I always want my kids to have a warm homemade breakfast, but I don’t always have the time. I recently made about five loaves of banana bread with my overripe bananas. I let the loaves cool, cut them into slices, placed a piece of wax paper between each, put the loaf back together, and put it in a freezer bag and then into the freezer. When my kids want a piece of banana bread, I take one piece out, put the rest back in the freezer, and then put that piece in my microwave for 30 seconds. They get a warm, homemade breakfast in little time! Also, you can pack a piece of frozen banana bread in their lunches and it will be unthawed by lunch time.
Kari

Our milk consumption varies quite often, and now and then, it starts to taste a little strong. That means it’s getting ready to sour. At that point, there are two options. Let it sour and use it for baking things that call for sour milk or freeze it. I freeze it in yogurt cups without lids as it will expand a little. After it’s frozen, I put the lids on. Now you have milk that’s perfectly good for any kind of cooking or even in your coffee. It’s not sour yet and the one-cup amounts thaw quickly when you need them. You can speed it up by microwaving at defrost power if needed.
Ruth
 

For those people who don’t have a large freezer or the equipment and/or knowledge to can extra produce, dehydrators are a wonderful alternative. Dried fruits and veggies are expensive to buy, but cheap and easy to make. Apples can be bought at many local orchards right now and you can make a year’s supply of dried apple slices in just a few days. Or make your own fruit rollups by drying apple sauce. The apple slices can be eaten dried (my family loves them) or re-hydrated and used in just about any dish that calls for sliced apples including apple pie. You can frequently find dehydrators at yard sales, but even if you buy one new, it will pay you back in savings quickly. Dried veggies are great in soups and other dishes, and dried fruits make great snacks. You can make your own jerky, or dry your own herbs. I even dried a jar of spaghetti sauce to take on a hiking trip.
Rita

Here’s a tip for a free way to get rid of fleas, ticks and spiders in your house. Gather crab tree apples (also called horse apples) when they fall (usually about this time of year), cut them in half and place them around your baseboards. These insects hate the scent of them and will leave in a hurry. I once ridded a mobile home of a flea infestation using this method. It works really well!
Glynda L. in Anadarko, OK

When the server tells you what the specials are, ask the price. The first (and last) time I neglected to ask, I was in a restaurant in which most items on the menu ran between $16 and $18. The special sounded interesting. I assumed it was in the same price range. When the bill came, it turned out to be $27. Now I ask the price of the specials.

You may have had a server ask, “What kind of dressing do you want on your salad?” Although it sounds as if a salad comes with the meal, it may not. Always ask.
Ralph W.

I tape a shopping list for essential items on the back of my pantry door each week. My family shares in the responsibility of circling items that need restocking. This way, I don’t wander through the shops and fill my cart up with unneeded extras.
 
I run off duplicate pages and clip them in the pantry so I don’t run out. I take the filled in sheet to the shop with my shopping list for the week and a new sheet is ready to go in my pantry.
M.G.

One of the types of dolls that seems popular lately is the kind that is about the size of a real newborn to three-month- old infant. My granddaughter had one of them, but it only had the outfit it came in. Clothes made for these dolls are often poorly made, difficult to put on and take off, and expensive. A good place to find real baby clothing is at garage sales or thrift stores. Often the clothes are barely used, well made and inexpensive. I bought several outfits for very little money and my granddaughter has been delighted with having a variety of things to dress her “baby” in.
A.J.

My daughter and I ran an organizing/clutter-busting business a few years ago and this was one of the suggestions we made to our clients. Before buying anything else they thought they absolutely had to have, we had them pick out a “specific” place for each new item and ask themselves, “Will this create more of the kind of clutter I’m trying to get rid of?”
 
Here’s another trick we use in our home. We make up a priority list of all those items each member of the family wants/needs and it must remain on the bulletin board for at least two weeks before we make a purchase. This does not include “emergency” purchases. We have found that at the end of two weeks, we can often cross off at least one or more items because we’ve had time to reconsider the purchase.
Cathy S.

Some convenience items are more convenient because of the single size. For example, I used to buy large jars of applesauce for my kids. They would eat two or three servings out of the jar and the rest would languish in the fridge until it turned interesting shades of green. I finally stopped buying the big sizes and started stocking up on the individual small cups. I save money in the long run by having less waste even though I know I am paying more for the applesauce per ounce. While I agree that many convenience items are just plain silly, there are other reasons why some people use them.
Edie from Illinois

I inventoried my spice cabinet and taped an alphabetical list of spices to the inside of the cabinet door. That way, when I’m searching to see if I have a spice for a certain recipe, I don’t have to search through the whole cabinet.

I tossed out spices that were obviously many years old. I dated every spice container so that a year from now I can toss it if it hasn’t been used. According to Emeril Lagasse, spices have a short shelf life. Why chance ruining an entire recipe because the spices you used were so old they had no flavor left?
Sherri K in Round Rock, TX

We learned this tip when we got married. If budget is a concern for you and you live in a metropolitan area, call around to your surrounding counties to find out what their sales and liquor taxes are in that area. We did just that and had our wedding in a neighboring county where the taxes were considerably lower than the county we lived in. This literally saved us thousands on our wedding. Because of that, we were able to afford the band we really wanted and a few little extras that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. So instead of having our reception in a big glitzy hotel, we had it in a beautiful country inn nestled beside a small river in a wooded area ablaze with autumn foliage. It was the wedding of my dreams! We’ve been married nearly 15 years now and people still tell us that our wedding and reception were the best they’ve ever attended. In fact, many people didn’t want to leave when it was over!
Erin

For over 30 years, my friends and family have been involved in local coops. A few families get together, do their ordering and get great prices. There’s a little extra labor in dividing up the items, but there are significant savings in this. Call the closest co-op store and ask them about their natural foods suppliers. Look them up on the Internet and call.

On Amazon, they carry a lot in their new grocery section. There are no shipping costs on a lot of items. This will help you stock up, especially if you are on a special diet or have food allergies. What a deal!
Joan

I experienced several costly repairs with a Kenmore refrigerator that was still under warranty. After the fourth or fifth major repair, I read the fine print. There was a “lemon” clause in it (with Sears) that said they have to replace it with a comparable new appliance if a certain number of repairs are made within a defined period of time. I qualified and made the request to customer service. I had to keep asking for supervisors and making reference to the “lemon” clause in the warranty. However, we finally did receive credit toward the purchase of a new refrigerator of our choice.
Susan in Pearisburg, VA

 Free Firewood

I live in Illinois. There are a lot of tear-downs in my area because everyone wants a new house. We have a cast iron wood burning stove and we are always looking for wood. However, we don’t have to look anymore. People are starting to ask us to take their wood. When the construction people are almost done for the day, I just stop over and ask what they are planning to do with all the trash. About 90% of the time, they will ask a waste company to haul it off. That’s where I come in. I ask if I can take a few pieces of lumber at my own risk for a project and they generally agree. The main thing with construction is not leaving a mess.
 
I go through the lot and pick up pieces of wood that are small enough to fit in the cast iron fire stove and then look for larger pieces. My kids even help. Sometimes the construction crew opens up the dumpster to us while we work and, at times, helps us toss wood pieces into my trailer. We avoid pieces that have paint, varnish or other chemicals that could give off fumes when burnt.

Sometimes, a tree cutter will chop a tree down in our area and then call us to haul it off for them. Even neighbors will chop down a tree and we will clean it up afterwards. This saves everyone money and I haven’t bought wood in over three years! Our house is nice and warm and all it takes is a little bit of time.
Regina

The Dollar Stretcher
gary@stretcher.com