Make Shades From Broken Mini-Blinds

The best thing you can do to be thriftier is to learn to re-use old or broken items. Here is a great post from the Little Green Notebook Blog on how to make old, broken mini-blinds with clear-cut instructions and pictures. Very cool!

Re-use Tip: Even More Baskets

LEGO's in a plastic tub. Library books in dishpans or laundry baskets. What can you reuse?

For more on organizing, you can download the recorded webinar Organizing Your Classroom 101 for free at Homeschool Connections. Click on the link that says Recorded Events.

What to Do with Old Toothbrushes

Should you just throw those old used toothbrushes away. Gee, no!

They make great little cleaning brushes for hard-to-reach and tiny places.

I mark mine with a little paint or permanent marker though, to keep wee ones from thinking it is okay to put in their mouth .

About: Frugal Living: Plastic Bags

Whoda ever thunk to use plastic bags to make bathroom mats. For real! Go here to find useful ways to re-use your plastic grocery bags.

Re-Use Tip: Old Washing Machine Barrels

Thrifty Homeschooler list member Jessica sends the following tip:

We bought an old washing machine barrel from a used furniture store for 5 dollars. We set it on an old tire rim we owned. Now it is our outdoor fire pit. The little drain holes on the sides allow the "glow" of the fire to shine out, too. It really was a great purchase. You don't have to set it on anything either. You can just put it directly on some dirt. We have used it for several years and we have had some good times. We put our swing by it so we can all curl up in a blanket by it. We roast marshmallows, wieners, etc., on the fire. The kids beg us to light it all fall and winter. My husband likes to light it on Friday nights and listen to the high school football game on the radio. Sometimes we put the kids to bed and then go outside and enjoy the fire by ourselves. We have fun when we have company over to visit by our fire too. You don't have to worry about it breaking like those expensive chiminias. It is not as pretty, but it still looks good and serves its purpose well. We haven't gotten to enjoy it much this year b/c it has been so warm. But we are all looking forward to it.

PS-when you buy one don't let the seller know what you are using it for (if it is from a store) Or they might "catch on" and jack up that price.

Thank you Jessica for the tip!

Pickled Watermelon Rind

At our traditional Memorial Day Barbecue last year we had lots and lots of watermelon. Because I just hate to see anything go to waste, my 9-year-old daughter and I cut up and peeled the rind to make pickled watermelon rind.

Now if you're making face, saying to yourself "that sounds gross," hear me out. They taste like sweet pickles. The rind, minus the fruit and the hard shell, has little taste. Pickled it has almost a sweet and sour taste to it and it is wonderful for summer picnics! Price pickled watermelon rind sometime, I bet that you won't find it for less than $5 a jar. It makes a great gift - your friends and family will think you're a gourmet!

And think about the educational value. My daughter and I not only had a completely enjoyable time together canning those pickles, she learned a lot about food preservation. She also learned that one man's trash is another man's treasure.

As an added bonus, my daughter entered a jar of the pickled watermelon rind in the 4-H competition at the county fair and won a blue ribbon.

If you want to give it a try, I got my recipe from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving. You can also find lots of recipes online. (Check the Internet links in the previous blog entry.)

Buying and Selling at Used Curriculum Fairs

From Practical Homeschooling:

How to buy & sell used curriculum: 15 top tips on how to do it with style by Jennifer Thieme

Re-Use Tip: Scrubby

In a pinch I've used the mesh bag that onions come in as a scrubby for my dishes. Just wad it up in a ball, hold it together with a rubberband if you wish, and you have a homemade scrubby.

Re-Use Tip: Parmesan Cheese Shakers

My motto is "Why recycle when you can re-use!"

Do you have trouble keeping crayons organized? If so, here is simple littletip. You know those plastic parmesan cheese shakers? Well, they can be used as crayon holders. Littles can pop up the shaker opening and shake out their crayons. Then when they are done coloring, they can unscrew the top and put away the crayons.

It works quite nicely.

Re-Use Tip: Old Pantyhose and Knee Hi's

Should you throw out your old knee-hi's and pantyhose with runs? Gosh, no!

First of all, if your pantyhose has a run in only one leg you can salvage it for a while yet. Here is what you do: Cut off the offending leg and put the pantyhose back in your drawer. The next time you get a run in just one leg, do the same to that pair of hose. Now take the first one-legged pantyhose and put the leg of the second pair of pantyhose through the hole of the first pair. Now you have two good legs and saved yourself a trip to the store.

And DON'T throw away that leg that you cut off. You can still use the leg, or a knee-hi, with a run for your washing machine. Yes, I said your washing machine.

Once, just after buying a brand-new Maytag washing machine, I found that my clothes were still sopping wet after the spin cycle. I called for a repair man, who very kindly pointed out that the problem was that the sink, where the water drained, was clogged with lint (totally my fault and he didn't charge me for the visit - I love Maytag!). He suggested that I either buy "lint traps" (a little mesh bag that fits over the washing machine's hose) or use old hose.

I have found that a "ruined" knee-hi or pantyhose leg attached with a rubberband works just as well as the store-bought lint traps. And they are free!