Notes from the Dollar Stretcher

Need Moving Boxes?

When you are planning a move, check with the local moving company for boxes. Often, they will give previously used boxes to you free of charge. They have to dispose of them somehow and often will give them to you. LaVonne


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Handy, Neat Ice Tricks

Rather than filling up an ice chest or cooler with ice and either emptying my freezer's ice tray, or having to buy bags of ice, I have some various sized plastic drink bottles that I fill with water (about 75-90% full) and freeze the night
before. I use those to pack the cooler. Once I pack the remaining items, I sometimes use ice cubes just to fill in some holes. These larger ice "cubes" in the frozen bottles stay frozen longer than the little ones, and when they do thaw, you've got ice cold water to drink and no mess to worry about.

This trick is handy for amusement parks or other outings as well; when traipsing around an amusement park or going on a boat ride, we bring some ice bottles, either in a small cooler or loose. It doesn't take long for the ice to thaw a little bit, and once you drink what's melted, you can refill it with water from a fountain and keep using that same large "ice cube" all day for refreshing ice water. Odds are that the bottle will have condensation on it as it thaws, so be aware of that. If we're carrying the bottle in a pack, we rubber-band a washcloth around it to absorb the condensation. Tony C. in NC


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Protect Your Package

I discovered the use of egg cartons for cushioning breakables when mailing. SLC


Super Fabric Softener Stretcher

I have come up with a formula for making my fabric softener last three times as long, and my clothes are softer than with the fabric softener alone. I buy a large bottle of softener. Then I pour two cups of softener, two cups of white vinegar,
and two cups of water into a smaller container. I shake this mixture well and then use it just as I would the full strength softener.

My clothes are soft, and the towels are fluffier than with full strength softener. My daughter is now using this formula for her clothes too, and loves it for her kids' clothes. Donna R. in Nokomis, FL

Note from Lucy: This has been an unusual Spring and Summer here in Texas... We had a nice cool spring, so cool that we couldn't get our garden in the ground till May 1st.... Then we had about a week of warmer weather and them bam.... Hot and no rain for over a month....When I say no rain, I mean NO rain, not a drop... I notice on the radar that most of the rain in up in the rockies and out in the northeast...This is weird! We are already starting to get tropical activity down in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, I noticed that the water temps are already around 84 degrees.... The word is HOT! I hope you are doing well where ever you live.. Have a great week, everyone!