You may recall that I made a resolution at the beginning of the year to stop being so wasteful. At the very least, I am much more aware of all the ways it's so easy to be wasteful. Take the pot of coffee I make in the morning. I used to make a full pot for the two of us without even thinking twice. Then I ceremoniously would throw out half of it every evening. Imagine my chagrin when I figured out I actually could make half a pot of coffee. Don't ask why I didn't think of that sooner. But soon, I may be rethinking that plan, given today's first great reader tip.

ICED COFFEE. I save a lot of money making my own iced coffee. I brew a pot of coffee and then pour the leftover coffee into an ice-cube tray and freeze it. I can add these cubes to iced coffee, and they don't water down the drink. -- Doreen, e-mail

KITCHEN STORAGE. If you have a small kitchen or pantry, it can be hard to find storage, especially for odd items. I hung a shoe organizer over the inside of my pantry door. I placed my boxes of storage bags, foil and plastic wrap -- as well as all my spices and odd things I need to grab quickly, such as baby bibs or straws -- in each of the compartments. -- Tricia P., Arizona

BANANA TIP. Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster. -- Michele R., e-mail

QUICK SCRUB. While I'm waiting around for the shower water to warm up, I grab a brush and use that water to scrub the tub. Doing this daily keeps the shower clean without wasting extra time or water! -- Tina C., Texas

SCREEN CLEANER. I learned from a technical-support person that coffee filters are perfect to use as nonstatic dusting cloths for computer screens. The filters also work well to clean magnetic contacts on printer cartridges, which cannot be wiped with anything that may leave fiber residue. -- Name Withheld, e-mail

CLEAN A VASE. To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets. Swish and then rinse. The glass should be clear again. -- Sharon, e-mail

BOTTLE OPENER. At the office, I could not open a bottle of vanilla extract. Because I have no rubber gloves there, I wrapped a rubber band around the top and twisted. With little effort, I had that top off in seconds. I went ahead and left the rubber band on the top so I wouldn't forget my own tip! -- Sandy, email

WARRANTY ORGANIZER. When I need to save receipts and warranties for products purchased, I use my scanner to save the image on my computer. I have a folder for warranties and another for receipts. The name of the image is the item purchased. If I need to read a warranty, I have it on the computer. -- Regina W., e-mail

Would you like to send a tip to Mary? You can e-mail her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. Mary Hunt is the founder of DebtProofLiving.com and author of 17 books, including "Debt-Proof Living" and "Tiptionary 2." To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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