Worth Signing Up for

I've always intended to sign up for Farmland coupons, but always forgot. I finally did it a few weeks ago and boy was it worth the 2 minutes it took me. They sent me these beauties. Since farmland sausage was on sale this past week at Dillons for $1.00 I was able to get 8 packages of sausage for FREE! Stop what you're doing and head on over to Farmland and sign up for their coupons.

Also I'm a big fan of Vocalpoint. They send some great coupons usually with one FREE coupons and several high dollar coupons a long with it. I've loved stocking up on cereals using vocalpoint coupons. If your not a member I highly suggest you also take time to sign up for these. It's worth the energy.

Enjoy these fabulous coupons!

Erica

Cloth Diapering

A few years ago I didn't think I would ever consider the idea of using cloth diapers, but I came around. Honestly it was the thought of possibly toilet training early that gave me the motivation to use cloth. From what I've read it's not uncommon for cloth diapered kiddos to train early. It's been a couple of months of using them and it's going great and not at all as bad as I once thought. It's much easier and doesn't take too much longer for diaper changes, I just change him more often.

Here are my 2 cents on cloth diapering:

• Since I have been able to find some great deals on disposable diapers and we often go, go, go on the weekends I made the decision to only use cloth during the week and use disposables during the weekends and at night. I love our little system. It gives me a little laundry break and it's nice not to have to worry about bringing a wet bag everywhere we go. Remember you don't have to do it all the time.
• One thing is for sure is cloth diapering takes some research and let me tell you there is a lot of information out there on cloth diapers.
• At first glance we considered going with the basic prefold diapers. 2 features of prefold diapers drew me in 1. They were the cheapest option and 2. They dried the fastest. After reading a ton about these types of diapers I decided this wasn't the best fit for our little guy, even though it was the cheapest. He's very hard to change and never stops of moving. The thought of trying to use a snappy to close the diaper, and add a diaper cover was a little frightening.
• I looked into All-in-one diapers but someday soon we'll be living in a land without dryers and I wanted something that didn't take a week in the winter to air dry. These are the most expensive and the most convenient, but not for us.
• We went with a fitted diaper I actually found them at a garage sale. I had planned on making my own but I found a huge stack for $50 with about 10 covers of various sizes. AWESOME deal. The diapers we have can be used from birth to potty training and snap together very easily. I did purchase a few Velcro diaper covers because I felt they would be easier to use. I'm very happy with it.
  

The question your all wondering is, "Is it worth it?" This is a question you need to ask yourself. For us the thought of potty training early due to the awareness of what is going on under the diaper is worth the price. If my son trains at 30 months rather than 36 months that is 6 months of diapers I don't have to buy, $120 for 6 months of diapers, not counting the money we are saving using cloth diapers now. Since I found them at a garage sale they were much cheaper than if I had purchased them for full price. Plus we can use them for future kiddos without the extra expense of having purchase them again. I really haven't' seen a huge increase in our bills due to the extra laundry, it may be up a couple of dollars.

I'm not miserable using them, which a couple of years ago I thought I would be. It's working for our family. If you're wondering if you want to make the switch I'd highly recommend ordering a few and see how it goes a couple days a week, this way if you hate it you're not out a ton of money. There are various websites that do sell used diapers. (I used to think this was disgusting but then I researched how diapers were washed and sanitized and was okay with it.)

I also made my husband install a DIY diaper sprayer (he spent about $25 at Home Depot for all the parts). It's worth the extra expense to not have to touch the contents of the diaper in my opinion. Thankfully those types of diapers are few and far between. I only have to change one of those a day, sometimes two.

I'm never going to be one of those moms who are passionate about cloth diapering, but it's working for us and hopefully it will save us some money in the process. I hope this gives you a little insight into the cloth diapering world.

Erica

Clean Dishes when you travel

Here's my little secret of how we do dishes while traveling. I squirt a bit of dish soap on a thick paper towel, fold it up and place it in a Ziploc bag. When it's time to wash something I simply grab a paper towel, get it wet and wash away. When I'm finished I simply toss the paper towel away. I've washed too many sippy cups using this technique in airport bathrooms, gas stations, hotel rooms and now hospitals. It's an easy way to avoid having to bring a stack of paper products with you whenever you travel. (Plus it doesn't count as a liquid on airlines) Lighter, greener, traveling works for me!

Look before your Leave

Mistakes happen, and they also happen while ringing up your purchases. I can't tell you how often I've had to jump into the customer service line because of an error in how things rang up. I've been charged for the wrong type of produce, charged twice for purchasing only one item or full price when the item was marked down. I try to check my receipt before I head out the door to eliminate any return trips. Inevitably when I don't check my receipt there is a problem. Just last week I purchased a baby item on clearance at Target, my toddler was hungry and we were in a hurry and I didn't check my receipt. Later that evening as I glanced at my receipt of course there was an error, I was charged full price instead of the clearance price, which forced me to make another trip to Target. Even when the error is not in my favor it's my responsibility to correct it, because it works both ways! I defiantly want to pay for what I purchase and not cheat stores out of the money due them. Most of the time they look at me like I am crazy, but they always appreciate the honesty, which helps build a healthy relationship with the stores I frequent often.

Visit WFMW for more great tips this week.
Erica

What time is it????

I'm not sure about you but I'm terrible at knowing what time it is. I haven't owned a watch in over 4 years and most of the time I rely on my cell phone for a quick check at the time. Occasionally problems will arise when I must get something done for dinner and I just plain forget leaving not enough time to get it done.

One day I decided to set the alarm on my phone for things that needed to get done during the day and I've been doing it since. It's especially helpful when I have to start bread for dinner in the middle of the afternoon. I will confess there have been many times I have forgotten and it's too late to get it going in time for dinner. This new little reminder has saved the day and helped get dinner on the table as planned.

photo courtesy of www.freefoto.com

This definitely Works for Me this Wednesday! Now I'm off to set my alarm for some homemade yogurt.

Erica

Frugal Family Organization

My little guy knows how to make a mess. Recently I've been trying extra hard to help him focus on putting his toys away after he is through with them. It's slow progress but he's been doing a great job consider he's not even 2 yet.

One of the things I've done since he was little was hide a few of his toys and rotate them out. I was amazed once I dumped out his toy box last week at how much stuff was actually in there and some of it was still hidden. I quickly understood why he was a little overwhelmed and didn't really play much with what was in there. He had WAY TOO MANY CHOICES.

So I broke out a box of ziplock bags and started sorting everything into categories. Similar items were grouped together. Now I had a group of music instruments rather than a random assortment of things all over the house.

I filled another plastic tub with items that were too big for ziplock containers.

I also happened to find some fabric cubes at the Dollar Tree and knew they were perfect to help us organize his things. So while the little man was napping I took pictures of all of his toys that I had grouped. Then I added a label to the pictures.

I printed them on cardstock and covered them in contact paper. Next I added a piece of velcro to fabric cubes and placed the opposite side on the laminated picture card.

My plan is to swap out toys every two weeks. Currently he only has 5 cubes of toys and one cube of books in the play room. I've already noticed that he plays with the toys he has more and there has been a lot less wondering around looking for something to do. Another perk is there is less to clean up now. I'm very thankful I put the work into this project I can see it .

P.S. You might have to remove the labels until it's time to pick up as they might seem like great toys. You just never know.

Cheaper Ink

Wow is a replacement ink cartridge expensive or what! I always cringed when the levels on our printer ink were running low because I knew I needed to replace them soon, which meant spending an extra $20 for a black cartridge and close to $30 for a color cartridge.

Then I discovered refillable ink. I didn't know of anyone who used refillable ink so I didn't know what I was getting into, but since the price was half as much as a new one I decided to try. With coupon in hand I headed over to Cartridge World. Everyone was so friendly and they even set me up with a punch card so I could earn a free refill after I refilled 9 times. How beautiful, plus the total for a refill of a color and a black refill was less than what I would have paid for a new cartridge.

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of ink and I have not noticed a difference for the printing we do. We have done a lot recently including packaging materials for my Etsy Shop and everything has turned out the color and brightness I've wanted.

Refillable ink has won me over. Not only do we save money, but you we are reusing materials that would other wise end up in the landfill. This is the store I have used and you can find out through their site where the closest location is near you. I know there are others out there but this one just happens to be the closest and most convenient to us.

Happy Savings!

Erica

For more great ideas this week check out WFMW's home.

Cooking for a busy school day

Last week I shared an easy go to recipe that is on the table in 30 minutes, Chicken Fried Rice. I know when school begins life starts picking up again. Evenings are now comprised of a variety of things and many of these involve evening practices and activities. It's easy to pick something up for dinner on the way home from practice, but that adds up in a hurry and some simple planning can reduce the amount of take out your family consumes during the school year.

Here are a few things I like to do to make sure we aren't tempted by takeout:

• Build quick meals into your menu plan every month. I like to highlight the quick meals so if I'm crunched for time unexpectedly I can rearrange what we are having so that dinner is ready by 6:00.
• Use your crockpot. I try to use my crockpot as much as possible during busy times of the year. It's just so easy to throw everything in and let it go.
• Use freezer meals. If you have time fix a few simple meals every month and store them in the freezer till you are ready to use them. Just pull them out of the freezer and once its thawed and reheated you'll have an instant meal.
• Always have simple meal ingredients on hand! I always keep ingredients around for Spaghetti and Brinner (Breakfast for dinner). These are two of my most frequented go to meals when I'm in a pinch. Did you even know you can cook ground beef while it's still frozen. It will take a little longer but it's possible because we've all forgotten to take the meat out of the freezer before.
• Make sure you have prechopped veggies ready to be added. I like to freeze mine in ziplock bags and so I just have to dump the onions, peppers, or carrots in the dish I'm preparing. It cuts prep time in half when you already have the ingredients ready.

(And just so you don't think we never pick up dinner on the way home, we did that yesterday, Little Ceaser's pizza. This is because I had a dead gross thing in a trap in the kitchen and I refused to go in there until it had left. Life happens and sometimes take out is necessary!)

For other great ideas check out WFMW School Edition.

Make sure you enter my giveaway this week for an sweet apron. Entering is as simple as leaving a comment. Go here to enter.

No fuzzy things growing in my fridge

If your family is like ours we are living on a tight budget. It's something we don't really think about any more, we've adjusted to making the most of everything we've been given. When we came back to the states it was very easy to overbuy at the grocery store. We had become accustomed to shopping throughout the week picking up things as we needed them (very easy to do when the produce stand is on your way home from work). It was a challenge to figure out how much our family could really eat each week. I was amazed at how much food we were throwing away. I could see the dollar signs add up each time I had to throw away more produce.

So after some mental notes of how much food we were tossing, I decided to get serious and figure out how much we really eat each week. I knew I had to plan more wisely. If you're like me and love spontaneity, planning a menu is a stretch, but after seeing how much we were wasting it was big motivator to start planning our side dishes as well.

I plan our main dishes monthly but I leave the side dishes, fruits and veggies, till I prepare my grocery list. I base this off of what's on sale for the week. I simply add in a few veggies to each meal so that I know how much our family will eat. Typically I try to include 2 veggies at dinner and one at lunch. We typically have fruit at breakfast and snack and occasionally dinner or lunch. I relied heavily on food pyramid when making this adjustment. This site is a great one for helping you figure out how much your kiddos need each day.

After doing this simple step it has worked well cutting out a lot of our waste. But there are times when our menu changed and we didn't get to all those fruits and veggies so I try to freeze most of it or toss it in a recipe. For example if I'm making spaghetti or something else requiring tomato sauce I'll dice up the tomatoes that are about to go bad and throw them in the sauce. If I don't have time I'll wash them, cut out the bad spots and put them in the freezer.

Here are a few ways I commonly freeze a variety of produce:

• Spinach (cut up and placed in ziplock bags, make sure it's well dried)
• Green, Red or Yellow Peppers (Sliced and placed in 1 c. ziplock bags)
• Green onion (usually 1/2 c. placed in ziplock bags)
• Onions (Diced, sliced or minced in 1/2 c. bags)
• Carrots (Shredded or sliced, uncooked placed in 1 c. bags)
• Celery (Sliced or diced in 1 c. bags)
• Sweet potatoes (pureed and place in freezer containers or pour into ice cube trays, pop them out when frozen and place in a ziplock bag)
• Zucchini (Shredded and placed in 1 c. bags)
• Berries & peaches (Sliced peaches, most of the time I leave berries whole and place in a ziplock bag)
• Apples or Pears (Turn it into Applesauce or Pearsauce then freeze in containers)

There are a few exceptions that do not freeze well such as potatoes and cucumbers. Although Gayle figured out a way to freeze her own hashbrowns. She's such a genius!

My best piece of advice for you to reduce what goes to the trashcan is keep an eye out on what's in your fridge. Because we've all found that fuzzy piece of fruit that is almost unidentifiable.

Best Wishes!

Erica

For other great tips and ideas check out WFMW over at We are That Family.

Cheap & Easy Cards

I don't remember the last time I actually purchased a Hallmark Card. I used to love that place, but I've been a bit taken back by the prices recently. I can think of several other things I would rather spend $5 on than on a card that will most likely be thrown away.

Instead I tend to make my own cards. A few weeks ago I was working on sending a package to our niece who was having a birthday and as I went through my stash of finished cards I realized I didn't have a single card for a child's birthday. I was pressed for time and needed to run the package to the post office so this is what I did....it's so simple.

Using the same wrapping paper that I wrapped her gift in I traced a blank card (or you make your own by cutting a piece of card stock in half and folding in in half). I cut out the rectangle and glued it to the front. Added a 'wish' sticker from my scrapbook stash on the front. Just like that my card was ready to go.

For more great ideas check out Works for Me Wednesdays over at We are THAT Family.

When you can't stand the heat enjoy this little treat!

You know it's hot when your toddler steps out the door and the first thing he says is "hot". I'm thankful for a little cooler temperatures this week, even though it's still in the 90s.

Growing up it was always such a great summer treat when our snack was Orange Julius. It's one of those things that accompany summer in my mind. Here's my recipe for this icy summer treat.

Orange Julius

1/c can frozen orange juice (6oz)
1 c. milk
½ c. water
½ c. sugar or less
1 t. vanilla
1 tray of ice cubes

Put all ingredients in blender and blend. Enjoy!

Some of my other favorite summer treats include:

Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

Layered Popsicles (using juice, yogurt or pudding)

Frozen Fruit Salad

For more great recipes check out Summer's Best Recipes over at We Are That Family

Summer Frugal Air Travel

Summer is often high travel season for many families. Perhaps your family has planned a vacation in which you will travel by air. Our trip this past week reminded us once again of how you can do this smoothly and economically.

Before you book your flight.

There are a variety of things to consider when choosing your flight. Price is usually something that is a major deciding factor in booking our family's flights but it is not the only thing we consider. Weigh your options of the time your depart and the time you arrive. We often do not rent a car when we travel and instead utilize public transportation. This option requires our family to travel light and we are limited to travel within the times that public transportation is open. A simple google search of the city you are visiting will give you all the info you need.

Economy parking can be affordable but you'll need to factor this into your budget. If possible have someone drop you off at the airport and you'll easily save $50 on parking. Our most recent trip we became aware of a coupon that gave us a free day of parking. It was nice only to have to pay for 5 days of parking instead of 6. Check your airport's website to see if there are any coupons for your city.

Also if traveling with children consider their schedule when debating on times. It is best to choose a time where you child is not cranky or tired. Although it is ideal to have a sleeping child through the entire flight chances are likely that won't happen. I've been THAT mom everyone is staring at and trust me it isn't fun for anyone.

Booking your flight

There are a variety of companies to choose from when booking your tickets COMPARE, COMPARE, COMPARE. We've used a variety of companies over the years. Before you book make sure you are familiar with that company's cancellation policy & baggage restrictions. Even though sitting in airports isn't the most comfortable thing to do, we like to leave at least an hour in between flights. This way it gives us some wiggle room if our connecting flight is a bit late.

The Frugal Flier

Since most airlines are charging for baggage ($15-20 bag) this can add up and can be an unexpected fee. Make sure you calculate this into your vacation budget. Try to check as few bags as possible and utilize carryons. If traveling with children take this into consideration when thinking about what you will need to carry throughout the airport. When I've flown with my son alone I tend to only bring a backpack, purse and his stroller. The less I have to worry about the less I'm likely to forget.

Bring food and empty water bottles/cups. Be prepared for sticker shock when looking at the menu in airport food courts. If money is pretty tight consider packing PBJ sandwiches and bringing your own fruit and other snacks. You cannot take any liquid over 3 ounces past security (other than sippy cups and bottles) but you can fill up your empty water bottle once you are through security. Take advantage of the water fountains we have in America. It's much nicer than paying $2.50 for a bottle of water. We've flown several airlines that are now charging for snacks, so you'll want to be prepared to bring your own, unless you feel like forking over $4 for a tiny cookie.

Traveling with kids can be tricky thing at times. Kids will need some wiggle room between flights, so be prepared to spend some time up while waiting on the next flight. In fact encourage it, try to play games that encourage movement. Bring toys, books that you know will entertain your child for an extended amount of time. Some great ideas are crayons (or our favorite Color Wonder markers), Slinky's, busy books. For older kids consider creating some fun games with word searches and crosswords about the place you are going to visit. Although I'm not a big electronic game/DVD fan sometimes these will save your sanity. It's up to your family and you can always borrow them from friends. I always like to consider the time of the flight and bring enough activities that will last twice as long. This might be the time to introduce a new toy, as long as it is quiet. You'll be surprised at how long something new can entertain a child.

After your flight

If you have a frequent flier program don't forget to enter your flight so you can accumulate more points. Check if your hotel has a shuttle service and utilize it. If using public transportation your best bet it to choose something that you can easily get to from the metro/bus stop. We've hauled luggage up and down stairs, through a busy metro, and dragged it several miles before we found our hotel. I highly recommend you finding someplace close.

I hope these tips will help cut a few costs this summer and help make your air travel a little bit smoother. Check out other great tips over at Works for Me Wednesdays.

Happy Jet Trails!

Erica

10 places I find my coupons

Since I left my coupons in the car, which is parked at the airport I won't be able to post the Dillons deals this week, instead I thought I'd share a little bit about where I find coupons.

Maybe you're new to coupons, maybe you're a pro, or maybe you might want to start using these paper beauties. One thing is for sure they are a blessing and can be found in a variety of places.

Here are the places where I usually get my coupons.

1. Sunday paper. This one is pretty obvious. We got an awesome deal and subscribed to the Wichita Eagle. I've found they have a good supply of coupons each week, although some are better than others. I usually only get one paper a week, unless there are some hot high dollar coupons and then I usually head to the newsstand and purchase another copy. I've heard you can buy a Sunday paper for $1.00 at the Dollar store throughout the week. I've never tried it, so this is pure rumor. Give your store a call before you rush over there. If you live in a smaller town try to get a larger newspaper on Sunday. They tend to carry a better selection of coupons.

2. Family. My mom is awesome about giving me diaper coupons. I always have an abundance of these thanks to my mom.

3. Non Coupon Users. If you know someone who has a subscription to the Sunday paper but just tosses their coupons ask if you can have them. Volunteer to come pick them up from them, and make sure you do so in a timely fashion so it's not causing them clutter.

4. Mailing lists. It pays off to join Huggies and Pampers programs because you'll receive some valuable coupons in the mail. Dillons (Kroger) has been sending out some amazing coupons pretty regularly these days. I've enjoyed the added coupons they are providing on top of the coupons that they send out several times a year based on what you've purchased and what they want you to purchase.

5. Vocal Point. If you haven't signed up for this, you need to. It's awesome and they tend to send some high dollar coupons your direction. Often I get coupons for Free products on top of a handful of high dollar coupons for that same product. Usually every couple of months I get a nice envelope from them and I'm always so giddy about opening it. Go here to sign up.

6. Freebies. I often sign up for Freebies, on top of getting a free sample most of the time they tend to come with a high dollar coupon. It pays off to have a junk email as you'll get quite a few emails from signing up for these.

7. Magazines. I subscribe to several magazines that I have gotten for free from Reward Gold. There are usually several coupons in each magazine. Another great magazine for coupons is All You. I've only purchased this a couple of times. You can browse through it at Walmart and make the call if they coupons in the magazine are worth it to you. Usually I don't shell out the dough to buy a magazine just for the coupons, but that's just me.

8. Internet Printable Coupons (IP). Now we're rolling. It seems like there are more and more sites offering Internet printables. Some of these sites work differently. Some may only release a certain amount every month after they are taken they are gone (Coupons.com). Others allow everyone to print off throughout the month. Generally you are limited to print two coupons per computer.

Some of my favorite places to find Internet coupons are

Coupons.com (link found at the bottom of the page) Coupons.com releases new coupons at the start of each month. Make sure you check these out at the beginning of the month because they only release a certain number of each coupon, once that has been met you are gone.

Red Plum Grocery and Household coupons

Mambo Sprouts Organic food coupons

Eat Better America

Smart Source

Kraft Community

Betty Crocker

****Word to the wise about IP coupons. I tend to print only products I know I can find on sale, or high dollar coupons that I know will disappear fast. It's not worth my ink to print all of them off and never use them. Since I've followed this system I've only kicked myself a couple of times for not printing off a coupon.

9. Grocery store. I always keep my eyes peeled for tear pads and coupon dispensers at the grocery store. Even if I don't buy the product that day I usually grab a few, usually three. (Don't be a coupon snob and grab the whole pile, that's very inconsiderate.) Dillons also usually has a free magazine in the organic foods section. Be sure to pick one of these up as there are some good coupons in there for organic products. And you just never know if you'll find a stack of coupons someone didn't want near a product. I've seen this quite often, usually around diapers and usually because these are about to expire. People are very sweet in our neck of the woods.

10. Coupons you can load to your grocery loyalty card. Cellfire, Shortcuts.com, P&G esaver, and Bringing Hope to the Table are 4 different ways to bring even more savings to your grocery bill. Check these site to see if they are compatible to the grocery stores nearest you. All of these work at Kroger stores. You can load a max of 50 coupons at one time per card.

That's it, those are the 10 places I tend to find my coupons.

Happy Coupon Hunting!

Erica

Homemade Jewlery Cleaner

I looked down at my wedding ring the other day and I was appalled at how dirty it was. It was definitely ready for a good clean. Honestly I can't remember when it was cleaned last. (Sorry poor neglected ring.)

I was relieved to find out how to make your own homemade jewelry cleaner. From what I've read you must be very careful at what solutions you use with your gemstones. For example do not use this solution on opals or pearls. Before you use this please check this site to see how to care for your gemstones.

Here's the solution I used to clean my gold and diamond ring.
1 c. warm water
1 t. ammonia
1 t. dish soap

1. Mix it together

2. Drop your ring into solution

4. Let it soak for 10 minutes
5. Scrub ring with a soft tooth brush


6. Rinse it in clean warm water.
7. Polish with jewelry cloth (I used a microfiber towel)

8. Be amazed at how shiny your ring is again!

This definitely Works for Me! Check out other tips on Wednesday over at We are That Family.

Erica

Frugal Family Laundry Fun....well the laundry part isn't fun, but saving money is

Laundry is not my forte. I really struggle with keeping up with it. Sometimes it gets the better of me, but one thing is for certain it never ends.

On average I tend to do 10-12 loads of laundry a week, and there are only 3 people in our house. The cost of laundry detergent seems to add up quickly. I finally did it and switched to homemade detergent and have been very pleased. I have not noticed it discoloring of any of our clothing and our whites are still looking great.

Inspired by Gayle I made my own detergent using her basic recipe, but I decided since we have a messy toddler on our hands I wanted all the stain fighting action we could get so I added Oxy Clean to the mix. It's a cinch to make and I was able to fill 3 bottles of laundry detergent by this recipe.

Join me in making a batch.
This is what you'll need (fyi I've only found Fels-Naptha and washing soda at Dillons)

1/3 bar of Fels Naptha soap, or other laundry bar Soap (Stain remover)

1/2 cup Borax powder (cuts grease, deodorizes, disinfects and softens water)

1/2 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (cuts grease, deodorizes)

1/2 cup Powdered Oxy Clean (or generic equivalent) a bucket water (stain remover, whitener)
empty detergent bottles

large bucket (5 gallon works great)

1. First, grate 1/3 of the soap and put it into a saucepan.

2. Add 6 c. water to pan.

3. Heat until soap dissolves and then turn heat off. (it's important to turn off the heat, don't ask me how I know this, let's just say we had a volcanic explosion of laundry detergent the first time I made it.)

4. Add 4 cups hot tap water to your bucket and then add the dissolved Fels Naptha mixture into the bucket

5. Add Borax, Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, and Oxy Clean to bucket and stir until dissolved.

6. Once everything is dissolved add 22 c. water and stir to combine.

7. Let set for 24 hours. The top will gel and the bottom will be liquid. It's the same stuff so don't worry about it. Give it a good stir.

8. Use a liquid measuring cup and add to your empty bottles of detergent. (The next time I make this I'm going to do this step once everything is dissolved and the 22 cups of water are added. I'll let it set in the containers.)

9. When ready to do laundry Add 1/2 c. per load. I usually give it a good shake before I pour it and I use the cap to measure it. My caps are about 1/2 c. so it works out perfectly. You'll have to add two caps if you are using bottles from concentrated detergent. I love the savings I get when I make my own detergent. One bar of Fels Naptha will give you enough detergent to make this three times before it's time to buy a new bar. You'll be able to use the washing soda and borax to make a lot of detergent. Gayle estimates that this costs her about a penny a load, but since I added the Oxy Clean let's just say it cost about .02-.03 a load. That's awesome. This is a detergent produces very little suds, but it gets things very clean. I have a husband who comes home with very dirty clothes and I've never once thought it didn't clean it well.

Homemade Dryer Sheets

I was looking for ways to save on dryer sheets and I saw where you could fill a container with 1/6 of fabric softener and the rest water add a few sponges or rags and you've got your own homemade dryer sheet. You'll need to squeeze them out a bit before you throw them in the dryer.

I used this method but I hated getting my fingers wet. So I decided to use a spray bottle. I use the same concept 1 parts softener to 6 parts water. It's so easy and I love it much better than using the homemade sheets.

Add a bit of fabric softener in my squirt bottle.

Fill the rest with water. You'll need to dilute it well so that it will be able to create a midst.

When it's time to dry a load of clothes simply give your clothes a nice mist. I like to lift up the clothes and try to get most of them.

When I do buy dryer sheets I cut them in half to make them last longer. Since my son has very sensitive skin we don't use dryer sheets but I love the smell, so I tend to add them to our drawers to give us that "clean laundry" smell.

Happy Laundry Savings!

Erica

Staying Cool and not breaking the bank

I love air conditioning, but I also love how low our bills have been the past couple of months without our heat or AC on. We are really trying to delay turning on our AC as long as possible and thankful for that the hot summer weather has yet to make it's appearance in Kansas yet, but it's coming.

We have plenty of experience of living without the luxury of air conditioning and yes it is a luxury. There are plenty of ways to keep cool even without turning on your AC

1. One of the easiest ways to stay cool is to minimize your heat sources in your home. During the day try to use natural light rather than reaching for the light switch. Try to spend time in rooms where the sun is not shining into. Keep these curtains closed until the sun has moved elsewhere. Sure the sun is lovely but it will heat up your room very quickly.

2. Utilize fans and outside temperatures. It goes without saying that if it is cool outside you'll want to draw this air into your home, if it is hot then you don't. If you have an attic fan these are beautiful ways to keep cool. Flip those on at night and you'll be reaching for a blanket before you know it. If you don't have an attic fan utilize your fans, you'll want all types osculating, ceiling and box fans. Place a box fan in your window to draw the air inside. When it warms up in the afternoon, why no try to close your windows. I know it may seem odd, but I promise you it works. Open your windows after it cools off a bit at dusk. In the mean time circulate the air you have to the best of your abilities.

3. Try to minimize the use of your oven and stove top. Utilize these beautiful inventions, crock pot, rice cooker (also great for steaming veggies), and a bread maker. Rather than heat up your whole house with your oven try making various crockpot meals and why not make a loaf of bread to go with it using your bread machine. (I borrowed my mom's for the summer and am very excited to still have bread this summer.) Lastly steam a pot of veggies in your rice cooker. You've got a complete meal without every having to turn your oven on. A friend of mine actually takes her crock pot to the garage so that it won't heat up her house. I just cleared a space in my laundry room and hope to follow this concept too. Whoever thought such smells would be coming from the garage or laundry room.

4. Utilize your oven before you go to bed. Since it is coolest during the night your house will have plenty of time to cool off. When we lived overseas I would often cook my meals at night and then place them in the fridge for the next day. Try making several things in one swoop and freeze them, this way you'll only need to heat the oven up once.

5. Hydrate and rehydrate. Keep a cold glass of water handy and sip your day away. These are the best days to bring out that blender and make you a nice cold smoothie, or other icy drink.

6. Dress appropriately. Obviously jeans and long sleeves are going to make you hot. It's time to bring out your shorts an summer skirts out of storage and enjoy lounging in your coolest attire.

7. When it is time to turn the AC on try turning it up a few degrees. I think the lowest we had it set last summer was 75 degrees. But utilizing some of these same tips you can keep your AC from running constantly. Utilize your programable thermostat, programing it to the lowest temperature around 2:00-5:00 in the afternoon.

There are plenty of other ways to stay cool. What's your favorite? Mine's a nice lemon snow cone! For more great tips check out WFMW's home over at We Are That Family.

Utilizing Store Sales

For mother's Day this year my husband and son gave me a gift card to Kohls. I was very excited because I just signed up to receive Kohl's newsletters via e-mail and also received a $5.00 coupon to be used on anything. I knew going in that I would have $35 to spend. I wanted to use it wisely and to purchase some nice pieces.

I saw an advertisement that you could save up to an additional 30% off your entire purchase if you used your Kohl's card. We've thankfully have never had any credit card debt and we've always passed when offered store credit cards. After seeing this type of sale multiple time the last year we decided it was worth it, since this is where we shop the most for new clothing. Since we pay for pretty much everything with cash I can just paid my balance right there at the register. If you are considering store credit cards please, please, please be very careful think about it and don't do it on a whim just to save a few bucks. Most importantly never buy anything you can't afford.

I am very excited to add these (pictured below) to my wardrobe. I went looking for a few things to wear to an upcoming interview. (Being a stay at home mom I don't have a lot of business wear anymore.) I love what I found. 1 jacket on clearance for 16.80, 1 skirt on clearance for 8.00, Black sweater on clearance for 12.00 Short sleeved shirt 8.99 on sale. After my $5 coupon and 30% off this totaled 30.35! That's about 7.59 per item.

The best time of year to find some great clearance items is shortly after the season is ending. Right now Kohl's has a ton of long sleeved shirts and pants on clearance. Since I never buy clothing at full price this is good place to find some real bargains.

Make sure you look over the pieces you plan to buy, especially things on clearance. Check all seams (especially underarm and crotch seams) & buttons. Some of these might be missing, or need some minor repairs. If this is the case ask yourself it it is worth it. I passed on a long sleeved t-shirt today that was 4.00 but the seams didn't look very cheap.

Never buy anything you don't love, just because it is cheap. If you don't love it don't buy because chances are it will sit in your closet and you've wasted money. I follow this same principle anywhere I shop whether it is a garage sale or the mall. I'd rather walk out of a store with nothing than spend $10 on a shirt I'll only wear once. Lastly try it on and make sure you love it.

Happy Savings!

Erica

Cooking a Week at a Time

I must admit it was very nice popping dinner in the oven yesterday. I was able to get most of my sewing projects cut out yesterday during my son's nap. I have a feeling this is going to be a very productive week. For more great ideas check out Works for me Wednesday.

Here's what I made during my cooking marathon:

• BBQ Chicken and Rice
• Chicken Chimichangas
• Chili Kolaches
• Sweet and Sour Pork (I had planned on making chicken but I bought a smaller chicken)
• Bierocks
• Taco Meat
  

This took me around 2 1/2 hours to complete all 6 of these meals as well as kitchen clean up. Go here to find the recipes for all of the recipes with the execption of tacos (just follow your packet's instructions.)

Some tips to making this event go well include:

• Pre-chop onions/veggies needed.
• Make sure you thaw your meat ahead of time.
• Cook a whole chicken in the crockpot a day before your marathon and I de-boned it. Refrigerate your cooked chicken so it is ready to be added to your recipes.
• Shred cheese if using block cheese ahead of time.
• Start with a clean kitchen, empty sink and dishwasher. You'll have a lot of dishes to do at the end and it's much better when these are the only ones you must tackle.
• Cook when you have uninterrupted time. The best times for me are evenings after little man is in bed.

Below are your Step by Step instructions of how to prepare these 6 meals in 2 1/2 hours.

1. Start your rice. I used a rice cooker but you can cook it however you wish. Here's my most recent find of how to prepare brown rice. It works beautifully and I'm so glad I came across this article.

2. Prepare your dinner Rolls. This is my favorite recipes because it requires no rising. I let my kitchen aid do all the work of kneading for me. Once you have finished kneading your dough split dough in half.

3. Begin to prepare you Chili Kolaches. Dump your beans with salsa and seasoning and stir together.

4. On a cookie sheet roll half of the dough into little balls about the size of an egg. Once you have all your dough balls ready smash them down and create a crater in the middle, using your thumbs. Pour your bean mixture into the middle of the crater. Top with cheese.

5. Bake Chili Kolaches for about 15 minutes. Be sure to set a timer!

6. Cook your ground beef. Use about 1 1/2-2 lbs. ground beef divided into two pans. In one pan season meat with taco seasoning. Cook simultaneously and drain grease when finished. Add some onion if you desire.

7. Set aside taco meat and allow to cool slightly.

8. Using the second pan of unseasoned ground beef will be used for the Beirocks. Combine this cooked beef with one can cream of chicken soup and 1 c. shredded cheese, mix together

9. Using the second half of your bread dough, again divide dough into balls about he size of a tangerine.

10. Take a dough ball and stretch it out with your hands into a flat circle. Drop a spoonful of meat mixture into the center of the dough circle. Bring the remaining dough around the meat mixture and pinch to close it.

11. Place on a greased cookie sheet seam side down. Bake for 15 minutes or until the dough turns a golden brown. As soon as it comes out of the oven spread butter on the tops. Move to cooling racks and allow time to cool.

12. To prepare your BBQ Chicken use half of your cooked chicken add desired BBQ sauce to chicken, heat briefly and then set aside to cool.

13.Take the second half of chicken 2 1/2 c. and prepare the chicken mixture of your chimichangas. Add onion, salsa and spices to mixture and stir. Add mixture to the center of a tortilla and roll it up leaving the ends open. Place in a 9 x 13 baking dish, with the seams on the bottom of the pan. Freeze as is. (You will need to prepare the sauce for the topping as these bake the day you eat them.

14. Cook your meat for Sweet and Sour Pork/Chicken. Add the remaining ingredients and follow recipe until finished. Allow to cool before transferring to a container to freeze it in.

15. After all food has cooled place it in bags or Tupperware and label it and add any more instructions the recipes needs. (For example the chimichangas need sauce, include the recipe.)Divide your rice into two containers. One will be for BBQ chicken and the other will be for Sweet and Sour Pork. Bag up some shredded cheese for your taco meat.

16. Once everything is added containerized, find space in your freezer, clean up your kitchen and congratulate yourself and preparing a week's worth of meals. It's time for you to relax, or at least enjoy a piece of chocolate.

Happy Cooking!

Erica

Saving on Things We Toss

I despise spending money on things that we throw away like napkins, paper towels, trash bags. Here are 5 ways our family saves money (or would love to save money) on things we toss.

1. Recycle. Our lack of trash is due to the fact that we recycle. I found a great place here in Wichita that takes about anything: cardboard from packaging, any type of plastic, cans, glass, newspapers, magazines. I've had the best help going here and usually volunteers help you get unloaded in a hurry. Recycling those take some thought and a little space but it's worth it. Here's a picture of my frugal recycling system. I purchased these bags for .50 bags at Walmart. I covered the logo with fabric and then ironed on labels. Simple and easy and they hang on the wall so they don't take up too much space. The smaller size forces me to recycle often.

2. Use Cloth Napkins. Rather than letting my cloth napkins collect dust I decided to pull them out and start using them. I haven't purchased napkins since Christmas and I've only gone through a couple rolls of paper towels. I also try to save any napkins that we didn't use when we get take out or fast food. These make great napkins than can be thrown in you lunchbox or used for messy meals. If you like to sew, it's a breeze making your own. The hardest part is mitering the corners here's a great tutorial on how to make them.

3. Wash plastic utensils. My husband takes his lunch everyday to work and I usually send him with plastic utensils, that I just throw in the dishwasher when he gets home. This stretches the amount I plastic utensils I have to buy and I don't have to worry about our silverware getting misplaced. Once they are broken or cracked I just throw them in with the recycling.

4. Use our plates. There have been a few times over the last year when I have pulled out the paper plates but these times have been few and far between and I still have the same package I purchased last year. Rather than reaching for disposables we choose to use our plates, it doesn't take too much more work to throw them in the dishwasher along with the other dishes we're bound to have. There certainly is a time and place for disposables but we like to use them wisely.

5. Compost. Currently we do not compost, although we would love to. If we would be in one place long enough we would completely do this. We've done this in the past and you'll be surprised how much space rinds, vegetable peels, and eggshells add up. Here's a great website that provides some info on composting. Composting is a wonderful way to save space in your garbage can and will help enrich your soil over time. What a win win money saving solution.

For other great tips check out Works for Me Wednesday over at We are THAT family.

Happy Saving!

Erica

Coupons, Coupons, Coupons

Make sure you print the new Kraft coupons from my coupon tool down below. Today is the last day for the Kraft cheese sale at Dillons, you can use some of these coupons for great deals on cheese that is on sale this week for 1.77 ( kraft singles & shredded cheese).

I went to Dillons yesterday but I'm seriously considering going back for more Kraft singles $1.27 each using the 1.00/2 IP below.

Other great coupons you won't want to miss include:
1.00/1 Wheat Thins
1.00/1 Kraft Salad Dressing
1.00/1 Ritz Crackers
1.00/1 Velveeta Shells and Cheese or Kraft Deluxe
1.00/1 Honey Maid Graham Crackers
1.00/1 Miracle Whip Dressing
1.00/1 Kraft BBQ Sauce
1.00/2 Cool Whip
1.00/2 Kraft Natural cheese
1.00/1 Premium Cracker
1.00/2 Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs
1.00/2 Philadelphia Cream Cheese Bricks

Also I just discovered that you can get another free one day membership to Sam's Club now through May 23rd. This is a great way to stock up and some basics without paying the membership. Check out this site for details.