Make your own Easter basket

Make your own Easter basket from rag strips if you have a little time. You can crochet, knit or braid them into long strips then lace them together in the form of a basket. Start at the bottom and lay them in a circle or oval, then stitch them together. When the bottom is as big as you want it, start the sides by stacking the strip and sewing it down. Try it; it's easier than it sounds.

Frugal Easter baskets

Baskets are easy to make, but if you have a bread basket or some other kind of basket, repurpose it for Easter. Add some artificial flowers or leaves or bows or yarn doodles to the outside and fill with artificial grass and Easter goodies.

Never buy a bucket

Coffee cans, large juice cans, or gallon food cans or containers can be used for small buckets. Use a hammer and nail to punch holes exactly opposite each other, then insert wire, rope or heavy twine for a bail (handle). You might get lucky and find a larger container; otherwise, ask at restaurants or grocery stores for any large plastic buckets or containers. You may have to wait awhile before they are ready to throw one out, and not all stores do, so ask around. Don't forget the large ice cream buckets! They're a little flimsy, but will work for some things.

Clean gunk with ammonia

Ammonia isn't as popular as a cleaning agent as it should be because many people don't like the fumes. It's cheap and efficient when you have a tough cleaning job involving grease or unknown gunk, though, and since manufacturer's have added scents, it's not even quite as smelly.

Those famous fumes are the real gunk-loosening power of ammonia. To use them, put a small amount of ammonia in a container that can be closed - like your oven or a plastic bag. To minimize the use even more (and maximize your savings), put it in a shallow container like a pie pan (glass only) in the bottom rack of your oven, then put drip pans, electric skillets or anything else that's coated with grease or baked on gunk. Close the oven door and leave it all there overnight. The gunk will be loosened by morning so a quick scrub will have everything, including the oven, shining.

Knitting or crochet needle container

Use a round oatmeal, cornmeal or grits box and cover with your choice: Contact paper, pictures cut from catalogs or magazines, wrapping paper covered with white glue, glued on glitter covered with shellac or more glue or yarn wrapped around and around and glued or taped at each end.

Choose the container to suit the needle height. This is especially good for knitting needles with the size on the end because it's easy to find the right size.