I found years ago that I could use white vinegar in the rinse aid container of my dishwasher and have sparkling clean dishes much cheaper than buying commercial rinse aid. There is no smell left in the dishwasher either!
Jeni

Most people won’t drink tap water due to the chlorine smell. Simply fill a jug the night before with tap water and the chlorine dissipates on its own.
M.

I use Vaseline or generic petroleum jelly for day-to-day diaper changing as a preventive measure and save A&D or Balmex for actual rashes. It’s much cheaper, doesn’t smell bad and works just as well.
Kristin

I use my library to help locate company big wigs when I have a problem. It works! I found the email address to the CEO of a major computer company (HP). I emailed and had a live person on the phone to me the next morning! They were overly friendly, which was something the support people had not been up to that point. Sometimes, going all the way to the top is the only way to obtain the customer service that we deserve.
Debbie D. in Lebanon, MO

I use plastic grocery bags to protect the presents that I send. I also blow up resealable bags. They are also reusable and I have plenty of them around.
Lynne

When I was in a rush to get dinner on last week, I decided to put my unpeeled garlic cloves (about 6) in a small glass jelly jar. I shook the cloves vigorously for a few seconds and was rewarded with completely “peeled” cloves, ready for chopping.
Jackie in Benton, AR
 

I am single and live in a three-bedroom house. In the winter, it is not worth turning up the heat to heat the whole house. I close off the rooms I don’t use. Also, I use one heater in my bedroom at night with the door closed and I have a small fan blowing on the heater to circulate the heat. It gets very warm with one of these. I use a kerosene heater (properly vented) on the main floor to heat four rooms. This has cut my gas bill by 2/3.
K. in PA

You can find excellent rates on prepaid phone cards at most truck stops.
Mark

After making oatmeal for several people one morning, I had a serving left over. I put it in a dish and later that week microwaved it. It tasted as good as the first morning. I was thinking that I could make a large pot of oatmeal and divide it up into plastic serving dishes (to microwave) for a quick breakfast at home. If someone leaves very early for work, they can take a dish of oatmeal and heat it up at work. This would also work for chili or soup.
J. in Bridgewater, MA

I’ve noticed a lot of complaints, especially in rural or suburban areas, about dogs, cats, raccoons, opossums, and other animals raiding garbage cans that are left out overnight for pickup. Now I understand that urban expansion is also adding coyotes to that list! You can drive through almost any rural area nowadays and see the results of these nightly raids. Trash is scattered about in an unsightly, unhealthy mess to be cleaned up by the homeowners. Many years ago, I discovered a sure-shot way to prevent these nightly hungry raiders from making me look like an idiot out cleaning up their mess.

Just simply pour a capful of ammonia over the bags of trash after you place them in the containers. Or you can also pour some ammonia into an old spray bottle and spray it over the bags. If the problem is very bad, pour or spray another bit of the ammonia over the outside of the garbage cans. Just be sure to put some inside in case of rain.

I’m happy to report that it’s been years since I had to suffer the indignity of getting out and sweeping up all my trash.
LB

When I was growing up, my mother used to buy a postcard that showed the scenery of the area where we were vacationing and wrote on the card what we did that day. She then mailed it to my siblings and me. When we arrived home, there were postcards in the mail, showing us the places we had gone and all the fun things we did. My mother put these in a photo album so we could look back on our vacations. It was a cheap, easy way to have a momento and memory of all we did on our trips!
Karen