Ms. Cheap answers your FAQs to celebrate her 26th year of the column – Tennessean

Meet Ms. Cheap, Mary Hance. Nashville Tennessean

As I celebrate my 26th year of the Ms. Cheap column, I want to answer some of the questions that I am asked over and over and over again.

In the early days before email and internet the questions for Ms. Cheap mostly came in via land line or sometimes fax.

There were questions about saving money on long distance telephone charges,and readers wanted to know how to get in the Opryland USA theme park for the least amount of money.

Times have definitely changed. Butthe questions keep coming.

Here are some that I am asked on a regular basis.If you have other questions, email me, and I will try to answer them, too.

Meanwhile, help me celebrate 26 years of doing whatI think is the best job in Nashville!

The Turnip Green Creative Re-Use Center loves to get greeting cards for shoppers to use in collages or in making new cards: Christmas, birthday, all occasion, etc.You can mail them to the store(407 Houston St.Nashville, TN, 37203) or drop them by.

The center, which is like a thrift store for arts and crafts supplies, also welcomes anything an artist or crafter could use in a project, so you couldfind anything from wallpaper samples to wall art, from cans of spray paint to cans of fake snow, from fabric samples to un-gessoed canvas, corks, bottle caps, yarn and more.

The store has a "pay what you can" payment system for its art-oriented shoppers. It is open2-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 12-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For details, call 615-720-7480 or visitwww.turnipgreencreativereuse.org.

The UnitedCerebral PalsyEquipment Exchange (1200 Ninth Ave. N.) accepts donatedwalkers, shower chairs, crutches, wheelchairs, medical supplies and adult diapers.

This is a wonderful service if you need medical equipment or if you have things you no longer need.

The UCP offices were damaged during the tornado, but operations will resume as soon as possible. For updates, go toucpmidtn.org.

The United Cerebral Palsy Equipment Exchange accepts medical equipment donations.(Photo: Mary Hance / The Tennessean)

Jones Stone (2705 Larmon Drive) has a free pile of rocks that you can help yourself to on weekdays. The pile size varies depending on the company's projects. I suggest you take work gloves. You mightcall firstto check the status of the pile: 615-292-4717.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville operates ReStores in Nashville,Dickson and Lebanon that sell donated building materials and household goods.

The Nashville ReStore is at 414 Harding Place, at the corner of Nolensville Road. The Lebanon store is at 606 East Main St., and the Dickson store is at 223 Dickson Plaza Drive.

In these stores, you can find everything from full kitchens including appliances, assorted home and office furniture, books, home decor, light bulbs, filing cabinets and more. The pricing structure is that the price goes down every two weeks.

There are also Habitat ReStores in Williamson County at1725 Columbia Ave.;Murfreesboro at 850 Mercury Blvd.; and the Sumner County ReStore in Gallatin, 327 Sumner Hall Drive.

Proceeds from sales at the ReStores go to help purchase land and building materials to build Habitat homes. Find more details atwww.habitatnashville.org/restore.

Shopper Joe Pendleton checks out a door at Habitat ReStore.(Photo: Mary Hance / The Tennessean)

Becca's Closet,a national program that collects and distributes free prom dresses for high school girls who need them,has a Fairview chapter that welcomes donated prom dresses, shoes and accessories to give away. Emailgownsforgirls@comcast.net for details.

Camp Okawehna,a week-long summer camp for children 6-18 years old with kidney disease,has a prom night during camp and always loves to get donated prom wear for the campers. For donations ormore information, call 615-327-3061.

Archie & Idalene Formal Shoppe thrift store in Murfreesborosells donated new and gently used formal, semi-formaland business wear for $10to $50 year round. It also haswedding dresses for $50 to $99. Spring hours are 3:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, orby appointment at 615-427-1816. For more details, visitwww.archiespromise.org.

One Pretty Dress is a student-led organization at Pope John Paul II High School. The dress program, founded in 2016, collects gently used dresses and gives them to girls who need them. If you have dresses to donate, drop them off at Pope John Paul in Hendersonville, or email the student organizer, Carissa Surber, at carissa.surber@jp2hs.org. Contact carissa.surber@jp2hs.org or tarasmith@stjosephnashville.org.

And most thrift shops, including This 'N That, Dickson Help Center, GraceWorks, ThriftSmartand Our Thrift,have a selection of affordable prom gowns this time of year. Most thrift stores also welcome donated dresses and accessories.

A national, non-profit organization, Becca's Closet collects and distributes formal dresses to high school girls who cannot afford to purchase them - and the dresses are offered at no cost.

Go to http://www.picktnproducts.org, where you'll find a fruit-by-fruit, county-by-county listings by clicking on "Pick Your Own."It's great.

Just email me the details, but let me know in plenty of time at least two weeks before your desired publication day and make sure that whatever you're pitching is free or a really good deal.

And please include a daytime phone number, so I can call you if I have questions. My e-mail address is mscheap@tennessean.com, or you may call me at 615-259-8282.

It's the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Ala., about 2.5 hours southeast of Nashville. It's a huge place with lots of stuff, but readers who have been have mixed ratings some think it's great, others say they were disappointed.

Either way, it is a fun day trip. Shopping here is an experience, for sure, and thestore has a nice, very affordable cafe. Find more details atwww.unclaimedbaggage.com.

Ms. Cheap (aka Mary Hance) and her shopping pals Jo Schofield (left) and Lynn McDonald (right) enjoyed a shopping day at the Unclaimed Baggage Center.(Photo: Mary Hance / The Tennessean)

Your best bets are:

Tennessee State University Dental Hygiene Clinic, in Clement Hall on the TSU campus, 3500 John A. Merritt Blvd., offers basic servicefor adults and children by appointment. Fees are $25 for most services, including the screening. There are military discounts and senior discounts for those 65 and older.The school's dental hygiene students deliver oral health services under faculty supervision. Clinic hours are 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday and 9:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. To make an appointment,call615-963-5791.

Meharry Medical College Dental Clinic,1801 Meharry Blvd. (the corner of Meharry Blvd. and Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Blvd.), has a clinic that offers afull range of general and specialty dental services including fillings, dentures, crowns, bridges, implants, oral surgery and orthodontics, performed by the college's dental students and supervised by faculty. The services are not free but are affordable compared to private practice rates. Call 615-327-6669 for appointments.

Because most of the work is done by students, a seemingly simple procedurecan take more than one appointment. There might be additional fees for X-rays or other extras.

The Interfaith Dental Clinic, 600 Hill Ave., 615-329-4790, provides services on a sliding scale for working, uninsured families. Find more details atinterfaithdental.com.

I am working on a roundup of my favorite Middle Tennessee nonprofit thrift stores that is scheduled to appear in The Tennessean next month. Meanwhile, some of my favorites include This 'N That, GraceWorks, Our Thrift, ThriftSmart, Garden Patch,Goodwill stores and outlets and the Dickson Help Center shop.

The nonprofit storesdon't charge sales tax on clothes or shoes. Most have bargain boosters, such as frequent-shopper programs, senior discounts and regular half-price days. The best advice is to get to know the stores.

Dress for Success, which is part of the Nashville YWCA,"suits" more than 100 women each year and welcomes donations of accessories, shoes, and up-to-date clothing for women entering or reentering the workforce.The program works with more than 35 referral partners throughout Middle Tennessee. To schedule an appointment todrop off donations,call615-269-9922.

Reach Ms. Cheap at 615-259-8282 or mscheap@tennessean.com. Follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/mscheap, and at Tennessean.com/mscheap, and on Twitter @Ms_Cheap, and catch her every Thursday at 11 a.m. on WTVF-Channel 5s Talk of the Town.

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Ms. Cheap answers your FAQs to celebrate her 26th year of the column - Tennessean