Homemade Cleaning Supplies= Thrifty BLISS!

I came across this the other day and a huge light bulb went on over my head! I have a Swiffer Wet Jet but hardly ever use it because the cloths are so expensive, and so is the cleaner at goes inside.

No tutorial here, just cut an old cloth diaper to the correct size, attached the loop side of the Velcro with a zig zag stitch and WA LA, a Swiffer pad that works perfectly and goes in the washer.

For the cleaning solution I use a homemade 409 in a squirt bottle. I have laminate floors and it works really well. Here's the recipe for the 409 if anyone is interested. I have not bought any other cleaner for my bathroom or kitchen in years. It even works on windows or mirrors.

16oz water

2 tbl spn vinegar

1 tsp borax

1/8 cup of dish soap

Mix in a spray bottle and shake.

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The Laundry Fairy Left Me a Treat

I don't know about you but laundry is the bane of my existence. It never ends, when I get to be in charge of the world there will be a clothes tree and every morning when you wake up there will be a new outfit hanging on it ready to be picked. The outfit will fit perfectly, be cute and fashionable, and also be appropriate for the weather for that day. Most importantly it will also be disposable so just toss it into your outfit compost heap, grab you new pj's off the tree and wait for tomorrow when another new outfit will appear! I'll save my dream of a shoe patch for another post!

SLAP, SLAP wake up and get back to reality... oh, yeah, laundry, right..

Laundry would be at least tolerable if it wasn't for the rewashing. That is washing the clean clothes over again because either your kids threw the clean folded clothes on their floor instead of in their drawers, or the basket of clean clothes sits in the laundry room/living room/dining room/bedroom until no one can remember if it is actually clean or dirty.

Well first problem solved! I no longer do laundry for my older children. I have a 10 year old and a 7 year old that are completely responsible for their own laundry, sorting, washing, drying, folding, putting away. My 5 year old is responsible for putting his clothes away, and he is being trained on how to use the washer and dryer. The 5 month old gets to have a little slack until he's old enough to at least walk. HAHA!! This way they cannot say, "MOOOOOOM I don't have any clean (insert any article of clothing)" because I can say, "NOT MY PROBLEM!"

The second problem has been a little harder to tackle. I am a big culprit when it comes to leaving the clean clothes in the basket and forgetting that they are clean. Sometimes I'm running out the door and need to switch the laundry, most of the time I just get sidetracked by the million other things that are going on in my head and forget about the laundry. So I came up with this little guy:

One side says clean and the other says dirty. It is attached with velcro and you can just flip it over depending on the condition of the clothes. Now maybe I won't have to hear the dreaded question, "is this basket clean or dirty?", and I won't have to do the sniff test. I hate the sniff test.

Oh, and I'm using what is quickly becoming the bestest, most cutest, most versatilest fabric ever, burlap. I love a good burlap project.

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Feel the LoVe

I love Valentine's day. Sadly enough my hubby thinks it some made up holiday that is pretty much pointless. (and really if you think about it, it is) Thankfully he's sweet to me all year long so I don't miss Valentine's Day too much. I do however take the opportunity to do some things for the kids. They usually get some candy or a little trinket of my love. This year I came up with this really cute idea for book marks. I made some for Christmas and they were a hit, so I hearted them up and they are ready for Valentine's Day.

I am trying soooooooo hard to get better at photographing my things, this is better don't ya think? (lie to me if you have to!) Anyhoo, I used really stiff fusible interfacing. It is fusible on both sides so you can sandwich it in between two pieces of fabric. I tried to get a pic that showed how stiff it is:

Basically I just fused two pieces of fabric to the interfacing. I used Wonder Under to fuse the middle section to the book mark, and then just zig zag stitched around it all. Be sure to put your ribbon in while you are fusing the first pieces. I'm going to be making more of these for my sewing students so I'll post pictures when I do.

I had the interfacing and ribbon here already in my stash, and the fabric was leftover from my barter with Heather. She was kind enough to let me keep the excess! So all of that equals FA-REE! My girls are gonna squeal when they see these.

Are you a good dater?

Come on let's face it, dating is hard. REALLY hard. I'm not talking about being single, and trying to find the right guy, while having to kiss a lot of frogs on the way. I'm talking about dating AFTER marriage. That's when it gets tricky. I'm guilty of thinking, "When was the last time we had a date?" and the answer never comes because I can't remember.

My husband and I have become very creative when it comes to dating. Babysitters are very expensive so hiring one is a, once-in-a-while, thing. What works best is trading with our couple friends, they go out on Friday night and we watch their kids, then we go out on Saturday and they watch ours. We also have a lot of dates at home when the kids are asleep, or otherwise occupied. We sometimes don't tell the kids that dinner is ready if they are playing or watching a movie until after we have enjoyed a quiet dinner alone. Sometimes we wait until they are in bed and one of us goes and gets dessert from our favorite restaurant to bring home and enjoy.

Money is another issue. If you think I'm thrifty with gift giving just imagine it seeping into other aspects of my life too, like dating. I don't want to spend $20 to go to the movies when we can wait for the DVD and rent it for $1. I am however OK with going out to eat, I like a nice dinner out and don't really fret too much about the bill. What I quickly discovered is that lunch out is WAY cheaper than dinner out, so my friend and I trade Thursday's. She has lunch with her hubby one Thursday while I have the kids, and then we switch the next. So we are guaranteed at least 2 dates a month. Even doing that I sometimes just pack a home lunch and take it to his office.

I found this really great website that has a 52 date challenge.

She has some great date ideas, and even a little pledge that you can sign with your significant other to make it more official.

I love dates, it gives us time to be us and not just Mom and Dad. So go out, or stay in, just make a date! It'll be the best gift you can give yourself (shy of a pedicure, and a massage!).

AAAHHH I can't believe it!!!

I woke up this morning to a great surprise!! I was featured at The Thrifty Home's Penny Pinching Party!!! I've never been featured before!!! So exciting!!! Can you tell I'm excited??!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's her link

Go check her out. She's has great stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously excited!!!!!!!!!!!!