MONEY MONEY MONEY

Valeria says:
Money saving ideas for knitting?
1. Any yarn you are sick of seeing, donate it to a charity knitting group. You
can deduct the fair market value from your income tax as a charitable donation.
2. Use even tiny yardage of leftover yarns to design unique items: tote bags
(particularly felted ones), Joseph's Coat sweaters, kaleidoscope scarves or
shawls.
3. Stick your wool yarn in the freezer to protect against moths.
4. Make your own needle-retainer bars (lots of instructions on the Internet).

I have a couple more hints for the house.
If you have a fireplace that has to be vented, close it up and stuff insulation up near the vent. Stuff insulation around the fireplace surround also. Yesterday it was soooo cold in my house. I read this hint in a magazine and ran out to the garage where I had put some extra insulation in a plastic bag to keep it from getting moisture in it. I brought it in and stuffed it into the fireplace as I said above and couldn't believe the instant difference in my cold living room.

I also have laminate floors and love them but they are cold so I went to a local Freds (discount store) and bought a $35 rug for the middle of the room. It makes a lot of difference in the warmer look and the warmer floor, believe me.

I also read to get lined curtains. I have a sliding glass door and its cold, cold! I do have a rubber lined drape and kept it closed all day yesterday. That made a big difference in the warmth that stayed in the room.

Here's a couple more hints from Ladies Home Journal that I didn't know:
Try making holiday meals in a slow-cooker. According to Progress Energy, a North Carolina energy company, it costs 2 cents an hour to use a slow-cooker. Only 18 cents for an eight hour roast. Fire up an electric oven burns more than 22 times as much power per hour (who knew?)

Use ceramic or glass when cooking, it allows you to lower your oven temperature by about 25 degrees F and the food cooks just as quickly.

BACK TO KNITTING:
Knit yourself a pair of pants, you'll be shocked at how warm as well as nice and cozy they are. Can't do it? Don't be silly, pants are just elongated sleeves with a belly, butt and waist band. If you don't know how to chart your own, go get the demo version of Knitware Basics (which has standard pants built in to the program) www.greatknitdesigns.com. Make your first pair out of some leftover yarn that isn't the best in the stash. That way, you can tweek the sizing once they're done and my first pair are definitely great, just a bit too short in the leg and a bit too big in the thigh. Who cares, I still love them. The second pair eliminated that problem and I can wear them in public .

Knit some socks, you won't believe how warm knitted socks are, I LOVE every pair I have. And socks make fabulous gifts. My daughter, Natalie, made me and my husband both several pair of socks. I have them all now and its a wonder I haven't worn them out, I wear them inside and outside (with shoes of course).
Make yourself some slippers while you're at it also. And if you are going visiting for the Holidays, definitely take a pair of your homemade slippers with you. When you're visiting you don't want to run around barefoot but you can slip on your slippers to wear while you're sitting around visiting and keep those tootsie's looking guest-worthy. Last year I visited Tacoma and Spokane and rather than pack an extra pair of shoes, I bought and wore some LLBean Winter Mocs. When I was in the houses I slipped on my slippers and when I went outside I slipped on the mocs.

Last hint: KNIT CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. Who among us doesn't have a huge stash of yarn they need to use up. Knit something wonderful for gifts. Right now I'm knitting a Lion Brand kit, the ruffle scarf for a friend. If I hurry I will make 2 more for a couple other people I usually give a gift too (the mail lady and the post mistress). OK, so that didn't come from my stash but....the stash has dwindled thanks to EBay.

That's it! Tomorrow I have a couple things I want to show you that have nothing much to do with saving money but are something I'm doing...stay busy!