By Teal Pelish, Cheapism.com

Memorial Day weekend is the official start of beach season. And while May is a bit early to hit the sale racks in search of cheap beach gear, there are still bargains to be had. Here are some deals on basic beach necessities for everyone under the sun.

Flip Flops. It's time to ditch the shoes and don the sandals. Old Navy is offering its all-time favorite flip flops in a wide range of sizes and colors at the extraordinarily economical starting price of $3.94 a pair; grab two or more at $2.50 a pair. If you're in the market for a more stylish deviation of this cult classic, you'll find an abundance of reasonably priced varieties from which to choose.

Be stylish with cheap flip flops!

Related: Top low-priced sunscreen available

Beach Basics. Sun bathe on the sand or dry off after a swim with a fun and festive beach towel, an absolute must-have piece of cheap beach gear. Colorful printed beach towels are available at Kmart, starting at $4.99 and topping out at less than $10. Walmart carries

Ditch these time wasters for moves that really matterIt's a rare bird who loves hanging out at the gym. Most of us count the minutes until the workout's over and we can get on with our (way more fun) day. So the last thing we want to do is spend time using exercise machines that don't do anything for us. While no machine is totally useless if used properly, some just aren't terribly effective, says Lani Muelrath, MA, fitness expert and author of Fit Quickies. Plus, they put you at risk--too great a risk--of injury, she says.

Swap out these 10 useless machines for more effective, expert-recommended moves.

1. LEG-CURL MACHINE
Why it's useless: Your hamstrings perform two movements: knee flexion and hip extension. The leg curl machine works only knee flexion, which limits the benefits, says Muelrath.

What to do instead: Choose a machine or movement that works both hamstring functions at once, such as the fitness ball hip raise and curl.

To do: Lie on your back with legs straight, heels on the ball. Raise your hips by pressing your heels into the

Image: thisreidwrites/Creative CommonsThis past weekend I got a lesson in buying appliances as we were picking out a new refrigerator, range, and dishwasher. Working in the world of design, I consider myself pretty savvy when it comes to the latest and greatest looks in home appliances, but much to my chagrin, I realized that I didn't know all that much about the latest and greatest functions of various models. They've made a lot of progress in the eight years since I last bought appliances for my previous home. But not only was I unsure of all the appliance features, I discovered that in going to three different stores I got very different information about what I should be looking for with each different unit, making me really glad I had dragged my family to so many stores after all. But so that you don't have to do the same with your family, I thought I'd offer a breakdown of the key features to look for when purchasing new appliances, starting with the dishwasher.

Read More: 5 Foolproof Tricks for Sale Shopping

In

Stop pulling my hair!Stop pulling my hair! Ouch! That hurts! No! You aren't doing my hair!

It's just a typical morning in my house. Sigh.

My oldest daughter was born with a full head of beautiful hair. I like to tell people that we've been fighting about it at least that long. She simply despises having her hair brushed and styled. I've had more hair battles with her than I have with my two other daughters combined. What have we done to keep our hair battles from turning into war?

Relax the rules.

I care more about how my daughter's hair looks when she's heading to school or we're running errands than I do when we're just hanging out at home. So I've relaxed the hair rules around the house, and my daughter is responsible for her own hair when we're not going anywhere. Quite frankly, it's also one less thing for me to worry about.

Up or off.

Lice have run rampant around the first and second grade, fueling my desire for my daughter to keep her hair up out of her face and less likely to bring home any little