Category Archives: Do It Yourself

Saw It On Pinterest and Tried It- Turn An Old Spice Rack Into A Nail Polish Holder

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on May 16, 2013 None comments

So I went to my sister Candy’s house the other day and I saw her nail polish rack and I was reminded of why I love it! It used to be my old spice rack! I have been able to find some really cute old spice racks at thrift shops for a couple of dollars each. As you can see from the before picture below it actually said SPICES across the top before she painted it. Unfortunately old spice racks aren’t large enough to hold many modern spice bottles but they are perfect for nail polish!

You might be interested in “Saw It On Pinterest and Tried It- Label Your Power Strip for Free”

To see even more fun and frugal ideas click the logo below and…

How We Turned A Bird Cage Into A Small Pet Cage

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on May 10, 2013 None comments

A few months ago we decided to buy a friend for our pet rat Benny. We wanted to buy a dumbo rat since Benny is a regular albino feeder rat, however, the pet store had two Dumbo rats and I just couldn’t split them up. So we now have three pet rats- Benny, Olive, and Ash.

You can see Olive and Ash in the above picture, with Benny’s cute little pink feet in the corner. What we didn’t anticipate was that Benny and our new ratty babies didn’t get along when they first met. We found ourselves needing another cage from them as they were rapidly outgrowing the small pet playhouse they were living in. Coincidentally, my friend had an old bird cage that she was willing to sell me for $20.

We ended up converting the bottom metal wired floor into a second floor and cutting part of it to form a ladder to the first floor so they could climb up. We fill the pull out tray at the bottom of the cage with bedding and it is really easy to clean up. Another advantage of the bird cage was that it had a door on the side that we propped open so that the ratty babies could travel from their new cage to their old playhouse and back. Now they have a whole Rat Condo and for $25 cheaper than the smallest rodent cage at the pet store.Fortunately, all of our rat babies now get along and they take turns all living together in the different cages.

Saw It On Pinterest and Tried It- Label Your Power Strip for Free

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on April 19, 2013 2 comments

So I saw this idea on Pinterest and was reminded that I wanted to try it. I believe I may have read it in The Tightwad Gazette before Pinterest ever existed. In any case, the idea is to take old bread ties and use them to label your power strips. At the time I tried this I had very little plugged in but it still worked really well. Even when I unplugged and replugged certain items the tags stayed on. This motivates me to try even more of the fun ideas I see on Pinterest.

To see even more fun and frugal ideas click the logo below and…

DIY Pet Water Bottle Holder

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on April 4, 2013 1 comments

We recently bought two Dumbo rat babies so that our Albino Feeder rat turned pet, Benny, would have some friends. However, they don’t entirely get along so they are currently in separate cages and I had to buy them another water bottle. Rather than paying another $6 for a water bottle holder, we made our own from a wire hanger. Not bad for 5 minutes worth of work. 🙂 Click the Instagram button below to see a lot of cute pics of our ratty babies.

Make Your Own Small Pet Hammock

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on March 24, 2013 1 comments

I saw a really cute, little, pet hammock at the Pet store and I thought that Benny (our pet rat) might like one. I didn’t want to buy one without trying to make one first. We have a lot of clothes that we don’t want, sitting in our garage, left over from our last yard sale so I picked out a sweater I thought might work. I cut it below the arms to remove the top and make a double layered square. Then I cut it in half at the seams to make it a single layer. If you use a thinner material you might want to leave two layers but this material was thick enough. Then I took four large paper clips and clipped it onto the top of the cage. And Voilà a free pet Hammock!

Benny wasn’t too sure about it at first. She liked the soft material but we did end up putting her house underneath it for more support. Now she likes to sit up there and chill.

You might also be interested in my article “Free DIY Houses for Small Pets”

Combine Your Old Compacts to Make a New One

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on March 21, 2013 1 comments

It’s that time again. I finally saved enough broken compacts to make a ‘new’ one. I used to throw away my compacts when they broke or ran really low but not anymore. Click HERE to See How to Fix a Broken Pressed Powder Compact.

Today, I simply broke up the remaining pieces and combined them into one empty compact.

Then I added rubbing alcohol and mixed it together until it turned into a clay like substance. You don’t want to use too much or it will dry extra hard (You can still use it, it will just be harder). And now I just have to wait for it to dry. Rubbing alcohol is also a sanitizer so I know that the recombined makeup is clean. I know it looks a little sloppy when wet but when it dries it will look much more like one bought from the store. When it’s done it will be just like new!

I actually had more broken compact powder than I needed so I saved the rest for next time.

Click HERE to See How to Fix a Broken Pressed Powder Compact.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on February 28, 2013 None comments

Today, I made a double batch today of homemade taco seasoning! A neighbor was kind enough to give me huge containers of Chili Powder and Garlic Powder and the main ingredient is Chili Powder so this has made making my homemade seasoning even cheaper. I also love not having to run to the store because I forgot a taco seasoning packet. If we run out, I simply whip up another batch. Click HERE to see my original post on this and to see the recipe.

Cute, Fun, Duck Tape, Valentine’s Day Flowers

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on February 11, 2013 None comments

A friend of mine showed me these really cool flowers that she made for her boyfriend for Valentine’s Day and I wanted to share. She only spent $6 on two rolls of duck tape which makes this a fun, frugal Valentine’s day gift.

Take a straw and use one piece of Duck Tape to Wrap it up.

Cut a square of duck tape.

Fold down one corner.

Then fold the other corner.

Attach the Petal to the straw.

Wrap it around the straw.

Add more petals.

Keep adding them.

They will eventually start to look like flowers. You can make them as large as you want.

Eventually you will have a bouquet that you never have to throw away! Happy Valentine’s Day!

Free DIY Houses for Small Pets

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on January 30, 2013 None comments

Recently we ended up with a small rat as a pet. In the above picture you can see Benny enjoying a Milkbone. (Our local pet store told us you can feed rats dog food). We weren’t sure we were going to keep him so we didn’t want to spend a lot of money on his house or toys. You can also see a toilet paper tube in the background, another favorite and free toy for small, rodent pets. We originally made Benny’s house out of an empty Country Crock container.

As Benny got bigger, we got attached to our litttle guy and we realized he wasn’t going anywhere. Now he is too big for his butter tub house so we made him a house out of the bottom of a milk jug. The indented circle on the side was also a great size for a door.

As I was writing, I realized that we had also made a butter tub house for our hermit crabs. Yes, the one in the picture above is on his back and no I didn’t have to help him get up. The point of all of this is that small pets are often very happy with toys and houses made out of household items that we often throw away. I know that these things can often be very expensive at Pet Stores and honestly our little friends don’t know the difference.

Making Home Brewed Sweet Tea

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on August 5, 2012 1 comments

If you have never made your own sweet tea then you obviously don’t live in the south. Just joking, but I made some sweet tea with our coffee maker recently and I wondered how many people actually do this. I used tea bags I already had in the house, put them in the top of the coffee maker, added water and ran the coffee maker like I would to make coffee. Let it cool, add sugar and you have fresh brewed Sweet Tea. I have worked at restaurants for years that sell sweet tea and they make it in a very similar way. This is something I make when we are out of other sweet drinks in the house and I am trying to stretch our grocery budget since I have everything to make it on hand. Note- I recommend using decaf tea bags because the tea can get very, very strong if you don’t.