I just thought of a couple of other things.

I use white vinegar mixed with about two or three parts water for mouthwash. A gallon of white vinegar is really cheap. If I happen to get an inflamed spot on my gums, I rinse with straight vinegar a time or two. Works wonderfully! Keeps your mouth healthy and you do get used to it.

White vinegar is a disinfectant and you can use it for cleaning the bathroom, too. Sinks, toilet, everything. Just put some in a bucket of warm water with some dish soap added, too.

And for urine odor, it can't be beat! Use white vinegar on pet spots on carpet or wherever, and on urine odors from adults or kids, too. You'll never have a hint of urine odor anywhere. Vinegar has a chemical reaction that turns urine to plain water is why. I used to own a senior care home and my friends and I never had even the slightest urine odor because we used white vinegar. Put it in mop water, pour it straight on urine on carpet or upholstery, use it in water to wash people's skin, even. It won't hurt.

For yeast infections and others, use plain yogurt. I took care of a man once whose family had had to spend $70 a tiny tube of medication that was the doctor's last result to try to get rid of a groin infection. I put a little plain yogurt in the microwave to take the chill off and applied it to his skin. After the first application, the infection was gone!

Overseas Coupon Program (Military)
 

http://www.ocpnet.org/

This is a great opportunity to utilize coupons you don't use and expired coupons.

What better way than to help our military families? It's a little time consuming but a great program and I'm sure it's very much appreciated by the families who are abroad.

$5 Dinners Website
 

Yep, you can clean about anything with vinegar, and I use it aall the time.

I just cleaned my wallpaper - must be 15 yrs old! and we smoke!!! - just the paper kind, and it looks like new.

1 cup vinegar to 1 gallon warm water.

:):):)

Saved on cleaners - $10 - or time and money replacing/removing that paper.

I use it for everything in the bird room, cages, tables, floor and walls.

And it's safe for carpet, vinyl, tile and laminate floors. Some wood floors too, if they're sealed well.

Okay, I'm not going to read all the posts and see if I'm duplicating myself...or somebody else...if so, I apologize.

I like Polar brand Pomegranate Dry diet soda. I buy the litre bottles when it's on sale. After one is almost gone, just a teeny bit left, I fill it up with water and stick it back in the fridge. Then I have icy cold pomegranate flavored water, and I feel like I'm getting a two-fer.

There's a lot of great advice here! I've been using vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, bleach and borax for years for cleaning--Borax is also great for getting rid of ants. That stuff is much cheaper than cleaners at the store.

I also put vinegar in the rinse part of my dishwasher, and nothing seems to work better, especially for getting rid of water spots.

I regularly keep baking soda in a jar mixed with lavendar and cinnamon, and I use that to powder my carpet before I vacuum. Letting the baking soda sit for awhile really gets odors out of my carpet.

I also use baking soda and vinegar to get small clogs out of my drains and to maintain them. The volcano effect they make is fun, and its also awesome for cleaning the sink itself. THen I pour boiling water down the drain, and it smells very fresh. I also use baking soda to scour everything, like the kitchen sink and toilet.

When I mop my kitchen floor, I use a drop of lysol and a few more drops of vinegar or lemon juice. The vinegar or juice really makes the floor shine like nothing else and it smells nice and fresh. The vinegar smell never lingers. Vinegar is also great for getting rid of weeds outside, as long as you don't put it on a plant you like!

Lately the only big changes I've made are not spending money on anything frivilous, and for the first time I planted veggies in my garden. I always did lots of flowers and herbs, but this year (so far) I've added three varieties of tomatoes (I eat them all the time), peppers, and lots of lettuce. I think I'll save a lot of money just from that.

April - I can't tell ya how much we saved growing tomatoes and peppers, but it was a lot. And we ate more of them because they were free and better than we could buy.

I still have 2 quarts of tomatoes in the freezer.
Some tomato and lettuce plants came up from last year too.

For the price of four tiny cukes, we bought four cuke plants. Our cukes got as big as my arm and there were so many we gave them to anyone who came over or walked past the house and still filled the compost with them.

:eek:

Whot??? You didn't make pickles with them?...:p

There have been times when I just don't have the time to do what I want to do with my excess veggies. I threw a huge lot of tomatos in ziplocks last year and tossed them in the freezer.

The old man was like "Ewwww" until I thawed them out and made stockpots full of spaghetti sauce a few weeks later.

I remember one year when I canned so many pickles I had to give them away because I ran out of room to store them. I've had guests come and stay and when they went to bed they would always come out in the morning laughing, because the spare room is my root cellar, All my canned food and stockpiles are stored in there, under the bed, along every open wall, on top of the bureau, in the closet, etc. I've been asked if I am a survivalist, and I say no...I'm just cheap!:D

I know what you mean, RW. I cannot pass up a good deal (or a free deal!). That's why I have about 20 containers of French's mustard in my pantry! :o I had a boatload of 50 cent coupons.....the store had a special for $.99......they doubled the coupon......FREE mustard!! We like it on sandwiches, I use it in potato salad and in various recipes, it won't go bad for years. I know it's not much but every little bit helps. :)

I love threads like this.

I save money on my cell phone. I rarely use the dang thing, and it lives in my bag unless we are traveling. I didnt want to pay $49 a month for the cheapest plan, so I got a T mobil pay as you go phone. The first time you activate it, spend $100. that makes you a gold member. As long as you buy a $10 card BEFORE the expiration date of that $100,( one year) it will roll over all the unused minutes and still be active for another year. So, my $29 phone, and $100 card now only costs me $10 a YEAR. not a month, a whole year, and all those unused minutes keep rolling over. If I miss the deadline, I dont get all the unused minutes, but the $10 stays active for the year.