Smart Reuse Ideas for Buttons

Chances are that you have a bunch of buttons laying around your home. If not, they are easy enough to find cheaply. Put them to good use with these smart reuse ideas. They help solve common problems and save money. Identify Family Towels Don’t waste money rewashing clean towels or going out and purchasing a different color for each family member. Instead identify an individual towel by sewing a button on the lower corner. Use a different color for each family member. This will also make each person responsible for his or her towel, so there should be no more … Continue reading

Money-Saving Mom Moves

School starts here in just a few weeks. Never mind that Target and Wal-Mart erected their school supply displays on the day after Fourth of July. “Mommy, is summer over?” my 7-year-old asked as we strolled by the cases of new pencils, pens and binders on JULY 5th. For weeks, I’ve resisted going near those aisles. I’m dreading having to dig deep to purchase all new supplies, plus uniforms, shoes, and the 17,000 other accessories that students need to tackle a new academic year. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to snap out of my denial phase pretty soon. Sure, my … Continue reading

How to Reuse Flat Ware (Silverware)

If you have an abundance of flat ware, or have access to a thrift store, you can turn all of those pieces into usable items. You can get rid of your clutter while saving money on items that you might otherwise have to buy. A couple of weeks ago, I was browsing in a fancy store and noticed some trendy home decor. Nestled in among the staged room were wall hooks on rectangles of painted and distressed wood. The hooks were made out of bent forks and spoons. The price tag on each wall hook? $25. You can adapt this … Continue reading

Saving Money While Reducing Clutter

So much stuff winds up in the landfills these days, I feel guilty every time I take the trash to the curb. We all do live lives of excess. Everything is readily available to us, all those little things that make life easier. Fortunately for the planet there are lots of ways to reuse things. You just have to pay attention. This will be the first in what I hope is a series of how to use things we normally throw away. Every time I clean I come across something that has outlived it’s usefulness, the challenge is coming up … Continue reading

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

I’m a bit of a recycling nerd. I like to feel like I’m doing my part, I haven’t quite figured out how to reduce the amount of trash we generate so I’m trying to recycle and reuse as much of it as possible. Sometimes this simply means looking at things in a different way. There are many things we toss every day that can help us keep our homes a little tidier. The first one being paper towel and toilet paper tubes. How many of these does your family go through in a week? Start saving them, they have many … Continue reading

Frugal Ways to Reuse Cereal Bags

Don’t toss out those cereal bags. You paid enough for that cereal, so why not take advantage of the extra asset that is included with it–the plastic or waxed cereal bag that came with the cereal. Here are just some of the ways that you can reuse cereal bags. Please add yours in the comments section. Additional storage Those bags were made to keep cereal from going stale, so they are good with storage. Use them to store baked goods, sandwiches for school lunches, or even for broth. Cut the liners up and use them between food in the freezer … Continue reading

Easter Baskets: Getting More for Your Money

Fill your Easter Baskets this years with plenty of good stuff for a fraction of the price you paid the year before. On Easter morning, I always proudly look at the beautiful baskets laying in wait on the table. What a bounty. But then, a few days later, I am always disheartened. A lot of money was spent, and yet, there is little to show for it. The cheap toys have broken, the candy was too much and a lot of it had to be given away and the garbage can got filled with Easter grass and packaging. This year, … Continue reading

Reuse Egg Cartons and Save

This morning I was making a large batch of egg muffin sandwiches. My husband asked for more things to take to work for breakfast and English muffins were on sale this week. Of course, I wound up with a couple of empty egg cartons when I was done, which got me thinking about how they can be reused to save money and the environment. All of these ideas will do both, save yourself or someone else money and prevent the egg cartons from winding up in the trash. Of course, they can be recycled, too, but wouldn’t it be nice … Continue reading

Treating Money as a Resource

I’m not sure exactly when the green movement started, but I remember the celebration of the first Earth Day. It’s only been in my lifetime that we’ve really brought the environment into the forefront of our focus, even though we’ve been encouraged for longer than that to recycle and make the most of the things we have. We’re encouraged to use less water, less electricity, less paper, and to reuse as much as we can. Every day, we hear tips on how to conserve energy and how to preserve these precious resources we’ve been given. Today I got to thinking … Continue reading

Making School More Affordable

One of the downsides of homeschooling is the expense. When you public school, there is a financial outlay, but when you homeschool, not only are you making purchases, but you’re determining for yourself what to get rather than following a prescribed list. It can get daunting, and pricey. And you don’t want to spend money on things you won’t end up using. Is there a way to make this less complicated? 1. Look on Amazon.com and eBay for curriculum books and educational games/toys. Very often, you can find exactly what you’re looking for at a fraction of the price. And … Continue reading