"Your so granola"
This is what I hear from people, mostly my family. I go shopping with my mom and when it comes time to bag up my groceries, there they are. My mother's eyes . Or when I for some reason forget my bags and either put them in my cart with no bag or stuff my arms with my items. There they are. But I must say my mom has been using her fabric bags and she is frugal in many other ways. Where else did you think I learned it? From the best, my mom. Ever since I was really young, my mom always told me I was born a generation too late. I was her flower child. And you know what? She was right. So I keep poking at her to do more. I encourage her to make better decisions.
"Your so granola"
I visit my sister ever so often and its kinda like the running joke now. Lets see how much we can poke fun at her. I love catching up with my sister and visiting with my niece and nephew. She gives me great clothing when my niece out grows them and I give tips on how she could save money or make things herself. My sister and I are complete opposites when it comes to life style. She has a separate freezer just for frozen dinner type things. I have my tiny freezer filled with pumpkin puree, frozen veggies, and beans I had made. She buys almond/soy milk in the jugs, I make my own. Yes we are opposites but I love her all the same. She at least tries to be greener. So all that poking and teasing is from the heart.
What gets me is cashiers at times. They automatically start throwing my things into a plastic bag. I always have to interrupt them and say "No plastic bag please!". Then they say "Are you sure?". Like I am going to change my mind after I already said no. Really? Did I not just say no? What happened to asking if I want paper or plastic? How about you say "Paper, plastic or your own bag?". Now thats an idea! To make it a littler easier for them to understand, I put my reusable bag up first. Then load up my groceries. Whole Foods and New Seasons are the only two stores I shop at that automatically either toss my food into the bag or just give them to me. No plastic involved at all! Want to have a no waste lunch? Head on over to Whole Foods or New Seasons. They use regular plates and silverware and plate your food right on them. You simply eat them and put them in the bin by the sink to be washed. Need disposable silverware? They have them made from corn. They have a bin for plastics, paper, and a compost. They have so many options that I cannot even describe them all. Trust me, head on over and have a meal there. Its my #1 place to go for lunch with the kids. These places help granola's like me live their lives with no one looking over their shoulder.
So yes, I am granola. Yes I do look silly at times walking out of the store with my arms completely full are barely hanging on. Yes I do hang my clothes in my backyard for all the world to see our undergarments. Yes I do try to make everything possible. Yes I do all of these things and thousands more. Why? Thats just me. If I can make less impact on this earth and teach others to do the same, then this is what I am going to do. This is my goal in life.
So stand proud and yell to the world "Yes I am granola!". Don't be ashamed or feel less than you are. You should feel good about yourself and your decisions. And for those who have children, they are the reason we do what we do. Our future generations are going to suffer for our convenience issues. Our to go, quick fix, precooked, wrapped in plastic, preservative filled, and non recyclable plastic problem. Our millions of pounds of garbage will be their problem. I am just not okay with that. How do you think children learn? They watch their parents or adults they look up to. I just don't do things, I explain everything to my children. Why we recycle as much as we do, why I buy bulk no packaging items, why I use my own bags, why we walk to so many places, why we make our own cleaners, and everything else. How are they suppose to learn if we do not teach them? Its time to set an example. Kids minds are like little sponges soaking up information.
So how about you, are you granola? What shade of green are you? What are your views on this subject?
SPEAK YOUR MIND!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Laundry soap for less than a penny per load? Oh do tell!
Making your own liquid laundry soap has several benefits. My favorite benefit of course is how cheap it is to make. But here are a few other reasons to make your own liquid laundry soap.
-You make enough soap to last for a few months. 15 minutes of work gets you by for a few months, not bad if you ask me.
-Perfect for people who do not love strong scents.
-You can control what your soap smells like.
-Can be used in HE washers or standard washers.
-Low sudsing
-Kids love helping me make the soap so that's a bonus!
THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
1/2 Bar of soap-I recommend using a all natural bar of soap. My favorite right now is Oatmeal honey soap 2pk from Trader Joe's for $1.49. This should be enough to last you 6 months. Oatmeal I find makes your clothes softer than a standard soap. Remember not to get chunky kind. I know of many people who like to use Fels Naptha. For me its too strong and not a natural soap so I steer clear of it. You can use any soap of your choosing.
1/2 cup of Washing Soda-Not to be confused with baking soda. Washing soda is found in a yellow box (Arm & Hammer Brand) and usually cost around $2.50 a box. You can find this in the laundry aisle usually next to all the stain fighters. One cup of this will be enough for 2 years or more. This removes dirt and odors. You can find this online.
1/2 cup of Borax-Found in a green box usually right by the washing soda. Again it cost about $3.50 a box and again will last you a year or two. Borax is a naturally occurring mineral: Sodium Borate. Its a whitener and a deodorizer. Box will say 20 mule team on it. Found online too.
5 gallon bucket-I recently had to buy a new one due to my dog chewing on the lid of my old one. You must have a secure locking lid if you have children or animals. 5 gallon buckets kids or animals can easily fall into. These buckets are about $5 in the painting aisle of your local hardware store. If you buy soap that comes in a 5 gallon bucket, just reuse it. Perfect size. Costco or Sams Club sells this kind. Try to keep this bucket in a location your children or animals cannot easily get to. Top of the washer works well.
Whisk-I bought a large one from a thrift store used just for my soap and keep it in the bucket for mixing ever so often.
1 milk jug-makes it easier to measure when making the soap.
Essential oils-Not needed but if you want to customize your soap, get ones you like the smell of. I use tangerine, tea tree oil, or lavender in mine.
Cheese grater-this will be used to shred up your bar of soap
Measuring cups
Water
HOW YOU MAKE THE SOAP:
1. Put 6 cups of water in a pan and put on medium heat. While its heating up, shred your bar of soap using a cheese grater. Add the soap and mix until completely dissolved. You do not want chunks so this is a very important note. Once
2. Have a gallon of water aside and ready. This is why a milk jug is handy.
3. Add 1/2 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax to the soap water mixture. Mix till completely dissolved.
4. Put 4 cups of hot water to the bucket.
5. Pour hot soap mixture into the bucket and whisk till dissolved.
6. Add one gallon of water you had set aside plus 6 more cups of hot water. Mix till completely dissolved.
7. Let soap sit for 24 hours and it will gel up.
8. Use 1/2 cup for standard washers and 1/4 cup for HE washers.
DONE!
Sometimes I make it and take the time to stir it so its had lumps. Either way it washes my clothing very well. You will need to mix it ever so often so this is why a large whisk is handy to keep in the bucket. I have an old Tupperware measuring cup that I keep on the lid and only use for this soap. I have never had any bleaching type stains or any problems with this soap what so ever. Its never not washed out, its never made my clothes smell yucky, and I have literally have had no issues with it. I am no expert so test this out for yourself and play around with it. Different soaps will smell or the soap consistency will be different.
My calculations:
1/2 bar of soap=37 cents
Washing soda=$2.50 for a 55 oz box. This came to .16 cents per batch. I calculated how much per oz (2.50 divided by 55) and then weighed a half a cup of washing soda (4.2oz) and then multiplied my per oz price by 4.2.
Borax=$3.50 for a 76 oz box. This came to a .14 cents per batch. Did the same calculations above but borax weighs 3.5 oz.. A bit heavier.
Final cost: 37+16+14=67 cents for 2 gallons of laundry soap.
Two gallons of soap for a HE washer translates to 128 1/4 cup portions and .67 divided by 128=.0051938. Meaning it cost me 1/2 a penny per load.
Two gallons of soap for a standard washer translates to 64 1/2 cup portions and .67 divided by 64=.01046875. Meaning only one cent per load.
What does all this mean? I have way too much time on my hand ! All kidding aside, this will save you so much money. Especially if you have a large family like I do. 4 kids and 2 adults have a ton of laundry.
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Tuesday, January 5, 2010
No Waste Challenge
I have to say I am guilty of having waste. As frugal and thrifty as I am, I still somehow have food waste. Guilt comes to mind first of all when physically throw the food away. I think about how I could of used or it should of prepared it for freezing. If you think about it, all this waste adds up. I paid for each of those items that I threw in the trash. Makes me sick. Bad bad me! Onto my next challenge!
NO WASTE CHALLENGE
What is a no waste challenge? Well basically its you being held accountable for what you waste. No one is perfect so just try your best to reduce your waste. Waste from your food, home, and everyday life is the goal. From cutting back on your garbage, to having no left over food go bad. Its all game in this challenge. One way of being held accountable is to take pictures. This is my way of encouraging myself. This should keep me from having any waste. I not only have to prove I can do this to myself but I have all of you. This should be interesting.....
To help you out, I have come up with some ways to cut back on waste. Read and get inspired.
Menu planning-I am horrible when it comes to this idea. I do not like to plan my meals because most of our meals are made from mark down food or things I have been given. Its really hard to plan meals when you do this. Example: My great friend gave us some mandarin oranges that needed to be used up. My girls ate these with meals for 2 days. No waste there! Another time I bought a ton of yogurt from Albertsons for almost free. So we ate a ton of yogurt for a few days. See what I mean? Yes this is a good idea, but I know myself too well and its not gonna stick. I will give it a try though.
Leftovers to new meals. Since all of my daughters are vegetarians, I usually have any meat/meat substitutes separate from the rest of the meal which makes it easy to reuse them. I can simply plan my next days meal around the left over meat/substitute. Yesterdays corn can be used to make today's soup. Yesterdays left over almond pulp from making my own almond milk can be used in the next days bread that I make. Even if its just a few tablespoons of food, you can reuse it the next day. Just get creative.
Portions. Remember this when your cooking. If you do not like to eat left overs, then you need to have smaller portions. I would encourage you not to make large batches of things unless its some sort of easy to reheat food. Chili for example is a great food to make a ton and eat left overs for a few days. Or you can simply put into meal size portions and freeze it. Chili is amazing the 2nd time around. Better if you ask me! Things like too much fried foods (we do not fry because of this and its too unhealthy) are not very good the second time around. Remember this and make just enough for you to eat that night.
Fridge-Always check your fridge first before you start planning your meal. That left over containers, figure out a way to use it again. Onion getting old, use it up. Celery getting rubbery, plan your meal around it.
Is it waste? When your making your meal, save any veggie peelings you might have left over. Since I have vegetarians in my home, I'm always preparing veggies and have peelings or cut off ends that I'm throwing in the compost. Well Ive started making broth from them and then throwing them in the compost. I'm getting 3 uses from my veggies. 1. healthy produce to make my meals from. 2. veggie peelings for veggie stock. 3. Great composted items. I simply keep all peelings, and end pieces aside, then prepare and eat our meal. After dinner I go throw them into a pan with water to cover heat to a simmer. I do my dishes and clean up the kitchen for about 15-20 minutes. Once done I simply turn off the burner and let sit until cool. Strain out veggies and throw into the compost container. Put broth into a container, label it and put it in the freezer. I use this broth in making rice, adds a yummy touch to it.
Compost-All food that is not dairy or meat is thrown into the compost bin. Left over food scraps, grass clippings, twigs, weeds, etc. Compost is the best thing for your garden and even better when its free! Your garden will thank you later with amazing produce. Have no compost? Simple garbage bin with a lid will work. Just drill some holes all over it (even the bottom) and set it somewhere near the kitchen outside so you can access it easily all year long. Just keep adding things to it, you would be amazed how it wont fill up. Remember to roll it or mix it every once in a while so it can do its job composting. That's really all you need to do.
Shopping-Remember to not buy more than you can use up. Especially when it comes to things you cannot freeze or store for a long period of time. Things like avocado's, green onions, and things like that. These really cannot be put in the freezer and have to be used fresh. But things like potato's, onions and hardy veggies can be stored for a long time. Celery, carrots, potatoes and onions are a staple in our home. They last a long time in the fridge or stored in a cold dark place.
Storage-When you go shopping and come home to put it away, remember to pull forward food you did not run out of. New milk needs put behind the already opened milk. New container of eggs, put under the already opened eggs. Etc. This way you will always use up the older stuff first and not waste any of it. Same goes for the pantry! I buy a ton of flour so new flour goes behind the flour already in the pantry. Dried fruit can get too hard to use after a while so remember to use up those then buy more. Any time I need to use up my dehydrated fruit, muffins are made.
List-Always go through your fridge, cabinets and pantry before you go shopping. Put all food that needs to be used first up in front for you to see. Clean and organize a little while your doing this. If you notice something your out of or almost out of, write it on the list. This might take you a while but worth it. I just get angry when I buy something and go to put it away to only find I already have it. Especially when its something I do not use very fast. Ive done this so many times with vegetable oil. Rarely do I use it so it just makes me angry. UUrrrr.
Be honest-Either write it down or take pictures of anything you waste. I will be taking pictures (shreek) to hold myself accountable. Write what the item is and how much you actually paid for it. Not how much its worth. Either choice you make do it and it will challenge you to be more diligent. At the end of the month add up all your waste and I promise you that you will be more diligent.
So you up for the challenge? My challenge is from today-1 year from now. Join me!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Frugal Fashions Total outfit for $4.46
Frugal fashion is not what you think. Memories of my childhood come to mind when I think about second hand clothing. My mother was a thrift shop rat for as long as I can remember. Up to this day you can find her along with my sister digging in 2nd hand bins. The fashion back in the day was not the priority, but more of a function. A lot of polyester, yellow, orange, floral, and even some corduroy was involved. I have my childhood pictures to prove every single one of these items. Late 70's and early 80's were just horrible fashion days in my opinion. lol Well those days are over!My favorite place to go is the local Goodwill Outlet where almost everything is sold by the pound. Everything in this place is unsold items from nearby Goodwill's or were donated from locals. I just love going to goodwill, unloading what we do not want, and then buying what I do want. The more you buy, the cheaper it is. I always have a goal of buying more than 20 lbs so that I can get it for 89 cents per lb. SO CHEAP! Just this week I bought about 38 pounds of stuff and only spent about $35. I would of spent well over $200 for these if I bought them new. Along with clothing I found a bread pan with paddle that will fit my bread machine at home. Somewhere down the line I know I will need a new one and it will cost me over $10 for sure to get a new one. I found lots of stuff for myself, lots for the kids and ironically only one t-shirt for my husband. For some reason its hard to find his size.
My outfit
Shirt-Old Navy cotton top brand new and never washed. No tags so I think that someone bought it and never wore it or maybe it was a gift and not their color. Cost to me:maybe 25 cents
Jeans-American Eagle boot cut jeans that retail for $39.50. Broken zipper and a bit too long. These jeans had only been worn maybe a few times because they have no wear and no color fading at all. They still feel brand new. I was not sure if I would fit them (no fitting rooms so you have to know your sizes well) but threw them in anyways. These jeans are super stretchy so I stitched up the zipper knowing I would never be able to zip them up again. I'm not that handy sewing and there is no way I would replace that zipper. But I did only stitch the zipper area and I can unbutton them. Since they were too long, I simply took a pair of my existing jeans and laid them on the floor. I then took my new too long jeans and laid them on top of those jeans. I folded them up 2 inches and did a quick stitch along the hem. Took about 15 minutes to do all this but look at the end result. Can you tell if my zipper is broken? Can you tell that they were hemmed? Didn't think so! Cost to me:Maybe 50 cents
Slippers-Again these were a Goodwill find from another trip. These are Uggs and usually cost $120 a pair. Cost to me: Maybe 75 cents.
Belt-I did buy this new but it was super cheap. I paid $1 for this belt from Old Navy. It was a after season clearance sale. I have a gold one too. It just adds a little extra touch to my outfit. Plus it matched my necklace.
Necklace-Remember those $5 off your $5 purchase at Hallmark coupons? One necklace is $2.99 and one charm is also $2.99. Bringing my total to $5.98. With the coupon it was only .98 cents. I am wearing 2 of them. My cost:$1.96
Total outfit cost:$4.46
So do I look like I wear second hand clothing? Do you have to go broke to look good? No! I will be bringing you more frugal fashions in the future. I just love finding cool things and paying almost nothing for them! Wont you join me on my adventure?
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Start making money 2010
If you have not signed up with any money making sites, I recommend doing it now. Start this year by making money so that by the time Christmas comes, you will have some extra cash and even some gift cards to give away. This year I was able to give more and I felt so proud of myself. I worked all year long to earn money and gift cards. Definitely worth it. I only have a few places that I make money and only because they are super easy and anyone can do them. Survey sites are good if you have time, but having 4 children means I do not have that much extra time. I recommend using a email just for these sites. It takes only a few minutes each day to click all emails but I promise it goes fast. So here are my favorites.
My Points
This is free and super easy to do. Just sign up for free and fill out the profile status. Tip-sign up for everything they ask. Buying a car? sure. Buying a home? Sure. Everything you say yes to, they will send you more offers which means more points which means more money! Each email they send you ( you will get about 2-5 a day), just click on the "get points" orange box and another site will pop up. Just click out of there and you just earned 5 points. Shop through their site and earn points. Sometimes they have surveys on their home site and you can earn points. They also will send surveys you can qualify for and get 50 points for those or just 10 points for trying and not qualifying for. Download their tool bar and get 100 points. Use their tool bar to search for things and get more points! See how this works? Once you have earned at least 1,450 points, you can earn a $10 gift card of your choice of over 70 merchants. I usually choose Target so I can buy groceries or anything else I need. The points add up quick and you get your prize. They send them to you no shipping charge. You can give them away as gifts too, cards do not have your name on them. One account per person, per email. 18 and over. My husband and I both have accounts. Hurry and do it today so you can earn points!
Inbox Dollars
This one is about the same as above but instead of earning points, you earn money. Again sign up for free. No need to fill out a profile, just your name and address should be enough. You get $5 just for signing up! They will start sending you emails, you just click the "confirm this email" box and again it will send you to another site. Click out of there and you have earned some change. Each email is worth a few pennies. I do have to admit it takes a bit more time for this site but you get cash and not gift cards. Who doesn't want cash? Earn $30 and you can have a check sent to you for free. There are other options but they cost you. There is a $3 fee for so you will get a check for $27 sent directly to you. Once you submit for a check, it takes up to a month to get. This is why you need to start now. By the time you get $30 it will be around October, you will submit it and get it by November and then you can use it for Christmas. You can also make money from offers they have. They do have 100% free offers, or if you shop then you can earn money through them when you do shop. So there are many ways to earn money. I usually just do the emails.
Send Earnings
This site is literally the same as above, in fact I think they are owned by the same people. So everything I stated above applies to this site. Again sign up is free. I signed up for both of these the same day and I earned $30 quicker with Inbox Dollars. Either way, I was earning money. I made $54 last year for just getting emails. Not bad huh? Sign up for this one too and start making money.
My next installment will be my favorite sites to get free products. I get so much free products each year and am excited to share my secrets with you!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Homemade Goodness *Brown Sugar"
Serious? Oh yes I am. Save money on brown sugar by making it yourself! I have to give credit to "The Green Phone Booth" for bringing this to my attention. I am fully stocked in my pantry constantly (my anal issue) so I have never had to get creative when it came to pantry stuff. This would save me some money so I am on board!
Brown sugar
1 cup of white granule sugar
1 tbsp of Molasses
Mix well and your done! See how easy this was? If your making cookies there is no need to mix these. Just add 1 cup of white sugar and one tablespoon of molasses. Its all going to be mixed in anyways so don't worry about it.
Such simple pleasures make my day
Friday, January 1, 2010
Greenolutions
I have to give credit to Best of Mother Earth who had such a great post that it inspired me. Have you came up with your New Years resolution? How about this year start a greenolution? What is that exactly? Well its some goals you set for yourself this year to get more green. I know at first it seems too hard to do all these green things. I promise once you start, it will be hard to stop. I have been green my whole life but it wasn't until last year that I really started challenging myself. This whole blog started with zip lock sandwich bags. Yep, those nasty plastic things.
I challenge you to make some greenolutions. Here are a few easy and simple things you can do to be greener with little or no effort.
1. Stop buying paper towels and invest in some fabric napkins . Yeah for saving tree's!
2. Stop buying paper plates/cups and use your own. Just wash them. Yeah for saving tree's!
3. No plastic sandwich bags. Use glass bowls with lids or your own bowl and cover with a plate. No more toxic plastic!
4. Make your own laundry soap. Saves on plastic and keeps money in your wallet. (I will blog the recipe soon!)
5. Buy in bulk. No paper packaging means more tree's! Did I mention it saves you some cash?
6. Pick weeds manually instead of toxic chemicals sprayed in your lawn. Remember, your kids play in your yard. You want them exposed to them? no!
7. Start a garden. Saves you money!
8. Line dry your clothes whenever possible. Saves energy!
9. Start recycling everything!
10. Buy Eco friendly products. You can get everything from hair products, cleaners, trash bags, muffin papers, sandwich bags, etc. There are thousands of options now!
11. Buy Eco friendly products as gifts. There are so many options out there now so look for them.
I blog about these options all year round so just keep reading my blog and maybe I can inspire you to live greener. If not for yourself, but for your children. We live our world for their world. Here are my greenolitions for 2010.
1. Make my laundry soap always. I sometimes find great deals on soap but when I think about it, I still save money if I make it myself. Plus I'm not having to recycle those huge plastic jugs. Recipe soon to be blogged.
2. Slowly but surely rid myself of all plastic/Tupperware. I know! Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a huge Tupperware fanatic. I am very sad but I know its for the best. Plastic of any kind is just bad in my opinion. Why do I keep collecting them? They bring back childhood memories and that's it. There is no other reason but that. I cannot heat Tupperware in the microwave due to me not knowing if the new or old Tupperware contain BPA. Most of mine is vintage so who knows. Also I have to hand wash all of it or it will start to warp. Too much work and all will be replaced with glass. One glass comes in and one Tupperware goes out. I am still sad about this but I'm sure I will get over it.
3. Utilize all space in my garden. My garden was built by the previous owner and its more for visual look than practical use. This year I will be planning my whole garden. I know what needs to be planted where, I plan to move some planter beds, and plant things in other places. My husband is not crazy about this last one but likes that I am saving money by growing things. I will keep you posted later when the planning starts.
4. No new buys. I sometimes will just go buy the item because I cannot find it in thrift stores. Bad bad me. Sometimes I have no patience and just go buy it new. This year I plan on sticking to my original plan. I will keep a list of things I need for my house on me at all times. Kitchen gadgets or whatever. Clothing I will go through what we do have and write down what we don't have. Note to self:remember to add sizes. For now I will find most in thrift shops but summer time rolls around and I'm hitting up all the garage and yard sales!
5. Replace all windows in my home. This is gonna be an expensive but much needed item to do. Our 1967 home has very large and odd shape windows. Did I mention a lot of them? Yeah. 9 large windows, 1 slider door which will be replaced by french doors, and maybe our garage windows. My home has original aluminum framed windows that let in a ton of cold air and my home is constantly drafty. Plastic on our windows was our only option ( I looked...literally everywhere) and it has stopped the drafts. I cannot wait for our house to be warm and cozy all year.
6. Remove all ugly wallpaper from my girls rooms. One is 100% covered in wallpaper, one has 2 tacky wall paper borders, and one has half wooden panels. All paper will be removed and rooms will be painted with Eco friendly paint.
7. Hopefully we get to my kitchen. It needs new counters (harvest gold just isn't my color) and new floors. All but the cabinets were redone in the 70's. So its all outta here!Cabinets are in great condition so we will keep them and maybe paint them. I would love a recycled counter that Ive seen on so many do it yourself shows. Would love a pot and pan rack hanging on the ceiling. I need a new to me fridge, put our old one in the garage for extra storage and need a new to me dishwasher. Mine currently only washes stuff on the bottom rack. Ugggg. What a waste of water. Would love to put cork flooring down in there but the hubby is so against it. Still working on that one.
8. Chickens. Yes, I want them! Again the hubby is against them "BUT" my neighbor next to me wants them too and we could go in together and put the coup on the fence we both share and could both take care of them. We use up a ton of eggs and this would be so much healthier and Eco friendly in so many ways.
This was just my list I made today, I'm sure more will be added as the year goes. I hope Ive inspired you and would love to hear any greenolitions you might have! Leave a comment and share with everyone. Who knows, maybe I will get inspired by you!
p.s.
Check out Best of Mother Earth and get inspired just like I do!
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