Today we were spared two large repair expenses with two quick fixes.
The first was not having to replace several broken vertical blinds. The boys have not been so careful with our blinds and as a result several have broken at the top where they attach to the unit. Thankfully, the local window blinds/shades store (Victor Shade, http://www.victorshade.com/) has little metal gadgets that can fix this problem. They work like a paper reinforcer, covering the broken part and creating a new hole for the blind to hang. This $1.50 fix per blind is a small fraction of what it would cost to replace each one. We had three large blinds and four small ones that had broken! We saved at least $50 right there!
Our second save of the day was not having to have a maintenance call for our refrigerator. When I went to fill the water bottles for the day, I noticed that the ice was very soft and the water would not come out of the dispenser. My husband also said that the refrigerator had not cycled in a while. After finding out that we could not get a repairman to come out until Sunday, my husband called my dad. He recommended vacuuming out the refrigerator coils. I had read that this was a good tip for keeping your refrigerator running more efficiently. It solved the problem! Who knew that not doing this simple thing could cause so many problems. What would we have done with our fridge full of ingredients and Shabbos food if the refrigerator had stopped working totally?
Here are some resources so you can save the day at your house, too, from one of my favorite websites, http://www.realsimple.com.
∞ Guide to Troubleshooting your Appliances
∞ Fix It Yourself and Save
∞ How to Save on Home Repairs
∞ All About Appliances
http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/all-about-appliances-00000000035398/index.html
∞ How to Replace Practically Anything
** For information on how to keep track of all your household repairs, see my post “When did we repair that last?”
Surviving on a tight budget 
Thank you Sonny. Your quick thinking common sense idea has come to our aid yet again!