Yes, I HAD TO SAVE MONEY THIS MONTH.

I am still paying the vet off, and probably this month we will finish paying the bill for two dogs that had emergencies. They are both fine now.

Not only that, I had to keep the water turned off when not in use, and that meant walking up and down the basement stairs a number of times a day. I learned how to eat better when the fridge went out, but somehow it came back on...and to tell you the truth, I dont really care if it goes out again. It is a Kenmore and I have always loved Kenmores...this is the only Kenmore I do not like.

Here is the exact way I saved money this month in order to afford the things we needed since we had some big expenses....not to even mention the hot water heater that broke this month also. We will have a new one in soon...it is covered....well not the water heater but the floor it ruined....lol.

Here is a rundown of how I saved money:

NO MORE ANTIPERSPIRANT OR DEODERANT?

Vinegar instead of deoderant for three weeks. This saved me at least four dollars per two or three weeks...and this lasts forever and believe ime it works wonderfully and I feel so good about it, that I am going to keep on using it from now on..the reason it works is that the Apple Cider Vinegar is has antibbacterial properties to it. I found out about this here on this site....4 dollars saved on two different deoderants I didnt buy for me and my daughter. I used this money for much needed gas.

OUT OF ICE?

Well ice is cheap but if I run across to the store enough each day to buy a bag for a dollar and change it adds up. So I went ahead and made my own ice out of those wax paper cups and then used those as the molds for ice....then dumped them in the ice tray...

I was just putting half full cups of water in the freezer to freeze them and then pouring whatever I wanted to drink over them, but they kept cracking, so now I just use them to make little ice chunks out of....

Also I froze water in a half full milk jug, the plastic kind, and then let it defrost a little bit, and you shouldhave seen how cold that water was..yummy!

It has been a hot one in Northeast Tennessee, and the kids are always needing to stay hydrated.

I have not had to make the homemade version of gatorade or pedialyte yet..Yaaa!

I would say this saved me a couple of dollars or more which I used to buy the off brand of macaroni and cheese for the kids...Food is always good when there are tons of kids in and out of the house...



FLEA COMBING THE DOGGIES

I love to flea comb the doggies, and check them for fleas, even though they are on drops....

I have learned to roll the fleas into a ball a couple of times and then they are dead then I throw them away in the trash.

I do the dogs and the ferret and everything that moves in this house and then there is baking soda on the floor or salt..which I vacuum up in a while...it always works for me...

I also bathe them in a mixture of peroxide and shampoo, which is good for them, and I have been spraying them with a mixure of diluted vinegar and water..I need to go to earthclinic.com to find the right recipe. I am also going to spray the yard where the animals go to with 1 percent peroxide mixed with borax.. the mixture really isnt important, but no water added....this should kill any mites, fleas, etc..I am going to use it around the fence...and see what it does..

To turn three percent peroxide into one percent peroxide, then just add two parts of water to one part of peroxide. This recipe is actually a mange cure and I might go ahead and use the three percent on the areas I think there would be places for fleas to hide in...maybe it will kill the weeds too..LOL



KITCHEN TOWELS

I have gone on a revolt about regular kitchen towels.. I don't like them, they don't line dry fast and they take up space in the washer that could be for other things.

It really has been fun going to the remnant area of walmart and making napkins for dinner with pinking shears or else cutting a triangular edge on lap sized squares by hand...these have brought me a lot of joy....no more kitchen towels...from now on what will be used in the kitchen will be either my own homemade towels or bathroom towels....I would say that after I made about 6 from a 1 dollar remnat piece I might have saved about 5 dollars. This was spent on getting milk.

HIGHER QUALITY DOG FOOD

I have found another brand of dog food I am trying out. It has turkey within the first four ingredients...I am going to see if this lasts longer. The cat food I switched to lasts longer..also and is more expensive..I would say this is saving me a couple of dollars with which I buy dish soap the expensive kind....

CROCK POT COOKING

I had the stove unplugged so I had to use my crock pot so I have learned how to cook spaghetti in the crock pot and bread also. We love our crock pot. I don't know how much energy bucks this saved us.....

COCONUT OIL

I did the switch to coconut oil after becoming aware of it't properties, and I am in love with how it feels on my skin....a very small amount....it is soooo nice...and I am using it in pancakes and such. Also for topical massage on the feet, (it is antifungal) and for lice management instead of mayo or oil..and also for really softer hair and I am going to research if our dogs can have it, I have seen how it can kill worms and at least read one person who was rid of them after taking this..this kind of thing interests me....

USING GLASS WATER CONTAINERS

We have been saving the glass latte bottles we drink coffee out of and filling them with water and cooling them in the fridge. It is so nice to see that glass cools better..than plastic! It is a quality of life thing, and a less ice thing...it is easier to fill a bottle and have it ready then to have to get a lot of ice and then even with a lot of ice it waters things down. Even if I have tea ice cubes....I got that from this site...

SUNBLOCK SAVINGS

After going thru the spray sunblock one two many times in just one trip, I am not only using them to spray the kids faces while they close their eyes and hold their breath.

This prevents my little fair skinned child from getting eyelid and undereye burn when we have a few hours at the lake....

Also the back of their necks, the neck area and the front of their necks...the lotion can be used on arms and legs..this saves big bucks...

.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES ARE CHEAP ON NO TAX DAY

Here where we live, we will soon have a no tax day for shopping for school supplies.

Can you imagine what a good time I will have at the remnant bin at walmart finding little remnants to make into christmas stockings, little ones, and fill them with school supplies, like crayons, markers, etc....and then put them back...this will be so fun. The spiral notebooks will be 15 cents and no tax each..we love these little notebooks here for all sorts of art and note taking...we just go thru them like crazy.

FREEBIES

I have several freebies coming from this site...and they update everyday....

http://justfreestuff.com/

I have ordered a pack of hot tamales, and have a hat coming and other things like magnets, etc. These will make great rewards or stocking stuffers.

Well that is all for now...



Robyn

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  LATEST BLOG ENRY

 
USES FOR LITTLE LEFT OVER MATERIAL SQUARES FROM FLEECE BLANKET PROJECT
 
I have found at least one use for my little 4 inch by 3 inch fleece squares left over from cutting the four corners out of my no tie blankets I have been making for my little pets.

Here is a video for those of you who don't know what these are:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC2FvEkOUnk 

They make great dry erase board erasers. They are so wonderful the kids take them and ferret them away....because of how soft and adorable they are...I have tried washing my face with them, and they feel really good, the next time I have to take off nail polish....well you get the idea....
 
 
BAKED POTATO READY JARS IN REFRIGERATOR

I have been peeling the potatoes, or cleaning them and then poking a hole in the medium ones and then putting them in the fridge so the rest of the family doesnt have to figure out how to cook a potato in the microwave. (LOL)  ( four minutes for a medium sized one give or take a minute or two.

At least it is there in front of them when they go to the fridge ..

We have had an interesting couple of days....(Did someone pray to the Lord for patience?)

First our refrigerator went out, and then a storm came and it came back on.

Then our hot water heater leaking all through from the kitchen to the basement.
The insurance man is on his way as we speak. I am hoping either a storm comes or he gives us enough money to fix it.

(Update....insurance will pay for all but the water heater.)

I have learned a few things from this:

We dont HAVE to use our big stove.....!

The stove is on the same outlet as the electric heater was and it is turned off at the circuit box. We have pulled it out from the wall, and we have been cooking with a microwave....or eating foods that don't need to be cooked....

This has been interesting.. We got a small refrigerator freezer, and lo and behold foods that dont have plastic on them or really need to be refregerated are better for you...which we have been eating a lot of....these include, and it will differ from each person to what food is best.....you can tell by how you feel after you eat it..if you feel great and energized it is adding to you life, if you feel down and short of breath you are probably not being helped by this type of food.

So for us, our foods have been....apples, oranges, bananas, cherries, spaghetti, oatmeal, potatoes..etc fresh green beans.. fresh vegetables...yes this is pretty good for my family. It even led to other incidents of eating good foods. The other day we were out in the car and everyone was hungry so I stopped in the store and got five bananas and a pack of water and then some carrot sticks all for four dollars and some odd change...the kids loved this....

This leads to my next idea:

MAD MONEY EACH WEEK FOR MY DEAR HUBBY

I really call it MAD money because it was driving me mad at nights to try and get my beautiful husband who has diabetes to eat a bowl or oatmeal or a good potato for a snack or a sandwich or a salad.

 I finally gave up. Besides not wanting to eat these wonderful foods, he runs them down in front of the kids by saying..."ewww I don't want to eat oatmeal..."  While this is funny to me, the kids are taking every word to heart...and planning their life diet on this......so.....

Now dear husband gets ten dollars out of whatever I can save.... to eat in the late evenings, or anytime he is hungry and I am not cooking...it is not "get out of my hair" money, even if it looks to be.

It is to save the reputation of the good foods in the house...and I might add, by giving him this small amount, he is forced to have to look for cheap items to get, or else do without which is something he needs to have practice at....he is great at running the books and accounts of the house but let him get into an restaurant and he is lost completely....LOL....

Also I caught him the other day buying healthy foods with his mad money..I was so shocked but I didnt say anything, lest I  cause him to change his mind, and yes  he actually ate the food! 

 So I am helping him learn to budget.... Dont get me wrong, he taught me not to worry when there was ten dollars in the bank but to be happy for the ten dollars and thank God for it, and then kick all the other thoughts out~back a long time ago when I was losing my house, car and everything else that was just "things"...due to my first husband walking out on me after a loooonng marriage...with a disabled daughter but I digress....

Anyway, now I can return the favor....and help him be able to eat at those disgusting fast food  places he likes so much late at night.  (ewwww)..

It has worked out well, and when he goes I tell him to take the dog with him and to tell the kids he is going to get gas and take the dog for a ride....that makes the German Shepherd Dutchess happy, who leans her head out the window the whole time and the whole town can admire her...and give her treats, which she has come to expect as her due reward for showing up anywhere...

The kids think that he is buying gas all the time, and I am happy....

HOMEMADE DINNER NAPKINS

I recently sent in a post on homemade dinner napkins...and I have made them and more importantly  had fun doing it...but the whole idea has taken on new proportions...I find people using them all over the house, as rags, as face cloths, as cleaning rags, as napkins and as just decoration...they put things on them...I think they like them because the fabric is so easy to dry after you wash it.  They are so cheap, since the material in the remnant bin at walmart I use is usually under a dollar and I can make four or five small napkins with this, and since I dont have pinking shears, I cut out little shapes on the edges to keep them from raveling.

I started out wanting to make my own kitchen towels, but that didnt work out.

I dont like the little kitchen towels you buy so I am simply switching to small bath towels for the kitchen.

RING FOR  HUBBY

I was crocheting with  just my fingers and yarn to show my daugther what it was about and I made a ring for her and for my hubby...just a single stitch long enough to make a ring out of....the only tool I used was the scissors. 

My hubby is still wearing it...isn't that adorable!

Well that is all for now...

Blessings,

Robyn

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I always cut up my plastic coke bottles to make them take up less room in the landfill. This is what I came up with the other day, and I am going to make a decoration out of it... here are some ideas:

• Put a stamp collection of stickers or stamps on it
• Glue rhinestones on it
• Color with permanent markers

I cut the bottle into a continuous ribbon and it curls and twirls. I am left with the top which makes a good funnel, and the bottom which makes a good little carry along water bowl for doggies.

 It would probably scare away birds from the cars the way our fake snakes on the hoods of our cars and chimes do during bird dropping season.  LOL

Robyn

Images:

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PULLING UP STUBBORN WEEDS AFTER A RAIN

It is great to go out in the yard and be able to pull up weeds that before I had to dig up.  Yaaa!

THE PLANTS ARE LISTENING TO ME.....

Not sure how this works, but all I did was mention in front of my topsy turvy morning glory planter that I was going to prune the bottom of the morning glorys, to make them bloom and the next day there were two blooms.

I did the same thing with my African Violet where there were tomato seeds from a restaurant, and up they came after I said they were coming out of the pot if they didnt bloom.   

 STEPPING STONE MAGIC

In the process of moving my square stepping stones, I leaned them against the fence, and an idea came to me...when I saw them, I saw little easels for the kids to draw on. One idea was to cover one of them with chalklboard paint and see if it stuck on the rock. If it does, the kids will have  a little place to mark on outside.  Besides the sidewalk of course...LOL

Dover publications sends out samples of their cheap books which I get in the mail and they have lots of intricate coloring pages.  I am going to try and put a design like that on one of the stones and then let the children color those with permanent markers...I am sure the permanent markers will eventually come off though. 

I'm also thinkikng of painting one with glow in the dark paint...I love that stuff...long story here...LOL.

If I could decopauge one and have it waterproof that would be pretty too. 

Even just laying them against the fence was an idea in and of itself.  I think it would stop weeds from growing there by the fence.

LASAGNA GARDEN

 I am saving all newsprint for my Lasagna Garden for next year..which I will do this Fall.

I noticed the topsoil at Walmart is pretty cheap, and I have tons of clippings and such to layer on there.  It should turn out great. 

I have an impossible area behind the toolshed that needs help. Only weeds grow there..which you have to admire them for being able to grow in rocky clay soil.  I am amazed.

EARTHCLINIC.COM

I read on this site about an insect spray that this lady  made and she mixed cooking oil with something else safe, and sprayed it with a hose sprayer all over her yard. I am going to look up what it was. 

I am also going to look at horse products and such to see what they use for flies on dogs.. Mine are not outside dogs, but a lot of people have dogs that are suffering with this...I read on here that the vet told one person to put a layer of vaseline on the dogs ears and keep it there and even mix it with cayenne pepper to keep the flies off..I am thinking I would try the vaseline alone first, because what it the dog scratches his ear and then scratches his eye...it would burn his eye.

GLUE GUN FOR ME

I am going to buy a glue gun, one of the little ones, and make frames out of sticks and do all sorts of things with it..I am thinking this will bring lots of joy to my life....I love to find any way to stick one thing to another!

ANIMALS

My animals are really cracking me up all the time lately, so I have been taking photo after photo of them. 

SLIDES

I am having slides done through  a mail order service and making them as gifts for family this Christmas....they are old slides of when me and my sister were younger on vacations, etc.

I just ordered the mail order envelopes postage paid  from York Photo Labs since I dont have a  scanner for slides.

Images:

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I use swim noodles that are old for the garden....I take a straight stick and push it into the ground, and then I put one end of the noodle over the stick...I like to make arches and then sometimes a border by sticking a short stick in the ground and putting them straight against the ground...it is easy to see.....they are fun and it keeps them out of landfills....I am going to ask for more at freecycle.org for my local area.

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I have requested crib rails from freecycle.org...a lady responded who is an hour away and she has lots of them.....I need them to use as safety gates  in the house..and if I have any left over, I will use them in the garden, for a little fenced in area for the  flowers, with one rail covering the top and let roses or something grow over it....

I have found the puppy like to play with a stuffed sock, it has lots of socks in it, filling it up...I picked it up free, there were bags of them at th animal shelter where we go to support all the time...I am surprised they like them.  I never let a dog just play with a toy and not supervise though. It is a good idea to have them play with the toy while you are watching and then take it up...at least until they are over there teething stage....which I call the terribe twos....

Lots of love and hugs and puppies kittens and kids learn better with a sing song voice than words....

Have a blessed day,

Robyn

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I am adding this comment to this blog...I found out that listerene mouth wash was originally marketed as a toilet cleaner. So now I know why it worked so well!

**********************************************

I am not absolutely sure this is the reason that the hard water stains have been coming up off the porcelain in the bathroom, but  have  been spraying the problem areas with listerene, and something is eating thru the hard water stains.

I am so  impressed because this was diluted with a little water...

Listerene is so strong...I have found a new germ killer for surfaces, my hands and the bathroom and then I spray  hand washables with it and they come out of the rinse smelling like mint! I love it...

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HOW TO MAKE A SMALL BIRD BATH FOR NO MONEY

(OR ALMOST NO MONEY)

Fold a trash bag until is is a square of the size you want it to be.

Put garden rocks around it  to hold it down.

Mash it down a little to make indentations in it but don't tear it.

Pour water on it and they will love it....they especially love it after a rain.

AFTER THE BIRDS GET ATTACKED BY A CAT

Any bird that is native to this state cannot be handled unless you have a permit.

AFTER YOU DECIDE TO HANDLE THE BIRD ANYWAY

Put the bird in a small box that has a towel in it and put a towel over the box.

Go to Petsmart and buy the wild bird formula.

Give the bird the wild bird formula before taking it to the Rehabilitator.

AFTER YOU DECIDE NOT TO TAKE THE BIRD TO THE  REHABILITATOR

When the bird dies, because of the toxins in a cats claws, because you did not have the money to take it to get antibiotics, like the rehabber would have...I kid you not....

..........Don't feel bad, because most of them don't make it anyway.  Be proud of yourself for being a compassionate individual who tried to help in the first place, and do a litte research.

Contact me for a bird rehab near you.

Robyn

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 One Product SO Many Uses
Sunday, July 12, 2009

I bought a small pump spray and filled it with Listerine. It has so many uses!

I like to spray it on my arms and legs after a shower...it is diluted with water though, and it is better than Jean Nate.

(my tip)

I use it as a mouth spray to freshen breath. Extremely thrifty instead of buying all the branded mouth sprays. Saves me a fortune. 
 

Spray under your arms as an alternative to deodorant - if some of you are sensitive to the chemicals in roll-on and spray deodorants. 
 

Spray on kitchen work surfaces to kill all bacteria. 
 

Spray a little under your car seat. As the engine warms up it releases a mint fragrance to get rid of stale odours. 
 

Spray a little on a tissue and dab onto a developing spot. 
 

Use as an anti-bacterial spray for your hands when out and about. In case you sneeze of course, and for general cleanliness (For example- after pushing the supermarket trolley- you have no idea how much bacteria lives on the pushing handle!) 
 

Spray in between your toes and leave for a while then dry thoroughly. For the treatment of athlete's foot or overheated feet. If you are on your feet all day do this in your lunch break and it will revive tired feet too. 
 

Massage a few sprays into your scalp to treat and prevent dandruff. 
 

Spray a little onto a tissue and apply to any insect or bug bite, it lessens the swelling and relieves the itching.
So you see, one product does an awful lot. Now that's what I call being thrifty!

Source: Myself and various other sources (Books and the Internet mostly.)

By MONIQUE63 from Somerset, UK

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I am brainstorming on the following things.... what I can make out of a 24 pack of bath tissue paper, still in the plastic.  I am going to try covering one with plastic and then covering it with a fleece blanket and sewing it together, to make a small ottomon for the kids rooms.

Also I intend to put twinly lights in my daughters bedroom, it seems to calm her down.  Looking at which shapes for the lights to be in that would help her be calmest.  I also intend to buy green lights the next time I see them and use them to calm her also.

I am wondering if it would be better to put them all in a large vase or receptacle she can see thru or to string them around the room.

I am going to research if a reptile light has the full spectrum of light and if it is ok to hang it up high in her room, to see if it acts like a full spectrum light bulb.

I am going to put a bag of fabric softener sheets in the car so I can rub them all over my clothes and put one in my pocket before I pump gas..in the winter, static seems to be so bad.

Really impressed with the kitten formula recipe I used on the last batch of kittens we all fostered and found homes for...it was really nice and easy to make.

Making trail mix with Mixed Whole Wheat Cheerios, since the vitamin level is so high on it, it is great for the dogs too!

Still supplementing the dogs food with hamburger patties without the grease, because my food I buy for them is lacking in meat.  I add a couple of dropperfuls of infant vitamins to feed four dogs, but the measurement is one dropperful for large dogs, 1/2 for medium dogs, and 1/4 for small dogs.

Found some great training tips for parakeets,  In a nutshell, it is slowly bringing a finger towards to bird, slowly, the point is that when it tries to move out of the way, you slowly withdraw the finger....

This builds the birds confidence and when repeated will eventually allow the bird to not fly wildly around the cage when  your finger comes towards it.

More advanced training...clicker use....take a piece of millet and point it at the bird, slowly bring it to the birds mouth, and if the bird runs pull it out again, slowly.  Eventually when the bird takes  a bite of the millet stick, click at the same time it does.

Once the bird loses interest, then stop....don't want the bird to think that you are nothing but a training drag every time you go to the cage...LOL

Advanced training not to be afraid of a chopstick or a small perch stick...offer the stick alongside the millet. If the bird avoids, then slowly move it back. If the bird takes a bite of millet with the stick parallel to it, click the response of the bird.  Repeat, until bird is bored.

When this is learned, the bird can be taught to take a bite of millet all over the cage with the stick next to it..

Advanced trick is to hop over the stick to get to the millet, or to hop on the stick.  This training requires no touching of the bird, but it is confidence training..this training is from Mr Womack called the Power pause....and it goes on to more advanced training.  This increased my parakeets confidence who doesnt like people.  My daughter did the training, and she is only 10 years old.

I am going to make a drip bottle this year with all the last years event's candles on it, birthdays, new candles bought, etc.  It will have each childs birthday candles dripped on the side of it, and it will mean something besidees just a drip decorated bottle from candles.

Leerburg.com for all dog issues.

More coming soon!

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