SOS Mom Saver: Repurpose Old Socks

I gave up long ago on trying to find a match for the socks that declared themselves permanently single...or became so holy they were unusable as socks.

I don't know how to "darn" socks to fix a hole.  Perhaps some day I should learn.  In the meantime, I found another use for those socks...they become rags!

It's so simple to do!  First, make sure the socks are clean.  (Some people prefer to bleach socks before repurposing them.)  Once they're clean, cut them in half in a straight line until they're open...like a rag.  (I don't have any pics this time because we didn't have any socks ready for a sacrifice.)

They'll have rough (i.e.-non-pretty) edges.  If you're so inclined, you can hand or machine sew these edges to make them pretty.  Honestly, though, I'm using an old sock with holes as a rag.  I'm too cheap to even spend the money on thread and time sewing a RAG.  It doesn't need to be pretty.  I'm not going to gift an old sock that I turned into a rag to anyone.  I'm going to clean my house with it.

My favorite "rag" socks are the thick men's socks.  I use the inside of the sock as my cleaning side.  It provides a "scrubbing" surface of sorts.

What do you repurpose? 



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Using Coupons & Saving Money On Groceries Part 1: Don't Be a Brand Snob

I've said before that using coupons is vital to getting the most savings at the grocery and drugstore.

You have to spend either time or money.  You cannot avoid this.  You will either spend the time cutting coupons and watching sales to save money or spend the money on just buying what you need when you need it to save time.  That's okay if have more money than time.  There is NOTHING wrong with that if that's where you are and where you want to be.

It's not where WE are, though.  I'm a homeschooling mom with 3 kids trying to pay off medical bills.  I sometimes run tight on time, but have more of that than I do money...and so we coupon!

The first step to saving money on your groceries is getting over brand-snobbiness (is that even a word?).  Yes.  I just called you a snob.  Don't worry, I was a snob too...many, many years ago.

The truth is that many of the products with all their fancy names, descriptions, and claims...are really just the same product...with a couple of different flavor enhancers or side-ingredients that don't affect how the product works.  If you're not convinced, go to the store and look at the ingredients.

I tell everyone that they need to make a list of things they MUST have a certain brand of...and this list will vary with every person.  For example, you might just be SOLD on Dove soap whereas your neighbor is convinced that Ivory is the bomb.  (Yes.  I just said "the bomb".  I blame it on the kids. Or my husband.)   Or, you might be like me.  I think Ivory and Dove are both fine, but if Olay is cheapest with a sale and a coupon...then I'm buying Olay.

There are some justified reasons for sticking to some brands.  For example, my grandmother MUST have non-scented products.  She also has very sensitive skin and prefers one lotion over the others.  There's nothing wrong with having some brand preferences.  Really, once you start couponing like I do, you'll have ALL brand-name products...and many different brands from which to choose.

The bottom line, though, is that the more flexible you are on which brand you buy, the more money you'll save.  So make your list!

After you make your list of "must-have" brand-name items then carry that list with you for easy reference.

For everything else, buy whatever is cheapest.  Don't worry about which store you're at.  If you're at Wal-mart, buy the cheapest lotion or soap they have there.  If you're at Target, do the same.  The goal isn't to have you running to every store.  It's to have you saving money where you already shop by being open to choosing other brands.

Remember that thanks to sales and promotions, the generic is often NOT the cheaper option.  You'll want to check sizes, too.  Sometimes the bigger size is NOT the cheaper size per unit; especially if a smaller size is on sale but the bigger one isn't.

Also, keep in mind that when you're not brand sensitive, what you buy might change from month to month.  Colgate might be cheaper this month, Crest the next, then Colgate again the next.  Be flexible; and you'll save more money!

SOS Mom Saver: Easy Egg Substitute

Given the current egg shortage due to a recall of 380 million eggs because of salmonella, I thought I'd repost this as a reminder for anyone who may find themselves without eggs, but still needing to cook:

I know we've all been there at one time or another. You start baking the cupcakes for your child's class tomorrow & realize you're out of eggs...or that one of your dear family members put the EMPTY egg carton BACK in the fridge. (Ahem...my husband...)


You either don't feel like running to the store when you've already started baking, or you're a one-car family like us and can't because your spouse has the car.

What do you do? Are you stuck? Do you HAVE to run to the store?

I actually discovered the simple solution to this problem for a much different reason. We were poor. Like dirt poor. It cost $350 just to feed and medicate our infant son every month and our grocery budget (including food, paper products, cleaning products, personal hygene, & diapers) for the ENTIRE family was only $200 a month. Those numbers added up to us having to make some hard choices and drastic sacrifices, and led to us finding cheap alternatives to keep us going.

We can afford to buy eggs now, but still use this substitute when baking because no one can tell the difference. Why use our expensive, organic eggs when something else will do?

You need these 3 ingredients:

Water, corn starch, & a tablespoon. And no...you don't HAVE to use bottled water. I don't use bottled water. You get a picture of the bottled water instead of my sink because my dirty dishes-filled sink just wasn't as pretty.

You'll need 1 tablespoon of corn starch per egg in the recipe.

Doesn't that look so pretty?

Dump the corn starch in a bowl. (That's the "official" method. You're supposed to mix the corn starch & water together in a separate bowl before adding it to the mixture. I did that for you (don't you feel special?), but I don't do that any other time. I just dump both straight into my mix & follow the regular directions from there. I'm all about simplicity. And less dirty dishes.

You'll need 3 tablespoons of water per egg. So...that's 1 tablespoon of corn starch and 3 tablespoons of water per egg. If you need 2 eggs, you'll need 2 tablespoons of corn starch, and 6 tablespoons of water. You get the idea.

And again, the "official" instructions are to dump the water in the corn starch which is in a separate bowl.

If you've followed the "official" method, you'll stir the water & corn starch together and then add them to the rest of your mixture as if the mixture was eggs. Viola! You've solved your problem of not having eggs (or just saved yourself some money).

You can also use ground flax seed instead of the corn starch. However, ground flax seed isn't recommended for pregnant women, and is more expensive & not as shelf-stable so we just use corn starch. (I don't remember why it's not good for pregnant women, I just remember it isn't. Perhaps someday I'll get that information and share it with you. Until then, my dear, close friend Google would be ecstatic to help you.)

Iris Scanners: The Wave of the Future or Big Brother Gone Too Far?

Yesterday, I ranted about iris scanners.  Well, it wasn't really a rant about the iris scanners themselves...more about the threat made by Jeff Carter, the CDO of GRI, the largest manufacturer and distributor of iris scanners.  His threat?  If we don't accept the technology, we'll be flagged as bad people.  Okay, so that's an Amy interpretive paraphrase, but you get the point.  Basically, you're either with him and his technology or you're not...and if you're not...then you're clearly a bad person.

I didn't really discuss iris scanners themselves...and I'd like to now.  What do YOU think of iris scanners?  Are they the wave of the future or big brother gone too far?  I've heard cries that this is the mark of the beast.  Is it?  Or will that come in the form of microchip technology on our hand or forehead (as many believe based on what's written in the Bible).

Would you accept this technology?  Just in airports and government buildings?  In hospitals?  As a regular part of your everyday life in stores, gas stations, literally everywhere you go?  If you would accept it, where would you draw the line?  Or would you?  Why?

Feel free to comment here or on my Facebook or Twitter.

Don't THREATEN Me!

Forget the mosque for a minute.  Let's just for a minute or two put away the Constitution.  Maybe even...if you're bored...you could just go ahead and crumple it up now.  You'll probably want to use it later for toilet paper...You know, when you can't buy it because you opted-out of having your life recorded via your iris by GRI (Global Rainmakers Inc.)

Sorry.  I'll try to slow down.  I'm just so...Enraged?  Speechless?  Not sure...I'm just...Let's just say that it takes a WHOLE lot to render ME speechless...yet that's EXACTLY what's happened thanks to this not-so-lovely article.

I'm not surprised at what the article said.  I've heard of iris-scanning technology before.  I have NO DOUBT that it's already in use in the US at high-security companies.  It's no surprise that they are starting this in Mexico.  If they tried to start it here without first proving how "great" it is somewhere else, the people of the US would revolt.  Some would agree to it, but many on ALL sides of the political fence would fight it; many to the death.

So what's got me so bothered?  It's the not-very-well-veiled threat in there; the "warning" from Jeff Carter the CDO of GRI:

"And he has a warning for those thinking of opting out: 'When you get masses of people opting-in, opting out does not help. Opting out actually puts more of a flag on you than just being part of the system. We believe everyone will opt-in.'"

Really?  You're going to THREATEN me?  Mr. Carter, I think you would do well to advise with some PR reps before writing your next article if you intend to convince ANYONE to follow your technology.  Granted, I'm glad you weren't smart enough to think of that ahead of time.  Really?  You can create the massive digital technology that's going to SAVE US ALL, but you can't for a minute think that it's not a good idea to THREATEN the public if they don't agree with you and adhere to your program?

Mr. Carter, your arrogance will get you NO WHERE with most of us in the US.  No where.  Try again.  Actually, please don't.  You're not selling anything I ever want to buy!

SOS Mom Saver: Never Lose Another Piece of Fruit!

We've all had this problem before, and we will have it again. What is it? Wasted fruit.

The kids took ONE bit of an apple & then put it on the counter where it browned.  Is it a lost cause?  They pulled the strawberries out, ate half of them & left the rest on the counter.  They're warm, but not moldy or bad. Do you throw them out?  Put them back in the fridge?  You don't want to waste your money.  You're cleaning out the fridge and find a forgotten pack of raspberries.  They're not bad, but they're old enough that you know no one in your family will eat them.  You let the bananas go just a little too long.  Now, they look brown and nasty on the outside (and probably a little brown on the inside too).  You've got some peaches and plums that are now overripe.  Is there any way to get your family to eat them?

Or...my common problem:  Strawberries are $.99/lb.  Your family eats a LOT of them, but not all in one week.  You hate to lose this great price, but you can only buy so much at one time.

Is there any way to rescue the almost-gone fruit?  Is there a good way to take advantage of that GREAT sale without losing money on wasted fruit?

Absolutely!

You freeze them.  I know this is a LOT easier said than done if you have a giant freezer like mine.  (Side note:  I think a chest freezer is one of the best investments you can make as you move towards more frugal &/or healthier eating.)  Regardless, you can still rescue these fruits (or buy more on sale than you can eat at one time) even if you don't have a giant freezer.  You just have to be more creative with your freezer space.

It is SO simple!  You don't have to blanche the fruits or do anything else fancy to them like you do with veggies.

Here are some simple guidelines regarding freezing fruits and berries:

• I recommend cleaning all fruits & berries before freezing them.
• If wet, freeze berries on a wax-paper or parchment-lined cookie sheet and then drop into a baggie once frozen.  If they are dry when freezing, just drop them in a baggie! (Frozen berries taste GREAT on cereal on a hot day!  My husband will take just pour milk over frozen blueberries and make a blueberry ice-cream...the milk freezes because the blueberries are frozen.)
• Remove pits from fruits such as peaches, plums, and nectarines.
• If freezing bigger fruits like apples, pears, peaches, plums, nectarines, etc. then cut them up first.  I'll at least quarter the fruit, but you can cut them smaller or even dice them if you prefer. (Frozen, diced fruits make a GREAT "ice cube" for water or tea on a hot day.)
• You don't have to peel fruits like apples and pears, but if you will only eat them peeled then you should do so before freezing them.
• Peel bananas before freezing them.  That one's kind of important.  I test it for you so you don't have to.  Trust me, you do NOT want to try peeling a frozen banana!  I usually use them for smoothies so I'll just peel them and throw them into a baggie whole.  I will sometimes cut them & lay the cut slices on a cookie sheet then place them in a baggie when frozen.  Frozen bananas are great with wheaties-type cereals.
• Don't be afraid of brown bananas.  They are sweeter than non-ripe bananas.  This makes them good for smoothies and banana breads.
• You can throw any cut, frozen fruit in a blender for a smoothie.  At one time or another, I have put every type of fruit we buy in a smoothie.  (I even put veggies in mine...but that's a topic for another post...)  Bananas and strawberries are kind of the great "neutralizers" in smoothie making.  They'll cover up pretty much anything.  Too sour from too many dark berries?  Add bananas &/or strawberries!
• Be sure to label your baggies so you know when you froze your fruit.  Even if you go through it quickly like we do, it helps to make sure that you use the older fruit first.  Frozen fruits are generally good for 1 year from the date they are frozen if they are kept in a deep-freeze. 

Happy freezing!



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Creative Gifting in Real Life

I've had several people ask me if I really do all of the things I tell you about here.  Although I don't always, most of the time I do.  You've also asked for more details.`

Awhile back, I talked about creative gift wrapping.  Shortly after that, I attended several baby showers in a row.  I made a diaper cake for one and creatively-wrapped the others.  What does that mean in real life?  Do I need a bow?  Where do I buy the supplies?  What about the ribbon?

I keep a stock of baby blankets on hand. I try to stock up when they're on sale or clearance.  I buy only real ribbon (not cheap gift ribbon) for the gifts.  I either get it on clearance or buy it in bulk at Costco.

Here's one I recently gave:

The gift is wrapped with a receiving blanket.  I have a stuffed-animal binkie-holder as a "bow" with some extra ribbon added for decoration.  (I got this ribbon for $2.97 for 50 yards at Costco.)

Here's what the "bottom" of the gift looked like:

Just like in my other post, I used safety pins to hold the gift together.  I prefer using diaper pins, but I'm out of them...and have yet to find any on sale or clearance.

So...yes.  I do really do this in real life.  Have you tried it yet?  What other creative gift wrapping ideas do you have?

SOS Mom Saver: Rescue Old Crayons!

Raise your hand if you have bits of broken crayon sitting in a box or baggie somewhere.  That's what I thought.  I did too until I learned how to repurpose them and turn them back into useful crayons.

It's SO incredibly simple to do!

You just need some muffin pans or another type of silicone or metal pan (I have several that I've gotten at thrift stores for $.25-$1 each).

 

Silicone Solutions 12 cup Mini Muffin Pans

And of course...the broken crayons!

You put the broken crayons in the pan (whichever one you chose).  Be creative!  You can either mix colors or put all of the same color or variations of the same color into one section.

If you live in Vegas or another REALLY, REALLY hot area, you just put the pans out in the sun or on the dash or hood of a car.  If not, you can put them in an oven on 250.  (Some people will put the oven as high as 350.  We don't only because the silicon we use is not mean for high heat.)

They're starting to melt!

You can stir them every 10-15 minutes until they're completely liquid or you can just let them sit until they're liquid.  You can see the one at the top left corner that has been stirred (by my 8yr old boy...so it's not the neatest stir).

Once they're done, bring them in and let them cool.  If you live in a warmer area or just want them to cool more quickly, you can put them into the fridge or freezer to speed up the cooling process.  This may cause some cracking, though, if you don't let it sit on the counter and at least come to room temp first.  When you're done, you have a new, fun crayon shape!

They're done!  As you can see, we lost a snowflake.  We'll still use the bigger chunk, though, and put the smaller pieces into a baggie to use next time around.  These are the same molds we use when we make soap...aren't they pretty?  And so festive!

Look at the detail on that snowflake!  We make these to put on top of gifts at Christmas time or for birthdays instead of a bow.  It's much more useful than a bow!

Here you can see the front (pretty) side of the star as well as the back (not-so-pretty) side of the star.  You could use a knife to make the back side look prettier, but it would still look fine if you didn't.

When the crayons you made break down again, down, repeat!  The great thing about silicone is that you can usually just pop them out without hurting the shape.  I do pop them out slowly, though, especially with more brittle shapes (like the snowflake that we lost this time around).

This is a fantastic way to do a fun craft with the kids while being frugal and using up all of what you've got!

Disclosure:  Some perfectly good, non-broken crayons were harmed in the making of this post.  However it was a sacrifice they were happy to make on your behalf.

The Man In My Car

This has been on the dash of my car for a week now:

I keep wondering if he's going to melt away in the heat.  Instead, he just keeps laying there.  Smiling.  With that goofy grin. 

No one claims responsibility for putting him there.  I am fairly certain my husband is at fault have my suspicions as to who is responsible.

In the meantime, there he sits.  Because what fun would it be to remove him?

Police Protect Public from DEADLY Organic Foods!

Really, California?  Really with the fruit?  Again?  Really?  For those who don't know, I briefly twittered about the border patrol in California that is doing a suberb job of protecting the people of California from out-of-state fruits.   

(Not so good a job at protecting people from illegals from other countries who run into cars filled with children on the highway and then flee the scene, but I digress.)

They are, however, EXCELLENT at protecting the people of California from fresh fruits, vegetables, and raw dairy products.  Which is kind of ironic if you think about it because a good portion of our nation's produce is grown IN California...and good portion of that is organic.  Kind of doesn't make sense, does it?

Anyways...back at the end of June, they raided the Rawesome Foods Co-op warehouse in Venice, CA.  No one's quite sure why, though.

Perhaps they're just bored?  Find the fruit easier to tame than people coming illegally from another country?  The fruit charge more for day labor?

Who knows?

For the record, it is not illegal to sell raw milk or raw milk products in California.  (For info on the raw milk laws in your area, check out Real Milk courtesy of the Weston Price Foundation.)

So...if it's not illegal to grow or sell produce and it's not illegal to manufacture or sell raw milk or raw milk products, then what was the problem?  Surely there must be SOME logic to it, though, right? Please tell me there is.  I cannot for the life of me imagine what that logic might be, but I have to believe that somehow, someway there is a logical reason for them raiding a raw foods health store with their GUNS DRAWN!!!



I guess that kind of makes sense, though.  I remember that robbery last spring when a band of rabid strawberries stormed into a bank like a S.W.A.T team and took everyone down with their automatic weapons.  Or maybe it was because of that hoard of raw milk jugs and raw yogurt containers that went throughout LA randomly attacking people without provocation? Yup.  DEFINITELY a reason to go into a health food store with RAW fruits, veggies, and dairy products ready to defend yourself against the heavily armed produce and dairy products.  Definitely a reason.

Thank goodness we have the police to protect us from that nasty, chemical-infested, rabid, gun-toting raw, organic food!

(You can find detailed info on the raid and the charges directly from the owner of Rawesome Foods himself here.)

SOS Mom Saver: Get blood out of clothes EASILY!

Today's Mom Saver is very bloody.  Sorry.  I'll stop the corniness (did I spell that right?) now.

My oldest gets a TON of bloody noses.  Most of them aren't from her brother.  Okay.  I'm kidding.  None of them are from her brother.  It does sound much more exciting that way, don't ya think?  Really, her nose just likes to spontaneously bleed.  Just. Because. It can.  Her nose has a mind of its own. Or something like that.

We have come to accept this as a part of life...and as a result needed to find a good, sure way to get blood out of clothes, sheets, the carpet, etc...especially when she was younger and didn't yet know how to recognize when one was about to start.

The best solution when we're out and about is baby wipes.  Huggies baby wipes are the best because they contain the largest amount of peroxide which is the active ingredient that takes the blood out.  I think we're the only family with older kids that still buys wipes in bulk.  This doesn't completely take all of the blood out sometimes, but does a decent enough job of keeping her clean-looking until we can get home and really clean the shirt (or whatever).

When we're home, we wash anything that has blood on it immediately with cold water ONLY.  Seriously...nothing else.  If we were out and used baby wipes earlier, we'll also rinse that item out with cold water when we get home.  You can literally see the blood washing away.  The cold water does such a good job that you could actually just dry the shirt and wear it again.  We don't, though.  We throw it into the washer.

A word of caution:  Although peroxide is the active ingredient in baby wipes that takes the blood out, I would be careful using it straight on anything as it can bleach items.   And honestly, when cold water does the trick, why use anything else?

School Supply Deals 8/1

If you're Southern Nevada, we're having a school supply drive at SOS Radio. You can drop supplies off at SOS Radio on 2201 S. 6th St. in Vegas from 9-5 today and tomorrow morning.

There are school supply drives in cities big and small nationwide. If you don't have school-age kids or can buy extra supplies, I would encourage you to find a drive in your area. If you can't find a local drive, contact a local school and offer to donate the supplies directly to them. I don't know any school that would turn away supplies if they are offered.

To keep all of the information in one place for you, I will update weekly with what the freebies and extra good deals are on school supplies throughout this season. If I can get all of the ads in time, I'll post on Saturday for the following week. If I can't get the deals ahead of time, I'll have them posted by Sunday afternoon. If there's a school drive supply in your area, feel free to post the info in the comments to let others know about it.

And without further ado, here are the freebies and great deals on school supplies for this week:

I still have not gone through and made the final list.  In the interim, I'm going to post the deals courtesy of Save at Home Mommy...with much appreciation for her hard work!  I'm not sure what area she's in as I just found her blog for the first time today on a quick search.  I was looking for the site with the most comprehensive list of deals for the week in spot.  Looks like she's got it for now!


If you have any questions about a particular abbreviation or word, check out my coupon definitions. If you still can't find the answer, post here or shoot me an e-mail. Want to see the best grocery deals for your area? Check out Savings Angel. I use them when I'm short on time or not feeling well but still need groceries for the week.



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