So, things have been looking up at the Palm Tree House. Danny's doing well at his job, I'm plugging away at mine. Coupon-ing has been helping us keep our budget under control. And I'm on a mission do see where in our budget I can trim even more fat. Here are my next two steps:
I found a recipe for household cleaner that has all edible components, has a nice smell, and I can buy all the ingredients using my SNAP benefits which means less money coming out of my out of pocket expenses.
To make simple household cleaner combine one part vinegar to four parts hot water, mix in fresh grapefruit juice and baking soda and let it sit for a few minutes.
Recipe from Pittman & Davis.
I have baking soda around for baking, I got three grapefruits on sale at the store the other day and I just got two gallons of white vinegar at Sam's Club for $4. I think I'll be set for a while! A container of "green" cleaner usually runs about $6 but I just got supplies to make probably a years worth for $6. I call that a win!
WOOT WOOT!!
Next, I found a tutorial for making stiff fabric storage bins for Joey's room using things I already have around the house. (That counts as free to me) And it'll help me (and her) to keep her room clean. I'm hoping cleaner will help baby proofing to be easier. My goal is for the girls to be sharing a room but right now the room is barely big enough for one girl let alone two once Norah is more mobile.
Well, I'm off; the baby needs to eat!
Showing posts with label money saving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money saving. Show all posts
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Book worming it
So, I've been reading like mad lately. I've been burning through the Anne of Green Gable Series. I'm in love with it and have been since I was a girl. I wish that Joey had the attention span for reading it with me. :-( She kinda lost interest in the Little House Series once the story grew too old for her. Ahh well, How much should I really expect from a nearly 3 year old anyhow. We made it through 4 of them before she lost interest and that's quite a lot, and of course, I went on and finished reading the rest of them on my own just to satisfy my own need to finish things that I start. I am loving that I can get most public domain books for free on my Kindle! Almost all my books are books that I've been reading lately, I've gotten for free. There are so many wonderful books to chose from. And Danny's been making regular trips to the library with Joey and she's been loving having new stories in the house and she memorizes them so quickly. I'm really in awe of that little one.
I also think that I've narrowed down my specialty that I'm going to focus on for my Etsy.com page. I know I've been meaning to do it forever but I just haven't been able to figure out how to do it affordably. The cost per picture per month with all the inventory that I have was just too much to fathom when my profit margin was so low to begin with. But in my search for diaper bags with this pregnancy, I found that I could make a completely machine washable diaper bag that I would actually be proud to carry for 1/3 to 1/2 of what I could purchase one for. The only one that Danny and I could agree upon that I found available retail was $80 (yeah, totally out of the question). So, I made one out a some fabric that I'd been dying to use but hadn't found just the right thing for yet. It only cost me $20 for the materials and I can throw it in the washing machine AND the dryer. I have not found a diaper bag yet that boasts that and looks any kind of decent. So, now I think I've finally found my niche! Woo Hoo! Plus the cost difference between what I can make them for and what I can sell them for might actually mean that I can afford to market them properly. I am so excited to get cracking on them. I've got some fabric ideas working already and I do so love having ideas to mull over and perfect.
Now to just finish organizing the house so that my ideas can become reality. We really are close to being done. We've gotten our bedroom nearly in order and ready for the bassinet. We've gotten the girl's bedroom closet cleared out of most unnecessary stuff and we've been making regular trips to Savers to donate things that we'll not be keeping. We're down to just needing to go through books of ours and sorting toys (which has been started but seems to get undone every so often). I've even conceded to throwing away all my DVD cases. We'll be organizing them in binders and separating out the kids movies once we get some more binders.
We've gotten all or Joey's clothes in plastic drawers so that she can choose her own outfits in the mornings and she can get herself mostly dressed. She still needs a little monitoring to make sure that she doesn't just wear the same ballet tutu every day with last night's shirt and galoshes. But she's loving being able to do more on her own. And it's super helpful for laundry's sake because she can put her clothes away by herself too. I love that part. I just hand her a stack of shirts and tell her to put them in the appropriate drawer and they almost always wind up in the right place.
Well, I'm off to Michael's today for a new sketchbook. I am in such a need to one and here's hoping I find a coupon file folder that I can use as well. I need to be more organized but I'm getting better at the couponing. I was only able to save about $50 this past month with deals and coupons and card savings and all but that's $50 off an already minimized budget and I think I can do better next month. And the fact that I chose to make and reuse things that I can, saves me quite a bit to begin with and then on top of it I buy in bulk where I can. But I still think that I can do better.
I also think that I've narrowed down my specialty that I'm going to focus on for my Etsy.com page. I know I've been meaning to do it forever but I just haven't been able to figure out how to do it affordably. The cost per picture per month with all the inventory that I have was just too much to fathom when my profit margin was so low to begin with. But in my search for diaper bags with this pregnancy, I found that I could make a completely machine washable diaper bag that I would actually be proud to carry for 1/3 to 1/2 of what I could purchase one for. The only one that Danny and I could agree upon that I found available retail was $80 (yeah, totally out of the question). So, I made one out a some fabric that I'd been dying to use but hadn't found just the right thing for yet. It only cost me $20 for the materials and I can throw it in the washing machine AND the dryer. I have not found a diaper bag yet that boasts that and looks any kind of decent. So, now I think I've finally found my niche! Woo Hoo! Plus the cost difference between what I can make them for and what I can sell them for might actually mean that I can afford to market them properly. I am so excited to get cracking on them. I've got some fabric ideas working already and I do so love having ideas to mull over and perfect.
Now to just finish organizing the house so that my ideas can become reality. We really are close to being done. We've gotten our bedroom nearly in order and ready for the bassinet. We've gotten the girl's bedroom closet cleared out of most unnecessary stuff and we've been making regular trips to Savers to donate things that we'll not be keeping. We're down to just needing to go through books of ours and sorting toys (which has been started but seems to get undone every so often). I've even conceded to throwing away all my DVD cases. We'll be organizing them in binders and separating out the kids movies once we get some more binders.
We've gotten all or Joey's clothes in plastic drawers so that she can choose her own outfits in the mornings and she can get herself mostly dressed. She still needs a little monitoring to make sure that she doesn't just wear the same ballet tutu every day with last night's shirt and galoshes. But she's loving being able to do more on her own. And it's super helpful for laundry's sake because she can put her clothes away by herself too. I love that part. I just hand her a stack of shirts and tell her to put them in the appropriate drawer and they almost always wind up in the right place.
Well, I'm off to Michael's today for a new sketchbook. I am in such a need to one and here's hoping I find a coupon file folder that I can use as well. I need to be more organized but I'm getting better at the couponing. I was only able to save about $50 this past month with deals and coupons and card savings and all but that's $50 off an already minimized budget and I think I can do better next month. And the fact that I chose to make and reuse things that I can, saves me quite a bit to begin with and then on top of it I buy in bulk where I can. But I still think that I can do better.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
I'm thinking again...Let's see how this goes
So, I was asking around on Facebook about what cloth diapers were the best and most cost effective. A friend suggested that I just make some myself. I don't know why I hadn't thought of this. I've been poking around different websites with patterns and instructions and have been trying to figure it all out. I think I may be onto something now though. I found one woman who made diapers for FREE!!! she used fabric she had around the house. I have tons of fabric around the house. They recommended using terry cloth layered with flannel and/or wool for the soaker pads, using micro-fleece and flannel layered for the outsides. I have so many ideas now, and all using fabrics and extra towels that I have laying around the house. I even found a bunch of free patterns on-line in all different sizes. I think the only thing that I'd absolutely have to buy would be either snaps or hook & loop for the closures.
I told Danny about what I found and he agreed that if we find a place out in CO that comes with it's own laundry, that we will for sure consider it. I'm so excited. Diapers for Joey run us like $50+ a month. And the rough part is that I can't even buy off brand because Joey has really sensitive skin (like her mommy, ugh) and all but one brand give her really bad diaper rash. But I am excited about this concept. I'll even be able to make her training pants that I'll be able to re-use for baby number 2. It's really going to depend on what kind of place we get in CO though. We just can't expect to wash diapers in a shared laundry like we have now.
And of course, if we have tour own laundry space, I can start making my own laundry soap. Another friend gave me a bunch of recipes for homemade laundry soap that are a huge money saver and if I have the space to keep a 5 gallon bucket of laundry soap somewhere, I will. Oh that nesting brain is kicking in already, I can feel it. I want to make and clean and everything all RIGHT NOW!!! AHHH!!!! But I'm restraining myself. At least for a little while. We have so much to do to prepare to move. I have plenty on my to-do list. I just need a game plan.
I told Danny about what I found and he agreed that if we find a place out in CO that comes with it's own laundry, that we will for sure consider it. I'm so excited. Diapers for Joey run us like $50+ a month. And the rough part is that I can't even buy off brand because Joey has really sensitive skin (like her mommy, ugh) and all but one brand give her really bad diaper rash. But I am excited about this concept. I'll even be able to make her training pants that I'll be able to re-use for baby number 2. It's really going to depend on what kind of place we get in CO though. We just can't expect to wash diapers in a shared laundry like we have now.
And of course, if we have tour own laundry space, I can start making my own laundry soap. Another friend gave me a bunch of recipes for homemade laundry soap that are a huge money saver and if I have the space to keep a 5 gallon bucket of laundry soap somewhere, I will. Oh that nesting brain is kicking in already, I can feel it. I want to make and clean and everything all RIGHT NOW!!! AHHH!!!! But I'm restraining myself. At least for a little while. We have so much to do to prepare to move. I have plenty on my to-do list. I just need a game plan.
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