Monday, December 22, 2008

Homemade Laundry Soap and Fabric Softner

I have been using my homemade laundry soap and fabric softner and they seem to work well. Here are the recipes I promised!

Laundry Soap

2/3 Bar of Fels Napthta Soap
1/2 Cup of Washing Soda (not Baking Soda)
1/2 Cup of Borax


Grate the Soap, add Washing Soda and Borax and stir until blended. Use approximately 2 Tablespoons of the mixture per wash load. I have a scoop from an iced tea container or something and I fill that up about 2/3 of the way.

Fabric Softner

2 parts Water
1 part Vinegar
1 part Baking soda

I added 4 cups of water, two cups (1 box of baking soda) and two cups of vinega. Add the water and baking soda in a large bucket and mix until well blended. The baking soda will not dissolve completely. Then slowly add the vinegar and stir until it stops bubbling. It will start fizzing as soon as you add the vinegar. The baking soda will never fully dissolve.

Then you can add drops of essential oil for scent if you want. I added Lavendar to mine. Scent to your liking. Add 1/4 cup of fabric softner to the wash. I put the fabric softner into an old fabric softner container I had and use the lid to measure.

For the Fabric Softner sheets:

You can either dillute the store bought fabric softner and place in a spray bottle or add your homemade fabric softner to the bottle. Spray a piece of felt, washcloth or heavy duty paper towel and place it in the dryer with your clothes.

I hope this helps. I searched online and found several recipe variations.

Steph

Friday, December 12, 2008

Helpful Websites

Ladies - 2 websites that were recommended for us. I have looked a little and already like what I see. Thought I'd pass them on!

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/


http://www.aboverubies.org/

I'll see you guys on Tuesday !

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Pay Attention to the Unit Price!

FYI Ladies - Just heard on the Today show this morning that food companies are making their products smaller, usually by an amount that you might not notice just by looking, to save costs on shipping, etc. So when you go to the grocery store and you are buying Tropicana orange juice, for example, their bottle is smaller now but probably the same price, making it actually more expensive. Pay close attention to the unit price!
Lora

Thursday, December 4, 2008

More Savings at Kmart

I'm glad it worked out so well for you at Kmart! Unfortunately several items I went back for with my new coupons were out of stock. I also went to Meijer today and saved a bundle:
Aunt Millies bread b1g2free including buns (equals 1.06 per loaf)
Grands biscuits 4 at 0.42 each after 3 coupons plus a .50 off coupon on the actual biscuits that was doubled!
Bob Evans sausage for 2.30 after a coupon
Pop Tarts (junk food but a nice treat once in awhile) for .83 each after coupon
Milk 2/$5

I have found that knowing what coupons I have without having to look has been very helpful. I've used them so much in the last week and then in going through them with you guys, I have them memorized! I just went to Meijer and looked through the ad on the spot to see what coupons I had for the things on sale. I had to go anyway to get milk and bread and while I was there just got a few sale things. So that was nice.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Saving Money at Kmart!

I went to Kmart like Lora suggested and saved a ton of money with my coupons!! I am not usually a Kmart shopper but this week they will double coupons up to $2.00! I got several of my items free! I saved $40 in coupons!! I purchased things like batteries, lotion, toothpaste, cleaning supplies and more! How exciting it is to save money!!

Introduction

I am so excited to begin sharing ideas of ways to save money and time! There is so much information out there on saving money and organizing life. This blog will be a quick and easy way to share deals, organizing tips and frugal lifestyle choices. I hope this blog will give us one place to go to get the information we need to save money and time. I am loooking forward to exchanging ideas and tips with you.