Category: Frugal Living Tips

Today’s thrifty tip is to use baking soda, vinegar, and boiling hot water to clear a clogged drain. What you do is pour a cup of baking soda down the drain first. Then pour a cup of vinegar behind it which will fizz. Then put the stopper in and let sit for at least 30 minutes. Then take out the stopper and pour a pot of boiling water down the drain. This works for me pretty much every time, especially, in the kitchen sink. The bathrooms don’t always work since it’s usually a hair clog so then I usually use a bent wire hanger to get to the clog. I do use the baking soda and hot water mixture to keep them clear and smelling clean. It’s cheaper than using expensive drain cleaners plus safer.

I went shopping at a local store that were clearancing clothes plus take an extra 20% off the already reduced prices. I bought $210 worth of clothes for my son and paid $52 with tax for all of it. I bought winter clothes for this year but did snag a couple of summer shirts. Here is a list of what I bought all size 7. The Levis were on sale plus I 2 20% discounts (the extra one and I had a coupon good on any item including clearance). I used the other coupon on the other pair of jeans.

Set of 2 Cars PJS ($5.32 for both pairs since it was a special set deal)
Spider Flannel PJS
Levis Jeans
South Pole Jeans
Lee Khaki Carpenter Pants
Nike S/S Shirt
2 Different Adidas L/S Shirts
Nike Wind Pants

Then I had bought 4 tops at Dillards for $17.23 with tax.

Ralph Lauren S/S Top
Shrek L/S Shirt
Charter Club L/S Shirt
Silver Surfer S/S Top

Lastly I stopped at Wal-Mart yesterday and picked up 4 pairs of shorts on sale for $3 each. I am well stocked for next summer and this winter. I paid a total of $82.xx for all these clothes. It never hurts to check out the clearance racks of your stores since you never know. Sometimes I found unmarked sales like yesterday at Wal-Mart. I spend around $100 a year on his clothes and shoes. I do have several pairs that I got on clearance from last year waiting in my closet. I only stock a size ahead of what he wears. I will buy size 8 clothes when the winter goes on sale in January next year. I used to buy more of his clothes used but it’s hard to find his size, and I still feel I’m doing really well with the clearance racks. I never pay more than $4-5 unless it’s a nicer dress shirt but usually under $8 for one or two of those. We need more summer clothes than winter so his winter clothes can usually last for 2 years in a row.