Best painless "stretching things" budget tips?

[PinballFamily]

Don't bother wasting your money on the Kong Stuffin's...have you read the ingredients ?

Freezing the filled kongs is great because it takes the dogs longer to get all of the filling out.

The Kong squirt stuff seems nasty - and is like $7 a bottle and it fills the Kongs like what, three times - sheesh! It's probably all chemicals and preservatives, right?

Yup, freezing the filled Kongs makes them last a really long time and amuses the dog for most of the day. Our dog goes at the solid cold ones right away, but then waits until they've thawed a bit to get at the entire inside. We've also used peanut butter, leftover breakfast oatmeal (a fave!), and canned pumpkin puree. Apparently, pumpkin is great for dogs who, ahem, try to eat their own backyard "deposits" - the pumpkin is naturally sweet and tasty, but it really reacts as it moves through the digestive system and makes the poo taste really awful, so the dogs swiftly learn to stay away.

Winnapooh, thanks for the tip about the lettuce ends/stems. Also, I love, love, love your doggie ice cream tip - I know our dog would love ice cream, but the local stores charge $3.99 for FOUR of the little dog ice cream bonbons. So, that hasn't/won't happen! But your homemade idea is right up my alley and I never would have thought of it!!!

 

[winnapooh]

Winnapooh, thanks for the tip about the lettuce ends/stems. Also, I love, love, love your doggie ice cream tip - I know our dog would love ice cream, but the local stores charge $3.99 for FOUR of the little dog ice cream bonbons. So, that hasn't/won't happen! But your homemade idea is right up my alley and I never would have thought of it!!!

You're welcome! I know, the store bought ice cream is ridiculously priced! My dog loves the homemade ones though! I've even made food "ice cream" where I take little pieces of plain leftover beef or broth, some rice, and some green beans and freeze in the small containers. Not as appealing to look at, but he likes it!

I forgot to mention that if anyone is going to use pumpkin for your dog, make sure you get pure pumpkin and not the pie filling (which has a lot of sugar and spices that aren't good for dogs). My vet recommended pumpkin when my dog had surgery and in the process gained a little bit of weight because he wasn't able to move much. We mixed it in with his food so he was still full, but didn't get as many calories as the same amount of plain food.

 

[rottiemom]

I forgot to mention that if anyone is going to use pumpkin for your dog, make sure you get pure pumpkin and not the pie filling (which has a lot of sugar and spices that aren't good for dogs).

I meant to mention this but didn't. I'm glad that you caught it!

Veggies make great snacks & treats for dogs, if you have one that's willing. Mine will actually come running when she hears me open the produce drawer and will nonchalantly lie down in the kitchen whe she sees me pull out the cutting board . Asparagus stalks, napa cabbage stalks (great for the summer because they're juicy), carrots & celery. Just steer clear of onions, garlic, grapes & raisins.

Another great favorite is frozen, cut up green beans. I always have some on hand and a 16 oz bag is what, 99 cents? Great treats for when it's hot out. Just be sure that the pieces are small enough if you've got a dog that doesn't chew (I swear mine seldom does).

 

[rottiemom]

The Kong squirt stuff seems nasty - and is like $7 a bottle and it fills the Kongs like what, three times - sheesh! It's probably all chemicals and preservatives, right?

Exactly...like a twice as expensive, liver flavored version of cheese in a can .

This also made me think of something that I've noticed with latest rottie and is actually budget related. We feed Canidae, which is a "premium" dog food with no fillers. But because it's got no fillers the dog doesn't need to be fed as much of it in order to maintain their weight. Less food & fillers in also means smaller piles out in the yard. But the bonus is that a 35 lb bag of Canidae dry food (~40$) lasts about 2 months. That's feeding a 75 lb rottweiler 2x per day. With my last girl I fed Purina & we easily went through a 30lb bag every month. Granted, Purina didn't cost 40$ a bag but I wish that I had been keeping track of the costs so that I could see just how much I was spending on food then vs now.

Also, dogs love treats & don't really care about how big that treat is. In addition to her getting veggies my girl also gets the occasional biscuit but I break them in half. I usually tend to buy the smaller ones too since you get more in a package. Favorites are the Canidae Snap Bisquits (which are designed to be broken into quarters so I break the quarters in half) and small Innova Health Bars. I buy the bags which are usually around 10$ but 1 bag of biscuits will last 6 months at least. Cheaper than Milk Bones that way .

 

[bcinohio]

I have been reading this post and found a lot of good ideas. I have a question: what are laundry balls for your dryers that people say they buy at Walmart and what do they do?

Thanks!!

 

[disneychrista]

I have been reading this post and found a lot of good ideas. I have a question: what are laundry balls for your dryers that people say they buy at Walmart and what do they do?

They are rubber balls with "spikes" on them. They are suppose to reduce static and soften as they dry. You need at least 2 sets (4 balls) to do anything. I didn't find that they really worked all that well. But that's just me.

 

[flipflopmom]

I rarely use furniture polish, the wood just doesn't need all the build up all the time! Instead, when DH's socks get the inevitable heel hole, it goes into the rag pile. Dusting day, I slip one on my hand, and it's so easy to get all the table legs, chair parts, etc!

 

[ADKSPiette]

My kids love Memere's Soup:
Package of Lipton soup (not cup of soup), I add 5 cups of water, 2 boullon cubes and extra small pasta. Let it boil and then simmer until the pasta is cooked. It definitely stretches out a simple package of soup and the girls love it.

I now only use the canvas bags at the supermarket. I still have a good surplus of plastic bags to line the garbage cans.

My family loves fresh fruits and veggies - being in New England - the winter is not the best months for that... I'm really conscious of checking the flyers before shopping.

I have replaced the girls plastic bags in their lunches with plastic containers. It definitely saves the waste and $$ of the baggies. 2/day = 10 baggies a week. They store the food and then get chucked in the garbage.

 

[bartleby1]

I just thought of one that I don't think was mentioned.

I very rarely buy kitchen garbage bags. I HATE smelly garbage in my kitchen and very often I would end up taking out a half full garbage bag. So, what I do now is, I put a tall kitchen garbage bag in the can, but then I put two supermarket plastic grocery bags inside of it. My can is a rectangle/square, so I hang one grocery bag from one corner to the other, and the other one inside the first going between the other two corners. When the grocery bags are full I just take that out, leaving the tall kitchen garbage bag in place, and replace with two new grocery bags. I usually only change the tall kitchen garbage bag once every 10 - 14 days (or if my kids "miss" the smaller bags with smelly, messy food). When I see that the tall kitchen bag is getting funky, I just leave out the grocery bags and use the tall one. Hope this makes sense, it's kind of hard to explain! It also may not work if you have a different shaped garbage can.

 

[pampam]

For those of us who live in the snow, here's a money saving tip. Sweep the sidewalk in front of your house now, as the snow is melting, and put the sand/salt mixture in old plastic jugs (windshield washer fluid jugs maybe?)or what ever pails or containers you have. Save it for next winter to put on icy walkways and driveways. It saves on buying salt.

 

[Mermaid02]

I have been reading this post and found a lot of good ideas. I have a question: what are laundry balls for your dryers that people say they buy at Walmart and what do they do?

Thanks!!

I bought some at Bed Bath and Beyond and find they do cut down on static quite a bit. I do like them!

On a laundry note- it's going to be 50* and sunny here today- guess who has the day off and is going to hang out laundry!!!

 

[SGMCO]

I have been reading this post and found a lot of good ideas. I have a question: what are laundry balls for your dryers that people say they buy at Walmart and what do they do?

Thanks!!

I have had very good success with the Dryer balls.
I have a set of 2 and it has cut my dryer time down to
a 1/4 of the time it usually takes to dry. I am able to set
my dryer on the lowest or next to lowest time and dry
a whole load of towels. Plus, they have really saved me
when it comes to ironing some shirts because it fluffs
whenever it drys and doesn't let the shirts get twisted
to create wrinkles (my DH has to where Mens Dress type
shirts to work--and if I didn't get them out in the perfect
time they would wrinkle). I love these dryer balls, I think the
little nubby/rounded spikes really make a difference.

Plus, making my own dryer sheet using an old washcloth and liquid
fabric softener has really saved money (still have over
3/4 a bottle from last summer).I bought the no name brand
fragrance free fabric softner for about $2.00 and I usually
buy the Bounce FRee sheets which are around $5.00 for either
80 or 120 sheets (it been so long I forgot how many sheet come
in a box) but I remember paying $5.00 per box.

 

[pampam]

I bought some at Bed Bath and Beyond and find they do cut down on static quite a bit. I do like them!

On a laundry note- it's going to be 50* and sunny here today- guess who has the day off and is going to hang out laundry!!!

Go girl!! The dryer is not only costly but wears the clothes out quicker too.

 

[PinballFamily]

Another one...another one! Every member of our family now has new big and fluffy bath towels (Target Home @ 3.99 each - and they're great!) - in a different color. Each of us chose our favorite bright color and we each got three new towels in that color.

I got SO tired of the work and expense of doing towel washes every day or twice every three days for our family of five. Not to mention those kids who leave their used towels *near* but not quite in, the hamper ... And then there are those who claim to be reusing their towels for multiple showers, but don't really seem to be... (But our towels all looked the same, so I couldn't really tell who the culprits were!)

Now we have a set of hooks on the back of the door (one for each person) and color-coded towels. I know exactly whose towels are where. Since we went onto this plan a few weeks ago, I've only done three towel washes! And they've consisted mostly of washcloths and handtowels. We saved our nicest old white towels for guests, but otherwise, totally switched over to the colorful new ones and will save big $$$ on laundry expenses! Hope this helps someone!

 

[jgraney106]

What a great idea. Now those towel offenders will have to fess up for not putting the towel in the hamper. Wish I would have thought of this idea myself. Good One!

 

[Mermaid02]

Go girl!! The dryer is not only costly but wears the clothes out quicker too.

The only thing I won't hang out is underwear- I don't want the neighbors to think we have surrendered!! LOL

 

[pampam]

The only thing I won't hang out is underwear- I don't want the neighbors to think we have surrendered!! LOL

I said the clothesline, not the flagpole.

 

[PinballFamily]

The only thing I won't hang out is underwear- I don't want the neighbors to think we have surrendered!! LOL

HA! We hang everything out on the clothesline - spring through fall. Even..ahem...my Fredericks of Hollywood undies! (My camisole tops, bras, and panties are really among the tamest of the FOH offerings, but still..ooh la la!) I figure this lets my neighbors see the "other side" of their boring, typically frazzled suburban mom-type neighbor.

I really think I scare them sometimes...

 

[jgraney106]

I remember my mother hanging everything on the line when I was a kid . She had 3 lines. The outer two would have the sheets on them and the inner one she would hand the undies on so the neighbors didn't see them.

 

[PinballFamily]

I remember my mother hanging everything on the line when I was a kid . She had 3 lines. The outer two would have the sheets on them and the inner one she would hand the undies on so the neighbors didn't see them.

That's funny!

Happy 1,000th post on this thread, everyone!!!!!!!!!!