Best painless "stretching things" budget tips?

[Todd&Copper]

Do you pour the white vinegar in the same compartment that you would the Jet Dry?

Since no one has answered you yet - yes, in the same compartment you would put the JetDry in. I have been using white vinegar for this for ages and it works just as well as JetDry IMO.

 

[kellijo]

One thing we do is add a little bit of pasta to the boxes of Pasta Roni (along with water and milk). We needed more than 1 (6 people - 2 adults, 7,7,3,1) but then we always had leftovers that no one ever ate. So I started adding some pasta out of the spagetti jar to make just enough. You just have to be careful not to put too much or it absorbs all the sauce (have to remember the extra milk and water).

 

[Taximom]

I never throw out the plastic grocery bags. I hang it on the laundry door, off my kitchen, and throw all my paper/dry garbage in it. Sure saves on the tall kitchen garbage bags!
I also have my paper towels, on top of the refridge...not convenient for the kids, and we use far less! Last year when I wasn't working, I never bought them, but I sure missed them when I made bacon.

 

[Promomx2]

My sister just taught me Tuna Cakes. A can of tuna (or 2) drained, a box of stuffing, some mayo, relish, a little water for the stuffing....viola! Make patties and brown/crisp them in some olive oil til heated through. My DH loved them. I think he ate 5! LOL DD wouldn't touch it, but she's 3 and decided she's going to be picky.

[/QUOTE]


Sounds interesting, what kind of stuffing. DS is picky eater but loves tunafish so I'm thinking. . .

Another thing I do which drives my kids crazy. When we go out for fast food, I get a refill of sweet tea right before I leave. Then when I get home I drink it the rest of the night and the next day,by diluting it with water. I usually only drink unsweet tea. Plus every time we go to chick-fil-a we load up on ALL their condiments,saving them for the rental house on vacation.

 

[stahshee]

We have cut back on buying bottled water. It was easier to get my kids to drink water that way but I have sold them on the sports bottles. They use the reuseable bottles when playing outside or bike riding. I wash them in the dish washer for next time.

I liked those pledge duster things when they came out. I got them with coupons free or really cheap. I have found a $1 for 2 replacement at Weis in Dollar Zone. There dryer sheet $1 for 20 sheets aren't too bad cut in half of course. We cut back on paper plates and plastic throw out cups too. We run the dishwasher every night after dinner so we have been using real plates and glasses.

my dd teacher taught me this great dusting tip take an old broom and spray it with pledge then use it to dust. It works great!!!

 

[DisneyAprilFool]

One thing we do is add a little bit of pasta to the boxes of Pasta Roni (along with water and milk). We needed more than 1 (6 people - 2 adults, 7,7,3,1) but then we always had leftovers that no one ever ate. So I started adding some pasta out of the spagetti jar to make just enough. You just have to be careful not to put too much or it absorbs all the sauce (have to remember the extra milk and water).

That's a good idea- I'm going to have to try that! With 5 people eating, we go through a whole box of 'whatever' when we eat it and the kids always want more- they end up having a peanut butter sandwich instead. This sounds like it will work great though

 

[MEM]

When making seasoned meat for tacos I use a 50/50 mix of browned ground turkey and cooked brown rice - once the seasoning is added it is very difficult to tell that the rice is not turkey - would also work with beef.

 

[bartleby1]

I put my dishsoap in a pump type bottle (I use an old liquid hand soap container) and mix it with water. Most of my dishes go in the dishwasher, but for handwashing my coffee pot and misc other stuff, I just use a squirt of the soap/water mix. I find that the dishsoap is way too concentrated and just gets wasted if I don't mix it with water.

I also water down the handsoap in the bathroom. My kids use wayyyy too much soap otherwise. I also water down the kids shampoo and my husbands shampoo. They seem to "need" a great big handful whether it is watered down or not. I don't water mine down but I only use a small amount.

I water down the kids juice to make it stretch. Hmmm... now that I think about it, I water down just about everything, LOL!

I started ripping up all of the old teeshirts and clothes that were too stained or worn to donate or pass on to other people and using them to clean with instead of paper towels.

My kids often need to wipe up their face after meals, playing outside, etc. and we go through quite a few baby wipes. I now rip them in half and they last much longer.

I also rip dryer sheets in half.

I just started using the soak cycle on my washing machine more too. I let the clothes soak and then only run the wash cycle for half the time I normally would. Saves on electric and I haven't noticed any difference in the way my clothes look or smell.

I stopped using the heated dry cycle on my dishwasher. My electric bill dropped quite a bit by doing this.

I only buy the paper towels that you can 'select-a-size'. I found that shoprite even has their own brand of these. I go through far less paper towels than when I buy the larger sheets.

I haven't been buying jetdry and really miss it! I'm definitely going to try the vinegar in my dishwasher!

 

[minnie1928]

For the vinegar questions, I use plain old white vinegar. I pour it directly into the washer machine fabric softener dispenser in the same amount that I would for regular fabric softener. The dishwasher - I pour it in the same place as I would the JetDry stuff.

 

[MrsPete]

Another along the same lines...don't use fabric softener, use vinegar instead (it really does work, I promise!!). Vinegar also works well instead of JetDry in the dishwasher.

Related topic: You can use about half the "recommended amount" of dishwasher detergent or laundry detergent, and your things'll be clean! Use a little less and a little less each time until you discover your "minimum level" -- then stay there.

I have no idea what JetDry is, and I've survived more than four decades; thus, it's obviously not a need.

I water down all juices and fruit drinks, ice tea, etc. The kids don't notice the difference, they get more liquid and less sugar

I serve ice water in fancy stemmed glasses at meals, and the kids LOVE it -- seems so much more grown-up than the same water in a Tupperware cup.

How funny is this! That's what we're having for dinner tonight . My husband's mom used to make something like this all of the time. She called it American Chop Suey (apparantly the name is a New England thing but it's known as goulash or Johnny Marzetti). We make it with cooked chop meat, sauteed onions & celery. It's very good, filling & easy to stretch.

Another way to stretch a few leftovers: Leftovers make great twice-baked potatoes. Bake a big potato for each family member, then mush up the potato "insides" with the leftovers, stuff it all back into the potato shells, and return it to the oven for 10-15 minutes. This works well if you have a little bit of meat leftover (how else can you make one pork chop and half a chicken breast feed the whole family?) and a little bit of vegetable. Depending upon what I have, I might toss in some cheeses, or even make a small amount of cheese sauce.

 

[BeckyScott]

re: the tuna cakes-

I've always made them just with tuna, some sort of bread product, egg, and seasonings.

But you can use lots of different stuff for the bread product. My grandma always used saltine crackers crushed up. I made them once with some stale Cheez-Its and they were fantastic. Who woulda thought? I have also made them with the little crumbies in the potato chip bag. It's a really good way to use up that odd leftover stuff, and stale doesn't matter.

 

[stahshee]

When making seasoned meat for tacos I use a 50/50 mix of browned ground turkey and cooked brown rice - once the seasoning is added it is very difficult to tell that the rice is not turkey - would also work with beef.

ohh i like that idea

 

[willis37862]

We had these many a night growing up, only they were called "Shut up and eat it"

I know what you mean!

My sister just taught me Tuna Cakes. A can of tuna (or 2) drained, a box of stuffing, some mayo, relish, a little water for the stuffing....viola! Make patties and brown/crisp them in some olive oil til heated through. My DH loved them. I think he ate 5! LOL DD wouldn't touch it, but she's 3 and decided she's going to be picky.

I make something similar but I use canned crabmeat instead of tuna fish. We really like them and they are super easy to make and they actually reheat pretty good.

 

[TexasTodds]

If we have a ham steak and have a little leftover, I dice it, and then add it to scrambled eggs with a bit of cheese over the top. Or, I would use the leftover ham (again diced) or any form of porkchop or porkroast (diced) to make fried rice. If it doesn't fit in the menu for that week I freeze it in a small bag and wait till I accumulate more, and then do the fried rice with frozen eggrolls or potstickers.

Also, so it seems that we aren't having the same things alot, whenever we have spaghetti I always cook a box of mini penne pasta (or small ziti) and mix that with the leftover sauce and layer with mozzerella (sometimes I will add a little seasoned sour cream for filling if we have some leftover). I immediately put the in the freezer for the next week.

My family isn't big on leftovers so I really try to either just split casserole recipes so that one can go in the freezer, or plan another meal with the leftover meat that is just a different reincarnation of the first. I rarely think they notice. I have had to be creative since our eating out budget has gotten so small and we are eating at home so much more!

 

[aidensmom73]

Since no one has answered you yet - yes, in the same compartment you would put the JetDry in. I have been using white vinegar for this for ages and it works just as well as JetDry IMO.

Thanks. Does the dishwasher or dishes then smell like vinegar?

 

[RN01]

A tip I got from this board:

You don't need a full dryer sheet. I rip mine in half and never notice the difference.

I sort of do this. Instead of ripping them in half I reuse 2 used sheets together. If I have a smaller load I just use one.

 

[Amii]

Unplug things that use electricity that have the power saver mode on them. I recently heard that they use as much electricity as a lightbulb when they are on power saver mode.

Hang clothes out to dry instead of using dryer.

Use the library to get movies.

 

[DianaPrincessofWales]

I have started using my small tupperware containers for packing lunch in place of baggies. They are getting so expensive, so I use as many washable containers as possible. I still use some baggies but not near as many and I've noticed I don't need to buy them as often. I really like the sandwich holders and those little cups for jello/pudding/crackers/fruit/veggies/dips/snacks! My way of "going green"!

We have been very dedicated in using our local library for books, movies and magazines! I've already paid for those with my hard earned tax dollars!!

 

[Cherbear013]

My bf and I are picky about laundry detergent - we like the all natural Seventh Generation brand. I found a great deal at drugstore.com where a 100oz. bottle was about $10 and then I also got free shipping.

I signed up for ebates so if I need to buy something online I go through them and I get a percentage back. Not a whole lot, but its something.

I bought an Entertainment book for $15. It cost me up front but my bf and I can try new restaurants and usually get a 2-for-1 dinner. You can also go online and look at different cities to print up coupons if you are travelling through. I think they are now on sale for $9.99.

Every once in a while I like to have a cold soda as I'm running errands. I've found that bringing your own cup only costs $.84 or less. I filled a 44oz. cup for that amount. Or if you drink more Wal-Mart has some of the 2 liter Coke products for $1. That lasts a long time.

Sign up for grocery / retail saver cards. I have a collection of these on my keychain. They are free and can save you some money. Borders sends me coupons all the time, they even text me so I can save on printing paper. I have ones for Best Buy and DSW, so when my mom or bf goes to these stores they'll give my phone number so I get the points. Then you get coupons back in the mail.

I am a member of swapacd, swapadvd and paperbackswap. These are great sites to trade media without having to buy anything. The only you pay for is when you ship one of your own items which is usually no more than $2.

Hope that helped someone!

 

[stahshee]

I have started using my small tupperware containers for packing lunch in place of baggies. They are getting so expensive, so I use as many washable containers as possible. I still use some baggies but not near as many and I've noticed I don't need to buy them as often. I really like the sandwich holders and those little cups for jello/pudding/crackers/fruit/veggies/dips/snacks! My way of "going green"!

We have been very dedicated in using our local library for books, movies and magazines! I've already paid for those with my hard earned tax dollars!!

i use butter containers