I sent my best friend a pic of my chili today which included a jar of my homemade tomato paste. Her immediate question was why had I not yet put that instructional on my blog.

As I’m clearly obligated to do.

Her wish is...almost...my command.

In the "good ole days" before I was a single mom working full-time and going to school...I would have just taken the time to make y'all a batch complete with step-by-step pictures.

But you're not getting that from me.

I will tell you that you won't regret making your own homemade tomato paste. It's easy, it tastes amazing, and is full of so much more flavor and health than the store-bought version. (That last part is totally scientific. I know because I made it up. But it sounds like it would be true.)

I mean just LOOK at the color in that sauce!

You can really see the color here after it's opened.

Tomato Paste topping Vegan Sweet Potato Chili

And no...making it isn't extremely difficult and doesn't even require canning. You can keep the final product in the fridge or freezer should you so desire.

Over on The Kitchn, Marisa McClellan does an excellent job of doing MY old job. She'll tell you how to make and preserve Tomato Paste and even has excellent links through her post on how to make and preserve other homemade tomato products including Tomato Sauce.

This blog is an excellent resource for those looking to cook from scratch and preserve foods!

I've been getting ready for summer by dehydrating foods we'll eat while out and about this summer.  Now, it's time for me to fill my freezer with healthy popsicles. 

Feed my kids popsicles for breakfast?  Why not?  

(What kind of a mom ARE you?  You'd feed your kids POPSICLES for BREAKFAST?!?!  I'm not sure I can keep reading your blog!)

I promise.  I'm not crazy.  In fact, I can almost guarantee that YOU will feed YOUR kids popsicles for breakfast too after I'm done with you.  These aren't your typical "is there even any actual fruit in there" popsicles.  These are popsicles that you and/or your kids make from scratch.  And it's EASY!

The easiest way to make popsicles at home is to use pre-packaged fruit juice that you'd buy at the store.  If you purchase a juice from the Lakewood "Just" juice line, or the Knudsen "Pure" juice line, then you'll be giving your kids pure fruit juice popsicles.  (Thankfully, these are now carried in most grocery stores.  As a bonus, they also come in organic varieties.)

I like to go a step further here, though.  I like to find creative ways to use the fresh fruit that I get...especially as it gets past its prime.  (I know every one of us has that apple that gets lost in the back of the fruit drawer in the fridge.)  Many people think these fruits are trash.  The opposite is actually true.  The riper the fruit gets, the sweeter it becomes.  I wouldn't eat it plain, but I'll freeze this fruit straight to use in smoothies or...my kid's favorite...puree the fruit and make homemade popsicles.

The ingredients are incredibly simple:

• A blender, food processor, or smoothie maker
• Popsicle holders (or small cups)
• Lids for the popsicle holders or small popsicle sticks
• Fruit...Be creative!
• Some sort of liquid: Yogurt or Kefir can be used for a thicker popsicle.  Juice or water can be used to make it more light.

My family LOVES oatmeal.  This is great as it's incredibly healthy.  Unfortunately, they also like the convenience of oatmeal packets.

But..have you looked at the ingredients for those packets lately?  Yeah.  Um.  Not exactly healthy...or even pronounceable in some cases.  Even those that are organic or healthier are full of refined sugar.

Even if you did find a healthy packet of oatmeal with only good ingredients, I challenge you to find one that's reasonably affordable.

So...I set out to make the bulk oatmeal also convenient.  I have promised a couple of friends who have asked that I will detail out the process with cost and pictures the next time we make packets.  In the meantime, here's a basic ingredient list for each of our 3 favorite oatmeal packet "flavors" (which are pictured above):

Oatmeal Raisin:

• 1/2 cup oats (I put these in the food processor and pulse them a couple times to break them up some.  That's not necessary if you're using quick oats.)
• 1 TB ground oats (see note below)
• 1 TB ground flax seed
• 1 tsp cinnamon (You can use 1 tsp -1 TB; depending on your taste preference.)
• 1/8-1/4 tsp ginger 
• 1/4 cup raisins

Strawberries & Cream:

• 1/2 cup oats (I put these in the food processor and pulse them a couple times to break them up some.  That's not necessary if you're using quick oats.)
• 1 TB ground oats (see note below)
• 1 TB ground flax seed
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried or dehydrated strawberries processed in the food processor to your desired consistency (We've also used blueberries in this recipe instead of strawberries.  YUM!)
• 2 TB powdered milk (You can use 2 TB -1/4 cup powdered milk; depending on taste preference)

Apple Cinnamon:

• 1/2 cup oats (I put these in the food processor and pulse them a couple times to break them up some.  That's not necessary if you're using quick oats.)
• 1 TB ground oats (see note below)
• 1 TB ground flax seed
• 1 tsp cinnamon (You can use 1 tsp to 1 TB; depending on your taste preference.)
• 1/8 tsp ginger  (1/8 tsp to 1/4 tsp; depending on taste preference
  
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried or dehydrated apples processed in the food processor to your desired consistency

Put all ingredients into a sandwich-size baggie.  Close the baggie, shake to mix the ingredients, & you're ready to go.  I do re-open the baggie after mixing the ingredients so I can get the air out before storage to save space.   I'll typically do a couple hundred packets at once.  No.  Really.  That means I don't have to do them again for awhile.  We keep them in a food-grade storage bucket that we got from a local donut shop for $2.

To cook, you simply dump the oatmeal packet into a bowl and add 1 cup of hot water. (We use the hot water from our water cooler right now, but have used water from our stove-top kettle in the past.)  Stir and enjoy!  Yes, you MUST enjoy.  We also add honey to ours when serving.  We don't typically use much.  A 2 lb container that we use only for oatmeal lasts us a couple months.

A note on the Ground Oats:  You know that powder that you see in store oatmeal packets?  That's what this is.  It's a combination of the sugar...and some ground oats which helps your oatmeal be more "mushy".  If you like mushier oatmeal, then you'll want to add some of this to each packet.  (It doesn't take much.)

The thing to remember here is that these recipes are VERY forgiving.  You can add healthy things (like the flax seed) that your family likes and take away what you don't want or like.  You can add different fruits to suit your liking. Experiment and find what your family likes best.

Exactly HOW healthy is our oatmeal?  The oats, flax seed, and raisins that we use are organic.  The powdered milk isn't organic, but is rbgh-free. 

Like I said, I will detail out the exact cost in a later blog when I do our next batch.  The estimated cost here, though, is about 36¢/packet.  If you include the cost of the honey, it makes it a little over 38¢/packet.  Note that this is for largely-organic oatmeal that contains only ingredients you can pronounce.

I was at the pet store the other day looking for a new bed for my growing puppy.  While there, I started unzipping the beds to see what was inside them.  I was trying to ascertain if the bed would be an easy-to-wash bed because...well...they're dogs and as such, they roll around in the dirt and mud.

As I was doing this, I had an epiphany!  I had just unzipped a bed that had an egg crate mattress pad in it.  The bed was one of the cheaper ones there because it was on sale for $24.99 (normally $39.99).  It occurred to me when I saw that bed that I could do this myself for MUCH cheaper.

(Are you surprised that it would occur to ME to make something myself?  Didn't think so.)

The bonus in making the bed for myself is that I could make TWO beds.  Our other dog has a bed, but it doesn't have a removable cover & thus isn't as easily washed as I would like.

Here's what I did:

I got an egg crate mattress pad.  (Like the one pictured below.)  The one below cost just under $17 at Amazon.  However, they have the cheaper ones for $10 at Walmart.


I took the twin-sized pad I got & cut it in half (we have big dogs).  If you were so inclined, you could sew a "real" cover to go over one of these.  Instead, I chose to take the easy way out & just used a couple of old fitted sheets.  I wrapped those over the beds & kept it simple.  If you didn't have a couple of old sheets to use, you can usually buy a fitted sheet at a thrift store for $2. 

If you had to buy a couple of fitted sheets, your total out-of-pocket would be around $15, including taxes.  If you just had to buy the pad, your cost would be even lower (just over $10).  Keep in mind, this is for TWO beds!  That means you're total cost PER ped would be $5-$8...for a bed that costs almost $40 brand-new!

With that lower cost comes MUCH less stress should a new puppy happen to chew the bed or have an accident (our older dog will throw up if she happens to eat something that doesn't agree with her).

I've been getting ready for summer by dehydrating foods we'll eat while out and about this summer.  Now, it's time for me to fill my freezer with healthy popsicles. 

Feed my kids popsicles for breakfast?  Why not?  

(What kind of a mom ARE you?  You'd feed your kids POPSICLES for BREAKFAST?!?!  I'm not sure I can keep reading your blog!)

I promise.  I'm not crazy.  In fact, I can almost guarantee that YOU will feed YOUR kids popsicles for breakfast too after I'm done with you.  These aren't your typical "is there even any actual fruit in there" popsicles.  These are popsicles that you and/or your kids make from scratch.  And it's EASY!

The easiest way to make popsicles at home is to use pre-packaged fruit juice that you'd buy at the store.  If you purchase a juice from the "Simply" juice line, the Lakewood "Just" juice line, or the Knudsen "Pure" juice line, then you'll be giving your kids pure fruit juice popsicles.  (The Minute Maid "Simply" juices would be the cheapest of the above.  They're also found at almost all grocery stores.  The others are more costly and aren't carried in all regular grocery stores, but also come in organic varieties.)

I like to go a step further here, though.  I like to find creative ways to use the fresh fruit that I get...especially as it gets past its prime.  (I know every one of us has that apple that gets lost in the back of the fruit drawer in the fridge.)  Many people think these fruits are trash.  The opposite is actually true.  The riper the fruit gets, the sweeter it becomes.  I wouldn't eat it plain, but I'll freeze this fruit straight to use in smoothies or...my kid's favorite...puree the fruit and make homemade popsicles.

The ingredients are incredibly simple:

• A blender, food processor, or smoothie maker
• Popsicle holders (or small cups)
• Lids for the popsicle holders or small popsicle sticks
• Fruit...Be creative!
• Some sort of liquid: Yogurt or Kefir can be used for a thicker popsicle.  Juice or water can be used to make it more light.

I try to use as few chemicals as possible in our home.  Hence my discovery of yet another homemade product!

A LOT of figuring out what will make a homemade product is first figuring out what's in the chemical product.  (Example, the main ingredient in Windex is vinegar so you use vinegar to clean your windows.)  WD-40 is pretty much a mix of oil & vaseline along with a bunch of other chemicals as preservatives.

What can you use instead?

Oil.  Really, any oil will work (including the baby oil used in WD-40).  I use olive oil because it's the cheapest oil that we have on hand.  You CAN just use olive oil in a spray bottle.  That's what I have always done.  However, some will add 3 parts oil to 1 part water.

You can spray the oil on bike chains, squeaky hinges, basically anywhere you'd put WD-40.  Our experience thus far has shown that it works just as well as WD-40 without the chemical additives!

Do you want to know a chemical-free homemade version of a particular product?  Let me know.  You can connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, comment here, or shoot me an e-mail at amy@thoughtsofTHATmom.com!  I love hearing from you!

This is so amazingly simple that when I first heard it, I was baffled I hadn't thought of it myself.  Really?  That's IT?

Seriously.  It's THAT simple.

Take whatever drink you're having & freeze some ice cubes with that drink.  Use those ice cubes (made from the drink you're having) instead of "regular" ice cubes made from water in your drink.

If there is a drink like tea, a pop, or a flavored drink that you have on a regular basis, freeze a gallon-size baggie full of those ice cubes so they're always available when you want a drink.

See.  I told you it was amazingly simple! 

I don't wear a lot of make-up.  As a result, it didn't make much sense for me to have eye make-up remover on hand that would likely go bad between uses.  Not only that, but I want to use as few chemicals as possible.  Plus, if I find a use for something else in my house then that's one less product I have to buy & keep on hand.

The answer?  Olive oil.  I like to use what I already have on hand which is cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil.  This is what we buy to eat and on the rare occasions when I wear make-up, it's what I use to remove my make-up.  I have heard people talk about using coconut oil and almond oil for this purpose as well, but I have only personally tried using olive oil.

It's incredibly easy to use.  Just put a little oil on a cotton ball, wipe it over your closed eye.  After the make-up is off, use a warm wash cloth to wipe off any remaining oil.

Contrary to what many say, olive oil will not clog your pores.  Chemical-laden, store-bought make-up removers are more likely to do that.  (And ironically, they won't do as good a job of removing the make-up either.)

A bonus to using olive oil is that it conditions your lashes when it takes the make-up off which helps repair any damage done by the make-up itself.

Part of being frugal for me means learning how to use up everything that I have in my house.  I also want to learn how to do as much from scratch as I can simply because then I (and not some big corporation) control what goes into our food.

Don't get me wrong, there is a time and a place for everything; even pre-made foods.  I do use store-bought, pre-made products when I get them free or get paid to take them through couponing.  However, I still see a tremendous benefit in knowing how to make our own foods and even more...in learning how to use everything that we have in our house.

One particular item has been sitting unused in our house for nearly 14 years.  It's a jar of mustard seed that came with the spice rack we got as a wedding gift.  I realize that this seed may have lost some flavor because it's so old, but according to my research, it should still be good.  So...what do I do with it?  Logic would state that mustard seeds are used to make...oh gee...I don't know...mustard?

Remember, everything that we eat now was at one time or another made from scratch.  So it can't be that hard, can it?  Much to my delight, I found that making mustard from scratch is even easier than making ketchup or mayo from scratch which is saying a lot because those are both fairly easy to make.


The easiest way to make mustard involves only two ingredients:

• Mustard seeds (There are several different types you can use each of which or the combination of which will give you a different flavor.)
• Yellow will yield the least spicy & most traditional "mustard" taste
• Brown will give you a dijon-type mustard taste
• Black will give you the spiciest mustard
• You can also combine the 3 mustards in various ways to create different tastes 
• Water

The instructions are equally as simple:

• Grind the mustard seeds (ideally using a mortar & pestle or a coffee grinder, but if necessary a blender or food processor may be used)
• Add enough water to the mustard seeds to create a paste of desired consistency
• If you like thicker, spicier mustard then you'll use less water
• If you like a thinner or less spicy mustard, you'll use more water

But...(you know there had to be a "but", right)...there are many different variations for mustard.  Using just water will yield the spiciest mustard.  This is part of what I LOVE about making things from scratch, though.  I can change the flavor to suit my family's tastes.

The biggest way to change the flavor of mustard is by using vinegar instead of (or with) water to make the paste.  The type of vinegar you use will change the taste of the mustard.  There is "regular" distilled white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, raw apple cider vinegar (which has a much stronger, more distinct taste), white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar.


There are also other ingredients you can add to your mustard in varying combinations.  Here are several of them:

• Salt (Here, the flavor can vary based on whether you use table salt, sea salt, or another type of salt)
• Pepper (Freshly ground peppercorns will provide more flavor than pre-ground pepper.)
• Turmeric (This spice has a "mustardy" smell & taste.  It's used in mustard mainly to give it the "mustardy" color.)  Is "mustardy" a word?  I guess it is now.
• Paprika (This is used in traditional store-bought mustard.)
• Ginger (This will "spice-up" your mustard)
• Garlic 
• Honey (You would use this for a honey-mustard.  As if that wasn't obvious.)

It's not required, but if you want to really amp up the flavor, let the mustard sit in a glass jar in the fridge for 2 weeks before using it.  This will allow the flavors to really come out.  The mixture will keep for 3-6 months in the fridge.

I would recommend that you mix your mustards up in small batches (using only a tablespoon of mustard to start) until you find the flavors that your family likes best.  This way, you won't feel terribly guilty about tossing the mixture if your family doesn't like it.

If you prefer not to eat the mustard seeds but still want to use them, you could put the ground mustard seeds in your socks to prevent cold feet in the winter.  No.  Really.  That's apparently what they did in the "good ole days".    Don't you ever wonder how people knew about neat tricks like that back before the internet?  I'm just sayin'...

We've been using homemade deodorant for over 2 years now. We love it. I've done a lot of research in this arena because our first batches of deodorant which included baking soda really irritated both of us.

There is a quick and simple spray deodorant recipe that many people like.  We'll use it occasionally, but usually only when we're just hanging out at home as I don't find it to be as effective as some of the other recipes. 

Spray Deodorant:

• 1 part vinegar or apple cider vinegar (either will work) (for example...1 cup, but this will vary depending on the size of your bottle)
• 1 part water (for example...1 cup, but this will vary depending on the size of your bottle)
• Spray on after toweling off from the shower.  Let it dry while you get dressed and you're good to go.  You will NOT smell like vinegar once it dries.  However, some smell will remain if you use apple cider vinegar.

Homemade "regular" deodorant:

• 3 tbs coconut oil
• 1 tbs cornstarch
• Mix together (read below for variations & detailed instructions) 
• Put in a container to apply by hand or in an old deodorant container (more about that in a bit)
• If you live in a hot climate or don't run your ac in the summer, you might need to keep your deodorant in the fridge in the summer.

Seriously...it's as easy as that! 

There are some things that people add to help make it more effective for them.  I encourage you to keep trying until you find the recipe that works for your family.  Make small batches at first so you don't feel bad chucking it if it doesn't work out well.  For example, we used to use baking soda.  It gave both my husband and I a rash, though, so we had to ditch it.

Here are some variations to the "regular" deodorant recipe:

• 1 tbs baking soda (This was in the original recipe we used, but like I said, we just couldn't use it.)
• 1-5 drops of tea tree oil  (This is anti-bacterial like the coconut oil.  I recommend adding it slowly if you do as it can be irritating as well.)
• Use cocoa butter or jojaba oil instead of coconut oil  (I've never tried this, but many do with great success.)  The point here is that it needs to be an oil that is solid at room temperature.
• 1-5 drops of an essential oil such as lavender  (Again, use with caution and add slowly as all essential oils can be irritating...although tea tree oil is one of the worst.)

If you live in an area with hard water then you TOTALLY know what I'm talking about. You put your dishes in the dish washer only to have them (it seems) come out looking dirtier than when they went in.

Sure you can hand wash your dishes and prevent a lot of the problem, but who wants to do THAT all the time? (Answer...NOT me!!) 

Do I hear some of you out there who know our family quite well snickering?  You're thinking, "Wait...she doesn't do the dishes in her home!"  And you would mostly be right.  When I'm cooking or baking, I actually do a fairly good job of cleaning up after myself including washing dishes as I use them.  Everything that I wash is hand-washed.  I don't mess with the dishwasher.  My husband does that!  Still, I have to use the dishes that he washes in the dish washer & BOY HOWDY do they come out needing help in this hard water!

There are a couple of ways to clean dishes with hard water.  The easy (but not nearly as effective) way is to put a cup of vinegar in the dishwasher & run a load of clean (other than the hard-water stains) dishes.  Don't put soap or anything else in; just the vinegar.  However, it may take a couple of loads to get them all clean.

The other way is to fill your sink with vinegar & drop in the clean dishes with hard-water stains.  Let them sit overnight.  In the morning, rinse & dry them.  Viola!  They'll be clean!

You can help prevent the hard-water stains by using vinegar as your rinse aid all the time.  Just put it where you normally would the (expensive) store-bought rinse-aids.  A bonus to using the vinegar as a rinse-aid is that it also helps keep your dishwasher lines clear and free of gunk!  Some people also add a lemonade packet (without anything added) to their detergent mix to help with hard-water stains.  I have not personally tried that, though.

Some people have reported that their water is so hard that vinegar just in the rinse-aid container isn't enough.  They actually add from 1/2 cup to every load of dishes to keep them clear.  Others say that they just add that 1/2 cup all the way up to a full cup every 3-5 days & that this in addition to the vinegar as a rinse aid is enough to keep their dishes clear..

Alka-Seltzer is a money maker this week at Walgreens.  Many people, myself included, don't use Alka-Seltzer as a med.  I didn't realize until years ago that Alka-Seltzer actually has many alternative uses:

• Clean your toilet:  Drop 2 tablets in your toilet.  When it's done fizzing (or after about half an hour), flush the toilet.  It will be sparkling clean!  (We do still run through ours with a scrubber, but some say this isn't even necessary.)

• Clean your jewelry:  Drop 2 tablets in a cup of water and drop in your jewelry.  Let it soak for 10-30 minutes.  Again...most say no further scrubbing is required.  Just rinse with water.

• Get stuck-on junk off of your porcelain & glass baking dishes:  Drop 2 tablets in a sink of water and fill with the dirty dishes.  When the fizzing is done (wait about half an hour), the dishes should wipe clean with little effort.

• Unclog the drain:  Put 2 tablets down a slow or clogged drain.  Follow with 1/2 cup of vinegar.  Allow to sit for an hour then rinse with boiling water (ideal) or flush with hot water for a couple of minutes.

• Clean dentures:  (Don't snicker, you might be there one day.  Until then, you can give the advice to your grandparents.)  Drop 2 tablets into a cup of water.  Add your dentures & let them soak for at least half an hour.  It will remove all stains with little (if any) scrubbing required.  Just rinse!

• Clean the bottom of a vase or other hard-to-clean item:  Drop 2 tablets into the bottom, fill with water.  As it dissolves, it will clean the vase (or other item) with very little if any scrubbing.  Just rinse with hot water after about half an hour.

• Deodorize the fridge:  Drop 2 tablets into a cup of water & let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour.  You may have to repeat it once if strong smells were present.

• Clean and/or deodorize a cooler:  I'm sure none of you are like us.  We have yet to empty the cooler from our impromptu trip to Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago.  When we finally get around it to, I will dump the cooler, clean it as best I can & then add back in an inch of water.  I'll drop in 4 tablets then let it sit for an hour.  After that hour, I'll rinse it.  All smells will be gone & it will be clean & ready for its next use.

Now what are you waiting for?  Go out and get your free cleaner...I mean Alka Seltzer tablets from Walgreens!
 

My search to find more natural products led me to find an alternative to bleach.  Bleach is a fairly cheap item, but it's also VERY toxic.  I didn't want that in my house...or on my clothes if there was an alternative.

Lo & behold, there was!  (Yes, I said "lo".  What can I say?  Christmas season is near.)

Peroxide can be used as a bleach substitute.  The important thing to remember here is that just like bleach, peroxide...bleaches.  In other words, don't use peroxide on something if you wouldn't have used non-color safe bleach on it.  It WILL "bleach" the item white.

To use it with your whites, just pour from 1 tablespoon - 1/2 cup in where & when you would normally add bleach.  (I only use 1 tablespoon unless there is something just uber-stained then I would use more.)

You can also soak clothes in peroxide just as you would bleach should you have some tough stains.

And no...there isn't a "special" peroxide for this.  You use the same peroxide that you use to clean your child's cut. 

I'd also like to add a reminder for Nevadans (Is that what we are?  Is that how you spell it?  Anyway...) & anyone else where early voting has already started...don't forget to vote!  Your vote DOES count, IS wanted, and CAN make a difference!

On Tuesday, I talked about how to make homemade laundry detergent.  Only 3 ingredients were required for that.  One of them, is washing soda.

Washing soda is carried at many different stores.  Unfortunately, finding it at one store in one area of the country doesn't guarantee that you'll find it at that same store in a different area of the country.  Stores that are known to carry it nationwide are Meijer and Ace Hardware. It is carried at many Kroger stores but not all of their other chain names.  It has been found at Wal-mart and Target in some areas.

So far, I've not personally found any here.  I'm told that an Ace Hardware on the other side of town carries it, but I'm not willing to drive that far for washing soda...especially not when there's an alternative.  Washing soda is also carried in many pool stores under the name Soda Ash as well as several brand names.  However, it's much more expensive in pool stores and often contains another chemical or two...both of which I'm trying to avoid by making my own detergent.

So what is washing soda?  Is there an alternative?  Can you make your own?  Washing soda is sodium carbonate or soda ash.  Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate.  Washing soda is actually a very caustic (I didn't know this until I started doing this research.  They say you should use gloves when you handle it.  Hello!  Would have been nice to know!)  You can make your own washing soda by cooking baking soda.  Cooking baking soda changes some of its chemical properties making it more alkaline (and thus caustic).  Those chemical changes while it's cooking turn it into soda ash or washing soda.

If you want to make your own, you simply cook baking soda in an oven-safe container at 300 degrees for 2 hours.  The result is washing soda.  Washing soda is more alkaline and thus better for getting out really tough stains.  Knowing what I know now, I might make a batch and keep it only for the toughest of tough stains...as in the ones that won't come out with regular laundry soap made with regular baking soda.

You can safely use baking soda instead of washing soda in your laundry recipe.  Some people will double the amount of baking soda used since it isn't as potent at getting stains out.  (In other words, if you made a batch requiring 1/2 cup of baking soda you would instead use a full cup.)  I would say this would be more necessary if you have hard water like we do.  If you have a water softener or don't have hard water at all, I'd probably just try to substitute baking soda for washing soda in the current proportions first.

I'm actually really excited about learning what I've learned.  It means that there's one less ingredient I have to worry about buying.  And if I DO want that ingredient; I can make my own!  I would give you pictures, but I haven't made it yet!  I'm excited to try it soon!  Baking soda is much cheaper than washing soda...and as I've learned, much better for you as well!

If you make your own laundry soap, have you made any substitutions?  Have you made any additions?  Do you wash in cold water or hot water?  (I always use cold.)

As always, if you have any questions be sure to let me know!  You can comment here, e-mail me, or contact me on Facebook or Twitter.

You've heard me reference my homemade laundry detergent before. Many of you have asked for my recipe. Your wish is (finally) my command.

The ingredients are fairly simple. You only need 3:

1. Borax (1/2 cup to 1 cup)
2. Washing Soda (1/2 cup to 1 cup)  (If you cannot find Washing Soda in your area, listen to  SOS Radio this coming Thursday (Sept. 30th) at 4:30pm PST.  I'll tell you how to make your own!)
3. 1 bar of Ivory (or Fels Naptha) soap.

Utilizing these 3 ingredients, you can make a dry or a liquid version. I have not yet tried the liquid version, but intend to in the future. I have been using the dry for two years now with excellent results.

Here’s what you do:

It's time for me to admit something really personal.  I have a chronic condition called "Deodorant-shirtitis".   Unfortunately, many suffer from this same condition.

I usually don't discover that I the condition has struck that day until I'm on my way out the door.  I've tried using water...only to have it come back again as soon as the shirt is dry.  I've also tried using wipes...the deodorant goes away...and is replaced by the remnants of the wipe.

So I set out to find a better solution!

The easiest way I've found to get the deodorant out is to just rub the shirt together. Seriously.  It's THAT easy.

However, that's easier said than done if the stain is on the side or towards the back of a shirt that you're currently wearing.

In this case, you can just rub pantyhose on the stain and it will go away.  I was skeptical at first too, but it really does work!

If you suffer from this "problem", I recommend keeping a knee high with you in  a desk drawer, the glove box of the car, or a pocket of your purse.

If you don't wear pantyhose, you can buy a small package of knee highs at the store for as low as $.33. Carry one with you and keep the other at home or work.

If you DO wear pantyhose, just cut a small section of one out to keep with you once they're snagged and can't be worn anymore.  And if you wear pantyhose...I'm sorry.  My condolences are with you.

I love the idea of Febreze.  What I don't love is the fact that it's loaded with chemicals that I'd rather not spray on every surface that we touch.  Not to mention the price of $4+/bottle.  Hello!  NOT paying that!  Surely there's something cheaper...with less chemicals to boot!

What do you know?  There IS!

All you need is 3 simple ingredients:

• Vinegar
• Water
• A spray bottle (which you can get at discount and dollar stores for $1 if you don't have one to reuse).  

The directions are equally as simple:

• Fill the bottle 1/2 way with vinegar.
• Add water to the top. 
• Shake...and spray on the desired surfaces.

Yes.  It's really that simple!

If you want to add a little scent, you can add a tablespoon or two of lemon juice and/or some essential oils (tea tree oil is a great disinfectant, but isn't safe for use around pets).

To speed up drying time, add a couple tablespoons of rubbing alcohol to your mixture.

(What I do if I add lemon juice, essential oils, or alcohol is add those things FIRST, add water to fill 1/2 the bottle then add the vinegar to fill the rest of the way.  Basically, I have the other ingredients take up water space.)

Remember to shake your bottle before each use.

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?

Because of our food allergies, we use a homemade powdered sugar icing when we make cakes.  But oh my GOSH powdered sugar is expensive!  There are usually decent sales that I can combine with a coupon to get regular sugar for far under $1/lb.  I have never seen powdered sugar for less than $2/lb.  That's almost TWICE as much!

It is so unbelievable easy to make homemade powdered sugar!  You put the amount of sugar desired into a blender & blend until you have the desired consistency.  If you are planning on storing it long-term, you would want to add 1tbs of corn starch per cup of sugar that you're blending.

Here's a marvelous example of this being done in an uber-awesome Vitamix blender!



For the record, you don't have to have a Vitamix to make powdered sugar from regular sugar.  Any old blender will do.  (However, that doesn't mean that I would turn away a donation or gift of a lovely Vitamix, new or used.)  (Because while my blender will blend powdered sugar...it has issues with blending my spinach!)  (Excuse me while I day dream for a minute about what it would be like to have a Vitamix blender...) (Sigh.)  (I don't think I used enough parenthesis...eseses.  Here's another.)

Okay.  Back to reality! 

A friendly reminder:  Don't forget about the SOS Radio school-supply drive!  You can drop off school supplies at the SOS studios from 9-5 Monday-Friday.  You can find the deals for the week on my blog each Sunday.  Check out this week's deals!

It seems like there's a chemical out there for anything.  Don't you ever wonder what our ancestors did, though?  Most of them didn't have access to the thousands (or more) chemicals that our out there today.  Those that did have access likely didn't have the money.

They still managed to function!  What did they do?

They used simple products that they already had on hand or could easily obtain.  These products often had multiple (as in many, many, many, many) uses.

One such product is vinegar.  Vinegar has been a staple at our house for many years.  At under $3 for 2 gallons, it's a fantastic price. Plus, it's a natural food product (not food-based, but ACTUAL food) that is harmless.  Many of the ingredients below require a spray bottle.  You can get them at Dollar Tree as well as several other places for as little as $1 each.

A quick internet search will reveal "1001 uses for vinegar".  I've highlighted some of our favorite uses below:

• Mosquito Repellent:  I'm told this won't be of use to us here in Vegas, but it was a life-saver back in Michigan and Oklahoma.  It's as simple as it sounds.  Dump vinegar into a spray bottle (full-strength), and spray on your body.  You will have a lovely, fragrant vinegar smell...but only until the vinegar dries at which point it is completely odorless.
• Dishwasher Rinse-Aid:  Pour 1/4 cup of full-strength vinegar into the rinse-aid container on your dishwasher.  It is just as (or more) effective as the expensive, chemical-laden rinse-aids.
• Liquid Fabric Softener:  Pour full-strength vinegar into the washer when you would normally add fabric-softener.  This is also a great way to help get odors out of your clothes.  And no, they will NOT smell like vinegar once dry!  You can also add full-strength vinegar to some of the automatic fabric-softener balls.  It will release at the proper time just as with "regular" fabric softener.  A bonus here is that while chemical-laden, store-bought fabric-softeners will lessen absorption on your towels, vinegar will NOT.  It will give them a soft feel without making them less absorbent.
• Dryer Fabric Softener:  To use vinegar as a fabric softener in your dryer instead, just dip a washcloth or dishcloth into full-strength vinegar, squeeze it out, and throw it in the dryer with your other wet clothes.  To make this easy, keep an old baby wipes box full of vinegar.  Open it, dip the wash cloth, squeeze it out & toss it in!  Your clothes will not smell like vinegar once dry.
• Clean Your Windows:  Guess what one of the main ingredients is in most over-the-counter, chemical-laden window cleaners is...vinegar!  So why not do it yourself and skip all of the chemicals?  The mixture ratio varies here from as little as 2tbs of vinegar in 1 gallon of water to 1/2 vinegar, 1/2 water.  I personally fill our spray bottles (which aren't even close to a full gallon) about 1/4 of the way with vinegar & fill the rest with water.  It's best to use old newspapers to wipe your windows down, but if (like me) you don't have them, cloth is fine...I just wipe with a dry cloth after cleaning the window to make sure there are no streaks!
• Clean Your Counters and Walls:  Any non-wood surface including bathroom counters, sinks, bathtubs, outside of toilets, etc can be cleaned with vinegar.  You can even get stains off the walls with vinegar.  For most of these purposes, I use a solution labeled "General Cleaning" which consists of 1/2 vinegar & 1/2 water in a spray bottle
• Clean Your Kitchen Counters:  I use a different mixture on my kitchen counters where we sometimes (though rarely) handle raw meat and eggs, I use a mixture of 3/4 spray bottle with vinegar then fill half of the rest with lemon juice & the other half with water.  It's a strong solution, but I want to make sure my kitchen counters are properly disinfected.  I clearly label this one "Kitchen" so everyone knows which mix to use in the kitchen.
• Mop Your Floors:  I use my "General Cleaning" solution for this as well.  In fact, I use the same spray bottle that I use for everything else.  We spray it on the floor then mop!  Again, that's 1/2 vinegar, 1/2 water in a spray bottle.
• Clean Your Carpets:  You can get most stains out of the carpet with vinegar.  I use my "General Cleaning" solution (1/2 vinegar/1/2 water in a spray bottle) for this as well.  Spray on, blot with a damp cloth, repeat until stain is gone.
• Wash Produce:  Many will use a solution similar to my "General Cleaning" solution for this, but I use full-strength vinegar in a spray bottle if I'm cleaning non-organic produce.  In fact, I soak my fruits & veggies (not berries) in a vinegar solution then scrub & rinse them.
• Kill Weeds:  During the hottest part of the day, spray your weeds with vinegar.  The sun will react with the vinegar and will kill the weed.  Warning!!!!!  This will kill EVERYTHING that it comes into contact with so if you don't want it burned by the vinegar/sun reaction, make sure it doesn't get sprayed!

Do you use vinegar for any purpose other than cooking?  What do you use it for?  I'll add your suggestions to this post so people have more great ideas to choose from!