Frugal Tips

Frugal Baby Savings
Don’t spend money on plastic diaper throw away bags in the stores. Use your newspaper wrapper, bags from produce and bread bags. They work just as well and save you money.

Frugal Restaurant Savings
When you do go to a restaurant, feed your children a banana before you go. This way they won’t be so hungry when you get there and ask for everything on the menu. This is especially helpful in going through a cafeteria type restaurant.

Baby Wipes
Use an empty round tub of store bought baby wipes. Get a roll of paper towels (I use Viva) cut the roll in half. Pull the cardboard core out. In a mixing bowl combine 2 Tbsp. of baby soap, 1 Tbsp of baby oil and 2 cups of water. Pour half of the mixture into the tub, place your roll of paper towels into the tub in the mix. Pour the rest of the mix over the top. This should cost you about .35 depending on how you buy your paper towels.

Baby Clothes
I buy 95% of my children’s clothes at garage sales (mine also). If there is a stain make a paste of Tide with bleach and a little water. Let it sit on the stain overnight and wash in the morning.

• Place a small amount in a squirt bottle and fill to the top with water. Use for spraying in bathtubs to get rid of mildew, cleaning counter-tops, using as a stain remover on clothing (test for color fastness first though!!!), spot spraying shower curtains, washing off cutting boards, and wiping down bathroom counter and toilet seats.

• Pour a few globs in your toilet tank to help clean the system.

• A small amount, like 1/4 cup to 1 gallon of water makes a great all purpose cleaner, especially great for washing down walls, dining chairs, highchairs.

• Use a mixture of bleach & water sprayed over a little baking soda to keep your porcelain sink clean.

• Pour enough baking soda to cover the bottom, add enough vinegar to make it fizz, and let it do the cleaning for you! Then rinse with a bucket of water or a garden hose with a spray nozzle. Air dry or wipe down. This works for me and keeps those “odors” away. (Do remember to occasionally clean the trash can with a disinfectant or some bleach as well.)

• You can always pour some baking soda into the trash bag, especially if you have to toss meat scraps or other smelly things into your trash can. It really cuts down on the odor.

• Use a paste made from baking soda and water to remove scuff marks from linoleum floors.

• Clean bathtubs, sinks and toilets, works as well as ajax or softscrub type cleaners.

• Add 1/4-1/2 cup per washload to remove sour odors from clothing, works especially well with dishcloths.

• Place a box in your freezer and refrigerator to absorb odors.

• Also place a box in closed ice chests to help eliminate and absorb odors.

• Buildup remover for hair: combine 1/4 cup baking soda with 1/4 cup molasses and mix well, store in an empty shampoo bottle in your shower. After wetting hair, place a small amount of this mixture in your hands and work thoroughly through hair. Leave on 10-30 minutes or until you can feel your hair becoming smooth if you run it between 2 fingers..up until now it will have had a crinkly or crusty feel. Rinse, shampoo and condition as normal. When your hairs dries you will be amazed at the difference! Repeat once a week or as needed.

• Mix with water to form a thick paste and scrub stained area in coffee mugs etc.

• Use to wash hands after cutting up fish or anything else that leaves an odor.

• I have a tip for cleaning trash cans with baking soda. Pour enough baking soda to cover the bottom, add enough vinegar to make it fizz, and let it do the cleaning for you! Then rinse with a bucket of water or a garden hose with a spray nozzle. Air dry or wipe down. This works for me and keeps those “odors” away. (Do remember to occasionally clean the trash can with a disinfectant or some bleach as well.)

• Don’t forget, you can always pour some baking soda into the trash bag, especially if you have to toss meat scraps or other smelly things into your trash can. It really cuts down on the odor.

Christmas Cards – Don’t Trash or Stash Them

by Donna Watkins

I thought I’d share a Holiday Tradition that makes Christmas cards "last"much longer than just for the month of December. It takes away the guilt of just tossing them in the trash……and takes away the clutter of putting them away.

As the cards arrive in the mail, we sit them around the house as they come in so we can be reminded of the many friends we have been blessed with. After Christmas Day we gather them up and put them in a basket and schedule a time to pray over each person and family that sent them. It’s a special time to slip into lives in a way that will bless them for the year to come — and possibly for eternity.

When our son was little and life was a bit more hectic, we would place them on the kitchen table in a basket or napkin holder and each of us would draw one to pray for before we ate each meal.

After we’ve prayed, we cut the covers of the cards into 4×6" postcards and write thank-you’s on them. You can use the left side for the message, draw a line to the right of it, and then write the address and use a 20-cent stamp. This saves 12 cents plus the cost of note cards – and you "save a tree."

A postcard gives just enough space to say thank you and makes the task quick and fun. It isn’t as intimidating for children as a note card sometimes is with all of its blank space to fill in, and it teaches children an important character quality: gratefulness.