SAHM tips....Money saving tips??

[ChikeeMomma]

I do believe that homemade detergent is safe for HE washers. There are lots of recipes for it on the internet. I like visiting www.chickensintheroad.com for recipes for homemade cleaner. She may also have one for homemade detergent. Good luck!

 

[cackydoodledoo]

Quote:
Thank you!

 

[BCBunnies]

Our simple savings plan calls for ground turkey instead of beef it's cheaper by $.25-.75 a lb and if I combine that with a sale I can get 3lbs. for less than $3. We use 3/4 lb meat when a recipe calls for 1lb and I make chili in the crockpot alot. I will make homemade mac and cheese for the kid and mix in some of the chili so he has his veggies and protein with his fav dish.

Hope noone tells him or he won't eat it anymore.

Another cute idea for dinner on a budget is portioning out the meat I will use my cupcake pan to make individual mini meatloaf cupcakes which freeze very well and then top with steamed and mashed cauliflower and mashed potatoes or for color I'll add some tomato juice or broccoli to the pot so it looks like colored frosting. And for sprinkles we add just a tiny bit of shredded cheese. Check on your cheese too I've been buying at HEB and their 2lb bag of shredded is cheaper than their 2lb block of cheese by nearly $1. Take a calculator with you to compare prices sometimes the bulk is cheaper but I've found sometimes it isn't.

One other tip we use is we reuse scratch paper. I let my DS cut up some of his old drawings and we use the pieces for collages and we take my DH's computer paper scraps (he prints waaay too much) and we use that to stuff toilet paper rolls for bunny toys or I'll turn it printed side down and Colin has more art paper.

We also use a homemade recipe for pizza crust then save leftover bits of meat and veggies from the week and make a leftover pizza. We've had everything from corn to artichokes on the pizza and all sorts of meat toppings ham, grilled chicken, and bacon but the weirdest was when my son wanted to put scrambled eggs from that morning on his pizza.

And I save on getting containers for everything by buying the sandwich meat that comes in plastic bins so we can reuse them for nearly everything. My son packs his lunch in one of them and he's used them as building blocks for his legos as well. And the medium sized ones make a really awesome portable art bin to take in the car. The lid is big enough to hold a half sheet of paper on top and plenty of crayons and markers will fit inside.

We also don't buy specialized cleaning products anymore. I use vinegar, baking soda and lemons to clean just about everything. For really dirty stuff or for deep sanitizing I still use bleach though.

Good luck on saving and being a stay at home mom is the best job in the world!

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Here is a recipe my sister shared with me (that I modified somewhat) that is IDEAL for leftover meats. Every time there are leftovers, we put them in the "Dirty Rice" bag in the freezer until we're ready to make a batch. It's SO delicious and you can really substitute for any of the ingredients what you have on hand. Every time I make it I have slightly different ingredients, but oddly, it tastes the same every time- just delicious!

Here's the link to the BYC "Recipes" section where photos are included of the dish:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/recipes/?p=recipe&recipe=474

Dirty Rice
Every ingredient is OPTIONAL, except the rice!

Extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
onions, diced
Red peppers, diced
Leftover cooked meats, diced (ie: hot turkey sausage, ground turkey, ground beef, kielbasa, pork, andouille, chourico, Italian sausage, etc.)
1 cup white wine
1 ½ cups chicken broth
Salt & pepper
garlic powder, oregano, red pepper flakes, cumin, celery salt, paprika, etc.
a dash of Gravy Master
a dash of Soy sauce
a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon stir fry sauce

3 cups cooked rice

2 scrambled eggs

Coat bottom of big saute pan with some olive oil. Heat to medium heat. Saute the garlic, onions & peppers until soft.

Add all the diced meats and spices.
Cook meats until heated through if using pre-cooked meats, or until cooked through if raw.
Add the wine & chicken broth. Mixture should be fairly soupy (definitely more mixture than moisture). Let flavors combine for 5-10 minutes.
Add rice to the meat/veggie/liquid mixture. Cook for another 5-10 minutes so the rice soaks up the juice & serve!

 

[redhen]

Quote:
What sites do you use?

I use: http://www.MoneySavingMom.com http://WickedCoolDeals.com (MY FAVORITE!!) and http://www.TheFrugalGirls.com and sometimes: http://coupondatabase.dealseekingmom.com and http://www.freebies4Mom

I subscribe to them either through my Facebook account, so the deals show up right in my News Feed or via email and the deals come right to my Inbox.

I assure you that I save MUCH more than fifty cents on a coupon here or there! lol And I don't run around from grocery store to grocery store wasting money on gas AND I don't have to buy generic products when I would rather not. I choose my favorite grocery store (Stop & Shop) and my favorite drugstore (CVS) and focus on the coupon + sale match-ups on those stores. On average, I save 30-50% per shopping trip!!!!
PLUS, I GET A TON OF THINGS FOR FREE ALL THE TIME! Can't beat FREE!

I LOVE deal seeking mom!! I'll have to check out the others too!! Thanks!!

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Quote:
My pleasure.

 

[cackydoodledoo]

Quote:
I would love to have the recipe for the pizza crust. We make homemade pizza but I use the Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix.

 

[Beekissed]

And number one of the top ten list of best tips ever? Look at the bottom of this page for the SufficientSelf.com link and click on it. Ask those fine folks the same question and they will direct you to threads about the ways to frugality that you've never imagined existed! Coupons are for amateurs!

 

[WingingIt]

Quote:
I don't have an HE washer, so I don't know the answer to that question, but you can probably Google it and read what others say. You can make liquid detergent or 'powder' detergent. I have a tiny washroom area and very limited storage, so I've been making the 'powder' kind because it takes up very little room compared to the 5 gallon bucket that most 'recipes' for the liquid make.

I use one bar of laundry soap. Right now I have been using Fels Naptha because the Walmart 20 minutes away had it in stock on our last trip there for $.97/bar so I bought all six they had on the shelf. I've used Zote before, too, because that was easier to find where we lived before. You have to grate it up and the smaller pieces are better. You can do it in your food processor but I don't have one, so I enlist my kids and they use my hand cheese grater and use the smallest holes. After it's all done you put it in a bowl or container and add 1/2 cup of borax and 1/2 cup of washing soda and mix well. You only need one tablespoon per load....so one batch will last a long time.

ETA: I lived in NM for a while, I understand the wind/dust comment!

 

[cackydoodledoo]

Quote:
I don't have an HE washer, so I don't know the answer to that question, but you can probably Google it and read what others say. You can make liquid detergent or 'powder' detergent. I have a tiny washroom area and very limited storage, so I've been making the 'powder' kind because it takes up very little room compared to the 5 gallon bucket that most 'recipes' for the liquid make.

I use one bar of laundry soap. Right now I have been using Fels Naptha because the Walmart 20 minutes away had it in stock on our last trip there for $.97/bar so I bought all six they had on the shelf. I've used Zote before, too, because that was easier to find where we lived before. You have to grate it up and the smaller pieces are better. You can do it in your food processor but I don't have one, so I enlist my kids and they use my hand cheese grater and use the smallest holes. After it's all done you put it in a bowl or container and add 1/2 cup of borax and 1/2 cup of washing soda and mix well. You only need one tablespoon per load....so one batch will last a long time.

ETA: I lived in NM for a while, I understand the wind/dust comment!

I have used borax before but never heard of washing soda. Is that something I can get at the Walmart or someplace similar? Also do you have to use any certain brand of soap or just use your leftover soap bars no matter the brand? Also how is this kind of detergent with sensitive skin? Right now I have to use the free and clear because if I don't we all break out in rashes!