Cost-Cutting Uses for Kitty Litter

Cat litter is a low cost, versatile product that can clean up and deodorize your home.

Here are just a few practical, frugal ideas:

Put cat litter in old pantyhose or socks, and put them inside gym bags, sleeping bags and tents. They will stay odorless, dry and free of mold. You can also place the socks in chests, trunks or boxes to freshen books and other stored items.

Use kitty litter to soak up fresh spills, including oil in the driveway or carport. Simply put a generous layer of litter over the affected area and wait a few minutes for the mess to be absorbed.

Scented cat litter, placed in a small container, is great for deodorizing refrigerators and closets. Remember to change it regularly, as you would baking soda.

Place kitty litter in the bottom of an ashtray. It absorbs smoky odors and puts out the ashes quickly.

Cat litter in the bottom of garbage pails is a good way to keep them deodorized, and free of sticky spills.

Do you have a koi pond? Use cat litter to clean up an algae problem. Use one pound of litter per 2,000 gallons of pond water. The bentonite in the litter kills the algae. Your pond may appear muddy at first, but the water will clear after a day or two.


Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com

Cost-cutting Uses for Club Soda

Club soda is a versatile, inexpensive product that can be used in many areas in a frugal household.

Here are a few of them:

Do you have lackluster houseplants? Water them with old club soda that has gone flat. The minerals are beneficial to the health and vitality of your potted friends!

Are you tired of paying high prices for soft drinks, and don’t like the obesity causing high fructose corn syrup they contain? Make your own soft drinks with club soda, mixed with the fruit juice of your choice. You can be creative with the flavor combinations and not get bored drinking the same old sodas.

If you have an upset stomach, drink a little club soda. It will take away that queasy feeling.

Club soda is great for removing stains from fabrics. Dab a little on a spot on a piece of clothing and watch it disappear! You can remove wine stains from carpet with it as well.

Do you need to degrease your car windshield? Spray it with club soda and wipe it down.

Around the house, club soda is a great cleaning product. Spray it on porcelain and stainless steel, and use it to wipe down your kitchen counter tops.

Have you ever cooked with club soda? Substitute club soda for the liquid in your favorite pancake or waffle recipe, and see how light and fluffy they turn out!

Do you have nuts and bolts that are rusty and hard to remove? Pour a little club soda on them. The bubbles will dissolve the rust.

Has your blond hair turned green from the chlorine in your swimming pool? No worries! Rinse your hair with club soda and your normal color will return.


Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com

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Practical Frugal Uses for VO5 Hair Conditioner

My grandmother was a bottle blonde. Weekly she would torture her hair by combing a bottle of peroxide through it. I thought for sure she would have dry, brittle hair, but hers was soft and shiny, and oh so touchable!

Her secret? Alberto VO5 leave-in, gel hair conditioner.

It is still available in drug stores today, and I have discovered it has lots of practical uses.

Here are just a few:

Make cleaning your hands after painting or doing greasy jobs easy. Just rub some VO5 on them before you start working, and wash your hands when you are done. Paint and grease comes right off!

Do you need to get a ring off that is stuck on your finger? Rub VO5 on it and then hold your hand over your head to let the blood drain away. The ring will slide offeasily.

Do you have dry, chapped skin? Use VO5 as a heavy- duty moisturizer.

VO5 can also be used to condition leather, and it is far less expensive than the mink oil that is usually recommended. Rubbing it on shoes can protect them from winter salt and ice, and prevent them from squeaking as well.

You can detangle your pet’s coat with VO5, and protect their feet outdoors, by rubbing a little on their paw pads!

Do you have a horse? Use VO5 to shine their hooves, detangle their mane and tail, and condition the leather saddle you ride on.

VO5 is also a great lubricant. Use it to keep medicine cabinet doors sliding easily on their tracks, to make pipe joints fit together easily, to keep hinges from squeaking, prevent dresser drawers from sticking, and make refrigerator racks slide easily.

Do you have wood paneling in your house? Rub it into wood to keep it from drying out. You can also use it to cover scratches. Apply a little to the damaged area and just buff the scratches out.

Are your kids sports enthusiasts? VO5 can be used to lubricate bicycle chains and keep skateboards and roller skates gliding smoothly.

You can prevent nuts and bolts from rusting together by putting a thin coat of VO5 on them before screwing them together. A thin coating applied to tools keeps them rust-free as well.


Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com

Frugal Uses for Dental Floss

Dental floss isn’t just for cleaning between your teeth! It has lots of other practical uses, both indoors and out.

In the kitchen, you can use waxed dental floss to cut perfect slices of cake, or cheese, and to lift cookies off the baking sheet. It also is a good choice for trussing a bird before baking, or sewing the bird’s cavity shut so the stuffing doesn’t fall out.

Do you go camping? Bring along dental floss in case you need to repair your tent or replace a broken shoelace. It is much stronger than thread or string.

If you have a heavy winter coat with big buttons, reattach them with dental floss. It prevents them from falling off.

Dental floss is also great for repairing torn screen doors or the mesh on playpens.

Little hands find dental floss easy to use when making necklaces or stringing beads. They slide right on the string!


Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com

Uses for Clear Nail Polish

When I was a young girl, I used clear nail polish to strengthen my nails, and to make them look pretty. Back then, I didn’t really think of other uses for it. But now, as a frugal middle-aged mom, I can appreciate its versatility as a cheap fix for a variety of problems.

Here are just a few creative uses for clear nail polish:

Paint over the center of a button with clear polish. It reinforces the thread, and prevents them from unraveling, and causing the button to fall off.

Dab it on screws, or on the bottom of a can of shaving cream. It prevents rust from forming.

Apply it to a small run that is starting on your pantyhose. It will keep the fabric from ripping further.

Laminate small objects with it, like the label of a pill bottle or the front of an ID card. It keeps the print clear and easy to read.

Tighten loose knobs on doors and closets. Simply brush clear nail polish on the threads of the screw and reinsert it in the hole. When the polish dries, there will be a nice tight fit.

Use clear polish to fix small dings, dents and holes in wood floors, paneling, car windshields or windows. Just fill the hole with polish and let it dry.


Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com

Frugal Uses for Bananas and their Peels in your Garden

Bananas are delicious and nutritious for humans. But did you know they are wonderfully healthy for plants as well?

Bananas and their peels are rich in potassium and phosphorous, two essential nutrients for healthy plants. Dry the peels on a screen, and then grind them up in your food processor or blender. This makes a high-quality mulch for seedlings and new plants. You can use larger pieces of cut, dried banana skins around the base of your older plants as well.

One bonus of adding banana peels to your garden is that those pesky little aphids hate them! Simply put dried or cut up peels around the base of affected plants, about an inch or two under the soil, and watch them move on to your neighbor’s vegetable patch!

The rotted fruit of the banana, and the peels are both good additions to your compost pile. Just be sure to bury the fruit deep in the middle. Otherwise you may attract skunks, raccoons and other night-visitors looking for a midnight snack.


Do you want to attract birds and butterflies to your yard? Put over-ripe bananas, and other sweet fruits such as mangoes and melons on a raised platform in your yard. Your winged friends will make a bee-line for it! Some nature enthusiasts recommend punching some holes in the bananas and filling them with sugar water from a hummingbird feeder, or some sports drink. It makes it easier for the butterflies to feed on the fruit.

Bananas are good for houseplants as well. Instead of misting the leaves with water to clean them, rub the leaves with the inside of a banana peel. It gives the leaves a nice shine.



Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com

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Peroxide: Versatile and Frugal Uses for your Home

Do you want to clean, freshen, and kill bacteria and fungus around your home for just pennies per use? Then get out that bottle of hydrogen peroxide.

Here are just a few of its wonderful, frugal uses:

In the Laundry room:
Use one cup of peroxide in your wash,instead of bleach, to whiten your clothes.

For those of you with a green thumb:
Put one ounce of peroxide in one ounce of water, and use it to mist your plants, to keep the leaves healthy.

You can also use it to sprout seeds. Just add one ounce of peroxide to one pint of water. Add the same amount of peroxide each time you rinse the seeds.

In the kitchen:
Use peroxide to wipe down all of your surfaces. It sanitizes everything beautifully!

Peroxide also is an effective pesticide remover, so use it when cleaning you fruits and vegetables. Just wash your fresh produce in a sink of cold water with a little salt and 1/4 cup of peroxide. It prolongs the freshness of your food.

Peroxide is also good for washing chicken, and other meats. Use a little salt and peroxide in chilled water. It kills any bacteria and viruses that may be lurking!

In the bathroom:
Keep a spray bottle with half water/half peroxide handy for spraying down your shower and bathtub. It kills germs and keeps them nice and clean.

You can also use peroxide on your toothbrush, to kill bacteria, and to make a cheap tooth whitener. Just swish a teaspoon of peroxide around in your mouth every day, after each time you brush your teeth.

Straight peroxide on a cotton ball is a great acne treatment. Just clean your face with it 3 or 4 times a day and watch those pimples disappear!


Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com</span>

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Frugal Gardening Tips

Are you an avid gardener? Great! Homegrown food is the freshest and most nutritious.

Gardening supplies can be a little expensive, so here are some real cost cutting suggestions:

Don't use expensive black plastic bags between the rows of your garden to cut down on weeds. Use old newspapers instead. You can also shred them to make an inexpensive mulch and use them to cover plants if frost weather is in the forecast.

If you pick tomatoes when they are green and they need to ripen a bit, just wrap them in a piece of newspaper and store them in a cool, dark place for a few days.

Are you transporting fresh flowers? Wrap them in damp newspaper so they don't wilt.

Make a mat from newspapers to kneel on while you are gardening. It is more comfortable to work that way, and your pants won't get soiled.

Don't buy little pots to plant seedlings, use eggshells instead! When you are ready to plant the seedlings, just crush the shells and leave them in the soil. They provide an extra source of calcium, which is good for plants. Tomato plants especially love calcium enriched soil. It prevents blossom end rot.

Old coffee grounds are also good for enriching soil.

Do you want to keep slugs and snails out of your garden? Put a barrier of crushed egg shells around the perimeter of your vegetable patch. They don't like the sharp edges.

Are ants and cutworms a problem for you? surround your garden with a ring of old coffee grounds to keep them away.

To get rid of anthills, mix one pound of old coffee grounds and one quart of warm water, and spray it on the trouble spots in your yard.


Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com

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11 Fantastic Frugal Uses for Aluminum Foil

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Aluminum foil is not just for cooking food, or wrapping up left overs. It has lots of great uses!

For example:

You can use a crumpled up ball of foil in your clothes dryer to prevent static cling.

If you need to iron a delicate fabric, just line the ironing board with a piece of foil and put the garment on top of it. Hold your iron about three inches above the fabric and press down on the steam button. the wrinkles will come right out!

Are your scissors dull? Cut through a stack of foil that is several sheets thick, and they will become sharp again.

If you need to clean a crust barbecue grill, or a pan with dried on food, use a ball of aluminum foil instead of a wire brush or a steel wool pad.

Are you painting your house? Cover your hardware and doorknobs with foil to keep dripping paint off them.

Aluminum foil rolled into a cone shape makes a quick and easy funnel, or pastry bag.

Foil placed on the crust of a pie, half-way through the baking process, prevents the crust from getting too brown. You can use a metal pin or clip to hold the foil in place.

Are you out of wrapping paper? Use aluminum foil! Add pretty glitter, stickers, ribbons etc. for an additional decorative touch.

Do you hate to polish silver? No problem! Line a pan with aluminum foil, fill it with cold water, and add two teaspoons of salt. Let your silverware soak for a few minutes and then just dry it off.

To prevent future tarnishing, wrap you good silver tightly in saran wrap, being careful to get as much air out as possible. Then wrap the pieces again in aluminum foil and seal the ends.

Bad TV reception? It could be from stacking your VCR on top of, or under your TV. Simply slip a piece of foil between the two, and watch the signal clear right up!


Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com

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Creating Frugal Halloween Costumes

A shopping trip to buy Halloween costumes for your kids can be a real shock. The prices are high, the quality is not so hot, and they can hardly be used for more than one year.

A better alternative is to make your own costumes at home. For some real family fun, let the kids do most of the work themselves.

For example:

Do you have an old sheet? Make a ghost costume by cutting out some eye holes. Then give the kids some permanent markers of various colors, and let them draw all the creepy-crawly, scary, graveyard looking stuff they want.

How about dressing up like a hobo? I did that when I was a little girl. My mom tucked my long golden curls up under a railroad hat, and made a beard out of maple syrup and coffee grounds. She took a pair of my brothers pants that were too big on me, and tied them around my waist with a piece of rope. She added a big shirt, buttoned crooked, mismatched socks, over-sized beat up shoes, stuffed in the toes so I could walk, and a knapsack made from a tree branch, and a handkerchief stuffed with clothes.

An angel costume is another idea that is easy on the budget. Again, use an old sheet for the robe. Decorate it with markers and glitter,to make it pretty. Fashion a halo from a wire hanger and aluminum foil. Use cardboard to cut out wings, and cover them with foil too.

Are your kids natural born clowns? Use a variety of mismatched clothes, both too large and too small to create a comical looking outfit. Get creative with your make up kit to make an outlandish face. Tease and gel their hair into a goofy style. And then splurge and spend a dollar on a clown nose, or make one from a small red rubber ball, if you have one around the house. Do you have a straw hat you use for gardening? Decorate it with plastic flowers, feathers, or anything else you have lying around home. The crazier the better!

If you have any aspiring rock stars in the family, try dressing your kids all in black. Spike their hair with colored hair glue to make it look funky. Borrow your dog's collar for a necklace, and use a bandana for their head gear. Any spiky jewelry you have will add a nice touch as well.

These costumes are cheap, fun to put together, and can be memorable because the kids got to help and add their own creative input. Why not get out the family video camera and record the mayhem for posterity? :-)


Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com

Practical Frugal Uses for Fabric Softener Sheets

Image by G3Cube via Flickr

Those lovely smelling fabric softener sheets, that prevent static cling, have multiple uses, both indoors and out. They can be a cheap alternative to other products, and they are small and easy to use.

Before you leave the laundry room, wipe out the inside of the dryer, the lint trap and the outside of your washing machine, with a new dryer sheet. Clean up any spilled detergent with it. It will keep the area dust and lint free, and smelling fresh.

Use a sheet to de-bug your car's windshield and exterior. Wet the area first, and wipe it down with a dryer sheet. It cleans off squashed insects like a charm!

Put some dryer sheets under your lawn chair, on your beach towel, or hanging out of your shirt pocket while gardening outdoors. They act as a bug repellent.

Need to clean a tough cooking mess? Put a dryer sheet in the bottom of a gritty pot or pan and cover it with water. Let it soak for a couple of hours, then clean. Burnt and stuck on foods will come right off.

You can also use the sheets to remove latex paint from paintbrushes. Stick a dryer sheet in a pan of warm water and add the paintbrushes. Let them soak for a minute or two. The paint will come right off.

Put dryer sheets inside your shoes, underneath car seats, in air conditioning vents, dirty clothes hampers, or anywhere else you need to freshen up. They will leave a nice clean scent.

Carry them in your purse for a beauty touch up! If your pantyhose, clothes or hair are suffering from static cling, wipe down the affected area. The static cling will be gone in seconds and you will smell fresh.

Have a wet dog or cat? Wipe down their fur with a dryer sheet to get rid of that funky fur smell!

You can also use dryer sheets to clean your combs and hairbrushes. Add two dryer sheets to a container of warm water and let your brushes soak for a couple of hours. Rinse them after your remove them. You will notice that built up hair products and hairspray will be gone and the bristles will smell nice too!


Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com

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Creative Uses for Dryer Lint

Don't throw out that fuzz from your dryer's lint screen! You can turn it into many practical and beautiful items.

For example, why not give lint of various colors to your children for art projects? They can use it for anything that needs a soft and fluffy look, like Santa's beard or a snowman on a homemade Christmas card, fluffy clouds on a picture, or the pom-pom buttons on a clown's suit.

If you sew, use it for stuffing. I saved up my lint for several months, and put it inside cloth ornaments I was sewing for my Christmas tree. It sure beat buying that expensive pillow stuffing at the craft store, and looked every bit as nice.

Why not make homemade paper with it? You can use it for scrapbook pages, wrapping small gifts, or make a stationery set with a nice pen for a gift.

Here is the recipe for turning lint into paper:

Make a concoction called "slurry" by mixing torn scraps of paper, dryer lint and water together in a blender. Pour it onto a paper-making frame that is placed in a pan of water. Carefully lift the frame up, flip the paper out and let it dry.

You can also use dryer lint to make clay:

Mix together 2 cups of firmly packed lint, 1/3 of a cup of warm water, 1 tablespoon of clear dish washing liquid, and 6 tablespoons of white glue. If you want to add color or sparkle, mix in a few drops of food coloring or glitter. Mix and knead evenly into a nice pliable clay.

Animals also like dryer lint! Give it to your hamster for bedding. Or leave it outside for birds to line their nests with it. This works best in desert climates, as lint can absorb a lot of moisture, and might waterlog the nest in cold or rainy climates.

Keep cold air from coming in the house under your doors. Simply stuff dryer lint into old tube socks, and use it as a draft stopper.

Put lint inside toilet paper rolls and use it for a fire starter when camping, or for your home fireplace. Remember that lint is very flammable, so store it carefully. Try putting the fire-starters in a coffee can. It will keep the lint dry while camping outdoors.

Finally, use lint as a packing material, instead of buying those expensive padded envelopes at the post office.


Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com

Creative Uses for Old Pantyhose

If you are like me, you hate to see a pair of pantyhose gets runs. They are so expensive for a good pair, and they just don't seem to last very long! Rather than throw them out, I have found numerous second uses for them.

For example, use the waistband as you would a giant rubber band or piece of rope.
Put it around your trash can, to keep the liner from falling in. Use it to tie together stacks of newspapers, before you haul them to the trash. In the garden, use them to tie your tomato plants to the stakes.

In the past, I've used cut up pieces of pantyhose for craft stuffing. It worked wonderfully filling cloth Christmas tree ornaments I was sewing for the tree.

You can use the foot part for several things. Make a pet toy by stuffing it with old cloth, knee high stockings with runs, or even dryer lint, and fold the nylon back over itself several times. If needed, sew the end closed.

You can also fill the feet with old soap pieces, potpourri or herbs and spices to make air fresheners. Put them in drawers, closets, and in cabinets that get musty smelling,

Put garlic and onions in them and hang them from a hook in the kitchen. This allows air to circulate freely around them, and helps keep them fresh.

The legs can be used as a filter to cover the end of a shop vac, or pool skimmer. It keeps finer pieces of dirt and debris from clogging things up.

Those are just a few ideas to get you started. How many creative uses can you find?


Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com