Weekly Savings

I forgot to take pictures before I put everything away, but I scored some really great deals this week.

CVS

Transacion #1

• 1 Pack of Filler Paper – .99
• 1 Headphones – 6.99
• Total = 7.98
• ECBs used = 7.98 (from last week)
• ECBs earned = 7.98
• FREE after ecbs

Transaction #2

• 2 Papermate Pens = 1.98
• 2 Pencil Sharpeners = .58
• 2 Index Cards = .78
• 1 Filler Paper = .99
• 1 Pen Eraser = .29
• 1 CVS brand tampons = 1.89
• 1 Listerine Pre-Rinse = 1.47
• 1 VO5 Conditioner = .99
• 3 Crest Weekly Clean Paste = 3.36
• Total before coupons = 12.33
• Total after coupons = 8.33
• ECBs used = 7.98
• oop = .46
• ECBs earned = 4.86

I think I’m pretty well stocked up on school supplies now! Between CVS and Staples, I’ve been able to get almost everything free or next to free.

I had a great trip to Kmart last night. If you didn’t get a chance to take advantage of the Double Coupon days, no worries…check your sales flyer in another 2 weeks for another chance!

Kmart

• 3 Satin Care Shave Gels = 8.07
• 3 Purell Hand Sanitizers = 4.47
• 2 Hartz Crunch & Clean Dog Biscuits = 7.18
• 1 Dove Deoderant = 3.99
• 1 Calmes Forte for kids = 5.99
• Total before coupons = 29.70 (plus tax)
• Total after coupons = 8.90
• Catalinas received = $3 off groceries & free box of dog biscuits.

And of course my AWESOME Walmart trip which I posted about HERE.

It was a great shopping week after not hitting many deals lately.

Check out The Thrifty Mama to see how other did this week,

Frugal Friday – Library

One of our favorite places is our local library. It’s close, it’s small and it’s FREE! Librarys are a great place to spend an afternoon. Our local library has Preschool Storytime every Friday, a Teen Night, Discovery Kids program, Matinee Movie Saturdays, and a neat program where kids that struggle with reading out loud can read to dogs. They’ve also started an online library of Audio Books and a great resource for Genealogy research.

Check out your local library and find out how you can have some good, free fun!

Visit Biblicial Womanhood for more great Frugal ideas!

Frugal Friday – Homemade Bread Storage

If you make your own bread like we do, you probably have come across the issue of storing in something that will keep it fresh. I have found that recycling bags from different things are a great way to save money and keep bread & rolls fresh.
My two favorites are cereal bags & sandwich roll bags. The cereal bags are great because they are sturdy and are a bit bigger to make closing them easier. Sandwich roll bags work well too, but it’s a little tight for our loaves.

Do you have any Frugal Ideas? Post them on your blog and add your name to Mr. Linky over at Biblical Womanhood. Have a blessed weekend!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

How does less than a dollar sound for 3.5 gallons of laundry detergent? I’ve just recently given homemade laundry detergent a try with great results. My first experience with homemade laundry detergent didn’t turn out like I had expected. I used Ivory soap, borax, washing soda and water. While the finished product looked like it should and was relatively easy to make, it just didn’t get my clothes very clean.

Last week I found another website that had Fels Naptha listed as the soap to use. I had used FN before for treating stain, but had pretty much forgotten about it until now. Here is the recipe I used and I’m have great success with it cleaning my clothes. I’ve also include an extra step that I think helped my detergent from congealing as much.

Ingredients:

• 1 bar of Fels Naptha Soap
• Borax
• Washing Soda (not Baking Soda)
• Water

Here’s what I did…

Grate 1 bar of Fels Naptha soap and measure out 2/3 cup (1/3 of the bar). Store the remaining soap in a ziplock bag for another time.

Place soap in grater with 1 cup of boiling water. Blend for about 30 seconds. The mixture will get super sudsy, so be careful!

Pour 10 cups of hot water into a large bowl or kettle. Add 1/2 cup borax & 1/2 cup washing soda and stir until mostly dissolved.

Add soap mixture and whisk until complete blended. The mixture will get gloppy, but keep whisking until the glops are gone and the mixture is smooth.

Add 2 gallons hot water and whisk again. As the mixture cools, come back and give it a whisk every now and then. I waited about an hour after I made it to put it into containers.

Now you can empty it into empty laundry detergent containers or store it in another closed container. Use 1/2 cup per load (shake/stir before using) for normal loads and 1 cup for heavily soiled clothes.

One more tip that I just learned…use 1/4 cup white vinegar in the rinse cycle. It will remove any remaining detergent from washing and leave your clothes bright and fluffy! Don’t worry…the vinegar smell goes away after you dry your clothes.

I’ll try to post pictures later…my computer is acting a little strange today. I think it needs a check up Good think my husband knows a thing or two about computers!

From vinegartips.com:

Get cleaner laundry! Add about 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar to the last rinse. The acid in white distilled vinegar is too mild to harm fabrics, yet strong enough to dissolve the alkalies in soaps and detergents. Besides removing soap, white distilled vinegar prevents yellowing, acts as a fabric softener and static cling reducer, and attacks mold and mildew.

Visit Biblical Womanhood for more Frugal Friday Tips & Ideas

Homemade Liquid Handsoap

This was super simple & super frugal! Have fun experimenting with different soaps…

Homemade Liquid Handsoap

Ingredients:

• 1 bar soap (I used Lavender Ivory)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup room temp. water
• 1 teaspoon glycerin
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 3-4 cups water

Directions:

• Grate soap into blender
• Add boiling water and blend for about 1 minute
• Add 1/2 cup water, glycerin & honey & blend for 30 secs.
• Let cool in blender for about 1 hour (you should have about 2 cups of the mixture at this point)
• Mixture will be a bit like jello jigglers after it cools; just break it up with a spoon before the next step
• Add enough water to equal 5 or 6 cups -depending on how thick you like your hand soap- blend until completely combined.
• Pour into your leftover soap pumps and enjoy!

Here are some pictures:

Grated Soap in blender

Blend with hot water ; then room temp water, honey & glycerin

Add water to make 6 cups and blend

Approx. cost for 6 cups of soap = $.50 (probably less!)

Soap Nuts

What is a Soap Nut you may ask? Here is some info from their website…Laundry Tree.

• Soapnuts are the fruit of a tree (Sapindus Mukorossi), found primarily in India, Indonesia, and Nepal, and they are an EXCELLENT alternative to traditional, chemical-laden detergents. How are soapnuts prepared for use in your wash? They are simply harvested, de-seeded, and then dried in the sun.
• They are 100%, totally natural. They are organically grown and are chemical-free, and they are incredibly gentle on clothes AND skin. They are especially great for those with sensitive skin — including babies and those that suffer from allergies, eczema, and psoriasis! They’re totally biodegradable, so they’re better for the environment than regular detergent, and they’re antimicrobial, so they’re even good for septic and greywater systems!
• The outer shell of the soapnut contains saponin, a natural substance known for its ability to cleanse and wash.

I’m totally intrigued by this concept! There are many uses besides washing clothes…which may end up being one of the most frugal cleaning products to own!  I’m ordering a sample this weekend and I’ll write a review as soon as I’ve given them a try. If I like them enough I’ll give away another sample pack in January!

Have you ever tried Soap Nuts? I’d love to hear some other experiences. Have a great day and don’t forget that it’s Frugal Friday over at Biblical Womanhood!

**Don’t forget to subscribe to this site! I’ll be offering more give aways in the future, so you’ll want to be the first to know!**

Frugal Friday – Couponing

This past week I took a break from clipping coupons and doing any major bargin hunting at the grocery store. Sometimes the whole process is a little overwhelming and is definately time consuming. Since I had a lot going on this week, I just decided to put my coupons away for the week and see what happen. Let’s just say, I’m not likely to try that again for a long time! I always knew I did well with the $50/week grocery budget…but this week I went WAY over that and didn’t get nearly the amount of groceries I normally do. Lesson learned

If you are new to couponing or haven’t even thought about it…I encourage you to visit Money Saving Mom…Crystal put together an awesome tutorial about getting started with coupons. Have a great weekend!

Visit Crystal’s other site Biblcial Womanhood for more Frugal Friday Tips!