I've discovered that my laundry detergent really is a good household cleanser and so powerful that I only need just a sprinkle in each to cleanse the bathroom tub, sink, and toilet. It works just great. 

For starters, I use Tide laundry detergent.  Its one of the few  items my hubby will not allow me to frugally substitute.  Lord knows I would've grated a bar of Bronner's castille soap and mixed it with some boric acid by now and been done with it. But he works hard and makes few requests so I buy it.

Though, I must say that Tide brand laundry detergent is very cheaply priced here as in comparison to the price for it in the United States. Its like half the price here. I was surprised to see that because the prices for food and household items are just about the same in both countries.  In the U.S.  I only bought Tide brand laundry detergent when it was on a good sale and I would buy the liquid and dilute it as this brand contains powerful cleaning agents to me. But here since its so reasonably priced, I buy a big box of the powder. However, I'm sure any laundry detergent would be just as effective.

As for household cleaning products...Now thats a totally different story in this neck of the woods.  Its so expensive, like twice the amount you would pay in the U.S.!  And guess what?  I have yet to see a big box of baking soda. I've  only seen little cans of it in the baking isle, which is what I would have used as a cheap, but effective substitute.  I bought basic household cleansers when I first moved here, and I hated paying the ridiculous prices for them.  

One day I ran out of tub and all purpose cleanser in between my scheduled market runs and so I quickly sprinkled a little of  theTide in each my tub, sink, and toilet. I was amazed at how well and quickly it cleaned my bathroom to a sparkling shine. From there I even sprinkled a little into a fresh bucket of hot water to mop the floors and the fresh scent it left behind was just one more perk for me. 

I was so pleased with the way it cleaned the bathroom, that I filled an empty container like the ones used  for non-dairy creamer  with the detergent to monitor usage, and to use just for cleaning the bathroom. Since a sprinkle goes a long way, I do not have to refill often which saves me alot of money.  Whenever I buy a new box of Tide, I just refill my little container if needed and keep on going.

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Today I baked 2 dozen of my homemade oatmeal raiSIN cookies. I say raiSIN because I used a little more sugar than usual. Anyway, I stored each dozen in 2 small flour bags I saved and recycled  just for such an occasion. As I placed the cookies inside of their bags, I began to recap the past 30 days or so in my mind and blew myself away with all of the recycling and last minute improvising I had done up to that moment. The days went by so quickly, and with me moving right along with the time, I hardly noticed how much I had done until now.

For starters, when I attempted to do my meal menu for the month I was blown away at how the food prices had gone up in my neck of the woods as I compared my past food receipts from the market. And, I think thats what started all this here that I'm talking about, lol because the first of the string of improvising events took place when I noticed the price increase and right away I decided to shop for 2 weeks instead of the whole month.  This time when I  returned to the market. I hit that place with a vengence as I was fully loaded with a "fool-proof" shopping list which had the cap-off prices beside each item. Counting and adding as I went along, I swear the only thing that was missing was the theme music to the old TV show "Mission Impossible".  I faired well in there so I thought and once I returned home I realized that I had forgotten to buy a few things of importance as I was rushing a bit.  I won't bore you with anymore details I'll just get right to all the things I either forgot to buy or refused to buy and recycled and improvised to make up for it.  The items are below:

• I made a new cover for my ironing board out of some scrap fabric I had by using the old one as an outlining pattern. Serged it closed and straight-stitched about a 1/2 inch a casing for the string which I reused (recycled) from the old cover, placed it onto the ironing board reusing the padding also and it was actually better than the ones bought from the stores.
• I got a recipe online for french dressing that was so good my dh thought I bought it like he had asked, but it was one of the things I'd forgotten, but I refilled the old bottle. I revealed it to him later and now the recipe is a keeper (will share later, I promise).
• I forgot to buy a couple of pie pans, so I improvised by making 2 pie pans out of aluminum foil which I used a small stoneware bowl as a mold. (I shared this crazy stunt and they featured it) which was nice of them, lol.
• I needed some stone beads from the craft store, but they didnt have any so I made some out of potatoes which I got the idea from this site and was amazed at how nice they turned out. Thanks again.
• I recycled a tall cylinder tubing  that was originally a reel for some satin bias tape I had finished.
• I made some oatmeal facial scrub.
• and I made some bisquick for pancakes, and the grand finale that I know you're not expecting or ready for......
• I FORGOT TO BUY ROLLERS FOR MY HAIR AND MADE SOME OUT OF SOME CYLINDERS I WAS SAVING FOR A CRAFT PROJECT THAT MAY COME TO MIND (cracking up with laughter over this one........to be honest they worked alot better, lol)

None of this was the least bit frustrating to me, I just kept right on moving along with the time and I enjoyed every minute of it. It just happened that way really.  Also, this behavior just kicks in for me and all the time my dh calls me Mcgeiver as we both know the things can be bought,  but I keep telling him that  if I dont have a thing that I need, I naturally improvise a way to reach my goal. I just start looking around for alternatives.

 But I had to share this with all of you in hopes that you guys would get a kick out of it and find it as funny as I do.  Thanks for reading.

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You know, I initially sat here intending to share a blog on a project I had stumbled upon and became lost in a thought of how "frugal"  is so much more than just a word. 

Frugal is a state of mind, a lifestyle, a way of being, that is categorized into so many different types of people, and expressed in so many different types of ways.  I began thinking of the different types of frugal people that I know of, and decided to label them below for an uplifting, kind, fun and healthy excercise for us to explore. Please join me with your feedback telling what kind of a frugal or thrifty person you think you are. These were all the categories of  "frugal people" I could think of. Please add more categories to my list. I cannot wait to read your kind, fun, and uplifting responses on this thing we all have in common here...Being Frugal.

Category A:  Some of us are frugal when life calls for it because we have no choice at the time for whatever reason, maybe our finances will not allow us to live any other way, or the way we'd like to which is usually the case and so we work with what we have until we can do better financially. For many of us like this, we only whip out our frugal skills and talents when needed.

Category B:  Some of us are frugal all the time by nature. The trait immediately kicks in and whenever you see an object you see so many uses and ideas for it to be recycled over and over again giving new life to the thing with each idea. For example, mayonaise jars are not just mayonaise jars to some of us. Initially they start out this way of course, but when the mayo is finished, some of us prolong their use by washing and drying the jars reserving each to use them for a number of things like: making butter, spray painting the tops and garnishing the jars with ribbons to match the bath salts we've made, and so on.

Category C:  Some of us are frugal through wearing  items we have given makeovers to by adding ribbons or appliques, or just wearing mostly things we have made ourselves by way of sewing, knitting, crocheting, or crafting in some way which saves them a ton of money and usually results in sparking a new fashion trend and idea for others to try.

Category D:  For some of us, most who see us would never know or think we were frugal at all because on stage, in life we seem to enjoy what everyone else considers to be the finer things in life, but offstage we frugalize here and there to make the finer things in life affordable. For example: Coach has a designer bag in its display window for $350. We want it and have the money to march right inside to buy it, but will go home and find the same bag on ebay for alot less, or better yet wait for it to go on sale for a cheaper price, or visit an online site where others trade or sell for even less. We love yard sales and thrift shops and have an eye to find a treasure there for little to nothing in price.

Category E: Some of us are frugal by the way we shop at the markets and feed our families and we are so creative at how we do this, taking time to preserve foods, use coupons, plan menus, preparing for emergencies, etc.

I personally love the idea that I am a frugal person. Its part of my lifestyle and I have been this way all of my life, long before I even knew there was a name or word for it. I more or less fall under  a combination of  categories B and C, E, and a little of D (love a good yard sale and own alot of designer stuff that I bought dirt cheap). C'mon guys, which category or combo fits you? 

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I am happy to report that through faith in the Almighty Creator and determination, I have found two great alternative remedies to using any store bought antiperspirants/deodorants. My story is below:

Several months ago I decided to never use antiperspirants again and to make and wear only all natural deodorants.  I came to this conclusion after reading the ingredients labeled on the back of the antiperspirant I was using at the time. I don't know what made me read this as I never really cared before.

While reading this, my attention drew to the ingredient alluminum sulphate (chlorohydrate and alluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex GLY). I said to myself, "Wow, what is that word I can barely pronounce without twisting my tongue" so I researched online and found out that this ingredient is a harmful chemical and thought to be the cause of breast cancer or lumps in the breast. In addition to this research information I found out that there is a difference between antiperspirants and deodorants. I thought they were all the same.  The difference is that antiperspirants contain the ingredient alluminum sulphate used to stop perspiration under the arms. The information I had gathered going from site to site was basically all the same and drew me to the final conclusion to use an all natural alternative all together to avoid harmful chemicals all.

I had no clue as to how I was going to do this so I continued to research online for a solution thinking the whole time that if I was going to stop using store bought deodorants I'd better come up with something very effective as an alternative, and fast. I live in the mideast and it gets pretty hot here (ha,ha,ha). I tried numerous recipes and none of them worked well for me. Also I noticed that while experimenting, my underarms would emit this foul odor. I had never experienced this before and became very annoyed with this reoccuring odor. I became so annoyed that I almost gave up but what made me hang in there was that I had stumbled upon a blogsite where a blogger was sharing her deodorant recipes and she stated in her notes that the body goes through a transitional stage of about 2-3 weeks of expelling the years of harmful antiperspirant chemicals our armpits have been storing and one may experience a foul odor during this time which fades away by the 3rd week. I at this time was on week number two, and about a week later I noticed that the foul odor did fade away, but still I hadnt found anything really effective I liked until one day I nicked my underarms shaving and dabbed by hand regular rubbing alcohol on them to soothe them forgetting to apply the deodorant I made and went about my day. I cannot recall what I was doing at the time but realized that I hadnt applied any deodorant.

I immediately lowered my head to smell underneath my arms and smelled no foul odors. I had no idea that alcohol alone really worked. I had read about this during my research, but doubted its strength, so I never tried it as an alternative.  "Eureka lol I have found my remedy" .

So for months I used rubbing alcohol and a spritz-fragrance I made using a mix of essential oils and 1/4 parts distilled water  under each arm. However, I did notice that I had to apply this deodorant under my arms about 2-3 times a day, washing them before applying with soapy hands, lightly rinsing and blotting dry with toilet paper.

This works so well for me and I still use it but there was one other alternative deodorant I had used that also works well, so I just  alternate between the two, being sure to apply the rubbing alcohol first when using either one. The recipe for the second alternative is: 1 parts of each: 100% pure coconut oil, baking soda, and corn starch, several drops of essential oils (used with dosage caution) or fragrance oils of your choice. Blend well and use as liberally as you would use any other cream deodorant.

Since using these two all natural deodorants, I have noticed three things.

1. I am saving so much money by not having to buy from the stores,

2. I actually feel alot healthier.

 3. Sure I lost some of the conveninces that store bought antiperspirants provide through their long lasting strengths, but at the same time I reduced my chances of being harmed by the chemicals they use.

Doing this led me to take a closer look and special notice to all things I use on my body as well as what I  eat. I have suggested this to others, and plan to share this info as much as I can (if The Almighty Creator wills). Please leave a response to this or feel free to respectfully ask me of my experiences with this, or please share any experiences you may have concerning this. Thanks for reading.

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One day my son came to me and said, "mom can you start buying the real Cocoa puffs cereal? I just had some at my friends house and theirs taste much better" I was floored and shocked. I had been buying generic brand cereals for years up until that time and no one ever complained until that moment. I instanty turned into my mother who was frugal in a good way as she would always say, " When I buy the name brands I'm paying for whats outside of the boxes, and when I buy no frills brand cereals, I'm paying for whats inside of the boxes and both brands have the same things inside" she would always say this. And at that moment I found myself telling my son the same exact thing. He was a good sport about it though and just responded with a shrug of his shoulders. Well now that left me thinking and I came up with something to try that I still do til this very day. I went out and bought those plastic see-through food storage containers with the lids that have pourable spouts. I stored our cereals in them. This way there would be no boxes to compare to because truthfully speaking, all those sugery cereals taste the same when eaten. Several weeks went by and I heard no complaints and the cereal was still being eaten. I even watched my son go into the kitchen and make a huge bowl of the generic brand cocoa puffs. He ate every chocolate morsel and even turned the bowl up to his mouth and drank the milk, which totally proved my point.

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Perform these steps when showering and they will surely leave you feeling very clean all day and make your deodorants and perfumes last longer.
1.  regulate your shower to the warmest water you can stand, and rinse your entire body.

2. (Using a bar of soap) lather your entire body from head to toe, rinse well (using only the soap first, gets rid of the top surface dirt and odors. When you use a cloth first, the dirt and odors get trapped into your wash cloth ICK!!)

3. Then, wash your hair if need to at this time and apply conditioner,  rinse well.

4.  Next, lather your washcloth, or bath brush, or loofa, with your bar of soap and wash entire body, rinse well. You should see an increase of soap lather.

5. If you use shower gel, now pour a quarter size amount on your spoof or in the palm of your hand and smooth all over your body, rinse well.

Note:  Many think to use shower gel as their main and first soap, but believe it or not, shower gels work best and their scents last longer on a clean body surface, and besides applying it by this time allows you to use alot less gel since you are basically clean at this point, which prolongs the use of your shower gel, which also saves you a ton of money especially if your the type that buys those really expensive brands from the lingerie or bath /body shops like I do. I shop for that stuff once a year when they have their big sales. Bath and Body Works just after New Years and Victorias Secret in the summer. No Fooling. 

5. After you've done steps 1-4,  Exit the shower and  pat your body dry with a clean towel. 

Apply deodorants and perfumes as usual and you are squeeky clean and set for the day.

In conclusion, I would like to mention and advise that during the performance of this bathing technique that it is only completely effective if while washing you NOT MISS THE FOLLOWING SPOTS: your ears (in and behind), any crevices and both orifices thoroughly, and  armpits (which stay deodorized better if also shaved of hairs as hair traps bad bacteria that causes odors)

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Hi, I'm so green to this blog thing, but "here goes... For my first ever blog, I decided to blog a list of things I no longer buy from the stores.  I stopped buying some of these items because I didnt like the chemicals involved to make them and also because making from home I found saves me money. Sometimes I personally think that many people go a little overboard with being frugal and become just down right cheap as it is easy to cross the line, so I do have some limitations here and there.  List 1:

• baby oil-
• antiperspirant (aluminum sulphate possibly causes cancer) regular old rubbing alcohol works great for me.
• hairdress/conditioner
• granola cereal
• Butter
• yogurt
• microwave popcorn
• pancake mix
• cookies/snacks
• tub/tile cleanser

All of the items above I make at home and save alot of money and the things I make are alot better and healthier. Also I have alot of methods of cooking, cleaning, organizing, that also play a part. Whenever I find something new to add to my list my family teases me, or when I try to share a money saving ideas, they give me a strange look or pause or roll their eyes towards the ceiling. I guess they right away feel that why go through all of what I do when I can just go and buy it, but that just tells me that they've missed the whole point. Those $$$ we spend at the stores add up. For example if each item I've listed above cost $1 each (realistically we know most of the items are more), that would be a total of $10 I would save. And things that I do buy, I use in a smart way to get full use and benefit.  So at some point I will make believers out of them. I love my family though, but for being frugal I've come here to share with others who will appreciate my methods and also to learn something new. Thanks

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