Lots more Sneaky Ways to save the pennies

suzybloo

We are in a very soft water area and I use soda crystals all the time in the washing machine(and the dishwasher). Half scoop of washing powder and two tbsp of Soda crystals on a heavy wash load, and half that on a normal load. Never had any problems.
I have dyed lots in the washing machine and I have never put the machine on a 'cleaning' wash after dying something - I feel its a waste so always throw hubbys work clothes in as the next wash - never had any issues I have got to say.
Just in the middle of dying cotton bath mats from washed out aqua to forest green and they look great!

Uniscots97

How to make a 'feather' duster:-


You'll need

garden wire or wire coat hanger (or anything thats strong but flexible)

6 inch long strips of old tights, t-shirts, fleece and any other material (not denim for some reason it doesn't work)

pair of pliers (to twist wire)

some sticky tape


method:-

Cut your strips of cloth, I usually find that 1/2 inch wide works best. Take 1 metre of wire and in the centre tie some strips of cloth (full knot). Bend the wire in half and twist once as close to the strips of cloth as possible using the pliers. Tie more strips of cloth on each arm of the wire so that the knots are right round the wire (I find about a minimum of 4 each side will suffice), pull wire together and twist again as before using the pliers keeping the twist as snug as possible to the cloth. Repeat until you get the feather duster the length you want it. Then with remaining wire twist with the pliers to make a handle. When nearing the end fold the wire up so there's no sharp end and wrap the sharp bits in sticky tape. Voila, one feather duster!

This take me about 30 minutes maximum to make.

UnluckyT

i had a customer come into the shop i work in not long ago who bought some macaroni cheese pingable meals really cheap and when i said ooh i fancy something like that for my tea out loudish to myself as i served her, she only replied 'i can make it do 3 people as long as i dont let my teenage son get hold of it?'
someone else i know who works in a shop also gets the 'middle class and posher people' going into her shop for the bargains, plus tales of what they do to eek thier money and stuff out?

allydowd

Guinea wrote: »

Hi everyone
Does anyone have a cheap and effective way of making drains smell nice?

Put crushed egg shells down the sink and flush with water to scour the pipes.

sb44

sparrer wrote: »

Thank you ...I've just taken the dishcloth out of the sink, where it was stopping the Chinese water torture noise, and put the watering can under the dripping tap til I can afford to get a plumber to repair it. It's so simple it never occurred to me

I'm sure I read somewhere a few years ago to tie a piece of string to your tap if the dripping noise was driving you mad.

Tie it to the end of the tap and the water will run down the string into the sink, avoiding making a noise.

Flat_Eric

don't have any useful tips to share at the moment (will have a think) but bump bump... :j

SoniaJM

Just going back to the soda crystals thing again (sorry - fairly new to this). I have really sensitive skin and get eczema pretty easily. The only washing stuff I can use without erupting is that eco stuff (Either ecover or supermarket own). Which certainly isn't the cheapest!

While I'm not about to buy value soap powder (I tried that once :eek:), I like the idea of bulking out my current one with something to make it last longer. Does anyone know if soda crystals are likely to cause a reaction in sensitive skin?

jools27_2

My son has eczema and daughter and I have psoriasis. I use soda crystals in almost every wash and haven't had a problem.

notatvstar

smileyt wrote: »

This has probably been posted already but - to save a bit of gas I boil the kettle and pour that water onto pasta, bring the pasta to the boil on the hob, then turn the hob off and leave the pasta to cook in just the hot water. Takes a bit longer but means I can get my nose lost in a book without having to dash into the kitchen to rescue pasta that's boiling dry!

I sort of do the same with rice!

To a pan of hot, salted water add your washed rice (to wash rice - soak rice in excess warm water for 30min, then rinse until clear).

Bring pan to boil (lid on or off - it doesn't matter!). Just before pan boils over - turn heat off.

Strain off the hot water by pouring the rice into a metal collander. Put the collander (with the strained rice) into the now empty cooking pot.

Put lid on the pot and cover with at least 1 tea towel to keep in the heat.

Your rice 'should' nicely steam away inside the cooking pot, getting finished off by it's own steam. When you're ready (to be honest I've left this for at least 45 min - the rice is usually perfect after 10-15min, but as the pot cools the rice no longer cooks so it can't 'overcook' like this, but will remain warm enough to not need reheating!) , lift lid - fluff with fork/chopsticks.

FIN.

anguk

SoniaJM wrote: »

Just going back to the soda crystals thing again (sorry - fairly new to this). I have really sensitive skin and get eczema pretty easily. The only washing stuff I can use without erupting is that eco stuff (Either ecover or supermarket own). Which certainly isn't the cheapest!

While I'm not about to buy value soap powder (I tried that once :eek:), I like the idea of bulking out my current one with something to make it last longer. Does anyone know if soda crystals are likely to cause a reaction in sensitive skin?

I used to buy the eco stuff because my DD had very sensitive skin and I put soda crystals in every wash with no problems at all. The added bonus is I got a much better result with whites because I found eco stuff alone didn't get white stuff clean and they got a bit dingy.