How To Make Homemade Laundry Soap - An Easy Recipe

Making homemade laundry soap is very easy to do, costs pennies per load and you control the ingredients. I've always had good results with my recipes. I use the liquid because I always wash in cold water. The powder works great too and is less trouble to make. Either way I think you will be pleased with the results.

Making Your Own Vegetable Stock In 3 Easy Steps - And It's Practically Free!

Don't you love getting things for free? Making your own vegetable stock is very easy and it's almost free too! 

Kidney Bean and Vegetable Salad - An Almost No Cook Easy Vegetarian Recipe

It's getting hot here in the South. When the temperature rises, I feel less and less inclined to turn on my stove. And now my air conditioner is on the fritz. By dinner time the house is muggy and hot. So, until my handy-dandy air repair man gets here, I'll be making dinner ahead during the cool morning hours. This recipe is versatile and easily doubled. It can be used as a main dish or side dish. Great for a BBQ, church get-together, picnic or for the lunch box. Here is my version of an almost no cook vegetarian bean salad....

The Cash Envelope System - Free Printable Cash Envelope

                                                        

Did you know that you can print your own cash envelopes? The cash envelope system is becoming very popular. I have used the system in the past, but it doesn't work for me personally. So what prompted me to make templates?

Bargain Meal of the Week - Monster Chicken Wings and Grilled Corn

Most grocery stores are gearing up for July 4 cookouts. This means great bargains on ribs, chicken, hamburger and hot dogs. Now is a good time to stock up and save some money. Over at $5 Dinners, I contribute to the Bargain Meal of the Week. Based on this weeks ad I suggest....

Carolina Red BBQ Sauce - Easy Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe

Even though BBQ sauce can be cheap to purchase, I like making my own. I can add some heat with red pepper flakes, make it sweet with honey or smoky with liquid smoke. The flavor is completely up to me and my mood. 

How to save money while doing the laundry

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] 6 smiling women under tenement clothesline; caption reads: "Do we look cheerful? Washing clothes is pretty hard work generally, but if you use Kirkman's Borax Soap according to directions, it's really wonderful how it lightens labor and...makes clothes sweet as a rose and white as snow". (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

Let's face it, clothes are expensive. Taking care of those clothes can also put a big hole in your budget. By the time you buy all the products 'needed', wash and dry your laundry, you've taken a huge hit.  I budget very little for laundry. In fact, only a very small potion of our food/household budget is used for cleaning and supplies. Here are a few ways I cut back on my laundry expenses.

Easy Potato Recipe - Potato Pancakes

[caption id="attachment_1045" align="aligncenter" width="614"] Potato Pancakes with squash and zucchini[/caption]

I love to make potato pancakes. These crispy, slightly oniony pancakes are a savory addition to any meal, even breakfast {similar to hash-browns}. It's a good way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. Potato pancakes are a versatile base for many ingredients. You can add shredded veggies, garlic, chives, cheese... your imagination is the limit. 

Chicken Recipe - How to stretch 1 chicken into 8 meals in 7 easy steps

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Yesterday I lucked up on an unbelievable sale! An 8 lb Perdue Whole Roaster Chicken was on sale for $1.08 a pound! This is a vegetarian fed, cage free, antibiotic and hormone free bird. So of course I grabbed one. Instead of oven roasting it, eating what we could hold and freeze the rest, I decided to do this:

What Is Chamomile - Home Remedies With Herbs

This is one tea I think every household should keep on hand. The uses for chamomile are endless. It makes a mild flavored tea and is easily combine with other herbal teas for home remedies.

Chamomile is an herb and a member of the daisy family. Some active ingredients in the flower are flavonoids, apigenin,  luteolin and quercertin. These ingredients contribute to chamomile's anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic and smooth-muscle relax action, especially in the gastrointestinal tract.  

Why You Should Never Eat Boxed Mac & Cheese - Easy Homemade Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

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Got home late from work and need to get dinner done in a hurry? That's me most days. I am always looking for quick ways to get dinner on the table. It's so easy to run to the cabinet and grab that box of macaroni and cheese as a side dish. Homemade takes too much time right? No. In fact, it takes the same amount of time to make my macaroni and cheese recipe as the 'blue box' kind.

I'm Teaming Up With Erin Chase at $5 Dollar Dinners

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300"] (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

I am very excited to be linking up with the famous Erin Chase at $5 Dollar Dinners to bring you The Bargain Meal of the Week for Ingles sales ads. Each week I will create a meal based on the Ingles current sales ad. Planning your menus around the sales ads saves loads of money and time. I've been doing my menus this way for years. When items, such as meats, are at rock bottom prices- stock up, freeze it and save money.

My Favorite Ways To Save Money - A List Of Frugal Ideas For Food

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300"] "USE LEFTOVERS - MARK OF A GOOD COOK - STUDY YOUR 'ARMY COOK' FOR RECIPES, IDEAS" - NARA - 515949 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

Don't have enough money to go around? There are only 2 solutions to that problem. Make more money or spend less money.

Green Clean - How To Make Furniture Polish

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Have you ever wondered how to be eco friendly while cleaning your home? It's easy to go green while you clean and save money by making your own cleaners. A one time purchase of spray bottles and containers will help keep all those plastic bottles out of the trash. Not only is this environment friendly, but homemade cleaners are safer to use. Most are made from items in your kitchen. Kids can safely join in the Green Clean Team while using them.

Homemade Dinner Roll Recipe - Make Ahead Refrigerator Rolls

 

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(Printable Recipe)

This recipe makes up to 24 rolls. Use as much as you would like and keep the rest in the fridge for another meal. I purchase yeast in bulk at the local health food store. Currently it is $4.49 a pound. This is a much cheaper option than the small packets. Store the yeast in the freezer to keep it fresh. A pound of yeast lasts me 6 months or longer.

Amish Baked Oatmeal Recipe

There is just something comforting about oatmeal. It warms the heart and soul. What's better than a steaming bowl of oatmeal? Amish Baked Oatmeal. It's quick, simple and versatile. You make the oatmeal the night before, stick it in the fridge to hang out and bake in the morning. This recipe freezes well. You can make two batches, bake one and freeze the other. Cook once and eat twice is the easiest way I know to do freezer cooking.

The Dreaded Word.. How To Budget Part 1

Which One Is Right?
If you missed the Introduction to the Budget Series click here. We talked last time about how everyone has a budget in place already (even if it's the 'I'm going to ignore it' budget) There are several types of budgets available, so what's the right one for you? Well, that is as personal as what kind of toothbrush you prefer. If there was one cure-all, we'd all be using that system right now...

5 Simple and Stress Free Steps To A Clean Bathroom

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bathroom Refacing (Photo credit: Wikipedia)"][/caption]

Here are my 5 simple and stress free ways to keep your bathroom clean everyday. It's one thing I don't have to put on my 'To Do List', because it's 'To Done' in my morning routine. My work schedule is anything but regular. I needed to develop quick ways to clean my home. Here is just one of the ways I do that.  Ahhh it's so nice coming home to a clean bathroom...

Disinfectant Spray Cleaner Recipe

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="180" caption="Spray bottle in the city (Photo credit: nebulaenova)"][/caption]

Mix and put in a spray bottle. Use when someone is sick or you need extra cleaning power.

Green Clean - Bleach Alternative Recipe

Photo by Vox Efx

   'But I love my bleach! Why should I give it up? I normally can get it cheap, it works great and well...I've always used it. So why switch?' Yes this was me. Kicking and crying not wanting to give it up.

    When you research liquid bleach, and products that contain it, you'll find they have a diluted solution of sodium hypochlorite. Sodium hypochlote is a skin irritant and can cause burns or blisters. The fumes can be irritating to the lungs (it should be avoided by those with respiratory or  heart conditions). It can irritate eyes, causing redness and burning.