Money saving WAHM

Favorite castile soap uses and recipes

2009-05-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

My newest favorite substance in the world, castile soap, has so many uses. Made from organic oils, it has a wide variety of cleaning uses. Here are some of my favorite uses and recipes!

Health and beauty

*Wash your face and hair. Just a drop for each. Mix with a dime-sized amount of baking soda for the greatest cleansing experience of your life!
*Use in the shower. Again just a drop for each your hair and face and a little squirt on a washcloth or poof for the rest of your body. Finish up by using it to shave your legs, a drop for each leg.
*Use in kids' bathwater. A good squirt in the bathwater, no other soap needed.
*Hand soap. Fill the hand soap bottle up with water and put a little squirt of castile soap in there. If it doesn't make enough suds for you put another squirt in.

Household

*General cleaning. A drop or two for cleaning or scrubbing anything up in the kitchen or bathroom.
*Laundry. A good squirt or two in with the wash water. Also great for washing cloth diapers!
*Dishes. A good squirt in the dishwater.
*Carpet stains. Gets those right up. A drop or two on a damp clean towel or squirt the fabulous cleaner/disinfectant spray on it.
*Cleaner/disinfectant spray: This is wonderful. I love this. Take a spray bottle and fill it about a fourth full with vinegar, just the white kind. Fill the rest of the bottle up with water. Then put in a squirt of castile soap and a few (three or four) drops of tea tree oil. Use this to clean literally everything -- counters, sinks, toilets, freshen carpets and furniture, and it even kills pesky little bugs. Vinegar naturally kills germs and so does tea tree oil, and castile soap cleans, so you have a fabulous cleaner and disinfectant just like that. What's also so wonderful about this cleaning spray is that it is perfectly natural, nontoxic, and you don't have to call poison control if your two-year-old decides he'd like to clean the carpets with it. It is not poison like commercially produced harsh chemical cleaners, which are harmful to the entire family as well as the environment.

Since you only use a drop or a squirt at most for everything, this terrific stuff lasts a long time. Coupled with the fact that you can use it all over the house, it is great for the money. You can get a 16 oz. bottle for less than $10 and it will last forever. (Unless your two-year-old, the clean freak that he seems to be although he also loves to make as many messes as possible, decides to pour out one third of a bottle straight onto the carpets.)

I have not found that I like to use it to mop the floors; it leaves a thin filmy residue on the floors at my house. Could be the cheap floor covering. And a word about an interesting science experiment, if you put straight vinegar and straight castile soap together you will get some oily globs. Make sure you have some water in there first before you put those two together. Not harmful at all, just a bit annoying.

Castile soap at Target!

2009-05-09T18:40:00.000-07:00

Target has DR. BRONNER'S CASTILE SOAP!

I had read on the Internet that someone thought you could buy Kirk's castile soap at Target, so I went looking today. Couldn't find it. Asked someone. She told me it was over with the shampoo and body wash. Still couldn't find it. Asked someone else. She got on it for me, paging someone and then calling her. Then she took me back over there to the health and beauty area. STILL couldn't find it. So I said, "Do you have a natural/organic area?" So the young lady paged the person again, who told her where the natural/organic area was. It was the aisle before where we were looking, before you get to the facial cleansers area. When I saw it I squealed with delight and actually hugged the girl! It was right beside the big Burt's Bees area, and I started to ask where that was since I figured it would be close.

Anyway, they had a bunch of different kinds. The 16 oz. bottles are $8.39. (I paid nearly $10 for the same size bottle at Whole Foods.) They had the bigger bottles for $13 and some change but they didn't have it in the tea tree oil variety so I just got the 16 oz. bottle. They also had a couple of the little "trial size" bottles in lavendar and though I don't like lavendar I grabbed them anyway so I could place them throughout the house. (I use castile soap in all the bathrooms, the kitchen, and the laundry room.)

This was a delightful find! It's cheaper at Target than at Whole Foods, and Target for me is a lot closer. There are so many uses for this wonderful substance as far as health and beauty and cleaning goes, and a little bit goes a very long way.

Favorite green and thrifty multi-purpose household products

2009-05-08T06:13:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of natural, nontoxic items that are green, thrifty, multipurpose, and perfectly safe to use around the house! Here are some of my favorites:

Vinegar
Baking soda
Borax
Washing soda
Tea tree oil
Castile soap

There are so many ways to use these fabulous products but here are a few of my favorites.

Vinegar: Add it to the laundry wash water, use less detergent and softer clothes. Use it in a spray cleaner. Mop the floor.

Baking soda: So many beauty uses for skin and hair. Great scrubbing agent for cleaning up around the house.

Borax and washing soda: Make laundry detergent with it. Make dishwashing detergent and bathroom cleaner.

Tea tree oil: Wonderful on the skin. Very good as a household disinfectant.

Castile soap: Also wonderful on the skin and hair. Use it to make household cleaning spray. Use it in the laundry.

To make laundry detergent, use two cups borax, two cups washing soda, and a grated up bar of Ivory soap. Mix together well, store in an airtight container, and use a tablespoon or so per load. Add some vinegar in with the wash water for very fresh, clean, and soft clothes.

You can mix half borax and half baking soda and use that in the dishwasher (about tablespoon or less per load) and even wash dishes in the sink in a pinch. It's also good for scrubbing!

Since the borax box is bigger than the washing soda box I always end up with more borax, so I make a jar of a little washing soda and mostly borax (maybe 1/3 washing soda to 2/3 borax, it doesn't really matter) for scrubbing the bathroom sink, toilet, and bathtub.

For a wonderful household cleaner and disinfectant, get a spray bottle and fill it about 1/4 full of vinegar. Fill the rest with water and then add a squirt of castile soap and a few (as in three or four) drops of tea tree oil. Shake and spray on anything to clean and disinfect!

A couple of sort-of failures here -- a mix of borax and washing soda does not make the greatest thing for washing dishes in the sink, but it does work. Castile soap is not good to mop the floor with. It leaves a filmy residue. And if you mix straight vinegar with straight castile soap you get this odd reaction where oily globs are formed. Just make sure the water is in there first before you mix those two.

TTO and castile soap are available at the health food store; I've bought TTO at Wal-Mart and I hear that castile soap is at Target (I hope so, Target is closer to me than the health food store.) Baking soda and vinegar are sold at all stores. Borax and washing soda are usually in the laundry aisle of the grocery store.

The truly wonderful thing about these natural products is that they are far superior to commercially made synthetic cleaners because they are safe, clean better, are usually cheaper, and do not pollute your house and body. Some people seem to believe that their home is not clean unless they have used toxic chemicals but if you'll stop and think a minute ... who's smarter, God or man? Nature trumps science EVERY TIME.

Enjoy being green and thrifty!

A real-life test of the homemade carpet sweeper pads

2009-02-10T05:51:00.000-08:00

After several real-life tests the homemade carpet sweeper pads work okay but not all that great. If you had better tape they might work better but then you're looking at more expense. It takes two pads to clean one fairly large sized area since the tape stops sticking after not very long. While you're making the second pad you wonder why you didn't just pull the vacuum cleaner out and be done with it.

For really quick jobs the homemade pads work well but for heavier jobs its easier to just vacuum. It actually might be worth the expense to buy the pads that go in the sweeper, but I tried that a few days ago and it didn't work. I went way out to the "big box" store that I don't like anymore and after walking all over the store looking for them it appeared that not only were they out, they don't even carry them anymore. Big bummer.

Since my son loves to run the carpet sweeper on the floor I'll make him a sticky pad but I don't think I'll keep making them for normal use.

Homemade carpet sweeper pads

2009-01-29T22:58:00.000-08:00

My experiment with making carpet sweeper pads to fit into a name-brand carpet sweeper was met with guarded satisfaction. There are some drawbacks but I pronounced the experiment an overall success.

The pads that come with the sweeper or that can be bought separately work wonderfully but are a bit pricey and seem to be only sold at the notorious big-box discount store that is too far and too much trouble for me to patronize regularly.

My 21-month-old son loves to push the sweeper around on the carpet so I thought I'd try my hand at making some sticky pads to put in it. (May as well use free labor, right?) My original list of supplies included cardboard and double-sided tape but a quick trip to my favorite dollar store yielded only some super-cheap regular tape, the wide kind. Not to be outdone, I figured I could make this work.

I took a cereal box (never throw those away, they are so very useful) and cut out a rectangle that I thought would fit inside the sweeper (it did, exactly) and wound some tape around it. Winding the tape around it was a bit tricky at first but gets easier with practice. After the tape was applied I wrestled it into the sweeper and gave it to my son to try.

To my smug satisfaction, it worked pretty well! It picked up fairly well, not as good as the pads that are made to go in it, but good enough. The compromised stickiness along with the slight difficulty of getting the pad in and out of the sweeper are drawbacks but for a dollar you can make dozens of these things and pick up the crumbs off the carpet during those times when you don't have the energy to pull out the vacuum cleaner and run it.

Hydrogen peroxide for cleaning and whitening

2009-01-21T07:01:00.000-08:00

In a move toward even more homemade and natural cleaners for my home, I decided to start using hydrogen peroxide to whiten our white clothing and diapers. I did a little bit of research and found that it also kills germs. Wonderful! It turns out that it is a replacement for bleach.

The Green Living Tips blog hydrogen peroxide tips list has several uses for hydrogen peroxide, including that of a bathroom disinfectant and laundry additive.

For an excellent explanation of how hydrogen peroxide works along with other non-chlorine bleaches check out a wonderful piece on What is Non-Chlorine Bleach? on Bright Hub.

What are some of your favorite hydrogen peroxide uses? We already use it for first aid and for oral hygiene.

Now I just need to find a place to get it very cheaply!

Cheap and safe cleaning

2009-01-20T07:42:00.000-08:00

Many people think you must use harsh, toxic and expensive cleansers to get your home clean and disinfected. Advertising has planted this idea into our heads, but it is just not true. All you need are a few natural products and you can make your own cleaners and disinfectants.

I clean everything with natural products and make my own cleaners, and was intrigued to find this wonderful list of 25 Safe, Non-Toxic Homemade Cleaning Supplies. Here are two that I am going to try, copied from the site:

Disinfectant all purpose cleaner: Mix a few drops of castille soap, 2 cups water, and 15 drops each of tea tree and lavender essential oil. You can spray this on all surfaces, like cutting boards, counters, toilets, walls, (except it will streak glass). This stuff disinfects but is so safe you can actually spray it on your baby - you can’t say that about most commercial household cleaners.

Herbal disinfectant: Choose one fresh herb - lavender, eucalyptus, juniper, sage, thyme, or rosemary. Simmer the leaves and stems for 30 minutes. You can use any amount of water, but the less you use the stronger the solution and disinfectant properties. Strain, pour liquid into bottle, and use on any surface but glass. If you add a dash of natural soap or biodegradable dish detergent it will cut grease.

Back to me now; I know these will work because I have a bottle of nontoxic disinfectant that is made with thyme. The label says it even kills the virus that causes AIDS. Tea tree oil is antifungal, antimicrobal, pretty much anti-anything bad and makes a wonderful cleaning additive.

Cleaning uses for vinegar

2009-01-19T08:19:00.000-08:00

The ways to use vinegar for cleaning are just almost innumerable. Vinegar Tips has a great list of 1,001 ways to use it around the house with a really long list of ways to use it for cleaning. Here are a few of my favorites from the list; be sure to go to www.vinegartips.com/cleaning to read the whole list!

Clean and deodorize a drain by pouring in 1 cup baking soda, then one cup hot white distilled vinegar. Let this sit for 5 minutes or so then run hot water down the drain.

Deodorize the garbage disposal by pouring in 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup hot white distilled vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes then run hot water down the disposal.

Deodorize and clean the garbage disposal with white distilled vinegar ice cubes. Make them by freezing full-strength white distilled vinegar in an ice cube tray. Run several cubes down the disposal while flushing with cold water.

Clean the microwave by mixing 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar and 1/2 cup water in a microwave-safe bowl. Bring it to a rolling boil inside the microwave. Baked-on food will be loosened, and odors will disappear. Wipe clean.

Clean the shelves and walls of the refrigerator with a half-and-half solution of water and white distilled vinegar.

Remove mineral deposits from coffee makers with white distilled vinegar. Fill the water reservoir with 1 cup or more of white distilled vinegar and run it through a whole cycle. Run it once or twice more with plain water to rinse clean. (Check the owners’ manual first.)

For stained and smelly plastic food containers, wipe them with a cloth dampened with white distilled vinegar.

Discourage ants by spraying undiluted white distilled vinegar outside doorways and windowsills, around appliances and wherever you find the pests coming in.

Clean the wheel of a can opener using white distilled vinegar and an old toothbrush.

Remove the smell of spoiled food from a refrigerator by first rinsing the area with soap and water. Spray surfaces with full-strength white distilled vinegar and wipe them down with a damp cloth or sponge. Fill some containers with baking soda and place inside. Close the door and leave for a few days.

Renew sponges and dishrags by placing them in just enough water to cover them. Then add 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar. Let them soak overnight.

Shine colored porcelain sinks by scouring them with undiluted white distilled vinegar.

Clean grout by letting full-strength white distilled vinegar sit on it for a few minutes and scrubbing it with an old toothbrush.

Kill germs all around the bathroom with a spray of full-strength white distilled vinegar. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.

To remove grime, mildew, and scum from the tub, tile, shower curtain or door, wipe with undiluted white distilled vinegar. Rinse with water.

Get rid of stubborn bathtub film by wiping it with white distilled vinegar and then scouring with baking soda.

Clean shower door tracks by filling them with white distilled vinegar and letting it sit for a few hours. Pour hot water into the tracks and wash and scrub away the scum with a toothbrush.

To clean a scummy showerhead, pour 1/2 cup baking soda and 1 cup white distilled vinegar into a sandwich bag and tie it around the showerhead. Let this set for an hour after the bubbling has stopped. Remove the bag and then turn on the water.

Deodorize the toilet bowl by allowing 3 cups white distilled vinegar to sit in it for about a half hour before flushing.

To make the toilet bowl sparkle, pour in a cup or more of diluted white distilled vinegar and let it sit several hours or overnight. Scrub well with the toilet brush and flush.

Freshen air in the bathroom by spraying into the air a solution of 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar, and 1 cup water.

Get a shining finish on a no-wax vinyl or linoleum floor by cleaning it with a solution of one cup white distilled vinegar for every gallon of water.

Apply full-strength white distilled vinegar directly to tough linoleum stains. Leave it on for 10 to 15 minutes before wiping it up. If that doesn’t work, apply white distilled vinegar again and then sprinkle some baking soda over the white distilled vinegar. Scrub the area with a brush or sponge. Rinse clean with water.

Some carpet stains can be removed with a paste of 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar and 1/4 cup salt or baking soda. Rub into the carpet stain and let dry. Vacuum up the residue the next day. (Always test on an out-of-sight part of the carpet first).

Clean up pet accidents by first blotting up the area and then adding a white distilled vinegar-and-water solution. Blot until it is almost dry. Then sprinkle baking soda over the area and let it dry. Vacuum up the residue the next day.

Get rid of mildew, dust, and stale odors by wiping down walls with undiluted white distilled vinegar on a cloth or a sponge mop.

Clean wood paneling with a solution of 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar, and 2 cups warm water. Wipe on with a soft cloth.

Get decals off walls or doors by letting undiluted white distilled vinegar soak into them for several minutes before trying to peel them off. Repeat if necessary.

To kill germs, spray full-strength white distilled vinegar on doorknobs and then wipe them dry.

Remove the smell of a dead mouse or other rodent (after removing all animal remnants) by wiping down the area with either white distilled vinegar or bleach. Then place a fabric softener sheet in the area to remove any lingering odors.

To remove film in glass baby bottles, fill with equal parts hot water and white distilled vinegar. Let sit for at least an hour. Scrub with a bottle brush.

To clean and disinfect baby toys add a good-sized splash of white distilled vinegar to soapy water.

Clean vinyl baby books or board books by wiping with white distilled vinegar. Wipe clean with a damp sponge or cloth.

Clean scissors that have become sticky (after cutting tape, for instance) with a cloth dipped in undiluted white distilled vinegar.

Clean and deodorize urine on a mattress with a white distilled vinegar and water solution. Then sprinkle the area with baking soda and let dry. Brush or vacuum the residue after it is dry to the touch.

Vinegar uses for laundry

2009-01-18T08:14:00.000-08:00

Vinegar Tips has tons (1,001 to be exact) of ways to use vinegar. Here are some of my favorite ways to use it and some I'm going to try. Be sure to visit www.vinegartips.com/laundry to read all of these and more wonderful laundry tips.

Prevent lint from clinging to clothes by adding 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar to the wash cycle.

To remove soap residue that makes black clothes look dull use white distilled vinegar in your final rinse.

Get stained white socks and dingy dishcloths white again. Add 1 cup white distilled vinegar to a large pot of water, bring it to a rolling boil and drop in the articles. Let soak overnight.

Some stains on clothing and linens can be soaked out using equal parts milk and white distilled vinegar.

Before washing a mustard stain, dab with white distilled vinegar.

Attack spaghetti, barbecue, or ketchup stains with a white distilled vinegar and water solution.

Remove perspiration odor and stains on clothing, as well as those left by deodorants, by spraying full-strength white distilled vinegar on underarm and collar areas before tossing them into the washing machine.

Forgot that you left wet laundry in the machine and it now smells moldy? Pour a few cups of white distilled vinegar in the machine and wash the clothes in hot water. Then run a normal cycle with detergent.

Remove smoky odors from clothes by filling the bathtub with very hot water and 1 cup white distilled vinegar. Hang the garments above the steaming water and shut the door so the steam can penetrate the fibers.

Keep the steam iron clean and in good working order by getting rid of mineral deposits in steam vents and spray nozzles. Fill the water chamber with a solution of equal parts white distilled vinegar and distilled water. Set it in an upright position and let it steam for about 5 minutes. When the iron is cool, rinse the tank with water, refill and shake water through the vents onto an old cloth. Test before using.

Remove scorch marks from an iron by rubbing it with a warmed-up solution of equal parts white distilled vinegar and salt. If that doesn’t work, use a cloth dampened with full-strength white distilled vinegar.

Remove musky smells from cotton clothes by sprinkling them lightly with white distilled vinegar and then pressing them.

Get cleaner laundry! Add about 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar to the last rinse. The acid in white distilled vinegar is too mild to harm fabrics, yet strong enough to dissolve the alkalies in soaps and detergents. Besides removing soap, white distilled vinegar prevents yellowing, acts as a fabric softener and static cling reducer, and attacks mold and mildew.

Eliminate manufacturing chemicals from new clothes by adding 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar to the water.

Remove soap scum and clean the hoses of your washing machine with white distilled vinegar. Periodically run the machine with only a cup of white distilled vinegar in it—nothing else added to the wash cycle.

1001 uses for vinegar

2009-01-16T09:37:00.000-08:00

Vinegar has 1,001 uses according to http://www.vinegartips.com.

I love it and use it for many things around the house: in the laundry room, kitchen, and bathroom. There are plenty more ways to use it as well.

It's usually less than $2 for a large jug of it, which makes it incredibly economical given the many ways you can use it around the house.

Uses for vinegar

2009-01-15T09:34:00.000-08:00

Vinegar is a money-saving, eco-friendly staple that I couldn't live without! Here is a list of 66 uses for vinegar from the Simply Thrifty blog:

1. Use to remove stains from carpets, clothing and other fabric.
2. Use to clean windows, nothing makes windows shine like vinegar and newspaper.
3. Use to clean dishes, vinegar removes grease.
4. Vinegar can soothe a jellyfish sting.
5. Use vinegar to keep your car’s chrome shiny.
6. Use as a hair rinse to remove shampoo residue.
7. Use in your laundry to reduce static cling and soften clothes.
8. Use to neutralize and deodorize the air in your home. Simmer vinegar on the stove to remove stale household odors.
9. Put a couple of teaspoons of vinegar in the water for cut flowers to keep them fresh longer.
10. Use to soothe a sunburn. Saturate a cloth with vinegar and place directly on the burn.
11. Mixed with water, vinegar can help to break a low grade fever.
12. Run through your coffee maker to clean and deodorize.
13. Use to clean soap scum and mildew in the shower.
14. Use to soothe a bee sting.
15. Swallow one teaspoon of vinegar to stop hiccups.
16. Clean your waste baskets and garbage cans with vinegar to deodorize.
17. Wash your windshield with vinegar to deter ice and frost.
18. Use vinegar to remove fruit or grass stains from hands.
19. To highlight hair, spray your hair with vinegar before sitting in the sun.
20. Add vinegar to your vaporizer for easier breathing.
21. Add a teaspoon of vinegar to water to use as a sore throat gargle.
22. Adding vinegar to laundry will cut static cling and eliminate lint.
23. Mix with dish detergent and water to control weeds.
24. Wipe out your clothes hampers with vinegar to keep them smelling fresh.
25. Spray vinegar around doors and windows to control ants and other insects.
26. Remove skunk odor from your pet’s fur by bating them in vinegar.
27. Use vinegar to clean rust from tools, screws, bolts and more.
28. Use to wash no wax floors.
29. Pour down the kitchen drain and garbage disposal to help keep it smelling fresh.
30. Soak your showerhead in vinegar to remove mineral deposits and deter corrosion.
31. Poor straight vinegar through the cracks in your sidewalk to keep the grass from growing through.
32. Soak paintbrushes in warm vinegar to soften.
33. Use vinegar to remove salt from shoes.
34. Mix with olive oil to clean wood furniture.
35. Sponge vinegar onto leather to clean and freshen.
36. Rub vinegar over scorch marks to remove.
37. Use vinegar to tenderize meat.
38. Use vinegar and cotton swabs to clean out your computer mouse.
39. Clean lunchboxes with vinegar to remove food smells.
40. Add vinegar to your bathwater to soften skin.
41. Rinse your hair with vinegar to help control dandruff.
42. Clean piano keys with vinegar.
43. Use to help remove chewing gum from hair.
44. Use to help dissolve a sticky mess from your kitchen cabinets.
45. Soak a piece of stale bread in vinegar and place over calluses and corns.
46. Septic tank uses should clean their toilets with vinegar to help keep down germs.
47. Spray wallpaper with vinegar and water to aid in the removal process.
48. Use to clean copper and polish silver.
49. Vinegar in the tub helps to soothe sore muscles.
50. Drinking a couple of teaspoons of apple cider vinegar is said to keep the mosquitoes away.
51. Using vinegar when washing diapers is said to help prevent diaper rash.
52. Use vinegar and water to keep computer and peripherals dust-free.
53. Use to remove mildew.
54. Use vinegar to remove sticker and decal residue.
55. Use vinegar to clean and freshen your fridge.
56. Run vinegar through the dishwasher to clean, deodorize and remove mineral deposits.
57. Use when washing dishes to cut the grease.
58. A little vinegar in the stew pot will help prevent corned beef from shrinking.
59. Vinegar will remove odors from your hands.
60. Spray clothes with vinegar and water to remove wrinkles.
61. Use vinegar to remove crayon stains from clothing.
62. Vinegar removes bloodstains from fabric.
63. Sprinkle vinegar on places you don’t want your cats to go.
64. Wash pets in vinegar to prevent fleas and ticks.
65. Use to clean outdoor furniture and freshen after months of winter storage.
66. Use to clean bird droppings from furniture, decks and playground equipment.

Money-saving ideas review

2009-01-01T23:22:00.000-08:00

Since I started this blog I've shared a lot of money-saving ideas, many of them as I've tried them out. Here is a review of my ideas and my take on them, once having sufficiently experienced them.

My overall take on substituting homemade for storebought is this: YES!! Homemade works at least as well as storebought, and is cheap and easy. (But keep storebought tucked in the closet somewhere, you may need it.)

For the individual ideas --

Unpaper towels: Wonderful. They work great. I grab them and use them all the time. You really don't need to have any regular paper towels in the closet except for maybe when you have company who prefers them in the bathroom.

Cloth all-purpose bags: These are great for stashing everything! I am still not using them at the store because 1.) I don't have any in the right size and 2.) I don't have any of any size in the car. I'm working on that. I still use the plastic store bags that I inevitably come home with as trash can liners.

Cloth diapers: They're wonderful. They are somewhat of an expense up front but you can greatly reduce that by making your own out of old clothing and sheets around the house or from yard sales. I do recommend keeping a few disposable ones handy for the diaper bag.

Homemade dish detergent: Works great in the dishwasher and for cleaning everything in the bathroom, just not so much for washing dishes in the sink. That is mainly a matter of convenience, it seems. I'm just used to grabbing the container of dish soap and squirting. I even made some liquid by adding the dish detergent mixture to some water in an old dish soap container but I go through it so fast. This idea is not a dud, just one that didn't work out so great for me for washing dishes in the sink. It's awesome for the dishwasher.

Homemade laundry detergent: Fabulous! I wash my cloth diapers in this detergent only, and use it on our other laundry as well. I do love scented laundry detergent, so I do still buy Arm and Hammer, the natural kind.

As I have put these ideas into practice in my home I have found myself making fewer and fewer trips to the store for paper and cleaning items. That is a huge plus in my book, along with the savings.

The electric bill

2008-12-28T19:46:00.000-08:00

Our electric bill was higher this month than last month. What?

I was going through bills trying to wrap up the year while filling out some financial paperwork this afternoon when I made the discovery. I didn't check our usage but immediately I had a hunch what caused it. For a few months I was like a crazy woman, shutting everything off that was not being immediately used: lights, computer, everything. I admit I have become lax in the last few weeks for no particular reason, but the higher electric bill will cause me to amp up my efforts to keep the utilities down as much as possible.

The gas bill went up, but it always does in the winter since our heat is run by gas, and the electric bill is lower in the winter. This month's was only $12 higher than last month, but still, that's $12 I could spend on something else!

Unpaper towels

2008-12-26T10:03:00.000-08:00

Here's another money-saving idea that is more along the lines of eco-friendly, but I love how thrifty is usually green! It's "unpaper" towels, thin pieces of cloth that you would use in place of paper towels.

When I first heard of "unpaper" towels I was confused, wondering why just regular kitchen towels wouldn't work in most cases. Then it was pointed out to me that they take up way less space in the kitchen and can be used like a paper towel or a kitchen towel. That made perfect sense and I had to try it. Take a look at my stash of FOUR DOZEN here! Just two little stacks, that's it.

To make these you can use any kind of absorbent fabric, with 100 percent cotton being the best. I had some old sweat outfits that I cut up for these. They have more polyester content that what you would want for this, but they are gradually getting more absorbent as I wash them in hot water and without fabric softener. I like sweatshirts since they don't need to be sewn. I did make two with two layers of t-shirt that I sewed together. Those are much nicer since they are 100 percent cotton but of course the sewing takes extra time. As time permits I would like to make some more.

I use them for drying my hands, mopping up spills, wiping down counters, pretty much anything I'm doing in the kitchen. After use I just throw them in the washer with the towels. Very easy to use, so eco-friendly and so economical!

Winter footies

2008-12-24T21:11:00.000-08:00

Here is something that probably falls more in the "crafty" category, but I did save money with it since I didn't have to buy any ... footies!

I made my son this pair of footies in probably about an hour this evening. I used some yarn I got from my mom and single crotched it. I'm going to make him another pair just like it so he'll have four shoes to wear.

We made these all the time for ourselves and each other. You just knit or crochet a square and then sew it up with a crochet hook. Simple, cheap, and so warm and cozy!

T-shirt bags

2008-12-18T23:20:00.001-08:00

Here's a great money-saving idea for you -- T-shirt bags!

T-shirt bags are a bit more green than frugal but the wonderful thing about being frugal is that it is green most of the time!

I ran across these super easy directions for making T-shirt bags and just had to try it. All you do is turn the shirt wrong side out, sew up the bottom hem, cut off the sleeves and cut a scoop out of the neck and you're done!

These bags can be used for literally anything! I have these three big ones in the picture here. The green one currently contains diapering supplies that aren't used on a daily basis. The white one most recently held little girls' clothes for an overnight visit at their cousins' house. The Winnie the Pooh bag (does anyone recognize this shirt?) is also for diaper/baby stuff since I have an official diaper bag with Winnie the Pooh on it.

My girls have several small bags, most of which my older daughter and her cousin made out of some of their own old T-shirts. Their collection of T-shirt bags consists mostly of purses and baby bags.

I keep intending to make several medium sized ones for using at the store since I do not need one more plastic bag in my house. (We are being overrun with the things.) I keep forgetting to make the bags, though, but once I ever remember I'm going to stash them in the car so they'll be there when I need them.

Savings calculations for cloth diapering

2008-12-13T17:00:00.001-08:00

Using cloth diapers is one excellent way a family with babies can save money. They are very easy to use and not any more trouble than using disposable diapers.

Here are my family's calculations as far as spending/saving on diapers goes. This is not a very precise or scientific calculation, given that my math skills aren't the greatest, but it gives a good idea of what we've been doing and shows that we have saved money with it, even though we didn't start it until very late in the game.

Okay, here goes:

DIAPER SPENDING AS OF 10.15.08

$36 for a few things from FSOT (For Sale or Trade at DiaperSwappers.com)
$10 for materials to make diapers (two flannel sheets from Goodwill and a few really big men's t-shirts from yard sales)
$10 for sewing notions (scissors, thread, pins, measuring tape, etc.)
$35 for used sewing machine at Goodwill
$20 for a new bobbin case for the machine

TOTAL: $111

SINCE THEN ...

$2 for more materials (new t-shirts at yard sales and some flannel at Goodwill)

$22 for 3.5 dozen Gerber diapers

$6.50 for 1 dozen Gerber diapers

= 30.50

SOLD ...

$5 (1 prefold diaper)

$5 (1 pocket diaper)

$15 (3 prefold diapers)

= 25.00

TRADED ...

2 AIOs (all-in-one diapers) for a pair of sneakers

4 covers for 11 prefold diapers (this was an excellent trade BTW!)

I am going to say the “sold” and the “traded” cancels out at least the original $36 on FSOT.

I am going to take out the $10 for sewing notions since they can be/are being used for other things than sewing diapers.

I am going to take out the $35 for the machine /$20 for the new bobbin since the machine can be/is being used for other things.

That leaves my original cost of $10 for materials plus the new $30.50 for materials and diapers.

I didn't calculate in shipping costs for mailing diapers sold/traded.

I'm not putting in the cost of extra water and detergent since it is minimal (2 loads a week).

Nor am I counting the cost of my time/gas to go to my mom's to get free materials or my time to make the diapers.

That leaves me with a GRAND TOTAL of $40.50 actual cost for the diapers I'm now using! That would buy less than a month's worth of disposable diapers using a big $10 Fred's brand (our favorite brand) each week. We've been doing this for three months.

If I LEAVE IN the $10 for sewing notions plus $35/$20 for the sewing machine that gives me an actual cost increase of $65 which brings the total to $105.50, which would buy about 10 weeks worth of disposable diapers. That would bring us to about breaking even on diapers right now. We are now using probably one small $5 pack of disposable diapers every four to six weeks.

So either way we have saved/will save money! WHOOHOO!!

I expect him to be in diapers for four to six more months, and I'd also like to have another child that we would cloth diaper starting at a few months of age. If we had another one I could diaper that child pretty much for free, since I already have a size large stash and enough materials to make size small and size medium stash and plenty of Gerber diapers to supplement it.

How to wash and care for cloth diapers

2008-12-10T06:57:00.000-08:00

Washing and caring for cloth diapers is very easy although many people think it is difficult and time consuming. I keep my routine as simple and natural as possible. I use vinegar and homemade laundry detergent.

Here is what I do:

First, I rinse wet diapers in the sink or dispose of solid waste in the toilet and then rinse off in the sink. (A shower sprayer would work better; I have this on my list of things to get since it would get double use.)

I place rinsed diapers in a pail with water and a splash of vinegar. I use plastic one-gallon ice cream buckets (great use for all those buckets we accumulate) but a larger pail would work just fine. The diapers stay in these buckets until I get ready to wash, which is every 2-4 days.

When I get ready to wash, I dump the buckets into the washing machine and do a cold rinse. Then I add detergent, fill the washer with hot water by starting the wash cycle and let the diapers soak for a while. If I need to whiten and further disinfect my diapers I add a little hydrogen peroxide, about half a cup or so. I use a few drops of tea tree oil on occasion.

My detergent recipe is one bar of grated up Ivory soap, 2 cups borax, and 2 cups washing soda. Store in an airtight container and use one teaspoon to one tablespoon depending on load size. You don't need a lot of detergent to wash your diapers especially if you have rinsed the diapers off as soon as they come off the baby.

When the regular wash and rinse finishes I rerinse with about a half a cup of vinegar and then dry in the dryer without a dryer sheet. You don't use a dryer sheet on your diapers because dryer sheets coat your clothing and reduce absorbency.

Here is another slightly different method of caring for cloth diapers, from the book "Organic Housekeeping" by Ellen Sandbeck. (My method is very similar to hers, I was delighted to discover.)

Managing the Messy End of the Diaper Cycle

1. Half fill the diaper pail with warm water and add half a cup of borax. The borax will help reduce odors and staining. Or if your baby is having trouble with diaper rash, soak the diapers in water with a couple cups white vinegar instead of the borax and water. The vinegar will help kill the bacteria that can cause diaper rash.

2. Rinse out the urine and scrape the solid waste into the toilet before putting diapers into the diaper pail.

3. When the diaper pail is full, drain as much of the water as possible into the toilet, and lug the pail to the laundry room.

4. Put the diapers into the washing machine, and set the dial to the heaviest wash cycle and the hottest water setting. If your machine has a separate setting for the spin cycle you may want to use it to spin the excess liquid out of the diapers before starting the wash cycle.

5. Soap can leave a residue that may irritate baby's skin. Use a gentle unscented detergent. For the sake of the baby's future, try to choose a detergent that is biodegradable and phosphate free. For the sake of the baby's skin, try to choose a detergent that is free of fragrances, dyes, bleaches, and brighteners.

6. Add one cup vinegar to the final rinse cycle.

7. Dry the diapers using the cotton setting of the dryer.

8. If your baby is having problems with diaper rash, try drying the diapers outdoors in the sun. Sunlight is a very strong disinfectant.

How to sew a diaper cover

2008-12-07T07:51:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you like to cover your cloth diapers with something that will keep your baby's clothing from getting wet, if he is wearing any over his diaper.

A very easy way to make a diaper cover is to get an old fleece blanket and use the Rita's Rump Pocket diaper pattern like I did with the covers in the photo. I just sewed up the part that you would leave open if it were a diaper. I put elastic in that spot before I sewed it up.

These covers could have velcro on them but I left them without closures and I use pins to close them. That way I can get a custom fit every time.

Here is another pattern for a fleece cover:

How to sew a pull-on fleece cover

I have not used this pattern but it looks very easy. You could find more by searching "fleece diaper covers" or something like that.

How to sew pocket diapers

2008-12-02T07:39:00.000-08:00

Here are my favorite (FREE!) directions on sewing pocket diapers.

Rita's Rump Pocket diaper pattern

I took some photos as I was making one of these and posted them in my favorite diaper message board.

Sewing a Rita's Rump Pocket diaper -- photo tutorial

Her directions are very easy but sometimes it is good to have photos you can look at.

The pattern calls for two layers of cotton so I used some old flannel shirts and other cotton fabrics to make our pocket diapers. It doesn't have closures like snaps or velcro on it so you can pin them to get a good fit every time. Some people like to use different fabrics for them and add closures. You can basically make this diaper any way you want; I found that I love it according to the pattern.

How to sew cloth prefold diapers

2008-11-25T07:31:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my favorite directions for sewing cloth prefold diapers.

How to make a prefold diaper from T-shirts and scraps

How to make a prefold diaper from one T-shirt

How to make a 10-minute prefold

How to make a prefold with two large pieces of fabric

How to make a prefold the "real way"

I have used the top one most; it is the pattern I used to make the diapers in the photo. I have also used the second pattern and really like it. I have two diapers made from the third pattern and I recommend using a stretchy fabric with it and with the fourth.

There are other patterns on the Internet; just search "sew cloth diapers" or something like that and you will find lots of links. These links I have posted here use mostly recycled materials like old clothing since that is how I like to make my diapers but there are many other patterns with other fabric choices out there.

Plushy Penguin Prefolds

2008-11-15T08:09:00.000-08:00

The Plushy Penguin Prefolds that live with us now. They were pillowcases and a couple of t-shirts yesterday.

We have a new family of six Plushy Penguin Prefolds that have come to live with us!

They cost $1.50 (actually less) plus an hour of my time to make.

The kids and I went yard saling yesterday afternoon and for 50 cents each I got two king size super plushy penguin pillowcases! I got two diapers each out of the pillowcases for a total of four penguin PFs made with that style. The fabric is so plushy that I just used the two layers already there without sewing anything in the middle.

With the scraps and a couple of t-shirts for 25 cents each, I made two embellished penguin PFs.

Now we have a set of six beautiful and super soft and plushy penguin PFs!

(I promise I'm just about finished talking about sewing diapers if my two or three readers are terribly tired of hearing about them!)

Girly diapers!

2008-11-09T09:25:00.000-08:00

The yummy soft and squishy diaper set I made to trade with another cloth diapering mama who sews her own diapers from recycled materials!

Finally I got to make some girly diapers! I'm doing a trade with a mama from DiaperSwappers.com and I made up this set of four soft and squishy diapers for her. They are so little, 10x12, for her baby-to-be, much smaller than the big 13x16s I've been making for my son.

They are made from some flannel and old t-shirts my mom gave me.

For my end of the trade, I'm getting two Mickey Mouse prefolds made from an old bed sheet and two blue and brown flannel diapers made with a single strip of fabric each with the 10-minute prefold pattern! I'm so excited, and I'm so glad to trade with her. She and I have similar diapering philosophies -- it's supposed to be simple and cheap. Like myself, she has made her entire stash with recycled materials.

When I get my new diapers I'll show off her work.

Yummy soft diaper set

2008-11-03T07:28:00.000-08:00

The baby's new diaper set, made from one super-soft flannel shirt and some t-shirts.

The baby has a yummy new diaper set today thanks to my purchase of a 25 cent flannel shirt (huge and the softest flannel shirt I've ever felt) and a few t-shirts this weekend and a sewing marathon of sorts last night.

He's got a prefold diaper, a flat diaper, two pocket diapers, and two inserts, all with a yummy soft green flannel pattern.

I did a couple of slightly different things with this set of diapers. For the PF, I used two different color t-shirts for the body; black on the outside and white on the inside. That was because I ran out of enough t-shirts. For the pockets, I used three layers (two flannel and one t-shirt) instead of just two layers of flannel. That too, was improvising because I wanted to make two pockets with the two sleeves, but didn't have enough flannel for two inner layers. Well, I should say boyish flannel. I have a bunch of flannel with little green rosebuds on it that my mom gave me. So I put the rosy flannel on the inside with the plaid flannel on the outside and a layer of t-shirt next to the baby's skin. That extra layer makes the diapers so much softer. They only take slightly longer to dry as they are a tad damp at the elastic coming out of the dryer.

I have another piece of flannel for another PF but I thought I was out of t-shirts. I have a few thin white ones but one of them might work. Who knows what I might find if I go digging around in my fabric box.

I washed diapers yesterday morning but had to do another load last night to get all these clean. They are ready for him this morning!

So cute!

2008-10-24T19:32:00.000-07:00

Some of the pocket diapers I've made.

The pocket diapers I've made using the Rita's Rump Pockets pattern are just so stinkin' cute! I made a baker's dozen with these fabrics, mostly plaid since that seems to be the pattern of men's flannel shirts! The green plaid on the bottom left was a sheet, and the off-white gender-neutral fabric on the top left was a sheet. I used the off-white fabric inside all the plaid diapers except the green one.

Now I need some more shirts and sheets to make some more. Not only are they cute, they are easy to sew, easy to use, and they work great!

My diaper stash is finished!

2008-10-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

Our diaper stash! Inserts (clockwise from top left), flats, prefolds to use as inserts, pocket diapers, and prefolds!

We now have a complete diaper stash, and almost all of it I made!

We have a dozen prefolds made from flannel shirts and sheets and old t-shirts.

We have a dozen pocket diapers made from two flannel sheets and a couple of flannel shirts.

We have two dozen inserts/doublers, made from flannel and t-shirts.

We have a dozen and a half flannel flats. Half of them I made from flannel and the other half are flannel baby blankets.

To round things out we have eight or so cheap prefolds that I use for inserts/doublers.

We also have a few other assorted things like fitted diapers, covers, and all-in-one diapers that I bought from a few mamas on DiaperSwappers.com.

I am going to make a few fleece covers for when it gets colder but I'm not worried about that right now.

I'm proud of our stash and glad I started doing this. We will be saving money by cloth diapering and we have saved even more with me making everything from recycled materials. It's also nice to know that I've made something practical for the baby.

More pocket diapers

2008-10-20T11:58:00.001-07:00

Aren't these precious?

We now have a dozen of those adorable pocket diapers I posted about a few days ago!

I have been sewing on them the past few days and finally have them finished.

I used two different sheets I bought at Goodwill for $3 each to sew them with the FREE Rita's Rump Pocket pattern. I got tons of diapers out of those two sheets plus lots of doublers/inserts.

These diapers are two layers of flannel with elastic around the edge and an opening to insert doublers. The pattern calls for pinning the wings but some mamas put snaps or velcro on them. We are still pinning them but I may put velcro on a few to make it easy for daddy.

Savings with cloth diapering

2008-10-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

We haven't cloth diapered very long and our stash is small and simple on purpose because I'm determined to save money with this. Not counting the sewing machine fiasco, I've done pretty well.

I've spent $111.

$36 for a few things from FSOT (For Sale or Trade at DiaperSwappers.com)
$10 for materials to make diapers (two flannel sheets from Goodwill and a few really big men's t-shirts from yard sales)
$10 for sewing notions (scissors, thread, pins, measuring tape, etc.)
$35 for used sewing machine at Goodwill
$20 for a new bobbin case for the machine

And a lot of my time, which is priceless!

I got most of my materials for free from my mom and she has a lot more for me to make some more diapers if I want.

I have made sure that all of the materials I've used are being recycled with nothing bought new for this project. Of the few things that I've bought from Diaper Swappers, they were all mama-made and had a life before coming to live with us.

We have enough for 3-3.5 days right now but I wash every two days because I can't stand dirty things laying around even if they are well contained in my presoak buckets (also recycled, they are one-gallon ice cream buckets). He still wears disposable diapers at night and sometimes on the weekends when his dad changes him.

These will last him through the next few months. At 18 months, he's got at least six more months in diapers, but being that he's a boy (they are hard to potty train) he may be in diapers longer.

If we'd started this earlier we could have saved more money but you can't think of everything.

Our cloth diaper stash

2008-10-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

A dozen t-shirt/flannel prefolds (mama-made by me out of old t-shirts and flannel shirts, and the green plaid is a sheet I bought from Goodwill)

Receiving blankets used for flats and flannel flats cut from the back of men's shirts

Pocket diapers I just made with the Rita's Rump Pockets pattern out of sheets I bought from Goodwill

Cheap Gerber prefolds and t-shirt/flannel inserts/doublers

We have a few other assorted things, a few fitted diapers and AIOs (all-in-ones, they have a cover on them) we don't use a whole lot, and of course there was the dirty flat and doubler, and the flat and doubler on the bum while I was taking these photos.

I'm going to make a couple more pockets to make it an even half dozen and then make a couple of fleece covers.

Our cloth diaper stash is small on purpose since I'm trying to save us some money with this.

New diaper style

2008-10-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

The four pocket diapers I've made. Made of two layers of flannel and elasticized legs, the fit is great!

I've been sewing t-shirt prefolds and went through all the t-shirts I had on hand. I had the Rita's Rump Pocket pattern that I wanted to try. It's a diaper made of two layers of flannel and elasticized legs. You stuff it with prefolds, inserts, etc. for absorption.

I haven't had time to sew in a week, and then when I sat down to do it late last night I had scissor issues (very dull all of a sudden) and my very old sewing machine was having no parts of sewing any elastic or anything else for that matter. It hadn't sewn in a week and so it had to warm up, then the needle broke, and then it just plain hated the elastic. But I kept going and ended up with two pockets. I didn't make any more last night because I wanted to try the fit to see if there needed to be any adjustments. They fit perfectly so I made two more today.

The pattern calls for longer back wings and using pins to close. I made the wings not quite so long because of the size fabric I had. We are pinning for now but I think I'm going to try putting velcro on the next one I make. That would make diaper changing so fast!

My sewing is rudimentary at best but it's working and the second diaper looks much better than the first.

The elastic is kicking my butt on these. My sewing machine is old and cantankerous (like an old cat) and she hates elastic. The thread breaks repeatedly while I'm sewing elastic. I think I'll make a couple more to make an even half dozen of these and quit this, and find something else to sew that she likes better.

Pocket diaper in photos

2008-10-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

The open diaper (the first one of four I made)

Folded up

Stuffed with a Gerber prefold and a mama-made by me t-shirt and flannel doubler (waiting for some love)

And lastly, here is the second one I made being modeled by the resident diaper model (who greatly approved).

I have to say that as soon as I took these pics the diaper MODEL turned into a diaper TESTER and put his new dipe to the ultimate test. I'm proud to say it held up very well.

Old flannel shirts

2008-10-14T07:51:00.000-07:00

I've been cutting up old flannel shirts for diapers and have found that there are a ton of things hiding in an old shirt.

Here's how I've been using them:

* The back: Flat diapers. Tthe backs are probably big enough for fitted diapers, too.

* Two front panels: Stripes for the backs of prefold diapers. A beautiful black and white plaid was used on the diaper in the photo.

* Sleeves: Soakers, an extra few layers on top of the diaper for absorption. I've been sewing old T-shirts inside.

* Scraps: Wipes, handkerchiefs, etc.

I'm getting better at fully utilizing all of the fabric in the shirts, which is good because flannel is so wonderfully soft and absorbent!

Share your ideas for old flannel shirts!

Diaper sets

2008-10-13T07:31:00.000-07:00

The "green" set ... four prefolds, two flats, and the solid green thing is an insert for more absorption. The green plaid all came from a flannel sheet that I bought from Goodwill. There is still over half of the sheet left so I am going to try to make a different kind of diaper with what is left. The bodies of these diapers and all of the ones that I have made are old T-shirts that came mostly from boxes of old clothes at my parents' house.

The "blue and orange" set ... three prefolds, a reversible "pocket" for a prefold, and an insert! All of the plaid came from an old flannel shirt that I pulled from one of my mom's many yard sale piles this past weekend. The shirt was my dad's, I think.

My favorite, the "black and white" set ... two prefolds and a flat. The flannel came from a shirt that someone gave my husband. Since I took this picture I made a soaker insert with the black plaid. The insert has an old T-shirt of mine folded up and sewn inside of it.

The "red and white" set ... a flat, a prefold, and an insert! The flannel came from a shirt I got out of one of my mom's yard sale piles last weekend. I made another insert after I took this picture.

This set is just a lone prefold and insert. The plaid came from a shirt that my sisters wore in high school. (I need a picture of that!)

I wasn't intending to make "sets" but it just happened since I was using the same shirts to make different diapers.

Now I'm tired of sewing and washing diapers so I think I'll give it a rest for a while.

Cloth diapers

2008-10-11T07:56:00.000-07:00

Here is a set of prefold diapers I made the other night. The orange one has a pocket on the flannel stripe, but it's kind of hard to see. I think I'll sew a button on it so you can see it better.

Since I got my sewing machine fixed earlier in the week I've been busy making the baby more diapers. I'd like him to have enough to last for 2.5-3 days. I think we just about have that now.

He's wearing prefolds and flats that I made for him from old flannel shirts and old t-shirts, and a few others that I bought from a few mamas at DiaperSwappers.com. The ones I bought were all made by mamas as well. I'm proud of the fact that I've made something for him, that we can save a lot of money with them, that I recycled materials to make them, and that the ones I bought were all made by mamas like me who sewed them to save money.

Money-saving setbacks

2008-10-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

My attempts to save my family money by sewing diapers and other things for the kids is not really saving us any money right now, at least not yet. It has been COSTING us money, plus my time and frustration.

I found a wonderful tutorial about how to make diapers from old t-shirts at the DiaperSwappers.com forum and thought it was something I could do easily. I went to my mom's and collected up some old flannel shirts, old t-shirts, and a sewing machine, which is actually a high end embroidery machine that belonged to my grandmother.

I made all of a half-dozen prefolds and a half dozen flats before the machine shut down after three days. I took it in to the shop and they discovered some nicks in the bobbin case. That's $85 to look at it plus whatever for a new case for a total cost of around $150. Plus the machine would be in the shop for two weeks.

A few days passed by and I was trying not to go crazy without a machine, and my mom didn't have another one to loan me. Plus I wanted a very basic one that I could keep on hand, since I'm giving my grandmother's back to her when it gets out of the shop. I went to Goodwill on Sunday and picked up a very basic old White model for $35. It's just like (or very similar to) the one I used to sew my clothes on in high school.

I got it home and it had no bobbin case!

I can return it within 15 days for an exchange but I WANT THE MACHINE, I WANT TO SEW! (Blast it all.)

My mom thought she had a bobbin case to fit it but she's 30 minutes away. I took it down to the shop and bought a case for $20. So now we're up to $55 on THIS money-saving deal.

I got it back home, put the case on it, and then the needle wouldn't go up and down! I didn't have that problem before I put the bobbin case in there.

I called the shop and told them what was happening, and they said it sounded like something (a belt maybe) could be slipping and to bring it on back so they can take a look at it! She said it didn't have anything to do with the bobbin case although the needle and everything was going up and down just fine before.

I took it back in to the shop, not very hopeful by now that I can ever get anything sewn.

It turned out that I had shoved the bobbin case in too hard and that was what was keeping it from working. The man at the sewing machine shop took it out and took the case workings out and put them back in and didn't charge me for it.

I brought the machine back home, plugged it up, and held my breath.

IT WORKED! IT WORKED!

The tension was a little bit messed up but was working.

I've made several more diapers since I got the last problem fixed. The tension problem seemed to have worked its way out.

I've still got a lot more sewing to do to make up for the $55 I spent on the machine. I know that's not much to spend on a working machine but I was thinking I could sew for free. (Silly me.) I am also going to try to see if I can find a better price on getting my grandmother's machine fixed.

New sewing machine

2008-10-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

I picked this sewing machine up Sunday for $35 from Goodwill! I got a good deal on it and will use it to help us save money.

Right now I'm still in the process of sewing diapers for the baby.

My daughter and niece want to learn to sew on it and this one is a good one for that. They've already been helping me stitch around flat diapers.

This machine is just like the one I used to make my clothes when I was a teenager.

Recent Goodwill and yard sale finds

2008-10-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

My $14 Goodwill/yard sale haul from last week

A few days ago I hit Goodwill and a yard sale in search of mainly things for my diaper-sewing project I last posted about. For around $14 I got all the stuff in this photo plus a few more things:

Flannel sheet, $3

Four large men's T-shirts in very gently used condition, 50 cents each, $2 total

Dress for my daughter, $3

Baggie of sewing essentials like thread, needles, elastics, thimble, etc., $2

Yarn, crochet hook, and a beautiful strip of a crochet something that my daughter loves as a stole, $2

Bible with tabs for all the books, $1

Brand new (of course) Estee Lauder lip gloss and matching (somehow) Avon nail polish, 50 cents each, $1 total

What a haul! I had hoped to find more sewing supplies at Goodwill but they were rather low the other day. I was thrilled with the flannel sheet, though.

I just love Goodwill and all the great yard sales around here. They are held every single weekend here where we live now. You can get a lot of very gently used items for very little money, and that sure helps!

Adventures in making diapers

2008-10-04T08:44:00.000-07:00

Last week in my list of ways to save money in the baby's/kids' room I mentioned using cloth diapers and even sewing your own for an even bigger savings.

I have not cloth diapered my children up until now but it's not foreign to me since I helped cloth diaper several younger siblings. I'm not sure why I didn't think of it until now for my own kids, but better late than never.

I did some research on the Internet and found the best and easiest directions on the Diaper Swappers forum. I decided I would use one for a prefold, which is a flat diaper that is already the size it needs to be, with a strip of thicker fabric going down the middle. This is what most people think of when they think of cloth diapers.

I started scrounging around the house for old flannel shirts and T-shirts, and came up with quite a few. I went to my mom's house and collected a sewing machine, some old T-shirts, lots of flannel and other cotton fabric scraps, and a few other essentials like thread and bobbins. I stopped by Goodwill and bought a flannel sheet for $3, and gathered a bag of thread and other sewing things at a yard sale.

The back of a man's large flannel shirt works great for a flat diaper, which is just a piece of flat flannel (or whatever cotton fabric is used) that you fold into the shape you need. I cut out a few flats from a couple of flannel shirts and a few out of the flannel sheet. My son really loves the feel of the flannel flats and so do I. For extra protection I lay a prefold on top of the flat and fold the flat around it.

I made some prefolds next, using old men's large T-shirts as the front and back, a strip of flannel down the middle on the outside (that helps keep the cotton jersey from stretching too much and is just cute) and some of my brothers' old folded up wife-beaters to stuff the middle section.

For someone who hasn't sewn anything other than mending the last 20 years or so, the diapers turned out great! They work really well and are holding up really well. The machine broke before I could make enough to last longer than one day, though.

There are all kinds of other diaper styles that you can make, and I want to try to make a few other styles. I'm not going to make a lot of them, since my son is (hopefully) just months away from potty training.

Whether you buy them or make them, cloth diapers are an investment up front, but you can greatly reduce the cost by making them yourself out of old clothing and sheets. I spent about $10 on the sheet plus supplies like thread, scissors, pins, and stuff like that. So far I've gotten about 10 diapers out of it with enough fabric scraps and old clothing to make a whole lot more.

We are still using disposable diapers for nighttime and when we leave the house, but our disposable stash is moving a lot slower than it used to. Hooray!

My first try at making diapers

2008-10-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

A prefold diaper I made from a couple of my old T-shirts and an old flannel shirt someone gave us.

Three prefold diapers I made from old T-shirts, a flannel sheet, and a pair of old flannel pajamas.

Three flat diapers I made from a couple of old flannel shirts and a flannel sheet. You saw the black and white check pattern on a prefold in the first picture. This is my favorite pattern so far and it came from an old flannel shirt that someone gave us. You saw the green and blue check pattern in the second photo. This came from a flannel sheet I bought at Goodwill for $3. I'll have a lot of diapers with this pattern before it's all over.

Saving the best for last, here is my son modeling his favorite diaper (mine too), a flannel flat cut from the back of an old shirt. It's so soft and comfy and he looks so adorable in it.

The benefits of natural cleaning

2008-10-03T07:09:00.000-07:00

The Money Saving WAHM (that's me!) has talked a lot about natural cleaning, as it is very easy on the lungs, skin, environment and pocketbook and is very effective. Here is a good article on that very subject.

(The links at the bottom of the article appear to be dead but they must be included with the article since I am reprinting it. The information contained in the article is still very valuable!)

The Benefits Of Natural Cleaning
by Lisa Fraley

There are benefits if you use a homemade natural cleaning product instead of a chemically laden commercial one.

Making your own cleaning product doesn't consume a lot of time and it is inexpensive too. How long does it take to fill a spray bottle with white vinegar, water and a few drops of essential oil? About a minute or two.

Once it's done you have an appliance and glass cleaner that's natural and chemical free.

Commercial cleaners can be very expensive and the prices are rising. Homemade alternatives cost only pennies to make and you don't need to use as much.

Most homemade natural formulas are multi-purpose so you will need less space to store cleaning products. This is a big help for those of us who are limited on storage space.

You can be creative with your packaging too. Wash out those old containers that use to store the commercial products and reuse them to store your homemade natural products instead. Store car and wood polishes in recycled coffee tins (the kind with the plastic lid). For your homemade powder cleansers reuse sprinkle top plastic containers (bulk spices come in these).

Essential oils
Essential oils are available in health food stores and you can find them online also. Be sure you are buying pure, undiluted oil and not one that has been diluted with carrier oil. Store your oils away from heat and light to keep them potent for the longest amount of time. The bottle will come with a dropper and that is what you use to measure how much you put into your cleaners. Essential oils can irritate the skin and must be diluted with either carrier oil or other liquid before use.

Here is a list of oils and herbs to have on hand if you are just starting out:

Oils:
Citronella
Citrus (sweet orange or lemon)
Wintergreen (take extra care when handling this oil)
Tea Tree

Herbs:
Thyme - antibacterial, anti-fungal, antiviral
Rosemary - antibacterial
Basil - anti-fungal
Mint - antibacterial
Oregano - antibiotic, antiviral
Lavender - antibiotic, antiviral, anti-fungal
Lemon Balm - antiviral
Sage - antibacterial

Here are a few natural cleaning product recipes you may be able to make right now. The ingredients are common items you may already have on hand.

Herbal Sink Scrub
? cup baking soda
? cup coarsely ground sage leaves
? cup ground rosemary leaves

Combine all ingredients in an airtight container and blend together by shaking. Sprinkle a small amount into the sink and scrub with a damp sponge or cloth. Rinse the sink well. Use only whole dried sage and rosemary leaves.

Rust Remover
? cup baking soda
Juice from half a lemon

Sprinkle the baking soda directly on the rust stain. Sprinkle the baking soda with lemon juice. Let set undisturbed no stain overnight. Wipe away baking soda and rinse thoroughly.

No Scrub Toilet Bowl Cleanser
1 cup borax
1 cup vinegar

Combine both in a plastic bowl or bottle and pour all at once into the toilet bowl. Allow it to sit overnight and in the morning just flush. This works great for toilets that have an everlasting ring around them. By morning even the toughest stains will be gone!

Laundry Fabric Softener
6 cups of white vinegar
1 cup of water
1 cup of baking soda

Combine all ingredients into a plastic container (heavy duty). Only takes 1 cup in your rinse cycle per load for wonderfully soft clothes. If you want to scent this, simply add about 15 drops of your favorite citrus essential oil.
~~~
Lisa Fraley is the author of "Frugal Comes In Green." An e-book packed with earth friendly ways you can have more money for the things you want. http://www.home-works-enterprises.ws/frugal-comes-in-green-ebook.html

She is the owner of Home Works Natural Skin And Body Care. Where you can purchase natural products for the natural you. http://www.home-works-enterprises.ws

Visit Lisa's natural product blog for articles, tips, do-it-yourself recipes and more. http://www.all-natural-products.info.

Frugal blogs

2008-10-02T07:20:00.000-07:00

If you need more of a frugal fix (I know I do!) then be sure to check out the frugal blogroll over on the right side navigational bar of this blog.

I joined Frugal Hacks and the 600 or so blogs on the list. I spend a little time each day checking out a few of the blogs on the blogroll and have found some great ones.

If you have a blog related to frugality be sure to join and get the blogroll, too. If not, just enjoy all the blogs!

Cooking on the cheap

2008-10-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for ways to prepare cheap, quick, and easy meals for your family, we have something in common! With a tight budget, five kids to feed, and not much cooking ability (what a combination!) I am all about cheap, quick, and easy in the kitchen.

My blog I Hate the Kitchen is full of recipes and ideas for feeding the family on the cheap. It is pretty much my online collection of recipes that we have made up, tried, and will try in the very near future. I prepare a lot of meals with a very limited amount of time and fixings on hand, but they usually turn out pretty good. Either that or I have hungry kids who will just about eat anything!

Check it out and let me know what you do to cook on the cheap!

Money saving tips

2008-09-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

I hope you have enjoyed all the tips for saving money in each room of the house posted here over the last several days. By no means is it an all-inclusive list, but just a few things that my family does every day to reduce our costs and to be conscious of the environment. I love that these money-saving tips are also environmentally-friendly.

What are some things that your family does to cut costs and tread lightly on the earth?

Saving money room by room: The baby's/children's room

2008-09-29T08:13:00.000-07:00

Everyone says kids are expensive but there are actually a lot of practical ways to spend less on things for the kids.

Saving money in the baby's/children's room

* Use cloth diapers. They are an investment initially but that's all there is to buy other than the laundry detergent to clean them. I have not done this with my own until now, but helped cloth diaper several younger siblings. You can sew your own out of old flannel shirts and T-shirts and reduce your cost to almost nothing. Here are the directions for a couple of styles.

* If you aren't that adventurous, try store brand diapers. My favorite are at Fred's. The tabs and elastic back are unbeatable and I like the fact that there are no dyes or fragrances. A large package costs only $9.99, and sometimes they are on sale for $8.99. Kroger (Comforts brand) and Wal-Mart (Parent's Choice brand) also carry quality store brand diapers.

* Use baby washcloths in lieu of baby wipes at home. This works wonderfully. I have a stack of store-bought baby washcloths that were given to us before the baby was born that I use for cleaning up after dirty diapers.

* Use cloth to wipe little runny noses and wash dirty little hands and faces. I have a separate set of cloths that we use for this. My mom and I have made all of these from old T-shirts and thin baby blankets.

* Use soaps, shampoos, and lotions for the entire family rather than purchasing separate products for the baby. Baby products are expensive, contain fragrances and other chemicals, and for us, they just don't work! We have a couple of little ones with eczema/sensitive skin so we must be careful what we use, but white Lever 2000 soap is great for everyone. We also order our soap, shampoo, and lotion products from a wellness company called Melaleuca. The entire family uses their white bar soap, herbal shampoo, and Renew lotion.

* Recycle plastic shopping bags by using them to dispose of dirty diapers.

* Shop for kids' clothes at yard sales and secondhand stores like Goodwill. You can also pass clothes around with family and friends.

* Get LED nightlights ($1 at most dollar stores) instead of leaving a lamp or even worse, the bathroom light, on all night.

Saving money room by room: The bathroom

2008-09-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

You can do a lot to reduce costs in the bathroom. What are some of your tips?

Saving money in the bathroom

* Take short showers. Don't brush your teeth in there.

* Make sure the little kids run just a little bit of water in the tub. For babies, use the kitchen sink (or a baby bathtub) instead of the tub for bathing.

* Use hair conditioner (or a cheap shampoo plus conditioner) to shave your legs. You already have it, it's cheaper than shaving cream, and it provides a much better barrier between your legs and the razor.

* Don't run water down the sink while you brush your teeth.

* Clean the toilet, sink, and tub with natural cleaners like baking soda, vinegar, and borax.

* Mop the floor with a little vinegar in hot water.

Baking soda has tons of beauty uses:

* Brushing your teeth. Use it plain or mixed with hydrogen peroxide.

* Washing/exfoliating your face. Use it plain or mixed with a very small amount of facial cleanser.

* Washing your hair. Use it plain or mixed with a very small amount of shampoo. I usually use it with shampoo.

Saving money room by room: The laundry room

2008-09-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

The laundry room is a place where you can considerably reduce costs while being environmentally-friendly. What do you do?

Saving money in the laundry room

* Make your own laundry detergent. Here's my recipe, and some other recipes as well.

* Use vinegar in the rinse cycle to boost detergent. You need less detergent when you use vinegar. It can also be used in lieu of fabric softener, again used in the washing machine. I just put a half a cup or so in when I start the water. The clothes come out clean and very fresh.

* Baking soda can also be used as a detergent booster. It also freshens clothes, gets rid of odors, and lets you use less detergent.

* Wash in the cooler part of the day, early in the morning especially. Electricity is less expensive then.

* Wash in cold water, at least the clothes. I sometimes wash towels and linens in hot, just to be sure.

* If you use fabric softener, use only half a sheet with clothes and none with towels.

* Hang your clothes, towels, linens, etc., out to dry.

* If you don't have a clothes line (I don't; I'm working on that) you can dry at least your linens and blankets by tossing them over chairs, bunk beds, the exercise machine, etc.

* Clean out the lint collector after every use and scrub it with soap and a toothbrush every couple of weeks or so. Stuff off of fabric softener sheets builds up and air can't get through.

* Keep the outside vent clear of lint. We learned this the hard way. We got rid of two probably perfectly fine secondhand dryers because they wouldn't dry our clothes. Turns out the outside vent was clogged with lint.

Saving money room by room: The kitchen

2008-09-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

Here are a few tips for saving money in the kitchen. What do you do to reduce costs in the kitchen?

Saving money in the kitchen

* Run a sinkful of water for rinsing dishes instead of running the water.

* Make your own dishwashing detergent. It can be used to clean just about anything, not just the dishes.

* Use baking soda for removing stuck-on food, counter stains, and everything in between.

* Use a diluted vinegar spray for wiping down the counters, cleaning off the stove, etc.

* Mop the floor with a cup or so of vinegar in a sink of hot water.

* Recycle those mesh bags that produce like apples and onions come in. They are great for scrubbing pots and dishes and are much cheaper and cleaner than scrubbing sponges.

* Use your leftover coffee grounds! Just add half the amount of fresh grounds you normally use to the leftover grounds. If you normally use two scoops of fresh, just add one scoop of fresh to the leftover grounds. You can do this at least once with the leftovers.

* Make baby food so much cheaper and healthier with a food processor, blender, or just mashing it up. At first you may want to cook her food separately but later on you can just mash up what everyone else is eating. If she isn't going to eat it right then, freeze it in portions in baby food jars.

* Save chicken stock, meat broth, etc. and freeze it for use later. It's wonderful for cooking rice, pasta, and soup.

Saving money room by room: The entire house

2008-09-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Today starts the Money Saving WAHM's series of tips for saving money in each room of the house. Today's list consists of things that can be done throughout the entire house.

Saving money in the entire house

* Adjust the thermostat to over 75 in the summer and under 68 in the winter. You probably want to change the temperature a degree at a time over the span of about a week. Spot cool with fans; spot heat with portable heaters. You'll see savings on your very next bill.

* Turn the attic fan on anytime it's cooler outside instead of running the air conditioner.

* Keep the windows covered in the summer to keep sunlight out. Open the curtains/blinds in the winter to let warm sunlight in.

* Turn off lights when no one is using them. Don't turn them on unless you have to.

* Turn off and unplug things like the computer when they aren't in use.

* Use natural cleaners like vinegar, baking soda, washing soda and borax to clean everything. They're much easier on your skin, nose, environment, and of course, your pocketbook. Plus, they clean better than harmful commercial cleaners. Here are some recipes for homemade cleaners and homemade laundry soap.

* Use florescent light bulbs. They're cheaper than they used to be and are more readily available. We put them in when we moved in this house over two years ago and haven't had to change any of them.

Tips for saving money at home

2008-09-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

Families these days want and need to save money. Families with work-at-home moms like myself especially want and need to be frugal with their money. Increasingly, families also want to be environmentally-responsible while they watch their budgets.

Coming up over the next several days are some easy tips for saving money at home, room by room. They have been tested by me personally, and most of these ideas are also environmentally-friendly as an added bonus.

Check back tomorrow and be sure to share your money-saving ideas!

Request free samples the easy way!

2008-09-20T23:18:00.000-07:00

The world of free samples is an exciting one! It's an excellent way to try new products and save a bit of money in the meantime. There are a few things you'll want to do to make things easier.

* Set up an email address that is strictly for free sample requests. You shouldn't get spammed but sometimes to get the free sample you sign up to get a newsletter, too. Some of the free sample sites I visit (see below) offer a newsletter that you'll want to subscribe to as well. Some request forms require you to confirm your request before you can receive it so don't forget to check your free sample email every few days. Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, and Mail.com are just a few excellent free email services. Yahoo now has the Ymail and Rocketmail domains, and Hotmail now has Live. Mail.com has an endless variety of domains including Email.com, USA.com, and many others.

* Set up an Internet phone number. I use AIM Phoneline. It's free and you can either take the call or let it go to voicemail. You almost always have to enter a phone number and most people aren't comfortable with giving out their landline or cell phone number.

* Download either the Google toolbar with AutoFill or RoboForm for one-click form-filling. I was filling out forms line by line until I realized that I didn't have to. You just download the program and then go in there and put as much or as little information as you want. I just entered the information that is typically asked on a free sample form: name, address, email, phone number, and birthdate. When you open a form for a free sample, simply click the AutoFill box or RoboForm identity box and presto, the form is filled out for you.

* Bookmark some great free sample sites and visit them every day:

Mommy Jobs freebie board (This is my Internet home; I post links to most of the samples I send off for here)

Frugal Inspiration (The best freebie board I've seen on the Internet; she has categorized all the freebies)

My Savings (They list new additions and user favorites)

Free Sample Forager (A great freebie blog)

My Precious Pennies (A sidebar listing of freebies I haven't seen anywhere else)

Walmart.com (Go to "In stores now" and then "free samples")

Money Saving WAHM (That's this blog. I post links to samples I've received and will soon start posting links to ones I've requested.)

Most of these sites don't make anything from posting links to free samples, so be sure to visit one of their advertising sponsors while you are there!

Happy free sample requesting!

Recent free samples

2008-09-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

I've gotten some great free samples lately. Most of them are still available. Here they are:

Fiber one cereal and bar

StaphAseptic ointment

Coromega Omega-3 fish oil supplement

Tampax Pearl

Playtex Sport

Playtex Gentle Glide (different sample)

Splenda coffee flavors

Head and Shoulders shampoo and conditioner

I've also received a double sample of Cascade gel packs and a full-size Mr. Clean eraser from Wal-Mart, but those are gone now. Here's a link to a free mini Mr. Clean eraser:

Mini Mr. Clean eraser (I just sent for this so I don't have it yet)

If you like getting samples, check these free sample sites every few days! All of the samples placed on these sites are 100 percent free with no strings attached.

Free diabetic kit!

2008-09-18T08:12:00.000-07:00

This fabulous (and complete) diabetic kit came free the other day! I thought it was just the meter and strips when I ordered it, but it is the entire kit ... meter, strips, lancing device, and lances in a pouch. There are some cards to join some free programs as well. I got this to have on hand for my five-year-old niece. She's diabetic and at my house a good bit of the time. Her mom always sends all her supplies, and I already have everything at my house, but it never hurts to have extra on hand.

Here is the link to the free kit along with links to some other great samples I've received recently!

Free diabetic kit

I am still waiting on a couple of other different diabetic samples. Here are the links.

One Touch meter

Unistik lancing device

I found these great diabetic samples in my daily searches for free samples. Get some to have on hand if you or a friend or loved one is diabetic.

Use your leftover coffee grounds!

2008-09-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

This coffee tip came from a frugal blog a few years ago. It seems a bit weird, maybe even gross, at first but I guarantee if you try it you will be impressed.

Save your leftover coffee grounds and use them to make the next pot of coffee!

When you make a pot of coffee, save the grounds until the next time you make coffee. Put half the amount of fresh coffee grounds that you normally use in with the leftover grounds. For instance, if you use two scoops of fresh grounds, place one scoop of fresh grounds on top of the leftover grounds. Brew the coffee with the same amount of water you normally use.

You can't taste the difference, or at least I can't!

You can do this at least once and I've even used the leftover grounds twice.

(If I could just cut back on the amount of sugar and creamer I use I'd really be saving some money.)

What are some ways you like to use your leftover coffee grounds?

Using everything in a tube

2008-09-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

Does it drive you crazy when you know there is more toothpaste, ointment, whatever, in a tube, but it refuses to come out?

It does me. Or, it did. Now I just break out the scissors and solve the problem.

Just cut the tube in half! You'll be very surprised at how much is still in the tube, even after not one more drop will squeeze out.

Store the tube halves in a plastic zipper seal bag, or put the cut ends together, one inside the other. I like to use the plastic bags since no air gets in to dry out the toothpaste or whatever it is.

'Roadside Freecycle'

2008-09-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

We have something here in the "big city" that I like to call "roadside Freecycle."

You may be familiar with the actual Freecycle, where you get on the Internet at www.freecycle.org, join a group in your area and offer and receive things completely free of charge with no strings attached. It's a wonderful way to recycle; I've written a few pieces about it for newspapers in my area.

The more informal version is what most people think of as "putting things out on the side of the road." You know, for the city to pick up. It turns out that here in the "big city," household items get picked up at the curb once a week, and people put out some great stuff that is still useable and in good condition.

The secret is stopping right when you see it because if you keep going and say you'll get it when you come back, it will not be there. Not even if you come back in 30 minutes.

On my way to pick up the girls from school one afternoon last week I spotted this plastic drawer cart on the side of the road. I stopped, backed up, and got out and checked it out. I determined it to be free of pests and cleanable, so I stowed it in the back of the van. After we got home I set it outside and cleaned it with some of my homemade cleaner (half borax, half washing soda, about a teaspoon or so in a half a bucket of water). I haven't decided what I'm going to put in it yet.

We have plucked a chair, a vacuum cleaner, a bicycle, and other great items off the side of the road. We are still using all of them. My sister, who lives in another city, snagged a baby changing table that I used to store the baby's clothes and necessities for a while. We've also grabbed a few things that didn't work, so out to our curb they went.

We aren't just on the taking end of this "roadside Freecycle." We've put loads of good working items that we just didn't care to keep anymore out on our curb. Things like televisions, computer monitor, a desk, stove, dishwasher, etc. All of them were useable and just required a bit of tinkering. My sister-in-law was only too happy to grab a television and a desk that I had set out on the side of the road. She happily watches the TV set in her bedroom while her kids play on a computer that is perched on top of the desk she scooped up. We saw the stove in a secondhand store. The poor dishwasher and the monitor sat out on the side of the road until the city came by after it.

If your city picks up household items once a week, keep on the lookout for good finds! (You might want to join the real Freecycle, too.)

Drying clothes

2008-09-13T09:28:00.000-07:00

I'm cutting back on my dryer use and could really use a clothes line! Right now I have a three quilts, a set of sheets, several towels in assorted sizes, and a few pieces of clothing hanging around the house and inside the garage drying.

I think we can really reduce the electric bill with less dryer use. Turning the thermostat down made some difference so I'm positive about the dryer. I don't think it'll have much impact with me just draping the bedding around the house to dry and still using the dryer for towels and clothes. Until I get a clothes line I'm going to continue draping the bedding around the house and the towels, too.

Great Goodwill finds!

2008-09-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

My Goodwill finds for the week! Quite a load of useful stuff for just $32.

Goodwill is an excellent place to find gently used items of all types for really cheap! I shop there often for clothes for my kids and myself, and I find great household items there too.

This week I've been there twice! For $32 here's what I got:

* Girl's bike in great condition -- $8
* Electric skillet in great condition -- $8 (we were just saying we needed another one)
* School outfit, top and bottom -- about $2 each piece
* Three-piece dress outfit (I got the pieces from three different racks, a skirt, top and wrap) -- about $2 each piece
* Two pairs of barely worn girls' shoes (they're too big for anyone right now but with as many girls as I have it won't be long before someone can wear them) -- $2 each
* Lunch box, brand new -- $1.50
* Few other little assorted things (hair rubber bands, etc.) -- $2.30 in total

These things were all in excellent condition and will get lots of use at my house!

Goodwill's prices are a bit more than what you would pay at a yard sale but then again you don't have to wait until the weekend or sort through piles of stuff that probably should have been thrown away!

Sometimes I go into Goodwill looking for certain things and come back out with them. Sometimes I'm looking for something and leave with things totally different. And sometimes I just go in there to see what treasures I can find!

Homemade dish detergent

2008-09-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

In my research for homemade laundry detergent recipes I ran across one for homemade dish detergent that I thought I'd try. I think it is actually for the dishwasher but I wanted to try it in the sink too.

The recipe I found calls for a cup each of borax and washing soda mixed together. You use only about a tablespoon per load of dishes.

I got a container about the size of a large yogurt container and just put in equal parts of borax and baking soda, and scooped out about a tablespoon and added it to my running hot water. I put the dishes in and I kid you not, I could see them getting clean. I had some tough stuff in there as we had spaghetti the night before and all we did was just rinse the food off of the dishes and stack them up.

The dishes came out very clean and fresh with minimal work from me. I'm delighted! This concoction is definitely being added to my existing arsenal of cleaning products (baking soda and vinegar mostly with a couple of eco-friendly products I purchased.)

As soon as I run out of the dishwashing detergent I'm using now (it's eco-friendly) I'll be using my homemade version.

I chalk my entry into the world of homemade cleaners up as a shining success. They work, they are environmentally-friendly, they are very easy to make, and they're cheap!

Homemade laundry detergent a success!

2008-09-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

Here is my container of soap shavings that is the base of my laundry detergent. I used a paring knife but a cheese grater would most likely be easier and quicker. The shavings are a tad big but they are so cute!

Here is the finished product -- soap shavings, borax, and washing soda. It was very easy to make and works great too!

My dip into the world of making my own laundry detergent is a success! It was very easy to make and my clothes turned out very clean and fresh.

Here's what I used:
Bar of white soap
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda

Using a paring knife, I shaved the entire bar of soap. This took about 20 or 30 minutes but I was also taking care of a 16-month-old during that time. (I shaved the bar into one of my many plastic 0ne-gallon ice cream containers that I have saved over the summer. Yay! Finally a use for them, although I could use something half the size or less.)

Next I just added the borax and washing soda, put the lid on the container, and shook it up. I dropped a scoop (about 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons, I didn't measure.) All done!

Easy enough.

I put my concoction to the test right away. There just so happened to be a load of almost dry clothes in the dryer that judging by the smell, had been left in the washing machine too long. Yuck. If it could get that clean it could get anything clean.

I put a scoop of detergent in the washer, turned on the water and threw in the clothes, just like you would with any detergent. I would normally have put a half a cup or so of vinegar in there but I didn't have any.

The clothes came out of the washer looking and smelling very clean and fresh, without much of a noticeable scent. They came out of the dryer feeling like I should have put some vinegar in the water.

I pronounced it an overall success. Next time I will cut down on the amount of detergent used and add a bit of vinegar to the wash water.

As for a cost breakdown, the bar of soap was about $1, the box of washing soda was $2.99 at Kroger, and the Borax was $3.49 at Kroger. There's enough washing soda and Borax to make tons more laundry detergent. I'm also going to be using it to clean other things, though.

Homemade laundry detergent recipes

2008-09-08T07:01:00.000-07:00

I've been researching ways to make homemade laundry detergent. Basically, there are three ingredients: bar soap, borax, and washing soda.

There are two methods to making it; one involves boiling water for a gel detergent, and the other doesn't involve any water for a powder detergent. In the interest of simplicity, I decided to focus on powder recipes.

Here are a few great recipes I found:

Homemade laundry detergent recipes from Tipnut.com

Powdered Laundry Detergent - Recipe #9

12 cups Borax
8 cups Baking Soda
8 cups Washing Soda
8 cups Bar soap (grated)

Mix all ingredients well and store in a sealed tub.
Use 1/8 cup of powder per full load.

Powdered Laundry Detergent - Recipe #4

2 cups Fels Naptha Soap (finely grated - you could also try the other bar soaps -- Ivory or Zote))
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax

Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.
Use 2 tablespoons per full load.

Homemade laundry detergent recipes from Stretcher.com

Laundry Detergent: Basic Mix

* 1 cup soap flakes

* 1/2 cup washing soda

* 1/2 cup borax

Laundry Detergent: Soft Water Mix

* 1 cup soap flakes

* 1/4 cup washing soda

* 1/2 cup borax

Laundry Detergent: Hard Water Mix

* 1 cup soap flakes

* 1 cup washing soda

* 1 cup borax

Liquid Laundry Detergent

* 1 cup of any of the above mixes

* 2 tablespoons glycerin

* 2 cups warm water

Mix ingredients and store in a sealed, labeled canister in the laundry room.

To use, measure 1/2 - 3/4 cup of the mix and wash your clothing in warm or cold water. Use cold water for the rinse cycle.

Here are some more informative links:

A great step-by-step guide with photos and a wonderful sense of humor from TheSimpleDollar.com. This one is actually for gel detergent.

Recipe from eHow.com

Information from Yahoo Answers

Homemade cleaners

2008-09-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

Who else is using homemade cleaners? We have used natural cleaners like baking soda and vinegar for some time now, mainly because they are easier on everyone's skin and lungs. Extra benefits are a better clean, a more environmentally-responsible clean, and a cheaper clean!

I have been researching ways to make cleaners and have found some great recipes. Here's a great list from my favorite frugal message board:

Recipes for homemade cleaners

I'm specifically trying recipes for homemade laundry detergent and will share more with you on that in the days to come.

Cutting back and reducing expenses

2008-09-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

My family lives very simply, a choice that lets me stay home with the kids. That choice makes it necessary for us to examine the budget from time to time and make adjustments where necessary.

The last budget examination was a very thorough one and yielded some small but significant ways we can cut back and ways we can reduce our expenses. My husband saw several ways we can cut out expenses. I saw a number of ways we can reduce the cost of things we can't cut out.

The thermostat was one of the things I saw that could be adjusted for savings. That has worked out well. In the days to come I'll be telling you about some more ways we're working on reducing our expenses. One of the things I'm doing is trying homemade cleaners! More on that later.

Freebie mail call!

2008-09-04T06:31:00.000-07:00

I've gotten some great free samples in the mail lately. I'll list them here and include links for the ones that are still available.

Nature Made vitamins 14-day supply

Benefiber packet

Kotex sample pack

Oatmeal Crisp cereal

And today's prize ... a full roll of Scott toilet paper! Unfortunately this one is not available any more.

All of these came in about two weeks or so after my request. I have a bunch more I'm waiting on so I hope they come soon!

Great places to find free samples!

2008-09-03T07:11:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love free samples? There are a lot of places on the Internet to find them, but unfortunately many of them aren't really free. Here's a list of my favorite places to find free samples!

Walmart.com (Go to "in stores now" and click on "free samples")

FrugalInspiration.com (the freebie board)

FreeSampleForager.com

MySavings.com (you register for a free account)

MommyJobs.com (the freebie folder on the message board; I am a moderator at this board and place individual links to most of the samples I request here)

Where are your favorite places to find great free samples?

Frugal inspiration

2008-09-02T08:08:00.000-07:00

Want some inspiration for some new ways to be frugal? Try Frugal Inspiration!

This new board-style site has more ways than you ever thought of to be frugal. The freebie section is the best I've ever seen with all the free samples categorized by type (babies, laundry, food, etc.).

Hope to see you there!

The thermostat

2008-09-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

The thermostat. *sigh*

With temperatures from 90-100 a good many days this summer, our electric bill has been in a word, awful.

I am the Thermostat Controller in the house, and I have been for 12 years. (That would be since we got married.) We have been keeping the temperature setting on 73 since the first pregnancy almost 10 years ago. I don't want to be hot and frankly, no one wants me to be hot.

But we've also got some financial issues, as many families do, and we went through the budget dollar for dollar a few weeks ago. I came to the conclusion, as the Thermostat Controller of course, that something had to be done with the electric bill. So, with much trepidation, I bumped the thermostat up to 74 and held my breath, waiting to die.

It didn't happen! Whoohoo! I survived! Now I got a bit more brave. I put it up on *gasp* 75. Again I waited to die, but not expecting it as much as I had the last time I changed the thermostat.

Again, I lived.

Right after that, the electric bill arrived. *gulp* I marched straight in the house and bumped it up to 76. Then a day or so later, having gotten over my anxiety and fright over changing the thermostat, I pushed it up two whole degrees, to 78.

The change from 73 to 78 took a bit over a week but not quite two weeks. Surprisingly, everyone adjusted quite well. They were always a tad chilly with the temp set on 73 anyway.

I figured it would be cheaper to spot cool the areas where we (I, really) were instead of trying to keep the entire house cool.

With the thermostat up a whole five degrees and a few other changes implemented (turning off all lights when not in use, not even turning them on if it could be avoided, turning off and unplugging electronics and appliances not in use), I awaited the next electric bill with mixed emotions. I wanted to see what my efforts had done, but dreaded it not making a difference.

It finally came, and it was lower than the month before, about $60 lower! Success! The bill was still much higher than I would have liked, but I could see my hard work had paid off.

The thermostat has remained on 78; on occasion I get a bit hot and put it down on 77 or even 76, but it has not seen 75 or below in a while.

The Thermostat Controller is winning!

Intro!

2008-09-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

Being a mom of three (usually five counting my two nieces) kids I'm always on the lookout for ways to save (and make) money. This is where I will write about all my findings, adventures, and bumps along the way to saving and making money.

Happy money saving and earning!