GUEST BLOG: making your own household cleaners

Anyone who has been to the grocery store has found that one of the more expensive buys is household cleaners. They are tough on your wallet and full of harsh chemicals that are tough on your home. However, natural and cheap alternatives exist! If you think that some store bought cleaners are better for certain jobs, well think again. There is a natural ingredient for just about every use and they will save you money. Here are just a few:

Tea Tree Oil- it is antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal.

Lemon Juice- it can be used in place of bleach and disinfectant

White Vinegar- works great for soap scum and basic cleaning.

For this blog I am going to be focusing on white vinegar. I bought a generic 2 quart jug of white distilled vinegar a year ago and have learned about its many and varied uses. I use it on my counter tops, pots and pans, and windows. For those who think that the odor alone would cause you to keel over, I can say that the smell starts to fade as soon as it is rubbed into the surface. I have walked into my kitchen after cleaning it and have not noticed the smell unless I put my nose to the counter (but there is usually no reason to do that).

So here is a few uses for the wonderful white vinegar:

* You can get rid of under arm stains on shirts by soaking the area in white vinegar until saturated then wash as usual.

* Make cut flowers last longer by adding 2 tbl of vinegar and 2 tbl of sugar to 4 cups of water.

* Rub stainless steel pots with white vinegar to remove spots. I used vinegar with a wire scrub brush

All Purpose Wash
3 tbl white distilled vinegar
1/2 tsp liquid soap
2 1/2 cups water

I use this cleaner for my kitchen and windows. It works great.

by: Kristen Childs

Money Saving Move of the Week: Coupons

ok, so this is another no brainer for most people. But I have heard some people say "clipping coupons is a waste of time." Oh contrare my friends. With just a little extra effort, you can save yourself quite a bit of money over time on every day hygeine and other household products.

Take for instance this:


2 bottles of shampoo and 1 bottle of conditioner

Total Price: $2.40

Total Savings: $2.09

Jacq's money saving rule number 1:  ALWAYS check the clearance aisles in every store you walk into. Target, Grocery Stores, Rite Aid, Wal-Mart, etc. Even if you're only there to get one or two things, you should still scan the clearance sections just to see what's there.

I picked these particular shampoos up at Safeway. I found the shampoos on the clearance aisle for .69 cents a piece (normally $1.40 each) and I also had a coupon for buy two, get one free on suave products. These were the only two suave products in the clearance bin, so I just picked up a regular priced bottle of conditioner at $1.69. After clearance price and coupon I walked out with these three items saving almost as much as I spent.

Now $2 may not seem like much; but think of how many bottles you use throughout the year. When you multiply the savings by that, it turns out to be a lot more. I have a stash of shampoos, body wash and conditioners in my house, all of which I got for prices like this.  Even if you do not need it at the moment, I recommend buying them when you come across deals like this. It will prevent you from paying full price out of necessity when you do run out.

Another example of this:


Two 29oz. bottles of conditioner for $2.92

Total Savings: $8.78

I picked these up at Target. They were normally $5.84 per bottle but I got them for $1.46 each. I saved $8.78. I have recently been coming across coupons for Pantene that are along the lines of "Save $1.00 on two." I did not have said coupon when I got these but if I had, I would have only spent $1.92 for BOTH of them.

And my last example:


Toothpaste w/toothbrush: $1.68. 4 pack of razors: $2.99
Total: $4.67

The toothpaste, I just found on clearance at Target. I thought it was a pretty good deal since it included a toothbrush as well. The razors were on sale at Safeway for $4.99 and with a coupon for $2.00 off one, it brought my price down to $2.99

So for these 7 items the total was $9.99 but the savings was $13.18... all because of coupons!

Princess meets Safari

Vases: Goodwill ($4.00)  Flower, Ribbon, Rhinestones: Michael's (all for under$10.00)


Customized home decor: $14.00

Randy and I recently re-finished a room for Jordyn. The theme is purple and zebra print.  My mom helped me put together these vases for decor to match the room. We spent quite a lot of money finishing the room so any new decor I wanted, I had to make inexpensive. I already had the vases. One was a left over vase from flowers my husband gave me; and the other two I found at Goodwill awhile back for $1.99 a piece. Next up was trip to Michael's where I picked up fake flowers in zebra print and purple and large rhinestones. The beauty of this project is you can customize it to any color scheme you want!

 

 NOTE: The flowers did not come this way. I bought purple flowers (like the ones you see on the cylindrical vases) and I bought Zebra print flowers. We basically had to take them off the stem and then combine the two colors in layers and put back on the stem. I'm hoping to get  tutorial of this soon.

 

 

Here's what the rest of the room looks like:

Welcome

Welcome to my blog (my first one ever... yay!) I am a huge fan of DIY (Do it Yourself) projects, crocheting, sewing, hosting parties and saving money while I'm at it. I love finding the best deals in fashion, groceries, home decor and more.  It almost gives me a rush (sick, I know.) And while
 I am a fan of coupons, I do not exteme coupon or take outrageous measures to score deals.
This blog is about sticking to the hot dog budget while still walking out with the filet mignon and doing so practically. It will incorporate how to's for hobbies, passions and overall lifestyle... on the cheap! And who doesn't love getting more for less?


I have a Pinterest Passion. Feel free to check out my link
http://pinterest.com/jacqdlt/