Frugal Village

photo by jurvetson

DEAR SARA: I need an idea for cheap spring party gifts for my daughter’s classroom friends. There are 28 kids in the class, and they are in kindergarten. I want to send in something different from the standard homemade cupcakes. I’m looking for something more fun. Ideas? How can I keep it low [...]

photo by danperry.com

Many of you are working hard at frugality because you have to. I’m no exception. I’m tightening the belt more than ever. My readers talk about how they sometimes wish there were a “frugal fairy” who granted wishes. She could wave her magic wand and let them choose one area where they didn’t [...]

photo by joeannenah

Cut utility costs during the warm months by giving your dryer a break. Instead, line dry your laundry on a clothesline. There’s sometimes a stigma attached to clotheslines, which are often viewed as a sign of poverty or as an eyesore, but the truth is that many people simply don’t want to waste [...]

photo by ms.Tea

Organizing papers and incoming mail is a common household problem. Maybe your system is that you don’t have a system, or, if you have one, it’s not practical. Welcome to Mount Paper Piles. Luckily, readers share their methods to help control paper, so you can climb that mountain and conquer it once and [...]

photo by syvwlch
Our favorite cleaning products, supplies and tools help us save time and effort. If you don’t have a cleaning service or utility room and have been storing these items lined up in cabinets, try putting together a cleaning-kit caddy, which makes it easy to have everything handy to carry from room to room. [...]