I'm dreaming of a Green Christmas!!!

Yep, you read that right! What is a "green Christmas"???  Well, to my family, it means that we are actively trying not to be consumers of the latest and greatest gadget, electronic, fad, etc..  The rules are gifts are to be homemade, reused/gifted, and/or second-hand from thrift/consignment stores or ebay/craig's list/freecycle.  We're putting the 3 Rs to work this winter.....reduce, reuse, recycle!!!  In turn, we will lessen our carbon footprint and stretch a few dollars during the rough economic time.  Oh, and no Christmas cards!!!  I've decided that greeting cards in general are a waste of money and resources.  (Sorry USPS! oh, and Hallmark!!!)  Through life we keep collecting things.  Those things start to clutter our lives.  Is all the stuff doing us any good stashed in a closet, a drawer or attic?  I challenge you to take a look at the inventory of your home and family.   Would having Grandma's punch bowl mean more than getting the latest IPod?  Why do we fall for the marketing convincing us that we "need" all these things in our life to be happy in the first place.  The only one it makes happy is the stockholders of those corporations.  *steps off soapbox*  :)  Have a blessed day!

Homemade Shampoo

I haven't tried this yet, but next time I'm at Target, I'm going to pick up some Castile Liquid Soap.  I'll come back and give y'all a product review! lol

Use Natural Liquid Castile Soap for Safe and Wonderful Homemade Shampoos

What's up Doc?????

So, we have inherited a lot of food from my Mother-In-Law's house recently.  One of the items was a jar of Marinara Sauce.  I'm not a huge fan of it.  I like my spaghetti sauce with more texture and flavor.  However, I was not about to let it go to waste.  I was looking for a can of diced tomatoes in the pantry.  nada!  So I was trying to think of some other ingredient that I could use.  I remember someone saying that they had used pureed carrots in their sauce to hide veggies from their family.  Well, I'm lazy!  I didn't want to go to the trouble of steaming the carrots and then mashing them in the blender.  So my thought was why not just grate raw carrots into the meat why it was cooking!  So I did it!!!!  As I was grating the carrots, it dawned on me how it was a good healthy choice to "stretch" the meat further too.  I have started using more good lean ground turkey.  So adding less meat and more carrots reduces the fat even more, but gives a huge veggie bonus!!!  And you know what????  It was delish!!!  Even my picking husband liked it!  Now I'm wondering what else I can put grated carrots in!  

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

1 cup Washing soda


1 cup Borax

½ cup salt

½ cup citric acid



Mix together and store tightly covered in a Mason Jar. Use one tablespoon per load. Add vinegar to the rinse dispenser for the best results.
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/eco-friendly-and-cheap-dishwashing-detergent.htm

Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe

Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe

•1 bar of Fels Naptha soap, shaved or grated (I only found this at Ace Hardware.)

•4 cups of hot water to melt the soap

•3 gallons of hot water

•1 cup of borax (found at Giant in laundry aisle.)

•2 cups of washing soda (found at Giant in laundry aisle.)

•1 cup of baking soda

•1 large Rubbermaid container about 4-5 gallons size

Here’s what you do:

Grate the soap into a saucepan. You can use either a box grater or a food processor for this. I recommend you do not use whatever tool you use for grating soap with food.


Add 4 cups of hot water to the pan. Simmer on low until the soap melts completely into the water.



Add borax, washing soda and baking soda to the hot water. Simmer on low until it dissolves with the soap. If the mixture is not melting, add more water if needed.



Add 3 gallons of hot water to the large container. Add the mixture to the hot water. Mix with a large spoon until it

completely dissolves.

Let cool overnight. You will notice that it turns into a thick gel. Use 1 cup of this homemade laundry detergent per load of laundry.  It dissolves easily in the wash and it has very little suds or foam...so it's safe for HE machines.
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/homemade-laundry-detergent.htm

I have been using this for awhile now and it works great!  I figure that it costs around $3 to make 4 gallons.....super cheap!!!!  I also use 1/2 cup of White Vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser.  The clothes DO NOT smell like vinegar and they are soft....added bonus...no residue in the dryer lint catcher.  It is so much easier to clean now. :)

This should prove interesting!

So this is my first blog!!!!  Yay!!!  I plan to use this blog to share a little glimpse into my family; funny stories, events, special projects and helpful tips at frugal living.  Since I'm a stay-at-home mom, I feel it's my duty to find ways to save money and time.  One of the added bonuses of frugal living is reducing your carbon footprint on earth.  I'm really enjoying learning to do things myself instead of relying on consumerism to fulfil a need.  Did you know that White Vinegar is a great fabric softener and an excellent dishwasher rinse agent?????  It's so much cheaper than the commercial products and works great.  Plus, it doesn't harm the environment!!!!!  So frugal living has become my hobby. :)  Hopefully, you will be amused or learn a little something new from my posts.