Cheap ways to insulate old windows

If you live in a house with double hung wooden windows you might love their classic look but not love the amount of cold air that seeps in between the upper and lower window or at the bottom of the window. I experience this problem even with the storm window in place, sometimes to the point of having frost. I wanted a way to decrease drafts without something ugly that mars the look of my windows (like foam, caulking or felt strips that always come off. I realized that if you simply take scrap paper or newspaper, tear it into strips and fold it longways two or three times (depending on the width of the gap) you can really cut down on the amount of cold air getting into your house. Simply fold so that it is perhaps a quarter inch wide. Slip into any gaps where your bare hand can feel cold air getting in including along the sill but most importantly the line between where the upper and lower parts of the window meet, where the lock usually is. You will probably find that each window needs three or four different pieces of paper because some places will be tight, some will need just a double folded piece and some require more. It seems too minor to make a difference but your house will be more comfortable, less drafty and you will save on your heating bill. Remember that one 3 foot wide window with just an 1/16th gap is the equivalent of a 2 inch square hole in the window letting in cold (if my dusty math skills are correct). The advantage to this system is it is free, uses supplies you have on hand and works. The disadvantage is that once you crack the window open in early spring... all those pieces of paper flutter out. It usually takes me less than an hour each fall to do my whole small house.

Make your own pocket tissue pouch

We all have those frugal pet peeves. The things that even though they may be cheap... we know that they are way overpriced and it bugs us. One of the things that bugs me are the pocket or purse size tissues. I can get three name brand packets for only $1 at the dollar store which seems cheap until you realize that there are only 10 tissues per pack. So you are paying $1 for 30 tissues or 3.3 cents each. I can get three big boxes of the same name brand at Target for $5.99 for 480 tissues or 1.2 cents each. That is a considerable markup for a flimsy, single use plastic pouch. But if you have kids or work with kids those packets are super useful when you see a runny nose. So here is my easy, basically free solution. First get 10-15 tissues. Fold each one longways then do a trifold like a wallet. They need to be folded individually. If you try to do the whole stack you won't be able to pull them out of the pouch without ripping. Make a neatish stack. Next take some pretty and lightweight scrap fabric. Cut out a rectangle that will wrap around your little pile of tissues. Make a hem on either end. Next, wrong sides together, you want to wrap around your pile so the hemmed ends overlap a bit. Pin both hemmed ends together. Sew both non-hemmed ends with a zigzag stitch. Turn inside out and insert your pile of tissues. Took me maybe 2 minutes to fold the tissues and a half hour to sew 2 pouches. Could also be cute in a get well basket! Much prettier than the plastic pouches and one third the price!

Homemade thread spool and bobbin holder

This one is easy and so useful! My thread was always a huge messy pile that you'd have to dig through to find the color you wanted and my bobbins were even worse. I decided to get more organized. I bought a few thin dowel rods and carefully cut them to about 5 inch lengths. I took some leftover pieces from my bamboo flooring and drilled small holes to stick the dowels in. You want to be sure to leave a whole diameter of thread between each one plus enough room for you to reach down. I stuck a little wood glue in each whole then the dowels. Wait for it to dry and then organize by color. So much easier you'll be wishing you'd done it years ago!

Homemade kitchen compost bucket

I have an outdoor kitchen compost bin. Of course squirrels immediately chewed through one of the lower vents and my backyard chickens peruse it from this new convenient entryway. It kind of looks like a giant darth vader helmet in my backyard but it is still great because I cook 90% of my own meals and therefore have a lot of vegetable trimmings and eggshells. Composting them cuts way down on my weekly amount of garbage and allows material that easily decomposes to do so instead of being enshrined in a landfill. My only problem was what to collect these kitchen scraps in? I certainly wasn't going to pay $40 or more dollars for the fancy ones they sell with charcoal filters for smell. I go out to the backyard at least twice a day to tend the chickens so kitchen scraps wouldn't be sitting around long. Originally I tried a dish on the counter but that took up precious countertop space in my small kitchen and usually quickly overflowed. I wanted a larger container that was out of the way but easy to grab and dump when I'd go outside. Solution! I took a gallon milk jug and cut away the part opposite the handle. This retains the easy to grab handle but provides a large space for kitchen scraps. Unlike a small bucket with a mobile handle, I can easily dump this with one hand and the handle stays free of overspill. It is also very easy to clean. I keep it on the top step leading to the backdoor. This way it is out of the way but easy to remember to grab. The large mouth also makes it easy to toss a handful of scraps in without having to bend over. It works perfectly! Another hint. Sometimes the outdoor kitchen compost can get stinky in hot weather. I just sprinkle some fireplace ashes that I accumulate all winter (mainly for use in keeping the chicken coop fresh smelling) over the top of the compost. Works like a charm!