Iowahippiechick

1. Containers or canisters in the kitchen - Large ones are useful for holding flour or sugar.  And they can also hold wooden spoons and utensils.  Smaller ones can hold tea bags, coffee, dried beans, matches, etc.
2. Containers for office use - Mayonnaise size jars make terrific pencil/pen holders.   Baby food size work for paper clips and rubber bands.
3. As decorative objects - I once filled an antique glass jar with potpourri and added a lamp kit to the lid … turning it into an interesting lamp.  I’ve also layered different dried beans in quart canning jars to display in my kitchen.
4. For use in the bathroom - They can hold Q-tips, cotton balls and Epsom salts.
5. To hold homemade gifts - Play dough for the kids.  Bean soup mixes. And dry ingredients for cookies or cakes.
6. For kid items - Terrific for craft items … such as glue, glitter, crayons, ribbon, and stickers.
7. Family or individual banks -  They make an easy container to toss change into.  You can individualize them for different savings goals.
8. Food - We have used the large ones to store bagged dried beans, rice, brown sugar, powdered sugar, and other bagged or bulk purchased food items.
9. Gratitude - Every Thanksgiving we write what we are grateful for and put the papers in our gratitude jar.  Then we take turns pulling out the collected slips of paper to read.
10. Seed Storage - In the fall (after I’ve dried the seeds I’ve collected from my garden) I store them in small glass jars.
11. Keepsakes - I’ve saved ticket stubs, greeting cards, and other small items in them.
12. Gag Gift - I read this one somewhere (don’t remember where) but it was funny.  After coming back from vacation, label them warm air from “?” or cold air from “?”  Silly I know … but funny nonetheless!
13. Nature collections - When my boys were young we would have multiple jars filled with their collections.  One would have the rocks they collected.  Another may have had the bugs they were brave enough to pick up.  Still another had their “sticks” or acorns that were precious to them.

thursday thirteen

I love this project-

• It’s a great way to recycle found objects into something fun and useful.
• It’s a great way to help get kids excited about saving money.

Items needed

1. paintbrush
2. pink acrylic paint
3. 2 toilet tissue tubes
4. scissors
5. pink tissue paper
6. clear 2-liter plastic bottle
7. Mod Podge, or a mixture of 2 parts tacky glue to 1 part water
8. 2 googly eyes (preferably  5/8 inch wide)
9. pink two holed button ( 3/4 inch wide works best)
10. tacky glue
11. craft knife
12. pink pipe cleaner

Directions

1. Paint the outside of both tubes pink.  Paint half of the inside of one tube pink.  Set them both aside to dry.
2. Cut the tissue paper into 1  3/4 inch squares.  (To save time, stack several sheets and then cut them.)  Brush a small section of the bottle with Mod Podge or diluted glue, lay a square on it, and brush Mod Podge on top of the square.  Repeat the process until the bottle, including the capped spout is entirely covered.  Let Dry.
3. For the ears, cut two deep U shapes from the tube that’s painted pink inside.  Cut three 1/4 inch slits in the base of each ear.  Bend back the flaps to create gluing tabs.  For the legs, cut four 1 1/2 inch long sections from the tubes.  Trim each leg to fit the contour of the bottle.  Attach the legs, the ears, the googly eyes, and the button nose with tacky glue.  Let them dry.
4. Use craft knife (an adult’s job) to cut a rectangular coin slot in the pig’s back.  Wind the pipe cleaner around a finger to make a tail shape, then glue it in place.
5. With scissors, trim the legs so that the pig will stand flat.

(For more terrific kid-friendly craft ideas - Check out familyfun.com)

personal finance

If your like me … you may have not heard of the term “phantom load.”  And even worse - You may have not realized phantom loads can cost you money 24 hours a day.

A phantom load is the energy consumed by a device when the power is off.  For example when you turn off your television there is still a small amount of power being drawn by the television.  This wasted energy by itself is small.  But when combined with  all of the other devices in your home - IT BECOMES SIGNIFICANT.

The U.S. Department of Energy reports 75% of the electricity that powers home electronics is consumed while the devices are turned off. 

That’s crazy …

Crazy wasteful in energy resources.

Crazy wasteful in money to pay for those wasted energy resources.

So … how do we stop these phantom loads from their money-grubbing and wasteful ways?

An easy start is by unplugging appliances and devices that are not in use.  Small items like cell phones, battery chargers, and coffee makers are usually plugged into an easily accessible outlet.  So it would be easy to keep these items unplugged when not in use or when fully charged.

An alternative method would be to plug multiple devices into a power strip with an on/off switch - And turn the power strip off after you power off the device.  There are also more advanced power strips, called Smart Strips, that will automatically disconnect power to computer peripherals such as printers, scanners, and fax machines when those devices have been turned off or are not in use.

On average, a household could see up to $120 in electricity savings annually if they unplug electrical devices when not in use.

Hey …

In the old days that might not sound like much savings.  But we all know that now the days are all about finding ways to stretch a buck.  Plus, it’s really good karma to conserve energy.  Sort of a win/win situation!

Peace & Love,

dawn @ iowahippiechick

Photo Credit: Cody

personal finance

Have you checked out the energystar.gov website?  If you haven’t - click on the link and take the energy star pledge!  (It’s a national campaign challenging Americans to join with others and take small, individual steps that make a big difference in the fight against global warming).  That’s all green and good!  But as somebody who digs frugality - the best part is learning all sorts of new ways to save cold hard cash!

• The energystar.gov website has a huge section on products that will help you cut your energy costs.
• There’s also a common home problems with solutions section.
• It also has a home energy audit - you can do yourself.
• There’s even an energystar kids site where Horton (via Dr. Seuss) helps kids learn about saving energy.

And … for my fellow Iowans there is a terrific incentive program that is running through November 30th, 2008.  It’s called The Iowa Change a Light - Change the World Campaign.  Which encourages the use of compact fluorescent bulbs.  The program allows Iowans to receive an instant rebate of $2 per bulb, when you buy them from participating retailers.  You may purchase up to 12 CFL’s.  The size of the CFL may range from 11 watts (equivalent to a 30 watt incandescent bulb) to 26 watts (equivalent to a 100 watt incandescent bulb).  A variety of styles such as flood and globe are also eligible for the rebate.  Two dollars will be taken off of the price when the bulbs are purchased.  For verification purposes, you will be required to complete a quick form before  receiving the discount.  Remember though … the instant rebate is only through November 30th, 2008!

Frugal to buy - frugal to use … you can’t beat this deal!

Have a terrific day!

iowahippiechick