a cap at the top of the chimney so that you can keep away birds and rodents. If you haven’t cleaned the chimney for quite a while, call someone to remove creosote and soot from this part. You also have to stock up chopped wood or firewood that should be placed in dry place. Check the damper of the fireplace if this has still the right kind of closing and opening.

5. If the weather at your area usually goes lower than 32 degrees during winter, you should consider adding insulation at the attic. Through this, warm air will be prevented from creeping at the roof that might lead to ice dams. While at the roof, you must inspect worn out tiles and roof shingles and replace materials while you still have time. You must be very sure that water cannot enter your house through the roof. Gutters should also be cleaned from any kind of debris.

There are many more steps that you should consider in winterizing your house. The important thing at this point is to make sure that you will feel comfortable and safe inside even when the temperature hit the lows once the winter season starts.

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General Winterizing Tips

by BlondieWrites on March 2, 2010

Winterizing or preparing for the winter would help preserve your property and even save some energy or fuel. For example, if you are selling your home then you would need to winterize it. Winterizing your home will protect your investment and at the same time keep everything it good condition.

When winterizing your home you could get a professional to do it. There would be instances when you will be needing a plumber, an electrician or a contractor. But there could also be instances when you could do your own winterizing.

During winter, homeowners would often experience pipes freezing and bursting. To prevent pipes from freezing, faucets are often left to drip away the excess water. However, this may be expensive on the long run. A simple pipe insulation will do the work. All you have to do is surround your pipes with this insulation. This is ideal for outdoor pipes and faucets, and those located under your house.

Weather stripping which is fit around doors could also help in sealing your doorway to prevent cold air from seeping it and heated air going out. If storm windows is too expensive for you, then you could use window insulation kit which is more affordable. You could even use this with a storm window for additional insulation.

Vents and ducts would also need some inspection and at the same time some conditioning. Heated air gets lost with misaligned air ducts. You could easily repair it yourself if the misalignment is just minimal. However, if the damage is extensive then you would need to have an air conditioning expert to check the duct work for you.

Most would think that winterizing would just involve water systems and plumbing. Actually, it would even involve roof and gutter cleaning. If a home would be left for a long time during winter or up for sale, then having the roof inspected before winter is important. Cleaning the gutters and the roof would prevent too much ice forming in them resulting to serious damage on the long run.

Aside from making sure that heated air would not escape, you do all of these to watch that energy bill. Before you experience the coldest climate, you may need to make all the necessary repairs. Buying equipment early could actually allow you to buy the items in a lower price. When a lot of people are buying these things you will need at home for the winterization process, there is a tendency to see an increase in price.

If you will be leaving your home for a long time or left vacant because you are selling it, then you would need somebody to check on it, once in a while. Even if the place has been winterized, it is still important to have somebody check on any damages. Some realtors would often visit check houses every week or two during winter.

Even if you will only be going away for a few weeks time, it would still mean a lot to get somebody to baby-sit your home. You could ask them to do daily visits, even give them permission to call on repairs in case of emergency and provide information about service companies that could be called in case the need arises. Remember that winterizing is not an assurance that nothing will happen to your home or property over the winter, but it would protect your property from being completely unusable after the cold climate.

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Winterization Within a Budget

by BlondieWrites on March 2, 2010

Energy bills could run very high during winter. Winterizing or preparing for the winter may also be a problem for your purse. There are ways in which you could increase your home’s heating efficiency but at the same time, cur down a little from your previous winter electric bill.

There are things which you could do on your own. There are some homeowners who would hire professional help from plumbers, electricians and contractors. But during this stage of crisis and financial hardship, we can use some simple, do-it-your own and within the budget winterization process.

• Hiring somebody to winterize your home could be expensive. You could start learning on how you could do it from books in your local library or by tackling some cracks and holes. You could also visit websites that could give you sufficient information and even step-by-step procedures.

• You could use plastic sheets when covering unused windows and doors. They could easily be bought in different stores like home improvement shops.

• Do not forget the dryer vent and the area surrounding your washing machine and kitchen sink pipes. Any holes would let the cold wind in and is wasted energy. You could use foam or foam board which can be bought in hardware stores.

• Avoid using your ventilating fans in the kitchen and bathroom since it would suck your heated air out.

• If you have rooms that are not occupied, then it is better to seal off the vent and the doors of these rooms. Imagine keeping the room heated when nobody is even using or going in it.

• Dirty filters are not only dirty, they could also mean more money. Dirt could clog the filters and would eventually cause the filters to work harder and longer.

• You could pull your curtains off the window every morning to let the sunshine and some warmth in the room. At night, your could draw back the curtains to contain the heat and separate the windows from the rest of the heated house.

Preparing your home and your property is not the only thing that you would have to winterize. You would also need to prepare your freezer and your family members for the winter. Summer is a great time for buying sales of fresh produce. You could start stocking up during summer for the winter. You could buy canned fruits, vegetables and meat. Having enough food is important since winter would often mean roads closed, power outages, and harsh weather to be outside. Some would even have extra money with them in case of emergencies.

Aside from fresh produce, you could also start buying equipment that you may need, for example some tape to cover cracks where cold air could pass through. You could also start washing your blankets even before winter strikes. This would save you enough time and at the same time the hassle of preparing the blankets once the first freeze comes in.

Winterizing frugally can be pretty hard. Besides, winter is the most expensive season there is. Energy bills could take a chunk out of your funds. Anyway, it is important to put your family’s comfort and health before anything else.

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Save Money with Unique Handmade Birthday Invitations

by BlondieWrites on January 15, 2010

There’s so much to do when throwing a birthday party. There are party favors to choose, cakes to buy or bake and decorate, gifts to purchase, and decorations to hang. But one of the most important things to do when planning a party is to invite the guests. A party is not much fun if there’s no one there to celebrate with you!

You could go to the store and pick up a pack of invitations. Or you could make your own unique ones. It’s not as hard as you might think, and it can actually save you money. Here are some tips to help you make beautiful invitations without breaking the budget.

1. Start with the right kind of paper. Card stock is the best choice, as it is very sturdy but easy to work with. It comes in a variety of colors and patterns.

2. Fire up the computer. There are plenty of card-making programs on the market, and while some of them are expensive, the simpler ones are usually reasonably priced. They include ready-made card designs as well as clipart and fonts you can use to make your own cards. You can do everything on the computer, or you can customize the invitations with a variety of embellishments.

3. Make use of stickers that match your party’s theme. You can find themed packs of stickers at your local scrapbooking, discount or dollar store. Those featuring licensed characters can be a bit pricey, but you can find lots of fun options that are less expensive.

4. Use pressed flowers for an elegant look. You can buy these in craft stores and online, but it’s much cheaper to make your own. Just pick some small flowers, place them between two plain pieces of paper, and insert them in the middle of a heavy book. They’ll dry on their own in about two weeks. You can also buy flower presses that you can use in the oven or microwave to dry them faster, but if you only press flowers on occasion, a book will suffice.

5. Make your invitations pop with glitter. Loose glitter provides lots of shine, but it can be very messy. Glitter glue is easier to use, and you don’t have to worry about getting little shiny flakes all over the place.

6. Do you love the look of filigreed cards? Use craft punches to recreate this look in your invitations. You can find them in scrapbooking stores in a variety of shapes and sizes. As a bonus, you can use the punched-out shapes on your invitations or other projects.

7. Give embossing a try. It’s easy to do, and can be accomplished with embossing tools or embossing powder. There are even embossing pens that you can simply write with like you normally do.

8. Add more texture with embellishments such as ribbon and lace. Put scraps from sewing and other projects to use if you have them.

9. Use decorative scissors to create elegant or fun edges. You can find these in craft stores, and many have interchangeable blades.

10. Consider adding a photo. You can print it directly on the card with most card-making programs, or you can crop and paste a photo as you would on a scrapbook page.

Making unique handmade invitations is lots of fun, and your invited guests are sure to love them. So instead of buying plain old birthday invitations at the store, get creative and make your own!

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Frugal Crafts: Create a Thanksgiving Journal

by BlondieWrites on November 17, 2009

When most of us think of Thanksgiving, we think of a big dinner with the family. Some of us cook that all day, create beautiful centerpieces for the table and deck our homes out in fall colors. Others bring a drink or a dish and join someone else in the family for dinner. Either way, we enjoy one another’s company and take advantage of the long weekend.

Family and food are certainly important parts of the Thanksgiving holiday. But there is more to Thanksgiving than that. The first Thanksgiving was all about giving thanks for the bountiful harvest, as well as for the other good things that we often take for granted. But that part is often forgotten in the hustle and bustle of putting together an event for the family.

If you want to put the “thanks” back in Thanksgiving, a little creativity can help. Starting a Thanksgiving journal is a great way to get everyone thinking about the many things they have to be grateful for. Such an occasion calls for an extra special hand-decorated journal. You can make one in a snap with a few scrapbooking supplies, and the kids can even help, making it a family effort. Here’s how to make your own Thanksgiving journal.

What You Need

* Composition journal
* Scrapbooking paper
* Glue stick
* Scissors
* Embellishments (ribbons, stickers, die cuts, etc.)

Instructions

1. Use the glue stick to apply a uniform coat of glue on the front cover of the journal. Do not put any glue on the spine, but make sure to get it all the way to each edge of the cover itself.

2. Place a piece of scrapbooking paper on top of the journal, up against the spine. Press down firmly and smooth so that there are no bubbles.

3. Open the cover of the journal, and cut the scrapbooking paper even with it.

4. Do the same thing with the back cover of the journal. You could use the same paper as you used on the front, or a co-ordinating solid color.

5. Add ribbon, stickers, die cuts or any other embellishments you like to the front cover of the journal. Let glue set well before using.

Now that you have a beautiful Thanksgiving journal, it’s time to put it to good use. When your guests arrive, or after dinner, ask each one of them to write down some things that they’re thankful for. You could also encourage them to share memories of past Thanksgivings if you like. Make sure they put their name at the top or bottom of the page. This will give you a keepsake to treasure for years to come.

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5 Projects Even a DIY Mom Shouldn’t Do

by BlondieWrites on November 17, 2009

If you’re a DIY mom, you’ve probably gotten used to the idea that you can fix a lot of the problems you encounter around the house without recourse to a professional. However, there are some projects that no one who doesn’t have professional training and a lot of experience should get involved in. Let’s take a look at the types of projects you’ll want to call a pro in for, and the reasons that no amateur should take them on.

Roofing
Installing a new roof on your home or repairing an old one is a dangerous proposition, especially if you’re thinking about doing it all by yourself. Roofing can be tricky, and involves pretty significant heights. There’s a reason professional roofers almost never work alone. Falls from a roof can cause serious, lasting injuries.

On top of that, roofing requires a fairly large amount of experience and knowledge, from the standard asphalt roof to more complex slate shingle or standing seam steel roofs. Get it wrong, and you’ve wasted a lot of materials and your roof may leak! Of course, incorrect roofing may not show up in as obvious a fashion, either. Trapped moisture under a badly installed roof could cause mold and rot that you won’t find for years. When it comes to roofing, call a pro.

Complex Plumbing
Most of us can install a new drain on an existing sink, put in new faucets and handles, and do other minor plumbing jobs without much of a problem, provided we make sure we know what we’re doing. However, there are some big plumbing jobs that are worth calling in a professional for.

If you’re thinking about installing a radiator, a hot tub, a new shower, or any other appliance or fixture that’s going to require rerouting of pipes or have a significant chance of leakage, think again. Unless you’re a professional plumber yourself, you probably don’t have the skills and knowledge to deal with it.

Advanced Electrical Jobs
Another area where you should avoid dealing with the situation on your own is when you’re dealing with advanced wiring jobs. Installing or moving an outlet, rewiring part of the house, or other more complex jobs should be left up to a certified electrician. There are some personal dangers when dealing with these jobs that you don’t want to risk, plus, you could create a short that’ll cause problems in the future. That doesn’t mean that you can’t repair existing outlets, install switches or dimmers, and deal with minor wiring, however. Just make sure you know what you’re doing before you deal with electricity.

Natural Gas
If it involves gas, steer clear. This is a good rule for anyone, mom or not. Gas is tricky to work with and should be handled only by trained pros with the education for it. Otherwise, you’re risking a leak, explosions, and even possible pet or human fatalities! If you have a new stove, furnace, or other gas using appliance that needs installation, or a gas line repair, call a professional.

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Top 5 Reasons Why to Raise Chickens

by BlondieWrites on October 21, 2009

Raising chickens should not be a fuss. There are actually several reasons why people want to cultivate chickens in their backyard. Some of these are written below.

Reason # 1 - Chickens love leftovers.
A chicken’s appetite is incredible. They can eat almost everything, even their own kind! You can now say bye-bye to those unwanted leftovers being left rotten in your fridge. You feel less guilty of throwing them out into the garbage can. Plus, you can save on chicken feed. But be very careful with what you give for it may be their last supper. Tone down on the onions and garlic.

Reason #2 - Eggs!
Who doesn’t love eggs? Have them boiled, scrambled, sunny side up, etc. Admit it, pets that live comfortably inside your houses don’t give anything more than barks, meows, purrs, and sometimes, chirp. Fishes, in general, can be eaten, but who would want to eat Goldie? None of these domesticated animals produce something edible. Well, chickens, on the other hand, have lots of benefits. One of the many benefits chickens give is their egg.

You can eat fresh eggs right from the source. Either raw (good for pregnant women) or cooked, eggs taken from chickens minutes or hours ago are more tasty and nutritious than those purchased in the grocery store. You’ll notice the texture and color is way different than that of the fresh ones.

Reason #3 - Source of natural fertilizers
Your lawn or backyard could’ve never looked better. Chickens love to freely walk around. Chickens also love to peck on anything they see that can be considered as food. And what is food to them? Possibly anything that’s organic. If you let your chickens roam around your space, you’ll find out how reliable they can be. They eat pests living in your backyard - grubs, beetles, insects, earwigs, and anything that comes close.

After the digestion has set its due, they will transform what they’ve eaten into poop. But this is not just any kind of poop but a treasure called natural fertilizer. And you know what natural fertilizers do right? They keep the soil healthy for plants to grow. Cool.

Reason #4 - Low Maintenance Pets
Unlike dogs that need combing and brushing everyday to keep their fur alive and shiny, chickens doesn’t need such soulful treatment. All you have to do is provide them their daily needs like food and water. You also have to clean their pad at least twice a month and change the beddings too. In return, you can gather all the eggs. Aside from just gathering, you can also start a small business of your own by supplying poultry stores with fresh eggs or chicken meat.

Reason #5 - Grass and weed clippers
Got that right. Now you can save on mowing your own lawn by getting yourself chickens! For chickens, grasses, weeds, and leaves are treats. It’s like a lifetime dessert offering. It’s like having a cow in your own backyard. They will dig through whatever it is without even complaining about the hard work. Chickens will clip it then clean it all at the same time.

With these reasons, why bother getting yourself a dog or a cat? No offense but they can’t even water the plants nor lay eggs for breakfast. All they do is prove to their masters that they are either one’s best friends. In cases of chickens, you can have a best friend, a lawn mower, a supplier of organic fertilizer and an egg producer all in one.

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DIY Debt Settlement Strategies

by BlondieWrites on October 14, 2009

The old advice about eliminating the middle man is applicable in debt settlement as well. While it’s not always a bad decision to hire a third party to negotiate with your creditors for you, it’s not always a good idea, either. Here are some of the advantages to doing your debt settlement yourself, as well as some strategies for doing so effectively.

Advantages

1. No fees
If you are already in debt and having trouble making payments, the last thing you need is another entity to pay. Yes, debt settlement companies will consolidate your debt, but the inescapable fact is, these companies will charge you fees. It would be better to negotiate with your creditors yourself and, even if you do not get the debt reduced as low as a professional might, the fees you save will be worth it.

2. DIY is faster
Negotiating through a company takes a great deal of time. There are more phone calls to be made and more people to deal with. Dealing directly with your creditors will get things settled faster.

3. You decide the payment amount
Many third-party debt negotiators have fixed monthly payments, from which they deduct their fees. While this is not wrong and is an acceptable business practice, it may be more acceptable to you to decide yourself what you are able to pay per month.

Strategies

1. Be prepared
Before calling your creditor, make sure you have read and understand your current bill, and have that bill in front of you when you make the call. Also, have an amount in mind that you are able to pay per month or, in some cases, in a single payment.

2. Talk to the right person and keep your cool
Creditors can be harsh, and the person on the other end of the phone line may not be trained in debt negotiations. Make it clear that you are willing to make payments from the beginning of the call, and if necessary, politely but firmly ask to speak to the supervisor or manager.

3. Get all the information you can from the call
Be sure to get names of everyone with whom you speak, as well as call-back telephone numbers and, in the case of the supervisor, a mailing address. If the call is unsuccessful, you can write a certified letter to the department head, specifying the amount of the payments you are willing to make. Also, write down the time and date of the call. It’s best to keep a separate file for each creditor and write the information in the file.

4. Insist on a letter from the creditor
Verbal agreements are not enough - when you and the creditor agree on a payment amount and schedule, you need something in writing from the creditor that outlines the details of your settlement.

5. Know your rights
Creditors can be intimidating, and if you are ignorant of your rights, they may take advantage of you. Check with the Federal Trade Commission and get the facts before you call.

DIY debt settlement can save time and money, as long as it is done carefully and thoroughly.

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Sewing Project - How To Make Homemade Baby Bibs

by BlondieWrites on October 13, 2009

I just recently became a first time grandmother and have been enjoying the new little addition to our family. I am also an avid crafter and seamstress so I can often be found in my craft and sewing room creating some wonderful things for my friends and family.

With the new addition of the baby girl to our family, I decided I wanted to make some homemade baby bibs. I thought the process would be difficult, but once I got started…I realized how easy it was to create my own bibs for our grand-daughter.

Here are the supplies you will need:

1 pre-purchased terry cloth bib to use as a pattern
1 package of double fold bias tape (2 yard package), per bib
sewing machine
sewing thread
1/4 yard of cotton terry cloth fabric
Scissors
Miscellaneous sewing supplies

Note: If you really want to be frugal, you can recycle some old terry cloth bath towels for this project.

Lay your pre-purchased baby bib down on a piece of white paper and trace around the shape using a pencil, then cut out your paper pattern. Next, unroll your bias tape and cut off a piece of bias tape measuring 34″ in length. Pin your paper pattern down onto your terry cloth fabric and pin into place. Cut around the paper pattern and then remove the pins. Cover and pin the bias tape around the raw edges of the sides and bottom of your bib, don’t cover the neck area just yet.

Using your sewing machine, stitch the bias tape into place and fasten off. Cut another piece of bias tape measuring approximately 26″ long. Attach the center of the bias tape to the center neck area of the bib, pin into place. (note: a piece of bias tape about 10″ long is left at both ends of the neck edge for the ties.) Using your sewing machine, stitch around the neck opening so that you are attaching and covering the raw edges.

You can use your pre-purchased one as a guide on how it should be sewn.

Decorations: If desired, you can use 3/4″ wide eyelet lace instead of bias tape in step one of the sewing, but you will still need to use a coordinating color of bias tape for the neck area and ties. You can embroider a name or nice design onto the front of the bib or purchase some cute iron-on appliques.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Shelly Hill has been working from home in Direct Sales since 1989 and is a Manager with Tupperware. Shelly enjoys crafting, scrapbooking and sewing along with various other crafting mediums. You can visit Shelly online at my.tupperware.com/Ravish30 or her recipe blog at wahmshelly.blogspot.com for some free family recipes.

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Think Green! Everyday Items Can be Reusable - Save Money by Reusing

by BlondieWrites on October 10, 2009

As the world aspires to become more “green”, my own household has jumped on the bandwagon. We recycle newspapers, shredded paper, plastic bottles and jugs, etc. Everything we can recycle we do recycle.

Many of the items that are used in our homes every day can be recycled. Paper, certain plastics, soda cans; the list goes on and on. But by the same token, many of those same items can be reused instead.

Here are just a few items that you use in your life everyday and the ways they can be reused:

Water Bottles
If your family likes bottled water, but you don’t like the cost, or you would like to find a way to keep those bottles out of the landfills (without overworking the recycling centers), then invest in a charcoal water filter for your kitchen faucet. While the filters will have to be replaced about every three months on average, you can still save money by installing it and refilling all those bottles. You can also refill soda bottles, sports drink bottles, even milk jugs with the filtered water.

Butter, Margarine & Whipped Topping Tubs
There are more uses for plastic butter and margarine containers than I could even begin to list! First of all they make great food storage! If you prefer to use your matching Tupperware for that, there are still a ton of reasons to keep these containers handy.

One of the best ways to reuse these containers is for mixing. I use them for cake & muffin mixes, pancake mixes and even pudding. Just pour in your measured ingredients, put the lid on and give it a good shake. Pop the lid off and pour! You can even give them a bit of a squeeze forming a “spout” to make your mix pour out smoothly! This makes cooking & baking super easy and it’s a great way to reuse the containers over and over again.

I also like to use the 3-pound sized tubs for coatings! Make super easy chicken nuggets! Mix up your favorite coating recipe, drop in your chicken chunks and shake, shake, shake! You can do this with any type of coating!

The small, one-pound tubs are perfect for mixing paint, for holding homemade play dough, for sorting beads, and many, many, many other uses! You are limited only by your imagination on what you can do with these handy little containers!

Plastic and Glass Jars
Many companies are now using plastic rather than glass jars. I reuse plastic peanut butter jars to store my homemade sauces and salad dressings. Some brands of spaghetti sauce use very nice decorative glass jars that are perfect for refilling with gift mixes! You can find gift mix recipes with a quick internet search. Top the jars off with a piece of fabric, cut with decorative shears, or use a lace doily and thread a delicate ribbon through it. Tie it on the jar lid and you are all set with a beautiful hand made gift!

My husband likes to reuse jars in the garage for nuts, bolts, stray nails and more! He fastens the lids of the jars to the underside of wooden shelves, fills the jars with the tiny items and then screws the jar up into the lid. They hang there, freeing up shelf space and since they are clear, it is easy to see what they contain!

Baby Wipe Containers
You can buy refill packs for just about every brand of baby wipes. Save the containers and refill them. If you find you still have too many of these handy plastic containers, use them for just about any small item you can think of. They are washable and stackable, and they are perfect for crayons, colored pencils, markers, hair clips, sponge curlers, cotton balls, cotton swabs; the list goes on and on! Use them in the bathroom, the nursery, the garage or even the home office!

Plastic Grocery Store Bags
There are many, many great ways to reuse the plastic bags you get at the grocery store!

I have little trash cans all over the house. I like to have one in each room so that when I am in that room and need to toss something out, I don’t have to go into another room to do it. With all those little garbage cans around, I need small liners. Instead of spending the money on new liners, I reuse my plastic grocery bags. They are a perfect fit!

We also save them up and use them when we hold garage sales. They are perfect to hold your customer’s purchases, or to wrap breakable items.

These bags make great packing for shipping too! Whether it is for business or you are shipping gifts, they will cushion your items and get them there safely! And unlike newspapers, you don’t have to worry about ink rubbing off and staining your packed items!

Canvas Totes
If you find you have a surplus of the grocery store “can liners”, invest in a few basic canvas tote bags. You can pick these up at craft stores, in a myriad of sizes for very little. Use them when you shop for groceries, books, office supplies (or just about anything else) and ask the check out clerk to bag the items in your totes. Give them as gifts and encourage others to do the same thing!

Plastic Meat Trays
Plastic meat trays come in just about any size, from packaging for a single steak, to a large family pack of ground beef. I have reused plastic meat trays to sort all types of things! Outgoing mail, small toys, art supplies; the list goes on and on. And they fit great on shelves! Just wash them out and they are ready to go! The small ones are perfect for organizing the home office!

Foaming Hand Soap Bottles
Why buy a new bottle of foaming hand soap every time you run out? Those can be refilled with just about any type of soap, body wash or bath gel! For an 8 oz foaming hand soap bottle, refill with 2 oz (1/4 cup) of liquid soap, and 6 oz of water. This will save you a ton of money on buying a new bottle each time, and will help keep them out of the landfills!

Magazines
While magazines are a recyclable product, they also make it a lot less boring when sitting in the doctor’s or dentist’s office! Call around and ask the local clinics if they would be willing to take them off of your hands. You can also try nursing homes. And don’t forget all those Highlights for Children or National Geographic for Kids! If they aren’t badly beat up or written in, your local children’s shelter would probably love to have extra reading material for the kids in their care!

Make an artistic statement!
Art teachers at your child’s elementary school are always looking for donated things like cardboard paper towel and toilet paper rolls, juice containers, milk and egg cartons, colored paper, and much, much more! Call your child’s school and ask what types of things you can save to donate to the art program!

There are so many things that we can reuse in our homes if we just take the time to think about it and get creative! So the next time you get ready to toss something in the trash, instead ask yourself how you might reuse it! You never know what innovative ideas you can come up with!

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Kandi Traxel is a WAHM and the owner of Shop With a Mom www.shopwithamom.com and Simply Melt Away www.simplymeltaway.com

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