Quick and Frugal Gift for Kids

Gather several cardboard boxes of different sizes and shapes and paint or cover them with paper or cloth. Kids love these. They can build things or use them for imaginary cars or houses or whatever.

No canned beans

Do you buy canned beans for recipes? Don't. Instead, buy dry beans, cook them in your slow cooker or on the stove, then package them in two cup portions or whatever your recipes call for, then freeze them. Thaw them in the refrigerator or microwave when you need them.

Cleaning a microwave

You don't need anything special. No lemon juice or vinegar or anything but water. Put your wet dishcloth or sponge in the microwave and turn it on long enough to sanitize it, then use a rag to wipe the microwave clean while it's still moist.

Fireplace or stove "wood"

Who doesn't have toilet paper tubes? Seal one end then stuff them with crumpled paper, sticks, nutshells, whatever will burn cleanly, seal the other end and use them to keep a fire going. Bigger tubes, like the kind that aluminum foil and wax paper come on, work better and burn longer.

Use your sour milk anyway

Still out of milk? If you have sour milk or buttermilk, and want to bake something, just add baking soda to the recipe. A teaspoon is the usual amount. Substitute half of the baking powder for baking soda or just add baking soda to yeast recipes.

Got milk? No?

Any dairy or dairy like product can be used in deserts. Non dairy coffee creamer, mixed with water (try one part creamer and 3 parts water), ice cream (thaw first and cut back on sugar), cream or half and half (add three times as much water as cream).

Cheap liquid hand soap

If you're not satisfied with other methods, try this: Buy one of those foaming liquid soaps in a container, then when you run out, replace it with dish detergent. Mix cheap detergent half and half with water, or go for the more expensive kind that promises to be kind to your skin and mix it three or four parts of water to one part detergent. It has to be thin for the foaming dispenser to work.

Emergency acid neutralizer

Dump baking soda onto acid spills to quickly neutralize them. It works on everything from battery acid to baby spit up (stomach acid).

Eating out

Just got to get out for a meal? Make a picnic lunch and go to the park or eat in your back yard.

Heat just enough water

Would you bake a cake, eat a slice of it, then throw it away? No? Then don't heat a full kettle of water, then use just a cup of it. Only heat the exact amount of water that you need. It uses much less energy.