Cleaners can get pricey, especially when they're name brands. Unfortunately, most of the time it's the name brands that actually work the best!
Even though that's the case, I give generics the benefit of the doubt, at least once, because you never know when one of them might actually do the job better and save you money.
One cleaner I use umpteen times a day is Windex. I have these awful tile counter tops that show every bit of grease dirt and smudgy finger prints. One day I decided I'd try Great Value (Wal-mart) window cleaner.
I bought a large refill and hated every minute of it. It never worked on my tile counter tops the way Windex did. While at the Dollar Tree, I took my chances again and bought another big refill (it was the same price as the little spray bottle). This time it worked like a champ on my tile counters that are oh-so-hard to keep clean. Aside from saving over $2 per refill, it doesn't stink to high heaven like Windex does!
Another favorite cleaner is Clorox Clean up...the all purpose bleach cleaner. I use this in my white enamel sink which gets dingy without it. Again, while at the Dollar Tree I noticed that they had a version of their own & I tried it. It works every bit as good! I highly recommend it. It's in a white bottle with orange and green print that says something like Cleaner with Bleach. It looks similar to Clorox's bottle.
My all time favorite cleaner has to be Awesome, because it's a laundry life saver! It's only available at Dollar Tree. This stuff gets of dried on blood! My daughter has frequent nose bleeds at night and by morning it's all dried. I just spray it and throw it in the wash without even having to scrub it and it always comes out. It also takes the grease out of clothing, even when it's been through the washer & dryer! It doesn't work as well for me with rust, but normally I don't have too much trouble with rust. I've tried Awesome's other cleaners like the laundry stain one and the citrus but none of them work so don't waste your money! Look for the clear bottle with orange writing and yellow liquid.
Two more tips while we're on the subject of cleaning, get yourself a Mr. Clean sponge...those white ones that feel weird. If you have any scuff marks anywhere, wet it and scrub. These little wonders will take care of it. If you have dingy refrigerator door handles or leather shoes, it sucks the dirt right off! The best part is that no cleaner is needed. When you rinse it out, all the dirt runs right out of the sponge! They will fall apart if you try to use them on surfaces with texture so save them for smooth surfaces.
Last tip - when you cook a really yummy dinner in a skillet, you can end up with some seriously stuck-on stuff! Get off the stuff you can with a plastic scraper, make sure your surface is wet and sprinkle with baking soda, allowing it to soak for about 15 minutes then wipe clean. Use a a scrubby sponge to scrub off any stubborn spots. If you have a pan that's not non-stick, it's nearly miraculous how well it works!
One of the best ways to use your money wisely is to know which product will offer you the best value for your dollar. No one does it better than Consumer Reports. We use it regularly and have even given a year's subscription as a gift to family.
It will cost you $26 for a year's worth of online access. They ever offer a $5 one month option. If you go in on the cost with family, you can all share the same name & password, getting the access without footing the entire $26 on your own.
You can find out how everything stacks up from batteries to laundry detergent. I'll never forget the awful discovery that Dyson vacuums suck and not in the vacuuming sense of the word. Their commercials were so neat too!
Another handy & FREE service is E-pinions. You'll get the scoop from regular people. Not experts or scientific facts, but sometimes opinions are helpful.
An arch made entirely of shopping carts...pretty cool, but not in my backyard!! I wonder what the neighbors think.
So, have you ever joined a club? Don't you love being part of one? Most people do. Why did it take us years & years to join one? I don't know.
Maybe it was the fact that ours was a little over 45 minutes away or the fact that we had no clue it would actually save us so much money. It's Sam's Club...or Costco, or BJ's, which ever you prefer. We thought Sam's had better prices over-all, but Costco had more selection, but with a membership fee that was $20 more than Sam's. There is no BJ's around here so I'm not familiar with their prices.
Shopping there (finally) has saved more than paid for our membership cost. Just buying the staples like toilet paper, paper towels & detergent gives us huge savings! Costco has, according to Consumer Reports, the best battery on the market at the lowest price of almost any battery out there. It's their store brand.
You can find so many great deals there so it's worth your while & your membership fee even if you only go once a month. So if you haven't already, you might want to seriously consider taking the plunge.
Looking for a consolidated, Black Friday sales paper? Here's everything from
A (Ace Hardware) to W (Wal-Mart )
Ever dread the thought of life without cable or satellite? I have but it's not as bad as you might think. Satellite & cable both can cut deeply into your wallet. This past spring we were paying over $70 a month for satellite service. In order to save that cash, we canceled the service and opted, instead for an HD antenna for a little over $100. Not one of those ugly spikey ones, this on blends into the environment and you don't even notice it. We get ABC, CBS & NBC as well as football in HD with no monthly charges.
Then we decided that we'd use some of our savings to join Blockbuster Online, where you can order movies with no late fees for as little as $9. If you feel like you're still missing out, you can use Hulu for movies & shows, JustinTV, Freetube (where I watch Fox News) are similar sites where you can enjoy the programs you want to see for free!
My Dad was always a big stickler for turning the lights out when we left a room. It's rubbing off on me finally. Aside from leaving things running while you're not around, off the top of your head, how many electronic items do you have permanently plugged in even when they're off and you might not use them for days? Toaster oven? Coffee pot? Iron? TV? Chances are you have a few. Believe it or not, you're paying for the luxury. Depending on the amount of appliances you leave plugged in, these residual charges can add as much as 10% to your monthly costs.
Here's a snippet form Real Simple magazine (April 2008) listing the average annual cost of plugged in items...* (TV smaller than 40 inches) Plasma TV, $48.25* TV accessories, Digital video recorder/TIVO $39.71* Digital cable, $26.15. Computers, Desktop, $27.90* Computer accessories, CRT computer monitor, $8.97* Modem, $5.47
Leaving appliances plugged in adds dollars to your yearly spending...why not keep them for yourself? Try unplugging for a month and see if you notice a drop in your bill. In the case of computers etc, just turn off your surge protector switch. A simple & easy way to save some cash!
I love this picture : ) This is how I feel in the morning sometimes...*wink* My Mom sent me this tip. I even checked it out at Snopes to see if it was true and sure enough it is. Turns out there may be some drastic mark ups when it comes to certain generic drugs.
You can save loads of your hard earned cash by getting your prescriptions at Costco instead, where they pass along a significantly smaller mark up. You don't even need a membership (to use their pharmacy, depending on your state laws)!
If Costco doesn't work out for you, the same generally goes for Wal-mart & Target. Try checking into them to see if you can get your generics at a lower mark-up than your regular drugstore.
Cleaners can get pricey, especially when they're name brands. Unfortunately, most of the time it's the name brands that actually work the best! 
Another favorite cleaner is Clorox Clean up...the all purpose bleach cleaner. I use this in my white enamel sink which gets dingy without it. Again, while at the Dollar Tree I noticed that they had a version of their own & I tried it. It works every bit as good! I highly recommend it. It's in a white bottle with orange and green print that says something like Cleaner with Bleach. It looks similar to Clorox's bottle.
