Little Ways To Save Around The House
Remake Your Kids’ Favorite Junk Meals at Home
If we have allowed our kids to have them, we know what they are. They are those ridiculously priced fast foods you can buy as mini meals in the market or fancy box meals along the highways at your favorite fast 
food joints. Maybe it’s crackers, cheese and ham with a few tiny sides, or maybe it’s a hamburger, fries and a shake. Copy their favorite meal and make it at home to save money and make fresher, healthier version. Ours were a hit with the youngin’s!
We found that for a lot of our kids, their favorite was chicken nuggets. We love our own Melissa Wynn’s recipe using boneless, skinless chicken breast. It will make the kids happy to taste a better, homemade version of their favorite junk foods, and it is likely you will save some cash in the long run. Our kids loved the homemade french fires too! We let the big kids mix the milkshakes while we finished up cooking. Make it even more fun by eating outside or setting up some cool table just their size.
Omelettes in a bag
Everyone has their own definition of the perfect omelette. Tastes vary, so sometimes the best way to feed a hungry crowd is to let everyone build their own. We like to set up our favorite fixings salad bar style, whip up a big bowl of eggs and milk and boil them on the stovetop. Some think they would turn out rubbery or weird in texture, but not so. This method makes a wonderful fluffy omelette filled just the way you like it.
You will need:
2 eggs per person, whipped with milk or water
1 set up of your favorite omelette filling ingredients like breakfast meats, cheeses and vegetables
Boil safe heavy duty resealable baggies
1 large pot of boiling water
Simply scoop your favorite ingredients and 2 whipped eggs into the baggie.
Squeeze out most of the air so the baggies sink into the water but not all the the way to the bottom. 
Seal the baggies tightly and drop in the boiling water.
Boil up to 8 baggies at a time for 13 minutes.
Slide omelette out onto a plate and top with cheese, salsa or your favorite topping.
Hang ‘Em Out To Dry
Just like the Good Old Days, Air Dry Your Clothes And save some electricity!
Take me back to the good old days. Memories of the milkman dropping off our order on the back porch and the Jewel Tea man coming by to sell us dry goods are fond memories. I will never forget the day the Jewel 
Tea man opened a giant cardboard display folded in thirds. Three little dresses just my size were spread across the three panels in our living room. My eyes lit up. Apparently it was a special day; my mom bought them all. I can still remember the man’s face, because he came often. I miss those days.
Another thing I miss about those good old days was the wonderful smell of clothes that had been hung out on the clothesline to dry. The fresh aroma definitely hits home.
Next to your hot water heater, your home’s dryer is likely the second largest energy user in your home. While it is estimated that the average dryer today consumes around $100 per year
in energy use; larger families and older dryers certainly use more. Even though it will not bring a huge savings, I am still motivated to put up a clothesline, for the hundred or so bucks I’ll save, and for that fresh 
air smell, especially nice on crisp, clean sheets.
When it comes to choosing a clothesline, there are many choices. You will find plastic, nylon and cotton. I found it took about 40 feet of line to hold a load of laundry. A pulley line doubles capacity. Be sure to hang your line high enough so when the weight pulls your line down, the sheets won’t hit the ground. A simple line strung from tree to tree will work if you can mount it at the right level and get to it, within reach to fasten the clothespins.
My favorite clothesline is the pulley model. I used one for years and I have just decided I am bringing it back. There are pulleys on each end allowing you to stand in one place and move the line as you go. The end of the line was fastened just outside my laundry room door so I could conveniently hang clothes quickly. The other end had been mounted pretty high in a tree, sending my clothes up and away from the ground. The bag of clothespins was attached near the starting point of the clothesline, so there was always a clothespin within arm’s reach.
When you mount your clothesline, it is nice to leave some extra line for a tail at one end of the line so if your line gets droopy, you can easily untie it and tighten it later as needed. Remember that the sun and breeze can dry them fast, but leaving them out for a long time can fade colors, especially cotton. I forgot a line full of towels and ran off for a few days once. That’s how I found out.
Enjoy the sunshine, a little bit of exercise and some extra cash with a clothesline.
Clothespins Keep Things Fresh Too
An easy way to save money is to keep foods fresh longer. Secure the bags inside the boxes of cereal, potato chip bags, frozen items, flour, sugar, raisins and more with clothespins. Keep a few in the kitchen drawer and you may be surprised just how handy they are. Plus, you will save money by keeping things fresh. Teach kids to clip it back up when they’re done!
