I have a shower stall with a textured floor that was becoming a real eyesore due to I could not get the floor clean. I bought a handled cleaning brush and spray with CLR foaming product. Let the spray set for a few minutes then scrub with the brush. The CLR will also dissolve hard water build-up. The shower floor looks brand new, no scratch marks, and no grime!
Barbie M

More methods for easier and cleaner baths and showers at www.stretcher.com/stories/01/011210a.cfm

Starting a Victory Garden

Tell your reader to contact the agricultural extension for her state (I found the web link for Texas to be texasextension.tamu.edu). Ag extensions are run through the state universities. They often have county offices. If your reader contacts them (the county office is the best because they will have information specific to her area), they will give her all the information she could want -- for FREE. When I did this in my state, I got a brochure on each vegetable I was interested in, with planting times, starting tips, recommended varieties and their attributes, common pests and how to treat for them, etc. You can also get more general information on composting, soil preparation, organic gardening, etc. Happy gardening!
CKB

More resources for the gardener at www.stretcher.com/stories/01/011210b.cfm

Clutter Control

Going along with this idea from the Pack Rat article www.stretcher.com/stories/01/ 011119f.cfm - Rather than saving all those trophies and plaques from little league, bowling, and essay contests, just remove the small engraved piece from the trophy and save that! Most of the time, the part that is engraved with the name, accomplishment, and date are small and simply glued on. They can be gently pryed off in most cases. You can save a considerable amount of space this way. I have had mine remounted all onto one nice plaque that preserves my memories but only takes up the space of one 11x14 picture frame.
Mindi

Clean or Not?

I use to do unnessary loads in the dishwasher because I couldn't remember whether the dishes in the dishwasher were clean or dirty. I thought about buying or making some sort of gadget to remind myself, but didn't want the expense or the hassle. Finally, I figured out that if I refilled and closed the detergent dish after unloading the clean dishes, I had a built in reminder!
Whitney B.

It's All Discretionary

Wanted to mention a show called "Buyology" on The Learning Channel. It was two parts and made very clear all the ways retailers try to get you to buy. My motto is "to be forewarned is to be forearmed"! A guy who's profession it is to watch shoppers and advise stores made quite a profound remark: Virtually every purchase in the 21st century is a discretionary purchase. He said you can live off veggies, pasta and wine. Perhaps going once a year for underwear and socks. Other than that everything is discretionary! I couldn't believe TLC would allow that to be said! And we all know what discretionary means: you can live without it! Let's hope people were listening!!
Roberta

Office Gifts

I am in a department of 12 people, and I wanted to give each person something, but didn't have the money to spend $10 or $20 bucks on each person. So I bought holiday mugs (4 for $3.00 on sale), stuffed in one package of cocoa and one package of instant cappuccino, and a few bars of ghirdelli chocolate (individually wrapped mini size and on sale for 2 bags $1.50). I wrapped in red cellophane and tied with curly ribbon. I think the price came out to less than $5.00 per person. To cut corners even more, you could make your own cocoa, flavored coffee (I saw recipes in the frugal cooking section) or making the flavored chocolate stirrers.
Jen

More Convenient Phone Cards

To make it easier to use your our phone card we program the 1-800 number into one of the speed dial slots and then we program the calling card number into another one. It makes it so simple, and we don't have to worry about where we set the card down the last time we made a call!
Meredith in MO

'Designer' Curtain Rods

While looking for a very long curtain rod when I was planning to improvise with a curtain to cover a closet organizer across some room space, I had trouble finding a rod that was 10.25 feet long. I was about to go to a big decorator store out of town when I chanced into a Home Hardware store where the clerk taught me that using copper plumbing would work fine. They come as long as 12 feet. Here in Canada and the store cuts it to your requirements for free. They are about half an inch in diameter, cost about C$7 and the brackets for them (regular curtain rod brackets) are only about C$3. Their finish resembles some designer rods yet they are very inexpensive to use and their sturdy material won't cause the middle part to sag as easily as they usually do for most rods if the curtains are heavy.
Donna C.

More Freezer Defrosting Tips

Another not-so-obvious extremely well-insulated place in every home, great for storing frozen and refrigerated foods while defrosting your freezer: your electric OVEN! It's counter-intuitive (somehow you feel the food will heat up by your own mental association, whether or not you turn the oven on), but food will keep cold for hours. Even comes with convenient pull-out shelves.
Mary M.

Regifting

Last year, my friends and I decided that we were short on time before the holidays and tired of asking "what would you like for Christmas". So we took a different approach. Each year, we all get together for lunch AFTER Christmas and exchange "regifts", gifts that we received for Christmas but didn't need, didn't fit, have tons of already, etc. We have a blast telling the story behind the gift, and everyone gets to pass of a gift they didn't think they could use and exchange it for one they need more.
P.

Clutter Conclusion

Here's a tip for decluttering your home while helping others. I love collecting books, CDs and videos at garage sales and second- hand shops. However, the books and other media started taking over my house! I especially find it hard to give up books, but I came up with a great idea - I donate excess books, videos and CDs to my local library. If it's something they don't have on the shelves, it will become part of the collection, and if they have a copy (or it's too worn for them to use) it goes into their bi-annual book sale which raises money for the library and it's programs. This helps me separate myself from my books as I feel I can "visit" them when I like - and after donating boxes of books for two years, I have not gone back to look up ONE of my "donated" books. Great solution for a chronic clutterer!
Dianne P. in Safety Harbor, FL

Easy Clean Drip Pans

The easiest way I've found to clean drip pans on your stove is to place them in zip loc bags, pour ammonia over them, seal and allow to stand over night in your sink. The next morning you won't have any scrubbing to do unless the burnt on food has been there an extremely long time.
Tomi M.

Emergency Preparation

After four ambulance rides for emergency purposes, I'm prepared. I keep a small envelope with my latest medical records (blood tests, medicines and dosages, etc.) tacked to the wall next to my front door, at the floor level. Some people put it in their freezer, or have it taped to the outside of their fridge. Hey, whatever works in YOUR hose. What to include? Copies of pertinent test results (ALWAYS ask for copies!) including my last blood test are as important as dosages for your medicines.
Edward S.

Finding Office Gifts

As an alternative to expensive office gift catalog items, may I also suggest another strategy. You could call one or more of your local youth organizations that have product sales, and see if their sale falls in the October-December time frame. For instance, our local Camp Fire Candy Sale is in November, and nice boxes of chocolate-covered candies, that would be $7.00-$10.00 at the grocery store, sell for $4.00 per box, plus you are supporting your local youth organization!
Mina L. in Austin, TX

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