Frugal Friday, Using Less Technology - the "Dish" Washer

If you are interested you may read about experiment one here and experiment two here.

I had this idea that for this week's experiment I would start washing dishes by hand.  I came to this conclusion after I had to rewash a few things that I got from my "clean" dishwasher.  It made me start thinking.  I really hate unloading the dishwasher.  I don't know why but I would almost rather clean the toilet than unload the dishwasher.  I wondered if it would be bad to just go ahead and run some soapy water before our  meal and then have everyone throw their dirty dishes in the sink.  And then just wash the dishes, dry them and put them away immediately.

Now I also thought this might be a great way to get the kids to help.  My daughter loves to "wash" dishes which really means she just loves to play in the water.  So I recruited her to help me rinse the dishes.  I thought that this might be a way to let them help me and that way I am not the only one in the kitchen for 15-20 minutes after every meal cleaning everything up.  If we all pitched in together the kids would learn another homemaking skill and I would get to talk to them and we would be working together to get something done.

One of my favorite memories that I have of my great-grandma (who we all called "Mammie") was washing dishes with her.  She was very thorough and she had me wash them and then she dried them and if I handed her a dish that wasn't quite clean she would hand it back to me and show me what I did wrong and have me redo it.  But that was one of my best memories of her because we got to talk while we did it.

Sometimes I really do think technology just makes us work harder to avoid work.  I feel like I pre-wash the dishes to put them in the dishwasher anyway.  Then I run the dishwasher and I NEVER use the heated dry so I end up having to dry them half the time and then I have to put away a ton of dishes and it seems to take forever.

I have been washing dishes as we use them with the kids helping and I have actually enjoyed doing them.  Stop looking so shocked.  I will say that my most hated chore used to be washing dishes but I have grown up since then.

Seriously, after I already started this experiment I read one of my new favorite blogs and she had posted this on "Washing Dishes By Hand".  It was exactly what I was thinking so it just solidified my reason for doing what I was doing.

Hey maybe I encouraged you to try it - and then again maybe I didn't but it is something to think about right?

Also, I am still using my old school stove top coffee maker - and I love it still.  And I have been still mowing the grass with the "reel" mower but we still have not had rain so there has been nothing much to mow lately.

I will say that I have used the dishwasher twice this week.  I had one crazy day and the dishes piled up on me.  I also need to be better at drying them immediately and putting them away right away.  We shall see if I keep this up or not.  Honestly, before this experiment I ran my dishwasher about twice a day (you know I like to cook).  And I know there are differing views on whether or not a dishwasher is more energy efficient than doing dishes by hand.  I will say that I am just thankful for running water most of the time.

For more frugal ideas, please visit Life as a Mom.

Kickin' it Old School

Photo Credit

So sorry about the title but I just had to do it (even though my husband hates it when I use that phrase - sorry honey).  After reading Better Off I am challenging myself to see if I can do without certain technological items that I have been used to using and this weeks challenge involved the lawn mower.  Oh, yes it did.  My sister bought a manual mower (or reel mower) a while back which I thought was hilarious at the time and I don't know if she even used it once (I think she tried).

I remembered she had it so I asked her if we could buy it from her and she said that we should try it first.  So, that is exactly what I did this past week.  I got on my lawn mowing gear (you really don't want to know what that entails but it isn't pretty) and I mowed my front lawn with my old school mower.  My neighbor stopped me and asked if I wanted to borrow her gas powered one and I politely declined while she laughed hysterically at me (love ya, Maggie).

You know what, the "reel" mower was great.  It didn't shake my hands to death like our regular mower.  The yard was easy to mow, it wasn't hard to push and I did not cut off any of my toes!  How awesome is that?  My husband did point out that we haven't had rain in a long time so our grass is kind of brown and not at all lush and green so that could have been why it was so easy but I am committed to using our old school mower from now on.  Yes, I like to mow the grass.

Stay tuned next week for my coffee experiment.  I know you can't wait can you?

For more Frugal Friday tips, please visit Life as a Mom.

Kitchen tip Tuesday . . . What to do with all that produce!

First of all, take a look at my cute little watermelon. I am so excited to actually get one. We will see how they do.

Anyway, you may be wondering what to do with the vegetables that are now coming up in your garden or the vegetables that you got from your local produce stand. There is a great website called PickYourOwn.org. It gives you ideas of what to do with certain vegetables and how to freeze them and can them. It even tells you how and when to pick your vegetables.

I personally have been growing green peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and watermelons. We have been getting zucchini and cucumbers lately.

What I usually do with zucchini is just wash them and then slice them and grill them in a foil packet with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. So what do you do with your extra produce?

Please visit Tammy's Recipes for more Kitchen tips.

Works for Me Wednesday . . . Container Gardening Update

I have learned some things since doing my container garden. One is that green peppers do better in the ground than in a container. We planted one in the ground and two in a container and the one in the ground is doing so much better.

Our cucumbers are doing better than I thought. They are growing in a bucket that my husband decided to try. He is growing them upside down. If you look closely you can see one cucumber hanging towards the bottom. I wasn't sure we would get any.

Our broccoli is coming along. Hopefully no creatures will eat it.

And our tomato plants. They are all doing pretty well. My son and husband were outside last night. My son decided that he was hungry and picked a pretty good size green tomato and took a bite of it.

And if you would like to start your own container garden, there are some things you can plant. Go here and it gives you information as to what to do month by month.

For more Works For Me Wednesday ideas, see Rocks in My Dryer.

Make it Yourself . . . Laundry Detergent

When I first got married I really wanted to make my own laundry detergent. I had read the Tightwad Gazette. I was so excited, but I never got around to making my own detergent. Well, that was eight years ago and I finally found all of the ingredients to make this detergent. I got my instructions from The Simple Dollar. Washing soda is really hard to find. But apparently I hadn't looked very well at my local Kroger store. You can also order it online if you can't find it locally.


These are the ingredients you start with. I looked all over for them and finally found all 3 at my local Kroger store.

This is what your "soup" looks like once you have added the shaved (or grated) soap to the water. My husband suggested I use the vegetable peeler and peel the soap into the water.

This is a picture of my son helping me stir.

Here is the finished product. Several other websites mentioned that it will actually look like an egg noodle soup. It does.

I have washed several loads of clothes with it today and they have come out clean so I am happy with this process.

And, it does not take that long to do. It takes about 20-25 minutes for the soap to disolve and then a few minutes to mix in the washing soda and borax and then just let it sit until the next day.

The cost: The Fels Naptha soap costs $1.29, the Washing Soda was $3.09 and the Borax was about $2.49. Considering you only use 1 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup of Borax this was SUPER cheap!

I use one cup per load. According to Simple Dollar this amount will last about 48 loads.

Check out more Make It Yourself Ideas here.

Works for Me Wednesday . . . Container Gardening

I have talked about this a little bit, but this year we are doing some container gardening. I have done herbs in the past and we have done tomato plants, but this year we are doing a little more. Here are some pictures:

This is our Burpless cucumber. It's looking a little droopy but it still seems to be doing well.

Above is our "Better Boy" tomatoes.

Right here is our broccoli, the picture is sideways!This is my neighbor's cherry tree. She said I could pick off any cherries that I want so I plan to do that because my dad loves cherry cobbler.


This is my husband's idea. He wanted to try them growing upside down. And, it seems to be working as you can see from the picture below we have some small green tomatoes!




Also, I have to tell you a quick funny story about green tomatoes. My cousin planted tomatoes one year. My grandma said, "Oh good, we can have some fried green tomatoes sometime soon."
And my cousin said, "I don't think we planted any green tomatoes."

Isn't that hilarious?

Anyway, with having a small yard, so far, container gardening works for us!

To see more tips check out Rocks in my dryer.

Savings Saturday - Saving without using Coupons, Part 2

Last week I gave some ideas about saving money without using coupons.

*I should also probably point out that I am not against coupons. I currently use them. I am for whatever works for people to save money that is legal, ethical and moral obviously! I am constantly evaluating whether I want to keep using them just because of the time and organization.

Some ways that I save on my grocery budget:

I try to make things from scratch when possible. Making things yourself can save you money.

I was just at Aldi yesterday and even there, broccoli and cauliflower was $1.99 for a head or bunch. Sugar was $1.99.

I had actually bought some staples - sugar, flour, baking soda at GFS (Gordon Food Service). They are like Sam's and Costco as far as food goes, but they are not as big and you don't have to pay a fee to join. They don't have organic food right now, but they do have the basics.

Gardening

I am doing a garden this year. I am actually doing a container garden. I am also planning to freeze and can any leftovers. I hope to also freeze and can as much produce as I can this year to get through most of the winter hopefully. You don't have to have a huge space to garden. When we lived in a townhouse we just did a few tomato plants in containers on our back patio (since we had no yard). This worked out fine.

If you are not able to garden, definitely try to go to the U-pick local farms or visit local farm markets.

To save money you must get creative. Analyze what you usually buy and see if you can go without it (such as some paper products) or see if you can make it yourself. Let me know what other things you all do to save money!


Part 1

Make your own Swiffer Update!

I posted earlier about wanting to try to make my own Swiffer duster refills. Well, today I did just that. And, I even used it to dust. I can't remember when I have been this excited to dust, ha!

I used the instructions from this post. Here is step-by-step how I did it.

I cut out 2 8x8 inch pieces and 2 4x6 inch pieces of 2 microfiber cloths which I got at the Dollar General for $2.00. Actually my 8x8 is more like 7x8 but I used what I had.

Then I lined up the smaller pieces on each large piece making sure the small piece was centered. I then sewed each small piece to each large piece with just a line down the middle. I had brown thread in my sewing machine so I just used it!

I put the two large pieces together with the smaller pieces facing outward. I marked a 1 1/4 x 6 inch area out with a black marker and sewed along that line.

I tried it on and it fit pretty well. I made some slight adjustments by sewing a little more for a more snug fit! Then I just snipped all around the edges, and here is the end product! Not pretty, but it does the job:

So either I am super frugal, or I have too much time on my hands. Can you tell it is raining here today!

See more Frugal Friday tips from Biblical Womanhood.

**UPDATE - after washing mine in the washer it became a bit frayed. I just wanted to let you know that. You can still use microfiber just be aware of the fraying or you can try fleece. I haven't tried that but I may soon.

Frugal Friday - Cloth Diapers

Cloth Diapers

I used cloth diapers for about two weeks with my first child. I gave up because I didn’t know anything about it. With my second child I did more research and a friend of mine started her own online cloth diapering business. So she taught me a lot, plus a friend of mine at church does cloth diapers as well and she has also helped me out.

So I use cloth diapers very regularly. I do use regular diapers at night although I will try to transition to cloth at night very soon. I don’t have many size mediums so I need to get more.

My favorite brand is Fuzzi Bunz. But I have used Bumkins, Crickett’s diapers, Bum Genius and Haute Pockets.

Many people have written on how to get started. So I won’t do that. I will just tell you that cloth diapering isn’t scary. You don’t have to have $500 to start. I started by buying one or two at a time and using them once a day or so. I gradually got more and started using them more. I bought a diaper bag and put my diapers in there until I wash them.

I have also started using cloth wipes. I still keep regular wipes around for messy poopie diapers.

If you are interested in knowing more there are many resources to tell you about them. I will say this. I really like the All-In-ones best. They are really easy. I also use biodegradable diaper liners which makes them a lot less messy. I read that you can wash and reuse those as well as long as they hold up and I have been doing that.

You can buy used diapers from Craig's list. Which I have done, just wash them in hot water and you are good to go.

Here is a great post on a cloth diapering system. She actually has several interesting posts on her cloth diapers.

I personally feel really good about using cloth diapers. I am not an environmentalist, but I did get tired of just throwing away diapers. Even if I didn't pay a lot for them it was still a waste. Cloth diapering really is easy. Seriously, if I can do it honestly anyone can!

See more Frugal Friday tips at Biblical Womanhood.

Savings Saturday - Saving without using Coupons, Part I

Several people have been posting lately about how competitive it is getting to see who can buy the most stuff for the least amount of money. I have been trying to figure out ways to cut my grocery bill using coupons and without using coupons. Full disclaimer – I currently use coupons, but I have friends that don’t and I want to create ways to save even if you don’t.

Cleaning products
There are a million posts on how to clean with vinegar and baking soda. Here you can find out how to make your own. You can also use Shaklee’s Basic H to make several natural cleaners.

I use Shaklee products and I really like them, but when I run out I may make my own cleaners which I have done in the past.

A great post on this subject can be found here.

Toiletries
This one is trickier. Many people believe that homemade toiletries aren’t as good as store-bought ones.
There are several body products that you can make. You can go here to check out which body products you can make and how, and there are more ideas here .

There are even many books written about natural body products. If you do make them and you have had success, please share that and the recipe!


If you would rather not make your own, you can play the CVS game. Even without coupons you can do some of the deals and make it worth your while check out this site to see how.


Paper Products
I personally am trying to cut out most paper products. I definitely still use toilet paper. I try not to use paper towels even though we do have them in the house for really gross things like your child throwing up (which happened last week!)
I only buy paper plates when I have birthday parties.
I am using cloth diapers most of the time and even started using cloth wipes (except for poppie diapers!).
But if you still want to use paper products I would suggest trying the CVS game or the Walgreens Rebate program. Even if you had coupons for these items they usually are only $0.25 or $0.50. You can also buy store brands or go to Aldi’s. I warn against CVS brand of toilet paper – it is only one-ply!

This post also has some very good information. I probably wouldn't do all of it, but I would consider most of it!

Meat/Poultry
This is one thing that I don’t scrimp on. I buy grass-fed beef from a local farmer. I am now starting to buy my chicken the same way. It is more expensive, but worth it to my family.
You could start having a vegetarian meal twice a week. You can do meatless lasagna or a bean dish.

These are some ideas to cut your grocery budget if you do not use coupons. I will be talking more about this next week. What ways do you save without using coupons?

Laundry and Learning

On this What Works for Me Wednesday I have two more things that work for me. It seems like every week my post has something to do with laundry, but I can’t help it. It is always around me. My husband bought and installed a retractable clothes line for me. Since we have a small back yard, this is the ideal solution. It goes from our deck to our fence. I definitely need one more because I can’t quite fit one full load of laundry on it, but there is something so serene and peaceful about being outside and hanging up your laundry. I don’t know what it is, but I love to do it.

One side not about that is that I do love that fresh out of the dryer feeling so I take my clothes line clothes and put them in the dryer for about 5 minutes just to fluff them and make them soft.

Learning

I started doing the Letter of the Week Prepatory Curriculum with my son. We have been doing it for a few weeks and we are both enjoying it. Well, he is enjoying some aspects of it. I really like this curriculum, because it is free and it breaks things down into a manageable schedule and the work is done for you.

The one thing I add is each week; with each letter I have him memorize a Bible verse from this book.

I will post more on this in the future after we have been doing it longer with what works about it and what doesn’t.

This is the learning poster that we set up. I still have to put the title on it, but you get the idea!

Happy Wednesday!

Check out more Works for Me Wednesday ideas here.

Make your own Swiffer and the Paper Towel debate

I have a Swiffer duster. I really like it, but I don't like buying the refills. It seems like such a waste of money. So I found this site. I admit that I have not tried it yet, but I am going to this week. I will post back and let you know how it goes.

Also, in an effort to save money I am trying to look at everything I buy and figure out if we "need" it or not. Again, paper towels seem like such a waste to me. So much so that I usually tear them in half and only use half of one anyway. I don't think my husband can live without them completely, but I am thinking of trying this system. Again, I will try to post back and let you know what happens. Don't worry though I am definitely not going to try to reuse toilet paper! Ha!