For those who live in the northern states, winter weather conditions are a very common obstacle. Almost every other morning, you can find yourself chipping away at ice on the windshield or doing something to de-ice the driveway.

After investigating a lot of different methods for handling snow and ice with the end goal of reducing the cost of dealing with winter weather conditions, here are seven of the best tactics:

1. Put a sheet over your windshield. If you’re anticipating a big, icy storm, get an old bed sheet and spread it across your windshield. Use the windshield wipers to hold it in place, then close the ends of the sheet in the doors of the vehicle. After the storm, you can simply peel the sheet off and the ice comes right off with it.

2. Use alcohol instead of de-icer. Instead of dropping money on an expensive bottle of de-icer, just fill a spray bottle with some rubbing alcohol, which you can get for far cheaper. Spraying this on icy surfaces does just as well as the expensive stuff. You can also add a bit of Windex to the mix, but I’ve not noticed much difference between the two.

3. Try mixing water, alcohol, and dishwashing soap, too. It’s also a useful tactic to fill a spray bottle with a 50-50 mix of water and alcohol with just a few drops of dishwashing soap. You can spray this on in climates where the temperature is just below freezing and it’ll work even better than the straight alcohol.

4. For icy sidewalks, mix calcium chloride and rock salt. Calcium chloride is the best material available for clearing ice off the sidewalk because it gives off heat as it melts the ice. Mixing it with much cheaper rock salt (in a 50-50 mix) allows the calcium chloride to work first, warming up the ice a bit to a temperature where the rock salt can work. Mix the two in a bucket in your garage.

5. For driveways, just use sand. Sand is far, far cheaper than salt for a large driveway and both have the same effect in the end – improving the traction of your vehicle. Before you put sand down, clear off the snow with a shovel so that you’re not just dumping sand on top of snow. You want the sand to cover the hard layer that you’ll actually be driving on.

6. Shovel snow properly. Many people dread the task of shoveling snow and have visions of painful backaches and other disastrous conclusions. This doesn’t have to be the case! Pick a shovel that fits you and doesn’t cause you to bend over unnecessarily. Do some stretching before you start, and bundle up so you don’t get cold. Don’t shovel at a rapid pace – do it slowly with small scoops. When you need to lift, lift with your knees as much as you can. Wear good shoes with good traction. Doing these things will turn shoveling from a pain-inducing activity into good, healthy exercise.

7. Keep an emergency kit at home – and another in the car. If you’re in a climate where major winter storms can occur, it’s useful to have an emergency kit at home with appropriate supplies so that everyone in the house can find it if the need occurs. The kit should contain flashlights, a battery powered (or wind-up) radio, a wind-up clock, some food that requires no cooking (and a can opener if the food is canned), plenty of blankets, and fresh batteries. Having this on hand can make it easy to ride out a storm at home instead of taking on the huge risk of having to head outside in the middle of a blizzard.

For the car kit, you should have the items listed above, plus an extra layer of winter clothes for everyone who might be traveling with you as well as some road flares (to help rescue teams find you). An old cell phone is also useful, as old cell phones that still have battery life can call 9-1-1 even if they don’t have a phone plan.


Original Article: 
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/fighting-a-frugal-battle-against-ice-and-snow/
Author: Trent Hamm

If you've been living in the same home for many years, or if you bought a fixer-upper, it's natural that you want to renovate and upgrade your home.

But upgrades are expensive. A new set of kitchen cabinets will cost thousands of dollars. New countertops, bath vanities and hardwood floors will cost several thousand more.

Not willing to shell out a 5-digit figure for your home upgrade costs? Here are 20 cheap ways to remodel your home on a budget.

#1: Want stainless steel appliances without the astronomical price tag? Use peel-and-stick contact paper with a stainless steel finish. Your appliance will have a stainless steel façade at a fraction of the price of the real deal.

#2: Install new switchplate covers - the covers on light switches and electrical outlets. These cost about $1 each for a basic white cover at major home improvement retailers, and they're easy to install. A new, clean white cover will look much nicer than that old, yellowing cover you had. For added oomph in the kitchen, try stainless steel covers. You can also hunt for patterned and decorative covers online.

#3: Change your doorknobs, handles and hinges. These are inexpensive finishing touches that make a huge difference, and the installation is quick and easy.

#4: Change your lampshades. It's a small detail that makes a HUGE difference.

#5: Make sure the "light spectrum" from your bulbs is appropriate for the area. You want soft bulbs that emit a yellow/red undertone in "hanging out" zones like the living room. You want bright bulbs that emit blue undertones in "study" zones like your home office or library.

#6: Install new blinds or curtains in the windows. Two-inch wood blinds give your home a nicer aesthetic than most one-inch vinyl blinds.


#7: Install crown molding, baseboard trim, doorway trim and other trim accents to your home. Trim and moldings go a long way towards making a home look upgraded.

#8: Rearrange your furniture. You don't necessarily need new pieces of furniture - simply creating new shapes, and reorganizing the flow of a living space, can do wonders.

#9: Cover your furniture with a slip-cover or fabric. This will give it a new color and pattern, making it feel new.

#10: Repaint your walls and/or change your wallpaper.

#11: Alternatively, paint your ceiling a new, fresh color. Some people are experimenting with soft neutral colors on the walls and a bold color on the ceiling, like white walls with a bright yellow ceiling, or light beige walls with an eggplant/purple ceiling.

#12: Hang new photos or art on the walls. For an even more frugal alternative, simply change the frames of your existing photos and art.

#13: Hang more mirrors, even in places that are above eye-level (like over a fireplace). This increases the light that shines through the house. If you can hang two mirrors in the same room, put them on opposite walls; this will give the impression of a larger room.

#14: Change your kitchen and bath rug and your doormat. Switch to a new shower curtain.

#15: Buy some new cushion and pillow covers, or sew them out of old unneeded pieces of clothing or fabric. Don't have any that are good enough? Hunt for fabric at yard sales.

#16: Get some small decorative items like mini-lanterns, artsy coasters and a new coffee table book. These are more "finishing details" that give a space a modern feel.

#17: Put plants everywhere, both indoors and out. If you already own plants, but they're potted in cheap plastic containers, upgrade them to a nice ceramic pot.

#18: Clear your clutter! This alone makes a space feel much more inviting.

#19: Clean and tune-up your furnace and ventilation shafts. This isn't a cosmetic upgrade, but it will make your home function more efficiently.

#20: Burn candles or incense or use an air freshener. A new scent can help you enjoy the feeling of a nicer atmosphere.

Author: Paula Pant
Original Article: http://budgeting.about.com/od/budget_home/a/20-Cheap-Home-Remodel-Ideas.htm