The Dollar Stretcher Tips 07.12.07

A lot of us wear eye glasses and know the little nose piece that is cushioned can get awful dirty and stained. Just put them in a tall glass at night when you go to bed with a few drops of liquid soap (I use Dawn). Rinse them the next morning, and they will be squeaky clean. If really dirty, it may take several soakings to get it all off.
Janice H. in Somerset, KY

Opening and closing a refrigerator wastes a lot of cold air. Keep the refrigerator full to minimize air loss when opening it. Or, if your refrigerator isn’t full, fill it with empty bottles to minimize air loss.
DM

When you harvest leaf lettuce, leave the bottom two inches of each plant, cutting off the top leafy part. If you water, you will get another crop of lettuce. You can do this over and over and have a constant supply of lettuce as long as you keep the plants watered. You can grow basil and mint and harvest part of the leaves and more will grow back as well. The same is true with rhubarb, which isn’t just a spring crop if you keep it well watered and fed.
Karen K.

If your vinyl mini blinds are just dusty, take an unused dryer sheet and rub over the mini-blind. The dust just falls to the floor in clumps and can be vacuumed up. If the blinds are dirty, take outside on a day that isn’t too windy. Place top of mini-blind over nails nailed into wide tree or fence. Spray blind with “Scrubbing Bubbles” bathroom cleaner. The dirt starts to foam up immediately. Let sit for a few minutes and hose off with water, no scrubbing required.
PJC

A great way to save money on costume jewelry that has become tarnished, instead of throwing it away spray paint it. A lot of the new costume jewelry is red, blue, black, white etc. This works great on hoops etc. A quick coating of paint and you have a new pair of fashionable earrings.
Angie M.

I have small grandchildren and we enjoy sitting outside on the porch. I had been using tiki torches and various citronella candles to shoo away the mosquitoes, I always worried about the kids burning themselves or knocking them over. (The kids are drawn to the flames like moths.) I found that putting a portable fan and allowing it to oscillate keeps the mosquitoes away. They can’t land! It also provides a refreshing breeze.
Linda C.

My husband and I were on vacation. Since most rental places do not rent smoke-free cars, we had to come up with something fast to get the cigarette smoke out of the car. We went to the grocery store and bought a potato, sliced it in half, and put one half in the front seat and one half in the back seat. The next day the smoke smell was virtually gone.
Theresa in NE

I love Dead Sea bath salts, but they can be very expensive, often $15 or more for a pound. However, craft stores sell a kit for making scented and colored bath salt gifts. You don’t even need to buy the kit; the stores sell refills, and you can get a two-pound jar of Dead Sea salts for around $7. The craft stores usually include in their weekly ad a coupon for 40% off any item not on sale, which reduces the price even more.

I don’t mind the plain salts, but you can also buy small bottles of fragrance or color. It just takes a couple of drops to customize your salts. For a quick gift, the same stores sell small decorative jars. Fill them with bath salts, add color or fragrance if you like, and tie with a pretty ribbon. If you don’t need the minerals for which Dead Sea salts are famous, you can do the same thing with Epsom salts. This is a nice soak for tired or sore muscles, and it’s available at drug stores for even less money.
Melissa D.

My three-year-old son loves bugs. Me, too! So we were checking out some bug collecting supplies, but everything was quite expensive. I checked out my local dollar store and found a very large light plastic jug, perfectly clear, with a lid that had a handle. After putting a few small holes in the top, we had a butterfly house. It also works for other creatures; I currently have two slugs in it, munching on carrots.

For smaller catchers, those little tiny Ziploc containers work great. They’re clear enough to see the bug. Plus check out the school supply section for magnifying glasses. I did spring for a net, though. I spent a whole $1.99. Everything was so cheap that I made two sets, one for here and one for Grandma’s house. As an added bonus, everything, except the net, can be stored in the big jug! Please note that these supplies are more for catch, observe and release, not for permanent collections.
M.A.

My husband and I refinanced our mortgage a few years back. Not only did we get a great interest rate, but we refinanced from a 30 year to a 15 year loan. We will have our home paid for by the time we are 53. We will save thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. We refinanced on one income. The monthly payments are still reasonable. I didn’t think we could swing a 15 year loan nor did I think it would make a big difference in the long run. Was I ever wrong! Best decision we’ve made in a long time.
A.