Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Wednesday, Sewing and selling stuff!

 

Oliver is 6 months old and getting so big.  He has on a pair of his daddy's shoes that grandma saved.  Too cute. He has the chubbiest feet with a really high instep and you can't get his feet in shoes let alone tied. Our oldest was like that and we had to order buckle shoes from England until she was 5 to get dress shoes for her.


Kelsa is 5 months old but Schmills wanted to be part of the action.  She is giving him the "But this is my moment look." He is wearing the flower that is supposed to surround the month of the year as a hat.  What a nut.

I was able to get my sewing quota done today so I was happy about that. Dinner was brats with fried cabbage.  So good. I also cooked 6 chicken thighs and I am going to make enchiladas with them tomorrow.

Grocer adds come out today, but we will only buy fresh produce.  I will have to glue hubs arms to his side if he goes with me to the store.  But we need lettuce,carrots, celery,mushrooms,radishes, cucumbers. Hubs is feeling housebound and it is making him cranky.  He needs more to do. I have been reprieved, he is going fishing with a buddy today!

I listed several more things on facebook market place and I have sold a few items.  Tomorrow I have a few more people coming for things and one on Thursday.  SO far I have $50.00 toward my Aunt's $500.00 and with what I have sold so far (if people pick up) it will be another $55.00 to add and at this point every penny counts. Hopefully a few more items will sell and I do have a client or two picking up things tomorrow. I want to send my Aunts card out on Saturday the 7th. I don't want to use any money in the checking account, but we will see.

I was glad to hear from a lot more cheap faces out there, welcome to my club.  We should have t-shirts made.  Or we could all embroider pillows....hmmm

Another way people save money is by making their own cleaning products.  I know there are several recipe's out there for window washing solution and laundry soap.  SO far I have just stuck to the old tried and true I grew up with and the dollar store.  I find that for a dollar I can't beat that and my time is worth something.  I love pinesol and dilute that in a bottle for most of my cleaning. I do not make laundry detergent because the girls and hubs were allergic to almost everyone.  We use Tide, it is cheaper than the salve and meds we needs to clean up rashes.  But I do most washing in cold and hang a lot to dry. I find scouring powders at the dollar store also.  I just think they work better.  Although I know you can use salt,soda, vinegar.  But have you priced those lately?

Do you make you own cleaners?  IF you do what are they?

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim

26 comments:

  1. People tout homemade cleaners and say they are self-sufficient. But, you have to buy the stuff from the same stores to make the homemade laundry cleaners. If I used Tide, I would be buying creams, salves, and stuff to tale for my nose, ears, lungs. I also use Dove for bathing. The dermatologist told me it was the best and to keep using it. I use vinegar for lots of cleaning, also baking soda. I like Lysol instead of Pine-sol, since I am allergic to Pine-sol. Barkeeper's Friend is my friend. Of course, since I don't clean often, it is cheap to clean!

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    1. I have found that girl friends that make homemade laundry soap have dingy looking whites, I think it leave a residue.

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  3. Over 100 people within a foot of me in court yesterday for hours. Big courtroom had work going on so everyone squeezed into small courtroom it was far more with court staff and officers. Plus no social distancing and all lined up outside door who could not squeeze in, so really no help. I was double masked, gloves, etc. but still awful.I have had first shot because no one wants first person in line to have it and I pass it to the other others as I go from case to case. I doubt the second shot will be available. I had alcohol spray also. None of my cleaners are homemade in this environment. I strip when I get home run take a bath, spray clothes down, and put outside in bag. Probably does no good because I had been with folks all day.

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    1. You are so lucky to have gotten your first shot in that environment. You poor thing.

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    2. I feel so much hope after my first shot three weeks ago and truly believe that you already have a huge reduction from becoming Covid positive or at the least becoming significantly sick. I’m a RN working in Home Care and already feel more comfortable. I am worried about my second dose not being available next week but my son who’s a first responder was a week a head of me, he was notified his 2nd dose wasn’t available on the due date but got it only 2days later.

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  4. We use a lot of vinegar as a cleaning option. During COVID times, we use expensive & not particularly environmentally friendly wipes, but my husband prefers to try & kill as many germs as possible right now, which is fine. Hopefully one day we can go back to more natural cleaning supplies.

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    1. Yes I agree, I liked the time I thought I was using a feminine wipe, and it turned out to be a cleaning one with bleach. I did not turn on the light, but you had better beleive I did after I wiped!!!!!

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  5. I do not make my own cleaners as I found the savings versus my time would not be much of a savings. I use CLR for the bathroom, Tide for laundry, Barkeepers for the sinks and Mrs. Myers cleaning spray for surfaces. Sometimes vinegar. Have a great day!!

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  6. I've made my own cleaners for decades. It takes seconds and costs pennies:

    1. Household all-purpose cleaner: 2 Tbsp baking soda in a quart sprayer, fill half with water and then vinegar very slowly until it foams over.
    2. Glass/mirror cleaner: Spray bottle half water/half vingegar.
    3. Toilet Bowl: sprinkle 1/4c baking soda around the bowl, then 1 c vinegar slowly poured around the edges. Let sit 15" and swish.

    That's it! The entire house is cleaned with these 3 items.

    Laundry: I have used Ecos for decades. Big bottle at Costco is on sale twice yearly for $12 ish? 1 bottle lasts us 11 months. It is organic and cheap. Never need a softener (which I hate anyway).

    Total annual cost is under $20 and total time is under 5 minutes.

    No, I didn't change habits with Covid. No one comes in our home so why would a change be required?

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    1. We did not change habits either, except I did buy some anti bacterial wipes and some hand sanitizer.

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  7. No making my own cleaners here either. I use vinegar, but I just think it is a good cleaner for some things. Can you remind us what the Aunt fund is for?

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    1. My dad's sister, had a husband who was always self employed and not well employed. She lives on a very fixed income. So Sis and I pay her taxes and it comes to about $500.00 a piece once a year. We also buy her clothing and fix things that break and help with her travel expenses. It is something our dad asked us to do right before he died.

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  8. Your grandchildren are adorable! And what cute blankets for monthly pictures.
    I don't make my own cleaners either. I use pinesol, comet, murphy's soap and lysol.

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    1. I may be prejudiced but I think they are the cutest. I use the same things you do!

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  9. The only cleaner I make is Miracle Spray. It's cheap, but I'm aware that I still have to buy the ingredients (vinegar, etc., aren't free, even if you have them around). Also, it's not purely "natural" because it contains Dawn (dish soap). However, it is the best cleaner I've ever used, bar none. It will clean anything, but don't use it on glass and mirrors because it is too soapy and the eucalyptus oil will leave a smear on the mirror. I got the recipe off an Aussie blog and converted the measurements from metric. It is fabulous in the kitchen and bathroom. This makes about half a gallon--
    MIRACLE SPRAY
    1 cup boiling water
    5-1/2 additional cups of water
    2 tablespoons washing soda (Arm & Hammer, in the laundry aisle)
    1-1/3 cups white vinegar
    1/4 cup dish soap, such as Dawn
    5 teaspoons eucalyptus oil
    Dissolve washing soda in boiling water. Add additional water, vinegar and Dawn. Use your finger to get the last of the Dawn out of the measuring cup. Add the eucalyptus oil. Stir gently to keep the suds down. Decant into spray bottles.

    The eucalyptus oil combines with the vinegar to produce a wonderful smell. Eucalyptus is a solvent and has some disinfecting properties.

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    1. Wow this sounds yummy. I love the smell of eucalyptus.

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    2. That does sound good! I use Lysol or Pinesol (original which is cheap at WM) and the good blue Dawn I use for about everything! A small amount in water cleans my floors the best with no streaking, manufactured hardwood. I mostly use Tide but like Arm and Hammer that gets very cheap at Walgreens and then I load up. Use it for general not that dirty laundry.

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  10. I should add that I use Costco's Kirkland powdered laundry detergent, the kind in the rectangular plastic bucket. 200 loads for $14.99 and it cleans well. $15 buys me a lifetime worth of detergent because I have an HE machine that only uses one to 2 tablespoons per load. I also use Costco's brand of dishwasher detergent.

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    1. I tried the costco brand detergent a few years ago as tide is expensive and then I spent $200.00 on salves and ointments for hubs underarms and privates.....

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  11. I don't make my own cleaners either, we have hard water and not much works other than CLR for the calcium deposits that cover everything. Hubs brought me a salad for lunch (used a GC) and I have no idea what dinner will be yet. The only in the ads worthwhile was 12pk soda, bought 12.

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    1. Our adds were crap here, but soda was on sale for the great football weekend.

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  12. I am going to try and make at least a few of my own cleaners. There are a few I just will not do without.

    God bless.

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    1. I have thought about it, but they are so cheap at the dollar store I think why waste the time?

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  13. bar Keepers friend, baking soda, white vinegar, blue dawn, rubbing alcohol, Lysol, bleach, Palmolive eco dishwasher soap for the dishwasher and once a month for the toilets as it removes the rust stain(yes I have a softener). I do make my own laundry soap, washing soda, borax and Dr. Bronner’s Lavender Castile Liguid soap. I have found that if you don't use hot water when washing whites with homemade soap, they can get dingy... or if the soap is not rinsing out completely which is why I use liguid soap instead of powder. My Amish neighbor told me to always dry my whites in the sun light and spray stains with peroxide. Dry darks in the shade so they won't fade. Pinesol triggers my asthma. Daughter 4 always has to make sure she doesn't clean before I am at her house or warn me to stay outside.

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