nanabirdmo

excellent idea redrummy, i just hate throwing away bits of batting and i love padded hangers but they are pricey. i will try this one.

english rose

Here in the uk we have green bags for storing fruit and veg - they are called "stay fresh longer bags" and are marvelous. I turn off all appliances at the point on the wall, except the cooker because it has a clock and it I turn it of I have to reset the clock before the oven will work. How daft is that.
Also in the UK there is a strong movement regarding the use pf plastic bags. One village in Devon is a plastic bag free zone. Many of us now carry "a bag for life" and refuse the plastic bags. Composting and recycled stuff are high on the agenda here. There are also many car share schemes and the promotion of walking or getting on your bike.
Jane

Barbm

I purchased some grocery bags to use and after trying to remember them- I find I like them much better than the plastic bags. It's hard to get a paper bag (we need to put the newpapers in to recycle) for your groceries but I ask for 1 only when I'm ready to do the papers.

I switched to washing in cold water for everything and using the line to dry. Waiting to see if my little effort pays off on the electric bill.

Haven't purchased the "green" bags for storing fruit and veggies, the food doesn't stay long enough to begin with. :)

I don't think my driving has changed- we live in a rural area and have to travel. I've always consolidated trips- I make a list of what I have to do on the right side of the road and then the return trip, again on the right. Then I don't have to cross traffic. Once I go home, I don't usually go back out.

Barb

c2cd2008

Here are several things we have done to save money:
(1) Only wash FULL loads of clothes and dishes ( I seen someone else is doing this too)
(2) Only run the central when needed. Which is not a lot right now, its nice out so were leaving our windows open and it helps freshen up the house too.
(3) We use steam to clean. We purchased a Shark Steamer and now are saving at least $10 a week on cleaners alone. Our steamer has many attachments and we can not only mop with it, but can also clean ANYTHING! And its sanitary.
(4) We joined our local FreeCycle Group on yahoo and give and recive many useable items. People are forever giving away clothes and you can recycle clothing for all kinds of sewing needs. Jeans make cute purses, rag quilts, placemats, you name it. Old shirts made great scraps.
(5) We use our crockpot a lot ( seen someone else is doing this too! )
(6) We use a pressure cooker to cook beans. You can have a great pot of beans in no time. Pressure cooking saves a ton of energy.
(7) We print postage at home so we do not have to drive to the post office. The post office will pick up your mail and packages upon request.
(8) We grow our own veggies and can and freeze a lot of food items.
(9) We purchase meat in bulk and slice it at home with the help of a slicer we purchased at Cabela's we vacuum seal them and label them with thermal labels
(10) We make our own cold cuts in the smoker.
(11) We use a thermal printer as to not spend money on ink.
(12) There are many factories here that make furniture and one that makes clothing, they throw their scraps out, I ask for them and they give them to me for free. They were just going to throw them away to start with. So they dont mind calling you and letting you have them.
(13) We only grocery shop once a month. We still have to go once a week for bread and milk locally, but when we go we only get whats in bulk, on sale or we have coupons for.
(14) We do not purchase soda's unless in 2 liter bottles so we can use them to start seeds.
(15) We do not purchase snack type foods, we make our own snacks.

c2cd2008

A thermal printer uses special paper and no ink. You cant use regular paper with it. I am sure you have seen the labels that are on boxes that come from say UPS or are on boxes you get from other places and they have a barcode on them and information on them about the shipping or whats inside? Almost always those are thermal printed. If you have ever gone inside a plant that ships items via truck, rail or other methods they will use a thermal printed label to identify the objects inside.

amma

About a year ago I found an awesome sale on thread for piecing and general sewing. They are BIG cones that should last me a loooong time, but I heard if I store them correctly they should be fine. I got tired of paying $$$ for thread and each cone with shipping cost the same as 4 small spools of thread :D I also found by doing some internet searching equally good prices on embroidery thread, metallics, varigated, glow in the dark, etc.... each averaging about one dollar a spool, shipping included.

c2cd2008

You can vacuum seal your large thread cones and put them into your freezer, they will last forever that way. My neighbor who is passed on now, used to swear by this and she was a wonderful hand quilter. I have done this with my embroidery threads which are too light to quilt with but this does work wonderful with those as well because I buy entire sets of those threads at a time.

blahel

c2cd2008 great tips! i have been considering buying a steam cleaner for a while so i was wondering how happy are you with yours and what features you like and use and what dont you like? are you happy with your shark brand? or would you buy a different one if you were to buy one now?

MCH

BUY THE STEAM CLEANER!!! :D

One of those, combined with the "Miracle Cloths" that are on the market (available at hardware stores or L&T or BBB, etc.) and you're all set!

The two most dramatic examples I have of what a fantastic cleaning job that steamer does are:
a) all those knobs, buttons, and everything else on your stove that collects grease, which you can never get completely clean...spray 'em with the steamer and all that stuff wipes away effortlessly.
b) grout on between ceramic tile kitchen counter tops...be prepared to be grossed out by what you find on the cloth. I was...enough said.

I've even found that if I moisten the cloth with the steam and then use it as a dust cloth on wooden furniture, it works great. The furniture is cleaned and dusted at the same time. Don't spray the steam directly on the furniture, however.

I used to use lemon oil, and all the other cleaners ever invented, to clean house. Not so much anymore. (I was a world-class whiner about how hard it was to keep surfaces dust free...that happens when one spreads oil all over them!) The steamer and the cloths, along with a natural bristle clean / new paint brush to clean crevises, etc., pretty much describes the contents of my "cleaning caddy".

I also have a floor steamer...I haven't used a mop on the floor in years! If you have a "Swiffer" -- TOSS IT! I have a large amount of ceramic tile...oh, my gosh! The mopping / rinsing was a MESS! Now, I just fill up my steamer, run it over the swept floor, and toss the cleaning pad into the laundry! The cool thing is that in less than 5 min. the areas steamed are dry...and streak-free.

I've used the floor steamer on ceramic tile, Pergo, and vinyl floor covering for years. No problems.

I use the steam-moistened cloths on windows, mirrors, and any other surface where I would have used the other expensive stuff.

You can also use the hand-held steamer to remove wrinkles from clothes, drapes, etc.

It's a great all-purpose tool. Just be careful of the tip...it can be very hot.

Speaking of those miracle cloths...buy some. I love 'em. I use them wet and dry. If I'm just dusting stuff, I'll wet the cloth, wring it almost dry and use it as a dust cloth. When it's dirty, just toss it into the laundry.

I found some miracle cloths in the car care section of the hardware store. Those seem to be a bit heftier than the ones sold in the housecleaning section.

In conclusion: :roll:
If you can, purchase a hand-held steamer and a floor steamer.
Always use distilled water, no matter what the manufacturer's instructions say.
Purchase a supply of "Miracle Cloths"
Purchase a couple of extra cleaning pads for the floor steamer.
Toss all those multiple / redundant household cleaners you have. ( I confess to having a couple of the all-purpose ones for those "in-between times" when I don't use the steamer)

Benefits:
In the long run, you save $$$ because don't need to use a different product for each cleaning task
In the short run, your time spent cleaning is much more productive because you're truly cleaning, not just moving stuff around
You save $$$ with the Miracle Cloths (I still have my "rag" stash...but the Miracle Cloths trump the rags for cleaning)
When you're finished cleaning with steam, there is no lingering "manufactured fragrance", i.e. "lemon fresh"
You are relieved of having to find a safe place to store the steamer(s), out of reach of children.
Pets who walk on floors that are steam cleaned don't pick up residual cleaner...and then lick their paws, literally injesting the cleaner you used.


Oh, one last tip:
The steamer does a fanatastic job on the interior of the microwave. Alternatively, to clean gunk and goo off the interior of the microwave (especially the top), just put a cup of water into glass cup or dish, set the microwave on "HI" and let it go for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the hot water and use the Miracle Cloth to wipe clean the microwave. It's that easy.

madolyn

english rose

Miracle cloths - excellent. Just one tip, when washing them DO NOT USE FABRIC CONDITIONER
Jane