a wooden work bench purchased at a garage sale, makes a great sideboard in my dining room!

We use a Bagel Trap bagel cutter to slice onions. Saves money by fewer trips to the emergency room to re-attach sliced off finger tips - LOL!

Frozen juice cans (or soup cans) on my desk to hold pens and pencils. Can even roll up stiff paper to make tubes slightly bigger than each instrument so that they stand on end - easier to pick up the one that I want, store shorter ones at the front, etc.

Frozen juice cans with nuts, camping mixes, small candies, on desk. Occupy little space. If troubled with grain/nut-loving moths, can slip individual yogurt containers into top to keep them out.

Metal cans that held about a quart (tomato, apple juice, etc.) on or beside desk as waste receptacle.

Stiffer than regular fliers that come to the house as index dividers in 3-ring binders.

Business envelope with ends cut open, with frequently used telephone numbers on the outside, inside. Inside find half a dozen or so of the third of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of page two of telephone bill, perforated as was the returnable portion of page 1, that has been ripped off, each sheet holding phone numbers indexed by topic (business, area code, relatives, hobby colleagues, even frugal contacts, or whatever).

Same for e-mail address lists.

Slips in unobtrusively between pencil holder and computer case.

Two thin cardboard 1- or 2-litre milk containers, square, tall, cut down one side, slipped together, stapled make great containers for business envelopes to store correspondence, sort cash receipts by month, save receipts, e.g. charitable, necessary for income tax preparation, etc.

Small cardboard grocery box, slipped inside plastic grocery bag, makes handy file carrier to haul files around.

Cardboard grocery box (if you can get it before the shelver cuts it all to pieces) to file incoming mail - either as it comes in, or filed by subject. (After file drawers are full).

Can store med-sized magazines in boxes that pies came in.

Cut large sheet of corrugated carboard, fold together to make box to hold a year's worth of magazines that you want to keep.

Use large heavy cardboard box as kids' toy.

Fill 2 qt./l. or gallon/4 l. cider, milk jug with water, put into freezer for a day or overnight, wrap it in a towel, it will provide cool water for much of a day during travel, on picnic, beach, booth at flea market, etc.

Store pop, beer can tabs in plastic bags that bulk food came in.

Use telephone wire salvaged from garbage container at construction site for clothes line.

That's all that comes to mind at the moment.

ole joyful, frugal as always

a few years ago,DH's store was replacing their greeting card racks and storage drawers.We too them to the cottage and used them as bases for the beds.Because of limited storage space at the cottage,these drawers have been fantastic.They're very deep and hold linens.and all our clothing.Eliminates the need for dressers,and they cost us nothing.

I found out that the CVS brand of denture adhesive is just as good or better than Fixodent.Since I have to use Fixodent twice aday now This stuff I only have to use it once.Try it keep your receipt and if it don't work you get your money back.Maybe my mounth got too used to it and it was time for a change but I think they took the main ingredient out and put it in their pocket.

Goldy,

I hope that you won't put your chompers into your pocket ...

... or perhaps when you reach in later for car keys, Kleenex, etc. ...

... you may get bit!

Have a happy weekend.

ole joyful (proud possessor of just three teeth - to get full set after Christmas)

What ever you do don't get rid of the three teeth.It's better to have something to hold on to.

My DH buys bottled water, I've been using the boxes that the water comes in, which is pretty sturdy, as organizers in one of my bedroom cabinets. My things kept falling out when I opened the door until I started using these. Works great, just cut off the end, use a little duck tape where needed, and now I'm getting ready to cover them with some type of paper. May even put an inexpensive knob on them.

I've also been reorganizing some of my drawers and use small boxes, cut in half, with more duct tape (my good friend) for support. Two of my desk drawers look very nice now and I know where my envelopes are!!!

Plastic containers from Wal-marts and delis can be reused for freezing, storing, and also drawer organization.

Two litre soda bottles can also be used as storage. Just cut off the top section and tape or staple several together, turn sideways, place on a closet shelf and then ya have all of these nifty little cubby holes for storage.

Potato chip bags, and several others, have silver on the inside. Turn them inside out and use to wrap small boxes and put under a small Christmas tree for decoration. Or decorate a wreath with them.

I read this somewhere and DH tried it in his workshop-----take those plastic motor oil bottles, cut out a section from the front (after you use the oil--haha) and clean out some, but not all, of the oil, use for storing nails. Put the cap back on. They're stackable, the top of the bottle makes a handle and you can put a label on the side. And the oil that's left in the bottle helps keep the nails from rusting.

That's it for now!

I've got the metal wire shelves used in restaurants for storage (were throwing out) and use them in my root cellar for winter storage of root veggies (the air circulation helps them last longer).

The three-tiered hanging baskets, meant to store vegetables, are hanging throughout my home. I use them for holding plants, odds and ends, toys, fruits and vegetables, bathroom items, tools, etc.

Pringles cans are water proof and get used for storing spaghetti, cereal, pens and pencils, seeds, and anything of appropriate size that I want to keep dry.

They are wonderful to use in packing for a trip - jewelry, hosery, underwear, toiletries - wonderful invention.

I use them to store small toys for my grand kids - they can be decorated and look attractive and fit with your decor, so come up with more ideas.

Hi KayJones,

I'm glad to hear that you are getting some extra use from your Pringles cans - they sure cost enough in the first place.
_________________

This isn't something that I bought, but ...

I've picked up shipping crates from a local restaurant supply, as many are built of dressed lumber and quite a few pallets are built of undressed lumber.

I had one crate on hand that I used a while ago as a temporary workbench when doing some sawing and other things.

I used it again a few days ago, with a piece of (scrap) plywood on top to stand on when wire-brushing several places around the roof of my (full-sized) van and applying body paste to fill the holes - as I don't care for water coming in.

Also used it when caulking around the frame of a skylight that the former owner put in the roof to add light when using it as a residence when travelling. The (plastic) frame had cracked in several places and was doing yeoman duty in adding to the amount of water coming into the van.

But ... only when it rained.

Hope your vans (and friends) are more than fair-weather ones,

ole joyful

I do stained glass and keep the tiny scraps for mosaic projects. Dannon Light & Fit yogurt containers have clear snap-on tops. I can store glass scraps safely in them and be able to tell what color's in them at a glance.

I reuse the Swiffer pads to dust. After I use it on the floor, I remove it from the pad, shake out most of the dog hair, fold it in on itself twice and dust. THEN it goes in the garbage.

Baby food jars, resealable, make great places to store herbs and spices.

I keep raw oatmeal, other kinds of cooked porridge makings, including sesame seeds, flax seeds, dates and raisins in former margarine containers, peanut butter jars, etc.

Keep small quantities for frequent use of powdered milk, flour, sugar, pearl barley, soup and gravy base powders in them, as well.

Cookies, flour, powdered milk, pastas in gallon ice cream containers.

I pour my powered laundry soap into a gallon jug that commercial hand soap came in, to avoid spillage while en route to laundromat. Milk jug, windshield washer fluid container would work, as well.

Store leftover food, or double portion that I've made and store the second half for another day, in margarine containers (including 2, 4 lb. sizes).

Or may put them into soup bowls, but then slip them into empty bread bag, to avoid dry-out in self-defrost fridge.

I buy few plastic bags - use bread bags for a number of needs.

Use kraft envelopes as file folders - simple if cut part way down each end, fold front in - makes it easy to see what is included.

Handier that file folders that are prone to flop open when storing a number of items of varying sizes.

Set of wrenches get scattered in tool box, so plan to make roll-up carrier with one slot for each wrench from old holey denim pants.

Keep frugal, folks - $1.00 invested at age 15, growing at 5%, produces $11.00+ at age 65.

A dollar saved - will give you the freedom to choose to retire earlier.

ole frugal

Dian, I use the swiffer cloths in the opposite fashion: dust first (I do taht 2-3 times a week so they don't catch a lot of dust) and the do the floors. I use 2 cloths on both sides to dust furniture and do the floors of the whole apartment (2 bedrooms, a rather big living/dining room, kitchen, bathroom, entrance hall).

Maria

I use sections of leftover fleece fabric to dust and dustmop the floor (pinned on). Work just like a swiffer and can be washed over and over!

Like Ed, we reuse plastic containers until they are cracked--then they become plant pots (for temporary seedlings or winter sowing...)Already have the holes. Same for zip lock bags.

today's baby-food jars aren't as good as yesterday's--they don't reseal as well, I've found.

The baby food jars (at least, the ones that we got up here 3 or 4 years ago) had a plastic collar around the neck with ridges to make a screw, so the lid would screw on really tightly.

No loss of potency due to air leakage - though I can't say as much for exposure to sunlight.

Good wishes for finding some really good, while cheap and easy to us, storage systems, especially for stuff that you use frequently.

joyful