Household money savers

By Catalogs Editorial Staff

The household presents money savers that make do with less

The family homestead offers golden opportunities to save big bucks. Household money savers will materialize easily?with a little imagination. Think of ways to accomplish needed tasks without spending a lot of cash?or any cash. Routine expenditures usually are due to convenience and a quest to save time. Bottled water is a good example. It?s easy to grab a bottle out of the refrigerator but weigh the cost. Perhaps it is time to make instead a one-time purchase of a handy unit that provides crystal clear water?a whole house water purifier that is always ready to serve up cool refreshment. Time saving is important to many busy people. But household money savers are welcomed by almost everyone. Get creative and save.

Snip a little savings

Plenty of money is made by manufacturers who in their own turn spend millions advertising the wonders of their products. Organize what you need in convenient space savers. Be aware that everything coming home in a box, bag or plastic carton is advertised to be chock full of amazing household helpers scented like spring rain or manliness. Take, for example, soaps, detergents and fabric softeners. They are mostly water. They are costly and to a large degree filled with a big dollop of overkill when it comes to their wondrous results. Do a few experiments. Lots of household money savers are found in the laundry room.

Don?t be afraid of washing most laundry items in cold water. The energy it takes to maintain a hot water tank places that unit low on the list of household money savers. Heavily dirtied clothing that may have greasy collars or cuffs will benefit from hot water ranging around 120 degrees. But for everyday clean, cold usually does just fine. Folks who prefer to wash in anything less than hot water can still find many household money savers.

? Use half of a fabric softener sheet in the dryer
? Use half the recommended amount of detergent
? Use a capful of hair conditioner, instead of softener
? Replace hanging laundry filters with knee-high stockings
? Wash mostly everything in barely warm or cold water
? Use snipped-off shoulder pads to add cushioning to hangers
? Add to rinse water a diluted splash of vinegar; it cuts suds

Renew some ragged window shades

Think about some creative window decorating ideas. Be aware that rooms featuring traditional pull-down window shades present unique opportunities for becoming household money savers. Those window shades often are discolored from age or grimy along the bottom edge?the section most handled when raising or lowering the shade. It?s the bottom edge that usually has a one- or two-inch stitched hem encasing a rigid plastic strip that provides firmness when grasped to raise or lower the shade. Need new shades? Here?s how to remove the old, ugly portion of the shade and add window shade revival to your list of household money savers.

~
Remove the shade from the window brackets at the top and lay it flat on a level surface. Grasp the lower edge and fold the shade back on itself until the area at the crease displays newer-looking shade material. Make a crease there. Now, withdraw the plastic strip from the old hem. Place the plastic strip near the new edge and fold the new edge over the stick so that the strip is fully encased. Sew or use a hot glue gun to apply closure along the seam of the new encasement. Re-hang the shade. Your household money savers now include new-looking shades at zero cost.

Sew pillow covers from couch fabric

Anyone who ever has seen a discarded couch probably has noticed the night-and-day difference between the fabric on the front and the fabric on the back of the couch. The fabric on the reverse is like new. However, the faded, grimy cushions and backrest areas truly deserve a visit from the sanitation department. This is a time when the concept of household money savers kicks in for a quick re-cycling job?even if the couch is far from being discarded.

It?s a sure bet there are large sections of beautiful fabric on the back of the couch in your home. If your throw pillows look a little too well used, make new ones and indulge in more, great household money savers. To make pillow covers that match your couch, just turn the couch around and cut out a generous square or rectangle from the pristine fabric there. Nobody ever sees that side; most often it?s against a wall. Measure your old pillows. Sew along three sides on the new fabric. Insert your old pillows. Hem the open end. It?s pillow magic?and it?s utilizing household money savers to the highest degree.