*The Thrifty Home

137th Penny Pinching Party

2012-05-15T19:52:00.000-06:00

While you're here for the party, enter my giveaway for Shaklee Basic H Cleaner samples. It costs less than 1 cent to make a 16 oz. bottle of window cleaner and it is completely safe and non-toxic.

Shaklee Basic H Cleaner Review and Giveaway

2012-05-15T16:23:00.000-06:00

Shaklee Organic Super-Cleaning Concentrate

“If it’s safe in water… it’s safe in Basic H”

Biodegradable
Non-polluting
Phosphate-free
Not a soap
Non-toxic
Non-irritating
Non-flammable

I first heard about Shaklee on Oprah:

I was very interested in their products, but kept using vinegar to clean my house. The sad thing is that my kids won't clean with vinegar because they don't like the smell, so they use the dangerous commercial cleaning products when they clean. I was so happy when Jennifer from Blissfully Ever After offered to let me try Shaklee for free and do a giveaway.

She sent me the Basic H to try and I am loving it! I really want to buy the other products and make my entire house safe and clean.

Here is my review of Shaklee Basic H:

This 16 oz. bottle makes 48 gallons of safe and effective all purpose cleaner. You just add water to the spray bottles and a couple of drops up to 1 1/2 tsp of cleaner.

One 16 oz. bottle of degreaser costs 17 cents to make.

My favorite use is for the range, hood, and tile backsplash. I always get an insane amount of grime on top of my hood and this stuff wipes it off just as well as a commercial cleaner without the harmful chemicals.

Fridge Before

Fridge After

One 16 oz. bottle of all-purpose cleaner costs 3 cents to make.

My favorite use is for the fridge. I like that I can spray it and spot clean without removing all of the food. I would never spray a commercial cleaner in my fridge while the food is still in it. I also use it on the outside of my fridge and other appliances.

Bathroom mirror before

Bathroom mirror after

One 16 oz. bottle of window cleaner costs less than 1 cent to make.

I love using this stuff on my windows and mirrors! It is safe for my kids to use and there is no smell like when I use vinegar to clean (now my kids have no excuses). Use it with a micofiber cloth for easy cleaning.

Here are some other uses for Basic H (a quick google search will give you instructions on each use):

walls

woodwork

ceilings

kitchen appliances

furniture

bathroom

fixtures

windows

mirrors

all glass

dishes

pots and pans

floors

dusting

fruit and vegetables

woolens, nylons and all fine fabrics

spot remover

ironing

knives (helps sharpen them)

aquariums

fish odors

boat algae

diapers

wallpaper

frying vats

hands

bathing

gum

painting and dyeing

shoes

eye glasses

car wash

windshield

engine

house plants

humidifiers

paint brushes

skunk odor

leather

vinyl upholstery

and hundreds more...

Jennifer from Blissfully Ever After is giving away 5 samples of Basic H to readers of my blog.

All you have to do is comment HERE at the bottom of this post to be entered to win. You can get extra entries by linking on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest (Just leave separate comments for each).

Contest ends May 26th.

If you can't wait to start trying Shaklee, you can click on the photo below and get 15% off:

136th Penny Pinching Party

2012-05-08T18:15:00.001-06:00

Coupon Codes

2012-05-03T13:36:00.000-06:00

I do a lot of my shopping online because I can get better deals, don't waste time and gas driving all over, and have a much bigger selection of items. I also love reading reviews before buying something. When I do go to the store I find myself calling my husband and asking him to look up the reviews and prices for me online (I don't have wi-fi on my smartphone outside of my house). Most online stores offer deals where I can get free shipping and discounts using coupon codes. I always find a coupon code before checking out and have found CouponCodes4u.com to be a great site to find them. They have coupon codes for tons of great stores like Aeropostale, Endless, Kohls, Sears, Kmart, and more.

Right now I am trying to find the perfect swimsuit. I HATE swimsuit shopping and have wasted way too much time driving all around town trying to find a swimsuit that I like and is in my price range. There are TONS of swimsuits online and CouponCodes4u.com makes it easy to find a great deal. I can search by category, exclusives, top 50, hot today, new discounts, and free shipping (they even have a wedding section for brides to be). By searching under the Clothing and Fashion category I was able to find that Pacific Sunwear and Kmart have coupon codes for 10% off, Target has a $5 off orders over $50, Aeropostale has a code for 50% off everything, Nautica has 25% off all Swim and Tees plus Free Shipping, Kohl's has 20% off all orders using a coupon code, and the list keeps going on.

The other reason I hate shopping in the store is that whenever I find something I like, they never have my size. I have a much easier time finding my size online and don't have to waste time searching through racks at the store. If for some reason I don't like the item, I can usually return it at my local store. I rarely have to do this since I read all the reviews about the item first. For clothes the reviews are especially helpful in figuring out if the item runs small, large, shrinks, etc.

Now my only problem is that I have too many choices and good deals!

Thanks to CouponCodes4u for sponsoring this post!

135th Penny Pinching Party • Drawer Organizer & Cheap Screen Door

2012-05-01T13:51:00.002-06:00

I am so sorry to everyone who came for the Penny Pinching Party last week. I lost internet for a couple of days (stupid internet company keeps working on the lines) and couldn't get the party up. I do have to admit that I am much more productive around the house when the internet is down. I actually went out shopping (I don't go out much when I have internet) and found a couple of things to make my life better. I used to shop at Target until they started a remodel at my local store. Since the remodel I have been shopping at Walmart (Gasp! I usually hate Walmart, but during the day it is not so bad). Here are a couple of things I picked up at Walmart that have made my life a whole lot better:

Rubbermaid 6pc Drawer Organizer Set: $13.96

I bought 2 of these for my huge bathroom drawer. Yes I have a huge bathroom drawer and I love it! My last house had a very tiny drawer, so I am loving the extra space and feel very spoiled (You can see how small my old drawer was by looking at the white organizers in the bottom right corner of the drawer in the first picture).

I am loving it a whole lot more now that it is organized and I can find everything.

I found this Magic Mesh screen for for $15. You can also buy it at Amazon, ShopKo, K-Mart, and other stores for about the same price.

Our back door in the kitchen has an old screen that does not work. I did not want to spend hundreds of dollars replacing it when we only need a screen for a couple months of the year (we have central air, so the doors stay closed when it gets hot). I installed it myself in about 15 minutes and love it! When my kids came home from school they raved about it and went and played outside. They have been playing outside a lot now that the door is open and the backyard calls them with the fresh outdoor air filling our kitchen. It really works like the ad says here:

MagicMesh

(I am not being paid to advertise for MagicMesh, I just really like their product)

Here it is installed in my kitchen door. My husband came home from work and said it feels so peaceful to have the door open and that he felt like we were camping. I like that it is just velcroed to the outside of the door and I can easily take it down when Summer hits and we need the door closed for the central air. I can easy velcro it back up in the Fall.

Well, that is the end of my shopping spree since I have internet again.

What Penny Pinching stuff have you been up to? Feel free to post a couple of things to make up for not having the party last week.

Party starts at Midnight (mountain standard time) on Wednesday!

Single Bed with Storage

2012-04-19T17:52:00.004-06:00

Beds are a big deal since we spend about half of our lives on them. This is one area where I splurge a bit and make sure I get exactly what I want. DH and I have a king size captain's bed with drawers beneath. My 2 oldest kids also have captain's beds which are more expensive, but the extra storage has been worth every penny.

In my opinion, the only kind of bed that is better than a captain's bed is a divan bed. What is a divan bed? It is a very versatile bed that is part couch, part daybed, and part chest of drawers. It can be bright pink for a little girl's room, or sleek and contemporary for a guest bedroom/office or dorm room.

A king size bed works great for my master bedroom, but twin size is ideal for a kid's bedroom. I have never understood why we call them twin beds since they are for a single person and outside of the US they are called single beds. My new house is huge, but the kid's bedrooms are tiny. Having extra storage and a small single bed is essential for us.

This post has been sponsored by Bedstar.

134th Penny Pinching Party

2012-04-17T21:49:00.002-06:00

133rd Penny Pinching Party

2012-04-10T21:37:00.001-06:00

I didn't realize it, but last month I was featured over at Frugal Dad as one of the top DIY blogs. Here is the link: Frugal Dad's Top DIY Blogs, Home Improvement Edition (The Thrifty Home is #25 on the list).
Thanks Frugal Dad!

I think the best part of my blog is all of the stuff everyone shares at the Penny Pinching Parties. Thanks for coming every week and sharing your latest projects.

If you host a weekly party on your blog, I would love for you to add it to my party list here:
Blog Parties
I recently deleted all of the parties on this list to switch to a simpler way of adding with inlinkz. If you were previously on my list, you will not be on it now unless you add it. Thanks!

Refinancing Mortgage to Save Money

2012-04-09T16:35:00.002-06:00

It seems just like yesterday that we bought our new house, but it has been a year and the already low interest rates are now an entire percent lower. We were not looking to move a year ago, but like many others found a great short sale and couldn't pass up the opportunity. Even with the great deal on a short sale and the interest rates being low, we were able a year later to get an even better interest rate. Our house even went up in value with all of our improvements. If you have not refinanced lately, I highly recommend checking out the rates and possibilities. Our payment went down almost $300 a month!

If you are one of the unlucky ones who owe more than the value of your home, there is still hope for you:

HARP refinance loans

HARP allows homeowners who owe more than the value of their home to refinance.

*This post was sponsored by HARP

132nd Penny Pinching Party & Kool-Aid Eggs on Pinterest

2012-04-03T21:53:00.001-06:00

If you are on , you have probably seen this photo floating around:

Kool-eggs by Hey! Jen Renee

I tried it with my kids and it works. The only difference is that there are some new flavors out that work a little better and different. The pineapple kool-aid makes a great yellow egg (works better than the lemon).

I have also tried a bunch of great new food recipes I found on Pinterest. There is now a new saying around The Thrifty Home household: "Is this from Pinterest?"

Shabby Apple Dress Winner!

2012-04-02T13:57:00.001-06:00

The winner of this beautiful Shabby Apple dress is:

Comment #40 by Stephanie. Here is how she will wear this dress:

"I have a great yellow sweater or a yellow necklace that would look SO great for spring. This basic black dress has so many accessorizing possibilities!"

Thanks everyone for entering the giveaway.

Don't forget that you can use this code for 10% off:

thriftyhome10off (expires April 20, 2012)

131st Penny Pinching Party

2012-03-27T17:35:00.001-06:00

While you're here for the 131st Penny Pinching Party enter the Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway (ends March 31st).

You can also check out my Household Tips that I am in the process of organizing into one post. I decided to organize my most popular tips in one place when I noticed a few of my blog posts circulating on Pinterest. It turns out that people are really interested in getting rid of hard water and fruit flies.

Household Tips

2012-03-27T14:22:00.003-06:00

Here are a few of my most popular household tips:

How to Remove Hard Water

Easy Way to Get Rid of Fruit Flies

Cleaning Your Dishwasher with Kool-Aid

Homemade Furniture Polish

Prevent a Costly Dishwasher Leak

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway

2012-03-22T09:36:00.000-06:00

Giveaway over; Winner announced here:

Shabby Apple Dress Winner

How would you like to win this fabulous women's dress from Shabby Apple?
Click the link below the dress for more photos and information about the dress.

Boogie Woogie from Shabby Apple $88

I don't do a lot of giveaways on this site because it is a bit of a pain and only 1 person can win :(

However, I just couldn't turn down the chance for someone to win this beautiful dress and I really wish that someone could be me. I am not being paid anything for this post, but one lucky reader will win this beautiful black dress. Just think of all the different accessories that could completely change the look of this dress. I have a pair of red pumps and a red necklace that would look amazing paired with this dress. So many possibilities and ways to wear it.

Shabby Apple has tons of really cute dresses and many look like vintage dresses.

Jitterbug Mariposa Grove

Primavera

They even have little girls dresses

Queen of Hearts

and maternity dresses.

Neapolitan

To enter the giveaway you must go over to Facebook and "like" Shabby Apple.

Come back here and comment that you did and how you would accessories this cute black dress.

You can get extra entries by:

•Following my blog (leave a comment)

•tweeting about the giveaway (leave a comment)

•blogging about the giveaway (leave a comment)

•posting the giveaway on facebook (leave a comment)

•and even pinning with a link back to here (leave a comment)

Shabby Apple is giving an extra 10% off to all my readers. Just enter this code at checkout: thriftyhome10off (code expires April 20, 2012)

You have until March 31st to enter!

130th Penny Pinching Party

2012-03-20T20:26:00.000-06:00

129th Penny Pinching Party

2012-03-14T08:41:00.002-06:00

128th Penny Pinching Party

2012-03-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

If you have a weekly blog party that you would like to add to my list, click HERE to add it.

Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for $29.99, FREE with Swagbucks

2012-03-05T14:16:00.001-07:00

Right now at Amazon.com you can get this Xbox 360 wireless controller for $29.99 and FREE shipping.

I used my Swag Bucks and it was FREE!

What are Swag Bucks

127th Penny Pinching Party

2012-02-28T21:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Leap Day everyone! I wish I could say that I am doing something special today, but I am just doing my regular Wednesday stuff. Anyone doing anything special today?

Speaking of my normal routine... Finishing up projects around the house seems to be a constant part of my life. Starting projects is really fun and easy, but finishing up the little details always seems to take me a long time. Back in July we painted our kitchen cabinets and took out the built-in microwave and replaced it with a stainless steel hood. The problem is that there was some missing tile where the microwave was. We did the big and hard part of the project and only just now finished up the details and put in some tile. We also cleaned up the grout in the backsplash with a nifty grout pen.

Click below for the whole project:

Microwave to Hood and a Grout Paint Pen

Pin It

This month I also created a Pinterest account and have wasted way too much time there. It has replaced my binder full of cut-up magazine photos and articles of projects and decorating ideas.

For those of you who don't know what Pinterest is:

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and share their favorite recipes.

Click on the button below to follow me on Pinterest.

I can't wait to see what you have all been up to and maybe I will even pin some of your thrifty ideas on Pinterest.

Microwave to Hood and a Grout Paint Pen

2012-02-28T18:21:00.000-07:00

When we bought our house a year ago, I knew this microwave had to go ASAP.

It was too low and against regulation codes. It was very difficult to cook on the range below with the microwave taking up so much space. In July we took the microwave down and painted all the kitchen cabinets (photos of that project to come soon).

Here is a BEFORE & AFTER of the range area:

Pin It

We bought a nice stainless steel hood, but the microwave left a big missing chunk of tile on the backsplash. The grout in the tile was also very yellow and aged looking.

We found some white tile and used a small bucket of tile cement and white grout. Lowes even cut the end tiles for us. Once the tiles were cut, the project took less than 20 minutes.

We bought the whitest tiles we could find, but they are a little more cream looking than the original tiles. I think I will eventually hang something here so it won't be as noticeable.

We bought 2 of these tile pens at Lowes for about $7 each.

After another 20 minutes, all of our old grout looked brand new. This was so much easier than re-doing the grout!

Pin It

126th Penny Pinching Party

2012-02-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

125th Penny Pinching Party

2012-02-14T23:50:00.001-07:00

While you are checking out all of the great Penny Pinching ideas take a second to enter the

Clorox Clean-Up Giveaway

2 winners will be chosen February 20th.

Clorox Clean-Up Giveaway & Coupon for $1.00 off

2012-02-13T19:13:00.003-07:00

Here is an easy way to get $1.00 off Clorox Clean-Up:

Got a Recipe For Fun all your own? Share it now through March 27, 2012 at www.cloroxrecipesforfun.com for a chance to win $10,000 toward an Ultimate Mess Party. And just for sharing, you’ll get $1.00 off Clorox® Clean-Up® instantly.

That’s not all, with random prizes awarded daily, your next click could be a winner! Each day, we’re instantly awarding a $100 gift card from a variety of favorite retailers to a lucky user for just viewing recipes.

Every Recipe For Fun needs a Recipe For Clean. That’s why Clorox® Clean-Up® Cleaner with the combination of cleaner and the disinfecting power of Clorox Bleach lets you spray away messy play. So no matter how big a mess you make of it, Clorox® Clean-Up® Cleaner Cleaner with Bleach can be used throughout your house to quickly and effectively clean, disinfect, and deodorize.

2 Lucky readers will win a coupon for a FREE Clorox Clean-Up Spray.

All you have to do to win is leave a comment.

Extra entries for:

Tweeting

Posting on Facebook and

Blogging

Just leave a comment for each.

Winners will be chosen on February 20th.
I received a coupon for a free Clorox Clean-Up and can't wait to use it. My daughter's favorite recipe for fun is her easy bake oven which can get messy.

Congratulations to the winners: Pattie from On Hollyhock Farm and Britty from The Crafted Cure.

124th Penny Pinching Party

2012-02-07T20:41:00.001-07:00

123rd Penny Pinching Party

2012-01-31T23:20:00.000-07:00