11 Unusual Household Uses For Food Items That Will Save You Money. Photo: charles chan * The next time you find yourself in need of a household product like stain remover, shower cleaner or ant deterrent, check the pantry before heading to the store. You might just find what you need, in the form of a common kitchen ingredient. From a green perspective, going the DIY route eliminates some of the harsh chemicals in your home, reducing your family’s exposure to them. It can also save you money. In a pinch, using cinnamon or cayenne pepper could save you the $5 needed to buy a set of ant traps. And in the long run, buying bulk containers of multi-task products like baking soda and vinegar is cheaper than shelling out for bottles of specialized, one-task cleansers.
Post your own tips below, and try these household uses for common foods: Baking soda * Jan Patterson of Cotati, Calif., uses it to remove “stubborn sticky stuff of any kind” from furniture and other household items. Bananas Use the inside of the peel to polish silver, Reichert says. Beer Cayenne Pepper. Top Ten Most Nutritious Vegetables and How to Grow Them in Your Garden.
A perfectly ripe, juicy tomato, still warm from the sun. Sweet carrots, pulled from the garden minutes (or even seconds!) Before they're eaten. Growing your own vegetables is one of those activities that balances practicality and indulgence. In addition to the convenience of having the fixings for a salad or light supper right outside your door (or on your windowsill), when you grow your own vegetables, you're getting the most nutritional bang for your buck as well. Vegetables start losing nutrients as soon as they're harvested, and quality diminishes as sugars are turned into starches.
For the tastiest veggies with the best nutrition, try growing a few of these nutrient-dense foods in your own garden. Broccoli is high in calcium, iron, and magnesium, as well as vitamins A, B6, and C. How to grow broccoliGrow broccoli in containers: One broccoli plant per pot, pots should be 12 to 16 inches deep.What to watch out for: Cabbage worm. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. OK, I cheated here. How to Make Baby Wipes. Savings Experiment: New Year's Resolutions. As you ring in the New Year, learn how to save money for peace of mind. Here's how to budget effectively. As you ring in the New Year, you'll probably make some personal resolutions to lose weight, volunteer more, and clean behind (and not just around) the furniture.
(That last one may just be me!) These are all sound goals, but don't forget to add saving money to the list. Learning how to save money will offer you peace of mind, so you'll basically be checking off two resolutions for the price of one. Take Back Your Expenses Considering that most of us are part of the 99%, it's critical to budget. There are a number of ways to budget. Financial experts recommend creating a pie chart of your spending ratios. Into a 50/30/20 budget, divvying your monthly household income into essentials, savings, and splurges.
Then break down your expenses. Last, but not least, find out what the remaining twenty-percent of your total income is, and siphon off that amount for savings and emergency funds. Hipmunk: Better Flight and Hotel Search. Green, Healthy, & Safe Product Ratings & Reviews.
More Tips to Make Life Easier. Liked the first set of easy household tips I posted a few days ago here? I got these in an email forward and thought they were brilliant! Here are 10 more for you! Turn your muffin pan upside down, bake cookie dough over the top and you’ve got delicious ice cream bowls! Can’t find a missing earring or other small item but terrified you’ll vacuum it up? Put a nylon stocking over the hose and you’ll find it quickly! No need to buy a custom cupcake carrier – cut crosses into a box lid and you’ve got an instant cupcake carrier. Place a magnetic strip behind your vanity or closet door in the bathroom and store tiny essentials like bobby pins, tweezers and more. I’m always saving plastic bags when traveling for my shoes. You can buy professional labels for your cords – or you can reuse bread ties and get the same results!
Love this! Install a tension rod to store spray bottles under the sink! Freeze aloe vera in ice cream trays for soothing sunburn relief (isn’t this brilliant?!) (source) 25 clever ideas to make life easier. Via: amy-newnostalgia.blogspot.com Why didn’t I think of that?! We guarantee you’ll be uttering those words more than once at these ingenious little tips, tricks and ideas that solve everyday problems … some you never knew you had!
(Above: hull strawberries easily using a straw). Via: apartmenttherapy.com Rubbing a walnut over scratches in your furniture will disguise dings and scrapes. Via: unplggd.com Remove crayon masterpieces from your TV or computer screen with WD40 (also works on walls). Via: athomewithrealfood.blogspot.com Stop cut apples browning in your child’s lunch box by securing with a rubber band.
Via: marthastewart.com Overhaul your linen cupboard – store bedlinen sets inside one of their own pillowcases and there will be no more hunting through piles for a match. Via: realsimple.com Pump up the volume by placing your iPhone / iPod in a bowl – the concave shape amplifies the music. Via: savvyhousekeeping.com Re-use a wet-wipes container to store plastic bags.
Via: iheartnaptime.net. 10 Laws of Productivity. You might think that creatives as diverse as Internet entrepreneur Jack Dorsey, industrial design firm Studio 7.5, and bestselling Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami would have little in common. In fact, the tenets that guide how they – and exceptionally productive creatives across the board – make ideas happen are incredibly similar. Here are 10 laws of productivity we’ve consistently observed among serial idea executors: 1. Break the seal of hesitation. A bias toward action is the most common trait we’ve found across the hundreds of creative professionals and entrepreneurs we’ve interviewed. While preparing properly as you start a new project is certainly valuable, it’s also easy to lose yourself in planning (and dreaming) indefinitely. 2. When our ideas are still in our head, we tend to think big, blue sky concepts. 3.
Trial and error is an essential part of any creative’s life. To avoid ‘blue sky paralysis,’ pare your idea down to a small, immediately executable concept. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Smart Pretty and Awkward. NOW Foundations Love Your Body Campaign. Love Your Body: Positive Body Image and Body Acceptance for All Sizes.