Another batch of helpful hints!

Lately, I've been making all of my own cleaning products to help in the cost of maintaining my household. With the cost of gasoline and electricity increasing, something has to give! I don't have cable or a car payment. I buy mostly used clothes and home goods. I try to be as frugal as possible, but also as HEALTHY as possible. I don't think that adding a bunch of harsh chemicals into my cleaning routine has been beneficial, so here goes my new experiment!

Here is a list of cleaners that I've collected from various places around the internet:

Window Cleaner

1 c. water

2 T. vinegar

2 T. rubbing alcohol

1 1/2 t. cornstarch

 Mix all ingredients in a small spray bottle and shake to combine. Easy!

All Purpose Cleaner

Use the peels of a dozen or so oranges to fill a quart size jar, and fill it with white vinegar. Let it sit for two weeks, then it is ready to cut with 1 part water to 1 part vinegar in a spray bottle for a great-smelling all purpose spray!

Martha Stewart's Tub Scrub

Here's a nontoxic but effective way to clean your tub: Add one teaspoon of liquid soap and several drops of an antibacterial essential oil (such as tea tree, eucalyptus, rosemary, or peppermint) to one cup of baking soda. Add just enough water to form a paste, and use it with a sponge or brush to scour bathtub surfaces.

Homemade Laundry Soap

1 4 lb 12 oz box Borax (2.15 kg or 76 oz) found in the detergent aisle

1 4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (1.81 kg) found in the cooking aisle

1  box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz (3 lb 7 oz) found in the detergent aisle

2 bars of Zote laundry soap

2 small containers of Oxy Clean (3.5 lbs total)

(this is optional, I added it into mine because I have pretty messy kids and the cleaner the better)

Start out by grating your Zote soap just like cheese. You can use a food processor or just use your hand held grater, what ever you have.

**Don't worry the Zote will dissolve in your washer even if you only use cold water like me.** Toss all ingredients in a 5 gallon bucket lined with a garbage bag. This part makes your whole house smell great. Once everything is mixed store soap however you like. I chose a jar that I keep above my washing machine, I also got a little scoop to keep inside. Wasn't that easy? Sure was! Enjoy your soap.

Bathroom Spray

So it's pretty simple. Heat up some vinegar (I used a cup of vinegar and nuked it for 2 minutes). Then pour it in your spray bottle, add an equal amount of blue Dawn (the website comments were pretty specific about getting the blue kind), shake gently, and voila! 

Again, that's a one to one ratio of white vinegar to blue Dawn. I measured out a cup of each originally, but only used about half of my bottle. So next time I'll just do a half cup of each. The whole point is that the white vinegar is heated up, and while I haven't used it with it being room temperature and don't know if it'd work just as well, I'd rather just make it fresh each time. Especially if it's going to give me super clean results. Spray it on and let it sit for 2 hours or overnight. :)

Momma Must-Haves!

I've been formulating this list for quite a while, and I'll have to update it often. :)

Here are some things I find utterly indispensable as a mother:

A handheld shower with a hose! If your kids do something disgusting to themselves, or are sick.... this is such help to "hose them down" with nice, soothing warm water. It's also nice for us moms when we want to thoroughly wash our hair quickly, or when we're cleaning the tub!





Secondly, I love my Amazon Prime membership! Tons of free movies, free shipping on select items, and lots of other benefits. Saves me tons on products I need, AND I get them delivered to my door in 2 days! No running around the store with my kids and forgetting what I went for in the first place. :)

Another thing I've found helpful is a good quality food processor. If you have kids, you know the price of healthy foods can be astronomical! I buy veggies in bulk from Costco, and then process them immediately upon arriving home (what I am not planning on using right away). Sliced, shredded, bagged and frozen, it makes everything so easy when making meals! I also pre-bag "convenience" meals to slap into the crock pot on busy days. A little planning makes a lot of difference! I also made all of my own baby food, and now my kiddos are EXCELLENT eaters!

My last tip for today will be the Little Green Machine. Singlehandedly, the smartest investment I've made in my carpets and upholstery! It can clean car carpets, spills on the floor in your home, and scrub spots on your couches to perfection. SO worth the price! Just ONE trip out from the pros will cost you more than this little machine, and it fits nicely in a closet next to your vacuum!

What tips do you have to share?

Coupons are fun.

Passing on a trick I've learned this last month.... COUPONING!!!! I've recently gotten ADDICTED to finding food deals! Two hours of planning for the week and I spent a total of 114.00 on all of my groceries. Here are the highlights of my trip. In total I saved 73.00, which is half as much as last week! But, I didn't take pics of my finds then. ;)






I got all THIS (70.21 worth of food)

for just 27.14!

That's a savings of 61%!

I also got two "catalina" coupons for my next shopping trip totaling 16.00 off my next order, so it is like I paid just 11.14 and saved 59.07! (that's a savings of 84%!)



The breakdown!

I got 13 easy mac cups (1.00 ea)
2 packs (12 cups) of Dannon Light N Fit Yogurt (3.29 ea)
3 boxes of Carnation Instant Breakfast (6.29 ea)
2 jars of Classico Alfredo Sauce (3.59)
5 packets of chunk light tuna (1.59 ea)
1 32 oz Kraft Mayo (4.29 ea)
5 Vitamin waters (1.89)
1 Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce (2.89)

EVERYDAY TOTAL: 70.21

So, Albertson's was having this great mix and match sale - for every ten of the items in the ad you bought you got 5.00 back instantly at the register. So, I got a savings of

-15.00

INSTANTLY!

Then, some of the items were on sale already.

Tuna -.34 (1.70)
Vitamin Water -.89 (4.45)
Easy Mac Cups -.19 (2.47)
Mayo -.30 (.30)
Inst. Breakfast -2.30 (6.90)
Yogurt -1.30 (2.60)
BBQ sauce - .90 (.90)
So, the total in-store sale savings was 19.32!

Then, I wasn't done yet!

I had the following coupons:

1.00 off 2 easy mac cups
.55 off 2 easy mac cups x 5
1.00 off 5 packs of tuna
1.00 off 2 packs of dannon yogurt
1.00 off 5 vitamin waters
and 2 1.00 doubler coupons

TOTALING: 8.75 in coupons!




Sooooooooo..... my grand total in SAVINGS was 43.07! Niiiiice! :)



MEAL PLANNING

And, if you're wondering how I prepare these foods for the boys and myself.... I supplement their milk EVERY day with 1/3 of a packet of instant breakfast. It isn't too sweet and it gives them a few extra calories and vitamins. They feel like they're getting a treat, and I know it's good nutrition!

I use the tuna in pasta dishes, to make tuna cakes or just for good 'ol fashioned tuna sandwiches. A great source of low fat protein!

With the easy mac, I prepare two cups for the three kiddos, and add some kind of meat to the mix as well as steamed mixed veggies. They devour it!

I make chicken or turkey tettrazini with the alfredo sauce, and puree a bit of broccoli and cauliflower to add to the sauce for the veggie factor.

I have the vitamin waters as a "treat" when I work out, and I have a cup of yogurt with cereal as "granola" every morning for breakfast. :-)

I also use 4 chicken breasts with one bottle of bbq sauce in the crock pot for 4 hours on high to make pulled bbq chicken. It's phenomenal! You can even add snipped apricots and apricot preserve to make a sweeter version. :) Lasts a couple of days and I get some amazing meals out of it!


So, for all you single mamas out there - I issue you a challenge. Re-evaluate your couponing "skillz" and maybe you could save a bundle on your next grocery run! Watch for things you use all the time to go on sale (or use a site like frugalchicliving.blogspot.com to do the work for you!) and watch those savings ADD UP!


Good luck!
~Erin