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Yesss! OxiClean Is A Miracle Stain Remover

October 11, 2011/6 Comments/in BUY THIS. MAKE THAT., Cleaning & Maintenance, Fashion & Beauty, HOW-TO KNOW-HOW, View All How-To Stories /by Editor

We’re kind of obsessed with clothing stains around here, and guess what? We’ve finally found the perfect—and easiest—way to remove them.

PROBLEM SOLVED | At Frugalbits we’re suckers for expert advice so last spring, when we wanted to know how to remove perspiration stains from white tee shirts, we contacted Madame Paulette in New York City, an international expert in fabric care. The company president graciously shared Madame Paulette’s DIY stain removal formula with our readers (CLICK HERE for the story), and although it is good and useful, we’ve recently been introduced to an even simpler solution that’s equally effective and no work at all. Read more

780 Pairs Of Strechy Gloves For $20

October 7, 2011/0 Comments/in Exercise, Fashion & Beauty, FITNESS, Fitness & Health, HEALTH, HOME, HOW-TO KNOW-HOW, Organizing, Styling Tips, View All Fashion Stories, View All Fitness Stories, View All Health Stories, View All Home Stories, View All How-To Stories /by Editor

Yes, Virginia, it’s true: you can have 780 pairs of gloves for under $20. We report on the miracle here.

CREATIVE SOLUTION | The trouble with gloves is that they get lost, loaned, separated from their mates, mangled by pets—or can’t be found where you put them last. Read more

Keep Track Of Social Shopping Coupons

September 28, 2011/1 Comment/in Goods & Services, HOME, Organizing, View All Home Stories /by Editor

Here’s an effective way to keep track of all your social shopping purchases so they’ll never go to waste.

WASTE NOT | Some digital deal behemoths like Groupon, Living Social—and now Social Shopper—alert purchasers when their social shopping deals are about to expire, but other sites do not. This puts the onus on the purchaser to make sure their deals don’t slip through the cracks. If you’re like me, you may have forgotten about a few things you bought on impulse (social shopping is impulse buying after all), or just plain allowed coupons to expire. When this happens, social shopping becomes a gargantuan waste of money. Read more

It’s Hip To Strip Metal Furniture: Here’s How

September 8, 2011/0 Comments/in D.I.Y., DECOR & DESIGN, DIY, HOME, HOW-TO KNOW-HOW, View All DIY Stories, View All Home Stories, View All How-To Stories /by Editor

Stripped bare and pummelled with walnut shells, vintage metal furniture takes on a cool, contemporary look.

THE CREATIVE SOLUTION | Metal home or office furnishings dating from the 1950s are hot accent pieces for contemporary interiors, but painted items must be stripped entirely to the raw metal to bring them right up to date.

There are three ways to strip metal furniture. People with the space, time and muscle can use a biodegradable chemical paint remover such as Heirloom Furniture Stripper. Another method is to sand the paint off with an electric sander using a sanding pad specific to metal. Sanding leaves painty skid marks and a distinct pattern, giving the piece a timeworn look. Read more

Yes You Can! Recharge Your Alkaline Batteries

July 11, 2011/5 Comments/in Columns, Green Within Reason, HOME, Organizing, View All Home Stories /by Felicity Stone

Don’t even think about recycling: used AA and AAA disposable batteries can now be given new life.

If you’re like me, you probably have a bunch of dead AA and AAA batteries rattling around in a drawer—possibly scattered among several drawers. You can’t throw them in the trash or even in the blue box. And even though since July 1 all household batteries (alkaline and rechargeable) can be recycled at almost 1,500 collection locations across B.C., you still have to take them there. Read more

Skunk Got The Pooch? Here’s What To Do

June 16, 2011/1 Comment/in Cleaning & Maintenance, Goods & Services, HOME, HOW-TO KNOW-HOW, View All Home Stories, View All How-To Stories /by Editor

It’s that time of year, when spray-happy juvenile skunks wreak havoc on pooches everywhere. Here’s our popular recipe to get rid of the stink.

BE PREPARED | Sometimes it’s impossible to determine the genesis of an urban myth, but there is good reason to believe that David Cassidy and the rest of the Partridge Family clan either started or fanned the flame of fallacy by suggesting tomato juice removes skunk scent from dogs. The truth is it doesn’t, though it might temporarily mask the odour. In a now famous 1970 television episode, the family dog, Simone, and all the kids wound up bathing in gallons of the red stuff after a run-in with a certain Pepe Le Pew. Eeeew.

With skunk season now in full force and the air filled with the scent so familiar to Metro Vancouverites, Frugalbits decided to put together what we call a (pre)-Catastrophe Kit. The ingredients are small (and inexpensive) and the instructions are few, but preparing a deskunking kit in advance will save you time and stress should an altercation ensue. Read more

Old School Slides Used To Make A Pendant Lamp Shade

Make A Lampshade From 35mm Slides

April 17, 2011/3 Comments/in D.I.Y., DECOR & DESIGN, DIY, HOME, HOW-TO KNOW-HOW, View All DIY Stories, View All Home Stories, View All How-To Stories /by Editor

How to make a conversation-starting pendant lampshade using 35mm slides.

Have you got boxes of old 35mm slides that need to be scanned and transformed into digital files on your computer— then turfed because you’ll just never, ever look at them on a slide projector screen again? Well, here’s something novel you can do with a stack of them.

My inspiration for this retro-look pendant lampshade came from the infamous credit card dress that a fashion designer wore to the Academy Awards ceremony a number of years ago. The construction method for both items is similar. Read more

No Sweat (Marks)! How To Remove Them

April 5, 2011/5 Comments/in Cleaning & Maintenance, FASHION, Fashion & Beauty, Goods & Services, Styling Tips, View All Fashion Stories, View All Home Stories /by Editor

It’s the bane of white tee shirt lovers everywhere—fabric discolouration due to perspiration. Frugalbits asked an international expert how to remove this pesky stain—and he told us what to do.

DO IT YOURSELF | Many general stain removal charts do not even include underarm perspiration as a category. Google “how to remove perspiration/ deodorant stains from clothing” and you’ll find a confusing number of disparate solutions. If there’s a rule of thumb for dealing with this universal problem, who could rightfully claim to know what it is: Martha Stewart; Linda Cobb, the self-proclaimed Queen of Clean; Heloise? Learned as these ladies are, they are home-keeping generalists, not laundry stain specialists. For the definitive answer, Frugalbits asked a leading light in the stain removal industry. Read more

Dryel Home Dry Cleaning - Casey Phaisalakani

Why Not Give Home Dry Cleaning A Shot

March 13, 2011/0 Comments/in Cleaning & Maintenance, Goods & Services, HOME, View All Home Stories /by Editor

If you’ve never tried it before, why not give home dry cleaning a shot.

DO IT YOURSELF | So this is what it feels like to be taken to the cleaners. For the tidy sum of $17.25, I had a beloved blouse ruined by the professionals. It came home from the dry cleaners with an unusually strong chemical smell that no amount of airing out seemed to diminish—it was enough to finally make me try a home dry cleaning product. Read more

Make Your Own Kraft Paper Gift Wrap

December 7, 2010/0 Comments/in D.I.Y., DECOR & DESIGN, DIY, Goods & Services, HOME, HOW-TO KNOW-HOW, View All DIY Stories, View All Home Stories, View All How-To Stories /by Editor

Simple white kraft paper offers infinite wrapping possibilities. Here are three to get you started.

White kraft paper, the kind that comes in big rolls from art supply stores, is the perfect blank canvas to use for wrapping gifts. I like it plain, dressed up with beautiful ribbon topped off with greenery such as sprigs of holly or bits of twig. I also like it decorated in the ways I’ve shown here. Read more