Just curious who else is living super frugal

[lazy gardener]

Quote: Do you use it dry as well? My water is so hard, and I have a front loader, dry would never work for me.

 

[Tikkijane]

Do you use it dry as well?  My water is so hard, and I have a front loader, dry would never work for me.

Yep. It's just like regular powdered detergent. I have well water. I've used it with softened water, too.

 

[Arielle]

1 bar Fels Naptha soap grated very fine. Melt it in a pot of water. (1 qt is enough) Pour this into your 5 gal. bucket. Fill the bucket 1/2 way with very hot water. Add 1 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda and 1 cup Borax. Mix very well. Continue mixing while you fill the bucket the rest of the way. I use my immersion stick blender, and get it completely mixed before adding the rest of the water. At that point, you can mix it with a long handled spoon. Let it sit over night, and then use the stick blender to mix it up again. Don't be surprised if the stuff morphs into a solid gel mass. Just mix it up. Shake before every use. After I do the next day mixing, I pour some of it off into large jugs, leaving enough room for shaking. If it gets a bit globby, that's not a problem, it will still work just fine. I use about 1/2 cup in front loader. You might need more for top load, or maybe even less, depending on how hard your water is. It's a low sudsing detergent, so perfect for a front loader. Beware, it's very pungent smelling when you are mixing it up. I melt the soap in the kitchen, then finish the mixing process out on the deck. I was working at 20* last time I made it, and heated the water on the stove b/c I didn't want to use hot tap water that had been sitting in the water tank. Not that that would matter!

Thanks LG!!!

I do have hard water, will research a water softener--prefer one for immediate use in the washer.

I am surprised the mix settles and separates.....

But dang it is a whole lot cheaper than a big box of A&H !!!!!

 

[Arielle]

That's so funny, LG! My boys and I LOVE the smell of the FN when I make the soap and can't get enough of that smell throughout the house. When the boys make a comment about something other than food smelling good, I know it must not be my weird liking for certain smells.

FN brings back childhood memories for me.

 

[lazy gardener]

Quote: Well, it doesn't exactly settle and separate in the traditional sense. Water will settle out of it, but the rest of the material remains gelatinous. When you first mix it up and it firms up, it almost reminds me of "slime" which comes in a little plastic tub, usually the material is brightly colored, and kids like to play with it. http://www.officeplayground.com/glo...m-8VJ-Yj5c80iMmPPys5DhPiQYeyDZbyO0aAs-l8P8HAQ

But, when water is mixed back in, it pours easier.

 

[Arielle2]

living frugal..

have the FN, then got borax.....the a new machine. Holy smokes!!! It uses so little water and so little powder. Actuall do need to use the prewash to get load clean, but use only the same amt of pow der. The purchase of another machine was only made after numerous efforts to salvage parts from old machine to get second machine functioning. Finally gave up and found a scratch and dent store.

Saving strings from the grain bags as it is VERY strong--needs a knive to cut it.

Using grain bags to put out trash.

Returning plastic bags of all types to grocery store for recycling.

Buy one soda at mcD and refill over and over while using internet.

Getting Fios installed, a real headache. To save time and money driving to mcD or the library. Save headaches too when son tells me too late he needs internet to do homework........

 

[itsasmallfarm]

am not super frugal (i have/had a spending problem with video games when i was like 15 years old so 3 years ago lol), but then turned 18 and saw that money should not be spent like it is endless, inside to save and invest for the future, (so that is what i am doing)

i really focused on how to save money on food. a broke some things down which am going to share.

now we grow a garden ever year, which covers some of the vegetable costs, grow lots of squash, potatoes, and berries, all which can be stored or canned. now meat was a problem.

growing/raising meat is not cheap. and its time consuming. so i decided am going to try and hunt/gather most of my meat. (i really enjoy eating game)

where i live, we can shoot one white tail deer a year (and have a chance to get drawn for the other big game, elk, moose, mule deer and antelope) and one black bear a year. plus a fishing licence and a bird licences a year. so if you like wild game there is some good eating out there. so this is how i broke it down.

for the deer we can only harvest them in the fall (which is only one per person i think some years we can shoot two but that is rare) broke down that is about my guess 75-100 lbs of meat, there is six people (4 in my family and grandparents to feed) so one deer should last us about a few months, next there are 3 of us who hunt. so that means we can get 3 deer in one season. and for us a tag is $40 dollars each i don't know where one can get around 75-100 lbs of meat for less then 200$ (including gas, price of bullets, and any other random expense) e

sorry if this came out as a rant i just think hunting is a great way to produce good healthy meat at a fair price (or cheap if you can hunt close to where you live.)

 

[lazy gardener]

Just bought an upright freezer. While it's an up front cost, the savings should more than pay for it over time. I will be able to have meals ready to pull out of the freezer on those nights when I'm simply too tired to cook. (every time hubby picks up a meal for us on the way home, that's $$$ spent!!!) I will be able to buy and freeze items when they are "at best price" instead of buying "as needed". I will be able to freeze garden produce so it can be further processed as convenience allows instead of having to do marathon canning sessions in the heat of summer when I'm exhausted. Hopefully, I will be able to manage all of this without ending up having to throw food away b/c it's been frozen past it's usable shelf life.

 

[Arielle2]

am not super frugal (i have/had a spending problem with video games when i was like 15 years old so 3 years ago lol), but then turned 18 and saw that money should not be spent like it is endless, inside to save and invest for the future, (so that is what i am doing)
@
i really focused on how to save money on food. a broke some things down which am going to share.

now we grow a garden ever year, which covers some of the vegetable costs, grow lots of squash, potatoes, and berries, all which can be stored or canned. now meat was a problem.

growing/raising meat is not cheap. and its time consuming. so i decided am going to try and hunt/gather most of my meat. (i really enjoy eating game)

where i live, we can shoot one white tail deer a year (and have a chance to get drawn for the other big game, elk, moose, mule deer and antelope) and one black bear a year. plus a fishing licence and a bird licences a year. so if you like wild game there is some good eating out there. so this is how i broke it down.

for the deer we can only harvest them in the fall (which is only one per person i think some years we can shoot two but that is rare) broke down that is about my guess 75-100 lbs of meat, there is six people (4 in my family and grandparents to feed) so one deer should last us about a few months, next there are 3 of us who hunt. so that means we can get 3 deer in one season. and for us a tag is $40 dollars each i don't know where one can get around 75-100 lbs of meat for less then 200$ (including gas, price of bullets, and any other random expense) e

sorry if this came out as a rant i just think hunting is a great way to produce good healthy meat at a fair price (or cheap if you can hunt close to where you live.)

Nice job!!! Save every penny u can!

Rants allowed .

 

[Arielle2]

Just bought an upright freezer. While it's an up front cost, the savings should more than pay for it over time. I will be able to have meals ready to pull out of the freezer on those nights when I'm simply too tired to cook. (every time hubby picks up a meal for us on the way home, that's $$$ spent!!!) I will be able to buy and freeze items when they are "at best price" instead of buying "as needed". I will be able to freeze garden produce so it can be further processed as convenience allows instead of having to do marathon canning sessions in the heat of summer when I'm exhausted. Hopefully, I will be able to manage all of this without ending up having to throw food away b/c it's been frozen past it's usable shelf life.

Frozen foods last very well. I fill single serving containers for quick eats, just use masking tape n marker to list date. I have 5 freezers and got three free. I too buy when items on sale.