A Reader Asks, “Can You Save Money Making Your Own Laundry Detergent?” It’s easy to make homemade laundry detergent but does it actually save money? [Read more…] about Can You Save Money Making Your Own Laundry Detergent?
Cleaning
How To Get Kids To Help Around The House
“How can I get my kids to help?!” scream the mothers of the world! In all the years I have been a mother, almost every bit of advice I have studied say to motivate your kids using charts with stickers, allowances and various forms of bribery. I have personally used all of these methods. I believe in using them because I have found they work great.
What is Washing Soda?
What is Washing Soda?
A Reader asks: “What is washing soda? Is it baking soda?”
Tawra: Washing soda is not baking soda.
Washing soda should be in the laundry section of your grocery store. It comes in a yellow box, made by Arm & Hammer, but it’s NOT baking soda. If you’re interested, washing soda is Sodium Carbonate (Na2CO3), baking soda is Sodium Bicarbonate (NaHCO3), and borax is Sodium Tetraborate Decahydrate (Na2B4O7*10H2O), all different chemical compounds.
You can find it locally at Walmart or in the laundry section of most stores. You can also order it at many places online.
Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe
Homemade Laundry Detergent Video
Demystifying The Laundry Detergent Dilemma
Can You Save Money Making your Own Laundry Detergent?
Holiday Cleaning – Preparing Now For The Holidays
Holiday Cleaning – Preparing Now For The Holidays
Halloween is over, which means it is now officially time to kick it into gear to get ready for the holidays and to get your house ready for company. It really helps to get your house in order now because if unexpected company comes you won’t get caught off guard. Then you can concentrate on baking, finding gifts and organizing activities without having to worry about deep cleaning your house again until after the New Year.
Hopefully by now you have been inspired to start getting things done a little at a time so this won’t be too big of a job. Here are a few things to work on:
- Get your closets in order. Put summer clothes away and take winter clothes out, tossing as you go.
- Don’t forget your linen closets. Get your guest towels, sheets and extra blankets aired out and put the linens in a handy spot so they are easy to grab when you need them.
- If you have a guest room, get it cleaned and prepare everything for your first guests.
- Get your holiday linens prepared. Wash them if necessary and make sure they’re ready to go.
- Hopefully you have cleaned your pantry. Now you need to make sure it is stocked with everything you need for your holiday recipes, for some quick and easy to fix snacks and dinners for unexpected company or food to take to social events.
- Make sure your fridge and freezer are in order. The refrigerator and freezer are going to work overtime for you over the next couple of months so make sure they’re cleaned, organized and prepared.
- I don’t worry about cleaning my oven at this time. I use it so much for baking that it’s silly for me to clean it right before having a baking fest. I usually wait and give it a good cleaning after the holidays. If it’s really bad or you have company coming and it looks awful you may want to go ahead and clean it anyway.
- This week and next week is the time to do any deep cleaning that you don’t want to have to mess with again until after the holidays– things like washing your windows, deep cleaning rugs and carpets and dusting mirrors, picture frames, lampshades or ceiling fans.
If you have been keeping up with your cleaning you may not have to do any of these. Basically just clean your house enough for company. Then you’ll know it’s done and you will be prepared for the unexpected.
Part of the stress that comes at the holidays is the result of not being prepared, especially for the unexpected things that always seem to come up. Think of it like being prepared for a disaster. If I have a wood burning stove, firewood, lots of candles, blankets and food prepared, I am not too stressed if we lose power from an ice storm. If I wasn’t at all prepared, I would be in a total panic if an ice storm hit.
If you are prepared, you have something you can whip up for company in just a few minutes or if the kids need treats for school, you have dough frozen and ready to be baked in the freezer. I’m not saying that I have everything prepared like Martha Stewart but I do try to have everything together enough so that I’m reasonably prepared for the unexpected. My idea of the perfect woman is a cross between Martha Stewart and Erma Bombeck! Some days I am more one than the other and on other days I totally miss the mark, but that’s okay, because I tried. 🙂
-Jill
For more easy cleaning and organizing tips, check out our How To Organize And Clean Your Home e-books.
Using Wrapping Paper Scraps
Using Wrapping Paper Scraps
I was cleaning out my wrapping paper today and had a bunch of “pieces” of wrapping paper. You know– all of the ends you cut off and hate to throw away. Well, recently I have been getting everything organized again. The wrapping paper has been driving me nuts so I decided to tackle it.
I was trying to figure out what to do with all the those wrapping paper scraps. Yes, you can use them to wrap small gifts but it seems like they just multiply. The kids are getting a large gift from their grandmother in Colorado that I will need to wrap, so I’m going to take all those pieces and make a quilt type wrapping with all the scraps. That way, I will use the wrapping paper scraps and get them out of my hair! Yeah!!!!
Here’s another tip: When purchasing large items like coats or bigger toys, be sure to ask for extra large bags to bring them home. These make great trash can liners! You will be able to save on buying trash bags!
Tawra
Have you ever had a wrapping paper that you just loved and only have a small piece left? It is often too small to wrap anything. I will take a large package and wrap it in tissue paper or solid paper of some kind. Then I will carefully cut out the figures or part of the little piece of wrapping paper I loved and glue it to the tissue wrapped package.
I also once had a little piece of snowman paper I loved but not enough to use for wrapping gifts, so I made what I call “Santa” sacks for my grandkids. I cut out the snowmen from the wrapping paper. Then I took small brown paper sacks and glued one on each one of my sacks. Then I filled the paper Santa sacks with goodies for the kids. I don’t do this with all my scraps of paper; just my special ones.
Jill
Photo By: voxtheory
Trash to Treasure in the Garden
The old windows from my brothers house I used on my arbors.
Trash to Treasure in the Garden
Every year our town has a spring clean-up week and what they don’t want anymore goes to the curb. I start ‘shopping’ early. Over the last few years, I have collected a few lengths of picket fence four feet tall I use for pole bean trellis, an old baby crib I use for peas to climb and old planters, even if they are broken. I use the broken ones for mosaic pieces to adorn the unbroken ones.
Spring is also the time that many people remodel. I collected as many windows of all shapes and sizes and as much useable lumber and built a small but quite sturdy greenhouse! Now I can get my plants started early.
-Jackie
I admit, that some of my favorite garden things are things I’ve found in dumpsters, on the side of the road and begged my brother not to dump during his remodel. Right now my big thing is how to use up all the windows from his house. They are from the 1920’s and just really cool old windows. I put up 6 on our new arbors for a trellis.
I have also saved old sinks, a bed frame (to make a “flower bed”) and of course old wheelbarrows, stoves etc. My poor hubby keeps asking, “What are you going to do with this?” “What did you drag home now?”
-Tawra
I don’t question what Tawra drags home anymore. I know she usually has a really good reason.You can tell how well trained I was when the last time we were moving her brother and I found an old funny looking bucket with the bottom all rusted out. We were going to toss it but after years of good training (her dad was the same way too) we knew we should ask before we tossed it and, sure enough, it was a treasure.
I love the neighborhood clean-ups too. Last year I wasn’t even looking for anything but noticed my neighbor had set out two huge sections of metal fence in perfect condition. I have mostly metal fencing except for a 15 ft. section of wood that is so bad I have it tied with baling wire trying to keep it from falling. The neighbors pieces are exactly what I need and I even have two metal posts already in the ground. God must have been watching over me though because five minutes after I got them, the trucks came by to haul them off. I almost missed getting them!
-Jill
photo by Susie
5 Minutes to Organized
Hi I really appreciated reading how to clean and organize in 5 minutes. Timing yourself to do tasks is a great idea – I never thought about it quite in that way.
I have done something similar – for example, if I am waiting for something to heat up in the microwave (my coffee) – I think to myself that I have “found” 1 minute to do something – so I clean the front of the microwave, or take the rubbish out – some little chore rather than standing there watching the coursel go round.
It almost becomes a little game – gee – it only took me x seconds to do that. Also, I use ad breaks – another slot of “found” time. When I have stuff to do, I will watch a TV program, and the start of the ads is my signal to get up and do a little chore. For example, I might have the dish washing to do (I don’t own a dishwasher), so in the first ad break, I run the water and put the glasses in to soak. In the next break, I wash the glasses and put the plates in to soak and so on. It’s amazing how much gets done. Or, you can do a little bit of dusting or vacuuming in the break.
Cheers for now Kate in Cleveland, Queensland, Australia
Hello Kate,
I love to hear from our readers from down under. As a matter of fact I am reading yet another book that is set in Australia. I just love to read about your country.
I did the same type of thing you mentioned when I was really sick. I couldn’t clean the whole bathroom but I would make myself get up and clean the sink during the first 5 minute TV commercial and then the toilet during the next. That way I didn’t over do but at the same time I manage to get huge amounts done. I totally agree with what you said. Thanks, Jill
Cleaning Tips
- Keep a toothbrush by your kitchen sink to clean things like graters, choppers, mixer beaters and openers. You will be surprised how often you grab it to use on hard to clean places.
- Take care of all your small appliances. It really does help them last longer.
- Clean your coffee pot once in a while. Pour 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar into it and run it through as if you were making coffee. Repeat a couple of times using the same vinegar.
- Pour 1/4 cup baking soda down your drain. Then pour the used vinegar from the coffee maker down the drain. Let it sit for a minute or so. Next, pour 1-2 pots of water through the coffee maker to wash out the vinegar. When each pot of rinse water from the coffee maker is done, pour it into the drain. You now have a clean coffee pot and a clean drain.
- When you are buying containers to store anything in the freezer, fridge or cabinets, always remember that square ones stack better than round ones.
- Screw a cup hook close to your sink to hang your rings and watch. Make such it isn’t in a spot where it could accidentally be knocked down the drain!
- If your dishwasher is near your sink, place a small plastic basket (one like strawberries comes in) in the corner of your dishwasher and store things like your dish brush, scrubbing pads and sponges in it. This way, they won’t drip everywhere. You can also use a twist tie to tie the basket into the dishwasher so the things can stay in there and run through your washing cycle when you do your dishes. If you have a big enough silverware holder just keep them in there.
- When rinsing dairy products or starches (cheese, eggs, milk, rice, pasta, potatoes) from your dishes, use cold water. Hot water sets them and makes them harder to get off. Hot water is best for greasy items.
For more helpful tips to make organizing, cleaning and laundry easier, take a look at our How To Organize And Clean Your Home e-books.
photo by: quinnanya
When Saving Money, Make It Work For You
When Saving Money, Make It Work For You
Christy M. writes: The next time (if there is one) that you can stand to do an article on cleaning, kid chores or when to spend a bit more – here are my comments, take them or leave them 🙂
My son has disabilities that include attention span and fine motor skills. We decided it was far more important to make sure he learned some skills around the house as well as feeling like a useful member of the family, than to worry about saving a few dollars. I buy the wipes in a container and use regular wet Swiffer cloths and the Clorox Ready Mop. Those are items he can manipulate himself for cleaning the bathroom and mopping the hardwood floors, and I don’t have to worry about toxic chemicals or bleach getting sloshed around. Also, we are on a septic system, and using the disposables limits the harsh liquids going into the septic tank, extending the period between pumpings. Yes, of course I realize that they ARE going into the garbage.
Again, this is what WORKS FOR US. I generally stock up on these cleaners at the warehouse store when they are running a coupon special. I tried using the wet Swiffer type wipes from the dollar store but didn’t care for the performance. Generally we wet Swiffer a couple of times a week and then my daughter or I do a "good old" sponge mop job with Spic n Span or similar, about once a week. If the floors are very grubby in between, we’ll touch up with the Ready Mop. Our bathrooms are small, so half a dozen wipes and one wet Swiffer cloth for the bathrooms does it for the week.
Just another example of how thriftiness doesn’t have to be "all or nothing."
Christy
Tawra: Hi Christy, Thank you for this great reminder that the goal is not always to save the most money, but rather to make the best decision for your family. For all of us, there will be times when it is worth spending a little more to make it work for you and your family.
photo by: aflcio2008