I just love to open the mail and find money-saving and timesaving tips from readers. Some of them make me wonder, "Why didn't I think of that?" Others make me smile. Take today's first tip, for example. It's a great idea, but would I first need to redecorate our master bedroom in a fishing theme? Then it dawned on me that such an organizational item could be tucked into a closet or drawer. Read on. …

JEWELRY ORGANIZER. I bought a fishing tackle box containing multiple compartments with adjustable dividers. Tackle boxes make great storage for all my jewelry, including those large, chunky pieces that don't fit in traditional jewelry boxes. The adjustable dividers allow me to customize the size of each opening to fit each set. The fishing box, with its handle, makes it easy to store and organize all my jewelry boxes into one. -- Donna F., Texas

CAMPING WITH KIDS. With four children, packing for camping was always a chore. Invariably, we'd forget one or two things and have to head to a store or even back home if we hadn't traveled too far. Then I got the idea to type up a list of the clothes the children needed to pack. I handed one to each child to use, and I would go through the list once they had finished their packing. -- Vera, Ohio

PARTY ICE. When I need more ice cubes for a party, I take my deviled-egg holder, which is made of hard plastic, fill each compartment with water, and freeze it. The ice cubes pop out easily and are a pretty little half-egg shape. They look great in fancy drinks. -- Teresa, North Carolina

WINDOW WASHING. At a restaurant where I used to work, we used generic window cleaner and coffee filters to clean the glass windows. The filters work as well as newspaper does but without the ink transferring onto your hands. They also don't leave a lint residue on the glass. -- Ms. A., e-mail

STAYING HYDRATED. During the summer, when I run errands with my kids, I want to make sure we get enough to drink, especially when we are out in the heat. My favorite way to do this is to fill empty water bottles halfway and freeze them. Just before leaving the house, I take them out, fill the rest of the bottles with water, put the lids on and put them in the car. When we get out of the store, there is ice-cold water waiting for us. The kids love it, and we aren't tempted to buy drinks. -- Joy, e-mail

EYEGLASS REPAIR. The other day, one of the nose pads on my glasses broke off. Eyeglass repair kits don't come with spare nose pads, so I went to the local dollar store and bought a $1 pair of sunglasses that had nose pads similar to mine. I swapped the pads from the sunglasses to my glasses. It only took a dollar and a little time. -- Crystal M., e-mail

Send your tips to Mary by e-mailing her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com or writing to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. Every month, we award one tipster with a year's subscription to Mary's Debt-Proof Living newsletter, and the tip is printed in Mary's column as the Tip of the Month. 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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