Jun 30, 2008

June Thriftiness

To finish up the month I thought I'd share all the wheels and deals I got this previous month - maybe you'll be inspired!

  • 50% off all merchandise sale at Value Village - I saved $20 off of a $40 purchase

  • Bottle of Fructis Shampoo and bottle of Fructis conditioner (one of the only shampoos I'll spend good money for) - I had a $5 coupon when you buy 3 Fructis products but the cashier let me use it on 2 products - they were on sale as well so I ended up getting them for $1.50 each

  • Iams Cat food - Used a $5 off coupon and got it for $6

  • More Iams Cat food - Used a $5 coupon and got it for $3.98

  • 2L Neilson Milk - got .75 off with coupon

  • Free Liquid Coffee Mate $2.67 value using FPC (free product coupon)

  • Made homemade laundry detergent for .17/jug = approx. $6 savings per jug

  • Ultra Down Fabric Softener - Used a $1 coupon and got it for $3.97

  • Made Homemade Febreze Fabric Freshener for .20/bottle = approx. $6 savings/bottle (20 bottles for $3.97!)

  • Lucky Deal: bought $3 scratch ticket and won $10 ($7 profit)
Total Savings: Approximately $60 (not including all the money I'll be saving in future months using my homemade laundry detergent and homemade Febreze!

Have fun with your thriftiness!

-Love Marylin.

Jun 8, 2008

Laundry Detergent

This is a recipe for laundry detergent I recently tried with much success... oddly enough, my clothes smelled cleaner than usual after using this.

It's quite simple to make and will cost you fractions of pennies per load. My cost for one batch of this (about 12 liters of detergent - or around 4 regular bottles of store bought detergent at $4.99 on sale) was .68 cents - that's .17 cents/bottle!!!

Plus, you will no longer be putting those harsh chemicals they put in laundry detergent into the water, thus having less impact on the environment and your wallet.

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent



You Need:

  • 3.1 oz bar Ivory soap (Ivory is a natural pure soap perfect for cleaning)
  • 1 cup Borax
  • ½ cup Washing Soda
  • 3 gallons + 5 cups Water
  • 4-5 Gallon container
  • Grater, knife, or blender
  • Large Pot
  • Long stirring stick or spoon (for 5 gallon container)

Directions:
  1. Shave/grate/process the soap and place in the pot with 5 cups of water.
  2. Heat the water until it is just about to boil and stir until the soap is completely melted.
  3. Pour 3 gallons of hot water into the 5 gallon container.
  4. Pour the soap and water mixture into the 5 gallon container and stir until well blended.
  5. Add the 1/2 cup washing soda and stir until dissolved. Repeat with the cup of borax.
  6. Once all of the soap shavings are melted, pour the mixture into the 5-gallon container and stir.
  7. Now you may add essential oils for fragrance if you wish (lavender would be a good one).
  8. The mixture should look like hot soapy water. You can either cover the container now and let it sit out of the way overnight, or you can pour the mixture into smaller containers (I use recycled store bought laundry detergent bottles and cat litter containers), cover, and let sit overnight.
  9. The next day it should be cooled and gelled. It will be lumpy and watery. It's ready to use.
  10. Add 1/2 cup of mixture per load of laundry just like you normally would - I just use the laundry bottle lid.
Here's the recipe for Powdered Laundry Detergent, probably a better choice for those who don't have room to store 12 liters worth. I haven't tried this yet, but when I do I will let you all know how it worked. Recipe makes enough for 32 loads.

Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent



You Need:
  • 2/3 bar Laundry Soap (equivalent of 1 cup grated) - you can use the bars of laundry soap they sell at the grocery store or you can use the Ivory soap.
  • ½ Cup Borax
  • ½ Cup Washing Soda
  • Grater or blender
  • Container large enough to hold 2 cups of laundry detergent

Directions:
  1. Grate or blend the bar soap.
  2. Add the ½ cup of Borax and ½ cup of washing soda.
  3. Shake /mix well.
  4. Add one tablespoon of mixture per load, more for very dirty clothes.

-Love Marylin.

Jun 6, 2008

Ditch The Fridge

This is a great article by Andrea Pelosa from the Vancouver Observer about how the fridge is not necessarily a necessity.

At the very least, this is great advice to use when there's a power outage.

Ditch The Fridge - http://www.thevancouverobserver.com/show533a/


The less we need to rely on, the better off we are.


-Love Marylin.