Happy Friday!
The sun is shining and it's already warmer out this morning than it was all day yesterday. Maybe, just maybe spring will finally really be here??
I'm itching to get our garden going!
This past week I found myself at Walgreen's to buy a photo album for quilt guild. I decided while I was there that it was time for me to get back into my register rewards shopping. One of the items this week on the sale was a bag of Morton Epsom Salts for $4 and you got back the same $4 in a Register Reward to use towards your next shopping trip.
I've redeemed some of my points at mypoints.com for a $10 Walgreen's card to also help me get back in the swing of shopping there.
I've posted in the past from the 99 Cent Solutions book on the uses for Epsom Salts, but wanted to post again. Mostly for my own benefit :) Did any of the rest of you go for the deal at Walgreen's as well this week?
Uses for Epsom Salt:
1. Salt your bathwater--Add 2 cups pf Epsom salt to a tub full of warm water and soak for a few minutes. Do this to get rid of rough patches of skin. After soaking, finish the job by rubbing additional salt on the rough spots.
2. Help stop stinky feet--Everyone knows that soaking your feet in Epsom salt can relieve sore feet. Did you also know that doing so twice a day for 15 minutes each time will also make your feet sweat less and smell less? Just add 2 cups to 2 gallons of water in a container such as a bucket or dishpan.
3. Get rid of the itch--Soaking in a tub of Epsom salt will ease the itch of poison ivy. Check the label for soaking instructions.
4. Stop splinters--make a paste of Epsom salt and water and apply to the area where the splinter is. In about 10 minutes the paste will pull the splinter to the surface. This also works for insect stingers. Even a luxurious Epsom salt bath will help draw the splinter or stinger.
5. Relish your roses--Sprinkle half a cup of Epsom salt around the base of your rose bush in early spring and in the fall. After the leaves appear and again when the roses appear, spray them with a mixture of 1 tablespoon Epsom salt per gallon of water. This will make for healthier roses----gardeners swear by it!
6. Get rid of raccoons--Sprinkle a few tablespoons of Epsom salt around your trashcan to drive them away. Remember to reapply after it rains.
(Now I do wish that I had gone back and bought a second bag---and I just still may do so while I am out that way today)
Today I am going back to sharing from the 99 Cent Solutions book and sharing the must haves for your medicine cabinet. Or how to stock your medicine cabinet the 99 cent way (as the book says)
1. Baby Oil--it does everything from staving off an earache to making bandage removal painless.
2. Bubble bath--Keep bubble bath in your soap dispenser if you find hand soap too drying.
3. Chest rub-- Great to run into those tired feet.
4. Cotton balls--Soak them in bleach to clean the crevices in your bathroom and kitchen.
5. Cotton swabs-- Easily and cheaply used as eye shadow applicators.
6. Deodorant-- Rub it on your palms if they get sweaty.
7. Hair spray-- Kills the itch of mosquito bites.
8. Lip balm-- Rub it on a dry nose just like you do dry lips.
9. Mouthwash-- Soak your toothbrush in it to kill germs.
10. Toothbrush--Spritz it with hairspray to take care of those unruly eyebrows.
99-Cent Solutions: Easy Ways to Save Thousands of Dollars
It's Friday again, and the first day of February too! It's my oldest daughters 27th birthday today. Frugally, we are baking her cake from a mix :)
I've had more coupon shopping trips. I didn't take pictures of all of them, but here are a 3 of them:
Spent $53.56. Used $79.48 coupons. 72% total savings.
Walmart spent $7.65. Used $8.50 in coupons. Price matched the milk to $1.99 sale at Aldi.
Spent $12.74. Coupons used: $47.96. 86% total savings and I rec'd a $3 catalina for my next shopping trip.
My total coupon savings for January 2013 was $579.70!! Yes, I think I can beat my 2012 total coupon savings of $2, 071.03.
This week's share from the 99 Cent Solutions book are ways to use toothbrushes:
1. Put a toothbrush to grate use. Have trouble getting cheese, or carrot pieces off of your grater? Just use a toothbrush to clean the grater.
2. Tame your brows. If your eyebrows are going every which way, just spray a toothbrush with a light coating of hair spray and brush them down.
3. Get dirt out of the grout. Use an old toothbrush to get in the crevices of your grout. Also around the faucet.
4. Brush before you eat....no, not your teeth, but your fruits and vegetables. Especially brush those mushrooms, asparagus and peppers with a toothbrush before throwing them in the pot. You will get off a lot more of the dirt and such that you normally would miss.
Your turn!
I can't believe we are already to Friday again.
It's been a week of scrimping money-wise because of going out of town, eating out, etc last week during vacation. It was worth it though!
I made one last trip with what money we had for a coupon shopping trip. I spent $16.16. I only saved 63%, but I am happy with what I got for the $16.16:
Here is the photo from my shopping last Friday--Spent $6.99 and a savings of 85%:
Saturday's shopping I spent $21.87 (ouch!) and had a 66% savings:
You can look at the photos though and know that no one was starving here. Steve had brought 4 loaves of bread from work. He also went to the store and bought us fresh fruits for the week and Dr. Pepper. He used my catalina's and the remainder of his gift card to buy the Dr. Pepper. I hate to say what he spent on the fruit, but will say it was wonderful to have fresh fruit on the table all week!
Hubby and I worked together on Saturday on cleaning the house. Mostly I was sending him to the trash or out to the garage or to the basement to put things away. He did get the living room floor cleared and vacuumed for me. It's nice to look behind me and not see this one particular pile of junk that I had been seeing for a few months.
We still have lots of things to look through. We discussed the boxes and drawers that haven't been even looked in since we moved in here almost 2 years ago.
This weekend my main goal is the clutter around my desk.
This week I am sharing ways to use bar soap from the 99 Cent Solutions book:
1. Wash away your door troubles. If you have a wooden door that swells, rub down the edges with a bar of soap. It should then open and close with ease.
2. Fix that zipper. If you have a zipper that's not going up and down easily, rub a bar of soap on the teeth.
3. A run in your pantyhose and no nail polish on hand? You can rub a web bar of soap or a bit of liquid soap on the run. Once it dries the run will stop.
4. Thread tangling in your needle? Run your thread over a bar of soap before sewing and it will make tangles and knots easier to unravel.
This has been hubby's vacation week. We've been about as frugal about vacation as we could other than not going anywhere at all.
We headed out of town to visit my daughter and her family for a couple of nights. We took the mattress off of our hide-a-bed and slept on their living room floor. Jasmine slept on their couch.
We ate out once while there, and then we went bowling. Otherwise we hung out at their house watching movies.
Oh yes, I did take along my coupon binder and I took my daughter on a coupon shopping trip. She was less than impressed, even though she keeps telling me that I need to teach her how to coupon so they can save money too. Her biggest thing was the amount of time it took as she watched me cut coupon inserts and put the coupons into my binder, and then the fact that we were in the store for over an hour as I walked up and down each aisle making decisions on things to buy other then the items I had on my list. I did save 73% on my shopping trip that day.
Next vacation week is in July. We are actually trying to save all change until then. We are in hopes of making a trip and actually paying for a room. Hubby wants to go to Dodge City and the casino. Yes, I would like to do that too, however, what I really want to do is rent the cabin at Spring Lake for a couple or 3 nights. If we could save enough, we could possibly make a full week of the vacation and do both.
This week I am sharing 5 uses for shower caps from the 99 Cent Solutions Book:
1. Cover your camera. You don't want your camera to be ruined if you are out and about and the weather is bad. Simply wrap a shower cap around the camera, leaving the open end where the lens is. If you are having trouble seeing through the showercap on the back of the camera, you can cut a hole in the other side of the showercap, just enough to see the viewfinder.
2. Cover your shoes. If you are packing shoes in your suitcase and have a worry that the bottoms will get other items in your suitcase dirty, just wrap those shoes in shower caps.
3. Ride your bicycle a lot? I'm sure if you do then you've parked it to go inside somewhere only to come out and find it's started to rain while you were away. Simply cover your bike seat with a shower cap when you aren't riding it and you won't end up with a wet bottom.
4. Keep out dust. Cover your kitchen appliances with shower caps to keep out dust.
5. Create a makeshift saucer. You can use a shower cap under your plants that don't have a saucer under them to protect from drips to protect your floor or furniture. Or, you can use the shower cap to replace the saucer.
See you next week :)
How has your week been? I'm still doing pretty well with my goals. I've been able to at least put a few things in their proper places every day. It's a nice feeling as I look around and the house is looking a little better each day.
My mom thinks that if you are poor you think you need to surround yourself with stuff to make yourself feeler richer. I honestly don't believe that at all. (She's justifying herself because she's a hoarder LOL) I know that I will feel much richer (and saner) when everything has a place and everything is in that place....and excess is gone. My saying is less is more.
I was able to make a couple of good coupon shopping trips this past week. I averaged savings of 72%. Here is a photo of one of the trips where I spent $20.24---had a coupon savings of $51.99 and a savings of 79%:
Lastly today I am sharing ways to use shaving cream from the 99 Cent Solutions book:
1. Shave away the stain. This works for fresh stains on your carpet. Blot up as much as you can then shoot the stain with a blob of non-gel shaving cream. Wipe the shaving cream and the stain away with a damp sponge or cloth.
2. Color be gone. Spray shaving cream on crayon markings on your wall. Scrub it off with a toothbrush or scrub brush.
3. Stop soap scum. Spray shaving cream onto your glass shower doors, then wipe it off with a dry cloth. As a bonus, the thin film created will prevent the doors from fogging over too.
4. Cut through the fog. Occasionally clean your glasses with white foamy shave cream. The thin film will repel water and fog. This will work on your cars windshield too.
5. Still with your glasses--if you accidentally spray your glasses with hairspray, just rub the lenses and frames with shave cream and wipe is all off with a clean cloth.
It's a new year---what are your goals?
Among mine is to declutter and reorganize our home. Less is more.
I've been putting things in their proper places instead of having them laying all over the house. I'm plan to go through boxes and drawers that haven't been touched since we move in here. Honestly I should just throw them out instead of taking time to look through them. I'm thinking of putting stuff by the box full up on freecycle to give away. I am listing some things in the local facebook buy/sell/trade group in hopes of making a few $$ too.
I took a few weeks off from shopping too much with coupons and I am working now on getting back in to the saving and stocking up. I have been able to shop twice this week.
I saved over $2000 with coupons in 2012--more than double what I saved in 2011---think I can double that again in 2013?
Today from the 99 Cent Solutions book I am sharing ways to use shampoo:
1. Get rid of ring around the collar. Rub a little shampoo on that ring around the collar with an old toothbrush. Shampoos containing ammonium lauryl sulfate work best. Let it sit for 30 minutes then launder as normal.
2. Wash away hair spray. Hairspray tends to get other places than just in your hair. Use a cleaner of one gallon of warm water and a squirt of shampoo to clean your sink, walls and floor. Rinse with a clean rag.
3. Shampoo your silk. Hand wash your silk in cool water and a protein-based shampoo. The shampoo will not destroy the silk and it will actually give the silk more body and a longer life.
4. Get rid of the fog. Foggy windshields are annoying and dangerous. If you have trouble with your windshield fogging up on the inside, simply wipe it clean with a rag moistened with shampoo. It will clear the fog and clean the window at the same time.
5. Say good-bye to sapIf you get sap on your hands, just zap it away by washing your hands with shampoo.
Now it's your turn to share your frugal/simple living posts for this week!
Happy Holidays! How are you doing getting prepared for Christmas? I should be done by the time the day is over.
However, I find myself feeling guilty that I don't plan on baking this year. Everyone, I'm sure, expects me to give each family the usual box of goodies. I'm just thinking.......I don't have time! It's not fun without the kids in the kitchen with me helping and keeping me company. I may change my mind over the weekend, depending on if I get my sewing and crochet crafts completed.
I'm very pleased with the gifts we've gotten. I didn't buy anything that wasn't on sale, clearance, or used a coupon for. I didn't buy anything that wasn't combined with both a sale and a coupon. I had hoped for an almost completely hand made Christmas. I procrastinated when I should have started in January on my gifts.
The hand made Christmas sacks are done. They are all almost completely filled once I get these last few crafts completed.
Here is a picture of the bags my daughter and I made before filling them:
If you have any posts anywhere (not just blog posts) that are about homemade/handmade gifts, please share them on my Handmade 2012 Linky page here on my blog. I have the linky set to close Dec. 31st. There are lots there, but I want to see more and more and more added. I want lots of inspiration! Thanks!
This week from the 99 Cent Solutions book, I am sharing 5 uses for petroleum jelly.
1. Petroleum jelly spells relief. You know that it relieves chapped lips, but did you know that if you put it under your nose it will relieve alleriges? It traps the pollen before it gets a chance to enter your nostrils.
2. Paint perfectly. Coast your door hinges and handles with petroleum jelly when you paint that door. The paint won't stick to it so you won't have to take the time to remove the fixtures before painting. Just wipe it clean once you are done painting.
3. Keep the glue from gluing the lid. Isn't it frustrating when the glue works a little too well and you can't remove the glue cap when you need to? Apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly to the cap's threads to prevent this.
4. Protect cuts and scrapes. Apply a thin layer to your cut. It will soften the scab, which will stop you from wanting to pick at it. It also protects the scraped skin.
5. Plunger help. If your plunger isn't working up to it's normal standard, just cover the rim with a thick coating of petroleum jelly. It will give you a tighter seal and better suction.
Your turn to share!
Merry Christmas to all!
Good Friday to all. Christmas is inching up on me....on all of us. How are you doing on getting all of your holiday preparations ready?
Me....I've not even put out my decorations. We hung the lights on the house and have the Christmas tree up, but I've put nothing else out. I think I better make sure to do that TODAY!
I still have Christmas gifts to get made. I'm going to take the easy way out on some of them. I shouldn't, as it won't be the same as homemade. But, at this point, it will be way less expensive.....and that is something I have to take into consideration.
I have just a few things that I still need to buy to fill gifts for my children. I'm waiting in hopes of a good sale with coupons before Christmas gets here.
I have always kept a tote all year around. Inside I put gifts as I buy them throughout the year. I'm always on the lookout for things that are a really good deal. My brain fried this year.....I got out that tote to see what was in it the other day. I totally forgot that I had already bought things ahead months ago! Since I forgot, I no longer need those for gifts. I've already bought again. Silly me. I even had a notebook with pages already ready to fill out on who was getting what. I even had gone as far as to already have one gift wrapped up with the name on it. That one will still go to the family.....the rest are back in the tote to use for birthday gifts. I guess that all still works out in the end. :)
This week from the 99 cent solutions book I am sharing ways to use nail polish remover. (If you read last week, I shared different uses for nail polish)
1. Remove pain with polish remover. This is for shingles. Mix 2 crushed aspirins with 3 tablespoons of nail polish remover (stirring until the aspirin dissolves). Apply this concoction directly to the shingles blisters with a cotton ball and let air dry.
2. Take sap off of your garden tools. If you've been trimming that sappy tree and your shears are covered with sap, just apply nail polish remover to a cloth and wipe it clean.
3. Carefully clean your chrome. Be careful not to let the nail polish touch the pain on your vehicle, but it works wonders on the chrome.
4. Take the super out of super glue. Thoroughly wet a cotton ball with nail polish remover and work at the superglue until it's dissolved. The remover must be acetone. Saves your fingers, let me tell you! (I won't tell you how many times I have ended up gluing my fingers together, but this does work!)
Thanks for the submissions to the linky last week. I hope to continue to see more of you joining in each week.
Is everyone about ready for Christmas?
I only have a couple more gifts to buy and then I am done shopping. I've gotten some pretty good deals on gifts using coupons. I bought 2 Monopoly Millionaire games using $5 coupons. One was bought also using a $2 Target coupon.
I also bought 2 Yahtzee games. They ended up free after sale, coupons, and rebate.
I finally got started making the crochet topped towels for all the women on my list. I bought the towels last year after Christmas for 50% off. I didn't know you only use half of a towel for each one you make, so I will end up with double. I am using some yarn out of my daughter's stash, but I will give her a couple of dollars for using it.
I still need to buy the ingredients for the mens gifts. I plan to make home made hot cocoa mix, which will be bagged up and put inside coffee mugs. (the mugs I also bought for 50% off after Christmas last year.) I am highly considering buying boxes of hot chocolate packets though as that is much more economical. Not as good, but a lot cheaper.
We also purchased our Christmas cards and wrapping paper half price last year. I hope we have some extra $$ this year to do the same.
This from the 99 Cent Solutions book I am sharing way to use nail polish:
1. Mark your keys. Put a dot of colorful nail polish on your important keys. One color for your house, one for your car etc. This way you can easily identify them.
2. Stop your costume jewelry from turning your skin green. Just paint the inside of the jewelry with clear fingernail polish and that should do the trick.
3. Cover up that scratch on your car. Find a nail polish to match the color of your car and paint it in with nail polish. It will look good as new. You can remove it with polish remover if necessary.
4. Tag your toothbrushes. Paint the end of each person's toothbrush with a different color polish for easy identification. Use their favorite color if you can.
Your turn! Inspire me with your posts on saving money, being frugal, living green, simple living, etc. P.S. If you have posts of any sort about hand made/ home made items, please click over to my Handmade 2012 linky page and link up! I want to see a LOT more there before 2012 is over. Thanks!
It's been such a crazy week.....or 2 weeks. I didn't post last week because I was still reeling from Thanksgiving. Ok, we were busy putting up the Christmas tree.
I had shopped some at both Dollar General and Family Dollar on Thanksgiving day and bought 1 toy gift for each of the 10 children. I wrapped those last Friday as well and have them under the tree. Which, btw, the wrapping paper we bought last year after Christmas.
I've been doing a lot of crafts. I should be getting on to making my Christmas gifts, but right now I am finishing up things that I had already started so that I can get them listed in my etsy shop.
I love the holidays, the meaning of them, and the time with family.....I don't like the stress and the hustle and bustle of them!
Today I am sharing 5 uses for mouthwash from the 99 Cent Solutions book:
1. Give your toothbrush a bath. Wash your toothbrush daily in mouthwash. It will kill the germs and your immune system will thank you too.
2. If you bite your tongue, rinse your moth with mouthwash to help your tongue heal faster.
3. Refresh your tired feet. It seems that the marathon runners know this secret. Soak your feet in sugarless mouthwash for 10 minutes. The mint will make them smell sweet and the alcohol will refresh them.
4. Help to heal a bruise. When you bump yourself, alleviate the pain and cut down the discoloration by rubbing the area with a splash of alcohol-based mouthwash.
5. Rinse away skin problems. This is for you cat or dog. If they get minor cuts and scrapes, or even boils, just put mouthwash on cotton balls and clean the wounds. It will clean out the wound and cool down the boils.
It's your turn to share!
I hope this finds that everyone has had a good week. Those that endured Sandy have continued to be in my prayers as they work to get their lives back in order. Especially those who then had to deal with the snow storm as well!
I had some more good shopping trips with sales and coupons this past week:
Here I spent .54. I saved a total of $19.80 with coupons including the extra $5 off from the buy 10 sale. My receipt shows 100% savings because the .54 was sales tax. I used $6 in catalinas that I had rec'd in a previous trip.
Here I spent $14.14 and saved $68.66 with coupons and the buy 10 sale. I saved 90% plus rec'd the $6 in catalinas that I used in the trip from the picture above. ($2 catalina for buying 2 Dove body wash for men, which I paid .49 each for after coupons and $4 catalina for buying 4 Reach toothbrushes (which you can't see in my photo) that I paid .49 each for after coupons)
It seems that saving money with coupons and re-stocking our house is about the extent of me being frugal lately.
Well, other than my usual trying to make sure lights are not on when no one's in the room.
This week I want to share 5 different uses for Lip Balm out of the 99 Cent Solutions book:
1. Tame those eyebrows---or that mustache. Apply a little lip balm to calm down those hairs. It's clear, waxy, and able to groom those wild hairs.
2. Use it on your hands. If your hands are still getting chapped over the winter months, even using lotion, rub lip balm on them, particularly between your fingers, on them every night before bed. You will treat the rough spots and contribute to overall moisturizing.
3. Lightbulbs---If you put lip balm on the threads of your light bulbs before putting them in to the sockets, you will prevent rusting and make removing them easy when they burn out.
4. Faux finish--if you are out on that hot date and you chip your nail polish, just touch up the area of the nail with your matching lip stick.
5. Take the ouch out of shaving--Lip balm is a pain-free alternative to styptic pencil. Just dab a bit on your cut and you'll be good to go.
Welcome to Friday! I don't know about for the rest of you, but this week has flown by for me.
I've been working on my crafts around the busy time of Halloween. I've also been doing some coupon shopping. In fact, I even have a couple of photos to share with you this week. I'm not sure why I've not been sharing them here.
For this I spent $15.76. I used a total of $42.69 in coupons (including the extra $15 off for the buy 10 sale) and I saved a total of 82%!
For these 10 items I spent $7.79. I saved $11.80 in coupons (including the extra $5 off for the buy 10 sale). I have a total savings of 71%. That's not all though. I also received a total of $7 in catalinas to use on a future shopping trip.
In October I have a total coupon savings of $343.11. I thought this was my best coupon savings month this year, but looking back in my calendar I see that I saved $416.92 with coupons in July.
Now, let's move on to sharing from the 99 Cent Solutions book. Last week I started sharing some of the many uses for hair spray. This week I will finish up. Hairspray is such a versatile item.
1. Save your carpet. If you spill nail polish on your carpet, take quick action with hair spray. Spray the mess with water first, then some hair spray. After a few squirts, the nail polish will get tacky and you can blot it off with a paper towel.
2. Zap bugs. Hair spray will kill most bugs just like a bug spray will.
3. Fake Dye. Pick a colored drink like Kool-Aid in a shade that fits your mood, sprinkle it over your hair, then moisten and hold it in place with hair spray.
4. Fur fix. A quick way to remove pet hair from your furniture is to spray a tissue with hair spray and then wipe. The hair will stick to the tissue and you can just toss it into the trash.
5. Preserve shoe polish. After you polish your leather shoes, spray them lightly with hair spray. The shine will last longer.
6. Glue on glitter. If you happen to be out of glue and your child needs glitter on that school project, just spray the surface with hair spray and the glitter will stick like magic.
7. Chalk it up. If you are making chalk lines for that home improvement project, don't let them get smudged. Just spray them with hair spray. Everything will easily wash away when you want it to, but until then it won't disappear.
8. Custom wrap. Coat a sheet or 2 of newspaper comics with hair spray. The paper will then take on a nice sheen, and you will create a wrapped gift that is one-of-a-kind.
I apologize for my absence in my Frugal Friday postings. Things are still wild around our house.
I've been working on 2 things when I am home.....working on my unfinished craft projects (and working hard at not starting something new!).....and attempting to declutter and re-organize this house. It does not pay to let yourself get behind, or to let stuff pile up.
People give us a lot of things, which is appreciated, but I've not been putting them away as they come in. The main problem may be that we just don't have places for everything. In that case I need to find a place, or we don't need it.
This week from the 99 Cent Solutions book I am sharing ways to use hairspray. Hairspray has so many different uses, that this will be continued to next week as well.
1. Preserve your bouquet. Spray the underside of cut flowers, leaves, and petal with hairspray to prolong their life. Stand a foot away for best results.
2. Stop static cling. If your pants or skirts or dresses are getting a little too friendly, spritz the underside with hairspray and it will stop the cling. You can also spray the hairspray on a paper towel and then rub it on the inside of your clothes.
3. Zip it up. If your zipper refuses to stay shut, put the item on, zip the zipper shut and coat the teeth with hairspray, using a cotton swab to apply it. The hairspray will act like invisible glue.
4. Remove ink. Spray hair spray on your clothing with ink stains before laundering. Make sure the ink has indeed disappeared before drying.
5. Thread a needle. Spritz the end of your thread with hairspray to stiffen it. It makes it easier to push through the needle.
6. Take care of bug bit itch. Squirt some hairspray on those bug bites and the itching and stinging will subside.
7. Stop runs in pantyhose. Spray the run with hairspray and stop it in it's tracks.
Your turn! Inspire me, and others, by sharing frugal blog posts you have done recently.
