Another life lesson

I realized something last summer when I was working in the garden. This is a pretty special place. It speaks in such volumes it's sometimes overwhelming. It says, "come, enjoy the colors, the smells, and all the sights that are inside. But, whatever you do, do NOT piss off the fairies!" Just kidding about that last part, they are kind and forgiving creatures.
  But seriously, it is a special place as it has plants from many people that are dear to me. A trumpet vine, originally planted the year I was born from my grandmother. Peonies that are 30 plus years old, many from my mom, my aunt, my dear friend Paula, and so on. So it's like all those people have a special place in my garden with their plants, they give me peace and happiness. It is a magical place for me to collect my thoughts, calm my nerves, or just plain get dirty. I am one of those people who are never satisfied with leaving well enough alone, I rearrange the garden as if it was the living room. I have a compulsion to make things better, I am a fixer. There I said it. Wheww. It's out and I am not ashamed.
  I have worked for 2 summers building, planting, arranging and changing things and it really has paid off. People slow down as they drive by my little 25x50 ft piece of land with a huge house in the middle of it. Sometimes they stop and ask questions, accuse me of being an artist (haha that's just a joke). My creativity is thought and time consuming and I do it for my family, not the admirers passing by, but if they like it, bonus. As my kids keep on insisting on getting older, I find it helps me that I will always have my plants and they will always need me to love and nurture them. Oh yea, and there are veggies.
  With as many mouths as we have to feed, and as small as our property is, I have to get creative as far as planting the veggies. I've even gone as far as tucking them in between the hostas and lilies. Whatever it takes to ease the food budget, I am not too proud to do it. Or too traditional.
  Robbing Peter to pay Paul is always tricky, but this helps the rough patches not seem as bad. The problem is deciding what is frugal and what is just plain cheap, though I have yet to discover that teeny tiny line. I am not ashamed to pinch pennies till they scream.

Saving Some Green

I’ve known for a while that I have to get a handle on the wayward finances in this house so I am turning where everyone else in the free world turns for answers. The internet. And Pinterest. Because, duh.

Let’s see what I turn up:

Idea #1; save every 5 dollar bill that I come across. Hmmmm..... won’t work, we use our debit card. Can't say when the last time was that I even saw a 5 dollar bill.

Idea #2; Open a savings account. Check. We drain it every other week to get through hubby’s 2 week pay period.

Idea #3; DIY. What?? Now this idea speaks to my very soul. But seriously, what good will this do for our bank account?? Oh the possibilities!

Laundry soap. With 4 teenagers, 2 boys, 2 girls, we go through an INSANE amount of laundry soap. I, like many others, decided to give a recipe I found online a shot. Initial cost? Borax, under $3. Washing powder, also under $3. Bar of Ivory soap. .99 cents. Grand total under 7 bucks and guess what?? With the exception of the bar soap, those two boxes make SEVERAL batches of soap, so it works out to be pennies per load!! What goes best with your own homemade laundry soap? Fabric softener of course! With just 3 basic ingredients, it really is a major penny saver! I started doing this about a year ago and I will never ever go back to buying it again. Ever. I figure I’ve saved over $200 in this year alone. $200!! I can handle that, so where else can I save that kind of cash by not having to buy a commercial product, make it myself, tailor it to my family’s needs and leave the world just a little greener?

Laundry Soap

*this stuff doesn’t suds up much, but its not the suds that clean, its the soap. Trust me on this one.

You need a clean bucket to mix in, a ladle, a couple of gallon size empty jugs and a towel to put it all on so you don’t make a huge mess.

Whole bar Ivory (nuke it for about 3 minutes, cool for the kids to see, crumbles up super easily!)

½ c Washing Soda

½ c Borax

(all of this is found in the laundry aisle in any big store like Walmart, Meijer...you get it. Even Amazon carries everything you need if you hate the store as much as I do haha)

In a saucepan, crumble up the soap and add 6 cups water. Melt the soap, stirring often. Add in the Borax and washing soda, stir until dissolved. I bring it to a rolling boil just to be sure its all melted and blended together. Here’s where my special touch comes in. Add a cap full of your favorite Downy Unstoppables. Smells amazing!! (You can also use a few drops of your favorite essential oils)

In the bucket, add 4 cups HOT water, add soap mixture and stir it all together. Then add 1 gallon PLUS 6 cups HOT water. Mix it all up, funnel it into your bottles and let sit for 24 hrs.

*use ½ cup per load

Seriously Easy Fabric Softener

2 cups hair conditioner

3 cups white vinegar

6 cups boiling water.

Seriously, combine and stir! How easy was that??

* I add a cap full of Unstoppables so my soap and softener smell the same!!

I'm always looking for new ways to save, but these are my all time favorites so far!