Tempting though it is to kick off the stingy hints page with something decorous I am going to throw caution to the wind and begin with a rather innovative means of removing blood stains. I learned this tip from a friend who I am proud to say has no shame when it comes to being a tightwad. You’ve gotta hand it to her, this is a good one.
Stingy Hint 1. How to remove blood stains from fabric for FREE
Can she muster enough drool to get the place spotless again?
Blood. No question, it stains. So how best to remove it without the need for costly and environmentally unfriendly chemical-based detergents or cleaning products. We need only look to another bodily fluid for the answer. Is it sweat? Thankfully, no, as you’d probably need to engage in a pretty hefty workout to generate enough of the stuff to remove a stain. Tears? Nope. Not those either. It’s saliva.
My trusted friend tells me that saliva removes blood from fabric very effectively. Now she seems like a fairly decent type of woman and I have no reason to doubt her on this, although I must warn readers that this handy little meany tip is only any good for the odd spot of blood, if we’re talking great pools of the stuff then you probably need to get to an emergency room rather than worry about damage to your scatter cushions or whether you can muster enough drool to get the place clean again. Ever practical me!
The spilling of red wine? What a notion. Far better it be blood!
As I write this my other half, Mr Miser, is looking over my shoulder and suggesting that human urine might also be an effective blood stain remover. Seriously, I worry about him sometimes. Oh, he’s also just suggested that red wine stains might be removed in the same manner.
Just the thought of wine being spilled strikes horror into my very being. Far better it be blood! If he carries on like this, it might well be.
Stingy Hint 2. I like a nice cup of tea in the morning…
Tea, ever versatile
Now, much discussion revolves around the humble teabag when it comes to economy and this hint covers several tips really. Firstly, I have it on good authority that there are folks out there who are so hell bent on penny pinching that that they run their tea bags through a sewing machine, thus creating two lines of stitching down the centre, and then cut between the stitched lines to produce two small tea bags. Frankly I think even I, one who is a slave to budgeting, would lose the will to live after stitching the first bag. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t great potential for major savings when it comes to tea bags. But please people, just use them twice instead having to nip and tuck the darned things. And while we’re on the subject, did you know that tea leaves (used) make a great cleaner for wooden floors, and that cold tea (minus milk) stains untreated wood just as nicely as those nasty and expensive preparations designed for the purpose. It’s also great as a hair rinse for brunettes. Sorry all you blondies, it’s not great for you so you’ll just have to wait till we get to the stingy hint about lemons.
Stingy Hint 3. Getting the most out of flowers
Roses: Beautiful when fresh, gorgeous dried. Not sure about the soup, though!
It was U.S. editor H. L. Mencken who said, “An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup.” I’m not sure I fancy the idea of roses as a base ingredient for soup but they are my favorite flowers (when it comes to receiving them) and they dry beautifully too, so once you’ve had the joy of them fresh cut, your pleasure can be extended almost for an eternity. Here’s how. Before your roses get to the wilted stage, whip them out of the vase, dry off the stems with a cloth and hang them upside down in a dark place. In a few weeks time you’ll have superb stems and blooms dried. Some more techno-minded meanies say they dry flowers in a microwave, but I really don’t hold with this. A dark place doesn’t notch up units on the old electricity meter! Plus, microwave use when it isn’t necessary is not kind to our planet. Oh, get really frugal here and make sure you gather any rose petals and leaves that have dropped off during the drying process. You can add these to your ongoing ever-evolving potpourri. What’s that you say? You don’t have an ongoing ever-evolving potpourri! Tut tut. You’ll learn.