My thrifty wife and mom tips

With everyone trying to save money these days, I thought I would share some of my thrifty tips with you all.

Make your own laundry soap
It’s easy, it’s cheap, and it works great! You can make 10 gallons of liquid laundry soap for about $2-$3!! That’s a fraction of the cost of even the cheapest brand in town. I went from using All Free and Clear to this, without any problems.
Here is the recipe so you can make your own.

TIPS FOR LAUNDRY SOAP: We use Fels-Naptha bar soap in the homemade soap recipes, but you can use Ivory, Sunlight, Kirk's Hard water Castile or Zote bars. Don't use heavily perfumed soaps. We buy Fels-Naptha by the case from our local grocer or online. Washing Soda and Borax can normally be found on the laundry or cleaning aisle. Recipe cost approx. $2.
Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value
4 Cups hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax
- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

I found the Fels-Naptha at Meijer in the laundry soap section, but with the bar soaps. It's a single bar wrapped in paper. The soap gets really thick once it sets over night, so we had to use a paint stirrer that goes in a drill to mix it. We also went ahead and got two 5 gallon buckets and diluted all of it at once, so we don't have to mix it with the drill every time we want to fill the dispenser.

Dryer sheets
While we’re on the subject of laundry...if you use dryer sheets, cut them in half. I’ve been doing this for a while now and can’t tell any difference in my clothes, even in the dry winter. A box of dryer sheets last me twice as long now!

DIY diaper rash ointment
I posted about this on my blog last year. It still works great for Delight. She’s only had one rash that it hasn’t taken care of, but it was because it was a yeast infection and she had to get a prescription to take care of it. I’ve given it to a couple other people and it worked great for their babies as well. It also is good for cuts, burns, stings, ect.

Delight had a bad diaper rash (the worst she’s ever had, very red and bumpy) that wouldn’t go away. It had been more than a week with this persistent rash. I had tried three different commercial diaper rash creams with no luck; it only seemed to be getting worse. My brother had used Vaseline for his baby with good results, so I even tried that, but it still didn’t improve. Then I remembered my plantain salve.I had made a salve using plantain last year. Plantain is a yard weed, very common. The salve is supposed to be for cuts, burns, stings, ect. I thought, what the heck, nothing else is helping, maybe it’ll work on diaper rashes too. I started to use it one afternoon after each diaper change and by the next morning her rash was completely gone! Lets just say it’s made me a believer in the power of herbs! It was so simple to make, I’ll include a recipe. All you need is a jar of Vaseline, a yard (you’ll have to wait till spring to get plantain though), and an aloe-vera plant.I love being able to use the resources God has given us to heal our bodies. I'm not against medicine; I would just always prefer to try something natural first.
Simple Green Plantain Salve
12 oz. jar of Vaseline
2 handfuls of Plantain leaves
1 large or 2 smaller aloe leaves, sliced and crushed
Heat Vaseline on low, only enough to liquefy. Carefully drop the Plantain leaves into the liquid—it will quickly produce a mass of thick foam. Add the aloe. Let simmer until foaming has stopped. Pour through strainer into Vaseline jar (if the liquid is too hot, wait a bit so as not to melt the plastic jar, but don't wait too long or it won't pass through the strainer). Let cool. Mark container and store on shelf. It is easy to make and works on bug bites, stings, cuts, sores, pimples, burns, and more.


Make your baby’s food
Not only is it a big money saver, it’s also so good for your baby and you know exactly what’s in your baby’s food. It’s not terribly time consuming either. I take a day (or 2 if I don’t get completely done) and make food all day. It will last me 3-4 weeks. All you need is a blender and a bunch of ice cube trays. There are plenty of books out there on the subject to get you started. I bought Blender Baby and it’s been a great guideline for me.

Buy in Bulk
If you can find a good bulk food store or co-op to join, buying your dry goods and paper goods in bulk can save you a lot of money.

Make your own cleaning wipes
I love Clorox disinfecting wipes, but they’re so expensive! They’re great for cleaning appliances, dusting and cleaning the toilet. I miss using them, so I set about to make my own. I found a recipe for them, but wasn’t quite happy with it, so I modified.

Here’s what you need:
A container-round is good
½ cup or so of all purpose liquid cleaner
Roll of Bounty paper towels
1 qt or so of water

I had a 4# potato salad container that worked perfect for this. The half roll fit perfectly inside and the lid was flimsy, so I was able to cut an X in the top and the wipes come right through just fine. Be sure and use Bounty paper towels. Cheaper ones rip to pieces, I tried. I use Mr. Clean Antibacterial cleaner, it’s what I normally mop with.
Ok, so here’s what you do. Cut the paper towel roll in half. This is a little tricky, but a sharp steak knife works well. Cut the cardboard tube in half now, and pull out each half. Place the towels in your container. Mix the cleaner and water in a separate bowl. Pour over the towels. Give it a minute and if the towels don’t all seem wet, you can add more cleaner and water until they do. Pull the towels from the middle of the roll.
Hope these work for you!




Used is better
Garage sales*
What saves me the most money? Garage sales!
90% of Delight’s clothes are from garage sales. It’s cute stuff too! Nike, Old Navy, Carters, Sonoma..you name it, I’ve found it at garage sales. I once got 3 grocery bags cram packed full of adorable Old Navy clothes for $15. Baby clothes are worn such a short amount before they out grow it that most things looks brand new. I’ve also got some really nice toys from garage sales too. Baby Einstein, Lamaze, Leap Frog….and they’re always so cheap. Of course I clean everything very well and I don’t buy anything from a dirty looking garage sale. You can’t go wrong with buying baby stuff from rummage sales as fast as they grow. I must say I’m a bit addicted.
Craigslist*
Looking for a big item like furniture? Craigslist is the place to look. It’s free online classifieds for your city. We’ve bought a car and a chest freezer off of there with great luck. They also have a lot of baby items. Just google Craigslist and the name of your city, or just type in your state and it will show you what cities have listings.
Freecycle*
I’m not sure if this is a national thing or not. Around here we have freecycle, by counties. It’s a yahoo group, so you have to join. Each time some has an item to give away, or that is wanted, you’re sent an e-mail. If you want/have the item, you can then reply to their e-mail. The nearest cross roads are listed, so you know about where it is. I’ve got 3 cans of the formula Delight uses and you know how expensive formula is!! We also posted a wanted e-mail for a truck topper. We’re getting meat chickens and heard that a truck topper makes a good shelter for them. We received a very nice, very big topper. I’ve also given away some baby items I didn’t need.
Just google freecycle with your state and county.

Clip coupons
I never thought clipping coupons was worth it. I usually buy off brands, so sometimes it’s not. BUT when you have a coupon and the item is on sale, many times it’s cheaper than the off brand product.
Know your grocery store. Many of them will match competitor’s prices and some double coupons. Krogers doubles coupons 50 cents and under all the time. So while a 50 cent coupon doesn’t seem like much, a dollar coupon does! Chances are the cashier won’t know this, so call them first to check.
You can get some great deals at CVS and Walgreens. Just check out what I bought yesterday!

CVS-
Kotex Tampons and panty liners- reg. $6.89 each. Sale + extra bucks + 2 coupons = 2.75 each (BIG boxes too!)
Colgate Tooth paste- reg 4.89. Sale + extra bucks = Free
Maybeline mascara- reg. 7.29. B1G1 (buy 1 get one free) = 3.64 each (split w/ my mom)
CVS supreme diapers sz 4- 30 ct. (I actually like these diapers quite a bit. They're a lot like Pampers) reg. 9.49 B1G1 = 4.75 each
Cvs brand Tylenol- reg. 4.49 B1G1 = 2.25 each
Spent $34.00
Total savings..... $32.05!!!!

Walgreen’s
Hefty one zip storage bags- reg. 3.29 B1G1 = 1.64 each
Dove Chocolates (I'm addicted) reg. 4.50. Sale + register rewards = 2.50 each
Lysol kitchen and bathroom cleaners reg. 4.00. B1G1 = 2.00 each
Breyer Ice Cream- reg 6.29. B1G1 + 2 coupons (stole one from my mom's paper) = 2.40 each
Then I had a coupon if you spent $20 you get $5 off your total. My total was $20.07, whew! So I only paid $15.07.
Total savings.......$21.07!!!

There’s a great blog site that you can check out where they’ll keep you in the loop about all the deals out there frugalcouponmom.com

Now here are a few mom tips

Store bibs in a grocery bag holder. You can buy them, or make one very easily. I even made one, so it’s got to be easy! It’s such a nice way to keep bibs organized. You just pull them out the bottom and put clean ones in the top. I hung mine inside a cabinet (that’s how bad my sewing job isJ)

Orbit now has little canister that their gum comes in. It’s the perfect size to put cheerios or puff snacks in. The top pops off so you can dump a bunch out, or refill it, or there’s another little dispenser that you can dump one at a time out of. They’ve worked out great for me. Better start chewing!

Use the bags that newspapers come in the tie up dirty diapers when you’re on the go. There just the right size. Because they’re so long, you can tie one off in it and if you have another dirty one later, there’s still room for it. You’ll have a diaper sausage link. J If you don’t receive the paper, you probably know someone who does and could ask them to save the bags for you.

If you have a teething baby, I’ve got a tip for you. You can put a frozen cube of fruit in the fresh food feeders (with the little mesh bags) for them to chew on. I like to take cantaloupe and blended it, then freeze it in ice cube trays. There’s not much you can do with melon. It’s so runny once blended. It’s prefect for teething though! You might have to cut the cubes in half, or just don’t fill the trays all the way up, for them to fit in the feeder. We’re going to try watermelon as soon as it’s in season.

Breast feeding? Do you find it uncomfortable to breast feed in public? Well if you’re in a store with clothing, head to the dressing room! I’ve found this to be the perfect place. There’s a nice bench to sit on, which is helpful for my tall baby who can’t be nursed in a chair with arms anymore, and there’s plenty of privacy!

If you’re feeding you little one baby cereal, you know those darn boxes the cereal comes in is messy! It leaves little flakes of the cereal every where when you open and close the spout. My solution has been to pour the cereal in a 1 qt. Rubbermaid Mixer Mate bottle (I’m sure any 1 qt bottle would be fine). One small box of cereal fits in it perfectly and there’s no more mess! It’s also handy for traveling.


So those are all my thrifty tips and mom tip for now. I hope that they’re helpful to you!
Got any good thrifty tips or mom tips? I’d love to hear them!!

Nikki


Cereal container

Cleaning wipes



Orbit snack holders