Domestic Cents

Festival Of Frugality #203 – American Flag Edition

Nicki — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:49:43 +0000

Welcome to The Festival of Frugality #203. Tomorrow is Veterans Day here in the United States. So in honor of our veterans, this is the American flag edition.

photo by tibchris

First I’d like to highlight the Five Star posts. These are the Editor’s Picks:

J.D. Roth from Get Rich Slowly shares The Curse Of A Big-Win Mentality. He writes, “We are a culture that loves to celebrate shaving $200 off our monthly mortgage with a new $300/month car payment.” So true.

Oops! Did you screw up dinner? No need to throw it out and order pizza. You can find 5 Quick Fixes To Salvaging A Good Meal at Wise Bread.

There’s a tough one at Gather Little By Little – How Much Does Your Vice Cost? We all hold onto something that isn’t really helpful or doesn’t make like easier – we just like it. What is it costing you?

photo by audreyjm529

Here are the rest of the fantastic submissions. Enjoy!

FrugalMaman from Fortuitously Frugal has some great ideas for Homemade Gifts including some delicious-looking gift baskets.

Paula Wethington from Monroe On A Budget shares Ideas For Christmas Gifts Under $20. This is a thorough list with some great ideas.

Head over to Make It From Scratch to see how to make a Little Girl’s Headband. She shows us how ‘doting mom,’ ‘environmentalist,’ and ‘crafter’ can be a winning mix!

Thinking of buying a digital camera for someone for Christmas? The Dough Roller shares The Best Digital Camera Bargains of 2009.

photo by ice.bluess

David Carlson of Dual Income No Kids talks about Being Frugal With Splurges. You can treat yourself without going overboard.

Siobhan Hanlin of Facets Of The Fabulous was able to survive University without a single credit card or overdraft. Go check out How To Survive University Without An Overdraft.

Is your wife a little more conservative than you are when it comes to investing? MoneyNing will tell you How To Get Your Wife To Invest.

Paul Williams from Provident Planning wrote Why We’re Not Buying Life Insurance (Yet). I admit, I was skeptical when I read the title. However, his reasoning is pretty sound – check it out.

photo by wolfsavard

Madison from My Dollar Plan encourages us to Make The Most Of Open Enrollment, the one chance per year when most employees can make changes to their benefits.

Patrick from Cash Money Life shares How To Lower Your Auto Insurance Bill. It’s a necessary expense but you have the power to shop around. You could potentially pay 30% less than you pay now!

Mrs. Accountability from Out Of Debt Again asks How Much Do You Care About Expiration Dates? Do you throw things out immediately or are you willing to drink milk the day after “the date.”

Ben from Money Smart Life shares about Open Enrollment Deadlines. This is a popular topic for a reason. With the exception of major life changes, this is your opportunity to review and change your benefits at work.

photo by clickfarmer

Have you ever tried to go a week without spending money? PT Money shares his Results Of A Week Without Spending. I’ll give you a little spoiler: he ended up making money!

Tyler from Frugally Green asks What’s Your Environmental Net Worth? If you were to calculate “the sum of your environmental contributions minus your grievances,” how would you add up?

Jeff from Good Financial Cents posted Should You Buy Life Insurance At An Early Age? He says this is the most important question: Are you supporting individuals whose livelihood depends on your income? If the answer is yes, it’s time to look at life insurance.

Kris from Cheap Healthy Good shares Sandra’s Money Saving Meals: A Review. Does the show grate your nerves or have you found it helpful?

Cheapskate Sandy from Yes I Am Cheap shares Finance 101: Understanding Your Flexible Savings Account (FSA). Is this a benefit they offer in your workplace but you have no idea what it is? Check it out.

photo by pcfishhk

Looking for a place to stow your tons of cash (or your tirelessly saved pennies)? The Smarter Wallet compares some of The Top Online Savings Accounts in a clear and easy-to-read manner.

FMF from Free Money Finance busts some Car Care Maintenance Myths. Does the oil really need to be changed every 3,000 miles? Probably not.

Craig Ford from Money Help For Christians has seen first hand that you can Cut Costs By Being Resourceful. His wife share a few ways she has seen people save money where they live in Papau New Guinea.

SVB of The Digerati Life shares how to Create A Home Budget, Using The Envelope Budgeting System. She explains the system and lays out the pros and cons for you.

photo by PhotoDu.de

Tom at The Canadian Finance Blog discusses what it would take for the Costco Wholesale Executive Membership to be a good purchase for you.

Bucksome from Bucksome Boomer’s Journey To Retirement is Calling All Shoppers! Are you planning on getting some great deals on Black Friday? Plan ahead for success!

Find some Simple & Cheap Ways To Spice Up Your Everyday Food at Fabuluosly Broke … In The City. Quickly spice up any meal with these great, fresh ingredients.

RC from Think Your Way To Wealth shares a foundational frugal truth: Save Money By Practicing Moderation In Your Life.

photo by Beverlykahuna

Cecil Dellison of Clear Choice Credit Cards asks Do Credit Unions Offer The Best Credit Card Options For You?

Ray at Financial Highway thinks credit cards have been given a bad name in the personal finance world and wants to show you how to choose the Best Credit Card

Wojciech Kulicki of Fiscal Fizzle shared about Writing An Awesome Personal Executive Summary and how that relates to personal finance.

David of Credit Card Offers IQ shares about the Quicken Rewards Visa Credit Card.

Credit Shout suggests Using 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards To Reduce Debt.

Thanks so much to everyone that participated!

Why I do what I do ~ Chloe: “Mommy, how do babies hatch?” Looks like I still have a few years before the birds and the bees chat

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Frugality Is Not A Contest

Nicki — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:32:57 +0000

At the end of this week I’m headed to a Women’s Retreat where I’m going to be teaching a workshop about family frugality. I’ve spent quite a bit of time preparing and determining what information should fill my 75-minute time slot – which of course, has led to a lot of reflection.

I put together a lengthy list of tips and ideas to help families spend less money. To be honest, the list is a little overwhelming. At first, I felt a little hypocritical suggesting ideas that I don’t personally use and giving people tips in areas where I find myself slacking. I felt – unqualified. I got to thinking about what I write about on my blog and tried to narrow in on what my point is. My tag line sums up the focus of my blog – “Using Domestic Arts To Live A Simple, Frugal Life.” But it’s the reason I write it that I needed to come back to – it’s because I’m learning to live a simple, frugal life.

Being a frugal blogger, it’s easy to feel unqualified or less-than when I read all the cool ideas other people have implemented. I think – why can’t I do that? Sometimes I try something and it just sticks – it works for us. Other times – not so much. But here’s what I have to remember – THAT’S OK! It’s really foolish how we label ourselves sometimes. It’s actually very crippling. My point is not to be as frugal as possible at all costs. That’s not it at all. My point is to do the best I can with what I have in a way that works for my family. That’s what I’m going to teach at my workshop.

I have readers from all walks of life, all different ages, from all over the world (how lucky am I!!). The families that are affected by what I write here vary greatly. I don’t expect every person that reads my posts to try every single thing I mention. Why should I expect that of myself? What I attempt to do is give hope that life can be full and wonderful and content when you don’t have much and to toss a few ideas out there of some things I’ve found helpful. If you’ve been helped or touched by even one of them then I am grateful and consider my efforts 100% worth it. I want to pour something good and positive into your life. All of that is why I do what I do here. I hope that’s what you take from this blog – what you can use. I hope that’s what they’ll take from my workshop – a few ideas to help their families.

Frugality is not a contest – it’s a tool. It’s a tool that helps me be a stay-at-home mom and a tool to help us get out of debt. I’ve learned a lot about this tool and its wide array of functions and capabilities but I’ve also learned that I’m not required to use all of them, only the ones I need. You don’t win a prize if you do more ‘frugal’ things than all your friends and there isn’t a plaque for the wall if you use the most coupons. I can tell you what there IS though – contentment when you find that balance. When you find things that work for your family and help you accomplish goals that are important to you – that’s where the prize is.

Why I do what I do – We had a family day on Saturday. David, Chloe and I just spent the entire day together. We ran errands and went to a bunch of different places – all the while we let Chloe use our camera. David and I laughed and laughed later on when we downloaded the pictures. Her perspective is so interesting that we think we’ll give her the camera more often. To illustrate, see the picture below. It’s a picture she captured of me in Walmart. Go ahead, laugh. It’s ok

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50+ Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

Nicki — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:30:44 +0000

A homemade Christmas is a great idea but it can be tough to think of things to make. Armed with this info, I spent quite a bit of time on blogs I love as well as sites that were new to me to compile the list below. I tried to include projects for all different abilities and skill levels. There is a link for almost every project below. So this isn’t just a list of ideas – it’s armed with the how-to. Even if you don’t find exactly what you were looking for I’m hoping this list of ideas will get your creativity flowing.

Packaging

The packaging can be part of the gift. Try some of these ideas!

A lined, zippered pouch – This is a very easy-to-follow sewing tutorial from Skip To My Lou. I have used this as my ‘wrapping paper’ for quite a few birthday presents too.

Homemade gift bags – There are several different varieties you can make. 2 benefits – 1) You aren’t spending money on something to throw away. 2) You aren’t creating waste.

Soft Sewn Basket - Fill this with whatever your heart desires. Found at Stardust Shoes. Look in the right sidebar of her site for the tutorial.

Gift Tags – Don’t buy them – make them! Here’s a fantastic list of printable ones at Bella Dia.

Storage Cube – from Crazy Mom Quilts. It even has a place for a label.

Ladies

Some nice gifts for her.

Spa Set – including homemade bath salts , a home-sewn eye mask from Sew Mo’, this sugar foot srub from petit elefant, a candle and a soothing music CD (that you burned from your computer!)

Buttercup Bag - from Made by Rae. I made one for summer but this adorable handbag could be customized with winter fabrics too.

Mohair Lace Scarf – found at the purl bee. This is a lovely knitted scarf.

Kitchen Bundle – Sew this oven mitt from Skip To My Lou, grab one of these apron patterns from Tipnut, add a few cookie cutters or a fun recipe and voila!

Bread Bundle – Use SouleMama’s idea and make a linen bread bag, bake a loaf of yummy bread and attach the recipe with ribbon.

Reversible Headband – from Curiositys. This would also be a sweet gift fora young girl.

Scrabble Tile Pendant - from Make and Takes. Toss this on a leather cord – love it.

Checkbook Cover – from Crazy Mom Quilts. Love this!

Flower Pin Cusion – from Tammy’s Times. This is an adorable take on a pin cushion. Get some flower-topped pins to go with it!

Rice Pillow – from Wise Craft. Something cozy for the winter.

Men

It’s tough to think of homemade things for men that aren’t girly. Here are a few things to consider …

Grill Set – I’m sure the grill utensils from last year will need replacing. Make this great Grill Tool Carrier from Curiositys to round out the gift.

Homemade BBQ Sauce – from Martha Stewart.

USB Batman Spotlight – from Instructables. I wasn’t sure whether I should put this under Kids or Men. Seriously – you can create your very own Batman spotlight. I know you’re dying to.

Photo Rubiks Cube – from Away To Me. This could be for a woman too. Inexpensive and personal – love it.

Laptop Sleeve – from Sew Mama Sew. OK, this could be for anyone too …

Golf Gift Basket – this is easily customizable according to the person and your budget.

A Year In The Making – from Fortuosity. This is the most beautiful idea. She took a day timer and filled it with pictures and memories from that year for her husband.

Fleece Blanket – There are plenty of new-sew versions to make too. You can buy fleece in a manly print (like camo) or with a favorite sports team logo.

Homemade Shaving Soap – pair this with some new razors!

Baseball Hat Organizer – with a new hat attached of course!

Homemade Hot Sauce – from All Recipes. Put it in a jar with a custom label and attach a basting brush with a piece of twine or leather cord.

Anyone

These ideas could be for men or women. Some are also good for a gift exchange.

Water Bottle Holder – from Curiositys. If you have someone outdoorsy on your list this is a great idea.

Felt Snowflakes – found at the purl bee. I sewed these last year and gave one to each family on my list. They are very pretty.

Cookies In A Jar – All dry ingredients to make a batch of cookies, layered beautifully in a jar.

Hats – from Head Huggers. Knit, crochet or sew a hat.

Keyboard Ornament – from Geek Ware. A great, original, co-worker gift. Make an ornament using the individual keys from an old computer keyboard.

IPod/Camera Cozy – from Sew Mama Sew. Is this someone’s big gift this year? Sew them something personal to package it in!

Homemade White Board – from Mish Mash. This can be personalized for anyone.

Frame a Wordle – Don’t know what a Wordle is? It’s a very cool word collage – go check it out.

Homemade Spice Box – from Mookie Moo. Consider spice themes for this gift. A good Christmasy one might be Allspice, Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, Cloves.

Cozy Cocoa – Make a batch of this homemade hot cocoa mix from Food Network, add a bag of marshmallows (or the homemade ones in that recipe) and a couple mugs. You can find mugs at your local dollar store. Decorate them with permanent markers for extra fun!

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels – easy and SOOO yum. These can be packaged beautifully too!

Homemade Muffin Mix – paired with a new muffin tin of course!

Fleece Fringe Scarf – Quick, cute and cozy.

Kiddos

Think outside the big box store with these great homemade ideas.

Molly Monkey - from mmmcrafts. I just LOVE this adorable monkey. The tutorial is free and it is so darn cute.

Bean Bag Chair – from Stardust Shoes. Check in the right sidebar of her site for the tutorial.

Crayon Roll – from Skip To My Lou. These are pretty quick to whip up and SO handy. I made one for my daughter and it has been very useful.

Superhero Cape – from Puking Pastilles. For a boy or a girl!

Toy Car Carrier/Play Mat – from Mama’s A Mess.

Mini I-Spy Quilt – from Make and Takes.

Doll Clothes – It doesn’t take much material to whip these up and they really don’t have to be precise.

Kids Teepee Tent – from Sew Mama Sew. For a boy or a girl. Imagine finding all your presents inside this!

Homemade Crayons – from Blissfully Domestic. Pair these with a fun, new coloring book – or make your own from Chez Beeper Bebe!

Floor Pillow – Choose a kid-friendly print or a fleece to make a cozy spot for your kiddo to read or play games.

Sidewalk Chalk – This is probably a better gift for my southern friends. Chloe wouldn’t be able to use this until May!

Wooden Blocks – Don’t pay the steep price to purchase them. If you have the tools – ya know – a saw, then you can make them yourself. Personalize them with some paint!

Homemade Play Dough – This is such a hit in our house. Buy some seasonal cookie cutters to go along with it!

Why I do what I do ~ The other night, Chloe and I were singing opera in the bathroom, or I should say – our version of opera. Chloe stopped and said, “Mommy you have mud on your teeth.” It was after dinner and I hadn’t brushed my teeth yet so I assumed there was a spice or an herb on my tooth. I opened my mouth and looked in the mirror. I noticed the silver fillings in two of my molars. I explained that the dentist put that there to fix my teeth. She made a weird face at me and sort of brushed me off by saying, “You should clean them.” She was clearly grossed out. Maybe that means I won’t have trouble getting her to brush her teeth!

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Good Reads: Candy Corn – Yea or Nay?

Nicki — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:47:58 +0000

When Autumn arrives I am certain of two things:

1. I will be purchasing candy corn and eating it.

2. I will be eating it alone while my husband holds back involuntary gags. It is a season-long controversy in our home.

So, what’s your take? When you see those yummy candies appear on the shelves for 99 cents do you scoop them up and tear them open in the car or do you equate eating candy corn with eating a candle?

While you ponder my deeply urgent question, be sure to check out some of these links. Happy weekend everyone!

Check out these Surprising Uses For Your Dishwasher from Real Simple Magazine. There are some REALLY good ideas in there.
Jeff from My Super-Charged Life posted Improve Your Marriage: 50 Acts Of Simple Love.
Check out A Dozen (or so) Ways To Make A Few Extra Bucks from Gather Little By Little.
Kitchen Stewardship presents My First Roux (And A Cream Of Potato Soup Recipe). Perfect for the chilly weather!
Tsh at Simple Mom says that What’s Healthy For Kids Is Healthy For Adults – and I agree.
Netta posted her Quick Kitchen Fixes for Fruit Dip and Hot Chocolate.

Why I do what I do ~ Chloe just woke up from her nap, walked up to me and said, “Mama I just woke up last year.” I smiled.

Candy Corn photo by Juushika Redgrave

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Reflecting On Self Discipline

Nicki — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:51:13 +0000

When you’re a kid you learn to despise, cringe and dread even hearing the word ‘discipline.’ Hearing a parent utter the word meant something bad was about to happen. I was always grounded from something. Now I know that my parents were pretty much right on with the consequences they chose for my inappropriate or dangerous behavior but it still doesn’t make me like the idea. Now that I’m a parent I feel an equal dread for it. I do not want to discipline my daughter. I beg her not to make me follow through with my threatened consequences. Contrary to what the little girls probably think – I do NOT like time out.

With all of these negative feelings toward discipline in the back of my mind it’s difficult to entertain the notion that there is another kind of discipline which I should be seeking out rather than avoiding. Dictionary.com calls it an “activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training.“

Nearly everything in our lives characterized as beneficial is also difficult. Most great things don’t come easily. That’s where self-discipline comes in. You choose to do something annoying, difficult, painful or unwanted because your resolve to accomplish something great is stronger. Many things fall into this category: quit smoking/drinking, losing weight, exercising, eating healthy, waking up early, and you know I’m going to add – living frugal.

For the sake of the topics covered here I’ll focus on the frugal aspect but my personal reflection on this topic is much more broad. As I’ve reflected on the ‘tools’ that help me to live a frugal life I always come back to discipline. There isn’t any single thing I do that is insurmountable or extraordinary – but what makes all the difference is that I’m committed to it. I am disciplined with my meal planning. I am disciplined with conservation and avoiding waste. I am disciplined with my time – allowing me to accomplish many more things than I could otherwise. I’m no superwoman and I have plenty of bad days just like anyone else but the undeniable difference between my life before (the in-debt, wasteful, can’t-get-anything-done life) and my life now is self-discipline.

Sounds awful doesn’t it? You’re probably thinking I’m a severe and boring person who doesn’t have any fun. I like to think that’s not the case. I’m actually much happier and more fulfilled with my life right now. The great part is that I find self-discipline to be freeing. I feel an enormous sense of accomplishment and my life feels good when I put my laziness aside and do the things that need to be done. And that great feeling? It motivates me to keep going.

Several years ago I was stuck in a rut – a lazy rut. It was frustrating and I was constantly disappointed in myself. I think it’s because I was putting myself first, before the betterment of our family and I was neglecting things that should have been priorities. In the same manner that self-discipline is freeing, laziness is trapping. The longer you’re stuck – the more stuck you feel. I am so thankful I chose to turn things around. It’s been a slow process – full of discipline – but it has been SO good and so worth it.

I’m being pretty open here with all of my thousands hundreds of readers but I’m ok with that because I want you to know that I’m real and normal and I’m learning things too. In no way do I intend to reflect that I have everything together but rather that by chance and by blessing I occasionally stumble over something great.

~Thanks for being part of my written reflections, my thoughts spilling on the page and my self-revelation. You are some very cool people

Why I do what I do ~ My daughter is SUCH a chatterbox. She gets talking so fast that she can’t even keep up with herself. Too bad if you have something to say because you’ll have a difficult time interjecting. I have trouble not recalling my grade school report cards (you know, back when teachers wrote personal comments on them). They always said something like this: Nicki is a joy to have in class but talks too much. Nicki is doing well but consistently chats with other students. Nicki excels but talks too much during class. Hmmmm … I’ll have a tough time coming down on her for that one.

photo credit: englishsnow

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Homemade Caramel Popcorn

Nicki — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:00:07 +0000

I loooooove caramel. I’m certain that anything slathered in caramel tastes absolutely divine. If you’ve been reading for very long then you know I have a sweet tooth. When I’m craving something sweet I’m envisioning a thick, double chocolate brownie, warmed up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel dripping down the sides. (oh look, now I’m drooling). So here’s the great thing about caramel popcorn – it’s much better than the alternatives for me.

You can vary this recipe quite a bit to customize it but I’ll give you the base for it to start.

Caramel Popcorn

8-ish cups plain popped popcorn (I used my hot air popper to pop 1/2 cup popping corn)
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla

~Directions:

Spread popcorn in (2) 13×9-inch pans. It should be about level with the top but not mounded or you’ll have a tough time stirring.
Put butter, corn syrup, brown sugar and vanilla in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until it boils. Stir almost constantly.
Pour the caramel over the popcorn in the pans and mix it up.
Bake in a 250F degree oven for 40 minutes. Stir 2 or 3 times while it’s cooking.
After that, take it out of the oven and lay it on wax paper to cool. You might have to break it up a little while it’s cooling so it doesn’t bunch up (unless, of course, you want it to bunch up because that’s great too).
Store in an air-tight container.

~Things to note:

Using the amount of popcorn I used will yield a very lightly coated mix. If you want your popcorn slathered than you should use less popcorn or double the caramel. My point here is to make a lighter snack for myself.
Add things to it! Consider nuts of any kind or dry cereals.
Makes a great gift when packed in something pretty like a tin or jar!

Why I do what I do ~ The girls were having grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch today. My younger niece, who is 2-1/2, told me she wanted bread. I told her that she had bread on her plate. She pointed right to it and said, “No, that’s meat.” I repeated it back to her to make sure I had heard correctly. “That’s meat?” She said, “yes.” Hmmm … then what’s bread?

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Paint Set Winner!

Nicki — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:00:56 +0000

Using Random.org, I’ve got a winner. Amy wins the paint set!

Thanks so much to everyone that entered. It’s great to get comments from subscribers that I haven’t heard from before. Keep ‘em coming!

Today is my official one year blogiversary (is that what it’s called?). For those of you that are new around here I’d like to highlight a few posts you may have missed and a couple of favorites. Enjoy

Some older posts you may have missed~

Homemade Play-dough ~ I make this over and over and over. All three girls still love to play with it. There isn’t anything special about this post – only that I use it ALL the time.

Haste Makes … ~ The answer, of course, is “waste.” A post about how I need to stop rushing.

Salvaging The Chaotic Day ~ Here’s what I do with a day that’s gone completely wrong.

When Penny-Pinching Has Pushed You Too Far ~ Sometimes, I just need to take a moment and get a little perspective, don’t you?

Welcome Home, Dinner’s In The Oven ~ My little story of learning to cook.

How Do You Get Everything Done? ~ Are you supermom?

Frugality Builds Character ~ Frugality changes you.

How I Became Domestic ~ I am so different from what I used to be – and I love it.

Some of my favorites~

Anatomy Of A Thoughtful Person ~ What makes a person thoughtful?

What’s Your Profession? ~ This is one for all those stay-at-home mamas out there.

My Financial Story ~ Here’s the story of why I am where I am and why I’m doing what I’m doing.

More Than A Boring Prelude ~ Today is much more than a boring prelude to tomorrow.

Giving Up A Like For A Love ~ Painful prioritization. Even though you may like something, sometimes there are other things that are just more important.

My Daughter Won’t Remember We Were Broke ~ Maybe my favorite post of all.

Why I do what I do ~ I was clipping Chloe’s fingernails last night when she thoughtfully asked, “Why do my fingernails have to be short?” I was impressed with her question because she really seemed to care. It made sense because I don’t keep my nails that short. I told her it was because they get dirty when they are long. She paused then conceded, “yeah they do.”

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Good Reads: It’s Getting Cold

Nicki — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:08:34 +0000

It’s been a busy week around here. It’s starting to remain cold where I live. The kids are wearing their winter coats every day now. The furnace runs multiple times per day, not just occasionally and I’m having to warm up my vehicle to defrost the windows. All signs – I need to get into gear and winterize. I’ve been packing summer things away, putting in storm windows, cleaning up the yard etc. all week long.

That doesn’t mean that I didn’t cuddle up with a cup of tea or my first hot cocoa and get some great reading in though … I hope you’re all having a wonderful weekend! Enjoy some cool finds from my Reader~

A Beginners Guide To Beans Plus 42 Bean Recipes from Cheap Healthy Good

Lunch Skins By 3greenmoms found at Design Milk (I want to know how to make these!!)

5 Reasons To Dump Your Strict Budget from Frugal Dad

Homemade Toothpaste Recipe from Debt Free Adventure

Hostess Gift: Apple Pie In A Jar from The Inspired Room

Clean As You Go: Managing The Meal Prep Mess from Simple Mom

Fall Cleaning For You And Your Financials from Moolanomy

The Festival Of Frugality #200: Fireworks At Night Edition from Miss Thrifty

Did you enter the kids paint set giveaway??? It ends Sunday night (10/25) at 10:00 p.m. EST. ENTER HERE!

Why I do what I do ~ A couple funny randoms: Chloe accidentally calls her winter scarf a ’skirt.’ And she’s still also accidentally calling her gloves, ‘clubs.’ So … she wears a coat, a skirt and clubs to keep her warm

photo credit: Maria Keays

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A Sort-Of Homemade Princess Costume

Nicki — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:36:59 +0000

So Halloween is coming up. To be honest, I don’t care one way or the other about it. I love autumn and harvest and all that good stuff much, MUCH more. However, I have a 3-1/2 year old who LOVES to dress up and goes to school now, so I needed to come up with a costume. I just want to gag when I go into any store and see costumes selling for $15 or more. They are so poorly made that I can’t make myself purchase one.

Side note here: I did purchase two costumes when Chloe was very young because it doesn’t seem to be too tricky to find something in toddler-size for $10-ish. However, seeing how this is a frugal blog and that’s what I’m trying to do it wouldn’t be nearly as fun for me to write a post about the costume I bought at Walgreens for $9.99

So, I have a few formal dresses hanging around. I’ve managed to get rid of some of them either through yard sales or just giving them away. I really can’t stand that they are cluttering my closet but the truth is that they just aren’t in style anymore. The dresses I see in the stores around prom time look nothing like what’s hanging in my closet.

So … I decided to see if I could turn one of my dresses into a princess dress for Chloe. That way, she could use it for Halloween and then I can toss it in her dress-up box.

So this is what I started with:

Here’s what I did to it:

I cut off the bottom. This one has two layers, a solid layer underneath and a sheer layer on top.

I made a ruffle. I made a ruffle with some of the material I cut off and sewed it onto the hem. I left the sheer layer unsewn with an unfinished edge because it’s just a costume and I didn’t feel like being meticulous.

I pleated the back. Instead of fooling around with cutting fabric out of the dress, I decided to keep the fullness and pleat the back so it would fit around her nicely.

I adjusted the straps. I cut them off then moved them to where they would stay up nicer and also made them the right length.

I made a cape. The extra sheer fabric made a lovely little princess cape.

Here’s what I ended up with:

The front …

The back …

There you have it – Chloe’s free princess costume! I already have about 3 princess crowns and tons of play jewelry for her to wear so we’re covered on that end. Now, if I can just capture her long enough to make her pose in it …

Why I do what I do ~ Chloe’s eyes are the same color as mine – a ring of green on the inside with a ring of brown on the outside. To anyone else, they look brown, but every time the sun hits them and I see the radiant color in her big, bright eyes, I catch my breath. How could she have something of mine that is so exact, so precise? I know, I know – genetics. In that moment though, I’m not thinking about my dominant dark-eye gene and David’s recessive blue-eye gene. I’m thinking – wow, that’s MY kid.

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I Tried It – Homemade Laundry Detergent

Nicki — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:23:28 +0000

I’ve heard a lot of frugal-living blogs mention homemade laundry detergent. I’ve heard them say they make it and I’ve heard them say that it’s an unnecessary hassle. I knew I wanted to eventually get around to trying it out for myself but it was pretty far in the back of my mind. Then one day I stumbled across a how-to for a powdered laundry detergent at Debt Free Adventure that was too good not to try immediately.

The recipe Matt gives is only 3 ingredients:

1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 cup 10 Mule Team Borax
1 bar Ivory soap

To see how to make it for yourself go check out his original post.

I purchased all of the ingredients, made the detergent and then did the cost-breakdown. I was insanely curious. I doubled the batch, which ended up yielding enough for 56 loads of laundry. In bullet points, here is my outcome.

It was very easy to make, like 5 minutes.
It was very cheap to make – $1.45 for 56 loads (WOW)
It is very easy to use – 1 tablespoon per load.
And … IT WORKS!

My daughter must have known I wanted to give it the real test because she BADLY stained a pair of her jeans playing outside. Both knees and the butt of the jeans were smeared with a very dark grass stain. I wish I took ‘before’ pictures so you could see how terrible they were. The last pair of jeans she did this to are now play jeans. I got most of the stain out but there is still a very faint amount of green on the knees – that was with my old detergent. I did the same as usual, pre-treated the stained areas and then washed them with the regular clothes but used my new detergent. They are completely clean in one try (I will try to treat and wash a stain out up to three time to save a piece of clothing). I couldn’t believe it.

If you are at all interested in this you really should give it a try. You won’t be sorry

This post is linked in with Tightwad Tuesday at Being Frugal. Head over there to check out some great frugal ideas!

Why I do what I do ~ The other day David was heating up his lunch (leftovers) and Chloe asked him what he was having. He said, “Shepherd’s Pie.” She said, “Oooo, Jeopardy Pie!” That’s right – we watch Jeopardy with our daughter.

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