Yankee 2.0 : do it yourself

Paper shredder maintenance

Anne Cross — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:27:00 GMT

This is a virtually free tip that will extend the life of your paper shredder and can even bring it back from the dead: Vegetable Oil. Pour some vegetable oil (corn, canola, what have you -- probably not expensive olive oil) down where the paper goes every now and then (say, mabye once a month) and it will keep that baby shredding away.

I recently did a (typically harebrained) experiment of putting a small metal plate down the shredder. I wanted to see if it would shred. It did, and it killed the shredder. I was devestated. I love that shredder (and I got it for free from a neighbor who got it as a gift for opening a new bank account somewhere). Anyway, I decided not to just give up, and I looked online for solutions. They suggested putting shredder oil (purchased at a store) down the chute to clear the system. I figured corn oil was just as good, so I got some out and poured it liberally (about a cup or so) down the feeder and waited about 15 minutes (that was the hardest part for your impulsive and impatient blogger), then turned it on.....

It worked!! Now I put about a quarter cup into the feeder every few weeks -- whenever the shredding gears sound sort of clunky -- wait a bit, then turn it on. It really revives the shredding mechanism.

No more dining out!

Anne Cross — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:50:00 GMT

I like to make pronouncements. It's easier for me to adopt or give up something altogether, rather than piecemeal. So my latest pronouncement is this: I'm not going out to eat anymore, unless I'm away from home and can't prepare something myself.

I'm a vegetarian, so my dining out options are limited. I'm also a really good cook (well, I like my own cooking better than restaurant cooking). I like to cook, I really really enjoy it. And lastly -- why should I spend $7.00 for a salad, when I can make a better one for about $1.50?

My final meal out cost me $20.00 - for an order of french fries (not very good and kind of burnt), an ear of corn on the cob (mediocre), a blah salad, and a really good dessert, plus tip. I would rather use that sawbuck for something special, so I was glad my farewell meal was only fair.

Now the challenge will be declining firmly but politely when friends invite me to go out to eat with them (not an everyday occurance, mind you, but once a month or so I probably get a local invitation to eat out). I love to entertain and will gladly host a big dinner party, but will hope I can get away with just saying "no thanks" to invites to meals away from home....

Do other people refuse to eat out on economic grounds?

One thing that's better store-bought than home-made

Anne Cross — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 12:52:00 GMT

For several months now, I've been using as many home-made cleaning products (for my person and my house) as I could. I've been making my own bath soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, face soap, laundry soap, and house cleaning stuff. Just as I'm about to finish a container of some existing product, I research how I can make a frugal and eco-friendly replacement.

I'm thrilled with almost everything I've made, and have shared my recipes here and with friends in the physical world. But on one front, I've had to concede to manufactured products. It's dishwashing in the machine.

I have about a three year's supply of hand dishwashing liquid (because I water it down in one of those foaming pumps, so it lasts for ever!). But a while ago, I finished off my powdered dish detergent and chemically store bought rinse/drying agent. I switched over to a recipe of borax + washing soda for the powder and straight white vinegar for the rinse/drying agent. Dishes weren't getting very clean and the glasses were covered in spots. I tried tweaking the recipe; I thought my machine was on the fritz; I thought it was the summer humidity -- nope, nope, and nope.

As an amateur scientist, I tried several experiments -- home-made powder plus store-bought Jet Dry stuff. Better, but not great. Store-bought powder with vinegar. Ditto. Finally, I had to admit that the combination of the store-bought powder (about $3.00 for nearly 6 months supply of Target brand eco-friendly stuff) plus the Jet Dry stuff (about $6.00 for about a three month supply of what I suspect is not very eco friendly at all) was what worked to get the dishes clean and spot-free.

I'm happily (and cleanly) staying with everything else, but this is one area where commercial science has prevailed over the domestic version.

Homemade cleaning products -- laundry and dishes

Anne Cross — Sun, 10 May 2009 22:07:00 GMT

I've been making my own personal and household cleaning products for a while now. I've shared some of the personal care items (the famous salty toothpaste, vinegar hair rinse, shampoo and body wash), and thought I would share these household cleaners with the Dollar Stretcher Community.

Laundry detergent

1 cup grated castille soap (I buy it in bulk at www.soapsaloon.com)

1 cup borax (laundry aisle of grocery store)

1 cup washing powder (laundry aisle of grocery store, Arm & Hammer brand)

Mix it all together and use 1/4 to 1/2 cup per load. Easy, eh?

Laundry whitener

A few drops of bluing (found in the laundry aisle of my grocery store) added to water brightens your laundry without bleach. Adding a few drops of bluing to a mix of 1/2 cup bleach and 1/2 cup water super-brightens your whites.

Dishwashing detergent for dishwasher

1 cup borax

1/2 cup baking soda

1/2 cup washing soda

Dishwasher rinse

Use straight white vinegar (distilled) instead of that expensive Jet Dry stuff.

I really like making my own products for many reasons -- I know they aren't tested on animals, I'm not using tons of plastic (I put everything into re-usable glass containers), they're really really inexpensive, and they're not using tons of caustic chemicals.

If you don't like these recipes, there are lots of others out there! Happy washing!

Frugal vacations

Anne Cross — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:58:00 GMT

The semester is winding down, and while I still have summer work at my other job, my schedule opens up considerably once I stop teaching. However, my income also drops considerably over the summer. I've been putting a little something into savings each week to put towards my trips, and I plan to do a fair bit of travelling, and hope to keep it as thrifty as possible -- here are some of my ideas:

Philadelphia is someplace I've always wanted to go -- and thought it would be fun to see if I could limit my museums to those that have free admission. I'm also planning to stay at the home of a fellow Servas member (this is a wonderful organization -- I'm a host and a traveler -- it's a great way to meet people around the world). While Servas hosts are supposed to provide at least one meal for their guests, I'm also going to look into dining at college dining halls. The train will cost about $110 to get there, and I hope to go for about three days. I'd love to keep my spending under $200 total, so I'll track all my expenses and see how I do.

Day trips -- I LOVE house museums. So I'm going to find those that are nearby and see if they have any discounted admission days, or if they have reciprocal memberships or educator discounts. I'll plan my trips around those days and bring a nice bagged lunch and book with me and find a public park nearby to have a nice al fresco picnic as part of my outing.

Visiting friends -- I have some friends in NYC and some with rural or water-based summer homes (it's nice to have rich pals!); staying with friends is always nice, and instead of offering to take everyone out to dinner ($$$$), I'll offer to make a meal at home for the folks I visit (I'll ask in advance). But I'll research an interesting (and inexpensive) nearby restaurant in advance, in case going out is the only option.

Professional development trip -- I'll be spending two weeks in Italy, thanks to the Italian ministry of education, which is heavily subsidizing a professional development trip for Italian teachers (like me!). The cost is very very low and includes three meals a day (and a room in a dorm), plus I can write off the cost as professional development.

Hosting -- I hope to have some international Servas guests come to my house. I'll make meals for them and show them around my little town. THis is almost like traveling without leaving home -- we'll get to learn a lot about each other.

I'm looking forward to a frugal summer of travel and think it will be a really fun "extra" to keep track of all my travel costs!

Homemade toothpaste

Anne Cross — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 18:55:00 GMT

I looked into a lot of recipes and did some experimenting until I found one that I LOVE. It took a bit of getting used to, because it is salty, but now I really really love it. I don't like mint or cinamon flavored things, and never liked the taste of toothpaste. I make mine with cardamom, clove, and bergamot oils and I LOVE the way it tastes. Did I mention I love it?

Yet another store-bought item out of my life!

Here is the recipe:

6 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (for abrasion)

4 teaspoons glycerine

1/2 teaspoon hydrogen peroxide

15 drops of essential oils (for flavor, not an "essential" ingredient)

Mix everything together and dip your brush in!

One caveat -- be sure that the essential oils you use are safe forconsumption!

Unexpected benefit of home-made stuff

Anne Cross — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:19:00 GMT

I've been slowly transitioning from store-bought to home-made for my personal and house cleaning needs. When one thing runs out (shampoo, laundry soap, etc.), I find a recipe and make it myself. I have pretty good supplies in store of most things, so it really is a slow process.

I noticed a benefit today that I hadn't expected -- it's the calming presence of the absence of labels and brands. I was sitting in the tub (don't have a shower) and looking at the glass jars of shampoo, conditioner (the vinegar rinse), and body wash that I made. No labels -- no writing (well there's some chinese writing on the old soy sauce pourer I use for my vinegar rinse, but it's faint and I don't understand it) -- no brands! I'm in a marketing-free environment in my bath tub and it's really nice.

I make a point of not displaying any company logos on my clothing (if they want to pay me to advertise for them, they can), and it's really nice to be lessening the corporate advertising in my home. I'm looking forward to the day when all of my products are hand-made and I can be almost completely free of advertising within my home.

Home-made conditioner for hair

Anne Cross — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:59:00 GMT

Okay, this might sound weird, but it really works to keep your hair soft. It's vinegar... regular old vinegar (white, red wine, apple cider) diluted 1:4 with warm water. You just pour a bit of it over your head then rinse it out after shampooing and it leaves your hair really really really soft. And it's not a "my hair is coated with synthetic smelling polymers" kind of soft -- it's soft like petting a (soft) goat or cat kind of soft.

This is my first batch -- I used apple cider vinegar and added a few drops of lemon essential oil. It smells like vinegar when you put it on, but after rinsing it out, there's no smell. I'm going to try white vinegar next.

I'm working on some home-made shampoo, too, but the first batch came out too thick -- it works great, but it's a paste, not a liquid, so I'm going to change some proportions on my next batch before I post the recipe here.

(Free) birthday organizer

Anne Cross — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:07:00 GMT

I've been looking everywhere for a birthday book, aka perpetual calendar, which is a book where you write down people's birthdays by month. I'd seen one online that I was going to order (for $9.99 plus shipping), but their only shipping method was UPS, which doesn't work for me.

I found myself at CVS today and they had those free little Hallmark calendars at the register. I picked one up and realized -- aha! -- there's no need for the calendar to be undated! So I took one of these cute and slim little calendars and will write down all the birthdates of my friends, and their increasing numbers of offspring (very hard to keep track of), and can tuck it into my little day planner. What a nice solution -- especially because it was free to me.

Digital TV conversion

Anne Cross — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:25:00 GMT

I bet I'm not alone in the Dollar Stretcher community as a person who doesn't have cable and owns an old televsion set. Over the summer, I sent away for my digital converter coupon, and recently purchased my converter box. Even with my $40.00 off coupon, I still had to pay $20.00 for it. I did some consumer research, and found the most recommended box was the RCA one, but none of the local stores carried it, so I got the second-best Zenith one instead. My local PBS station was switching over early, and I didn't want to lose it.

I lost some channels and gained some channels in the conversion. I only have very basic rabbit ears for my antenna, and I have heard it suggested that if I got an amplified antenna I would gain the channels I've lost. I don't really watch much tv, so I think I'll just keep what I have, unless I come across an amplified antenna at a yard sale or thrift store for a few dollars.

The reception is super-clear, but sometimes it gets pixelly and breaks up. What I really like is that my local PBS channel has a bunch of extra channels -- one that's mostly cooking shows, one that has lots of craft and sewing shows, and one that has PBS World -- with really great documentary programming.

So I'm enjoying the new digital world with my 10+ year old tv. It's kind of like having cable for free. There are lots of wires and things involved, and I have to unplug the box and plug in the vcr if I want to watch a video or dvd, but that's okay with me.