services Archives - Frugalbits

GOING CLEAR

June 18, 2014/3 Comments/in BUY THIS. MAKE THAT., Chic & Easy Projects, 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

This DIY acrylic barrier will stop canine escape artists without stopping the eye.

DO IT YOURSELF | We love our Scottie-pug dog child, Dudley (pictured here), but he does have one annoying, potentially life-threatening habit. When we accidentally leave an outside door open, he bolts. While this is never a good thing, it is particularly troublesome at my husband’s garden design office where Dudley earns his kibble working as a greeter.

To foil this behaviour, senior landscape designer Kim Stuart came up with an inexpensive all-but-invisible system that eliminates the need to install those supremely unattractive but highly effective baby (a.k.a. dog) gates. Read more

Use A Work-Back Sheet To Get Stuff Done

November 28, 2013/6 Comments/in Culture & Leisure, Holiday, HOLIDAY, HOW-TO KNOW-HOW, View All How-To Stories /by Editor

Take the stress out of planning any event with this tool used by event planning pros. (WORKSHEET)

FREE WORKSHEET | The holiday season will never be as carefree for adults as it is for kids—we have too much work to do behind the scenes—but this year why not make things easier on yourself by using a simplified version of a “work-back schedule,” a tool employed by event-planning pros, to get everything done in a less hurried, more orderly and enjoyable manner. Read more

Give Birds A Chance: Use Window Clings

May 9, 2013/0 Comments/in Goods & Services, HOME, HOW-TO KNOW-HOW, View All Home Stories, View All How-To Stories /by Editor

Each year thousands of birds are killed when they crash into windows and glass doors. Here’s how to put an end to the slaughter.

HOW TO SAVE A LIFE | I’d been meaning to do it for a few years, but it wasn’t until I experienced three horrible deaths in a single week, each one the result of a small bird crashing into the picture window in my home office and then dropping into the reflective pool directly below it and drowning, that I decided to make a preemptive move. Read more

Here’s How To Get Rid Of Evil Clothes Moths

February 20, 2013/1,021 Comments/in Cleaning & Maintenance, Goods & Services, HOME, View All Home Stories /by Editor

How one Frugalbits warrior waged a holey war against an empire of evil casemaking clothes moths.

THE FIX | There are many beautiful species of moth in the world (like the Io moth pictured here), but the villainous casemaking clothes moth is not one of them (CLICK HERE if you want to have a look).

As someone who has battled clothes moths, and hopefully won my holey war, let me predict this: if you leave your windows open a lot in the summer and have lovely 100 percent natural fibre garments (regular wool or cashmere; silk; fine cotton—whatever) evil brown casemaking clothes moths will find them, they will lay eggs, and their damn little label-savvy larvae will feast on your Hugo Boss, Mackage and Missoni.

Here’s how I retaliated when moths went to war with me. Read more

Generic Over-The-Counter Drugs Are The Better Buy

February 16, 2013/44 Comments/in BUY THIS. MAKE THAT., Fitness & Health, HEALTH, Nutrition, SAVE MONEY, Well Being /by Editor

If you’re buying brand name over-the-counter meds instead of generic ones, nine times out of 10 you’re wasting money.

BEST BUY | When it comes to fashion and décor, I can be as big a brand snob as anyone, but it makes absolutely no sense to be a label slave where over-the-counter medications are concerned. Why chain yourself to a brand name “OTC” med when the no name equivalent is available at a seriously lower price? Read more

The Awesome Baggu

February 8, 2013/3 Comments/in BUY THIS. MAKE THAT., FASHION, FOOD, Goods & Services, HOME, Organizing, Shops & Shopping, View All Fashion Stories, View All Food Stories, View All Home Stories /by Editor

Why I’m replacing my cache of nonwoven polypropylene shopping bags with ripstop models from Baggu.

BUY RIGHT | It was cleanup month around here so I tackled the buildup of shopping bags that had threatened to devour my closet. I don’t know how it happened, but over the past two years I’d managed to accumulate around 50 reusable polyester and nonwoven polypropylene “billboard shoppers” (so called because they often display a company logo) in every size imaginable. These shoppers are awkward and bulky even when folded and gang-bagged, and they easily turn into an unwieldy space-stealing mess when stashed in the back of a car or cupboard.

To add insult to injury, nonwoven polypropylene bags are no better for the environment than those disposable plastic bags they’ve come to replace. Read more

Five Tips For Returning Store Purchases

February 4, 2013/0 Comments/in FASHION, Goods & Services, HOW-TO KNOW-HOW, SAVE MONEY, Shops & Shopping, View All Fashion Stories, View All How-To Stories /by Editor

What you need to know about taking purchases that don’t work out back to the store where you got them.

SHOPPING SMART | It takes me a long time to make up my mind about buying something so I have always tended to take things home, think about them and then return them once I’m sure they’re not right for me. I do this even more since I started shopping at stores such as T.J. Maxx and Winners where there may be only one of something so it’s best to grab it while you can.

Here’s what I’ve learned about returning merchandise back to the store where you bought it. Read more

Is Consumer Choice Award A Gimmick?

January 25, 2013/7 Comments/in Goods & Services, HOME, View All Home Stories /by Editor

A sloppy house-cleaning job by The Maids prompted a look at the Consumer Choice Award, a marketing-driven awards program.

CONSUMER BE AWARE | With company coming over the holidays, I did what I do every year and gave myself an early Christmas present by hiring a cleaning service to power scrub my house. In the past, I’ve used Molly Maid, but this year I waited too late to book them and wound up looking for an alternative on the Internet, which is how I discovered The Maids. Read more

Go With What You Know—And Other Rules For Shopping Cyber Monday Week

December 2, 2012/1 Comment/in FASHION, Goods & Services, HOME, Shops & Shopping, View All Fashion Stories, View All Home Stories /by Editor

Shopping online for extreme deals during Cyber Monday Week is not without pitfalls. Here’s what you need to know before going in deep for cheap goods.

BUYER BEWARE | What seems sweet on the surface, can be bitter underneath. The internet is at all times crawling with scammers, but they’re out in full force during Cyber Monday Week (like Black Friday, Cyber Monday is no longer a 24-hour blowout) when online shoppers are apt to let their guard down. Here’s what we know about cyber shopping this week. Read more

Rentable Plastic Boxes Are The Way To Move

May 24, 2012/12 Comments/in CANADIAN CONTENT, Goods & Services /by Editor

Forget the waste and mess associated with cardboard boxes—the most expedient and ecofriendly way to move is with FrogBox.

SAVE TIME & AVOID STRESS | Anyone who has ever packed up their belongings to switch dwellings doesn’t need to take the Holmes and Rahe Life Changes Scale Stress Test to know moving is stressful. Anything that makes moving house easier has our stamp of approval, which is why we love FrogBox, the company that delivers reusable plastic moving boxes and supplies to your old home (or office) and then picks them up at your new one. Read more

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