frugal living

I find it such a waste to throw away products you only use once, so I'm always looking for ways to recycle them. A used dryer sheet is actually a really versatile product with a ton of different applications, so don't throw it away after the dry cycle is up! Recycle your dryer sheets in these ways:

• Reduce static cling: Get rid of static cling by rubbing dryer sheets on the problem areas.
• Clean irons: Rub the iron on the dryer sheet while the heat is set to low, and the sheet will clean the residue off the plate.
• Remove pet and human hair: Run the dryer sheet over fabrics with a lot of fur or hair on them, such as clothing or furniture.
• Clean bathroom gunk: If it's time to clean your bath or shower, then grab a dryer sheet for scrubbing. Apparently, dryer sheets help to keep showers and baths free of mineral buildup, so they serve the dual function of cleaning and protecting!
• Freshen up your home: If there are places in your home that need a little freshening up — your closet, shoes, luggage, and more — stick dryer sheets in them for a temporary fix.
• Old books: Get rid of the musty book smell by ziplocking the book with a dryer sheet for a day.

Bonus tip: make your own dryer sheets (here's how to do it) to reduce costs and avoid adding more chemicals to your home.

You've worked hard this whole week, so it's time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the weekend! Give yourself a treat this weekend to feel rejuvenated and to make yourself feel good. Don't worry, treating yourself doesn't always mean pricey massages at the spa or weekend getaways. Here are plenty of wallet-friendly suggestions:

• Relive your Charlie and the Chocolate Factory memories and treat yourself to a bar of chocolate. Remember how Charlie savored each Willy Wonka chocolate bar? Eat yours in the same manner and relish every bite.
• Buy yourself a steak and cook it. It's much cheaper than going to a steak house! Eat it while drinking a glass of affordable red wine.
• Grab a few friends and go on a picnic in a nearby park.
• Watch reality show reruns or shows saved on your DVR with a bowl of chocolate ice cream.
• Explore a museum you've never been to.
• Reread your favorite book (maybe The Hunger Games?).
• Go to your local coffee shop and try a new coffee flavor. Bring your laptop with you and catch up with friends and relatives over email.

Read on for more.

It's always a great idea to use the products you have that are already sitting in your kitchen for other purposes. You're saving green and being green! Not to mention, using these natural products will be less toxic for you and the other dwellers in your household. Here are a couple of great uses for vinegar:

• Fabric softener. Add about 1/4 cup of vinegar to your laundry load to soften your fabric.
• Static-cling remover. Add the same amount to reduce static cling.
• Stain remover. Soak your clothes in vinegar to get rid of all kinds of stains.
• Gum remover. Heat up some vinegar in the microwave and soak the area that's stuck to the gum. The chewing gum will dissolve.
• Air freshener. Remove odor by putting a bowl of vinegar in the place where the smell is emanating. You can also put it in a spray bottle with equal parts water and deodorize the air.
• Remove water rings. Mix equal parts vinegar and olive oil and dip a cloth in the mixture and wipe the water ring, moving with the grain of the wood. If a water ring is left on a leather furniture, wipe it down with just vinegar.
• Keep cats away. Sprinkle an area with some vinegar to repel cats.
• Clean rust. If you have a rusty tool or object, soak it overnight in vinegar. Rinse the objects with water after soaking so the vinegar won't affect them.

Read on for more handy uses.

Instead of reaching for one cleaner for this and another for that, this homemade and eco-friendly all purpose cleaner does a great job on just about anything. From dirty sinks to messy countertops, this homemade cleaner will leave things spotless with Borax and deodorizing lemon juice.

Borax is a natural grease-buster that also does double-duty as a disinfectant. The addition of vinegar breaks down bacteria, while hydrogen peroxide naturally cleans and shines. And this squeaky-clean concoction only costs pennies per bottle.

Keep reading for the ingredients.

A big pile of laundry waiting to hit the washing machine doesn't just inspire dread; doing all those loads starts to add up on the pocketbook, as well. With some premium liquid laundry detergents topping out around $10 for 12 ounces, tossing down the cash to keep those jugs full gets expensive. For the same cost of one container of store-purchased detergent, you can pick up the all-natural ingredients needed to make gallons and gallons of laundry detergent that costs pennies per load. And you can personalize this eco cleaning concoction with essential oils, leaving your clothes fresh and wonderfully clean.

Keep reading for the ingredients.

You might be seeing a lot of purples, golds, and greens today thanks to Mardi Gras, and that includes the celebration's infamous beads. Whether you collect the beads straight from the source in New Orleans or have some from party decorations, don't throw them out once Fat Tuesday is over. Here are some environmentally friendly, creative ways to upcycle them.

Jewelry: Sure, Mardi Gras necklaces are technically jewelry, but turn them into something more wearable on an everyday basis. String them together on a sophisticated chain, or add other charms to accessorize. Plus, all those purples and golds are sure to pop.

Pushpins: Ah, the power of super glue. Fasten the beads together to create pushpins for your desk or home office corkboards.

Source: Etsy user nolabeadart

Bookmarks: Even if you don't make the bookmark yourself, you can attach a bead or two to the end of a bookmark string for a touch of fun. Plus, it will help you find your page more easily.

Read on for more upcycling ideas.

Searching for gems at a flea market can feel pretty overwhelming, so why not enlist the help of your significant other and make a fun date of it? Set a spending limit — you can even start with $5 — and see what treasures you find at that price. Along the way, you'll have a great time talking about quirky items or meeting interesting vendors. If there aren't any flea markets in your area, then do the same with neighborhood yard sales. You can also bring a little friendly competition into the date by parting ways with the same amount of money and reuniting later to see who discovered the best finds.

While you're cracking open a cold bottle of beer to celebrate the Super Bowl, you might want to consider using that chilly brew for purposes other than drinking if you have some left over. Here are some cool uses beyond imbibing:

• Beer bath: Add two cups of beer to your bath to enjoy some healing effects. Hops have medicinal properties that are good for your skin. The beer bath is an efficient skin-softener, and it's even said to help with psoriasis and other skin ailments.
• Stain remover: If you've made a mess on your clothing or rug, then dab it with a beer-soaked cloth. Let it sink in for a few hours, and then toss it in the washer.
• Marinade: The slightly acidic properties of beer will tenderize meat without affecting too much of the flavor. Marinate the meat in beer for as little as a few hours or as long as a day.
• Pest trapper: It's not just humans who enjoy guzzling beer; household pests do as well. Trap slugs and snails by placing dishes or jars of beer around your garden at night. You can even get rid of fruit flies by placing a jar of beer in your home, covering the top with paper, and poking a small hole in the paper cover. The flies will be lured into the jar but will be unable to make it out.
• Gold jewelry cleaner: Soak your gold jewelry in beer, and then take it out and polish it lightly with a dry cloth.
• Wood furniture brightener: Brighten up your dull wood furniture by rubbing it down with a cloth dampened with flat beer.
• Beer batter: Leftover beer is great for cooking. There are so many recipes that call for beer batter, and they include beer battered onion rings, beer battered fish and chips, and the list goes on.