But the best plan is to keep the drain from getting clogged to begin with. You can buy little rubber caps with perforations to fit over your drain. If you clean out the hair caught in it each time you bathe, you'll have many fewer clogs to clean out.
I love potatoes...of just about any kind. It's got to be the Irish in me, but I think my favorite way to eat them is on top of Shepherd's Pie...they are just the best! Great ideas here too!!
I bought a small plunger designed for sinks (the typical one would have been too big to create a seal and it's kind of gross to use one that you'd used in the toilet anyways), and that worked like a charm to unclog a drain that had been giving me fits since we moved in. I had tried many of the suggestions you listed as well as Drano and the standard fare. All provided temporary relief but it was the plunger which really did the trick. Warning #1: The plunger 'brought up' some particularly vile contents into the sink so be prepared to clean up. Warning #2: Using the plunger loosened up contents which not only backed up into the sink but also into the area that provides the overflow drain. You'll want to flush this with boiling water immediately to rinse the loosened up matter down. Still, it worked like a charm and draining a half-full basin went from a two minute process to roughly four seconds.
I promote the idea of charity platforms. Pick a cause or issue, and do what you can to advocate, promote, volunteer and donate to projects that fit within that theme.
Since my core audience are families who are on tight budgets, this gives a "here's what you can do" spin. But I actually adapted the idea from the pageant system and what I've seen in the business sponsorship / charity efforts.
When I talked about the Japan relief efforts, referring to the charity platform concept, here's what I wrote:
"You might wish to support the disaster relief efforts. But you might also wish later to support a project that your business contacts are involved in, a school rebuild, an environmental campaign, disaster preparedness here in the U.S., medical research, geological / earthquake research, one of the Michigan sister city programs, or a project that celebrates Japanese culture and arts."
My church does tons of charity events, and through them, I donate both time and money. I've found time to be the most valuable because charity events take a good deal of planning and effort, and it's much harder to take 5 hours out of your life to help than just dropping a few twenties in the collection box.
A thought regarding how to get capital into the hands of the 90%: raise the minimum wage, a lot---or rather, institute high punitive tax rates on the profits of corporations that don't pay a living wage to ALL of their employees. Calculate that wage based on 35 hours of work per week, not 40. Then fuss with overtime laws so that it's cheaper to hire extra employees than it is to make (allow?) the current ones to work overtime. This means more people doing work and getting paid, and less work done per person without endangering their ability to earn enough, and greater flow of revenue back into the lower-90% population.
We've gotten to the point where work is considered an end in itself (because it's so attached to income, for most of us); but the POINT of work is so that things are created, services are provided, et cetera, to sustain the needs and wants of the population. The fact that there aren't as many jobs available means that this can be accomplished with less work than we're demanding of people. It is literally being demanded of us, by economic coercion, to do more work than there is for us to do. Sharing the available work more equitably would result in the same amount of stuff getting done, but spread among more people, so each worker would have less work to do to sustain production of what's needed.
Corporations are pocketing the profits of this. What if we, the rest of us humans, could live on those profits instead, could exchange them for more free time to spend with our loved ones and our hobbies and living our own lives that don't revolve around work, in security and freedom from deprivation? If we have so much unemployment that our needs can be met by only 90% of workers working 40 hours a week (yes, that's an oversimplification, but not unreasonable), then the same amount of work could be done by 100% of workers working 36 hours a week.
"From the end of World War II until the early 1980s, the top 10% got about 34% of total income. In recent years the share taken by the top 10% has grown sharply; they now get almost 50%. If the income fraction received by the top 10% was returned to its historic value, the current incomes of the other 90% of households could be increased by 30%."
This statement assumes a fixed amount of income. There is no guarantee that if you "return" the top 10% to its historic value (however that is achieved) that you won't just shrink the total amount of income. I would rather have 50% of $300 than 66% of $200.
We really try to "buy local" first. Unfortunately, sometimes you can't get the item you need, which makes ordering a necessity. When we aren't in a hurry to buy the item, we comparison shop - local store versus the internet. A lot of the time, it's just so much cheaper to order, even when you factor in the cost of shipping. You have to watch the shipping, though. We run into a frequent problem - some shippers refuse to use USPS; they only want to ship via UPS or Fed Ex. Those are both great companies but often make the shipping too expensive. Another problem here is that when a store is out of something, they mean it. Who knows when, or if, they'll get it again. We've learned that if it's the "last one" of something we want, or even "might want," we buy it. Shopping difficulties aside, though, we wouldn't trade it! Thanks again for commenting!
Other than tenners to solicitors and a few afternoons' work, I have never been very charitable. I suppose I was raised that way. Today, however, I am finally in a position to make a more meaningful contribution, so I donated to the American Red Cross.
It's amazing the things that you have to claim as income. For instance, the $25 bonus I received at lending club for joining has to be reported as well. Also, the $100 bonus I received from my online brokerage for my initial deposit has to reported too. I have to admit in the past I never wouldve thought of this as income that is taxed.
We give money throughout the year, but we also round up things for Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity's ReStore. We also drop things in the food bank bin at the grocery from time to time. Each year around Christmas, we choose a charity and donate something tangible to be given to people who need it most, last year we gave $100 in diapers.
I think it's bad science to say one side is definitively wrong or definitely correct. One paper from one person does not answer anything definitively. This article is incredibly biased. I don't come to WiseBread to read lectures on which economic theory is "right" or "wrong," (which can never be proven, btw, just like no scientific theory can be definitely proven either) just tips and tricks on how to get by with what we have.
i havn't donated to help japan victims but i will probably through red cross. i also donate a lot of gently used goods to goodwill or veterans of america.
Uh, as an Irish person I feel the need to correct...
"Patty's Day" would indicate a St Patricia.
It should be either "PADDY's Day" or if you insist "Patsy's Day".
Definitely not patty... Do American people call it that?!
And @Ray St Patrick is seen as an Irish saint not Scottish (although he was Welsh - long story...)
I've never used Craigslist. I don't have big items to get rid of. The small items I have - I take to work to see if anyone wants them.. the rest I give to Goodwill.
Locally, I'm able to use coupons to get items practically free and I give those items to my church, shelters, and family in need. I give to the Red Cross when there is a natural disaster as it is in Japan at this time.
@Julie -- thanks for the tips :) I've tried to dissuade people from getting me gifts, but it's hard to let go of those social expectations. When I buy, I'm upfront about asking people what they want so I know they'll get something they'll use. (Especially important for weddings and babies!)
One of the best gifts I received recently was a gift card that I could use to buy e-books. It let me indulge my love of reading while not generating any clutter since the books are all on my e-reader.
Potato Pancakes! :-) So yummy!
I donate to charity by giving gentle used clothing.
All good tips. I've tried several of them.
But the best plan is to keep the drain from getting clogged to begin with. You can buy little rubber caps with perforations to fit over your drain. If you clean out the hair caught in it each time you bathe, you'll have many fewer clogs to clean out.
I love potatoes...of just about any kind. It's got to be the Irish in me, but I think my favorite way to eat them is on top of Shepherd's Pie...they are just the best! Great ideas here too!!
I bought a small plunger designed for sinks (the typical one would have been too big to create a seal and it's kind of gross to use one that you'd used in the toilet anyways), and that worked like a charm to unclog a drain that had been giving me fits since we moved in. I had tried many of the suggestions you listed as well as Drano and the standard fare. All provided temporary relief but it was the plunger which really did the trick. Warning #1: The plunger 'brought up' some particularly vile contents into the sink so be prepared to clean up. Warning #2: Using the plunger loosened up contents which not only backed up into the sink but also into the area that provides the overflow drain. You'll want to flush this with boiling water immediately to rinse the loosened up matter down. Still, it worked like a charm and draining a half-full basin went from a two minute process to roughly four seconds.
I promote the idea of charity platforms. Pick a cause or issue, and do what you can to advocate, promote, volunteer and donate to projects that fit within that theme.
Since my core audience are families who are on tight budgets, this gives a "here's what you can do" spin. But I actually adapted the idea from the pageant system and what I've seen in the business sponsorship / charity efforts.
This is an older post where I talked about it in response to some other issues, but it explains the concept: http://www.blogsmonroe.com/budget/2010/09/charity-platforms-pick-yours-a...
When I talked about the Japan relief efforts, referring to the charity platform concept, here's what I wrote:
"You might wish to support the disaster relief efforts. But you might also wish later to support a project that your business contacts are involved in, a school rebuild, an environmental campaign, disaster preparedness here in the U.S., medical research, geological / earthquake research, one of the Michigan sister city programs, or a project that celebrates Japanese culture and arts."
My church does tons of charity events, and through them, I donate both time and money. I've found time to be the most valuable because charity events take a good deal of planning and effort, and it's much harder to take 5 hours out of your life to help than just dropping a few twenties in the collection box.
A thought regarding how to get capital into the hands of the 90%: raise the minimum wage, a lot---or rather, institute high punitive tax rates on the profits of corporations that don't pay a living wage to ALL of their employees. Calculate that wage based on 35 hours of work per week, not 40. Then fuss with overtime laws so that it's cheaper to hire extra employees than it is to make (allow?) the current ones to work overtime. This means more people doing work and getting paid, and less work done per person without endangering their ability to earn enough, and greater flow of revenue back into the lower-90% population.
We've gotten to the point where work is considered an end in itself (because it's so attached to income, for most of us); but the POINT of work is so that things are created, services are provided, et cetera, to sustain the needs and wants of the population. The fact that there aren't as many jobs available means that this can be accomplished with less work than we're demanding of people. It is literally being demanded of us, by economic coercion, to do more work than there is for us to do. Sharing the available work more equitably would result in the same amount of stuff getting done, but spread among more people, so each worker would have less work to do to sustain production of what's needed.
Corporations are pocketing the profits of this. What if we, the rest of us humans, could live on those profits instead, could exchange them for more free time to spend with our loved ones and our hobbies and living our own lives that don't revolve around work, in security and freedom from deprivation? If we have so much unemployment that our needs can be met by only 90% of workers working 40 hours a week (yes, that's an oversimplification, but not unreasonable), then the same amount of work could be done by 100% of workers working 36 hours a week.
"From the end of World War II until the early 1980s, the top 10% got about 34% of total income. In recent years the share taken by the top 10% has grown sharply; they now get almost 50%. If the income fraction received by the top 10% was returned to its historic value, the current incomes of the other 90% of households could be increased by 30%."
This statement assumes a fixed amount of income. There is no guarantee that if you "return" the top 10% to its historic value (however that is achieved) that you won't just shrink the total amount of income. I would rather have 50% of $300 than 66% of $200.
Hi, JN, and thank you for your nice comment.
We really try to "buy local" first. Unfortunately, sometimes you can't get the item you need, which makes ordering a necessity. When we aren't in a hurry to buy the item, we comparison shop - local store versus the internet. A lot of the time, it's just so much cheaper to order, even when you factor in the cost of shipping. You have to watch the shipping, though. We run into a frequent problem - some shippers refuse to use USPS; they only want to ship via UPS or Fed Ex. Those are both great companies but often make the shipping too expensive. Another problem here is that when a store is out of something, they mean it. Who knows when, or if, they'll get it again. We've learned that if it's the "last one" of something we want, or even "might want," we buy it. Shopping difficulties aside, though, we wouldn't trade it! Thanks again for commenting!
Other than tenners to solicitors and a few afternoons' work, I have never been very charitable. I suppose I was raised that way. Today, however, I am finally in a position to make a more meaningful contribution, so I donated to the American Red Cross.
Feels good, maybe I'll do it again sometime.
Etsy inspired me to work on my handmade glass beads and help others along the way as well...we'll see what happens!
It's amazing the things that you have to claim as income. For instance, the $25 bonus I received at lending club for joining has to be reported as well. Also, the $100 bonus I received from my online brokerage for my initial deposit has to reported too. I have to admit in the past I never wouldve thought of this as income that is taxed.
www.moneyistheroot.com
We give money throughout the year, but we also round up things for Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity's ReStore. We also drop things in the food bank bin at the grocery from time to time. Each year around Christmas, we choose a charity and donate something tangible to be given to people who need it most, last year we gave $100 in diapers.
I mostly donate through the Internet, though I don't do it often enough. I have also given away books to the library or clothes to Goodwill.
I think it's bad science to say one side is definitively wrong or definitely correct. One paper from one person does not answer anything definitively. This article is incredibly biased. I don't come to WiseBread to read lectures on which economic theory is "right" or "wrong," (which can never be proven, btw, just like no scientific theory can be definitely proven either) just tips and tricks on how to get by with what we have.
i havn't donated to help japan victims but i will probably through red cross. i also donate a lot of gently used goods to goodwill or veterans of america.
We enter 5K races, give time when we can and give whenever we see someone collecting.
Uh, as an Irish person I feel the need to correct...
"Patty's Day" would indicate a St Patricia.
It should be either "PADDY's Day" or if you insist "Patsy's Day".
Definitely not patty... Do American people call it that?!
And @Ray St Patrick is seen as an Irish saint not Scottish (although he was Welsh - long story...)
I've never used Craigslist. I don't have big items to get rid of. The small items I have - I take to work to see if anyone wants them.. the rest I give to Goodwill.
Although I am not Scottish it is one of my Favorite "holidays" :)
Thanks for the link love!
Locally, I'm able to use coupons to get items practically free and I give those items to my church, shelters, and family in need. I give to the Red Cross when there is a natural disaster as it is in Japan at this time.
@Julie -- thanks for the tips :) I've tried to dissuade people from getting me gifts, but it's hard to let go of those social expectations. When I buy, I'm upfront about asking people what they want so I know they'll get something they'll use. (Especially important for weddings and babies!)
One of the best gifts I received recently was a gift card that I could use to buy e-books. It let me indulge my love of reading while not generating any clutter since the books are all on my e-reader.
My sister recently replaced her refrigerator and her local utility company came to pick it up and paid her $50 for the items.
I agree. Eating well is an investment. I think it's important to meal plan as well so you don't just run and buy fast food.
http://www.moneysavingenthusiast.com/food.html