Homemade Laundry Detergent - Frugal Savings

With a family of 6, two still in diapers we are always looking to save a bit of $$$. But even more important is the health and welfare of my little one's. Each and every one of our children have had eczema. We have medicated cream to combat the dryness which their tinder fingers scratch to the point of bleeding at times. I have found that changing their diets helps a bit. But nothing has helped more than changing our laundry detergent.

After reviewing a few blogs and recipes I decided on this one. We are still using the same batch, it has been about a month. We would have gone through 2 of the store brand by this time. RECIPE - Cost - $8.43 The ingredients for this will make at least 5 batches. Yes, that is 8$ for over 3 months of washing. That's shaving about $15 - $25 off my grocery bill per month, depending on my coupon and sales.

Here is a pictorial of our process. We geared up for hard work and this was just about as easy as boiling water.

From Detergent

From Detergent

What ? - Time !

I had every intention in the world to post 3 days a week. I thought that it would be simple to do a craft take a few pics, spill my guts about how to, how it went, and share the cost. Well, reality set in. Life kept moving at warp speed and I have found myself doing a lot of the same while preusing blogland wishing I was doing all of the wonderful crafts I was eyeing.

Well I am happy to say I will craft this weekend. So I am going to share what I "plan" on doing this weekend in hopes it will hold me accountable!!! Yay!

Hair Bows - Becoming Classy and Sophisticated & Here

Crib Sheet - Tutorial from MADE

From Frugal B

Tooth Fairy Pillow - Sew Mama Sew

(My Davis Lost His Tooth So I told him the tooth fairy will bring more if we make a pillow)

Pillow with Ties - Make it Love it

See you Monday& I hope I get it all done!!!

I want a, DSLR?

From Frugal B

I consider myself to be "Techy". I know about TVs, computers, car stereos, home theater systems cell phones..... But, there was one item I never researched, cared about, or even thought about....The Camera.

It all started with blogging. My wife, Mrs. Frugal B advised me she wanted to start blogging and take nice photos to place on her blog (we all know it's all about the pictures). I had no idea about the ins and outs of cameras, the aperture, shutter speed, and flash. I thought, just get a camera and "point and shoot", the camera does everything else. Well after looking over her shoulder a bit while she viewed blog after blog, my interest PEEKED.

So I started my own research. First thing on the agenda was which brand to buy.

There are a ton of models of DSLR camera's. Kodak, Sony, Olympus, Pentax and so forth, but the big "Apple" and "Microsoft" of the group would be Canon and Nikon. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the other brands. It's just this -I'm a guy and it matters to me.

So for months we (really me) have researched and stalked a number of models from both Nikon and Canon. I talked to everyone I saw with a camera and went to every store in our area that sold them. What I found is between these two brands it comes down to a personal choice on which brand to go with. It was all about comfort.

From Frugal B

Above are two comparable models, Nikon D3100 and Canon T2i. Notice how button placement is different. Seems small but it was a huge difference maker. Also check weight, imagine holding X lbs around your neck and in your hand for hours and X lbs. Might not be a difference maker but just a thought.So at this point there were many comparables. So I moved to picture quality. Again, not much difference (remember I am a novice) until mirrors, lenses and sensors were explained to me.

This portion was explained to me I am regurgitating

Canon has been one of the leaders in the DSLR camera business because of a small but important part of the camera, called the sensor, to be exact the cmos sensor. Canon had the patent on the sensor until recently, now Nikon uses the same sensor. The mirrors and lenses are great on both the models I was looking at so I was still undecided. UNTIL...I starting pricing.

Everything up to this point is about personal choice. Again I am not a photographer and this is very very new to me so this portion was the driving force. How do I get everything I want, Mrs. Frugal B wants at the best price. To me it is all about getting the best product (Canon or Nikon) for the least amount possible. Now to a pro DSLR's have become much more affordable, but the price was still scary. So we initially purchased the Nikon P100 (top of the line point and shoot), however we were still not happy (so we returned it) and went back to the drawing board. I resumed my stalking, it almost always pays off, and boy did it!

While eating lunch at Costco ($1.50 hot dog & chips) I saw the Nikon D3100. Now this camera was not carried by Costco normally, I literally bumped into a display that had a bunch on it. Price $699 (not for the faint of heart). We had been saving for this purchase and had the $$$ but we try to avoid paying sticker price (bet you thought that term was reserved for cars), not to mention the 24 hour rule (no purchases over $100 without sleeping on it). Then it hit me, hhgregg has a 110% beat the competition policy. So I took the camera box and the Costco ad over to hhgregg along with a 30% off coupon (yes I said coupon). With 40% off the camera price the Nikon D3100 won hands-down.

Not as scientific as you thought.

We purchased the;

Nikon D3100 with a 18-55mm Zoom VR Lens &

55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR DX Zoom Lens.

DSLR Camera Bag

4gb Memory Card

JACK POT

This picture was taken in our back yard by an Ameture Photographer

that I found on Craigslist.

Sometimes when you wonder around on other blogs you find the exact thing that you were looking for, but did not know it. As you have read in this previous post that I have been on the hunt for a affordable and easy to use SLR camera. I have been searching and researching for months now, but have yet to take the plunge for a plethora of reasons. One big reason was I was just OVERWHELMED with all there was to know and learn about the cameras, let alone taking good or great pictures.


I had already decided that when I did shell out all of the $$$ I would be utilizing ThePioneerWomans photography assignments to aide in the learning process. But then I found Me Ra Koh Potography website and Blog, can you say, JACK POT. She is all about empowering Mom's (yes that's me) to pick up a camera. I also found iheartfaces, and what do they have, yep, free tutorials and tips.

Now I just need a camera and some time.

Frugal Friday Tip #2 - Relationships

Frugal rule number #1 - There is no such thing as a stranger

When you are passionate about something, you gush over it, you dream about it and you can't help sharing it. I live to save $, big and small and I love to tell the world (sorry to all that are tired of hearing it, I'm addicted). Not to say "hey look at my great deal", but "hey, this is how you can save a $ or $$". We, Mr. and Mrs. Frugal B, are always looking to leverage our contacts, cost savings, and information to help a fellow frugaler/frugalista.

That being said, we are not shy, we are both super friendly. I am that person that will stop you in Jo-Ann Fabrics and ask you "do you know how to do X". But I am also that person that you can stop in Jo-Ann's and ask "how do you make cloth diapers". Not only will I tell you what I know but I am willing to give resources. A hoarder of knowledge (or things for that matter) I am not. By doing this I am enlarging my circle of friends, contacts, all around support system of like minded people.

This also plays out in other ways, just being plain ole, old fashion friendly and nice. Please, thank you, tipping for services, and volunteering our time. Not because we want something but because we want to give something, kindness. So many times we have been BLESSED because of our ability to give and receive KINDNESS.

Share your dreams, plans and goals with your circle. Who knows how they can aid you in your endeavours. There are so many times that friends have saved us TIME (remember the nonrenewable resource). Had we not shared our projects or path who knows what we would have ended up with.

I could list the multitude of Blessing we have received just because of our sheer kindness, and the kindness of others. It all begins with simple relationships!

I challenge you to leverage your social networking. Whether that is work, church, social media (Facebook, Twitter, Blog) you will be surprised how many people want to share their kindness with you.

This or That or THAT or that

I have been coveting, all but salivating, over the pictures on some of my favorite blogs (Finding My Feet, Centsational Girl, Pioneer Woman). Now I have priced these babies for quite some time and just always felt that they were a luxury, especially since I don't really know much about camera's or taking a picture other than "point and shoot" (no pun intended). Well with my new blogging and my husbands nudge I have been seriously considering this large purchase.

As a history major research is definitely my forte, but I am light on the digital side. This means that as I researched I was having to look up the terms that others in the digital/electronical (yes that is a word) world used as everyday "you should know this terms". So this has been a very long process to get to our final decision.

Now as you can tell I am moved 90% by price. Hubby however is 100% moved by function (gadget guy). So we have been stalking Canon's and Nikon's and are finding that they are very similar to an untrained person. There are so many to choose from, many of them have the same functions and others do things I never dreamed of. So I am focusing on these items;

Cost (Got to get the biggest bang for my buck)

Handling (Ease of Use)

Stabilization (The lady at the camera store said it was important)

Shutter Speed (My babies are athletic)

I am sure that I should be looking for much more, but I got to start somewhere.

I will keep you posted with my findings.

Knowledge = Know-how

Not many of you know but I am very easily excitable, good and bad. However nothing gets me more fired up than when someone else gets going on a project and I have a tiny bit of knowledge to help them along their way. Note, knowledge has nothing to do with know how.

A fellow blogger/co worker has found a diamond in the rough, a perfect project to (American Idol) make her own. She will be recovering an upcycled chair (see it here) and I thought that this would be a perfect time for HER to try double welting (lol).

Double welting is the side by side cord covered with fabric and attached to an upholstered piece to cover staples. Now this is no easy task, see here, here, and here. I look forward to seeing her finished project and I say thank you for getting me into gear with my own DIY ventures (can you say hello organized closet)!


If you have time swing by and visit Miss Mustard Seed, she was once an upholstery DIY'er but LOOK at her now! And over at Much to do about Nothing, she has a great tutorial on this topic.

!Thanks Stacey for the post inspiration!

Monday Methods

Photo Courtesy of Foodnetwork.com

Monday, the beginning of the week, it is so very hard for me to stay on task. I feel like Mr. Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

"So much time so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it"!

My Monday's are quite often mayhem, getting the kids back on track for school, meal planning, budgeting, and of course it is the beginning of my "Great Blog Hop" (visiting my favorites and slipping in a few newbies). After my Internet break, I try to reduce my computer time on the weekend, I have a hard time focusing on one topic and find myself all over cyberland.

So this week I am going to try something new. I will be sharing a few of my favorite cooking/baking blogs as I prepare for next weeks menu (meal planning). Take some time to peruse the links below and I challenge you to try something new this week.

FrugalB Friday Tip #1 - Laundry Any One?

ARE YOU USING TOO MUCH LAUNDRY DETERGENT

From Pictures

We all have to do it from time to time, whether you dread it or welcome it, washing clothes is on every one's chore list. I am one who dreads the day someone says "mom I need socks", as I wait until the last minute to get to our laundry. I actually implemented a rule that everyone must let me know when they get to the last (sock, t-shirt, p.j.'s etc) so that I wasn't caught off guard. So this is an area that can easily get out of control for me.

That being said because of my hatred dislike this is my least visited room and I don't put much thought into the chore. BUT there is cost savings in this little ole room for all of us.Chances are you are using wayyy to much laundry detergent. With the new water efficient machines using less water and the detergents becoming more concentrated it is said that the average person is using 10 to 15 percent too much detergent. Just following the directions, recommended amount, on the bottle will save you $$$ (you can read more on this here).

But if you take it further and really understand how clothes are cleaned you can save a ton (talking $20's not $1's). Laundry detergent doesn't clean clothes. It actually breaks down the surface tension in the water so that it can dissolve water soluble dirt easier. The actual cleaning is done by the agitator and the clothing rubbing against each other. Really the more detergent you use the faster your clothes wear out and fade.

Tip ~ Learn to load your washing machine correctly and experiment with the amount of detergent that works for your machine.

January ~ Celebration of Organization

It seems that January has been dubbed "Organize IT" month. Blog after blog, article after article, chronicle, detail and show case all things organization.

A successful (self defined success of course) frugalista, (Thanks TJMaxx) has to be organized. Knowing what you have on hand so that you don't over buy. Knowing who, what, when and where a sale is, may be critical to getting the best price possible. And having a place for everything conserves our only nonrenewable resource, TIME. So to say organization is important is an understatement in my book.


Check out Better Home and Garden's, "What's your organizational personality?"
My quiz says my organizational style is "The Librarian",

• Detailed and a task manager
• Energetic
• A perfectionist, sometimes to a fault

Spend some time with Janelle over at Isabella & Max Rooms, as she organizes her hall closet. Then swing over to say hello to Carlee at Deliciously Organized, your bound to find an idea or two.