Free for the Asking!

I love my home. The view is priceless. My biggest complaint is the lack of counter space for food prep. We determined a kitchen island would be an awesome solution. I, like Alton Brown, cannot abide a "uni-tasker" in my kitchen. Whatever we chose would also have to do double duty and work as an eating space too.

After scouring the internet and "shopping" for these islands, $1000 was the common price. CRAZY!!!! No flipping way am I spending that amount of money.

Hubby and I brainstormed, deciding to hack our own, rather than buy. Our landlord has an old, ancient, mint green dresser in our garage. It currently houses electrical extension cords, charcoal briquettes and the like. After measuring, it is three feet tall, perfect counter height. 

Inquiring what the landlord's price for the dresser would be, he informed us this was a beast of an item no one wanted and we were welcome to it for free. Awesome!

Often you can acquire things at a cheap price or for free, if you just ask. People love to unload their "junk", but if you have an eye for the "hack", you will come up a winner!

So, we are now on the lookout for the 8 foot piece of butcher block wood. We estimate we will spend around $250 for a very nice piece, but we will explore every option before spending this amount too. 

Happy hacking!

Saturday Shopping Tip-Receipts

Receipts. I hate paper receipts. I save them, just in case, of course, but I hate them. 

Sometimes there is a treasure to be found there. I file my receipts monthly and recently discovered, just doing basic grocery shopping, I earned $4 off a meat purchase. That is at least 1 if not 4 pounds of meat, (yes, you can find meat less than a dollar a pound). 

Check those annoying pieces of paper out so savings aren't tossed in the trash.

The Mother of Invention- Substitute for Lemon Juice

Just like Souper Simple recipes, I am going to run Mother of Invention substitutions from time to time.

Not too long ago, I learned I was able to substitute heavy cream, for everything but whipping, with 3/4 milk and 1/4 butter. I love this, since milk and butter are kitchen staples, while heavy cream is not, mainly because of it's price and quick spoilage.

Well, today I came across another one I want to share. While preparing a marinade for an inexpensive cut of beef, it called for lemon juice. I hate buying this stuff for the price too. White vinegar can be subbed for lemon juice, just use 1/2 the called for amount. Now, I would experiment with this and use common sense. Clearly if you are making Lemon Bars, this would NOT be an option. However, in a marinade, it is perfect. 

Sub on!

How to Save Money on...Hand Soap/Shower Gel

Purchase a foaming soap bottle for each place you wash your hands and in every shower. Yes, this is an investment. Honestly, the best dispensers have been the one's I have gotten from Dollar Tree. 

After this initial investment much less will be spent on soap and shower gel.

I may be old school, but I need to use soap when I wash my hands or take a shower. Not everyone does. There are many people using no soap and no shampoo when they shower, for ecological and philosophical reasons and this community is growing. I did a Google search and found 36 million hits on the question of using soap! That will probably never be a group I join. 

That said, I don't want to spend a penny more than I have to for the pleasure. This is a reason I love the foam dispenser so much. There is only a teaspoon to tablespoon of soap being used each refill and since it is already foamed for use, there is very little waste. I also can afford to use my favorite soap ( a little indulgence of mine) because seriously one bottle can last 6-8 months. And that bottle is used as hand soap in our main bathroom and in our shower, at three showers a day!

Clear liquid soaps do foam the best, but my favorite soap is not clear, so it is a bit thicker. You may have to experiment with your own soap to see satisfaction in the foam. Always start with less. It is never wasted either. So much gel goes down the drain when it's used straight from the bottle. 

Liquid soaps make clean up much easier, which is another reason I love them so.

Recipe and directions for refilling foam soap dispenser;
*Liquid hand soap
*Water
*Empty foaming soap dispenser

*Measuring spoon

1.Pour one tablespoon of liquid hand soap into an empty foaming soap dispenser.
2.Fill the rest of the dispenser with water (leaving a little space at the top of the container). Hot water added slowly works best.

3.Screw on the lid and shake, priming the pump a few times.

If you prefer to use bar soap in the shower and at the sinks you can still save.

Cut each bar in half. Dry the bar after every use with a washcloth or even your towel and store it in a dry container. Use a shower scrunchie so the soap doesn't just wash down the drain.

Souper Simple

Created a slow cooker soup last night. Used leftover frozen ham from Thanksgiving, frozen leftover roasted carrots, potatoes and onions. 

I added a can of sweet corn, with the juice, to the above ingredients.

I then made my own beef gravy. I boiled two cups of water with 6 tablespoons of instant beef broth. Then I blended one cup of water with 4 tablespoons of flour and when blended, added to the boiling beef broth. Returned to a boil and stirred constantly until it reached a gravy thickness. 

I poured that over the ingredients in the slow cooker. Added two cups of water, covered and cooked for 4 hours on high.

The fam loved it!

How to Save Money On....Garbage Bags

We all have trash. However, how we view and dispose of that trash can lead to cash savings!

The Amish money mantra is "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." and so it stands to reason that re-using, re-purposing and recycling are the duties of the frugal.

My family has been able to get down to one 13 gallon garbage bag per trash cycle, which, around here, is every other week. 

How does a family of 4 do this? With a two-stage garbage system.

We have a paper bag for dry garbage and a small waste basket that we line with plastic grocery shopping bags for wet garbage.

We recycle as much as possible. Pill bottles, condiment bottles, plastic wrappers, etc. 

Each time we throw something out, we ask ourselves "can we re-purpose this?" and often the answer is yes. Sour cream containers become storage containers, zipper- close tortilla and cheese bags are washed and re-used for sandwich or snack baggies.

Even if you can cut your garbage bag use in half, it is worth it. 

How to Save Money on....Laundry

Did you know in many Westernized countries, a laundry dryer is not considered a necessity? Drying racks are used almost exclusively for drying clothes. Now, living in the frigid Mid-West, this is not always the best option.

Scouring the internet, articles will abound about how much detergent to use, if any. If any? Yeah. Well have you tried washing your clothes without detergent? Some people swear it makes no difference. How about this? Start using half what you normally use and see if it comes out clean. If it does, use 1/4 the detergent. If it's still pretty good, go 1/8 and then finally skip it. Not everyone is a mechanic with greasy, grimy clothes.

I will admit the one place I will use detergent and bleach is my towels, underwear, socks and bed linens. This is psychological to me. I have to know I used this stuff or I won't let it touch me. Yes, I'm nuts.

So, what other tricks are there to save money here?

I have a laundry schedule where I wash one load a day, every week.
*Daughter's
*Son's
*Mine and Hubby's
*Hubby's work clothes
*Towels
*Every two weeks bed linens, but I have two sets for each bed, so they are changed weekly.
 I air out the comforters every week on the best weather day of the week, then toss in the dryer for 30 minutes on high.

My method;
Laundry is washed first thing in the morning.
I wash everything on gentle wash, normal spin speed.
I stop the cycle after the water fills the tub and let the clothes soak, setting a timer for 30 minutes.
I use the shortest wash time cycle.
I run all laundry loads through 2 final spin cycles so as much water is extracted as possible.
All laundry is hung on drying racks for at least 8 hours. This at least diminishes the amount of time in the dryer by half and during the summer, I can line dry outdoors.

Is this a lot for work? Yes. Does it take time? Yes. Does it eliminate electrical and gas use for the dryer? You bet!

How to Save Money On....Using the Dishwasher

I have put my time in as a dish washer, having lived that role my entire childhood. Now that I have the opportunity to use an automatic dishwasher, I am taking it. It helps me not detest cooking, which leads to a very frugal end result, right?


One month we were without this privilege, due to a necessary part replacement and we found it saved $15.We have a very small dishwasher and are forced to wash larger pans and dishes by hand, but still, to not have to hand wash and use bleach water based rinse, since I am a HUGE germiphobe, is worth it.

The challenge is on to make this as frugal an endeavor as possible. Here we go.

1. Have enough utensils, glassware, plates, pots and pans on hand as possible to make a full load. Since our dishwasher is RV sized, it isn't hard to make a full load.

2. Use the same glass all day. You won't get sick. Trust me. I am a hand-sanitizer junkie. Clean is my game. If you like coffee and/or tea and having a liquor drink at night, invest in some glassware with a handle. It is multi-purpose. Just rinse your glass our after every use and if you are really worried, keep your glass in the fridge. Have plenty of utensils. Build your supply at rummage sales. If you are particular, save the "good" ones for guests in a separate area, just have enough to get you through a large breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack day.

3. Be sure your glassware, utensils and dishes FIT in your dishwasher. We had long stemmed wine glasses, but me and my germiphobe self could not handle it not going through a sanitary dish-washing cycle. It did take a while to find the right glasses, but eventually we found some that are perfect.

4. Who exactly decided on the size of your dishwasher detergent receptacle? Do you just fill the hole without a care? Have you thought about this before? I did an experiment. First, I found the detergent that washed my dishes the cleanest on the shortest cycle. Then, I experimented with the amount of said detergent it would take to clean the dishes. I discovered when I used the best brand, I could actually only fill the receptacle 1/3 the way full in the shortest wash cycle for a perfect clean!

My suggestion is to start with the high end detergent. They won't usually change formulas as often as store brands might and it is better to not get surprised and end up with an almost full container of dishwashing detergent that does nothing for you.

5. When we have a huge group of people over we use paper plates AND foil pans. The time and effort and energy equation does not add up and I HATE having dirty dishes on "stand-by" in my sink.

Where Your Treasure Is...

So, this is admittedly, a rant more than a post, but necessary. My hubby always says"life is a time vs. money" equation. So true. Since I am home, I am now the Money Manager, therefore I spend my time trying to save money wherever I can. 

Matthew 6:21 and Luke 12:34 say "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Well, I want to be home. Why? I love helping those I love!

The blessing of this time in my life is the availability I have in helping my husband, my children, my friends, my extended family. Honestly, I LOVE THAT!

The work, however, is to save as much as possible. Therein lies the focus of my blog for the next few weeks. How to Save Money on......

I hope it blesses and helps you!

Cut It In Half!

Want to easily save half on some things? Cut them in half. 

Many of you are already frugal enough to not buy paper-type products. I admit I will purchase disposable items if it motivates me to actually take care of some things. For example, if I did not use a disposable pad type toilet cleaner, I wouldn't clean my toilet. Those bottle brush things are gross to me and having them sitting around is even more disgusting in my mind.

I also use disposable, exfoliating cleansing cloths. I just won't make the effort to wash my face before bed if I have to stand at the sink for a few minutes. If I can just grab a pad, I will. 

That said, I try to stretch the use of them as long as possible. Every disposable wipe or pad in the house, I cut in half. My face cloths actually are large enough to be cut into fourths, so I end up spending about $1 a month on those. Worth it to me for healthy skin. I also make them do double duty and rinse them off after use to clean the bathroom counter top.

I cut everything in half that I can; paper napkins (which we use when we have company) paper towels (for food prep) anti-bacterial wipes (for bathroom cleaning) dryer sheets (don't use them often, but when I do, they get cut) magic cleaning erasers, etc.  Trust me, if it can be cut in half, it will be.

This can be done with food items too. I cut Italian Sausage I serve in pasta into as many round slices as possible, and cut them in half again. It still appears to be a chunky piece of meat to satisfy the eyes and it stretches far.

Bagged frozen chicken breast can be sliced in half easily if it still partially thawed. Bonus is it stretches the serving amount, still looks like a substantial portion and it will cook faster too, which saves $$$$.

The possibilities are endless, it just takes the mindset of looking to cut costs, literally!

Coffee Creamer Hack

Not too long ago, I mentioned I keep powdered milk in the house, simply because of the options that are available and it's shelf life. I like cream in my coffee and sometimes I like it flavored. Today I created a creamer!

I took one envelope of instant hot chocolate and 1/4 cup dry milk, poured it into our creamer shaker and shook it well. Of course, you can play with it until you have your desired strength of chocolate by adding more or less of the milk or cocoa. YUM! Give it a try!

Easiest Chili EVER!

With the cold weather, a hot meal is awesome. Spicy makes it even better. Since I have been "pantry cooking" (not meal planning, just keeping a stocked pantry) I can make just about anything on the fly. 

Hubby asked for chili this weekend, so I was making the beans in the slow cooker. Easy-peasy recipe: Fill a slow cooker 1/3 full of dried pinto beans, cover them with chili powder, cover half with cayanne, 5 teaspoons of beef base ,1 can of whole tomatoes with juice, cover, fill to the rim with water, set to high and cook for 6 hours. 

Genius struck when I decided to just throw in some leftover taco seasoned beef and cover the beans with one more round of chili powder.

We topped it with sharp cheddar, diced sweet onion and jalapenos.

BEST CHILI EVER!