75 Ways to Survive A Down Economy

[rob62521]

Article on ideas to save money during the down economy:

75 Tips to Survive a Down Economy | Frugal Dad

[Aleta]

That is an amazing blog and I do alot of the ideas mentioned. I am definitely going to convert to cloth napkins. It' s even more elegant to use them at any meal. Great tips.

[momof1in150]

We do a lot of the things he listed. The one thing he didn't list was that when you do print use the draft mode on your printer, you will save a lot of ink. We also only print in grayscale unless it is for a school project or the color is required.

I don't print pictures from my home computer I download to an online printer and have them shipped to my home. I find discount codes online for them before I order. I do this twice a year (June and January) and selectively order my prints for the year.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Cloth napkins more elegant? I gave a cloth napkin to a guest and I'm not sure she realized what it was. It is funny that paper has now become the standard and cloth the oddity. No doubt, some people think cloth napkins at home is unsanitary, or something.

[cptacek]

I wonder if shading the outside air conditioner would actually help. I've been thinking of putting up a porch/awning on the west side of our house to keep the sun off that side, and I could extend it past the air conditioner if it would help.

Oh, and he suggests paying your credit card bills in two payments so you don't pay so much interest? How about paying it in full? That is better advice.

[rob62521]

Originally Posted by Joan.of.the.Arch

Cloth napkins more elegant? I gave a cloth napkin to a guest and I'm not sure she realized what it was. It is funny that paper has now become the standard and cloth the oddity. No doubt, some people think cloth napkins at home is unsanitary, or something.

I pulled out our cloth napkins yesterday. My husband was reluctant to use it -- said he didn't want to get them dirty. I told him he wasn't getting a paper one so he better use it. So you are right...paper has become the standard.

[Aleta]

I had an energy audit some years back and this man told me that we had the tree planted in the right spot. The AC doesn't get the sun. It has been pretty efficient and is going on 15 years old without any repairs. We have a large tree in the front of the house that shades our house nicely. So many of our neighbors houses are like hothouses inside. I don't know how they take it.

I'm probably going to look for some commercial napkins. Any ideas of where to find them at a reasonable cost?

[simpleyme]

depending on how fancy you all are ....
growing up my mom would give us kitchen towels to use as napkins most nights they are large and absorbent and always look clean as they usually have prints on them so any light staining is not noticeable and they double as kitchen towels ;-)

[PrincessPerky]

Originally Posted by simpleyme

depending on how fancy you all are ....
growing up my mom would give us kitchen towels to use as napkins most nights they are large and absorbent and always look clean as they usually have prints on them so any light staining is not noticeable and they double as kitchen towels ;-)

We aren't fancy here..we do the kitchen towel or dishrag as napkin..though we do just have them on the table, so we look uncouth I think. no napkin in the lap or anything...but honestly with small kids one in the lap means one on the floor!

[momof1in150]

We have used cloth napkins for so long that my kids don't like to use anything else. Some of the ones we use for everyday are kind of ratty but we don't care. I get them at Pier 1, Kohls, BB&B or other stores like those. I only use 100% cotton because I think that they work better. I just throw them in with the regular laundry when they are dirty. Each person has their own seat at the table so if we use them multiple times (which we do) then they are using the same napkin.