Immediate ways to save money

1. Reuse the aluminum foil. Wash and dry flat.
2. Save the milk jug for other uses. 
3. Take extra napkins from fast food restaurants to use at home (But not for company. They get the good stuff).
4. Use smaller amounts of paper towels. Try 1 first, then get another.
5. Make your own liquid soap or laundry detergent. Recipe are online or write me for free recipes. 
6. Walk don't drive whenever possible.
7. Free live music is the cheapest way to great entertainment. Check out a local pub for bands and events!
8. Unplug everything. Put it all on power strips and pull one plug for all.
9. Open windows at night, and turn off AC. 
10. Don't keep pets. Use that $$ for vacation or pay off debt.
11. Invite friends over for low budget entertainment. Let them bring their favorites! More to share.
12. Cook in the crock pot. It's a no brainer.
13. If it's yellow (#1) let it mellow, if it's brown(#2) flush it down saving water.
14. Fill your car only when it's near empty to get the full value of your MPG gas consumption.
15. Keep your car clean to use less gas.
16. Camp instead of hotel stays.
17. Don't eat out.
18. Drink water at bars, drink alcohol at home.
19. Don't buy bread. Make bread in a bread machine.
20. Buy in bulk.
21. Decant your bulk dry goods and mark with dates of purchase.
22. Dye your own hair, but pay for hair cuts. You'll look like crap if you cut it yourself.
23. Buy staple clothing. Solid colors bring out your jewelry!  Jeans, button down shirts, blazers, 1 set of pearls, and 1 set of silver or gold jewelry. Classic! Mix n match.
24. Hand wash delicates right after you wear them, and line dry.
25. Line dry most all clothing outside or on hanger in laundry room and hang on racks. Clothes last longer. 
26. Only run the washer when you have a full load.
27. Freeze uneaten food for another meal or make soup from it.
28. Plan your menus and only but the ingredients you need.
29. Try the $6 wine in the liquor store. 
30. Have a side job just in case you loose the main one.
31. Save 10% of your earnings before you pay bills.
32. If you use credit, pay it off in large chunks.
33. Reuse as much as you can before tossing in the trash.
34. Make homemade gifts that are meaningful not just fashionable. 
35. Grow and cut your own flowers.
36. Grow a veggie patch. Try container gardening.
37. Take all metals that you would have thrown out to a recycling center. You may get $$.
38. Paint your own nails.
39. Use baby oil for skin moisture after shower, and makeup removal. Forget expensive creams.
40. Finally!  Visit with family for vacation and get closer to those who are so important to us all. Meaningful relationships are worth so much more than money, or things. If you don't have special people you can visit, volunteer. They'll appreciate you.       (C) suztheadvicelady  Suzanne Richards, 2014 all rights reserved. :)

Fabulous fabric

Hello Friends,

I'm sharing a decorating tip with you today that I just LOVE!

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I use draperies to separate spaces in my small home.  Draperies are space saving, inexpensive, can be changed with the seasons, and easy to use anywhere. I have seen curtained off areas in lots of homes. Like a door a drape can keep a room quiet by muffling sound and giving privacy. Especially if they are lined drapes. I love the warmth fabric brings to a room too. The color and texture makes a room feel cozy or luxurious depending on your fabric choice.  Here are some ways I have used fabric or drapes in my home.

Use them to replace doors under cabinets for a cute homey feel. Use them to replace doors in between rooms and you will save space that a door would have taken while open. Replace a closet door with a drape to save floor space in a small bedroom. Divide open floor plans by adding bookcases and drapes to create a separate room feel that is completely modular. Place a curtain rod between two sturdy book cases, add two panels, and viola! a doorway to a new area. Tension rods allow you to hang the fabric without making wholes in the wall or trim. For heavy weight  drapery use a shower tension rod. For light weight curtains, use a thin tension rod.  Decide the length of the fabric you will need for the area, then consider your existing furniture and decor before buying.  I like to use drapery rings with a clip on them so I can use any fabric I love.

I hope this brings you new ideas about decorating you home in inexpensive ways. Fall is near and you can have a lot of fun decorating with fabric if you think outside the box.

For more information or if you have questions, tweet me  @SuzTheAdviceLady

Happy decorating!

House Proud

Hello Friends,

Happy Autumn!

With fall approaching and children returning to school, it's time to think about a deep cleaning in our homes. I do a deep cleaning in my home twice a year fall and spring. Clean out from underneath beds, dressers, sofa's and large appliances. Start by dusting down furniture with a rag and furniture polish instead of a feather duster.  Take down curtains and dry clean or wash them. Then follow up with vacuuming and washing floors.  I clean in and under everything that I have not touched previously. Hit the refrigerator with a blast of Lysol disinfectant cleaner and ditch the leftover condiments sitting longer than 6 months.  Pay very close attention to all the details. For instance, the kitchen cabinets. You can't see it but it's there, a very slight film of grease that you get from cooking.  Use a mixture of water and ammonia to get the grease off the cabinets, then wipe dry.  Clean inside drawers and cabinets, and add new drawer liners. This can be done once per year if you choose. Wipe down ceiling fans and wash glass globes as well as the blades.  Have carpeted areas steam cleaned by a professional too. It takes away all the allergens that have made home in our rugs. This will also keep our wall to wall carpets looking their best over time. Keeping our homes clean and free of debris is one way we show the love we have for our families and ourselves. Take care of your biggest asset and it will take care of you.

 Try these tips for cleaning other areas in your home:

- Salt and lemon juice gets stuck on stuff off pot bottoms. The acid in the lemon mixed with the salt can give them a new glow. ***Never use this on non-stick pots.

- Use a steam mop to kill germs on hard wood floors. I usually mop my hardwood floors with boiling hot black tea. But in a rush I will go for the steam mop which does the same job with quicker drying time.

- Dont forget closets. Reorganize linen and clothes closets to make every item is easy to find. Then place natural cedar planks in them to keep fabric loving bugs out. In addition to adding cedar planks, I made lavender sachet's and hung them on every third hanger to help keep my closet smelling fresh. Men would prefer tea tree scent or clove over lavender. Clove sachet's can easily be made with whole cloves from the spice rack. *Tip:  I place my top, fitted and one pillow case of sheet set inside one of the matching pillow cases to keep the set together and easy to find in my closet. Each sheet set is then neatly stacked in my closet. :)

- Use a stiff brush to remove dust from lamp shades, and free standing fans. Then place them out on the sun for an hour to kill any dust mites before replacing them on lamps. Same goes for silk flowers.

-  A big must.... vacuum then hang large area rugs outside in the sun for one hour. They will smell better and dust mites are irradiated. Wash smaller area rugs then hang to dry instead of simply shaking the out.   :)  There is nothing better than sunlight and a little time to freshen up items that can't be washed.

Finally, make it a habit to deep clean at least two times per year. Put it on your calendar and stick to it. More frequent deep cleaning is best, but with work and family requiring most of our time twice per year is good enough.  I love doing this in chunks so that it does not so overwhelming. Choose a chunk of time to do a few things and finish them before moving on to the next. You will be happy with the outcome. If you hire a professional to do your cleaning, make certain they use good products and follow your instruction precisely. Cutting corners is not ok. Inspect everything before paying the bill.

One final word before I say goodbye, don't forget the exterior of your home. You can buy siding wash from home improvement stores or hire a professional  to do your windows and siding all at once.

Love and hugs,
Suz

Before you hire that painter read this

Good Morning:

I have been working on my home for several weeks now.  We are cleaning and purging what we don't want. This all started when I decided to make our lives more comfortable and relaxed. Along with cleaning I decided we need to paint our moldings in the house. Looking to hire a painter and exploring the cost vs. my time, I decided I could paint the interior trim one room at a time. I bought paint and planned to go over all the trim room by room. While cleaning the bathroom floor today I was thinking while cleaning like I always do (It's kind of like meditation for me) my mind wandered to a line in the film Bruce Almighty where Morgan Freeman (who plays God beautifully) says to Bruce (played by Jim Carey) "life can be messy, but you can always clean it up".  While on my hands and knees cleaning the floor I wiped over the moulding with my sponge revealing fresh white paint. I thought it was chipped paint but turns out dusting I do didn't remove all the dirt. I did all the trim in the bathroom with vinegar and water solution which I mixed with citrus cleaner, and the moulding looks new.  Whoever painted my bathroom used high gloss oil based paint and it really has held up. I'm scrubbing down all the trim now in the house noticing only some areas need painting. This is saving my self a lot of work, and money. I can return some of the paint which I never opened, and I feel content with the job being completed.  Well almost. I still have some trim to paint that is in fact chipped but it's only one or two areas!

Peace and Joy to all
Suz