Frugal Friday Tip- Previous Tips Revisited!

Photo Courtesy of Firehow.com

This week we will revisit a few of my previous Frugal Tips!


*After boiling water for pasta, let the water cool down and water your flowers with it!

*To prevent the screws in eyeglasses from loosening, apply a small drop of Clear Nail Polish to the threads of the screws before tightening them!

*Get your candles to last longer by chilling them! This is an old trick that is used by frugal people and the candle companies themselves. Chilling the candles before you use them makes the wax burn more slowly and evenly. Some say that the best way to do this is to freeze the candles for 24 hours before burning them. Others say that just storing them in the refrigerator for eight hours before you burn them is enough to do the trick.

*Think of what you can cut in half and still get a full use out of! For example-I had some Disposable Face Wash clothes that I had gotten on sale for very little and cut them in half. I could still wash my entire face with one but now I was getting double the usage!! Other ideas: dryer sheets, cleaning wipes, baby wipes.

Frugal Friday Post- Saving Money in 2012- Homemade Bathroom Cleaner

I can't tell you how excited I am about the newest homemade cleaner I just made. It is AMAZING! I have never before been excited about cleaning my shower, but I was smiling the
whole time. It is so simple and easy to make and CHEAP!

Recipe:
1 Spray Bottle Container
4 oz. Dawn Dish Soap
Vinegar

Just simply add the Dawn to the container and then top the container off with the vinegar. Yes, it smells like Vinegar but the smell goes away after a day.

So try it, and let me know what you think!

Saving in 2012- Frugal Friday Tip- 2000+ Uses for WD-40!

Just one simple can of WD-40. Hard to believe that one can could possibly take care of over 2000+ jobs around your home or office!

Here are some of my favorite uses for WD-40:

*Cleans muffin tins.
*Removes Kool-Aid stains from carpet and fabric.
*Spray on trash can lids to keep messes from sticking.
*Removes tomato stains from clothes.
*Keeps plant hangers from rusting.
For the entire 2000+ list, click here!

**These uses were submitted by WD-40 users and have not been tested by the company. Exercise common sense when testing this product and make sure to pay attention to warnings on the packaging.

Frugal Friday Post- Saving Money In 2012-Homemade Fabric Softener

Photo Courtesy of: apartmenttherapy.com

As one of my New Year's Resolutions to be more frugal, I am looking for ways to cut costs on home cleaning products. I have shared recipes for Homemade Laundry Detergent and now it's time for DIY Fabric Softener! I just ran out of the store bought softener, so now I am extremely excited to try this out!

Aside from being a natural softener, vinegar also removes soap residue in the washing machine and reduces static in the dryer. You can add vinegar directly to laundry during the rinse cycle or pour vinegar into the fabric softener dispenser of your washing machine.

You can pre-mix your fabric-softening vinegar by using the following recipe:

Homemade Fabric Softener
*1 gallon white vinegar
*20-30 drops essential oil (Lavender, Orange, Lemon and Peppermint(15 drops as it's stronger) are good choices)

Sweet orange brightens and fights stains, lavender offers a calming effect, and peppermint can help fight tough odors on clothing.

Thanks diynatural.com for the recipe and helpful information!

Frugal Friday Tip- Cut Drying Time With A Dry Towel!

Photo Courtesy of ehow.com

I'm sure that there are many people like myself that can't afford one of those fancy washer and dryer sets that are on the market nowadays! They say they can steam, cut drying time, iron and probably make a really great quiche in just a few minutes;) Well that would be great...if I could afford it, but I can't!

So thanks to my mom who gave me this tip that she read and tried out on her own! She doesn't have one of those fancy machines either and she swears this works!

*Add a dry towel to a load of wet clothes when you put them in the dryer. It says it cuts drying time which equals money saved on your electricity bill and more time to make that homemade quiche!

Has anyone tried this before? Try it and let me know if it works for you!

Frugal Friday- Mason Jars For Bathroom Storage!

This week's Frugal Friday post comes to us courtesy of Clean and Sensible, where she shows us how to create beautiful and FRUGAL bathroom storage! I am in love with the soap dispenser! This is just something else to add to my Antique store shopping list!

See the entire article by clicking here! Enjoy!

Frugal Friday Tip- Don't Throw Those Nectarines Away!

I type the words, Don't Throw Away, out of shame. You see, I just threw 3 rotten nectarines away, wasting about $2.00. I could have done quite a bit with that $2.00. I could have rented 2 movies. I could have went and bought my kids ice cream after their first day of school, or even paid for a shirt on clearance at Target. But instead, I threw it away! *Smacking myself on the forehead*

So, out of frustration, I give you this Friday's Frugal Tip- Don't Throw Anything Away!

Here are some ideas of what you can do with that one potato you have leftover or those 3 nectarines that aren't quite ready to throw away! *Smacking myself on the forehead once again*

*Have a few vegetables leftover from dinner? Take them and put them in a gallon size freezer bag. Keep adding those leftover vegetables until you have enough in your bag to make vegetable soup or to add to your roast!

*Potatoes- Shred them up to make hash browns!

*Fruit- cut up, flash freeze and bag them up. Use for smoothies or in pancakes!

*Bananas gone brown? Just stick them in the freezer. You decide if you want to cut up or just stick the whole thing in...it doesn't matter!

*Bread-use day old bread for croutons!

*Juice from Canned Fruit- freeze in ice cube tray and use for smoothies! (Thanks Annette)

*Pasta Sauce- freeze it and use for that next spaghetti dinner!

*Onions and Peppers- chop them up, freeze them and then just break off how much you need!

Have anything else to add to the list? Comment below!

Frugal Friday-When School Supplies Go On Clearance!

Part of the fun of the beginning of school is going shopping for those brand new school supplies, clothes, shoes, etc. However, fun doesn't mean the same thing as frugal! So, how can you save money but still get the "new" feeling that comes with back to school shopping?

Most school provide a school supply list with all the grades listed. This list doesn't change much from year to year. When all the back to school items go on clearance or get extremely cheap (think packs of pencils for a penny), buy several packages for the next year. You will always be buying glue sticks, pencils, crayons, erasers, etc. Keep them in a tub for easy access to have when the teacher asks your children to bring in replacements as well!

Then, next year pull the tub out, set up a store and have your kids "shop" for the items off their list. There may be a few items you have to find on sale but the remainder of your items should have only cost you a few dollars compared to what it would have been! Anything leftover can be put in an art tub or donated to your child's classroom!

Do you have any frugal back to school ideas? Leave a comment below and share them with us!

Frugal Friday Tip- $2.48 Window Treatment!

We bought our home in October and I am just now getting around to decorating other parts of the house besides the nursery! Every room needs painted, but that is a task for people that don't have a 6 week old colicky baby keeping them up! So for now, just decorating the plain jane white rooms will do!

I am decorating in my favorite "Shabby Antique Chic" look, which I love!!! I could spend all day in antique stores!!! So my husband gave me a little money and I have been having fun. I will post pics up when I get done!

I wanted a unique window treatment and couldn't find anything online, but I ran across some napkins on clearance at Target and thought...I can do something with those!

So, for $2.48 and a tension rod I already had, this is what I came up with! Pretty impressed at myself!

Frugal Friday Post- Frugal Bottle Warmer!

It's amazing the gadgets they have now for babies! It's all about convenience and making it seem like you just "have" to "HAVE" it!

One day when I was out shopping pre-baby and getting last minute things, I headed over to the bottle warmers. I was asking the sales lady at a baby chain store if she had any experience with bottle warmers...as I had none! I was thinking it might come in handy for those early morning/late night feedings when I can barely see straight, let alone warm a bottle! It's then when she said...just use a crockpot! "What...a crockpot?" I said as my frugal ears were now on fire!!! So, she explained it to me, and I thought it was genius!

So, what you do is put some water in a crockpot and set it on high to get warm. It will take a few hours. When it is at the right temp just set on low or stay warm depending how your crockpot heats. Then stick a bottle of just water in and let it sit and get warm. Then when feeding time comes, pull it out and add formula! Not only is it that easy but it also humidifies your house!

You don't have to use a large crockpot for this, it's just all I have!

Has anybody else tried this? Do you have any frugal baby ideas to share?

Frugal Friday Tip- Embroidery Hoops!

I love finding new and different decorating ideas. I also love when I can do them myself and do them frugally!I have been looking for cute decorating ideas for the nursery and found this idea and loved that it went with our polka dot nursery. I bought the Fabric the day after Thanksgiving when it was 50% off and then I bought the Embroidery hoops with a Michaels coupon!

I love how they add another texture into the room besides just painting polka dots!

Here are some other cheap places to look for hoops:

*Goodwill

*Garage Sales

*Your Grandma's Sewing Room!

After finding the above idea, I looked up Embroidery Hoop ideas and found some really cute and frugal ideas, so I thought I would share them with you. Hopefully they inspire you!

*Use a Embroidery Hoop to hold open a laundry bag for easier access!

*Make this cute Embroidery Hoop Bulletin Board! Tutorial here!

*Christmas Ornament Outside Decorations- How about pumpkins for Halloween or Easter Eggs for Halloween?
*Embroidery Hoop Clock Idea!

Does anybody else have a cool, frugal decorating tip? Please share or send me pictures!

Frugal Friday Tip- Frugal Halloween Costumes

I hope you all understand that between packing, hubby working over-time and preparing for a large coupon class tomorrow, I am a little swamped today!

However, I haven been wanting to do a post on Frugal Halloween costumes.
So...I searched and found some great ideas from other websites! ENJOY!

Family Fun- 13 Last Minute Costume Ideas

Woman's Day- Printable Masks- easy if the weather is bad outside and they are in their coats anyway!

Real Simple- 8 Last Minute Halloween Ideas

Thanks WiseBread!

Frugal Friday Tips- Decorating For Fall On A Budget!

It's that time of year again. My FAVORITE time of year...FALL! Well, maybe not quite yet, but I am sure you are all as eager to take out those fall decorations as I am. Many people consider Sept. 1st the first official day of Fall Decorating?! I haven't gotten to it yet, but I have been thinking about some Frugal Fall Decorating Ideas and thought I would share some of my favorites!

Click on highlighted links for details and pictures!

Lowe's Ghost Lights

Flowerpot Pumpkins

Ghostly Jugs

Bat Door

Other Ideas- Dollar Tree Items For Decorating

Pine Cones In Vases You Already Have

What Are Your Frugal Fall Decorating Ideas?

Frugal Friday Tip- Make It From Scratch!

I often think about the time when we had a two income family and how we just went grocery shopping without giving money much thought. I would buy "convenience" items just to save time at breakfast, lunch and dinner! Now, while I may miss that extra money, I certainly don't miss that girl. Learning how to live on a budget and how to actually cook is something that has helped my family in the end. Now, some of us are still busy, busy, busy and may not have time to cook everyday. But, creating a day out of the month just to do some "from scratch cooking" will not only save you some money but it will put some smiles on the people eating that food too!

After learning how to budget and create meal plans, I started wondering about some of the foods we love and if I could make them from scratch. Here are some of my family's favorite recipes. I have adapted a few to make it easier or faster, but they are so worth the time you put on a Sunday to do it! Not only that, but much more FRUGAL! Not only that but these items generally freeze well and are so convenient when time is limited!

Breakfast Pockets- I use Rhodes White Dinner Rolls instead of making my own dough. Just roll one ball out, put mixture in, and cover it with another rolled out roll.

This is our FAVORITE from scratch recipe!!!

Homemade Pizza- We love it and way cheaper than the pizza place in town! I always make extra dough and freeze it for another time.

Homemade Granola Bars- You can add your own ingredients to make them as healthy or not as you want!

Hot Cocoa- Excited to try this when it finally gets COOL!!!! Makes a nice size container and just take out what you need!

What are your best "From Scratch" ideas? How has cooking from scratch saved you money?

Frugal Friday Tip- Homemade Lunchables

Lunchables are something I just don't usually buy. Do we like them, yes. Does my son love them, yes. But I hate spending so much for them. Now, I did buy my son three Lunchables the other day because they were part of the Mega Event at Dillons and were a little over $1.00! Why not put a smile on my little boy's face!

However, a problem arose. If you have children, you are probably familiar. Little one wants what the big one has but there are no more! YEP...that was the problem!

So, I thought to myself...I can so duplicate these lunchables!!! The crackers and cheese are easy...and then I found the perfect tool to make my meat, a medicine cup!!!

From now on...homemade lunchables for us!

Now both kids were happy!
What have you duplicated and it has turned out just as good??

Frugal Friday Tip- Bud Light Lime For Cheaper!

This tip is courtesy of a member of my Bible/Book Study Group~Somehow we got talking about Bud Light Lime's and a lovely lady told us a secret....

Just add limes to Natural Light and you will save lots of money as Bud Light is much more expensive!

I told them I was going to use this tip for Frugal Friday, and I don't think they believed me!

It just makes me laugh thinking about it!

Frugal Friday Idea- Cheap Fruit Dip!

We are little Fruit Monsters at our house! There is nothing better than fruit in the summer, plus it's healthy, so I don't feel bad buying lots of it!
Now...how many of you LOVE the cream cheese/marshmallow fruit dip? Yep, I am raising both hands right now!! Well...that is kind of expensive and you have to use it quickly. My lovely friend April, who happens to be pregnant as well and it seems like we crave the exact same things, gave me this dip recipe and I love it! It reminds me of the cream cheese dip but healthier and cheaper!!

Sour Cream Fruit Dip

Scoop of Sour Cream (regular,lite or fat free)
Brown Sugar to taste
Mix them together and dip away!!!

That easy! Please try it...I swear it is good!!!

Frugal Friday Tips- Summer Edition!

The temperatures are rising, our children are home from school driving us crazy and we are all craving a vacation...yep, it's SUMMER!

Here are some frugal tips to help save you money this summer!

Pack your own drinks and snacks!

How many times do you and the kids go to the park only to have forgotten drink so you stop at McDonalds because you are so thirsty! Before you leave, stick a couple drinks in a cooler along with some snacks and now you won't have to make those costly stops!

Make your own insect repellent!

After reading this article, it seems like "Amber" colored Listerine works well!

Keep your oven and stove use to a minimum!

Instead use your grill and crockpot to cook your meals! This means a cooler house and savings on your electric bill!

What are your Frugal Summer Tips? Please share them with us!

Frugal Friday Tip

Here are more great frugal tips to save you money and leave it in your wallet!

*After your dishes have been through the wash cycle, open the door and let them air dry!

*After boiling water for pasta, cool the water down and water your plants/flowers with it!

*Go 2 more weeks to get your haircut than you normally would! This may cut out a few haircuts over the year!!

Do you have a great frugal tip? Share it with us!!!

Frugal Friday Tips- All About Babies

There are many lessons I have learned while raising my two boys. Some I wish I would have known from the very start, as it would have saved me so much money down the road!

I have compiled a few of my biggest and best tips for you!

1. Skip The Baby Bedding- With both of my boys I thought I just had to have the complete bedding ensemble for their cribs-DUMB! Want to know why? Because I NEVER used their comforters EVER and I never used their bumper pads until they were over a year old due to suffocation risks. Instead I would have invested in some better quality, cute sheets and called it good!

2. Shop Consignment Sales/Garage Sales- While I received most of my bigger items at my baby shower for my first child, with the second I wasn't so lucky and my children were 5 years apart. So, we needed to replace his car seats as it is recommended not to use a car seat that is over 5 years old. Well, we went out and bought the VERY nice, but expensive Chicco brand. I absolutely love it, but guess what...I sold my infant car seats at a Consignment sale when I was done...I wish I would have known about the consignment sales BEFORE I had my little guy. I could have saved so much money! They have QUALITY furniture, toys, clothes, etc. and at a fraction of the cost you would pay for them new! I have purchased many large items from these sales and I saved well over 50% of the retail price! Google Consignment Sales in your area and shop them FIRST! Also- if you have baby and children items to sell, this is a great way to get a return on your investment! If you have quality items, skip the garage sale and sell it at a consignment sale!

Garage sales are also a great place to find baby items. Just this last weekend I drove by several sales that were full of baby items! Don't forget to wash the items well and some items are just easy to take to the car wash and spray off. They look like new and you get the benefits of saving so much money!

3. Skip The Unnecessary Items...I mean, do you really need the baby wipes warmer? Or the No Hands Baby Bottle Holder? Keep it simple. Think about the items that you will need the most, and purchase those items first. Then, let baby come and see if you truly have other needs.

Also- ask friends and neighbors if there are any items you can borrow. I have been lucky enough to have a crib and changing table handed down to me after my aunt had her one and only child and I also borrowed a jumperoo from my brother-in-law! That right there saved me at least $500.00!!!!!!

4. Breastfeed- Although I didn't mean for it to happen, I exclusively breastfed for 13 months. There were maybe 10 bottles in Cooper's life...and most of those were while I went to a concert in Kansas City for a day and a half. It's a long story of how it actually happened, but I can tell you that it probably saved me over $1000 dollars! With our income being so tight, it was probably for the best too. Now, I am a stay at home mom and it was easier for me to do, but if you can manage, I would suggest it, at least for part of the time!

5. Be Gender Neutral- I think it is so silly that people buy a pink stroller or car seat. You are not going to get the same usage out of something if you don't keep it gender neutral. If you buy that pink car seat and then get pregnant two years later with...a boy, then you will have to go and buy a new car seat! If you stick to gender neutral, then you can use it over and over! Savings you lots of money!

What are your frugal baby tips? We would love for you to share them with us!