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A little vinegar and borax can go a long way! I finished up a particular 'toxic' cleaner I bought at the store a while back. I kept the bottle, poured in the new ingredients, and it works great! I use it for everything. I even used it to clean up a little red paint that was spilled on my beige carpet! Also, some pink Sunny D was spilled on the carpet as well. This too came up very well.
Keep in mind I used this as soon as the spill happened. It does take a little elbow grease on other surfaces or stains/crustations.
Anyway, it's all natural and does what I need it to do for now. Here's the recipe if you are interested!
2 Teaspoons Borax
4 Tablespoons Vinegar
32 ounces of water
We had a nice time this weekend with my father-in-law and sister-in-law. We did a couple of fun but new and frugal things on Saturday that I thought I would share.
First we went and toured the Wild Turkey Bourbon Distillary. It was about 30 minutes away and the tour is FREE complete with a gift shop to browse. Justin did buy a $3 bottle of Wild Turkey Bar-b-que sauce for the lunch he made at home after our tour. To find out more details about the tour click here.
Later we went to the Bible themed putt-putt golf course in Lexington. You can play one course for $5.50 or you can play all 3 courses for $7.50. If you choose the latter, then they will stamp your card and you can leave and come back anytime during the day to play. BUT, if you have an Entertainment Book there is a Buy One Game Get One FREE coupon (good for the one course option only). So you and a friend could play a course for $2.75 each!
My friend Kelly G. gave me this simple recipe to make your own laundry detergent. I tried it out this past weekend and it works great! I give this experiment an A+. Here are the details she sent me:
This is a phosphate-free, perfume-free, dye-free concentrated powdered detergent for laundry. It costs just pennies per load and will last for 6 months to a year, depending on much laundry you do.
12 cups Borax
8 cups baking soda
8 cups grated ivory soap (about 9 bars)
8 cups super washing soda
Mix together ingredients very well and crush all clumps
Only use 1/8 cup (about 2 Tbs) per load (will not suds or bubble)
Tips:
- Freeze ivory soap before grating to make it a little easier & faster
- Use 1/4 c. white vinegar as a fabric softener in the rinse cycle
- Borax is found in the laundry aisle - cheapest was found at IGA
- Super Washing Soda - available from drugstore.com by Arm & Hammer
Are you wondering what happened to my Frugal Experiments? Me too. Well, I realized I was taking on more than I had time for, so I will be doing a little restructuring. BUT, there will be more experiments so stay tuned...
Here is a simple way to organize your pantry. Get one of those clear plastic shoe storage things that hang on your door. Then you decide what items to put in there - spices, snacks, boxed foods etc. This way you can better see what you have AND there is less chance you will waste (i.e. forget) food!!
I have one of these but currently hang it in the upstairs closet in the guest room. I use if for bills, important papers that need to get taken care of. That way I don't lose things in piles.
Have you tried one of these? How did it work?
This a a blog about deals and steals as well as experimenting in frugality in our daily life. Stay tuned this week for our experiments and reports on the following:
- Visit recipezaar.com
- What about dehydrator use?
- Getting soap scum from shower doors
- Removing odors and stains from clothing and making your own fabric softener
- Keep your pantry organized and your fridge frugal
- Cheap game for kids and making inexpensive baby gifts
- Free entertainment activities
- Coupon Dumpster Diving
- A different way to treat chapped lips and shave your legs
- Another way to freshen your laundry and a room
- Healing an infected wound and relieving constipation, nausea, and diarrhea
- Recycling envelopes, cardboard, and zip locks
- Frugal Fridge
Contact me at rmbronson@gmail.com if you are interested in doing a guest post on your own Frugal Experiments!
I definitely won't get to all of these (I never do)! But I will do what I can, and the ones I don't get to throughout this year will be filed away for 2010!
According to a Reader's Digest article, 12% of the food you purchase at the grocery store is wasted. It happens, no matter how hard you try. Well, here is one more way to keep your food lasting longer.
To keep your fruit salad fresh and free of browning add a little lemon juice. Why does this work? Here is the short answer: The ascorbic acid serves as a buffer which prevents oxidation. If you want a longer explanation, click here.
This a a blog about deals and steals as well as experimenting in frugality in our daily life. Stay tuned this week for our experiments and reports on the following:
1. What to do with stale bread
2. Keep a fruit salad fresh
3. What to do with a dried out block of cheese
4. The best way to reheat bread
5. Using bananas in cooking
6. Making garbage soup Contact me at rmbronson@gmail.com if you are interested in doing a guest post on your own Frugal Experiments!
This a a blog about deals and steals as well as experimenting in frugality in our daily life. Stay tuned this week for our experiments and reports on the following:
- Sewing with floss and starting a quilting project
- Naturally healing a headache and a burn
- Computer, hand held device, and Nike recycling
- Keeping your fridge at a frugal temperature
Contact me at rmbronson@gmail.com if you are interested in doing a guest post on your own Frugal Experiments!
Thanks to Frugal Girls! for this guest post. Be sure to check out this mother of two boys and her very informative and cute blog at www.frugalgirls.blogspot.com!
Frugal Experiment #1: Homemade Laundry Stain Remover
I recently ran out of my favorite laundry must-have... Shout Stain Remover! I was committed to find a way to get some effective (but cheaper) stain remover, so I decided to make my own. Yes, I was very skeptical... and thought it probably wouldn't work as well, but I've been using it for two weeks now and the clothes are coming out clean as ever! We're not talking little stains either... I've got two boys that bring home dirt, mud, and grass stains galore. Following is the "recipe" for my new (and successful) frugal experiment: Homemade Laundry Stain Remover...
1/3 cup Dawn Dishsoap
1/3 cup Ammonia
1 cup Water
3 tbsp. baking soda
Mix all ingredients together and store in an empty spray bottle...I'm using my old Shout bottle!
Frugal Experiment #2: Homemade Bubble Bath
The other night I was in a pinch. My youngest child was ready for a bath, but we had ran out of bubbles! I did a quick google search, and came up with a "recipe" for bubble bath... one part kid's tear free shampoo to two parts water. I mixed it up, and it worked like a charm! Another version of the recipe was to substitute softsoap for the tear free shampoo. The homemade bubble bath saved the day... and a few dollars too!
I travel with my work, so I don't really get to participate in this too much. But try having a trade shelf at your work. If you have any foods, coupons, samples, magazines, books, etc. that you don't use or want, bring them to work, set them on the 'trade shelf', and a co worker just may find something they want or need. And of course, vice versa..you may discover items of interest as well.
This is especially beneficial if you are an avid coupon collector because there are plenty out there who aren't interested in this obsession, I mean, uh hobby. They may not mind grabbing those coupons out of the Sunday paper every week and bringing them up to the office.
Has anyone else tried this with their co-workers?
Here are few ways and places to save on ink:
- Don't forget to always print in black ink if possible. Those color ink cartridges are more expensive and use up a lot of ink.
- Even better - print in grayscale. Just a little lighter than black and doesn't use as much ink. I tried this last night and the quality is great!
- Check Ebay or Amazon.com for cartridges, you may find them at your own price.
- Charley H. reminded us to look at the store brands before automatically going to the brand names. They are the same thing!
- Office Max used to give a $3 coupon when you gave them your old recycled cartridges. I went back last week and they don't do that anymore! Call around to a few of your local office stores and see if there are any incentives to recycling our cartridge.
- Here are couple of other websites to find good deals on cartridges. Don't forget to go to Ebates.com, sign up, search for one of the ink websites listed below, purchase, and get a percentage back from your total cost.
http://www.inksell.com/
http://www.123inkjets.com/
At Walgreens this week:
Printer Cartridge Refill: Spend $5
$5 January Easy Saver Rebate (# 15)
FREE after rebate
If you have any particular products that you really enjoy, try calling the company. You could ask if for coupons or free samples. I experimented with this today by calling Kellogg's, Coca Cola, Campbell's, Gatorade, and Rice a Roni. Basically, I just picked a few products from our pantry and got the phone number off the package.
Sooo...here are the results (I know.. exciting):
- Rice A Roni and Campbell's Soup are sending my coupons in the mail. WooHOo!
- Kellogg's, Coca Cola, and Gatorade gave me a spill about looking for coupons in the paper. Oh well.
Try calling a few of your favorite companies. And they don't have to be just food products, check out your toiletries and cleaners as well. Also, I had very little wait time when I made these phone calls, so hopefully that can be said for most other companies. What have you gotten from a phone call to a company?
Here are few ideas on how to freshen up with items you probably already have around the house!
Most of you probably get a Sunday paper for all those coupons. Before you go out and recycle all of those papers, keep a few handy to line the bottom of the drawers in your refrigerator. The paper will keep it nice and fresh. You can also do the same with your lunch bags you take to work. Crumble up some newspaper and throw it inside with your sandwich.
You can also freshen up your carpets with some common household items. First, a quite common and well known idea - sprinkle Baking Soda on your rug or carpet and vacuum. Now it's clean and fresh. If you don't have Baking Soda get a $1.00 off 2 coupon here. Take it to Walmart and get two small boxes for FREE
Now this second tip is where a little experimenting came into play. Use old herbs and spices to freshen and scent your carpet. You could try rosemary, thyme, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, etc. Or you may want to mix some and make your own scent creations. Then sprinkle and vacuum (BE SURE TO DO A TEST SPOT FIRST).
I chose cinnamon and it worked!! But maybe a little too well, I sneezed a couple of times, and as soon as my husband came in the door (in another room) he could smell it. And then I remembered how much he hates cinnamon...oops. So, my advice to you, is to try not to over do it, like I did :).
This a a blog about deals and steals as well as experimenting in frugality in our daily life. Stay tuned this week for our experiments and reports on the following:
1. Trade at work
2. Save $$$ on printing
3. Community theater groups for entertainment
4. Get coupons and free samples from your favorite companies
5. Whiten your nails and add vinegar to your bath
6. Freshen your vacuum cleaner, floors, and refrigerator.
Contact me at rmbronson@gmail.com if you are interested in doing a guest post on your own Frugal Experiments!
These are a couple of things I tried..but I was lacking in materials. But check them out, you may find that these things work for you!
Aw, that's gross. Yes, I'm airing my dirty laundry. It was an obvious cliche, so I thought I would just get it out of the way. If you are keeping up, you know there are few things I wanted to try this week. First, over at this blog, I learned to add 1/2 cup of lemon juice to a medium sized load will brighten your whites. So what do you think....
Not bad huh? :) Ok, I realize that I don't really have anything to compare it to (I didn't have enough whites to do comparison loads). What do you think? Have you tried this?
Try this. To fight the static that makes your skirt stick to your legs, take a wire hanger and run the flat side between your pantyhose and skirt. I tried this (sorry no source, I heard this a long time ago), but, I have NO pantyhose and have not had any for years. But I tried it anyway and the results go like this... there was a little bit less static after using the hanger, but it wasn't completely gone. I probably would reach for the Static Guard after this experiment.
This a a blog about deals and steals as well as experimenting in frugality in our daily life. Stay tuned this week for our experiments and reports on the following:
1. An unknown grocery rule (if it exists).
2. Naturally cleaning your toilet...and keeping your laundry whites white.
3. Reducing static clean without the spray.
4. Items that go on sale in January as well as other gifts under $10.
5. A simple way to keep all your sheets together.
Contact me at rmbronson@gmail.com if you are interested in doing a guest post on your own Frugal Experiments!
p.s. If you were anxiously waiting for the guest post from Justin on discount bread stores this week, not to worry he will post on that soon. He is currently taking a very difficult Hebrew class that is taking up a lot of his time. But stay tuned he still plans to do a write up on his trip to buy bread!
This a a blog about deals and steals as well as experimenting in frugality in our daily life. Stay tuned this week for our experiments and reports on the following:
- Four common items in your kitchen that you can help increase its shelf life.
- A guest post from my husband on his trip to the Bread Discount store.
- The benefits of dividing your foods and products in half.
Contact me at rmbronson@gmail.com if you are interested in doing a guest post on your own Frugal Experiments!
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