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Frugal Rinse Aid: Vinegar in the Dishwasher
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Did you know that you can use vinegar in place of a (much more expensive) rinse aid? Simply pour it in the dispenser just as you would the rinse aid.
I have been using vinegar in the dishwasher for years with great results at a fraction of the price.
Click here to read about how I save money using vinegar in the laundry.
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Practical Presents: Gifts that Start a Tradition
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I love holiday traditions, which is why I especially like gift-giving traditions. Here are some examples:
Christmas ornaments are a great annual gift choice. I enjoy giving my children each an ornament that they can add to their personal ornament collection. Each year, I select an ornament that symbolizes something special from the past year.
For example, my nephew loves his Elf on a Shelf. This Elf on the Shelf ornament
would make a great ornament gift for him.Christmas books make a great gift. By giving a special Christmas book each year, your family will have a collection of books to read over and over each year. A Christmas book advent calendar such as the one I wrote about here, will give hours of enjoyment for many years to come.
Christmas movies provide a fun family-time tradition. I seldom purchase DVDs. However, the one exception to this rule is Christmas DVDs. We love to spend time together as a family watching our favorite holiday movies. Year after year, my children laugh while watching Elf
.Do you have a signature holiday cookie or treat that family and friends would love to receive each year? Sending a treat that only comes at the holidays is a special gift for anyone. It makes gift giving so much easier for you as well. Once you have the recipe and packaging perfected, you're ready for years to come.
For more practical gift ideas, check out:
Shopping Online: Receive Email Alerts of Price Drops
If you're planning to purchase a gift online and want to be sure you are getting the best price, you'll want to sign up for Shopping Notes price alert service.
When you sign up for this service, you specify the URL of a product in which you are interested. If the price drops, they will send you an email alert.
So if you are considering an online purchase and want to be alerted of a price drop, sign up for this service and you won't miss a sale. Many sales (such as Amazon's Daily Deals or Lightning Deals), are short-lived. By receiving the email alert, you won't miss out.
Add Softness to Your Laundry with Vinegar
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This problem is easily solved by adding vinegar to the rinse cycle in the washing machine. I use a Downy ball and throw it in the wash, eliminating the need for fabric softener. Don't worry about the vinegar smell, your clothes will come out soft amd smelling fresh.
If you would like to add your favorite scent, you could add a drop or two of essential oil. Lavendar essential oil
is a nice scent for the laundry.
Practical Presents to Help with Dinner
Money-Saving Cookbooks
Cookbooks with frugal dinner suggestions will be a hit with anyone wanting to reduce their food budget.
Here are some of my favorites:
Cookbooks with frugal dinner suggestions will be a hit with anyone wanting to reduce their food budget.
Here are some of my favorites:
- Once-A-Month Cooking
- This book will change the way you think about preparing dinner. It's filled with great how-to tips and tons of recipes. For more great recipes that are sure to become family favoirtes, check out Once-A-Month Cooking Family Favorites
.
- The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook
- 200 recipes that are easy to make and easy on the food budget. You might also want to check out The $5 Dinner Mom Breakfast and Lunch Cookbook
.
- Slow Cooker Revolution
- 200 recipes from American's Test Kitchen to make in a slow cooker. Get them a programmable slow cooker
to go with the book and they will be able to start cooking right away.
- Another favorite slow cooker cookbook is More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow
. This book is filled with 200 budget-friendly slow cooker recipes.
Eliminate Static with Aluminum Foil in the Dryer
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I use a ball of heavy duty aluminum foil approximately 2 to 3 inches in diameter. As the ball is used it becomes more compact and smooth. I have eliminated static by using only one ball, if you live in an especially dry area, you may need to use 2 or 3 balls.
You will hear the ball clank around a bit, but this is a very low cost way to eliminate expensive dryer sheets.
Practical Presents
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With money tight for many this season, selecting practical gifts is more important than ever. A gift that is thoughtfuly chosen, is useful, and will save the recipient money will score big this season.
Here are some ideas for practical present ideas that people will love.
For the Coffee Lover
Brewing coffee beverages at home has become even more popular now that people are shunning $4 lattes. Provide the tools necessary to make a great beverage at home. The Aerobie AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker
uses total immersion and gentle pressure to produce coffee with extraordinarily rich flavor. It can make coffee or an espresso-style shot perfect for use in lattes or cappuccinos. The Aerolatte Milk Frother
is a convenient battery-powered tool that makes it possible to get a great latte at home.Pizza Night at Home
is a must. A pizza peel
makes transferring the pizza to and from the hot stone a breeze, and a new pizza cutter
completes the set. Any of these useful tools will help the recipient make pizza at home and save money on pizza night.
Homemade Soup Mix
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. You could pair this gift with a favorite soup recipe or even a homemade mix presented in a decorative canning jar.
Homemade Turkey Stock
It's so easy to make great-tasting homemade turkey stock with what's left of your Thanksgiving turkey. I like to use a slow cooker, but you could also use a large pot and let the stock simmer on the stove.
Toss into your pot whatever you have left of your turkey--bones, skin, and any scraps of meat left hanging on the bones.
Add a generous amount of chopped onions, carrots, and celery, including the leafy ends and the onion skin. Chopping the vegetables will release more flavor, but I don't chop them too fine so that they are easier to remove after cooking.
Simmer for 8 to 10 hours. If using a slow cooker, cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.
Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the stock into another pot and refrigerate. Remove any fat that appears on the surface.
Stock may be frozen for up to 6 months.
This post is linked to House of Hepworth.
Real Food for Less: Buy in Bulk
One of my personal goals is to lower my family's food budget. Natural and organic food can be very expensive, and I am looking for ways to lower this cost.
Here's a great (real world) example of how buying in bulk can lower your food cost. It's a "real world" example because, while making pancake mix this week, I ran out of flax seed and purchased the prepackaged flax for $2.79. When I made a trip to a health food store later in the week, I realized how hasty I had been and how much it had cost me.
I paid $2.79 for a 7 ounce package of organic flax seed. At the health food store, the organic flax seed is sold in bulk for $1.89 per pound.
Do the Math
At $2.79 for a 7 ounces, that prepackaged flax seed cost $6.38 per pound! Buying in bulk saved me over 70%!
If you don't have a source for bulk flax seed, you can purchase online and save
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Homemade Daily Shower Spray
Regular use of a daily shower spray can really cut down on the need for deep cleaning. Did you know that you can make a very frugal daily shower spray that uses no harsh chemicals? It's so easy!
After cleaning my very nasty shower curtain liner, I wanted to keep it looking great. Lightly spray your shower area, including the tub side of your liner, with this homemade spray to keep it clean.
Homemade Daily Shower Spray
3 parts water
1 part vinegar
a few drops of essential oil (I like lavender oil)
)That's it! I really like using homemade cleaners whenever possible. So I purchased these spray bottles
for that very purpose.And check out these other great uses for vinegar:
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(I love the convenience of shopping online and I think you will too.
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policy here.)
Frugal and Healthy Breakfast Ideas
A personal goal that I am currently working on involves lowering my family's food budget. Due to dietary restrictions, we eat primarily unprocessed and organic food.
We often have organic eggs for breakfast, but here are some additional breakfast items we are currently rotating through our menu plan:
Breakfast Brown Rice
Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Nutty Blender Waffles
Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothies
What are some of your favorite frugal and healthy breakfast items?
We often have organic eggs for breakfast, but here are some additional breakfast items we are currently rotating through our menu plan:
Breakfast Brown Rice
Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Nutty Blender Waffles
Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothies
What are some of your favorite frugal and healthy breakfast items?
Goals: Beginning is the Hardest Part
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If you read my post on setting S.M.A.R.T. goals, you know that my first big goal is reducing my family's food budget.
With two teenagers, one with dietary restrictions, we eat primarily organic and unprocessed foods. This means lots of cooking from scratch. Some days I feel like my biggest challenge is keeping everyone fed. We finish with one meal and it's on to the next. Not only do I feel like we spend too much money on food, but it seems like I spend way too much time just feeding everyone.
I needed to start with one aspect of this huge project, so I decided to start at the very beginning--breakfast.
My first order of business in accomplishing this goal is to come up with several low cost, easy to prepare (or prepare ahead) breakfast items. From there, I'll move on to the rest of the day. This small part of the larger goal seems doable, not overwhelming.
Stay tuned for some of my favorite frugal breakfast ideas. What are yours?
Breakfast Brown Rice
Until recently, I had never heard of eating rice for breakfast. But now I am so glad that I have. Rice is very frugal, healthy, and so filling. It's a great way to start the day.
For a printable version of this recipe click here.
Brown Rice Breakfast
(per serving)
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons slivered almonds
2 tablespoons dried fruit
1/4 cup milk, to taste
1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
dash of vanilla
sprinkle of cinnamon
Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan. Over medium heat, stir frequently until heated through.
Any type of chopped or slivered nut may be used. Dried cranberries, blueberries, or raisins are especially good in this recipe.
This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.
Festive Butter for Thanksgiving Dinner
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These decorative pats of butter add a festive touch to Thanksgiving dinner. They are very easy to make using inexpensive candy molds.
Simply let the butter soften for about 30 minutes. Then, using a butter knife or small spatula, fill the molds. Check the underside to be sure there are no air bubbles.
Set the mold in the freezer for a short time to let the butter harden (it will be easier to get out of the mold if you do this). By applying a small amount of pressure to the underside of the mold, the butter should just pop out. Be careful not to dent the butter.
Simply let the butter soften for about 30 minutes. Then, using a butter knife or small spatula, fill the molds. Check the underside to be sure there are no air bubbles.
Set the mold in the freezer for a short time to let the butter harden (it will be easier to get out of the mold if you do this). By applying a small amount of pressure to the underside of the mold, the butter should just pop out. Be careful not to dent the butter.
For the fall shapes in the photograph, I used this leaf candy mold.
To make the butter really pop, place the butter on a bed of cranberries.
To make the butter really pop, place the butter on a bed of cranberries.
Beautiful Butter is linked to the following parties: Sunday Showcase, I Heart Naptime, Success U, The Chic and Crafty Party a Well-Seasoned Life.
Chocolate Chip Pancakes
and I have found the lowest prices for this product on Amazon.I also add ground flax for the health benefits. We add 1 tablespoon of ground flax to this recipe which is very noticeable and makes for a hearty pancake. Begin by adding 1 teaspoon and work up from there if you are unsure.
Since I make this recipe often, I make up the dry mix and store it in the refrigerator.
For a printable version of this recipe click here.
1 cup flour
3 tablespoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
ground flax to taste (I use 1 tablespoon. I grind the flax seed in a coffee grinder)
1 egg, scrambled
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup chocolate chips
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and ground flax.
In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg. Add water and coconut oil.
Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until batter is moistened. Stir in chocolate chips and combine.
Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto heated skilled and cook until lightly brown on both sides.
For more great recipes visit The Chic and Crafty Party and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.
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