Readers' Tips

An inexpensive accordion file works for me. You can either use the A to Z markings that are often times on the tabs of each section or you can change it to the different recipe headings (soups, salads, desserts, etc). You can buy these to fit a regular size sheet of paper, so dropping clippings from magazines shouldn't be a problem. I usually clean it out and get rid of the recipes I've never actually tried about once a year.
Fran

more suggestions on how to keep your recipes organized

Instead of buying a chicken and making it last a week, buy a turkey! I got the tip from a cooking show. The cook said that turkey's cheaper per pound than chicken. I think it works better since it does have more meat, it feeds more people, and it goes on sale around the holidays. Plus, it gives everyone the "holiday" feeling.
Lindsey, Philippines

Take the insanity out of the wrapping paper dilemma, and save the environment while you're at it!

Go to your local fabric stores, looking for after-Christmas Christmas fabrics, bows, ribbons, etc. I recently purchased 50 yards of wonderful fabrics, all for only 50 cents a yard! Spools of satin ribbon were 10 cents a yard! Once you get the stuff home, run all the fabric through your washing machine and dryer to pre-shrink it. Now comes the fun part. Simply cut the fabric into various size "gift bags" (simple squares or rectangles). Serge the sides, make a "cuff" at the top to draw a strand of ribbon through, and you've got beautiful, reusable gift bags. To avoid curious recipients from peeking before the big day, simply tie the pulled drawstrings into a bow, and take a thread-and-needle stitch through it. Snip the stitches at gift-opening time.

If you don't have the wherewithal to do this project all in one year, simply snatch up some super-discounted fabric now and sew as you have time. Over the years, you'll have a pretty collection of gift bags under your tree. Remember to use them on gifts for others as well. Perhaps you could include a note with instructions, so you can start a growing trend.
Patty

If your tires come with a warranty, be sure to have the tire dealer make a mileage notation whenever you put snow tires on or off and rotate the tires. I recently received a $32 per tire credit because my tires had worn out before the warranty was up!
Cindy

I have an 8-month-old baby boy. During my baby shower, I received many bottles of baby shampoo and body wash products. From a recommendation of another new Mom, I started off with the "Foaming Wash" variety that automatically foams with a little pump. Well, as with any products, I eventually ran out. Since I really like being able to hold my baby with one hand and pump with the other, I don't like the idea of giving up this convenience, but the cost of this convenience is quite high.

Plus I have several bottles of unopened regular shampoos and body washes sitting on the counter. When I compared the list of ingredients, I found, for the most part, that they were the same. The only difference was water. So I made up my own refill. To refill a 7-ounce bottle, I put in about 2.5 ounces of non-foaming body wash and 4 to 5 ounces of water. Do not shake. It will foam up, so just turn the closed container upside down a few times. Once it dissolved into the water, it stayed that way for me. Also, do not rinse out the pumping top portion of the bottle. When I did, I found that the pump would stick in the down position, losing about 20 to 30 pumps, but eventually it returned back to normal operation.

I hope this helps others save money and use up those seemingly endless supplies of baby bath products received at showers.
Pamela M.

Use those baby pools, sand toys and beach towels year round! When my kids were small, on winter days too cold to play outside, I would lay towels out on the kitchen floor, plop the baby pool in the middle of them and tote in snow for them to play in, with mittens of course. A good amount of snow stayed frozen for well over an hour and we had a blast!
Lorraine

I just found out that I am pregnant. This is a trying time for us since we have had two pregnancies that have resulted in miscarriages. We have a new doctor and had our first visit. The doctor tested my progesterone level and found it to be very low and prescribed progesterone cream. My husband and I went right to the pharmacy and filled the prescription, $54 worth.

After I read all of the information, I realized that this was going to cost us $54 every three days. I immediately called the doctor's office and explained that this was way out of line and we should have been told this up front. I told her I would discuss this with my husband and we would have to decide what we were going to do.

Fifteen minutes later, the phone rang and the nurse was on the other end, telling me that instead of purchasing the cream for $9 a treatment, the pharmacist at our local drug store could make suppositories for $1.25 a piece! Unbelievable! Press your physicians to give alternatives. I just saved myself about $360 dollars. Don't be backed into a corner until you know all of the facts.
Christina T.

Now's the time to "hit" your local department stores and other shops that offer gift wrapping for the holiday season. The large stores buy wrapping paper in very large rolls and they often offer their customers a choice of several patterns. When they close the doors on Christmas Eve, there are often partial rolls remaining and there are even unopened cartons of some patterns. Most stores don't wish to offer the same patterns two years in a row and their "leftovers" can be purchased at a bargain price.

I bought a roll of lovely red paper some years ago (good for all ages) and will probably be using that huge roll of paper until I'm ready for the nursing home. The cost? $15. Yes, all my packages look alike, but that's okay. They don't all go to the same recipients, and if a card's lost, everyone knows who the present is from!
Sharon
Amherst County, Virginia

I took my empty "Spray and Wash" squirt bottle and refilled it half way with cheap, off-brand liquid dishwashing soap. Then I finished filling the bottle with water. I use this to pre- treat stains. It works as well as the original pre-wash treatment. In fact, it works better at getting oily stains out of clothes.
Loretta, West Virginia

Here's a soap trick I've been using for years. Buy your bar soaps in bulk when they're on sale. Take them home and open every single package. Put them in a paper bag and store in a dry place. (Not the bathroom!) A nearby linen closet works well. The bars will harden while stored, and therefore, they will last much longer.

To further protect your investment from prematurely going down the drain, be sure to store your soap in the shower where no water runs over it while the shower is on. Most people use the soap dish down by the tub, which is convenient for bathers, but it spells death to a bar of soap when the shower's turned on! Buy yourself one of those plastic-covered racks that hangs over the showerhead or attaches to the far back corner of the shower. You'll keep your dry bar of soap from turning to mush in the soap dish.
Patty J. in Minnesota -- Brrrrrr!

I have a suggestion for making your own shake and bake. Put corn flakes in your food processor and blend until they are somewhat fine. I add parsley flakes, garlic powder, and grated parmesan cheese. You can add pretty much any spice you would like. Dip boneless chicken breasts in beaten egg and roll into crumbs and bake about 40 minutes.
Diane B.

We found something interesting about unclaimed property. We are meticulous about our financial records and were shocked to find out we had unclaimed property in Florida. We have never lived in Florida.

First of all, we found out about the unclaimed property from an investigative service that was looking for a hefty fee for their assistance in claiming our property. (And who surprisingly had our social security numbers.) When I went to the Florida unclaimed property website, I could not find us listed. We received yet another letter from another agency. I then called the Florida Unclaimed Property department and they said that somehow these agencies get our information in advance of the state agency. They told us to wait a while and check again.

The second surprise was that the unclaimed property was from a mortgage company who erred on our escrow holdings during a property closing. That company was based in Florida, so the money was turned over to Florida not to Colorado where we lived.

Thirdly, we had not changed our address since dealing with the mortgage company, so apparently they made no attempt to return the money directly to us.

Finally, the process to get the money back was extremely simple, so do not pay any one to do it for you. In fact, the process through an investigative agency was more complicated. The moral of the story is that you may have unclaimed property in a state in which you haven't lived. You can check for unclaimed funds at stretcher.com/stories/990614a.cfm
KRG

We recycle Christmas cards by saving all of our cards that we get including the envelopes. I then use a pinking shears to cut out the picture or words on the card. After that, I place the picture on top of the colored envelope, and with the same scissors, I cut out the same shape. I cut it slightly larger, so the colored paper (the foil from the inside of the envelope is also great to use) can be seen outlining the card.

Then I fold white typing paper and cut the same shape, using the paper that was cut from the envelope as a guide. Make sure you do not cut the folded edge off. After this is all done, place in order the folded cut white paper, the colored paper from the envelope and the card on top. Then take a hole punch and punch two holes in it about 3/4 inch apart. Put in a little ribbon to keep them together. These make great tags for on top of all your Christmas gifts.
PS

I have found that stubbornness, when combined with politeness, can sometimes get things done that you have been told can't be done for you.

First, I deal with the person, probably the manager, who has the decision-making ability. Second, I am extremely polite, calm and reasonable. If you raise your voice, insult them, the company or the product or make threats, you will not get what you want.

Third, I tell the manager how pleased I have been with their company/products up to this point (letting them know that I am a good customer and will probably continue to be). Then I state my problem. When they tell me the policy or why they can't help me, I repeat what they have said to me, explain what I'd like them to do, and then give them a solid reason why I would like them to do so.

And I keep repeating this each time they tell me they can't. I don't know if I just wear them down eventually, but it works. I only do this if I really feel the product or service is not what it should have been. I have used this several times with success. I did this once with an insurance company which saved us thousands of dollars.
RJ

Instead of spraying your panty hose with Static Guard before putting on your winter slacks, just rub a small amount of lotion on them and your slacks will not cling to your legs. This is much cheaper and healthier, too.
Nancy H.

During a season as a professional bellringer for the Salvation Army, I discovered that wearing two socks with a plastic bag (bread wrappers are ideal) on each foot keeps feet warmer. I didn't believe it, so one day I wore the bread wrapper between socks on one foot and just the two socks on the other. It definitely made a difference!
Martha Y.

I found that I could store a lot of that "after-Christmas" sale paper in very little space. I spent about 20 minutes taking the paper off the core, rolling it quite tightly, and adding more rolls as I went. I packaged all my paper inside the cardboard cores of one package that I did not unwrap. Instead, I just opened the end.
Ann

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