DIY Life

It seems that when I look at our budget, the greater portion of our expenses seem to be spent on food. Yes, we are self-proclaimed Foodies, so we tend to splurge on good things to eat. The good news is that there are ways to save money in the kitchen; your love of food doesn't have to break the bank.

1. Make a weekly menu and shop accordingly: Creative meal planning wastes less. You'll be less apt to buy things that aren't on your grocery list, and you'll have everything you need for the week's meals, thereby saving gas on fewer trips to the grocery store.

2. Use extra foods to make soups or stews: It's OK to buy that jumbo bag of broccoli florets. After you use what you need in Tuesday's stir-fry, throw the rest into a pot with onions, broth, some dried beans, and some seasonings. The result will be a healthy soup that you can freeze for lunches later. Some of my favorite meals have been the clean-out-the-refrigerator-stews!

Did you know that vodka has no scent? It does, however, have the ability to kill bacteria. That's what makes it the perfect antidote for musty smelling clothing that's been in storage. Spray the vodka on, hang to dry, and your clothes are as good as new!

That's just one new trick I learned in this article from Real Simple about surprising household deodorizers. Others include:

• throwing lemon or orange peels into a stinky garbage disposal
• eliminating freezer odor by wiping it down with a little vanilla extract
• soaking plastic containers in baking soda, glass containers in a mixture of powdered mustard
• using baking soda on rugs or furniture that need freshening up
• eliminating that damp smell from your basement by leaving a cut onion down there overnight.

Vinegar is also an important part of any homemade cleaning kit, as any loyal DIY Life reader probably knows. What kinds of tricks do you have for ridding your home of pesky odors?