By now most of you know we buy on sale, at the thriftstore, rode side castoffs , ect. We have been looking for a starter acoustic guitar for our youngest for quite a while. Found this older 3/4 size student model at a thrift store last week for $35.00. Its smaller size fits her perfectly and it is a great starter guitar.
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Canadagirl/
for more awesome tightwad ideas.
Save Those Blue Jeans!
I saved blue jeans till I ran out of room for anymore. Thought I had enough to finish my sons rag quilt but had to ask friends for a few more donations. It was well worth the wait. The quilt only cost me 10.00 to make as I got the backing material 1/2 off. It is twin plus size.
My daughter has made countless purses and packs from old jeans. We have also made placemats, skirts from jeans, pillows, and door jam draft keepers.
Update:
This quilt is my sons favorite and still going strong! He is married now. Called a few months back to ask how to wash it!
Here are some links on making stuff with blue jeans:
http://tipnut.com/things-to-do-with-old-jeans/
http://www.lovetosew.com/greenwithjeans.htm
I get my blue jeans for free as I work in a clothing closet and any stained, ripped or undesireable clothing becomes mine to recreate with. However you can ask friends, find reasonable sales at thrift stores, and keep the ones your kids grow out of.
I am following Marys lead and posting an old TWT! This is my very first TWT with Mary. Its from May of 2008.
Composting
This may seem odd for a Tightwad topic but we make garbage cans full of good rich soil each year this way. We have an open compost pile in a wood frame bin and a trash can compost bin. Both are homemade. We toss any biodegradeable item in these bins. ( this includes shredded paper, any non fat kitchen waste, bunny droppings, lawn clippings, leaves, and wood chips from the wood pile) Top with thin layers of grass and leaves from time to time and stir once a week. We end up with really rich beautiful soil made from stuff that would have gone to the landfill.
http://www.gardenguides.com/how-to/tipstechniques/planning/compost.asp
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/earthknd/compost/compost.html
Be sure to stop by here for creative tightwad ideas: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Canadagirl/
Waste Not Want Not
I heard that so much growing up but you know what it is true!
We do fresh product pick up at grocery stores for the food pantry. ( this is where you get the produce adn deli that goes out of date that day ) Sometimes we get dead or nearly dead flowers under the produce department. Not wanting to waste anything ( yet unable to give these dead plants to food pantry customers) I save what I can. This past two weeks have been tulips. While the beautiful plant is dead the bulb is thriving and readying itself for the next season. I am saving each bulb for a beautiful bloom next year! I also save each of the pretty gold cords that is around the pretty paper on the pots. And yes I save the pots too. Sometimes I can save the paper. I have been known to pick up cast a way plants from curb side trash as well.
It all adds up!
This is for folks who love to read! Free online christian novels! Classics! Check it out. http://free-online-novels.com/christian.html
I use to belong to Wowio when it was free. They now offer read on line selections. Many of their books are undesireable so by pass those and go to the art or craft sections. I found this one that I am gleaning many ideas for gifts from. Its a great tutorial on felting and crochet purses.
This is so economical and easy to make. Makes a great treat for yourself or a great gift to have on hand.
Basic Bath Salts
2 cups of Epsom Salts (magnesium sulfate)
2 cups of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
2 cups of sea salt (sodium chloride)
Each of these ingredients has certain qualities and uses.
Epsom salt, when added to a bath, is absorbed through the skin and is known to draw toxins from the body, sedate the nervous system, reduce swelling and relax muscles.
It's also a natural skin softener and exfoliator.
Baking soda helps neutralize the acids on your skin and wash away oils and perspiration, leaving your skin silky smooth.
It's also useful to relieve itching.
Sea salt helps cleanse pores, alleviate dry skin conditions and soften the water. Although you can substitute table salt, sea salt is preferred because it retains more minerals.
Sea salt is available as fine or coarse crystals; either will work, but remember that the larger the crystals, the longer it takes for the salts to dissolve in the bath.
You can mix and match the proportions of the salts you use; many people add epsom salts, sea salt or baking soda to their bath water with no other added ingredients.
Some bath salts recipes recommend adding only a few tablespoons to each bath, but the beneficial effects from this are usually minimal.
At least half a cup of bath salts should be used, and preferably a whole cup each time.
Cautions:
Bath salts are not recommended for use with babies.
An allergic reaction to bath salts is also possible, particularly when herbs or essential oils are added;
for this reason, a label listing the recipe ingredients is a good idea.
I found this on a yahoo group I belong to. Planning on giving it a try.
Antibacterial Bathroom Cleaner
Ingredients:
1 cup baking soda
2 tablespoons (or more) liquid soap
2 teaspoons tea tree essential oil
1 teaspoon peppermint essential oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar (optional)
Blending Procedure:
1.Measure the baking soda into a bowl with a tight fitting lid.
2.Add approximately 2 tablespoons of liquid soap (either regular dish washing soap or a natural brand of liquid soap such as liquid Castile soap).
Mix well to create a paste-like consistency.
If you need more liquid soap to do this, add it a little at a time until the mixture is like a paste -- pliable but not soggy.
3.Once you have a consistency you feel like you can work with, add the essential oils and mix well again.
The addition of vinegar last helps to boost the cleaning power.
4.To use, scoop out a little of the cleanser and use a sponge or other cleaning tool to gently scrub your tub, shower and sink surfaces.
A little goes a long way and the antibacterial effect of tea tree gives you extra peace of mind.
I cleaned out my fridg freezer and chest feezer this week. Found some lost goodies ( pork roast mostly) and enough meat to do two weeks of meals. ( even though both freezers looked emptyish. You all know I love to plan meals ahead. In my search for new to me recipes I found this wonderful food storage site. It has a recipe index. Lots of recipes for using what you already have on hand. Very frugal ideas.
http://frugalabundance.com:80/frugalfoodstorage.htm
The Christmas Box. I talked about this in my weekly wrap up but wanted to share here too. I am enjoying keeping a notebook, hunting for treasures, and wrapping and labling them as soon as I find them. It is my goal to purchase or make a treasure for everyone on the list long before the holiday season. So far I have found five brand new gifts for 1.50! I have two gifts in the making using scrap fabric and materials on hand. I will try to post a photo soon.
Here are some sites with easy to make gifts ( good for kids and family to make together)
http://familycrafts.about.com/od/giftstomake/tp/HomeMadeGiftIdeas.htm
My goal is to make a gift each week with the kids. ( or at least get them started!)
This weeks post is about being patient! Waiting to find a matching item at a price your can afford. You may remember a few months ago I found a retro 60s /70s Amber Glass lamp for $2.00! That was a steal! I love the lamp and had no idea it had matching smaller lamps. This past week I found not one but two matching lamps at a thrift store. I went home and ask hubby if I could get the lamp ( It was $6.98 ) Notice I sait It as I only saw one lamp. We went to the store later in the day. Hubby spotted what he thought to be the lamp way up high on a shelve...and I said no the one I looked at was way over there....so there were two! I now have three matching lamps in my foyer/ office/ den. They make it cozy and full of soft light. These lamps are sought after by collectors and worth a whole lot more than I paid for them. But I did not get them to resell. I got them because I love them and I need them.
The orginal find that started this collecting craze! I paid $2.00 for it.
The new one ( to me). There are two of these. Speaking of bargins the paintings in this photo were steals at 25 cents for one and a dime for the other.
I had taken photos of them in the dark all lite up but somehow they never showed up on the camera. So these are day time shots. So you cannot see just how soft and pretty the light is.
We also shop for new stuff ( sometimes!) While looking for lampshades for the new thrift store finds we found this lamp. It was on sale for $39.00. We saved $117.00! I now have a really well lite reading nook. The lamp has a night light in it too.
What to do with all the leftover candycanes? Make French Ice Cream of course! This recipe was found in a 1924 Fruit and Flower Mission Cookbook from Seattle Washington. ( its in my collection of old books) I love the book as it has old adds from that time period and bits of history throughout. Seattle was my hometown growing up.
French Ice Cream
1lb of peppermint candy
1 quart of milk
1 pint of whipping cream
Soak candy several hours in the milk, or until dissolved. Add one pint of cream and freeze.
Perhaps this is not tightwadish...but each year when we put the christmas decorations away we usually have a bunch of candy canes to do something with. ( cannot put them in the attic with the decorations!) Also candy canes are very cheap right now.
Okay did the title get your attention?! I have a plan in place for next Christmas. I have list of gift ideas for each family member, craft ideas , ( anything from ornaments, to homemade gifts), recipes I did not get to try this year but really wanted to, favorite recipes that cannot be missed, christmas card list. Traditions. The ones that everyone loved and new ones I want to try. All of this goes into a notebook.
Will I accomplish it all? Probably not. However every thing I do accomplish helps lessen the stress come December 2010. My plan is to keep the notebook handy. I have a small gift notebook I keep in my purse ( because I cannot remember all of it!) Give it try! Plan ahead!
I already bought next years wrapping paper. It was 50 cents a roll. Of course I bought paper that was solid color or not necessarily christmas so it many not make it to the intended holiday. Dear daughter used a roll yesterday to line the kitchen drawers! They look awesome!
I love to decorate with natural items. I find lots of things in nature throughout the year. Seed pods, pinecones, sticks, grapevine and so on.
We love to STUFF the kids stockings full. Finding items that are personal to each child is so much fun! This is where keeping the list is so important. I shop alot of thrift stores, yardsales. I never know just what I will find. Having the list keeps me on track!
Here is one of the crafts I plan to make for next year
Country table runner, matching lap quilt for rocker, http://www.lovetosew.com/ragquiltphoto.htm
Go visit Mary for more tightwad ideas! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Canadagirl
As part of planning for the new year I begin take stock of what is in the pantry, plan several weekly menus and try to get back on track in the kitchen. Using what I already have in my pantry saves money and time. Planning new to our family recipes gets rid of dinner time hum drum. I use the down time of Christmas break to plan and organize. I found several sites that helped me to get started.
http://leftoverchef.com/ Great for using up the leftovers that we all have lurking in the fridg.
Calculators to help plan a recipe for what you already have.
http://www.momadvice.com/food/pantry_planning.aspx 4 weeks of menu plans
http://www.recipelink.com/faqs.html tons of links
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Canadagirl
Here are some sites with wonderful tips for saving money on Christmas. There are even ideas for gifts that are "free",
http://www.betterbudgeting.com/articles/holidays/saveatchristmas.htm
http://save.lovetoknow.com/Christmas_on_a_Tight_Budget
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/specialoccasions/tp/Free_Low_Cost_Christmas_Gifts.htm
I found this cute and very useful tightwad resource and wanted to pass it on.
Tightwad Tess web page: http://www.tightwadtess.com/
Tightwad Tess Blog: http://tightwadtess.blogspot.com/
I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family. We were blessed to have our son and daughter in law home for the holiday. We spent time making ornaments, gathering christmas treasures for them to take home, and of course visiting new to us family. We were without phone or computer most of the week. Bliss! Really! The kids found lots to do. And it was quiet! I cannot even begin to share what it feels like to have your kids come home! It is such a blessing to spend time with them and just sit and listen to them.
For the
part of this post look at the decorations for autumn in the photos below. We were given free pumpkins this year. ( lots of them!) Not only did we have pumpkins to decorate with but we will freeze all the pumpkin meat for cooking with later in the year. DD2 made an adorable center piece. It cost us a total of $1.25. The basket was 25 cents and the flowers were 1 at the dollar tree. We also decorated with our own gourds.
We made ornaments from more free to us items. Making Pomanders is usually an expensive venture. We were blessed with lemons, limes, oranges and cloves and cinnamon for free this year. Google pomamders and you will find a whole bunch of ideas. We have some from 22 years ago that are still hanging on our tree!
Last but not least for TWT: Spending time at home doing the simple things is the best! Baking, cooking a meal, playing games, watching a movie together, creating memories with homemade gifts and ornaments is priceless!!!! Be sure to visit Mary for more TWT http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Canadagirl
Decorating is tradition the day after Thanksgiving and this year was no exception. It was even more sweet with the oldest and his bride home for the holiday.
Cats helping to undecorate. We plan for a bit of breakage each year...just part of having five felines. This year we hung bulbs and icecycles on the stairs. These proved to be great joy for the two youngest cats. They have already broken three bulbs. We may have to remove them.
We generally only decorate one full room of the house. This year the chosen room is the foyer. We were greatly blessed with hand me down decorations in fabulous condition. Mostly wreaths and garland with lights.
Our yearly christmas photo was early this year since the groom and his bride were home.
We even took time for an early surprise birthday party for our oldest.
Saving on Fabric Softner Sheets: I put the sheet in during the cool down cycle of the dryer. Then I remove it when the load is done and reuse. I get about 7 loads out of a dryer sheet this way.
Out of dryer sheets? Add 1/4 cup baking soda to the wash cycle and add 1 C. white vinegar to your laundry's rinse cycle.
Stains:Rub liquid dish soap into stains. My kids know this one well and grab the dawn dish soap as soon as they get something on their clothes. Rub it in well on the spot and leave it on a while. Then wash as usual.
Soak stained clothing in a small bowl of hydrogen peroxide (this works best on whites and light fabrics).
Other Laundry Tips that save money:
Use cold water! Do not use hot water unless the clothes are greasy. ( and then only set it for the wash cycle not the rinse cycle)
Presoak soiled clothing.
Make sure your machine is full. ( do one instead of two loads)
Spin clothes out a second time to reduce drying time. This really helps with heavy loads like jeans, towels and blankets.
Clean dryer filter after each load and chech the dryer exhaust monthly.
Wash and dry at non peak times. The rates are cheaper. Its called Time of Use Rate or TOU. You can look up the TOU for your area. It can save you as much as 18,609cents per kilowatt hour. You generally have to sign up for this and some areas do not offer this.
We do not hang our clothes out due to mold, mildew spores, lots of bird stuff and high humidy. ( allergies) Hanging your clothes outside is a huge savings though.
I should have taken a photo of the gift the gals and I put together for a friend. She and I share an avid love for the same thrift store so when we had an opportunity to bless her with a gift at a recent ladies get together at our church I knew just where to shop. The gift was to honor her as a Proverbs 31 woman. It was a blessing to be the one presenting the gift.
The gals and I had a blast picking out "her favorite things". Her home is filled with thrift store finds. She makes things over to go with the decor ( thrift store shek!) and is a whiz at painting furniture. We had a theme in mind as we shopped and also set a price limit per item. This helps us stay in budget.
We bought her a large basket with wire leaves and banding accents, a tall leaf design candle holder, ( rustic metal), a pumpkin wire candle holder ( again rustic metal), a metal wall plaque in the shape of a cross with "Faith" written in the middle, a small metal basket that hangs on the wall, ( we filled it with flowers),and four old lace and cotton hand towels. I paid $6.75 for all the above. Below are the prices of the same ( or near same) items if purchased new.
Basket with Wire Accents 22.00
Pumpkin Candle Holder 13.00
Leaf Design Candle Holder 17.00
Faith Wall Hanging 9.95
Wall Tin Basket 17.99
Cotton Towels 40.00
Shopping at the thrift store enables me to buy great gifts on a shoestring budget.
Our library has a book sale every month. Paperbacks are 25 to 50 cents. Hardbounds are $1.00. We really enjoy going to these book sales. This month we got all these books for $11.00. The art books ( four of them ) alone are worth $217.00 brand new. Dd 1 got 3 books on architecture, Dd 2 got one very nice book on China and four very large art books. Hubby even got a book on trains. We also found three novels.
Several of the books we purchased are books we regularly check out for school so this was a real find!
One of our libraries also host an ongoing book swap...take a book leave a book. This is free! So check with your library and see if they have similar programs.
Meal Planning saves time and money! I have shared this before but with a new school year and new schedules its time to put good planning in the kitchen back into action.
I plan meals with my whole family. My girls will be doing the bulk of the cooking this year so they will also be planning the meals. We have a few rules for planning:
We must use what we already have in our pantry, fridg and freezer. We must plan so that at least one meal each week is leftovers. We must plan around time schedules ( two nights a week are quick out the door nights and the meals need to reflect that)
Meals are planned, items pulled from the pantry, and all the meat for the week is pulled from the freezer on Sunday. ( put in the fridg). Meal plan is posted on the fridg.
Doing all of this helps with impulse to just cook anything, go out to eat, ect. Our meals are more nutritious, yummy, and enjoyed by everyone.
Here is a great site on meal planning: http://organizedhome.com/kitchen-tips/menu-planning-save-time-kitchen
A great way to start saving is to do an inventory of your freezer and pantry. Plan around what you already have as much as possible. Look for new recipes. We love looking on line and getting cook books at the library.
Get the whole family involved! My kids have cooked in the kitchen since they could sit on the counters and stir something in a bowl.
Here are a few favorite sites:
http://cookingformyfamily.blogspot.com/
http://www.crockpot-cooking.com/
http://www.yummycrockpotrecipes.com/ ( has recipes by seasons )
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ This gal did a year of crockpotting and then produced a book! I love her creative recipes.
This weekend we went to a yard sale in our neighborhood. I had $2.00...not much for a yard sale. The gals had more on hand so we stopped to take a look. The gals faired well with great jewerly finds and two cute dresses.
I found a box of dishes. One item caught my eye. It was labled .75 cents!
I took it up to the lady in charge and she said it was .75 cents for all the dishes in that box.
Four of the items in the above photo are HULL brand pottery and worth a whole lot more than the fraction of the .75 cents each I paid for them. I got them because I love them...I have no intention of selling them for what they are really worth.
Here is my second favorite piece. It bears no mark and looks ot be a HULL copy cat. Anyone know anything about this piece?
And these cuties are just for fun. They have no mark. Anyone know anything about them?
I found four of these individual "pots" with lids for $1.00. They seem to have the wrong lids. However the lids fit perfectly. Lids are marked Treasure Craft, Pots are marked USA with a Maple Leaf. Anyone have a clue?
The pots appear to be another HULL look alike but not the lids. The lids are clearly Treasure Craft in style and mark.
I also found a christmas table cloth for .75 cents ( borrowed a quarter from my kids!) So for 2.25 I think I did really well! All of the dishes are in fabulous condition with no cracks , chips or glazing. Amazing considering how they were stored in the box.
Sometimes treasures are found in everyday things. When looking for a craft I saw at our museum gift store ( so we could do it ourselves) I came across this really cool site. Dollar Store Crafts. http://dollarstorecrafts.com/ There are lots of crafts using things we normally would toss..like soda bottle coin purse. Its cute!
And here is another cool site!!!! http://craftstew.com/category/recycled-crafts Ideas like making a clock out of a book and much more. Fun stuff!!!
As for the craft I was really looking for? Here it is! http://notbeige.wordpress.com/2009/05/06/repurpose-old-magazines-into-a-magazine-reed-box/ Our museum was selling small picture frames using this technique for $25.00 each. I have tons of old magazines ( and the library has a free magazine box) We think these will make a nice gift.
We do the fresh food pick up for two stores as part of the food pantry. In todays pick up there was a Chayote. Interesting looking fruit/veggie. ( it grows on a vine is classed a veggie but smells like a pear!) If I had more of them I would cook it up and give it a try. Check out the link below.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/79336/
