Holiday Past

Just a couple posts from holidays past....

Gearing Up for the Holiday Baking
After the Party
Tips for Staying on Budget

5 Tips for Saving at the Grocery Store

1. Check market circulars - You can find them online and it will help you plan your menu around what is one sale. Before walking into the store you should know the deals so you can plan properly.

2. Coupons - I will say I am not a huge fan of coupons as often items I buy don't have coupons. But when they do, I use them. I also use swagbucks.com that gives me points every time I use coupons from their website. Those points can can be turned in for gift cards and other items. So I am saving at the grocery store by using the coupons and also saving money through the gift cards I get through swagbucks. Many grocery stores now have digital coupons that they load to a value card which often give you money off things already on sale so make sure to check out your grocery stores website. Not many of my grocery stores double coupons, but one will and so often it can make some items nearly free after using them.

3. Eat First - I know that going to the store when I am hungry always seems to make me buy things that weren't on my list. Something always seems to catch my eye that will make my grocery bill go higher.

4. Skip Convenience Items - pre-packaged cake mixes, salad, meatballs or other items that I can put together and make using whole ingredients for less cost. I will have to say that even though they cost less - sometimes my time is needed elsewhere and so buying prepackaged salad or other items can be worth it to me in the long run. But most of the time I do buy the ingredients and make it myself.

5. Plan & Make a List - By looking at circulars, in my pantry, using the other grocery saving tips to plan my menus or at least know what I need to keep the pantry stocked for many of the standard meals cooked - I can keep to my list. Sticking to that list helps save money.

Tips for Staying on Budget the Holidays

Holiday spending can put you in debt for the rest of the new year. Create a budget that is affordable to your bank account.  The best thing is to be putting away for it all year and then staying on budget with the money you have saved. If you don't save all year, still stay within a budget so that you aren't creating more stress for you in the new year ahead. So the most important thing to do is stay on budget. 

Here is some tips to help you stay on budget for the Holidays...

1. Make a List - Make a list of those you need to give too with ideas of what you want to buy/make.

2. Trim Your Gift List - It is time to look at the list and make sure you aren't stressing yourself out in the long term by adding more debt. 

3. Make Gifts - with Pinterest you can find so many great ideas for handmade gifts. 

4. Online - If you really need to get something that you feel is out of your budget and you can't think of anything else to give to that person, buy it online. So you really want to give Aunt Alice that $200 scarf look online as you most likely will find it for less. Find places that have free shipping or direct shipping of gifts to your recipients so that you save money on mailing. Use places like Retailmenot.com to help find coupons and free shipping codes.

5. Been Shopping Already - I buy things throughout the year to give as gifts. I have them all put in a plastic crate in the closet, but sometimes I forget about the things I have bought. So make sure you look around your house before you do any shopping to see what you can mark off your list. 

6. Thrift Store- It has to be the right gift: collectibles, vintage items, books or new items. I have found very pretty things that are just perfect for the right person. 

7. Family Gifts - It helps cuts your gift list down by purchasing one gift instead of 4. Such as if you have a your whole brother's family why not just do a family gift instead of 6 gifts for every person in the family. Good family gifts are board games, a classic movie on dvd and a box of microwave popcorn, a popcorn popper with some popcorn and popcorn seasoning (that is good to make at home too), tickets to a play or movies, family memberships to the zoo or a museum, a box of fruit, a basket of different hot cocoas and teas or a basket of hot cocoa (make it homemade) with different add-ins homemade marshmallows, caramel syrup, red-hots or peppermint sticks, or candied ginger. 

8.Co-workers - Do you have to give to all your co-workers? Why not just bring in food. Bring in breakfast - make an egg casserole or muffins and fruit salad for something different during the holidays. 

9.Friends - Get all your friends together for brunch or lunch. The get together is your gift to each other. One year all of a group of friends and I got together to go to the local museum and then to lunch and that was our gift to each other - quality time together during the holidays. It was much needed during the stress of the season so was a great gifts to have fun and laugh with my favorite girlfriends.

10. Gift Exchange - Doing a Gift Exchange can help you cut down on expenses during the year and keep on budget. Pick names, rotate names with your family. One year have Aunt Sue and then the next your brother-in-law or do a secret santa. If you are only buying for cousin Joe instead of 13 family members that is going to cut your holiday shopping list down. 

11. For Others - Sometimes finding a great deal can make it hard to do not want to buy one for yourself, but if you do that then you will go over your budget. Stick to buying for those on your list and remind yourself that you are not on that list. If you really want to take part of some of the holiday deals, make sure you put a certain dollar amount into your budget for spending on yourself. 

Here is a Holiday Gift Planning List to download and use in your making sure you stay within your budget.

Download a Printable Gift Planning List

Guest Post: Laundry Soap Recipe

Guest Post by teacup

 Trying to budget? To make the most of a dollar? Me too. Seeing a recipe online for some homemade laundry detergent was an inspiration...Yeah, I am certain there are many recipes out there (even one here by kaya) and they may all do a fairly decent job.

My goal is to save some money where it counts....bottle detergent just seems to be getting higher and higher in cost. When using less expensive detergent, it seems to come out of the bottle like water. So I  am not sure how much detergent is actually in there.

I had seen a recipe on Pinterest. I went out and bought the ingredients and in less than 15 minutes I had made a couple years supply of detergent for less than $25.00 that was including a fabric softener in there. If that was excluded, it would be less than $15.00 for a couple years supply so my mission was accomplished. Having detergent and saving money. (An alternative to fabric softener is vinegar.)


The test was using the detergent I made...it went very well. The clothes were clean, had a great scent to them, and clothes that I typically hang were soft and held the nice scent of the fabric softner. The clothes that were dried in the dryer came out very nice. Towels were soft and fluffy and no static cling at all...so meeting those requirements were a plus for me.  At this point, I am totally happy with the results and even more with the cost...using only 2 Tblsp of the end product will make the detergent last me a very long time...most likely years. I typically do no more than 2 loads of laundry per week.  I re-used the bottles that the Purex fabric softener Crystals came in to put the detergent in for easy pouring and the cap filled half way or so was all I needed.

Ingredients:
1 box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing soda  ($3.49)
2 boxes of baking soda (2 boxes for .98 - I used generic)
2 bottles Purex Crystals ($10.46 - optional all-together - you can use just one too...but I prefer a stronger scent so I used 2 )
2 bars of Fels-Naptha bar soap  ($2.08, I used a cheese grater to start but it was taking too long...so I broke out my old salad shooter and in 2 min. I had both bars grated...and I just crumbled it into the bucket...I hear using a food processer works too)
1 box of Borax ($3.38)
1 3lb box of Oxi Clean ($3.25 - got on sale.)

for a total of $23.64

To mix it all up I reused a clean old kitty litter bucket, but using a 5 gal bucket to mix it all in is recommended.

also add OxiClean 

grating soap

upcycle the Purex Crystal containers to use for easy adding to  washer

teacup Bio: Sometimes one just needs to be given the right map and then there are times when one just needs to make a leap of faith into the unknown. I'm a service-oriented slave from the suburbs of Chicago even though my heart lies in the beauty of Colorado. Even though the distance seems vast sometimes, I can't wait for opportunities to venture west to be with my family. I may be a little late comer to the lifestyle, but I'm forever amazed at what I've been missing out on. I have a wide array of interests and likes including photography, day trips, night excursions, football (Go Bears!), my pets and finding more efficient ways of doing things whether it's on the computer or the chores we all seem to have. FetLife Profile

Friday Favorites

How do I go Green? With Sustainable Baby Steps  -  a website devoted to going green - even have a free ebook

Baked Asparagus Fries with 3 Dipping Sauces  - I can't wait to try this and the dipping sauces!

Cut Your Spending by $400 a month - some budget cutting ideas - not that you can use all of them or all of them every month even but there are some ideas here that might help cut some spending

Messenger Bag Tutorial - I wish I could sew well enough to make this - love it and the fabrics used

Sunburn Solution - solution to sooth sunburned skin. It will keep for a few weeks in the fridge

Friday Favorites

 A Quicker Way to Clean House -  An article where 3 Pro's were asked about house cleaning solutions
Facial Moisturizer - Homemade facial moisturizer
Savory Sausage and White Bean Stew with Crispy Sage Topping - sounds delicious
Make Your Own Dinnerware - using a marker for dishes you write on the plates and then bake it to set it
Eating Near Poverty Line @ Whole Foods Market - this blog post I thought was interesting.  A family of 3 used the USDA "Thrifty Budget" for one month and it talks about the experience.

Friday Favorites

Thrift Store Shopping - this articles gives some tips for shopping at thrift stores
100 Reasons to Get Rid of Stuff - this a gold mine of information and resources for donating, recycle and how-to throw out things you don't want or need anymore
Speed Cleaning 101 - a quick guide to speed cleaning
Dark Chocolate Oatmeal - Chocolate for breakfast - yes!
Bleach Pen T-Shirts - using bleach pens to create designs in t-shirts.

Friday Favorites

50 Tips to Be Frugal -  tips to start the year off penny pinching to save money
Quick Guide to Herbs and Spices - a guide to herbs with description
DIY Greeting Card Organizer - how-to on making a greeting card organizer
Homemade Laundry Cream - it looks interesting - and only 1 tablespoon used per load
Everyday Exposure to Toxics - it is a site that helps you identify the things you are exposed to everyday that are toxic.
Chickpea salad with roasted red peppers  - looks like a good lunch

Friday Favorites

Declutter Calendar 2012 - I could just link to the calendar. I have signed up for it and got the link but this person wants you to sign up so real easy - email and name. And if you haven't already create an email for things like that you sign up for that you don't necessarily want to spam your regular email account.  I have an account that I give whenever a store or restaurant wants an email address to get coupons.  I use it for these kind of things too. Anyway - the calendar is great each day it just has one thing like January 10th is "Clear off the top of a nightstand",  April 13th is declutter cookbooks and each day has tasks like those.

52 Weeks to an Organized Home - another of the same vain as above.  You can sign up to have it delivered to your email but if you scroll beyond that there is the link to the post for each week. 

31 Days to a Better Grocery Budget - just as the title says. Posts help you to a better grocery budget.

Creating the Perfect Plans by TinyBuddha -  Just a good life lesson on things not always working out and being perfect.

Granola Bars - looks like a good recipe for Granola Bars

Repurpose Christmas

If you're anything like me, by the time Christmas is over, you're ready to pack all of those space-sucking decorations away. And if one happens to be broken, or if you're sick of looking at it year after year, getting rid of it sounds wonderful!

Well, stop it. Heh. This year we're going to repurpose. We're going to save money, save the landfill, and be all sorts of crunchy. :)

Even your non-working string of lights can be repurposed! Think about the style of cute, junk jewelry that fills the store at the holidays. Christmas bulb earrings. Christmas bulb necklaces, broaches, bracelets, barrettes.

Old, tired ornaments can be prettied up with some satin and lace. Or jazzed up with sequins and glitter, if that's your style. Grab a hot glue gun and some scraps and design your new ornament with your old ornament as a base. Consider gluing broken ornaments into a beautiful mosaic piece.


Long before I buy new Christmas decorations and pay full price at the store, I walk the holiday aisle at the thrift stores and see what's there. Broken things that just need a spot of glue or a swipe of paint, old wreaths needing some sprucing up, or a whole box full of items that can be taken apart and made into a whole new thing.

Not only do I save a bunch of money, I get to have fun creating. Get the kids involved- what kid can resist paint, glue and sparklies? Not this one. ;-)

Last year I had a snowman Christmas wreath. It was cute enough- singing, animated snowmen and all- but it was beginning to fall apart, plus I felt I'd 'outgrown' the style. In fact, when I was packing up last year I *almost* tossed it.

When I got it out this year, I decided to repurpose. I took it apart, and with just a few cheap purchases at the craft store, I came out with not only a new wreath for the door, but with enough leftover supplies to make a few more decorations.

The only part of this that is original is the wreath itself. There are always piles upon piles of old, ugly wreaths at the thrift store. (hint hint) I like the clean, simple lines of this wreath, and as cheap as it was to throw together, next year I can do a completely different style if I want to and not feel like I've wasted a ton of money.


This is the pile of leftovers I had when I was done. It's a combination of stuff cut from the old wreath and supplies from making the new one. I tossed them all in a basket, threw it on the table and called it a centerpiece. :)



This literally took me about 60 seconds to make, using nothing but leftover supplies.



And those silly motion-activated, singing, dancing snowmen from the original wreath?



I placed them on a table in a high-traffic area just so I could listen to the groans of my cheerful teenagers. With each loudly crooned verse of "Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow" I was entertained with "Moooo-oooooom! That is SO annoying!" I do take pleasure in the strangest of things. ;)

So, as you're packing up this year, slide your box of thrift-store-bound decorations into the closet. Because while the idea of redecorating may not appeal to you right now, bogged down in holiday-overload as we are, by next year when you pull it all out and the Christmas spirit is just beginning to bubble, you might be surprised at how much fun it will be to recreate, repurpose and redecorate!

Some helpful links:

Thriftshop Romantic: Repurposing Christmas Decorations

Mom's Budget: Repurpose Your Christmas Decorations

Ways to repurpose broken Christmas decorations

This one gives ideas for how to use your Christmas decorations all year round:
After Christmas Decorating: Repurpose Your Christmas Tree and Ornament Collection

Making a dollar go a long way.

From September to New Year's in our household there is no shortage of holidays and birthdays celebrated. Between the Jewish holidays that come in the fall, the Christian holidays that come in the fall, and 6 birthday celebrations, and 2 anniversary celebrations, we are always looking for ways to stretch our money. We host most of the above and it seems there are always overnight guests, extra people at the table, and just more mouths to feed, presents to purchase, and things to do, than time or money sometimes want to allow.

So each year I look for ways to cut costs, save a bit here and there, to spend that bit in another spot. In other words rob Peter to pay Paul if you will.

There are two great iPhone apps that I have used to help me keep track of where all the money seems to go and how our family is spending that money. The first app is a free app that can be purchased through iTunes called Mint. Mint is a really handy tool in that it is not only a budget tracker, it interfaces with whichever bank accounts you set it up to interface with and can directly use the information from your bank accounts to track where the money goes without you having to do much beyond initial set up. (I love when my devices work smartly for me). Mint also has some great "alert" features that you can use to keep you up to date on spending limits, areas of concern, or over all information.

The other app that I find very useful is iReconcile. iReconcile is not a free app, but I do prefer it over Mint in that it does "more" and it does it a little bit better. The app itself will cost $19.99 annually (backup features etc.) but I find that $20 to be well worth it when it comes to long term financial planning, tracking, spending tools, and information gathered. It will allow you to drill down to the smallest of details, and also sum up to an annual level. Himself prefers to not know the small details, but wants the bigger picture and wants me to be able to explain things in further detail should he ask. For my purposes I love being able to drill down to the tiniest of details, yet easily roll it up into a neat summary.

But making a dollar go along way isn't just limited to tracking where the spending happens. You can still make wonderful holiday memories without having to break the bank. Think in terms of daily affordable luxury items. Many of us don't even realize just how much money goes out the door each day on that daily latte, or that daily muffin in the morning before work. Or maybe it's the afternoon pick me up at the food truck outside your office space, or perhaps it's the quick pizza on the go for the kids in the evening because you forgot to defrost something to cook for dinner. With a small amount of pre-planning, you can save a bundle. While it is too late to do this for this year, it's not to late to start thinking about next year.

So perhaps make small changes for the new year. Maybe you make a menu plan for the week/month. Perhaps your plan involves using a crockpot a bit more to avoid that last minute pizza, or maybe you do a big cook ahead day twice per month and freeze a few dinner options so that on the days when life is hectic and you don't want to cook you can simply take something out of the freezer, pop it into the oven, add a salad and bread, and you are good to go. Maybe you keep a supply of pizza dough ready to go in your freezer so you can make great tasting homemade pizza at a fraction of the cost of buying one.

Perhaps for the new year you take the "latte challenge". While I would not dream of challenging you to give up your daily latte every day of the week (although that in and of itself is a great challenge) I would challenge you to give it up two days a week and bank the difference. Have a jar, or envelope, or even a spot in your savings account, where you designate the "latte" money to go. If you do this twice a week, that's a $10 savings, $40 monthly, and by next December you have $480 saved that you can now add to the holiday budget to go toward whatever holiday expenses you may have. And you will find you won't even really feel it missing. Imagine then, if you will, if you do that daily instead of just twice a week, at what the savings would be.

And while I am using the term "latte"... i really do mean whatever your affordable luxury is. For some it's a latte, for others its that daily candy bar, for some still it's cigarettes. Whatever your item is, make a life change, even if only once or twice a week, bank the funds, and use it at the end of the year for something better. Your body will thank you, your wallet will thank you, and your happiness in knowing you achieved a goal will be a reward in and of itself. And if all else fails, give yourself a sticker for each day you achieve this, it works for my oldest daughter, she says stickers are *the* best! Perhaps she's right.

And lastly, in making your dollar go along way, think outside the box. Instead of buying expensive wrapping paper, think of fun and creative ways to wrap a present. Have a bottle of wine you need to give, knit a wine cosy, or decoupage a brown bag and put it in that, or simply tie a pretty bow on it and take it as is. After all, people are going to not only appreciate your efforts, but they are appreciating the gift itself more so than what it was wrapped in, boxed in, or otherwise packaged in.

Happy Holidays!

Apps for Domestic Service Part 2

These are apps I have read about or heard good things about. But I don't have any of them as of yet. That might change over the next few days. 


Productivity 
Pocket Informant - powerful Calendar, Notes, Contacts, Task functions to your device (iPhone, iPad, blackberry and android). It is capable of  creating events, has task grouping, GTD/Franklin Covey style tasks, Google, Toodledo, and Desktop sync. 


Saving Money 
Mint  -  It has easy budgeting, timely alerts, helpful graphs, investment tracking, help to achieve goals, bill reminders,  and ways to find savings

Grocery Pal - Find sales your local grocery and discount stores. 

Apples2Oranges - lets you compare two prices, even when the item sizes are different. Also does calorie count.

Recipes
Spark People - Food and fitness tracker as well as healthy recipes

Betty Crocker Cookbook -  2,500 tried-and-true recipes at your fingertips

Cooks Illustrated - 50 of Cook’s Illustrated's all-time best recipes, along with a collection of popular and practical supermarket ingredient reviews, recipe videos, and kitchen timer and shopping list features

How to Cook Everything/How to Cook Everything Vegetarian - "Thousands of recipes and variations; how-to illustrations; menu ideas; and Mark Bittman’s straightforward cooking advice for simple good food. App-only features include recipe timers, easy-to-use shopping lists, and Favorites folders. Best of all, each app is self-contained, so no network connection is required, making these apps the ultimate on-the-go kitchen companions."

Smoothies - dairy free - 100% vegan smoothie recipes

21 Day Vegan Kick Start -  recipes and resources to improve and regain your health and includes step-by-step recipe photos.

FoodGawking - has food porn and then links to the recipe/resource.  Go to the bottom of the page and you will see the link for download on iPhone

Fooducate  - You scan the barcode and it will tell you what is actually in the product (basically telling you things you don't understand on the label) and then it will also give you healthier choices. 

Green
iGrowit - it is for the USA and UK. Find out what vegetables you can plant right now, follow detailed growing instructions that will take you from preparation and planting all the way  through to picking and eating your home-grown vegetables, and recipes to use those vegetables in

Green Genie -  Over 100 projects and tips (and growing), sharing strategies and info with others, a breakdown of certified green products, full glossary of green terms, a collection of essential reading, links to the best green websites, an explanation of the different kinds of plastics and their recyclability, alist of green organizations and many other features

Around the House
Remodelista - search files of the sourcebook of products and posts, my Design files bookmarking feature, ability to look at posts in categories. 

Dwell - Modern architecture and design 

Selecting Wines for Dummies -  Articles on popular wine topics, favorites wine list, sharing wines with your friends, sound clip for pronunciation, food and wine pairing tool and several other features. 

DwellGawking - like FoodGawking but for dwellings

CraftGawking - again like FoodGawking but for crafts

Tip Junkie - Great website has a free app that looks good too. You can “Heart” your favorite tutorials from ALL of the Tip Junkie sites to “bookmark” them for easy access later, participate in the Tip Junkie Community


SixThreeFive also left a comment on the last post of her favorite Android apps but I noticed a few of these have links to other devices. 

Chore Checklist - helps me have a checklist of daily, weekly, biweekly and monthly chores. 

Our groceries - Lets you share and create multiple grocery and other to-buy lists. Just sync your phone and you won't need to call home to see if you need milk. 

ShapeUpClub - Logs my excercise and calories. 

Easy Money - keeps track of your credit and debit cards, as well as your walled and change. You just have to remember to use it... Has bill reminders, budgets, and other things as well.

House Maintanence Schedule - I don't personally use this, we live in an apartment, but it helps you remember to clean your waterheater, you vents, and other seasonal chores. 

Chore Master Pro - Allows family members to gain points for doing chores. We don't use this one, but if we had children old enough, I think I would.

FetLife Domestic Servitude group had a good thread on this subject too so please check it out for some members favorite apps. 


Just a few other links you might find some good apps...
From AppGuide - Best Chore Management Apps
50 Best Android Apps from PCWorld
Gizmodo The Best Android Apps


Please share in the comments your favorite apps that help you in your service. 

Quick Mops vs Standard Mops

Here's an interesting article comparing the costs of various mopping options.

Personally, I love the ease and convenience of the Swiffer wetjet, but I don't love the cost of buying disposable pads or new bottles of cleaning solution. Since I mop almost every day, it'd cost me a fortune to stay stocked in pads and solution.

So, I simply refill the bottle myself (Instructions here and here) with a mixture of vinegar, water and rubbing alcohol (so it dries faster) and use reusable, washable pads. I have a couple of pads that a friend crocheted for it, and if those are dirty, then I fold up a microfiber cloth and use that. It sticks to the velcro on the Wetjet just fine.

I don't like using an old fashioned sponge mop because they can't be cleaned and that bugs me. Besides, most of our floors are laminate and sponge mops are just too wet for laminate flooring.

According to the article, the Swiffer Wetjet is the cheapest of the quick mops to purchase, but more expensive eventually because of the price of the refill pads and solution bottles. Other quick mops that include reusable pads and refillable bottles are more expensive to purchase but cheaper in the long run.

I figure because I made my cheaper-to-purchase Swiffer into a cheaper-to-maintain resuable/refillable quick mop, I'm coming out ahead of the game!

Ultimately, an old-fashioned mop and bucket is going to be the cheapest route. But for me, sometimes spending a little bit more for peace of mind in cleanliness is the better choice. :-)

A New Way To Save in the New Year

Happy New Year everyone!

Recently we had a post about ways to cut costs, save money, and it made me realize I wanted to post about how I saved a lot of money last year just doing what I normally do while on the computer. During my normal day when using search engines on the computer, I used the Swag Bucks search engine first for my searches. By doing this I won swagbucks, which are basically imaginary money/points that you can then trade in for real things, such as merchandise, gift cards, etc.

Last year with only using the search engine a few times a day for minimal amounts of time, I was able to earn enough swagbucks to get $300 in amazon.com gift cards. It didn't take me any longer to use the computer than I was already spending. It didn't cost me a thing to do it, and I "earned" $300 cash money that I then used when I was doing my christmas shopping.

If you haven't heard of swagbucks, I suggest you try it out. If you have heard of it, but aren't using it actively, I suggest you start. Why not save/make money while you are doing the things you already do.

You can sign up here if you would like...

Swagbucks

It really does work and work well. I wasn't a believer until it worked for me. Hopefully it can work for you in 2011 as well. Every little bit helps.

Save Money

Things to do to save money...
* Don't use paper towels or napkins - instead use cloth towels and napkins
* Cancel subscription to cable and watch things online
* Drop landline if you have a cell phone
* Use rechargable batteries
* Chop and grate yourself - cheese, fruit and veggies
* Don't shop on an empty stomach and make a list - then you won't be filling your cart with items that are more expensive or just grab junk food to make instead of a real meal.
* When you find a good sale, stock up but only enough to last until the next sale so that you don't waste by purchasing too much and it expires or you find another brand that is less expensive.
* Don't buy box cake and brownie mixes as basic ingredients such as flour and sugar are far less expensive.
* Cancel gym and work out at home - youtube has many exercise videos or check out exercise dvd's from the library
* Cut down on dry cleaning - I saved money doing more things on delicate or handwashing. If it says dry clean only then only dry clean but if the tag says dry clean it does mean that dry cleaning is preferable but not necessary. Wash things in cold water with a cool water detergent and either wash on delicate or hand wash. Now of course be careful what you do this with...I just started taking the chance and it has worked out for me. So use this tip with care as some items it might not work for - so if it is your very favorite dress then don't chance it
* If you have some clothes that aren't even suitable for donating, instead repurpose and salvage - cutting up old clothes for rags or use the fabric to make something else, salvage buttons, zippers, drawstrings and any trim that can be reused for mending or remaking.
* Don't print - think before you print. Do you really need to print the grocery list you just typed up? Could you hand write it on a piece of scrap paper? Can some things be stored on online storage or a disc instead of being printed.
* Pick up the store brand instead of the name brands. No-name cereals - are just as good as the name brand. Make sure you look down on the shelves as sometimes no-name items are on lower shelves instead of eye level next to the name brand.
* Check out day-old breads or meats about to expire in your grocery stores. Check closely for freshness.
* Make and bring your lunch instead of going out everyday.
* Go to the library to check out books, audiobooks, music and movies

Please share your money saver ideas.

Product Review: Glass Cleaning Cloth

I purchased a microfiber glass cleaning cloth a few weeks ago. I don't recall the brand name, and didn't think to snap a pic before I tossed out the packaging. But I bought it at Wal-mart, in the cleaning aisle. It's a blue, waffle-weave patterned cloth specifically advertised for windows/mirrors, etc.

It claimed to work with just water and was priced at an outrageous $1.97. ;)

I was in the cleaning aisle because I was low on Windex. I figured, for a price less than a new spray bottle of cleaner, I'd give it a go. Anything that helps me reduce the use of chemical cleaning products AND reduces paper towel waste AND costs less than 2 bucks? I'm game to try.

It works wonderfully. It works so much better than Windex. I love it. I've been on a window and mirror cleaning spree since I bought it.

It doesn't streak. It doesn't leave lint. It's just so easy. I've wet a corner of it under the faucet and it worked great. I've spritzed windows with a water bottle and it worked great. I've used it just barely damp and it works great!

I've had it now, like I said, for a few weeks, use it pretty much daily (we have lots of windows and lots of mirrors!), and today is the first day I've put it in the laundry. I'm not sure how well it'll hold up through laundering, as it seems to me that microfiber cloths tend to not take well to being laundered over time. But even if it only lasts a couple of months, at less than two dollars a cloth, I still think it'll be a money saver. Plus, it just works better!

Bonus Cheapskate Homemaker Tip: Using an electric knife, cut your paper towel rolls in half (so you end up with two toilet paper-sized rolls of towels). Often, especially with the kids or when just covering a dish in the microwave, a full sized paper towel is way bigger than I need. I can always take more if I need more, and this way, I have twice as many towels to use. :)

Friday Favorites

31 Days to Less Messy Nest - Nester did 31 Days last year and I really enjoyed it and got some useful tips so I am sure this year will be just as good

Zippered Case by Design Sponge - Says Sewing 101 on it so hopefully not to hard? It just looks like something that would be practical as well as giftable.

Moving Tips Budget Guide - there are many helpful links on moving in the left sidebar

Thousand Dollar Bars - These look too good to me. That link goes to the blog entry about it - with more photos. Here is a link to the actual recipe.

Toss Out Guide - with fall cleaning here for me - I often go through these type of things too to see what we are hanging on to that we don't need to be

Friday Favorites

Nine Green Home Projects You Can Do Today - Don't know where to start in making your home green? I think these are a good start.

Sweet Paul Digital Magazine - the first issue and free right now and I hope it will be for a while as I really enjoyed reading it. Several recipes I want to try and then had some good crafts and entertaining ideas too.

Making Foaming Handsoap - the title of the entry is kind of desiving as says to make "homemade" foaming soap but really they are just creating a cheaper version by using a repurpose/cheat. Either way I know that my sisters love the foaming soap so I am going to share this cheat with them so they can save money!

102 Light Salad Dressing Recipes - by Cheap and Healthy. With it getting into a big salad season now using fresh veggies from the Farmer's Market, I thought trying out new dressings to keep from getting burnt out on salads by the end of the summer.

Mexican Potato Omelet by Martha Stewart - maybe a good weekend recipe for brunch

Friday Favorites

Table setting Guide - This has table settings for a formal, breakfast, casual and a few others. Plus it has printable guides to help you out as you actually set the table.

5 Ingredient Chicken Recipes

The 25 Most Common Cooking Mistakes - I found the list interesting and regretfully I have done many of them.

Okay this is a new one for me that I am trying out and might have a review for it in the future....

Alice.com - I have found many of their products are either the same price as I pay now or lower. You can select your products just to store or to put in your cart and then the best feature....FREE SHIPPING! Another feature I really think I will enjoy is that you can set up reminders - so that it will send you a reminder to order something. Such as if you go through your granola bars every 3 weeks then you can set up a reminder to order them every 3 weeks. I haven't used it yet. But I think I will and if so....will do a review.

How to Replace a Kitchen Faucet - Just a good link to have around.

Friday Favorites

Hot Coupon World - This was a link given to me by Sanna, a reader of Domestic. You have to register but it is free. And then it not only gives you coupons but has forums, chat, blogs and other resources on saving money on your grocery bills.

All You - it is a paper magazine but I found the link to the website in Real Simple. The website is full of tips on "enjoying life for less." A few articles I read and enjoyed....5 Coupon Blogs We Love, 6 Ways to Make Couponing Easy, A Month's Worth of Money Saving Ideas and 8 Surprising Foods You Can Freeze

Makes Great Leftovers from Woman's Day - We like leftovers so this link caught my eye. It had some recipes that were different to me. I am going to try to create a calendar of new recipes I want I try and hopefully add at least one of these.

Pretty Plastic Bag Organizer from Martha Stewart - I have one of these that was made by someone else and given to us. And it made from an ugly towel. But it is hung in the pantry where no one but me sees it and it works well. It is getting very old though and I think there is a little hole in the towel the cords are being worn away from how I have it hung so making a new one with a towel I like might be in order eventually.

Tie a Tie - It has how-to's for several knots, length calculator, tips and tricks, tells you about various necktie accessories and so on.