TMR Frugal Living Tip #72

Today's thrifty living tip is to use a paste of baking soda to get stains out of plastic containers. It will also get out some funky smells. I use cold water to make a thick paste and let it soak overnight and rinse it out in cool water. You may need to do a second soaking but it usually gets out the stain on the first go rounds. Using hot water sets in the stains just like it will on your clothes. I wash it in warm water if the stain is out or mostly out.

New Year Update!

I'm ashamed to admit that I've neglected my blog for the last several months. So much has happened that I couldn't possibly blog about it all. It turns out my son is not bi-polar and we also ruled out several other disorders. Apparently he is now considered PDD (pervasive development disorder), and he does have Sensory Integration Disorder. He is doing much better since his doctor put him on Intuitive. He's on 3mg daily which has really helped with his anxieties and behavior.

I finally did something about my anxieties in October. I was so ashamed to admit how anxiety ridden I was to my friends and family. A couple of close friends strongly suggested I get on a medicine like Lexapro to help me. I agreed to talk to my doctor and she put me on Zoloft which I've been since October. What a difference it has made in my life. I felt so much better after the second week and the worst side effect was being drowsy. A month later that has pretty much went away. I am now in control and have conquered all of the anxieties I was experiencing plus I was able to help my son. I feel like a new woman and like my old self before all this started. I lost my youngest son to Spinal Muscular Atrophy and he was 5 months old when he earned his wings. We decided to stop having more children since it was possible for it occur in the next baby. We had our oldest which is more than many couples. I would have panic attacks in his final weeks and they continued for a few more weeks. It started with one fear that multiplied to several more over the next few years. I kept telling myself it was ok and that I could handle it. But I really couldn't and became a person who hated leaving the house. I would also stress about having to travel. It was controlling my life, and I even went to therapy which helped some, but the medicine was what I really needed. I'm just glad I stopped ignoring the problem and got the help I desperately needed. My life is so much better, and I love driving again. I enjoy getting out again.

I also started losing weight at the same time. I had really let myself go after I lost our baby. I became depressed and eating was how I comforted myself. I was gaining weight before kids, but I really packed it on after kids. I will write another post about my weight loss journey that I am still on, but I just wanted to write a little about what I've been doing the last few months. I plan to write about how eating healthy doesn't have to be so expensive. I am getting healthier again and exercising daily. It feels good to take care of me first so I can take care of my family. As women we always neglect ourselves and put everyone else first. How can we help others if we don't help ourselves first? Many of us are also trying to be super woman by doing it all. I can't and I am no longer ashamed to ask for help when I need it. I enjoy getting some alone time to pamper myself or just go in my bedroom to read quietly. My family knows the rule that when I'm in my bedroom with the door closed it's my time. If you aren't bleeding, on fire, or dying then don't bother me.

Are You Ready for the Winter Heating Blues?

Each year I say I'm going to get my house more energy efficient for winter, but I end up procrastinating and do nothing. Then when I open my heating bills I want to cry. This year I am going to make my house more efficient so I can stop dreading the heating bill. I have a 55 year old house that comes with the original windows and doors which can get drafty. I did take down my doors to re-stain them, and filled in all the tiny hairline cracks. We had a nice cold front but I couldn't feel any wind coming through like usual. Here is what I'm doing this weekend.

1) I am hanging thermal lined curtains in my living room. I eventually want them in the bedrooms we sleep in.

2) Installing door sweeps for all three doors.

3) Installing foam weather stripping for the windows. I also will caulk around the outside window casings and door frames.

4) I made a door draft guard for all three doors. We only use one of them on a regular basis. I will only put it in front of the door at night.

I spent under $200 for everything including the curtains. That was my biggest expense since I needed 8 panels for my living room. I didn't want to use caulk on the window sills since we live in a warmer climate. Our winters aren't very harsh so there are days I want to be able to open the windows to let in any nice air. That's another reason why we didn't want to put plastic wrap on the windows. I should be able to save at least 20% off my heating bill just doing these simple steps.

There are lots of ways to winterize your house. I don't have to wrap or insulate pipes since we don't get hard freezes and most of the time it's only a day or two at a time. I don't have a furnace or boiler so I don't need to clean it out or make sure it's in good working condition. I have a forced air natural gas heater so it's minimal maintenance. Our attic is already well insulated, and we don't have basements in Louisiana. You need to consider your winterizing needs which will depend on how cold your area gets. There is a lot of great information on the internet. I hope I gave you a few tips to consider so you don't cry when you open your heating bills this winter.

TMR Frugal Living Tip #71

Today's thrifty living tip is decrease your amount of laundry. How do you ask? There are two simple tricks I use in my household. First is to use a towel more than once. We don't use washcloths, but the towel that only dries hands can be used for a week. The same thing for the bath towel. I make sure to hang it so it will dry between uses. We also wear our pajamas for 2-3 nights before calling them dirty. I have 2 pairs that I rotate nightly so I only have to wash 2 each week. I don't wear my pajamas all day and only for bed. I also don't wash clothes that I only wore for an hour or two like dress clothes for church. Unless I got sweaty, there is no need to wash them since they aren't dirty. This has helped cut down on the amount of laundry we do each week.

Check Out Savings from the Library!

I visit my local library branch at least once to twice a week. I have befriended the librarians and it's free entertainment. My branch has public computers which is great if you don't have your own. They will print stuff for you off the computer, and are competitive in price with most print shops. You can also have papers copied and/or faxed. I live in a rural town so the closest store is at least a 12-15 minute drive. I save money in gas since my branch is about a mile from my house.

The library has several newspapers that I can read for free. The ladies let me have the sales ads and coupons from the Sunday paper. I can rent DVD movies for a week at a time, and they do get some of the newer ones. I am impressed with the selection and it changes weekly which is nice. I can also request any movie that the bigger branch has.

I really like to read the magazines they have in stock. Again they have a great selection. I am allowed to check out the older issues for a week. I recently asked for any back copies they were going to throw out of a particular one I really enjoy. Since it's a magazine about gardening and basic wood working, then the information isn't dated and can be used at any time. Of course you can check out the most obvious item which are books.

On weekends and in the summer, they have story time and crafts for the kids. My son loves participating in the summer reading program. Each child receives a free small cheese pizza to a pizza shop for participating. They also get entered into a drawing. He won the grand prize this year which was a $15 gift card to Wal-Mart! If you don't go to your library then it's time you check it out.

TMR Frugal Living Tip #70

Today's thrifty living tip is make your own cleaners. You are literally pouring money down the drain along with caustic chemicals. I put vinegar in a small spray bottle to use for counters, the sink, and cutting boards. It disinfects and won't hurt anyone if ingested including kids and pets. This would also be great for high chairs and cleaning kids toys. I also use vinegar in the toilet bowl and bathroom sinks. Vinegar makes a great fabric softener and disinfects my towels and sheets. To clean vinyl floors I again reach for vinegar. It cleans my floors well and the smell usually goes away within twenty minutes.

For my stove top, I make a paste of baking soda and water. Just be careful not to get it close to the burner openings. I let it sit for 20 minutes, and just remove with a cloth and warm water. I may have to use a little elbow grease on the burnt on stuff, but this usually loosens it up making it easy to clean. There are lots of great recipes on the internet so just google homemade cleaners.

Planning my Fall Garden

One of the benefits in living a sub-tropical climate is that I can grow vegetables when most of the country is buried under snow. I can grow food year round which helps my food bill plus I am outside in fresh air. I haven't actually had much of a chance to start planting since it's rained almost every day for the last two weeks. I'm expanding a little more for the fall season, but not too much so it's overwhelming. I bought my seeds for baby spinach, green onions, and two variety packs of lettuce. I made sure one variety pack is slow to bolt since we usually have spring weather in late February. My father-in-law is giving me transplants of cabbage and broccoli.

I was very pleased with how well my garden did this past year. I had more than enough cucumbers which I used to make pickles. It was a big hit with our family. I want to learn how to can so I can give dill pickles as gifts. I decided to stagger the seeds so I don't get so overwhelmed with everything wanting to harvest near the same time. This will be really helpful with the lettuce, cabbage, and spinach plants. My husband is really looking forward to the lettuce since he likes to eat salads in the morning for breakfast. If you live in a snowy climate then use your winter to make gardening plans and looking at seeds.

Using Social Networks for Your Blog

I have several social networks that I belong to for personal and also to pick up more readers for my blog. I think using them is a big advantage for your blog. It's a great way to meet other blog writers, share ideas, and readers. I recently joined Twitter and I love if you follow me. I'll return the favor. I also joined Networked Blogs through Facebook. I also have the older ones like MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog. I was using Entrecard but I haven't been as involved with that once since I don't always have to time to drop cards daily. I'm sure there are some other great sites, but these are a few that I really like. If you have a site that you would like to share then please leave a comment. I love hearing about new websites and ways to pick up new readers.

TMR Frugal Living Tip #69

Today's thrify living tip is to thin out those ultra concentrated dish liquids. I have noticed this new trend with the ulta concentrated liquids like dish and laundry detergents to even hand soaps. Of course the bottles are getting smaller so I'm not sure how much more you getting for the price increase. I also noticed that the coupon amounts have shrunk (ok pun intended). I used to be able to find $1 and 50 cent coupons, but now I noticed the manufacturers are issuing 50 to 25 cent coupons. I decided to battle this by adding water to thin it out. I found more was being wasted. I put 1/3 liquid into an empty bottle and just add water then shake to mix it up. I can now make a bottle last for several weeks which makes my stockpile last much longer. I recently bought 18 bottles from a CVS sale for $2.xx so this will last well over a year. I find that it bubbles better and the dishes are just as clean.

The Free Christmas Spending Challenge

So you are probably wondering what is a free Christmas spending challenge. It's a challenge that I'm doing this year to pay for Christmas with our pocket change and the things I get for free. This includes gift certificates I redeem from My Points and other reward programs. I am also using the change we've saved in a jar. I normally use this money to pay for presents for our family like DVD movies and games. This year we are on a tight budget like most people so I decided to spend less. I can still give nice and thoughtful gifts without spending a fortune.

I give gifts to around 30 people which includes my family, hubby's, teachers, mail lady, and such. My hubby and I aren't exchanging any presents this year unless I can score some great deals on DVD movies and/or games, but I'm not holding my breath. I also buy items for gift baskets that I get for free or almost free. I get lots of compliments on my gift baskets from my friends and family. I have Tupperware left from in my inventory that I will give as gifts. I do plan on making homemade treats this year like chocolate covered mint patties, peanut butter balls and fudge.

I already have several gift certificates saved up. I redeemed 2 $10 Subway gift cards and a $10 Chili from My Coke Rewards. I just ordered another $10 Chili gc so I plan on giving those 2 to a couple. I'm hoping to get the Snow White blu-ray DVD combo pack that will be on sale at Wal-Mart on Tuesday for $9.96 plus tax after I use the $10 off coupon I printed. That will make another wonderful gift. I also got stainless steel water bottles on clearance. I just requested a $50 check from my bank since I use a free checking rewards program. I am getting a $25 CVS gc from My Points which I will use to help pay for the great deals I'm getting. I also did the CVS Monsters vs Aliens deal this past week. I paid $6 for that movie which is a great stocking stuffer for my son. My son's Christmas and Birthday is already paid for with all those Bionicle Legos we scored last October so click here to read about that great deal. I'm glad we saved them so that is a huge help to our Christmas budget. I found a couple more gifts I had bought but didn't give them last year. I have a bad habit of forgetting what I buy people earlier in the year, and then buy something else when it gets closer to Christmas. I will report back and update my Christmas spending challenge especially when it gets closer to Christmas.

My Unexplained Absence

I do want to apologize for not writing for the last 3 months. So much has been happening in my life that I just didn't make this blog a priority. I was going to go back to work full-time, but my son had other ideas. I don't want to get into all the details, but it's been a very long and stressful time for us. We thought he was ADHD, but had him evaluated with a Pediatric Psychiatrist to find it he is actually Bipolar. I never felt he was truly ADHD, and some scary events took place that really made me question it. I'm glad I did since we took him off stimulants and he has been on a new medicine. His anxiety levels were extremely high which the stimulants contributed it to greatly. It hasn't been a miracle, but I finally feel we are on the right path. Between the new medicine and therapy we are seeing some improvements and he sleeps and eats so much better now. I have been putting all my attention on him and I'm continuing to stay at home which is where I'm needed for now. I have many years to go back to work so I'm no longer stressing about it. I am going to slowly start getting back to my blog as it's a nice release, and I could really use to make some extra money.

TMR Frugal Living Tip #68

Today's thrifty living tip is use a pencil eraser to remove scuff marks from vinyl flooring. This works great since we have vinyl floors in our kitchen. I find it easier than applying lots of elbow grease. Another way to eliminate scuff marks is to use a Brillo pad. Just make sure to rinse very well afterwards. You can also make a paste of baking soda and water and use a scrub pad on the marks. All of these work but I find the eraser is great for small marks. The other methods are better for big or several marks.

Furry Visitors

My hubby and I went outside yesterday evening to water our plants in the garden. We noticed a cute little bunny eating grass in the yard right outside the carport. It was about 3 feet from the house, and barely flinched as my husband walked near it to take pictures. It's a very bold bunny, but his friend was more timid since he hopped near the cane fields. They aren't eating my plants but I only have cantaloupe and watermelon growing at the moment. They do the like the shade my fig tree offers them since I frequently see one sitting underneath it. I just thought it was so cute that I wanted to share the pictures we took. The rabbits are perfectly safe from us since we don't eat rabbit.

TMR Frugal Living Tip #67

Today's thrifty living tip is turn down your water heater to 120-125 degrees. I have mine set to 125 degrees which I find is comfortable for us year round. Most people have theirs set at 130-140 which can burn small children. You can save an average of 4% for every ten degrees you lower the temperature. Another way to save energy costs is to wrap the tank with a thermal blanket which can be bought at most hardware stores. If you have an electric tank, then setting a timer will also further your savings. Timers won't work well with gas water heaters.

Refrigerator Sweet Pickle Chips

As promised here is a great recipe that I used to make sweet pickles. The best part is you can freeze them in a container which is a great way to use up cucumbers. This recipe is much easier since you don't have to mess with canning or jars. You just divvy them up in freezer containers. This would be a wonderful gift for anyone that loves homemade sweet pickles.

I have some of the ingredients pictured above, but not all of them. Here is the actual recipe which I used. This comes from a cookbook named 25 Years of Cooking; Women of the Farm Bureau. This cookbook has lots of really great recipes. I plan to use the Zucchini bread one from this book. My mother-in-law has used it so I know it's a very tasty bread.

7 cups of unpeeled cucumbers thinly sliced into chips
1 cup of chopped green pepper
1 cup of thinly sliced onion
1 tablespoon of salt

Stand 2 hours then drain

1 teaspoon Celery seed
2 cups sugar
1 cup vinegar

Combine and bring to boil. Let cool and cover slices. Refrigerate for 2-3 days and then put into containers. Pour juice to cover slices and thaw in refrigerator for 1 day before using.

As you can see below I sliced the cucumbers as thinly as I can like a chip. It's not always easy to cut thinly since it depends on the size of the cucumber. I did use chopped onion since I already had a couple of bags frozen. They will thaw out as you let them stand. I also have a picture of the bell pepper I cut. I do have a hand chopper that I use which makes them fine. I cut them up into smaller pieces which makes it easier to chop.


Now you can see that I have measured out 7 cups of cucumbers. I highly recommend tasting each one as you slice them. I had several that were very sour. You can use them I guess, but sour cukes don't taste good to me and are very bitter. I think when the vines are finishing up, the last few are sour. I had to compost them. I then add the onion and pepper. I just mix them up by hand. Then you add the tablespoon of salt. I prefer to just sprinkle it on top so I don't get too much in one spot. Now just let them sit on the counter or stove for 2 hours.

This next step is to make the syrup that you will pour over the cucumber slices. I usually make this in the last 10 minutes before draining off the water. It doesn't take long for this to boil, and I let it cool off for about 3-4 minutes. The reason I don't let it cool off too long is I found it thickens the longer it sits. You don't want the juice to thicken too much. I put 2 cups of sugar in a heavy saucepan. I have a Magnalite which works perfectly. Then I add the teaspoon of celery seed and finally the cup of vinegar. I used plain white vinegar. In the first picture you can see the sugar, and in the second picture is the result after it boils. You can see it looks like a syrup on the spoon. The celery seed just kind of sits on top. I think on the next batch, I'm going to just add the celery seed to the slices and then pour the syrup. At least it wouldn't clump when trying to scrape it out the pot. Make sure to drain off the slices before pouring the syrup mixture.


This is the final product. You will definitely want to use a bowl with a lid. I used a Tupperware bowl which worked perfectly. I let it sit for a few more minutes to make sure it's cooled off before putting in the refrigerator. I didn't have any problems with it smelling inside my fridge. You let it sit for 2-3 days before dividing into containers. The mixture does resemble more of a juice after it sat in the fridge. Just make sure to pour enough in each container to cover the slices. We were able to divide them into 3 small containers. It was a great inexpensive recipe to make. The cost of your cucumbers should be very little if you are using ones you grew yourself. I didn't grow any green peppers this year so I spent $0.66 for two of them on sale. My onions were free since they were given to me. I used 50 cents worth of cucumber seed and picked close to 60 cukes this year. So that's about a penny each. I think I sliced at least 5-6 cucumbers per batch. Each batch has cost me $1.10 which makes 24 oz or three 8 oz containers. The same size jar of pickle chips on sale is $1.69 or a little over $5 for the same amount. I'm saving $1.32 a jar this way, and my pickles are much tastier. I broke down the amounts so it could cost someone else less or more depending on the prices of your ingredients.

Cucumbers- $0.06 for 6
Bell Pepper- $0.33
Onion- $0 (free)
Sugar- $0.36 (2 cups)
Vinegar- $0.16 (1 cup)
Celery Seed- $0.18 (tsp)
Salt- $0.01 (tbs)