Love, Love, Love White vinegar!! It has so many uses and it's CHEAP!! Lol! Yep, and we all know how cheap I am!
Vinegar can kill most mold, germs and bacteria because of it's acidity. It can be used to deodorize too. It can be used as a laundry booster, it makes the whites whiter and the colors brighter. It can also be used as a fabric softener.
You can pour it on weeds to kill them. Vinegar can deter ants too!
And did you know that white vinegar can remove hazy stains from inside of car windows. Speaking of windows...it can be diluted with water and used to clean windows.
It can tenderize meats, make the onion odor on your hands disappear and keep your eggs from cracking while boiling if you add a tablespoon to the water.
I have switched to using baking soda and vinegar cleaning my shower and tubs. Sprinkle the baking soda and spray vinegar on top and let it soak just for a 1 minute and scrub a little!! Clean and deodorized!!!
Give white vinegar a try! It's natural and cheap!!!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Fast and Quick Breakfast for the Kids
I don't know about you guys, but in the morning we struggle getting ready in time for school. So, I am constantly looking for quick and easy breakfasts that the kids can grab in a hurry. I do the typical cold cereal and pop tarts, but I wanted something more. So, I read where you can make pancakes and freeze them. Perfect, hot breakfast that will be fast, but I also need cheap! Looking at the pre-packaged pancakes, I soon discovered that they were pretty pricey considering what they are made of. So, I decided to make them on my own. I made 2 batches (24 pancakes) and placed them on a cookie sheet and placed them in the freezer. You keep them there for around 20 to 30 minutes remove and place in a freezer bag and place in the freezer.
The kids can grab the pancakes in the morning and heat in the microwave for 1 minute and there you go!!
It only took me around 10 minutes preparation time, and the kids have a hot breakfast in 1 minute!! Cheap, Easy and Quick!!
The kids can grab the pancakes in the morning and heat in the microwave for 1 minute and there you go!!
It only took me around 10 minutes preparation time, and the kids have a hot breakfast in 1 minute!! Cheap, Easy and Quick!!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Homemade Laundry Detergent
As promised....my homemade laundry detergent recipe (well, not mine, but the one I use).
Here is what you will need:
The Borax I get at Wal-Mart for $2.98, Washing Soda at Ingles for $3.38 and Ivory Soap at Wal-Mart $.33 (12 Pack for $3.98).
The measurements are as follows:
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
1 bar of Ivory Soap
Place the Ivory Soap on a plate.
Place it in the microwave for 2 minutes. Keep your eye on it and if it gets too big, take it out and let it cool. Take the "fluffy" part and crumble in a bowl and place back in the microwave and let it expand again. Repeat this process until all the soap is "fluffy". It will look like this:
Take the cup of Borax and Washing Soda and combine it with the crumbled soap. I take my hand and keep crumbling the Ivory Soap while I work it into the mixture.
I use an empty coffee container to store it in.
I use 2 tablespoons per load. Place in the bottom of the washer and load with clothes. This has worked great with our laundry. Jeff's clothes can get really dirty and I have never had a problem. This is also an all natural laundry detergent!! I use 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of white vinegar for fabric softener. This kills odors, disinfects and softens the clothes. Again this is also all natural and it's cheap! Your clothes do not have a vinegar smell, nor does your laundry room. I buy a gallon of white vinegar at Wal-Mart for $2.98. White vinegar can be used with lots of cleaning...I will post more about that later!!
Here is what you will need:
The Borax I get at Wal-Mart for $2.98, Washing Soda at Ingles for $3.38 and Ivory Soap at Wal-Mart $.33 (12 Pack for $3.98).
The measurements are as follows:
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
1 bar of Ivory Soap
Place the Ivory Soap on a plate.
Place it in the microwave for 2 minutes. Keep your eye on it and if it gets too big, take it out and let it cool. Take the "fluffy" part and crumble in a bowl and place back in the microwave and let it expand again. Repeat this process until all the soap is "fluffy". It will look like this:
Take the cup of Borax and Washing Soda and combine it with the crumbled soap. I take my hand and keep crumbling the Ivory Soap while I work it into the mixture.
I use an empty coffee container to store it in.
I use 2 tablespoons per load. Place in the bottom of the washer and load with clothes. This has worked great with our laundry. Jeff's clothes can get really dirty and I have never had a problem. This is also an all natural laundry detergent!! I use 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of white vinegar for fabric softener. This kills odors, disinfects and softens the clothes. Again this is also all natural and it's cheap! Your clothes do not have a vinegar smell, nor does your laundry room. I buy a gallon of white vinegar at Wal-Mart for $2.98. White vinegar can be used with lots of cleaning...I will post more about that later!!
Cheap and Easy Peanut Butter Cookies
I recently discovered this recipe that I had to share. It's super easy and did I mention CHEAP!!
1 cup of Peanut Butter (your choice creamy or crunchy)
1 egg
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp. of vanilla
Yep, that's it. No flour! Combine ingredients and mix well. Place a teaspoon amount on baking sheet and flatten with fork (I used a teaspoon and then took the mixture and rounded it and flattened it). Then bake for 10 minutes. Cool. Done!
These cookies are very sweet so I may reduce the amount of sugar. But, everyone gave them the thumbs up. Fast, Cheap and Easy snack! If I used organic peanut butter and natural sugar they might even be considered healthy!
I have stored them in an air tight container
and hid them for consumpation control! Lol!
1 cup of Peanut Butter (your choice creamy or crunchy)
1 egg
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp. of vanilla
Yep, that's it. No flour! Combine ingredients and mix well. Place a teaspoon amount on baking sheet and flatten with fork (I used a teaspoon and then took the mixture and rounded it and flattened it). Then bake for 10 minutes. Cool. Done!
These cookies are very sweet so I may reduce the amount of sugar. But, everyone gave them the thumbs up. Fast, Cheap and Easy snack! If I used organic peanut butter and natural sugar they might even be considered healthy!
I have stored them in an air tight container
and hid them for consumpation control! Lol!
Grocery List and Menu Update
I had a car wreck a couple of weeks ago. This resulted in a $95 tow bill and a $100 deductable. So, add this in with that I absolutely used all extra money for Christmas...so in very blunt terms, we are broke right now. So,the challenge was to get groceries using all of our Wal-Mart gift cards from Christmas and not use any cash. 
So, here is what I got:
Cabbage
Onions
Dog Food
Lettuce
Bananas
White Vinegar
Milk
Generic Cereal
Grape Capisun (School Lunches)
Toilet Paper
Dawn Dish washing liquid
Dried Beans
Generic unsweetened lemonade
Taco Seasoning
Baking Soda
Salt
Crackers
Snack Bags
Applesauce
Salsa
Canned Soups
Tuna
Green Chilis
Canned Chicken Breast
Hamburger Buns
Bread
Coffee Creamer
Turkey Smoked Sausage
Cheese
Large Generic Yogurt
Grand Total: $78.30
Mission accomplished!
Okay, so with all that said...I have some supplies on hand (another reason for food storage!!!!). Listed below is my menu plan for the upcoming 2 weeks.
Menu Plan
Manwiches
Breakfast Dinner (Bacon and Eggs)
Smoked Sausage
Butter Beans with potato cakes
Spaghetti
Turkey
Deer Steak with Onions and Mushrooms
Quesdillas
Chili
Meatloaf
Lemon Pepper Roasted Chicken
Breakfast Casserole
Shepherds Pie
Rice with Venison and Mushroom Gravy
Those are my main dishes and they will be served with veggies.
The kid's lunches and ours will be soups, sandwiches, and spaghettos. Snacks will be popcorn and homemade cookies. Breakfast will be pancakes, cereal and oatmeal.
So, here is what I got:
Cabbage
Onions
Dog Food
Lettuce
Bananas
White Vinegar
Milk
Generic Cereal
Grape Capisun (School Lunches)
Toilet Paper
Dawn Dish washing liquid
Dried Beans
Generic unsweetened lemonade
Taco Seasoning
Baking Soda
Salt
Crackers
Snack Bags
Applesauce
Salsa
Canned Soups
Tuna
Green Chilis
Canned Chicken Breast
Hamburger Buns
Bread
Coffee Creamer
Turkey Smoked Sausage
Cheese
Large Generic Yogurt
Grand Total: $78.30
Mission accomplished!
Okay, so with all that said...I have some supplies on hand (another reason for food storage!!!!). Listed below is my menu plan for the upcoming 2 weeks.
Menu Plan
Manwiches
Breakfast Dinner (Bacon and Eggs)
Smoked Sausage
Butter Beans with potato cakes
Spaghetti
Turkey
Deer Steak with Onions and Mushrooms
Quesdillas
Chili
Meatloaf
Lemon Pepper Roasted Chicken
Breakfast Casserole
Shepherds Pie
Rice with Venison and Mushroom Gravy
Those are my main dishes and they will be served with veggies.
The kid's lunches and ours will be soups, sandwiches, and spaghettos. Snacks will be popcorn and homemade cookies. Breakfast will be pancakes, cereal and oatmeal.
Monday, January 3, 2011
2011 Goals
2011 Goals...where to begin....there is so much I want to accomplish, I can get totally overwhelmed by it.
1. Continue to get my debit paid off. This year was the first Christmas that we absolutely did not purchase one thing on a credit card. It felt great!! Yes, Christmas was a lot smaller in the gift area, but you know what it was GREAT!! We had a wonderful and blessed Christmas without the "stuff"!! So, it has really empowered me to even be more intense about living simpler and with more of a purpose than just collecting stuff!
2. Become healthier in our eating and lifestyle. I continue to get the processed junk out of this house! Christmas was a bit of a slip up with all the sweet goodies. But, now it's back on track. I am constantly on the search for healthy frugal recipes and I am enjoying the journey. Also, I am becoming more aware of the chemicals that I am using cleaning and using on our bodies. I have made several improvements and will continue to work on this.
3. Learn to cook venison. I am still a beginner. I have been blessed with some deer meat and I am experimenting with it and look forward to cooking more with it.
4. Making more cleaning products. I have started making my own laundry detergent that is so cheap and healthy!! I will post the recipe later. Next I'm making my own dishwasher detergent and natural cleaning products. My great friend Elise gave me a book for Christmas with lots and lots of recipes I'm excited to try! Not only is this going to be healthier for our family, but also save us money.
5. Start back on my stockpiling of food. My goal is to get at least 3 months or more of food stockpiled. For those wondering why...well, we never know what the future holds. I want to make sure that I have the means to take care of my family. Prices are going up but not paychecks, jobs are uncertain, economy is scary and honestly I am not sure how much tribulation the church will see before the rapture. My spirit has been telling me for a while to get prepared. I have been distracted or unable due to money, but I truly want to get back on track with this. I have storage issues, but that's not going to stop me!
Well, that is my narrowed down list. There are a couple of things that I did not list, but I consider them a given...
I want to strive to put the Lord first in my life, read the Word more, Worship more, Serve more, submit more, surrender more....I want MORE of the Lord!!
I want to be a better wife and Mom.
I want to slow down and enjoy life instead of going wide open and feeling like I have to constantly be doing something...I want to spend more time just being. To savor each moment instead of looking for the "next" moment to happen.
Okay, I could possibly go on forever with this list, so I will stop now.
So, there you have it...my condensed version of my 2011 goals!!
1. Continue to get my debit paid off. This year was the first Christmas that we absolutely did not purchase one thing on a credit card. It felt great!! Yes, Christmas was a lot smaller in the gift area, but you know what it was GREAT!! We had a wonderful and blessed Christmas without the "stuff"!! So, it has really empowered me to even be more intense about living simpler and with more of a purpose than just collecting stuff!
2. Become healthier in our eating and lifestyle. I continue to get the processed junk out of this house! Christmas was a bit of a slip up with all the sweet goodies. But, now it's back on track. I am constantly on the search for healthy frugal recipes and I am enjoying the journey. Also, I am becoming more aware of the chemicals that I am using cleaning and using on our bodies. I have made several improvements and will continue to work on this.
3. Learn to cook venison. I am still a beginner. I have been blessed with some deer meat and I am experimenting with it and look forward to cooking more with it.
4. Making more cleaning products. I have started making my own laundry detergent that is so cheap and healthy!! I will post the recipe later. Next I'm making my own dishwasher detergent and natural cleaning products. My great friend Elise gave me a book for Christmas with lots and lots of recipes I'm excited to try! Not only is this going to be healthier for our family, but also save us money.
5. Start back on my stockpiling of food. My goal is to get at least 3 months or more of food stockpiled. For those wondering why...well, we never know what the future holds. I want to make sure that I have the means to take care of my family. Prices are going up but not paychecks, jobs are uncertain, economy is scary and honestly I am not sure how much tribulation the church will see before the rapture. My spirit has been telling me for a while to get prepared. I have been distracted or unable due to money, but I truly want to get back on track with this. I have storage issues, but that's not going to stop me!
Well, that is my narrowed down list. There are a couple of things that I did not list, but I consider them a given...
I want to strive to put the Lord first in my life, read the Word more, Worship more, Serve more, submit more, surrender more....I want MORE of the Lord!!
I want to be a better wife and Mom.
I want to slow down and enjoy life instead of going wide open and feeling like I have to constantly be doing something...I want to spend more time just being. To savor each moment instead of looking for the "next" moment to happen.
Okay, I could possibly go on forever with this list, so I will stop now.
So, there you have it...my condensed version of my 2011 goals!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)