Christmas LightsTrade In/Discount

You can trade in your old Christmas 

LIGHTS for a discount on new ones!

Home Depot's Light Deal

Christmas truly is right around the corner!

Let's save every way we can!

Taking care of Lincoln, so Washington will take care of me ;-))

Mending and Making Them Last~Sock "Darning"

Clothing is a huge expense in our lives. Let's face it! Since Adam, we have needed some type of clothing to cover us, and with the costs rising and our resources shrinking, we need to find ways to put some extra life into the ones we have for just a few more wearings!

Do you know how to darn a sock, sew on a button, mend a broken seam?  These three ESSENTIAL skills are cost savers in the home.
 My mother, Betty says that if we mend and fix then we get more life to an item and then we can save our money for items when we find sales or in the thrift stores.

Consider this for a minute.  You have some socks that belong to your hubby.  He's got a hole in about 5 of the socks in his collection.  BTW~are you buying the same color and style? This is a huge saver too! I can see the need for specialty socks for say, athletics, but for everyday~make an easy match: same color and brand.  This will make matching and cleaning easier too~so much less time!  But there is a hole in five of the pairs of socks.  Do you just throw it out? Sometimes a sock will literally discentegrate, but let me say that you can fix this too with the right methods.  The idea is to use it up~EVER hear me that THAT before?? We want to use every little bit we can so that we can utilize our resources, our money to the fullest extent.

Great Reasons to Mend~

Here's How:

For a hole that needs "darning:"  You will need a light bulb, perferably a burned out one so if it drops you have lost nothing useful other than your "darning tool,"(you can purchase a "darning egg" which is a wooden egg, but this works fine.  Just be sure not to break the bulb as you work!), a darning needle, and some matching soft fine yarn (match the color of the sock.  The match is they key to success as well as "darning" in a smooth way!

Here's that video which the news report referred to ;-))

Darning socks is really a cost saver and will prevent having to throw even the store version away~Did you catch what was said about the commercially made ones? hmmm...anyway, these can be "darned" too!

I will post again about sewing buttons and seams~for now, hunt down those socks that need attention and "darn" them!

darning socks=saving green$

Fitness on a Dime or Less

I'm old enough to remember when aerobics and fitness centers became the rage for middle America! Women donned on leotards and tights for a jazzy workout to pop hits and golden oldies crunching the bod so that fitness could be obtained.  Today there are other places that offer getting fit,  but generally they all have one thing in common~A FEE!

 It doesn't have to cost anything to become active and get healthier.

Thanks Nicole for the tip on how to get fit economically.

Nicole told me that she's a power walker~a runner who uses a local park with a walking path to get fit each day.  This is saving the cost of a membership or home equipment and provides outdoor recreation and fun not only for herself, but her children.  You go, Nicole!

Tips:
1. Walk the neighborhood. 

2. Park at the back of the parking lot and walk further into the store.

3. Make an extra round around the grocery or superstore pushing that full cart of items. WATCH out for pedestrians! lol!

4. After church, make a trot around the Sanctuary.  Wait until everyone is gone and peddle on by the pews...

5. If you have a staircase, go up an extra time and down each day...then add as the weeks progress...then start carrying items...

6. Lift canned goods with your arms to tone and strengthen.  You can use 4# sugar bags also~be sure to work up to this...

7.  Ride your bike around the neighborhood.

8. Mow the grass/edge/clip bushes/sweep sidewalks and porches.

9.  Take up an active hobby~skating, rollerblades or ice skating or even skateboarding..BE SURE to wear protective gear...nobody wants to get hurt!

10. Play with your children.  Go play chase, hide and seek, freeze tag and more...Red-Rover, jump rope, hop scotch, kick ball, base ball, volley ball, soccer, foot ball...pick your favorite.

Fitness does not need to cost the arm and leg we are trying to make healthy...Let's do it on the cheap!

Thanks again Nicole for the great idea and tip!