Aug 16, 2010

Helpful Hint #29: Dollar Store Tips

Guest Writer, Ruth Morse
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Technically speaking, I am only semi-cheap. Truly cheap people save the inner bag from cereal and use it to roll out pie dough. I say it's a short step from saving cereal liners to being featured on Hoarders, Buried Alive.
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I do like a bargain though. I have my favorite dollar store (Dollar Tree is the very best one around here) but you have to be very careful about grabbing any old thing that screams CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP.
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A few random thoughts:
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  • Never, ever buy sunscreen at the dollar store! Even if it is a name brand sunscreen, there is a reason it's being sold for a buck! It's either past its expiration date or has almost expired. Just ask my daughter-in-law Karen, who spent her time at Disneyworld with that lobster-in-the-pot vacation-screaming-red look. Not fun.
  • Even at 5/$1.00, cans of green beans with an expiration date of 1998 are not a good deal.
  • Toilet bowl cleaner that sells for 79 cents at the grocery is not a dollar store bargain.
  • Tempted to buy drain cleaner at the dollar store? Never, ever do that. Make your own homemade jobbie that is better and cheaper than any dollar store product. Here's what you do: -
You need two products for this easy, peazy fix:
** plain old baking soda that you use to make cookies and other good stuff
*** the cheapest kind of vinegar you've got on hand - doesn't matter what "flavor"

  1. Pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain.
  2. Pour about the same amount of vinegar
  3. Stand back! The more baking soda you use, the more action you'll get. I'm slow on the camera uptake, so this picture does not show the foam action at its best.
  4. Now run lots of hot water down the drain. If necessary, repeat until the drain runs better.
  5. If any baking soda is still hanging around, just use it to clean the sink.
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I don't think I'd let the kids watch this science experiment of you'll have to hide the baking soda.
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...and one more thing......
uh, I'll get back to you when I remember it.
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The Cheap Senior Citizen is a Guest Writer who occasionally shares helpful hints she has learned through her experience.
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love to go to the Dollar Tree too! But you are correct, gotta be careful with some of their "bargains". Very cool cleaning tip, will have to try that.

Anonymous said...

The vinegar and baking soda put on a rag and applied as a compress to a wasp, hornet, yellow jacket or bee sting is excellent for the pain and swelling. I used to swell up like a bullfrog if bitten, but it worked like a charm!

sign me - Kaylee's grammy (See photo of the day!) Does being a grandma automatically make me wise? Just asking.

Poof said...

Great cleaning tips, thanks ladies. Yes, Grammy, being a grandma automatically shoots you into the wise category.