Frugal Valentine's

Every year since the time we met, my husband gives me a single rose for both Valentine's Day and on our anniversary. He has been creative with giving the roses - especially on our anniversary. Not all of them were alive or single long stem roses. In the past, I've received a necklace, pin, water globe containing a real rose, a Capodimonte rose, a rose plant, etc. Usually though, Valentine's Day brings a single long stemmed rose. This year, he gave me a chocolate one!

Valentine's gifts have always been so expensive, and when we were first married, hubby used to feel badly about not being able to afford a nice gift. I soon talked him out of seeing things that way by showing him just how wonderful it could be the day after. Everything is marked down at least 50% and really, what's one day? We started hitting the sales the day after and even stocked up on our chocolate for a few months. So many times you can find other things - not just the overpriced boxed hearts, but things like Hershey Kisses, Snickers, Reese's, etc. as well as baking items and even apparel. I've come home with some really nice sleep pants and t-shirts at a huge savings - just because they had hearts on them or were marketed for Valentine's Day!

This year, I got to the store later than I wanted to, but still found a few good deals. I picked up 7 bags of Hershey Kisses at $1.44 each, 1 bag of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate strawberry filled squares and a couple of Brookside Dark Chocolate Pomegranate and Brookside Dark Chocolate Acai each at $1.50.  All roses - actually all cut flowers were marked down and I ended up bringing home a dozed peach colored roses for $2. They look gorgeous displayed in the glass holder that my after Christmas purchase of the 98 cent Amaryllis was housed in.

Remember, being frugal does not mean you have to give up the finer things in life - it just means you know when to purchase them.

A Great Laundry Stain Remover

I have been using a wonderful homemade laundry stain remover for almost 2 years now. It is easy to make, inexpensive and works so much better than the commercial stain removers on the market. I have saved many shirts that hubby accidentally got something on at work, things that before may have been put aside to wear as work clothes around here.

Stain Remover:

2 Parts Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2)
1 Part Original Dawn (blue)

Mix together in a spray bottle. Spray on stain - best if allowed to set for a day or two before washing. I spray it on and fold up the stained item to keep it moist. Wash as usual.

I found the recipe on Po' Papa Joe's blog along with a great homemade laundry detergent that works really well. I tried the detergent but think I grated my Fels Naptha bar a little too coarsely. Right now, I have to use boiling water to get it to dissolve. I think finer would be much better. It still works well - just a bit more fussing to use it now.

Small Batch Laundry Detergent 

1 bar Fels Naptha
1-1/3 cups washing soda
1-1/3 cups borax

Finely grate the Fels Naptha and mix with the other two ingredients in a plastic container (I used a 3 pound cottage cheese container). Use 1-2 Tablespoons per laundry load. I found that this works best for me if I dissolve the mix first in hot water, then add to my machine. I have a front loading machine and just put it in the drum then add the clothes.

Homemade "Convenience" Foods

Homemade or from scratch foods and mixes can normally be made for a fraction of the cost of the convenience foods you find at the grocery store. Not only are they cheaper, but they are better tasting and you know what ingredients are in them. Look at a cake recipe and you can easily pronounce the ingredients. Now pick up a cake mix. Can you pronounce the ingredients - let alone know exactly what they are?

There are numerous mixes listed on the web, including some of my own favorites. Although there are lots out there, you really don't need to follow a mix recipe to make your own. Pull out your favorite cake recipe. You can mix all the dry ingredients together, put them in a baggie or other air tight container, label it, and put it away for the next time you want to make a cake. Now all you need to do is pull it out, add the wet ingredients, and your finished making a scratch cake with the ease of a mix! You can do the same with pancakes, brownies, etc. Just use your imagination.

Breakfast is usually the most rushed meal during the day, especially on weekdays. According to a report on Good Morning America this morning, store purchased cereals can contain up to 50% it's weight in sugar! It's so easy to make some wonderful homemade granola that you control the sugar and the ingredients to fit your family's needs and preferences. Maybe you like the ease of instant oatmeal. Did you know that you can just put one part quick oats to two parts milk in a bowl and microwave it - and it's done about as quickly as instant. If you like the flavors, add raisins and cinnamon, brown sugar, maple syrup, dried fruits, nuts.... the sky's the limit. Save some time by measuring out and putting a serving in a baggie with the dried fruits,nuts, & flavorings of your choice (no wet ingredients). Make enough for a week, and you'll have the ease of the packets for a fraction of the cost.

Maybe you love pancakes or waffles. On the weekend, you can cook up a batch, cool them, then stack them with a sheet of waxed paper between each one. (pancake, waxed paper, pancake, waxed paper...) then put in a container and freeze. During the week, you can pull out the amount of pancakes (or waffles) you want and just warm them up in the microwave. Waffles can be warmed in the toaster. If you have problems with the pancakes sticking together, put them single layer on a cookie sheet, then freeze for an hour or so, take them out and stack with waxed paper between each one, put in a container and freeze.

Start looking at the recipes you use most. Ask yourself if you can measure out and pack some of the ingredients ahead to save you time. Just by doing this, you'll be buying less convenience foods from the store, and making more from scratch in the same amount of time, with the wonderful taste of homemade. And the best part - you're saving money to use elsewhere!!

Re-purpose Furniture

We didn't officially move into our new home until the kids were on winter break from the university. It seemed like the most logical decision because of the travel involved, plus it was exciting coming here all at the same time as a family. The kids love our new home, even though it is small. They say they love the cozy feeling plus the area is amazing - an added bonus!

One of my largest issues at this time is the downsizing we need to do. Storage space is almost non-existent, so I'm at that point of deciding what really is important and what can I live without. Not only that, but most of our furniture won't work here, so we are slowly acquiring "new" furniture.

One of the items we won't be using is our old waterbed - sorely outdated and one of the few things I was glad to get rid of. Instead of tossing it all, hubby repurposed it into a nice new bed for us!

Waterbed frame cut, resized and legs added.

Next came the support posts.

Then a nice stable surface to put our new Memory Foam type mattress on - But only after we covered the plywood with something that would protect the mattress.

The finished product.

We still need to add a headboard. I want to make an upholstered headboard (like this one), but am waiting until I find the perfect fabric. I'm thinking of a red and white print or something with red in it.

I have many projects ahead of me - refinishing, repurposing, and making new. I plan to furnish our home as cheaply, yet beautifully as possible! I would love to hear what you have done for your home.

Hump Day

Finances. What an interesting word. It makes everyone react - like it or not. With a bad choice or an emergency, it seems even though you feel you are prepared, things can change in just a day or two. With this in mind, a savings of some type is a necessity and not a luxury.

We have cut back in many places, and we have been diligent and haven't spent money on anything but necessities. With the holiday coming, we decided to start shopping a little early, and since we've been very good, we thought we'd go a little extravagant and buy a Nintendo Wii as an early present for the family. (this has been something we've been considering for a long time). I swear as soon as we pulled it out, things started going downhill in the finance dept. Talk about buyer's remorse! It was such an unusual purchase for us, that even the credit card called to make sure that we really purchased it. LOL

We will probably have to dip into our savings this time. It's amazing how even a carefully planned purchase when you know you can afford it can turn into a mistake. I know a Wii isn't that expensive, but the $500 we laid out for it would have helped greatly in the situation we now are facing. In one week, we've ended up with a few surprises that were unanticipated and costly.

No, I'm not complaining, but mentioning it so that it might be a lesson to someone else. This time of the year causes impulse buying and everyone I know spends more than they intended to, because it's Christmas time. I know I had always been taught it's better to give than receive, but I honestly believe that giving is meant to be of oneself more than material things. Holiday anticipations for me were more focused on my family getting together more than the presents. I was always so excited to see my cousins that lived out of state. We'd have a fantastic time playing and running around. Sure, the presents were great, but when I think back to my best memories of the holidays, it focuses around all the wonderful times we had together. There aren't many presents that I remember, no matter how much they cost - they just don't stand out in my mind. My family and friends, on the other hand, did.

Excess - Be Gone!

I've been going through books and things that we no longer need since the kids have gotten older. I remember saving things for the someday - and now that someday has past, and the kids don't have an interest or have outgrown those things. Many of the books were posted on PaperbackSwap and to my surprise, quite a few were on other's wish lists, so I sent a lot out these past couple of weeks. Yay! They are gone and now my credits sit and wait to be used for new goodies. I have requested a couple of nice additions to my cooking library - one a Mr. Food cookbook called "Pizza 1-2-3", and the other was a Taste Of Home book called "Mom's Best Recipes". I am also getting the last 2 books from the Left Behind series. It's been so long since I read the other books in the series, that I'll probably have to start all over again. That's ok - I love snuggling under the covers in the winter time and reading before bed.

I also sent books and magazines to Freecycle and the thrift shop. Everything that I posted on Freecycle went FAST. We also cleaned out the closet and donated all the outgrown coats. I'm working from room to room, and weeding the unnecessaries out. I'm finding that too much"stuff" makes me unappreciative and downright grumpy. I get irritated with clutter. The older I get, the more I don't like it.

On the Needles

I'm currently knitting a pair of socks for DS for hunting. They are nice and heavy wool socks that he loves. He claims they keep his feet so much warmer than anything we've purchased at the store. One sock is finished and I need to cast on the other. I must get moving on them, as it will be hunting season in just a little over a week.