Never Buy Onions Again

Never Pay For Onions Again: Grow Them Indoors. This page has all sorts of interesting ideas for growing plants indoors.

No Frills Ad

Ad available in the Action newspaper that comes in the mail on Wednesdays, or print it HERE ONLINE

DIY Garden Scoop

Key Identifiers

Tissue Box Idea

Got a runny nose? Be sure to attach an empty Kleenex box to the one you are using so you have a place to stuff those used Kleenexes. Keep a set next to the couch, one on your night stand and one in the car. This will save you many trips to the trash can.

DIY Watering Can

A milk jug works, but I've discovered you need to cut a small hole for air to vent.  Here's a better idea I found...

Using a detergent bottle and cutting a vent on the handle works great!
SO easy!

Prevent Weeds

Not only can you put newspaper down, but putting grass clippings on top of them helps a lot too!  If you just use newspaper, you will want to spray them with water to keep them from blowing away.

Toilet Cleaning Tip + 75 Baking Soda Uses

Add a cup of baking soda to the toilet, leave it for an hour, and then flush. It will clean the toilet and absorb the odor.

Health Uses

1. Use it as an antacid.

2. Use it as underarm deodorant by applying it with a powder puff.

3. Mix half a teaspoon with peroxide paste and use it as toothpaste.

4. Use it as a face and body scrub.

5. Add a cup to bathwater to soften your skin.

6. Relieve skin itch from insect bites and pain from sunburn.

7. Remove strong odors from your hands by rubbing them with baking soda and water.

8. Put two tablespoons in your baby’s bathwater to help relieve diaper rash.

9. Apply it on rashes, insect bites, and poison ivy irritations.

10. Take a baking soda bath to relieve skin irritations.

11. Heartburn? Take a teaspoon of baking soda mixed with one-half glass of water.

12. Freshen your mouth by gargling half a teaspoon of baking soda mixed water.

13. Relieve canker sore pain by using it as mouthwash.

14. Use it to relieve bee stings.

15. Use it to relieve windburns.

16. Apply it on jellyfish sting to draw out the venom.

17. Unblock stuffy nose by adding a teaspoon of baking soda to your vaporizer.

In the Home

18. Keep cut flowers fresh longer by adding a teaspoon to the water in the vase.

19. Put out small fires on rugs, upholstery, clothing, and wood.

20. Put an open container of baking soda in the fridge to absorb the odors.

21. Sprinkle it on your ashtrays to reduce bad odor and prevent smoldering.

22. Sprinkle it on your slippers, boots, shoes, and socks to eliminate foul odor.

23. Turn baking soda into modeling clay by combining it with one and 1/4 cups of water and one cup of cornstarch.

24. After feeding your baby, wipe his shirt with a moist cloth sprinkled with baking soda to remove the odor.

25. Wipe your windshield with it to repel rain.

26. Improve the smell of dishrags by soaking them in baking soda and water.

27. Suck it in with your vacuum cleaner to remove the odor.

28. Freshen the air by mixing baking soda with your favorite perfumed bath salts. Put the mixture in small sachet bags.

29. Restore stiff brushes by boiling them in a solution of 1/2 gallon of water, 1/4 cup of vinegar, and a cup of baking soda.

30. Put it under sinks and along basement windows to repel cockroaches and ants.

31. Scatter baking soda around flowerbeds to prevent rabbits from eating your veggies.

32. Sweeten your tomatoes by sprinkling baking soda on the soil around your tomato plants.

33. Sprinkle it onto your cat’s litter box to absorb the bad odor.

34. Sprinkle it on your pet’s comb or brush to deodorize their fur and skin.

In Cooking

35. Use it as a substitute for baking powder by mixing with it with cream of tartar or vinegar.

36. Wash fruits and vegetables with it.

37. When boiling a chicken, add a teaspoon of baking soda to the water. Feathers will come off easier, and the flesh will be clean and white.

38. Soak dried beans to a baking soda solution to make them more digestible.

39. Remove the distinctive taste of wild game by soaking it in a baking soda solution.

40. Make a sports drink by mixing it with boiled water, salt, and Kool-Aid.

41. Remove the fishy smell from your fillets by soaking the raw fish in a baking soda solution for an hour inside the fridge.

42. Make fluffier omelets by adding half a teaspoon of baking soda for every three eggs used.

43. Reduce the acid content of your tomato-based recipes by sprinkling them with a pinch of baking soda.

Cleaning Purposes

44. Add a cup to the toilet, leave it for an hour, and then flush. It will clean the toilet and absorb the odor.

45. Use it to scrub sinks, showers, plastic and porcelain tubs

46. Spray it on walls, mirrors, and countertops.

47. Add a spoonful to your dishwasher to make scrubbing dishes easier.

48. Remove grease from pots and pans.

49. Dry clean carpets and upholstered furniture by sprinkling baking soda over the fabric and gently brushing it. Leave it for an hour or overnight, then vacuum.

50. Boost your laundry detergent’s cleaning power by sprinkling a handful on dirty clothes.

51. Combine it with water to make a paste for polishing stainless steel and chrome.

52. Remove scratches and crayon marks from vinyl floors and walls.

53. Clean your shoes with it.

54. Clean garbage cans with it.

55. Use it to wash diapers.

56. Clean the fridge with it.

57. Soak brushes and combs in a baking soda solution.

58. Mix it with water to wash food and drinkcontainers.

59. Put three tablespoons of baking soda to a quart of warm water, then use the mixture to wash marble-topped furniture.

60. Absorb it with a damp sponge, then clean Formica countertops with the sponge.

61. Use it to get rid of stale odors from cooling containers and thermos bottles.

62. Run your coffee maker with a baking soda solution, then rinse.

63. Combine with hot water to clean baby bottles.

64. Sprinkle it on barbecue grills, then rinse it off.

65. Scatter it on your greasy garage floor, scrub the floor, and rinse.

66. Remove burned-on food from a pan by soaking it in a baking soda solution for 10 minutes before washing.

67. Clean your ashtrays with a baking soda solution.

68. Keep your drains clean by putting four tablespoons of baking soda in them each week. Flush it down with hot water.

69. Clean your shower curtains by soaking them in baking soda and water.

70. Put it on a small brush to rub canvas handbags clean.

71. Use it to remove melted plastic bread wrapper from a toaster. Sprinkle baking soda on a damp rug, then use the rug to clean the toaster.

72. Use it to clean your retainers and dentures.

73. Make a thick paste of baking soda and water, and used it to scrub enameled cast iron and stainless steel.

74. Mix four tablespoons of baking soda with a quart of warm water, and use it to clean the inside part of an oven.

75. Use it to unclog gas stoves.

The most amazing thing about baking soda is that it’s very cheap. You can do all these things for a very small cost. Baking soda is truly a miracle product, whether it’s used for baking or not.

Harlan Hy-Vee Ad Matches for the week

Hy-Vee now matches ads for Council Bluffs stores.  Ads for No Frills and Super Value can be found in The Action, a free paper.  I think Hy-Vee has this paper up front with the other papers.  If not, it is mailed out on Wednesdays I think.

Super Saver Ad:

Canned Corn and Beans 3/$1

Whipped Topping 78 cents

Butter $1.48  (limit 3)

No Frills:

Eggs 99 cents

Philadelphia Cream Cheese 98 cents

Kraft cheese 2/$4

Blackberries $1.88

Toys R Us (Can print ad from their website)

Easter Candy $1.99

Aldi  (Can print ad from their website)

Whole Pineapple 99 cents

Strawberries 99 cents/lb

Crescent rolls (Store brand) 99 cents

Cantelope 99 cents each

Dollar General (Can print ad from their website or pick up at their store)

Oreos $2.25

General Mills Cereal $2.50 (Plus, Hy-Vee has a coupon for $4 off, plus a coupon prints at the register for $4 off your next visit.  That makes it 50 cents a box. WOW!

Filing Cabinet

The following article was found HERE:

Here's what my filing cabinets looked like before (YUCKY!  RUSTY!)

And here they are after (I think they're FABULOUS!!!)

I took all the hardware off the filing cabinet and painted them with a glossy black paint. The paint came from Walmart...it was already premixed and came in a quart size. Then I used a 12 X 12 piece of cardstock and traced a template for where the hardware needed to be. I used the template to trace on my pretty black and white scrapbook paper. Then I used spray adhesive to put the paper on the cabinet. I put a coat of Modge Podge over the paper and after it dried I put the hardware back on. Hope this helps! Email me if you have more questions!

Cream of ___ Soup

Ever need some cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup, but didn't have any on hand?  Here's a cheap and easy way to make it yourself!  And save some money!

2 T butter
3 T flour
1/2 c broth (or I use water and boullion)
1/2 c milk
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Add flour and mix together.  Add milk and broth.  Stir on med heat until thickened.  Salt and Pepper to taste.

Cooler Corn

Making Sweet Corn for a Larger Group???

Cooler corn ~ cook corn on the cob for large groups. 2 kettles of boiling water. close lid. wait 30 minutes. enjoy!