If you really want to save money when grocery shopping, try shopping only on the outside aisles of the store. That is where the fresh produce, meats, bread and dairy products are located. The center aisles contain the pre-packaged and processed foods that eat up your money.
Marcia C.

An easy and free way to decorate children’s rooms is with “wallpaper cutouts.” Many wallpaper stores will happily give you their discontinued wallpaper books. The books for children’s rooms will contain various “themes,” such as fairies, retro flowers, trucks, butterflies, trains, planes, and trucks.
 
Simply cut out each image you like (i.e. cut out all of the large dragonflies on a page) and put them in groupings. Cute places to group the images would include on your children’s bedroom door, above or on his/her headboard, along the chair rail, above a window, around the light switch, or on items such as a bulletin board or picture frame.
 
Each wallpaper book typically contains three or four pages of the same set of images in different color combinations. So you can find quite a few of the same image to use in your “set.”
 
I’ve seen these sold online for $10 a set (of 20) plus shipping. You can get the very same look at no cost at all!
JR in Houston
 
 

We’re planning a Thanksgiving vacation at Disney World. If you have kids, it’s inevitable that they’ll want to buy everything they see. Don’t bother telling them they can only buy two or three things. (Someone gave me that bad tip. It doesn’t work.)

Instead, give them pencil and paper and tell them to write down everything they want throughout the entire trip. Have them make their favorite top two or three purchase choices right before leaving Disney. If you don’t, you’ll run the risk of constantly hearing the dreaded words “Just one more, please” for the rest of the trip.
Maria M.

Between my sister and me, there are always a lot of garden leftovers. For fruits or vegetables that are water packed (lots of juice), I puree them and put them in resealable bags for freezing. The juice will go into soups or sauces. Also, I use them for the liquid in my bread machine recipes. The bread has a nice consistency and comes out in different colors.
Mary

A way to go to a museum for free is through local libraries. Many “Friends of the Library” groups pay for special museum passes to be borrowed by library patrons. Although it is not a requirement to be a member in the “Friends of the Library” group (you just need a library card), the benefits reaped by a yearly membership fee of $10 to $25 are great.

Many public libraries are finding it difficult to provide more than the basic services due to budget constraints. Look into supporting your Friends of the Library group.
Jean in Bridgewater, MA

A couple of years ago, I bought a lot of cans of cat food, and when I was putting them away, I noticed they all had different dates on the can. I knew I would use them up by the dates indicated but decided to write the date on the top in permanent marker and use the oldest first.

Now, every time I bring canned or packaged food home (after checking at the store that the use by date is far enough in the future), I write the date of purchase in big numbers on the top of the can or on the package. Then I store the food in my pantry at the back of each category.

By the way, my pantry is just a big cupboard with one shelf devoted to fruits and vegetables, one to ethnic food, pasta, rice and potatoes, one to baking products and sweets, and so on. Also, I keep my herbs and spices alphabetized in small containers that get used up quickly in my kitchen and the larger containers (also alphabetized) in my pantry where it’s cool, dark and dry. Organizing my foods this way makes putting a meal together easy.
Nancy in Santee

I have a way to get stains out of carpet. I had a woman hunt me down one day. She needed her house cleaned. When I got there, she told me what needed to be done and then she said she had to get new carpet. I asked her why. She had just had a professional carpet cleaner in and he said that the stains could not be removed. She had a really light beige carpet. I looked and there were red Kool-Aid stains everywhere. Normally, you can’t get them out, but I can.

I got my iron, an old dishtowel and a jug of water. Put the iron on high, get your rag or towel (preferably terry cloth) wet, lay the rag down on the stain and put your hot iron down on the towel. Press down with the iron in one place for a few seconds and then just run the iron back and forth. Lift the iron up and pour some more water on the towel and then iron back and forth again. Keep on doing this until the stain is gone. I have had really bad and big stains that took a half an hour to iron out, but I got them out. I have even been able to remove finger nail polish. I used polish remover first and then the iron to get the rest out. It worked. It was maroon polish on almost white carpet.
Connie

I have twin daughters that recently began fighting with each other constantly. I created a “chore bucket” with different chores inside (age appropriate of course and very specific). Each time I have to tell them to stop fighting or to speak nicely, they must pull a chore and do it right then!
 
The first week we had to pull many chores. After about three weeks, we’re down to maybe three chores a week. Every now and again, they forget, but it has worked very well!
Michelle S.

To clean combs easily, put several tablespoons of baking soda in a jar, add the combs, and pour in boiling water. It will fizz up, so wait and put in more to cover all the teeth. Leave overnight.

This is good for your Thermos bottle too. You’ll be surprised at what pours out of the Thermos you’ve been washing and rinsing every night.
Judy

I have two cats. They like to lounge on my cream-colored, upholstered dining room chairs. Figuring no one wants cat fur all over them when they come to dinner, I had to find a cure.

So when I do laundry, I also clean my chairs. I take each used dryer sheet and rub it all over the upholstery, back and forth and also in circles. Most fur clings to the sheet and the rest rolls up into a ball that you can just pick up and throw away. This is double duty for a dryer sheet, so it doesn’t cost a thing. I love it!
Dawn C.

 
1 part fabric softener
1 part baking soda
2 parts water
 
Put baking soda into boiling water. When baking soda is dissolved, mix in fabric softener. When liquid is cool, put in spray bottle. That’s it. To change the scent, just put in a few drops of essential oil such as lavender.
Christine in Quebec

Removing love bugs from a vehicle is a simple task with baby wipes (they are pre-moistened). Simply wipe, and the love bugs come off. As far as I know, there is no damage to the vehicle from the baby wipes. I’ve used them for a couple of years with great success.
Jan from Georgia