In the practice of frugality, I read several library books years ago, and wrote down various recipes for home cleaning. I have saved them in a yellow folder in my cookbook shelf, and pull them out when I need to make more! I like the idea of buying a few basic products and making them on my own. Here are several of the common ones I make...
Homemade Glass Cleaner
1 c. rubbing alcohol
1 c. water
1 Tbsp white vinegar
Place in spray bottle, shake. Great on chrome, mirrors, tiles too! You can add blue food coloring if you want.
OR Window Cleaner (from Grocery Shrink) Cost: 1 cent!
4 cups water
2 drops Joy dish detergent
1 drop blue food coloring
Mix in 32 spray bottle, shake to combine.
Dry carpet cleaner
2 cups baking soda
1/3 cup corn starch
1 Tbsp ground gloves
Store in jar with tight fitting lid. Shake and sprinkle on carpet, leave on overnight. Vacuum up next day.
Carpet Cleaner (non-greasy spills)
1/2 tsp dishwashing liquid
1 tbsp vinegar
1 cup warm water
Mix and blot on stain, rinse.
Disinfecting spray cleaner (from Grocery Shrink) Cost: 59 cents!
This recipe is based on castille soap and an awesomely healthy cleaner. Just a touch of borax makes it disinfecting without becoming a toxin. You can change the scent by adding a few drops of essential oil, or by buying the castle soap that is already infused with essential oils.
1/4 cup vinegar (4 cents)
2 tsp borax (less than 1/2 cent)
1/4 cup liquid castille soap (Dr. Bronner's is the best brand, we like peppermint, any flavor will work.) (55 cents)
2 cups hot water
1 drop food coloring (optional)
Swirl all ingredients together in spray bottle. Shake before using. Spray and wipe. Ideal for countertops, table tops, stove tops, high chair trays, etc.,
Soft Scrub
Works on greasy stuff, baked on around burners or around stove hood.
Make a paste with baking soda and hand washing dish detergent. Rub in a stiff brush or non-scratching pad. Rinse well.
Adding water to this to clean really dilutes the cleaning power. Save water for the end.
Toilet Cleaner Cost: (from Grocery Shrink) 27 cents!
Add one cup borax to the toilet bowl and leave overnight. (Protect pets and babies from the toilet!) Swish with brush in morning and flush!
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You can read more about Grocery Shrink in this blog post here. Some of the other cleaners are from The Complete Cheapskate by Mary Hunt.
I've found inexpensive spray bottles at the dollar store, but they don't always last. My favorite spray bottles are the old ones that my name brand glass cleaner/ disinfectant came in.
Do you have any homemade cleaning recipes that you make? Please feel free to share!
Psalm 18:20 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
Psalm 51:2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
Psalm 51:7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Some of my long-time readers may remember my other clothesline that I had been using, you can see it here and here. I was using the same two-line clothesline the first part of this summer. I worked great. One week, a neighbor said, " We have a laundry hanger tree in our backyard that we don't use, if you want it..." I said, "of course I want it!" And he promptly brought it over for me. Within a few weeks my hubby put the pole in cement in our backyard, and I've been using the new laundry tree for a month!
It is nice because it is secluded in the backyard where lots of neighbors can't see. I can hang underwear on it, instead of needing to separate the "private" laundry in the backyard from the rest of the load on the front yard. I also like that I can hang my laundry while standing in the shade of the tree. The "tree" rotates so I can stand in one place. I can put more than one load on the tree if the first load is not all dry yet. The week I took the pictures I was drying swim towels on the line in addition to a color load. I tried to hide the underwear on the inside lines so they couldn't be seen in the pictures! :-D
The lines are a little close together so I don't use them all at the same time. There are plenty of lines so I can skip every other one and still have plenty of room. My hubby helped me tighten the lines so they don't hang down so low. I'm so thankful that my neighbor offered it to us, and that we got it in the ground!
What about you? Do you hang laundry outside during the summer months? What system do you use? I'd love to hear about it!
Psalm 51:2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
Psalm 51:7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Luke 17:17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?
I am not a huge fan of doing dishes, but in a busy home with four kids, we definitely do our share of them! I share the dish duties with my hubby and oldest daughter, which makes it easier. My son will wash sometimes too, but he is still learning the techniques.
Several years ago, I read about a way to dispense dish soap that allows less soap into the water, therefore saving money. It was to use a olive oil glass bottle, with a lid type that drips the soap out. The lid is metal. You can see it in the picture below:
Can you see the soap dripping from the bottle?
I know it saves only a little bit of money, but if I can buy dish soap less, every bit helps! I tend to buy soap about once every nine months to a year! I used to use Dawn, but I've found that Palmolive is cheaper and works just as well.
I found my bottle at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I've seen them in other stores too, for about $10. (You can see a selection on Amazon.com here.) I had a prettier one before, but I broke it during my clumsy stage of pregnancy with one of my girls. Was that ever a mess!
Let me know if you try it, it works for me!
2 Kings 5:13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!”
Psalm 51:2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
Ephesians 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
Recently, we had a "family game night" with our kids. We do not do this enough. We all usually really enjoy it, and it is a good bonding time. On this particular night, we played Yahtzee, which is a game that we haven't played too often.
My youngest daughter, age 3 1/2 wanted to "play" too, but we couldn't very well have her score her own paper. I gave her one score page, which she wrote on with her pencil. After a few minutes, she still wanted to play. I gave her one die to roll for me, and she liked that.
Our six-year-old needed some help too, and she was on a team with Daddy. She did great writing her numbers and trying to keep score.
Showing off her score card...
Bethy keeping "score" on her own score sheet...
Rolling with gusto!
YAHTZEE!! She helped Mommy roll one! YEA!
These pictures make me smile. I know before too long she will be scoring and writing her own numbers, but for now I am glad she can be on my team and share in the excitement of a good roll with me. I think we got some good game-players growing up in our house! That is a good thing, since we love to play games!
Writing prompt #5- Tell about something that made you smile this week.
Deuteronomy 11:18-21
18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates,21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.
Each summer, I look for things to do to keep the kids busy. Inevitably in the summer it will rain or the kids just begin to get bored. Maybe their neighbor friends are on vacation, or they've had their screen time for the day. We do math pages, a little writing, and some other activities in the summer such as swim lessons and VBS.
When the days are long and not so busy, I like to get out a puzzle, preferably about 1,000 pieces or even 1,500. I find inexpensive puzzles at Goodwill and thrift stores. I've never had one miss more than one piece. They are often sold, "As is" but I've found they are all there. I love to see my kids sit and work on the puzzle, or even just walk by, stop and insert a few pieces for a moment.
So my "Frugal Friday" tip for this week is to get a puzzle to fend off the summer weariness and keep the brain cells working.
Here is the puzzle we made last summer:
Birdhouses and flowers-- such fun!
Here is the puzzle that I purchased for this summer:
Hope this little tip helps you!
Some related verses that I like:
Mark 6:19-20
"So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to,20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him."
I know, it's an unusual song to begin a blog message with, but bear with me. I have an interesting, funny story to tell.
This past Wednesday, our family learned of a dear friend from church that was dying-- heard first thing in the morning. It made for a long, tough day... I was busy all day with laundry, homeschool, the usual cleaning, cooking, straightening... ( and chickens dying too...) I didn't nap that Wednesday, although I did lie down with our youngest daughter and rest. She slept sooo sweetly on my arm, it was hard to pull myself away.
My son had a baseball game that night, and my husband had music practice at church. We dropped him at church, since he had brought our minivan in for service and had left his car there after he picked up the van. We (4 kids and I) went to the baseball game, which was very windy, chilly and busy. I kept track of my two little girls while helping in the dugout. We went home about 8:20 and I got the three girls to bed. I waited a little while for my hubby and son to get home. When they did, my son told me that they lost the baseball game. :( Oh well, you win some and you lose some... My husband and I talked for a little while about our friend, things that had happened at work, how the near widow was... sigh.
It was the 16th of the month, and we went, with heavy hearts, to the grocery store. We needed to stock the partially empty pantry and fridge, since we were running out of the usual staples. I grabbed my coupon binder, purse and canvas bags. We had told our 13-year-old daughter that we were off to the store and left her with a phone nearby in case an emergency arose.
When we arrived at the store, it was about 10:00. We are known for being "night owls" and have found it a lovely quiet time to shop in the evenings without small children. We joke that it is a "date night" where we enjoy the music and laughing at the store with each other. As we arrived at the store, my hubby's phone rang. It was his father, so I went into the store and shopped the first few aisles without him.
In our local supermarket, the lights dim at 10:00, so it was partially dark as I wound my way through the aisles. My hubby joined me as I gathered items we needed, a few things we wanted, and found coupons for several items from my binder. When we were in the dairy section, Joshua got another phone call and it was a fellow pastor from church. We giggled about listening to the Eagles singing, "Standin' On a Corner in Winslow, Arizona" and the other old music that they play over the store speaker. We passed the ice cream, gathered some coconut ice milk (since I had a coupon) and went to the toilet paper aisle, when the phone call ended.
As we went to the check-out lanes, my sweetie mentioned that he'd seen the Klondike bars were on sale, and that sounded good. We went to the registers, and the checker informed us that we had to go through the U-Scan since she was the only checker available to help everyone. So, we winced and began the process of the self checkout. I don't mind the self checkout normally, but when you have over 100 items to purchase, it is a drag. We agreed and slowly scanned each item, placed them in our own bags, and then I ran to grab Klondike bars at my hubby's urging. After they were scanned, Joshua went to pay by credit card (since we get rewards that way). As he went to sign on the signature pad, he pulled it to adjust the angle and broke it. We all three (checker included) tried to get the signature pad to work. No luck. Checker called the night foreman, he couldn't do anything.
Then she tells us the bad news... We have to cancel the order and scan everything again. Sigh. She offers to run it all through a checkout lane this time, so we traipsed over and began unloading our full cart again. As we unloaded, the checker offers to give us free ice cream. So the Klondike Bars, in the package of six were FREE.
After loading our bags into the car at nearly 11:30, I began to giggle about the Klondike Bars we were eating on the way home. What would you do... for a free Klondike Bar? Would you check out your groceries twice? We giggled about it on the way home, and decided that we had fun and were glad to be done. I'm glad that my hubby was with me, so I didn't have to endure that crazy process alone! We hoped we were a light in the lost world to the frazzled checker that helped us late that evening!
--------------------------------------- John 8:12 "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Genesis 42: 6-10 "Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.” 8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9 Then he remembered his dreamsabout them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.” 10 “No, my lord, ” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies. ”"
This is a repost from my old blog. I've had several people interested in it in the past, so I thought I'd post it here too. I hope this helps some of you!
How to make baby food It is really very easy and economical!
Here are the steps:
1. Cut and cube the fruit or vegetables you want to cook. Carrots are an easy one to begin with, but they have to be peeled too.
2. Place in a pan of water, enough to cover the veggie. Cover and boil. Reduce heat and cook for 10-20 minutes, depending on how thick the veggie is. Thicker carrots and sweet potatoes take longer.
3. Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes, leaving the veggies in the water.
4. Place cooked food in a blender with some of the cooking water.
5. Puree the veggie, adding more water until it is thinner, like tomato soup.
6. Pour the pureed veggie into ice cube trays (old ones can be found at Goodwill or thrift stores, if you have an ice maker like me!)
7. Freeze the food into these portions. After freezing, put the veggie into ziploc bags and keep in your freezer. Label the bags with what food is in it, i.e., carrots) It is easy to give your baby one, two or three veggie cubes for their meal. Defrost in your microwave in a bowl for approx. 30 seconds.
Note: I do this most often for veggies: carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, peas, green beans (sometimes they are stringy) but also some fruits: peaches, pears, plums, apples. But applesauce is easy to buy in the unsweetened variety and you can feed that to your baby. Fruit does not need to be cooked, but it can be to make it softer. I've pureed bananas too, and added water to them. They are a little thinner and more palatable for the baby.
MY 3RD BABY- NOT SO SURE ABOUT SQUASH... (I THINK!)
Sometimes potatoes and sweet potatoes can be too starchy for the blender. You can try those in your food processor on pulse. You can add cereal to the fruit or veggie for variety, or if they don't seem to like it. Also good for thickening it! Hope that helps! It is SOO much cheaper, and healthier for your baby!
This is my old binder, just a big 3-ring notebook.
Several months ago, I found the Krazy Coupon Lady's website and on it, she has pages to put into a binder for coupons. My old coupon holder was falling apart, so I decided to try it. The KCL site has pages that you can print to help you organize your binder into sections, and talks about what you need for the binder. I had some old sectioned page protectors, so I used them. Then I did buy some baseball card holders at Target for my binder. They are just the right size for coupons!
My new ZIPPERED binder!
I have been looking around for a new binder that zippers. The best time of year for school supplies is NOW! So I picked one up at Office Depot this week with a discount, so it was $10. (Of course the next day I saw one at Goodwill, and I'd never seen one there!)
Empty
Full!
This shows the index in the front of the binder, and the tabs on the side.
A little closer up of the pages...
I found the KCL website very helpful in building my coupon binder, using all the categories and downloads. She says you can also get the baseball card holders at Walmart and even on eBay. I've had people ask me about my binder in the store, and I tell them about KCL! (and show them my system). It makes it very quick and easy to find the coupon I need and use it! I did change my binder categories slightly after using it for a bit. I added a section for breads/ biscuits and one for Deli-Meat. You can really customize it any way you want!
I hope this helps you in being more frugal. And remember, "If she has a binder, don't get behind her!" (in the checkout lane!) :-D
We are a family of readers. We can not afford to buy every book we need or would like to own. That's why one of my favorite places is our local library! We enjoy checking out books, DVDs, and even Wii games (though they don't have many, and they're often checked out). In the summer, we go there more often since they offer a free reading incentive program for kids. We took advantage of it again this summer, and the kids got some great free books, water bottles and other little goodies. My almost -teen even got a nice canvas bag! (and she won a gift card from the drawing too!)
If you haven't been to the local library recently, I suggest you give it a try. I remember being appalled years ago in our MOPS group that several moms didn't take their kids to the library. Really?! It's free! Well, pretty much... unless you incur those pesky fines like we do occasionally! :-D
Here are a few library tips for you...
*You can renew books and DVDs online! Here is our local library web site, all you have to do is plug in your library card # and voila! Books renewed with a click of a button! (or key on the keyboard, as the case may be!)
*I allow our kids to check out as many books as they are old... plus one. We love to read books, and we could check out a million at a time. We have maxed out my card for books etc., from the library more than once. Our library allows us to borrow 40 items at one time. That's a lot of books/ movies to keep track of! So if I limit them to 5 books for my 4-year-old, and 3 books for my 2-year-old, it is a lot less books to keep tabs on!
*Keep library books in a designated place in your home, so it is easy to gather them together when it is time to return the books. I've tried to do this, and it is tough. My kids really like to read in their rooms. I nearly always check their bedrooms when I am gathering library books. The library system here prints a list of items that we checked out. I will sometimes check through the list and cross out the items that I have gathered. This helps us remember all of the books & DVDs we checked out and need to return. I can also check the library web-site (see above) and check what we have remaining on our account.
*You can also research what books your library may have on it's shelves, and reserve them. That is nice since it is faster to run in, pick them up, and on you go! I've had times as a homeschooler where I needed books, and didn't want to spend time IN the library finding where they may be. I can gather the author info, and the general location, and find it in a relatively short amount of time. It makes it easier when the preschoolers and toddlers are running around too...
Do you use your local library? If not, check it out (ha ha!) soon! It is a wonderful resource in many ways, especially when you're a reader and learner! I hope you'll find it a thrifty location to visit too.
My sister-n-law has also given me some necklaces that I love. They are fun to wear since I can match my outfit if I want. I've gotten some neat beads and pendants at Michael's and Hobby Lobby, but also some small-twon bead stores. The first necklace I made was for St. Patrick's Day, and was patterned after one I saw in the newspaper, that a reporter had made. I followed her directions and love that necklace- it is a chunky one with a gold cross pendant (see below). Of all the jewelry that I've made, necklaces are the most time-consuming. But I love making them, and wearing them!
This blue one is a favorite one of mine... I wear it often!
Mother-of-pearl cross
Purple necklace
Clear/ silver with cross
Pink/lt purple/silver with pink heart pendant
Green & gold with yellow/gold cross
My first necklace!
Red necklace with heart/cross
Three tier green/mint green choker
Two tier chunky cool green
Mothers' necklace, with kids' names and birthstone colors
Close-up of kids' names in silver beads
Two-tier pink
My most recent necklace...
A warm green-yellow one with leaves & pretty flower pendant!
You can look and see the bracelets I've made here and the earrings I've made here- fun stuff! :-D
Do you like or make beaded jewelry? I'd love to see it and get some new ideas!
I hope you're intrigued by the title of this post enough to read on...
Getting into trouble is something for kids, right? Well, I didn't get the police called on me, or anything... Here is my story...
A few weeks ago, I dropped my older daughter off at a Bible Study on a Saturday morning. I had my youngest daughter age 2+ with me. On the way to the youth leader's home, I saw signs for a yard sale. After the drop-off, I decided to stop and check out the yard sale. You never know what you'll find at a yard sale! This one was at a local church, and they usually have lots of great treasures. I went in with my little girl, and looked...and looked... It was more junk than treasures. Did I need any odd books? No, not really... maybe this book (picking it up)...hmm...(putting it back down)...
After looking for several minutes and nearly giving up, I saw a woman holding up a nice pair of shorts, asking her friend if they'd fit her. "What size?" the other woman asked. Her friend told her, and she said "No, not for me..." I heard her say the size, and it piqued my interest. I went over to check. They looked nice, and there was another pair, and they were L.L.Bean- a high-quality brand! I snatched them up!
Ok, two pair of shorts, guess I'll grab that book, I thought. Nothing for the kids... they don't need anything else, really... I saw a pretty bracelet by the check out, so I took that too. After paying the kind gals at the payment area, I went outside with my daughter.
I loaded my little girl into the van, and hopped in myself. As I started it up, a woman knocked on my window. I rolled it down, and she starts ranting! "You did a TERRIBLE job parking your vehicle!! I'm parked right next to you, and I can't even get in my car! You need to learn how to park! You have all this room over here (behind her, she motions) and hardly any room on my side over there (pointing to her car)!" She took a breath and I feel myself getting flushed. "I'm sorry..." I stammered. "Well, I'll let you back out so I can get into my car, 'cause I can't do it with you parked here like this..." "Ok, I'm...sorry..." and I felt bad.
Of course, they person next to me could have moved their car while I was inside. I had a hard time finding a parking space when I came in, and someone had just backed out when I arrived. I didn't say that, she was angry. I just backed out and went on my way, not quite so merry as I was before... but I guess I learned my lesson.
I was paranoid about parking the rest of the day (or week!) I may not be the best parker, but I think I do just fine... I really hope I don't run into that woman again... Schwoo! (running hand across sweaty forehead)
Beware ladies when you park, someone may come to chew you out too!
I went with my son to Goodwill this week to look for some Father's Day gifts for Dad. We didn't find much because my 8 year old is very focused on himself. (Call it the ego-centric eights, or whatever you want!) I can hardly get out of Goodwill without buying anything, so...
Here are SOME of the books that we bought...
Got a new black shirt for myself since my stomach is not fitting
into my other shirts... aging I guess!
(or lack of exercise)
And I found some white (almost) flats that I've been looking for
for over a year!
Two "bigger kids" books, a Jump5 CD and A VeggieTales DVD!
Found a cute, patriotic candle holder and candle that was unburned!
And how much did we pay for it all? Just under $21.00! WOW! I love getting good deals!
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