Surprising things you can totally buy at the dollar store.

This means I've tested it and was shocked to find it satisfactory.

5. Pregnancy tests. When you try twelve years to have a baby, you need confirmation, and not at sixteen dollars a pop. The only thing the brands offer over the dollar tree is earlier detection. Which costs even more. If it's been a month and you're like, could it be? Buy five of them suckers.
4. Nail polish. In addition to sometimes getting brand name the off brand product is just fine. When to beware; the twist won't twist, the ball doesn't roll. When too thick add pemover to the bottle and shake. When dry, let it go for Pete's sake. If you currently pay $30 a bottle you will not be satisfied by dollar store nail polish. You have a nuerological disorder and I cannot help you.
3. Children's socks. They are going to wine every time and outgrow them way faster than spending real money on them. Do not buy one pair. Okay, maybe those paw patrol ones, but generally, buy the three or more packs. Make them the same if you can. You will never have to worry about the other sock, because they're all the other sock. I really wish someone had yold me this trick sooner.
2. Seasonal kitsch. At the end of it all you only use it for how long. This gives a guilt free option of pitching them at the end (throwing away or sending to the thrift store). I am totally about recycling, but when I became frustrated with my window covers after last Halloween I felt so much better when I had to just tear them off (the plastic had kinda' melted to the window, eek!, I do live in the desert).
1. Books. Best selling books. Bad selling books. Books to make you cry. Books exposing lies. Books to help you cook. Books that tell you what to put in every little nook. Books that help you learn. Books you want to burn. Everytime you read a book, you could change your outlook.

What NOT to buy

This is a wonderful list. I should know because I LOVE list (and also I'm writing it, so, there's that). This list is not intemded to judge, only to assert a certain value. I obviously used all of these things, in order to learn it.
The idea behind value is generally monetary, so when I say Beef Jerky at the Dollar Tree is not a good value, that means something along the lines of, per ounce the value is not good. We've all been excited by a brand name at the dollar store, but as you load in five mini boxes of Cheese Nips, you could have had two large boxes at the store and that's 1 pound for five dollars, versus two pounds at the grocer. This is one good reason the 'brands' have begun to provide for these outlets.
If you are on your lunch break by all means, grab one of those boxes, a pot pie, and a chocolate milk. Definitely cheaper than other options for lunch. Plus, it's always a pain to explain to your co-workers why the fat girl always has a full box of Cheese Nips (and she growls when you come near). Only me there?
So on with the list (Let's go backwards, shall we?):

5. Femine products, if it's name brand the value is probably bad, if its not the product is crap.
4. Tissue products. While I must give a nod to Dollar Tree for upping rheir toilet paper game, the paper towels aint great, the napkins are abysmal, and the nose tissue. Just don't do it. But the get regular Kleenex sometimes, and then its stock up, however, this is not the cream of the Kleenex crop either. Confession: I buy the litle kiddie 6-8 packs here, for my purse, car, and oh, yeah, kids. Value, bad, but they're so helpful.
3. Meatballs.
2. Most toys. With the exception of getting brand cast offs; like last seasons, or 'well this didn't sell like we thought it would' product. Even in those cases consider, why is it here before buying. I mean a Hello Kitty pimple extractor seems like a great deal. (disclaimer, not an actual product, but I totally would have bought it).
1. Anything with artificial or 'flavored' in the title. This tells you two things. One, their biggest concern was to make it look like something else. Next they worried about smell and flavor. They never considered if it was 'good for you', because they don't have to. This is where you pick up your sword of justice and just don't buy these things. That's actually where change begins, in the wallet. (Like what i did there, change, wallet, eh? It's hopeless). The second thing it tells you is, it is not in fact, the product you are looking for. My two biggies: Artificial cheese and Honey flavored syrup.

$1 a day habit

I love my tea. And I can stop at McD's 3 times a day to help out my addiction. It's just a buck. Every time. Let's say you're not crazy like me; not everyone can be blessed in the exact same way. Let's say it's once a day. That's easy math. $7 a week, $30 a month, $365 a year. Ok. It's not terrible, at least I don't smoke, talk about expensive!
But here's the secret, my equally lazy friend (it's not really a secret), you can make that at home. spend an hour making four jugs, like me, still not as much time as the drive through this week. Yes, four jugs= one week. Don't judge me. In a jug is easily four mcdonalds cups worth of tea. Added to that the ice factor I drink half a jug a day.
What is the ice factor you ask? I am so glad you asked. The ice factor is that precious number of cubes that take up 75% of your cup, even if you say easy ice you'r gonna get 50%, ask for no ice (what is wrong with you?) for the correct ratio. So even though I can fill two mcdonalds cups with half it actually takes three or four as ordered to replace this much minus the ice. I assume you know how to make, or buy ice.
So here are my supplies, if you prefer sweet tea even better. Replace my packets with sugar or sweeteners, with sugars the cost increases, with sweeteners it decreases.  This should show the box (it had eight) but I had thrown it awat before realizing I could blog this.
                                  

Seriously, it takes twenty committed minutes. Continue boiling the same four bags until they reach a clear stage. After each pot distribute among your jugs, I keep mine in a sink full of cool water. You want to do it this way because the strong tea will be in all four and the weeak tea will be in all four. In between your first and second pan, add your drink mix (fruit punch is yum)and some cool water from the fridge if like mine your sink water doesn't get cold. For me the one packet per jug gives enough flavor and sweetness. You could try more if this isn't the case for you.

Here's the cost breakdown.
Flavor tea Four Jugs = .75
4 drink packs, .50
4 tea bags, .25

Sweetened with sugar Four Jugs =1.25
4 tea bags, .25
4 cups sugar, 1.00

Sweetened with dangerous chemical sweeeners = .45 (possibly cancer)
4 tea bags, .25
20 sweeteners .20

I reuse Arizona jugs that I paid 2.50 for full of tea. Really. So lazy.



                                            


*Addendums. I got a coffee maker the neighbor was abiout to throw out, ran vinegar through it and now use it for the tea! I bought a different brand of tea at Walmart that takes two bags per jug, but comes in 24 family sized bags for one dollar. The hubs like three packets of strawberry lemonade in his jugs and I have moved up to two packets of flavor because no one else liked it my way, lol.

New breakdown with those facts:

.38 for hubs
.25 for mine

continuation of the organized fridge

The dollar store item here is zip ties, sorry, you have to cut your own shapes from recycled products! I was lucky to find these inkadinkado stamps in my stash which went perfect, and yes I like to keep tuna cans in the fridge. Poke holes in your plastic shapes and run zip ties through the holes in the baskets, voila!Use either dry erase or permanent markers when labeling depending on if you foresee a change.

Eat Yer Heart Out Ikea- It's in my organized fridge.

Let me disclaim here: this is an itty, bitty fridge. I can't take a pic of my larger (still only apartment sized) fridge, because, it's...well....dirty. It's TOTALLY organized. But dirty.

Here I have created a system that only cost $7. The apartment size uses $10. Several tips I have when doing this:

1. Put like items together, this Summer it has been nice to pull out the 'condiment' or 'salad dressing' basket. If you store drinks in the garage simply fill up your 'beverage' basket for easy carrying to the fridge.

2. Use zip ties to ahdere labels made from recycled plastic. Any regular adhesive will fall away when cold.
3. If you are very persnickity buy a seperate color for your 'hands off items'. The conversation sounds like this,
"Child, where did you get this Babybel from?"
Inaudible shrugging.
"What color was the basket?"
Shuffling off to the fridge, "Well you never feed me anything good!"
I know at this point you can hear the fridge slam, pop back open, slam, pop back open. Shut.

Who actually wants to spend lots of money organizing the fridge? I will tell you it is well worth the effort, however to spend a little money doing it.

Old Faithful

Hack type: Recipe
Cost: $8
Feeds: 12

Aaah, the tuna noodle casserole. You hated, you loved it, you had to do it to your own kids. First there is the economy of it. Where else can you pack protein and vitamin for such a fair price? I dunno', pizza? But even that gets old. No it really doesn't I'm lying. Then there's the ease. Who doesn't need easy somedays?
I am going to try to do this a new way, bear with me. First, a photo of my ingredients:

All obtained at Dollar Tree, minus the peas, which I forgot, but the can is much larger that the dollar tree carries. Also to not in this instance they had in large tuna cans, 7 oz. so that is super. Aside from the case sale when Kroger has cans .50 each this is the best deal I know of (if you have an Adli's good too). The crackers are plenty but once in a while they get the noraml sized box, in which case I would not use a whole box.

Boil your noodles on the low side of the instructions.(7-9, do 7). Drain nicely and rinse if you prefer that (generally noodles should not be rinsed).
Stir in a very big bowl, drained tuna, cream soups, noodles. Add peas toward the end of the stirring so you don't mash 'em. Dump it in a pan, crush crackers and sprinkle over and cook for twenty minutes at 350. Mmmmm.... good.

• 1 package noodles
  2 different cream soups
  2 cans of tuna
  1 can of peas
  1 small box of crackers
  salt and pepper to taste

Some yummy stuff you can add:

Worcestire, yes it adds a nice ting with about a quarter cup, and is available at....I won't even say it.
Capers, Ohmyyum, they add somethign good to it! Very rare at the *ahem*.
Onions
Celery
Broccoli florets
Oh man sprinkle some cheese in with the crackers.... Make sur eif you buy Dollar tree cheese you are completely aware of what it is. Cheese can be, er, impeding, but fake cheese will send you to the er,eek!

Also carrrots. I do not care for canned carrots, but that would be the proper kind. Cooking them yourself would not only ruin the idea of quick and easy, they'd probably be too fresh and hard.

The (no longer) dreaded Custom Christmas Calendar

Hack type: Christmas gift


Ohmyword, I am so overwhlemed and everyone wants a homemade calendar for Christmas! I can't afford to do six seperate print ups from shutterfly (super site!) or Walgreens (yep, I like them too). Then, I cannot afford the time to actually create six from scratch! What ever shall I do? If only I could buy a calendar already made and insert photos randomly in clever ways.... But really cheap, because I am so poor.

What? You have a solution? But of course, I always have a solution (not always a good one, mind you). I went to my Dollar Tree, but all dollar stores will have these, and bought some very nice calendars. They may be on the flimsy side, but I am not playing frisbee with them. There are a couple ways to aproach the transformation: totally scrap each page, taking advantage of the month and dates but covering the pictures with paper. Work your photos into the pictures in a sensible manner. Or get ecclectic, mix and match sense and whimsy. I've done all three. I must confess number two wins these days, as I like to save time as much as money, and not everyone 'gets' whimsy.

If you're not blessed like me in owning a shape cuting machine (sizzix here), just trace shapes you see around you, tupperware lids are great. Remember to snip just inside the lines unless you are going for a wild and crazy look (NOT knocking a wild and crazy look.)

           Here's a full calendar:

Here are some of my faves from other calendars:

Bicycle tires!!! Perfect!








Heehee, they're coming out of the typewriter!




It's a frame, need I say more?