There are many commercial costumes available at the local stores, however between the cost, and lack of imagination, and the fact you end up with a half dozen kids all looking the same at a party. Nothing beats homemade. Below is some basic ideas for you to play with. All are cheap, easy, and allow for tons of imagination.
Frugal Plan Ahead TIP: Use new or old sweat clothes or tee shirts with contact paper decorations Plain white contact paper can be decorated to the theme or use colored contact paper. After the event, peel off the contact paper. No Mess and No Damage.
Price Is Right Contestant: Paste some white numbers to a rectangle of green cardboard and add a strap to hang it around your neck. Add a paper name tag and act really excited to be playing!
Alvin(of the Chipmunks): Pin a big yellow "A" to the front of a huge red sweatshirt. Add a red baseball cap and sing loud and bad!
Star Trek Red-Shirt Guy: Use a red sweat shirt with black tape to make the classic designs. A little foil and a safety pin for a communicator badge and be sure to disappear from the action after the first scene!
The old stand by a Ghost: Grab a old white sheet, cut out the eyes. Be sure its is short enough not to trip you. Take scrap piece of sheet, and sew up a simple treat bag.
Why be the same old plain ghost? A ghost going out in public might like to get dressed up a little. Use the same old white sheet, cut out holes for the eyes and a small slit for the mouth. Then dress it up a little. Put eye shadow and lashes around the eyes. Lipstick for the mouth. Put a little color on the cheeks. How about earrings and a necklace ? You could color in a beard or mustache. Use something besides just a white sheet to be a little more fancy
Clown: Sweat clothes that are too large. Decorate by using either fabric paint, or markers or use contact paper for colors that are removable. For those who dare try tie-die. Tack on some large pop-poms, add a cheap wig, hat, and make-up. You may also stuff the extra space in clothing with tissue. However this could be messy, if you need to make a "pit-stop".
Scarecrow: Over sized flannel shirt, faded blue jeans with patches, rope for belt and to tie at the cuffs of his jeans and sleeves, stuff the shirt and jeans with plastic grocery, or paper, a little bit of straw (or shredded brown plastic bags) to hang out of jeans and shirt. Add a little bit of make-up.
The American tourist: Guys loud Hawaii shirt, shorts (if weather permits), Large straw hat. Gals bright loud dress, flats, big sun hat, straw bag. Don't forget to have a camera, and maps hanging out, and that look of being lost. Guys can use a tourist bag, (like you get from travel agents, and gals can use the straw bag for their treats.
1960s Hippy: This one is hard, after all its all back in style! What is real, and what is costume? ;-) Tie die clothing, long wig (in the old days we called a "fall", sandals, headband, anything with fringe on it (vests, purse...) light colored sun glasses. Add an overwhellming amount of patchuly oil or sandlewood oil, if you dare!
Old man: Dark pants (cuffed), and jacket, most any dress shirt, man's flannel hat, walking cane. Gray the hair, with any of the commercial temporary colors, or dust with a little flour.
Old woman: Old style dress, just below knee, knee-hi stockings rolled down a little, oxfords, large black purse.
Your chance to be a real nerd. Slick back the hair, grab some pants that are too short, white shirt, white socks, penny loafers, or lace up oxfords, pocket protector, with lots of pens, dark rim glasses (don't forget to tape the corner, or at least paper clip it) briefcase, or backpack for treat bag.
Japanese Doll: My daughter won with this costume! Her face was painted white, she had red rosy cheeks all shaped in a circle, Hair in buns, thong slippers, and a kimono(chinese dress)
Miss. America: Use a old bridesmaid dress of formal, add a pair of gloves, a tiara, some oversized jewelry, and heals. For the banner, a piece of wide ribbon, and write "Miss. America" in glitter.
Soda pop can: Use a round barrel, cut a hole in the bottom. You cut holes for arms and your head. Paint it the colors of a pop can. Presto! You have a pop can!!!
Static Cling: Wear anything a solid color is good all white or all black. With safety
pins pin anything to yourself i:e: socks, underware, bounce sheets, etc. You can also spray your hair straight up in the air. From: Maria
1950’s “Sock-Hopper”: It’s quite simple, just a round skirt, a white short-sleeved shirt, and some saddle shoes. (If you don’t have saddle shoes, plain buckle shoes are fine.) You could add some cat-eye glasses if you want. Tie their hair in a ponytail, and wrap a scarf around it.
Mummy: Wrap yourself in white bandages (rolls of gauze) Use splotches of green paint for "mold". Use white make-up on face with "age lines" drawn on. The stiff-legged gait works perfectly. Quasimodo the Hunchback of Notre Dame: Build the "hunchback" out of foam or cardboard. Find an old coat several sizes too large to accomodate this. Old, ratty clothes are great! Wear a snaggly wig and keep putting hand up to ear and muttering "eh?".
Pirate: Form a fake wooden leg by wrapping one leg in brown felt. Wear sailor pants or jeans with a striped top. Tie a bandana around your head, wear an eye patch, carry an empty bottle marked XXX (for the "rum") and mutter "aargh" a lot. Ask for "Trick or treat, matey!"
Crash test dummy - After! There is a commercial costume for this, but a good one can be made with sweats and tape to make the markings on it like the crash test dummies. Use bandages and fake blood to decorate. Fashion a seat belt out of webbing and an old buckle and pin in place. (or go to a junk yard as ask for an old seatbelt).
Train Engineer: A pair of blue jeans, a blue Jean jacket, a red and black bandana. a blue and white engineer hat, a whistle, and play lantern
Mother Nature: Silk flowers and silk plant leaves in a variety of shapes and colours an old skirt and vest, a face mask, twigs (collected from your nearby park or in your own backyard) to make a nest, a foam bird that you can find at any craft store, glue gun and wire or pins. Decorate the vest & skirt with the silk leaves in a random pattern and glue into place. Decorate the skirt with flowers growing out from the leaves already put in place. Use the remaining leaves and small flowers to decorate the face mask. Gather your twigs and secure with wire to make a nest. Place your bird on the twigs and secure into place with the wire. You can add some leaves and peat moss as a filler. The child can wear a dark colored turtleneck and leggings under the vest and skirt for the evening walk to get treats.
Skunk: Black sweats with a white strip of tape or contact paper down the back.. be careful everyone may run!
Bunny: Pink, brown, or white sweats, add a powder puff or large pom-pom to the backside, and a set of ears make from construction paper and a plastic headband. Now just hop on out and enjoy.
Turtle: Green with a piece of poster board attached to the back. Simple cut the poster board into a large oval, make random marks like a turtle shell, and paint.
Puppy: Brown, tan or white, either paint, or pin paper spots on. Make floppy ears and bobby pin to hair over your ears. The tale can be most anything, depending on what type of doggie you wish to be. Add a little make-up.
Kitten: Gold, brown, tan, white. Make ears from construction paper, attach to head band or bobby pin in to hair. Sew a simple round tale, and pin on.
Spider: Black, For the legs grab some cheap black hose, stuff with any thing dark and light weight. Either sew, or staple to keep stuffing from falling out. Pin to clothing, add a little make-up
Lady Bug: Use a pair of black sweats and black sweat shirt (and a pair of black shoes). Use a large piece of poster board or cardboard and cut out a large oval. Paint it red with black dots. Staple black elastic pieces (in a loop) onto the board to make arm holes. For the antenna attatch craft pipe cleaners with black pom poms on the ends to a headband.
Snowman: Use white sweats and pompoms for the coal. Add some makeup and a top hat. Use orange construction paper to make a carrot cone for a nose-just roll up the paper, trim and staple on some elastic to hold it in place. Don't forget the scarf!
Cereal Killer: Attach little cereal boxes to a shirt, cut a slit in the boxes, glue in plastic knives into the holes, drip red paint running down from the knife hole in the box.
Black Eye Pea: When I was younger, a teacher from my elementary school dressed up as a "black eyed pea" and it was so cute, my mother dressed me up the same way the next year. It is simple and cheap. Wearing all white, with black tennis shoes, I cut out the letter 'P' from black construction paper and pinned the P's all over the white outfit. I painted a black spot over one eye ("black eye" ... get it? :) hee hee) and I was a "black-eyed 'P' "
Butterfly: Put on black sweats and black shoes. Use a piece of poster board and paint wanted color cut them out in an appropriate wing shape. punch two holes toward the edges of the wings. put black ribbon through them and tie around waist. attach pipe cleaners and pompoms to a plastic head band.
Rubics cube: Using a large card board box and five different colors of contact paper or construction paper (contact paper is easier to stick on) enough to do 5 sides, black pants and long sleeve shirt. this was done very inexpensively and we had a lot of fun with it.
Dice: Grab a friend and take 2 cardboard boxes, paint them white. Cut out several black circles (From construction paper) and glue them in the appropriate places to make you and your friend a pair of dice!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Time to get ready for Winter!
Whether we like it or not, Winter is on the way here in Seattle, which means cool temperatures and wet conditions.
Some things we are doing to get ready:
Wrapping the Hot Water Tank--even though ours is in an enclosed laundry room, we can still save a little by wrapping it up.
Trading out the summer/winter clothes. Make sure everything is clean before packing it up, and get rid of the stuff that is worn out so you don't have to deal with it again in the spring.
I do a lot of knitting and quilting in the winter(Keeps your lap and legs warm!) so anything that is worn out will get added to the scrap bag. Even stained clothes make great rugs when cut into strips.
I am also making Snuggies for the whole family this year. Yes, they are silly and the commercials for these things are ridiculous but the concept is pretty smart. I have a few old fleece blankets so I plan to make these pretty much for free. The Pattern is very easy too!
We installed a Programmable Thermostat last fall and I dug out the paperwork and re-programmed it 2 degrees cooler than it was last year. We are also putting up Window Quilts this year to cut down on the drafts. We have a 6 room apartment but we only heat the living room and bathroom, so I hang drapes in the doorways to keep the heat where we want it. The other rooms are kept at 55 degrees.
We have hardwood floors, so I am also pulling the rugs out of storage. We only use them in the late fall and winter and they are all washable. When the weather turns nice in the spring, they all get washed, and line dried before returning them to storage. My rugs are nearly all handmade--done in past winters out of scraps and rags--it is amazing how many memories are sewn into these simple floor coverings; cotton onesies that were outgrown and worn out, tee shirts from places and events I attended, my college sweatshirt, the shredded seat covers from my first car--sheesh! One comment I will make about rag rugs made on a loom like many of mine are--skip the crappy cotton warp thread--string technology has come a long way since our ancestors started making rag rugs! I use Nylon Twine for my rugs. This product is meant for salt water fishing net and will last longer than the cloth rags! One $10 roll is enough twine to make a rag rug 4 feet wide and 43 feet long--do not skimp in the basics or you will be sorry!
Check and re-check the Emergency Supplies. I have used up most of the Emergency Food I stored last fall(Rotated to keep it fresh) and now it's time to re-stock. I put 48 meals worth of easy food and 10 gallons of water all in one place with flashlights, candles, matches, and all the other supplies we might need if the power is off for more than a day. I have 2 portable gas stoves that I use for Canning Classes, so I only needed to buy a 4 pack of fuel this year. Note on these types of butane stoves---if you buy one, fire it up when you get home-let it burn for at least 20 minutes and shut it off. Check the fuel can--it should be ice cold. If the can is warm AT ALL--take the stove back and buy a different brand. Keep testing until you find one that keeps the fuel ICE COLD. Many cheap knock-offs are on the market and the results can be devastating when the fuel container overheats.(Graphic Pictures!)
Hot chocolate and Spiced Tea are very popular in our house when the weather is chilly so I make up big batches of homemade mixes to keep these treats easy and frugal.
I will add more tips, for getting ready for Winter, soon!
Some things we are doing to get ready:
Wrapping the Hot Water Tank--even though ours is in an enclosed laundry room, we can still save a little by wrapping it up.
Trading out the summer/winter clothes. Make sure everything is clean before packing it up, and get rid of the stuff that is worn out so you don't have to deal with it again in the spring.
I do a lot of knitting and quilting in the winter(Keeps your lap and legs warm!) so anything that is worn out will get added to the scrap bag. Even stained clothes make great rugs when cut into strips.
I am also making Snuggies for the whole family this year. Yes, they are silly and the commercials for these things are ridiculous but the concept is pretty smart. I have a few old fleece blankets so I plan to make these pretty much for free. The Pattern is very easy too!
We installed a Programmable Thermostat last fall and I dug out the paperwork and re-programmed it 2 degrees cooler than it was last year. We are also putting up Window Quilts this year to cut down on the drafts. We have a 6 room apartment but we only heat the living room and bathroom, so I hang drapes in the doorways to keep the heat where we want it. The other rooms are kept at 55 degrees.
We have hardwood floors, so I am also pulling the rugs out of storage. We only use them in the late fall and winter and they are all washable. When the weather turns nice in the spring, they all get washed, and line dried before returning them to storage. My rugs are nearly all handmade--done in past winters out of scraps and rags--it is amazing how many memories are sewn into these simple floor coverings; cotton onesies that were outgrown and worn out, tee shirts from places and events I attended, my college sweatshirt, the shredded seat covers from my first car--sheesh! One comment I will make about rag rugs made on a loom like many of mine are--skip the crappy cotton warp thread--string technology has come a long way since our ancestors started making rag rugs! I use Nylon Twine for my rugs. This product is meant for salt water fishing net and will last longer than the cloth rags! One $10 roll is enough twine to make a rag rug 4 feet wide and 43 feet long--do not skimp in the basics or you will be sorry!
Check and re-check the Emergency Supplies. I have used up most of the Emergency Food I stored last fall(Rotated to keep it fresh) and now it's time to re-stock. I put 48 meals worth of easy food and 10 gallons of water all in one place with flashlights, candles, matches, and all the other supplies we might need if the power is off for more than a day. I have 2 portable gas stoves that I use for Canning Classes, so I only needed to buy a 4 pack of fuel this year. Note on these types of butane stoves---if you buy one, fire it up when you get home-let it burn for at least 20 minutes and shut it off. Check the fuel can--it should be ice cold. If the can is warm AT ALL--take the stove back and buy a different brand. Keep testing until you find one that keeps the fuel ICE COLD. Many cheap knock-offs are on the market and the results can be devastating when the fuel container overheats.(Graphic Pictures!)
Hot chocolate and Spiced Tea are very popular in our house when the weather is chilly so I make up big batches of homemade mixes to keep these treats easy and frugal.
I will add more tips, for getting ready for Winter, soon!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Frugal Hand Sanitizer!
Alcohol deemed effective for hand sanitizing.
The CDC and many other Government Agencies are recommending alcohol based hand sanitizers to prevent the spread of the Flu virus. Most hand sanitizers kill bacteria, but only concentrations of 60% or more alcohol kills viruses.
Anyone who has purchased these products(if you can even find them!) know they are expensive! Like many other products, most of the cost is for advertising, bottling and shipping.
Purell $4.49/8 ounces 56 cents/ounce
Germ-X $4.49/8 ounces 56 cents per ounce
Germ-X pocket size $2.29/2.5 ounces 91 cents per ounce
Since those extra costs are not going to get your hands cleaner--skip them and make your own Sanitizing Hand Cleaner--refill the old bottles and save some big bucks!
These products all have the base ingredient: denatured or "rubbing" alcohol. The formula for this type of alcohol is dictated by the Federal Government so every source of this type of alcohol is the same--buy the cheapest you can find!
So far, the cheapest source I have found for denatured alcohol is at the hardware store in the paint thinner department. My local Lowe's Hardware has it for $6.69 per quart or $15.28 per gallon and it is 90% alcohol(with exactly the same methanol and acetone added as you would find in the pharmacy as "rubbing alcohol" except that rubbing alcohol is typically 70% alcohol and has water added to bring it down to that concentration.
Inexpensive Alcohol Based Sanitizer
makes 12 oz.@ 63.25% alcohol for about 8-13 cents per ounce.
1/2 cup cool water
1 cup denatured alcohol (90%) Available at hardware stores as a paint stripper.
10 drops fragrance oil - optional
1 drop food coloring - optional
Vitamin E oil, green tea extract, tea tree oil, etc. - optional.
Combine ingredients and stir. Store in a spray pump bottle. Will last indefinitely.
Household Bleach is the Best Virus Killer
Store-brand chlorine bleach can be used as a disinfectant by mixing 1/4-cup chlorine bleach with 1 gallon of cool water. --Ratio of 1:64 . Bleach has been found to be the best civilian sanitizer and is a very common base for antibiotic cleaners in Third World Countries because it is very, very cheap. To extrapolate this into a homemade hand sanitizer we can start with a bottle of inexpensive hand lotion and add bleach to it.
Bleach Based Hand Sanitizer
Dump the contents of a bottle of hand lotion into a mixing bowl, add bleach, mix well and return to the bottle. Be sure to mark the bottle "With Bleach Added: 1:64"
Bottle size --------- Amount of Bleach to Add
8 ounce --------------3/4 Teaspoon
16 ounce ------------1/4 ounce (1 1/2 Teaspoon)
32 ounce ------------1/2 ounce (1 Tablespoons)
Extra benefit: This small amount of bleach will leave your hands very clean and make your nails super white!
Some people are pretty allergic to chlorine bleach and they should go with the alcohol based sanitizer instead, but for sheer virus killing properties, bleach is always the best product for the job.
The CDC and many other Government Agencies are recommending alcohol based hand sanitizers to prevent the spread of the Flu virus. Most hand sanitizers kill bacteria, but only concentrations of 60% or more alcohol kills viruses.
Anyone who has purchased these products(if you can even find them!) know they are expensive! Like many other products, most of the cost is for advertising, bottling and shipping.
Purell $4.49/8 ounces 56 cents/ounce
Germ-X $4.49/8 ounces 56 cents per ounce
Germ-X pocket size $2.29/2.5 ounces 91 cents per ounce
Since those extra costs are not going to get your hands cleaner--skip them and make your own Sanitizing Hand Cleaner--refill the old bottles and save some big bucks!
These products all have the base ingredient: denatured or "rubbing" alcohol. The formula for this type of alcohol is dictated by the Federal Government so every source of this type of alcohol is the same--buy the cheapest you can find!
So far, the cheapest source I have found for denatured alcohol is at the hardware store in the paint thinner department. My local Lowe's Hardware has it for $6.69 per quart or $15.28 per gallon and it is 90% alcohol(with exactly the same methanol and acetone added as you would find in the pharmacy as "rubbing alcohol" except that rubbing alcohol is typically 70% alcohol and has water added to bring it down to that concentration.
Inexpensive Alcohol Based Sanitizer
makes 12 oz.@ 63.25% alcohol for about 8-13 cents per ounce.
1/2 cup cool water
1 cup denatured alcohol (90%) Available at hardware stores as a paint stripper.
10 drops fragrance oil - optional
1 drop food coloring - optional
Vitamin E oil, green tea extract, tea tree oil, etc. - optional.
Combine ingredients and stir. Store in a spray pump bottle. Will last indefinitely.
Household Bleach is the Best Virus Killer
Store-brand chlorine bleach can be used as a disinfectant by mixing 1/4-cup chlorine bleach with 1 gallon of cool water. --Ratio of 1:64 . Bleach has been found to be the best civilian sanitizer and is a very common base for antibiotic cleaners in Third World Countries because it is very, very cheap. To extrapolate this into a homemade hand sanitizer we can start with a bottle of inexpensive hand lotion and add bleach to it.
Bleach Based Hand Sanitizer
Dump the contents of a bottle of hand lotion into a mixing bowl, add bleach, mix well and return to the bottle. Be sure to mark the bottle "With Bleach Added: 1:64"
Bottle size --------- Amount of Bleach to Add
8 ounce --------------3/4 Teaspoon
16 ounce ------------1/4 ounce (1 1/2 Teaspoon)
32 ounce ------------1/2 ounce (1 Tablespoons)
Extra benefit: This small amount of bleach will leave your hands very clean and make your nails super white!
Some people are pretty allergic to chlorine bleach and they should go with the alcohol based sanitizer instead, but for sheer virus killing properties, bleach is always the best product for the job.
Friday, August 7, 2009
11 Real Jobs You Can Start From Scratch With Little Investment
1) Child daycare. Each child you care for should amount to about $200 per week in income depending on where you live. In Washington we can care for up to 6 kids at a time--$1200 a week is nothing to sneeze at!
2) Doggy Daycare & Walking. Here in Seattle, people pay nearly as much to drop off their dogs for the day as they do their kids. What's really weird tho is that childcare workers make minimum wage-$7.75 per hour. Doggy Daycare workers and dog walkers make $15.00 per hour! Another facet of this idea came to my attention: Sick pet care--a lot people have pets that have been sick or had surgery and need to be watched during the day. Most pets really hate being left at the vet so pet owners are willing to pay $50-$75 a day to drop off a pet with someone who will take care of them through the day in a quiet & private setting. Toss an old blanket over the sofa for a comfortable spot and walk as needed. Sanitize everything between visitors. Advertise the service with all your local vet's offices.
3) Sewing and mending services. People pay $5-7.00 to replace a jeans zipper and $6-10.00 to hem a pair of pants. A custom prom dress runs $200 and up.
4) Have bake sales. Cook up a bunch of goodies and then have a combo garage and bake sale. I always make more money on the baked goods than I do on the garage sale but people will not stop to look unless I call it a "Garage Sale." A dozen homemade cookies is $5.00 or more. I have also sold dozens of homemade cook books for $3-$10 apiece!
5) Grow plants and have periodic plant sales. I recently purchased 1 very over grown spider plant at a store and split it up into over 100 small plants. In the spring these will sell for around $2-5 apiece!(Update: I listed these on eBay about a month later and sold all of them to a florist shop for $100+shipping(taking care of 100 houseplants was more work than I planned and I was glad to ship them out!)
6) I do eBay but in a rather unique way. All of the stuff I sell on eBay I get for FREE. Examples are woodland ferns, native plants, Ivy, driftwood, etc. Take a walk with the kids and make it a treasure hunt. Stuff that are weeds and junk to me are exotic to people in New York! I once sold a seal skull(found on the beach) on eBay that stunk so bad I had it buried in the yard during the time of the auction! It sold for $75+ shipping and I wrapped it in 5 layers of garbage bags to mail it!
7) Make jewelry out of beads and wire and put them on consignment at spas and jewelry stores. Copper jewelry is always popular and the materials can be purchased at the recycling center for a couple of bucks a pound. A copper bracelet will sell for $5.00--I can make 20 of them per hour.
8) Learn a skill like desktop publishing or transcription or web design. The more flexible and knowledgeable you get the more jobs you will get.
9) Schedule appointments for a local builder. Many companies need phone people to set up appointments for inspections, construction estimates, etc.
10) Figure out what you love to do and then work out a way to get paid for it. If you love soap operas, find someone to pay you to write about them. If you love crafts, make them and sell them!
Bonus: Look around for a place that can host classes and teach what you are best at. I have taught classes on sewing, home canning, dog grooming, and once taught a class on how to detail your car if you want to sell it.
Good luck!
2) Doggy Daycare & Walking. Here in Seattle, people pay nearly as much to drop off their dogs for the day as they do their kids. What's really weird tho is that childcare workers make minimum wage-$7.75 per hour. Doggy Daycare workers and dog walkers make $15.00 per hour! Another facet of this idea came to my attention: Sick pet care--a lot people have pets that have been sick or had surgery and need to be watched during the day. Most pets really hate being left at the vet so pet owners are willing to pay $50-$75 a day to drop off a pet with someone who will take care of them through the day in a quiet & private setting. Toss an old blanket over the sofa for a comfortable spot and walk as needed. Sanitize everything between visitors. Advertise the service with all your local vet's offices.
3) Sewing and mending services. People pay $5-7.00 to replace a jeans zipper and $6-10.00 to hem a pair of pants. A custom prom dress runs $200 and up.
4) Have bake sales. Cook up a bunch of goodies and then have a combo garage and bake sale. I always make more money on the baked goods than I do on the garage sale but people will not stop to look unless I call it a "Garage Sale." A dozen homemade cookies is $5.00 or more. I have also sold dozens of homemade cook books for $3-$10 apiece!
5) Grow plants and have periodic plant sales. I recently purchased 1 very over grown spider plant at a store and split it up into over 100 small plants. In the spring these will sell for around $2-5 apiece!(Update: I listed these on eBay about a month later and sold all of them to a florist shop for $100+shipping(taking care of 100 houseplants was more work than I planned and I was glad to ship them out!)
6) I do eBay but in a rather unique way. All of the stuff I sell on eBay I get for FREE. Examples are woodland ferns, native plants, Ivy, driftwood, etc. Take a walk with the kids and make it a treasure hunt. Stuff that are weeds and junk to me are exotic to people in New York! I once sold a seal skull(found on the beach) on eBay that stunk so bad I had it buried in the yard during the time of the auction! It sold for $75+ shipping and I wrapped it in 5 layers of garbage bags to mail it!
7) Make jewelry out of beads and wire and put them on consignment at spas and jewelry stores. Copper jewelry is always popular and the materials can be purchased at the recycling center for a couple of bucks a pound. A copper bracelet will sell for $5.00--I can make 20 of them per hour.
8) Learn a skill like desktop publishing or transcription or web design. The more flexible and knowledgeable you get the more jobs you will get.
9) Schedule appointments for a local builder. Many companies need phone people to set up appointments for inspections, construction estimates, etc.
10) Figure out what you love to do and then work out a way to get paid for it. If you love soap operas, find someone to pay you to write about them. If you love crafts, make them and sell them!
Bonus: Look around for a place that can host classes and teach what you are best at. I have taught classes on sewing, home canning, dog grooming, and once taught a class on how to detail your car if you want to sell it.
Good luck!
Monday, June 29, 2009
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Friday, April 24, 2009
Canned Food Rip Off--What is the "Recommended Fill Weight"?
Food Prices are a huge concern for a lot of people right now but how do we know what we are getting? Lately, I have noticed that what is on the can is not really what is in the can!
Letter to Moody Dunbar Food Company:
I recently bought 2 40 ounce(1.13 kg) cans of Dunbar's cut yams at my local Grocery Outlet. I am very disappointed to find out that each can only contained about 750 grams(27 ounces) of product. Is this typical of the product or are the cans I bought underfilled?
product: Cut Yams
Imprint: DJ27C ALD7
Thank you for your time.
VicinSea
Answer from Moody Dunbar:
The 27 ounces you found in each of the two cans is actually a little more than the recommended amount. The attached chart was copied from the US Grade Standards for Canned Sweet potatoes - it shows a recommended fill-weight of 23.8 ounces for the 40 oz. can (referred to in the chart as a #2-1/2 Tall).
40 Ounce Cans Contain 23.8 Ounces? To be fair the nutritional label did say that the can contained 7 1/2 cup servings which would be about 28 ounces but saying 40 Ounces on the Label seems misleading to me and I told the Company that.
Also, this table seems to be a Trade Secret since I can't find similar information for other foods like canned corn or green beans. How much actual corn is in a 15 ounce can of corn?
My Answer:
In that case, shouldn't the label say 23.8 ounces net weight? 40 ounces net weight seems very misleading to me and I have never seen this recommendation table before.
According to Wikipedia: net weight refers to the weight of the product alone, discounting the weight of its container or packaging.
Your can says, "cut sweet potatoes packed in syrup" which I read to mean the product is sweet potatoes and the syrup is packing and not included in the total weight of the product.
This table is rather misleading and makes it impossible to compare the prices of raw vegetables to the price of processed and canned vegetables which I did when I purchased this product.
Sweet potatoes are currently 99 cents per pound at my local store and considering 5% waste, the price per ounce is $.06513. 40 ounces of canned sweet potatoes for $1.79 is a good deal at $.04475 per ounce. but 23.8 ounces for $1.79 at $.07521 per ounce is not a good deal.
The point of shopping at a discount grocer is to get better grocery prices but if the net weight shown on the can doesn't give me any information to compare prices with, then how do I know if I am getting a deal or not?
VicinSea
Final Word From Moody Dunbar Foods:
So, fellow frugal shoppers, how do we compare prices if the "Net Weight" is meaningless and the "Recommended Fill Weight" is different for each product and seems to be a secret?
Letter to Moody Dunbar Food Company:
I recently bought 2 40 ounce(1.13 kg) cans of Dunbar's cut yams at my local Grocery Outlet. I am very disappointed to find out that each can only contained about 750 grams(27 ounces) of product. Is this typical of the product or are the cans I bought underfilled?
product: Cut Yams
Imprint: DJ27C ALD7
Thank you for your time.
VicinSea
Answer from Moody Dunbar:
The 27 ounces you found in each of the two cans is actually a little more than the recommended amount. The attached chart was copied from the US Grade Standards for Canned Sweet potatoes - it shows a recommended fill-weight of 23.8 ounces for the 40 oz. can (referred to in the chart as a #2-1/2 Tall).
40 Ounce Cans Contain 23.8 Ounces? To be fair the nutritional label did say that the can contained 7 1/2 cup servings which would be about 28 ounces but saying 40 Ounces on the Label seems misleading to me and I told the Company that.
Also, this table seems to be a Trade Secret since I can't find similar information for other foods like canned corn or green beans. How much actual corn is in a 15 ounce can of corn?
My Answer:
In that case, shouldn't the label say 23.8 ounces net weight? 40 ounces net weight seems very misleading to me and I have never seen this recommendation table before.
According to Wikipedia: net weight refers to the weight of the product alone, discounting the weight of its container or packaging.
Your can says, "cut sweet potatoes packed in syrup" which I read to mean the product is sweet potatoes and the syrup is packing and not included in the total weight of the product.
This table is rather misleading and makes it impossible to compare the prices of raw vegetables to the price of processed and canned vegetables which I did when I purchased this product.
Sweet potatoes are currently 99 cents per pound at my local store and considering 5% waste, the price per ounce is $.06513. 40 ounces of canned sweet potatoes for $1.79 is a good deal at $.04475 per ounce. but 23.8 ounces for $1.79 at $.07521 per ounce is not a good deal.
The point of shopping at a discount grocer is to get better grocery prices but if the net weight shown on the can doesn't give me any information to compare prices with, then how do I know if I am getting a deal or not?
VicinSea
Final Word From Moody Dunbar Foods:
The term “Net Weight” is a legal term that refers to the total contents by weight of the product in a package. In the case of canned vegetables, the package net weight includes the product and the packing fluid. The weight of the product after the fluid has been drained off is call the “Drained Weight”.
The FDA and the USDA establishes the content and format of the information placed on our canned sweet potato labels. So, the reason our labels look the they way do is because We are required by law to follow the FDA and USDA food labeling laws.
The only company I could find that lists "Drained Weight" is Trader Joes where a 15.25 ounce can of corn contains 8 ounces of drained corn.
So, fellow frugal shoppers, how do we compare prices if the "Net Weight" is meaningless and the "Recommended Fill Weight" is different for each product and seems to be a secret?
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Water, Water, Everywhere....
W A T E R ....
The whole world is facing a shortage of clean water and in western lifestyles, water is a huge key to our comfort level. Consider how advertising has nudged us into lifestyle changes in the last 30 years--very few of these are possible in an area that has a real water shortage:
Showering twice a day--morning and night.
Washing hair anywhere from 5 to 14 times a week forces us to buy conditioners as well as shampoo. Interestingly enough most shampoos are formulated to remove other hair care products like hair gel better than they are formulated to clean natural hair oils.
Hot Tubs, jacuzzis, multiple showerhead stalls--every luxury magazine on the stands shows huge bath tubs to be the epitome of luxury even when the whole world is begging for drinking water.
Washing clothes after every wearing--in an age where the average western worker goes to an air-conditioned office 8 hours a day, is it really necessary to wash clothes after every wearing?
Changing sheets daily or weekly--our basic fear of germs and bugs has been turned into a marketing ploy. This site actually says we need to own 3 sets of sheets for each bed and change our sheets every week. One set was the norm 50 years ago and most people didn't even have their own beds 100 years ago(many still don't!)
Floor cleaning--sweeping daily used to be the norm, now steam cleaning is the "best way" to clean floors? Notice the fear-based language used on the steam cleaning link--asthma & allergies--damp moping would do the same thing for a lot less money and energy.
Toilet Flushing--use 1 1/2-5 gallons of water to flush away 6 ounces of pee? How did that get to be the standard?
HOA mandated lawns and landscaping; Even water starved places in Western countries cling to these outdated home owner association rules! In parts of Australia and in many parts of Arizona, California and Nevada it is an offense to let your lawn get brown even in Cities where watering your lawn is illegal 6 1/2 days a week.
Car Washing has become an obsession and many people visit the carwash more often than they take their kids to parks. Where I live in Seattle it is common to see people leave the food bank and then stop and pay $6.00 for a carwash on the way home.
Pressure Washing Houses--There are over 5100 companies within 10 miles of me that pressure wash houses. Considering that pressure washing can significantly reduce the lifespan of a roof or siding job and the amount of rain we get, this seems like a ridiculous amount of pressure washers to me. Yet, somehow, pressure washing has become a part of regular home maintenance and some of my neighbors can get fined by their HOAs for failing to do it regularly.
All of these things have been transformed into normal activities by advertising and in the future we will see a trend toward the opposite side--less water usage. Products to look for in current advertising and near future advertising:
CURRENT LOW WATER PRODUCTS:
Dual Flush Toilets
Stink-Free underwear
Mist Shower heads
Waterless Car Wash
UPCOMING LOW WATER PRODUCTS:
Swallow Toothpaste-no rinsing(and the advertising will say it is better NOT to rinse)
Compost Toiletries Products(actually seen this one as Pee & Poo bags--use once and then compost instead of flushing. These will be approved for areas that already have curbside compost containers)
Personal Water Filters(instead of bottled water-now being tested in Africa) Look for these in Flavored Versions with or without vitamins.
Sheets and towels with antibacterials built in so that they can be used for long periods of time without being washed.
Laundry detergent with super cleaning and future protection--clothes will still pass the sniff-test after wearing, thus saving money and water.
Dryclean Sonic Washers-already in use in Japan.
Unwashed food at the grocery--new advertising will stress that washing food strips the nutrients out and that food should only be washed right before eating or cooking--this will transfer the cost of washing(and the liability) from the producer to the consumer.
Compostable "Dish Liners" a new name for paper plates that will make dishes reusable between washings. These will be thinner and very cheap so they will seem more desirable than washing dishes every time they are used.
Bowl obscuring toilet products will hide the contents as well as deodorize and kill off all harmful germs. Maybe a dark colored bio-oil that floats above the mess to provide a visual and smell blocking barrier on top of the water.
OLD LOW WATER PRODUCTS BEING REINTRODUCED:
Dry Wash Shampoo-- Powdered product to shake in and brush out.
Scotchgard Fabrics-- stays cleaner and cleans easier
Home Drycleaning kits--new advertising will show that they work just as well for washable clothes as they do for dry-clean only.
No rinse cleaning products-these have been around for decades but new advertising will stress how safe they are to use--no "harmful chemicals".
Astro-Turf yards--no mow & no water but they still conform to most HOA rules.
Plastic and silk flowers are being advertised as "beautiful without all the water and chemicals needed to produce flowers."
Dress Shields save on cleaning costs by shielding the underarm area from sweat--these will be popular for men and women alike.
Nude Gyms--no workout clothes to wash, followed by a dip in a cleansing antibacterial pool where the water is reused indefinitely--this might actually replace daily showers for many people as the idea takes root.
More dehydrated foods--pasta(like ramen noodles) and beans that only need a small amount of water rather than being boiled in larger amounts.
Washer cycling systems that reuse gray water instead of using all clean water. Example: Kitchen faucet overrun will be saved for clothes washing and then used again for flushing(and maybe used again in the home garden).
Side by Side Public Water Systems can replace the potable water systems we now have. Recycled gray water can be piped in for use in washing, flushing and outdoor use while clean water is piped in separately for showering and drinking.
The whole world is facing a shortage of clean water and in western lifestyles, water is a huge key to our comfort level. Consider how advertising has nudged us into lifestyle changes in the last 30 years--very few of these are possible in an area that has a real water shortage:
Showering twice a day--morning and night.
Washing hair anywhere from 5 to 14 times a week forces us to buy conditioners as well as shampoo. Interestingly enough most shampoos are formulated to remove other hair care products like hair gel better than they are formulated to clean natural hair oils.
Hot Tubs, jacuzzis, multiple showerhead stalls--every luxury magazine on the stands shows huge bath tubs to be the epitome of luxury even when the whole world is begging for drinking water.
Washing clothes after every wearing--in an age where the average western worker goes to an air-conditioned office 8 hours a day, is it really necessary to wash clothes after every wearing?
Changing sheets daily or weekly--our basic fear of germs and bugs has been turned into a marketing ploy. This site actually says we need to own 3 sets of sheets for each bed and change our sheets every week. One set was the norm 50 years ago and most people didn't even have their own beds 100 years ago(many still don't!)
Floor cleaning--sweeping daily used to be the norm, now steam cleaning is the "best way" to clean floors? Notice the fear-based language used on the steam cleaning link--asthma & allergies--damp moping would do the same thing for a lot less money and energy.
Toilet Flushing--use 1 1/2-5 gallons of water to flush away 6 ounces of pee? How did that get to be the standard?
HOA mandated lawns and landscaping; Even water starved places in Western countries cling to these outdated home owner association rules! In parts of Australia and in many parts of Arizona, California and Nevada it is an offense to let your lawn get brown even in Cities where watering your lawn is illegal 6 1/2 days a week.
Car Washing has become an obsession and many people visit the carwash more often than they take their kids to parks. Where I live in Seattle it is common to see people leave the food bank and then stop and pay $6.00 for a carwash on the way home.
Pressure Washing Houses--There are over 5100 companies within 10 miles of me that pressure wash houses. Considering that pressure washing can significantly reduce the lifespan of a roof or siding job and the amount of rain we get, this seems like a ridiculous amount of pressure washers to me. Yet, somehow, pressure washing has become a part of regular home maintenance and some of my neighbors can get fined by their HOAs for failing to do it regularly.
All of these things have been transformed into normal activities by advertising and in the future we will see a trend toward the opposite side--less water usage. Products to look for in current advertising and near future advertising:
CURRENT LOW WATER PRODUCTS:
Dual Flush Toilets
Stink-Free underwear
Mist Shower heads
Waterless Car Wash
UPCOMING LOW WATER PRODUCTS:
Swallow Toothpaste-no rinsing(and the advertising will say it is better NOT to rinse)
Compost Toiletries Products(actually seen this one as Pee & Poo bags--use once and then compost instead of flushing. These will be approved for areas that already have curbside compost containers)
Personal Water Filters(instead of bottled water-now being tested in Africa) Look for these in Flavored Versions with or without vitamins.
Sheets and towels with antibacterials built in so that they can be used for long periods of time without being washed.
Laundry detergent with super cleaning and future protection--clothes will still pass the sniff-test after wearing, thus saving money and water.
Dryclean Sonic Washers-already in use in Japan.
Unwashed food at the grocery--new advertising will stress that washing food strips the nutrients out and that food should only be washed right before eating or cooking--this will transfer the cost of washing(and the liability) from the producer to the consumer.
Compostable "Dish Liners" a new name for paper plates that will make dishes reusable between washings. These will be thinner and very cheap so they will seem more desirable than washing dishes every time they are used.
Bowl obscuring toilet products will hide the contents as well as deodorize and kill off all harmful germs. Maybe a dark colored bio-oil that floats above the mess to provide a visual and smell blocking barrier on top of the water.
OLD LOW WATER PRODUCTS BEING REINTRODUCED:
Dry Wash Shampoo-- Powdered product to shake in and brush out.
Scotchgard Fabrics-- stays cleaner and cleans easier
Home Drycleaning kits--new advertising will show that they work just as well for washable clothes as they do for dry-clean only.
No rinse cleaning products-these have been around for decades but new advertising will stress how safe they are to use--no "harmful chemicals".
Astro-Turf yards--no mow & no water but they still conform to most HOA rules.
Plastic and silk flowers are being advertised as "beautiful without all the water and chemicals needed to produce flowers."
Dress Shields save on cleaning costs by shielding the underarm area from sweat--these will be popular for men and women alike.
Nude Gyms--no workout clothes to wash, followed by a dip in a cleansing antibacterial pool where the water is reused indefinitely--this might actually replace daily showers for many people as the idea takes root.
More dehydrated foods--pasta(like ramen noodles) and beans that only need a small amount of water rather than being boiled in larger amounts.
Washer cycling systems that reuse gray water instead of using all clean water. Example: Kitchen faucet overrun will be saved for clothes washing and then used again for flushing(and maybe used again in the home garden).
Side by Side Public Water Systems can replace the potable water systems we now have. Recycled gray water can be piped in for use in washing, flushing and outdoor use while clean water is piped in separately for showering and drinking.
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