According to the trusted sources at NPR, many people seem to drop their cell phones or digital cameras into the toilet.
Don’t just look at it! Quick pull it out!
The sources also suggested an old trick within the industry which is to bury the soaking cell phone or camera in the middle of a large bowl full of rice. Cover the bowl and wait at least 72 hours before trying to see if it worked. The rice should have been able to absorb the unwanted moisture.
Good luck!
October 8, 2009
Cell Phones And Digital Cameras
October 7, 2009
The Gancio
Not necessarily a new idea, this is a silly little tool born out of necessity. It consists of a serious handle from an old tool such as a shovel and a sturdy hook at the end of it.
Its purpose is to be maneuvered through the tight turns of twigs and branches to knock down fruits such as lemons from a tree.
It is also very effective in knocking down dead branches from high places in trees that produce zillions of dead little twigs such as the Camellia.
It works well for raking the fallen branches because hooking one branch will pull the others.
It actually removes and pulls to your side dead branches that hang over the neighbor’s yard.
It eliminates using a ladder in most cases.
Tips:
By using a different or ‘modified’ type of hook it can be used in garages to hang items up high and out of the way.
The sturdier it is the better.
Pre drill the hole.
October 4, 2009
The Extreme Frugalista
It might be safe to say that when people have more they will waste more. It might be also safe to say that if everyone was extremely frugal, the big companies would have fewer profits and therefore offer less job opportunities. It is a push and pull situation.
Creative frugality might usually stem from the need to accomplish something while lacking sufficient means such as money or resources.
The Sears catalog generated the idea for the toilet paper invention. Frugal peasant cuisine has proven to be some of the best on this planet.
The extreme frugalista might be a person that practices what is not commonly viewed nor accepted as status quo in their contemporary time frame nor within the culture they live in.
We are from all walks of life and live under different conditions, under different needs, under different cultures, under different believes and under different values.
Let us appreciate and learn from one another or disregard with respect.
Down below there is a list of somewhat non offensive ways some people stretch their dollar and that some of us might consider extreme and not acceptable.
Interestingly enough, these ways help protect the planet.
But then, what is pride for some people is an embarrassment for others.
If you have a suggestion that might help others, please feel free to leave
a non offensive comment.
• Mayonnaise when nothing else is available it is a wonderful sun screen and sun tanning solution. This might not sound good being in the comfort of our homes but if stranded in the woods for days it is a welcome solution.
Mayonnaise is also known to be good for the skin.
• Dental floss. Some people wash it for reuse. Is that any different than reusing our toothbrushes daily?
• Used bars of soap at garage sales, even the tiny ones, will sell because some people melt them and make new bars of soap.
• Hair conditioner in the lack of shaving cream will shave very nicely.
• Paper towels. Most of the time we do not need a whole paper towel no matter how small the manufacturer makes it. A good practice is to rip it in half and often in quarters.
Some people use paper towels to wipe clean spills such as water or to dry their hands. They will then let the paper towel dry and later reuse it for a dirtier spill. A reused paper towel seems to have more absorption.
• Lint. Some people collect it from their clothes dryer to easily start fires in their fireplaces. Some other people collect lint from friends and use it for stuffing things. The same is true with animal hair.
• Insects, as the Travel Channel will point out, are widely used as a delicacy as well as a staple for survival in some cultures.
• Toilet flushing. Some people flush once a day. Some people flush overnight deposits in the morning. Some people flush by pouring recycled water rather than using the toilet tank lever.
• Not so nice. Going on dinner dates just to get a free meal. That crosses over the line of frugality.
• Old socks and old T shirts can be reused for dirty jobs in the garage.
• Many ladies will cut open their lotion bottles to discover that they still contain enough to go on for weeks. Often the pump is not even close to reaching the bottom of the bottle.
• Daily shampooing of the hair is not healthy because it removes natural protective oils from the hair. Some people dilute their shampoo a little bit.
• Take a few things to the dump and see what your creative mind can bring home.
• Sticking zipper. Rub some candle wax or a bar of soap over the zipper.
• Saliva. Cleaning with saliva might sound disgusting yet those famous ‘spit shine’ words are true. Saliva contains natural mild proteins that make cleaning safe and easy. It is so mild and efficient that it is used throughout the world to clean famous paintings with no damage.
• Bows. Some people save bows from presents they receive and very carefully unwrap the presents to also save the paper. Why not refrain from waste and save the beautiful bows that can be circulated until they get badly out of shape?
Personally, I will reuse any bows that make sense and then I will enhance them in my unusual way; sometimes by adding long spiral pig tails or altering the bows themselves. In my view it is the bow that celebrates and announces the present, and in my case, they become my signature.
At Christmas time the bows go in one bag and the paper in a recycle bag.
• Baggies, ziploc bags and plastic bags. Many people wash them over and over for reuse, especially the ziploc and freezer bags.
Some plastic bags from certain stores such as CVS and especially Target work very well for smaller garbage cans in the kitchen provided your household is not a large one and you recycle. The bags are easy to tie and being small, they need to be tossed more often than the larger ones thus keeping the infectious garbage out of the house.
Bags from the produce section at the supermarket are good enough to freeze food. They are convenient, on hand, get a second life and save on using brand new bags.
• If we were to wash plastic ware such as forks, knives and spoons after a party, especially if they were the real nice kind say, would that be frugal? Cheap? Convenient? Eco friendly? Intelligent?
• Vacuum cleaners come and go in this household but before departure the attachments are sequestered and the cord cut off if it is a nice one.
Attachments are usually of standard sizes and therefore can be used on the new vacuum. No vacuum will offer all the ‘perfect’ attachments and so it is good to have a variety.
The cord is usually strong and provides an extra extension cord just by adding the plug end to it.
October 1, 2009
Credit Cards: They Keep The Interest
Credit cards can be very convenient when paid promptly.
Living on credit cards not only is living on false riches but it contributes to impoverishing to deeper and deeper levels because purchases through credit cards if not paid promptly will cost ten fold.
Lured by incentives such as low rates one can easily be swayed their direction. And once the balance reaches a certain amount the rates will change, administering a vicious long term blood siphoning grip.
In simple words, credit cards offer the ecstasy cheap to get us hooked and to later keep us financially strapped to their higher insatiable demand.
“You did it to yourself” they might say. The answer is true yet very questionable.
A proverb from the old country says:
Opportunity makes the thief.
The most depressing day of my life was when I finally realized that in my life time I would not have been able to repay my debt. Transferring continually to lower balances, calling the banks, consistently paying much more than the minimum payment and even not spending made no significant changes.
What quelled the problem was to sell the house.
I have been cards free for ten years. Do not carry cash, keep some change in the car for the parking meter and live instead off the Debit Card.
Having cash on hand feels easy to spend and makes us momentarily forget how hard it is to make.
The debit card gives me the flexibility of the credit card and it is used only for expenses that are needed.
I keep the amount in the debit card low and if I cannot cover the purchase today, oh well, another day.
Once used to it, it is really no pain at all.
It might be fair to say that credit card rates should match the feeble rates the banks offer for savings or CD accounts but this would not be sufficient to cover their waste nor their greed.