Just Plain Frugal

See the post HERE to read the original post first.

I MADE IT! I’ll be honest and say I kind of did this as a joke (what kind of person sits there and grates soap in this day and age? apparently the smart people). I have a lot of laundry fragrance allergies and lived in perpetual fear that Tide is going to discontinue their original scent. I liked the smell of all three ingredients. And yes, I sniffed them at my Albertson’s grocery store before i bought them and they smelled fine.  

The big pain is grating the soap. (I should mention that a normal otherwise sane person might have just thrown everything into a food processor to grate. I preferred to remain true to my roots as an frontierswoman…that and I don’t have a food processor). I’m a multi-tasker by nature so I spread out a beat up looking 2 gallon ziplock bag I was getting ready to throw away on my lap as a sort of plastic tray. It took me 20 minutes to grate two bars on an old grater while watching the news. I felt kind of silly but kept at it anyway.

I used 1/2  bar of Fels instead of 2/3 so I got two uses out of one bar. It still worked great even with cold water. I now have enough powder for 128 loads of laundry detergent. And yes, I only use one tablespoon of detergent per load. It worked! of couse I am a relatively clean female adult so if you have little boys who love mud and grass you’ll have to adjust this to your liking.

If I use all the borax/washing soda/fels napatha correctly measured it costs me $0.92 for 32 loads of laundry. That comes out to roughly $0.02 a load. And I didn’t even shop around and price check my ingredients I just bought them from the local store. How crazy is that?

I definitely wouldn’t do this all the time but I certainly don’t have any problem grating soap a couple times a year. At the moment I have a large stockpile of Tide though so it’s going to be a LONG while before I need anything else. Still, it’s good to know!

Any other homemade recipes you have heard of or recommend?

If you hang out at Borders or you happen live near a Seattle’s Best Coffee shop…you can enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend at two for the price of one! Click HERE to print a coupon for a free mocha or latte (of equal or lesser value) when you purchase a medium or large mocha or latte! (For things like this I always say print ASAP. Once these things hit the internet stores tend to get slammed and sometimes pull the coupon!)

And the coupon doesn’t expire until 4/28/09!

Well, file this under things that don’t apply to me in California but if you have a Tim Horton’s near you click HERE to print the ad. For a store locator click HERE.

This summer bowling alleys across the country will offer a free program for kids. The “Kids Bowl Free” program allows children to play 2 free games of bowling per day for the entire summer. You can also purchase a family pass allowing up to four adults to take advantage of two free games per day, with a one-time fee of $23.95.

The purpose of the program is to “give back to the community and provide a safe, secure, and fun way for kids to spend time this summer.” Participating locations are VERY limited but you might find one near you.

Click HERE to check it out.

Pledge to have a dinner with family and friends to talk about childhood hunger and STOUFFER’S® will donate $5.

Enter your email now to register your Dine In dinner. I used my “deals” email address.

By simply hosting a dinner with your friends and family, you can help can make a difference for the more than 12 million American children and their families who don’t have access to regular healthy meals.

Click HERE

Last week (Mar 18, 2009) my local Vons supermarket had a deal $5 off instantly every time you buy 10 participating items. I don’t usually shop there but I caught the circular and raided my coupon stash. I bought 10 boxes of cereal on sale for $1.50 a piece, PLUS I had a $0.75 off coupon (20 of them). I bought 20 boxes of cereal for $15. That’s not including the $1o back from the store for buying 20. So I ended up wiht 20 boxes of cereal for $5.00 total ($0.25 a box). And I’m talking about Cheerios not generic.

And to think, before I started my website adventure I would pay $4 a box for cereal, and not think twice. But here is my problem. I am one person and there is no way I can eat 20 boxes of cereal. So what did I do? I gave a couple boxes to my parents, kept a couple boxes myself and dropped 15 boxes of cereal off at the local food bank. 

Please consider doing the same. We all think that charity has to be big. It doesn’t. If you see a CVS ad for free bodywash and you don’t use bodywash who cares? Take it and drop it off at your local church or shelter. Same goes for samples, extra food, etc. If you are one of those people who doesn’t like to give just one small thing at a time, stick a box or bag in your garage or in a corner somewhere (please keep toiletry items separate from food items- cereal that tastes like Dial soap is disgusting). I guarantee the items will start adding up fast once you see things as charitable possibilities instead of just an item you don’t use.

I personally take my extras to the Second Harvest Food Bank. They are nationwide so click HERE  to find one near you.

I have a very odd relationship with rosemary. When I look at it I see $$$.

No, I don’t mean $$$ as in profit, I mean $$$ as in expensive. Several years ago, my sister and I tried our hand at making a homemade batch as close to Macaroni Grill bread as possible. The recipe takes several hours to prepare because the bread has to rise a couple times. Since it takes 4 hours or so we decided to go for broke and make several loaves even though it was our first try. We went to the local grocery store, found rosemary in the refrigerated section and were STUNNED to find out how expensive fresh rosemary is! It took two boxes at $3.50 a piece!

So, of course, I planted a rosemary bush. Now the bush is huge and I’m eternally looking for things I can do with the rosemary. You can imagine I was pretty excited to discover the Homemad Rosemary Wood Cleaner. Click the name if you’re interested. I haven’t tried it yet because I’ve been busy but I’m excited!

Uddercovers is having a sale where you just pay shipping.

There are pink and blue ones left. You only pay shipping ($8)! You don’t get the fun pattern but you’re saving a small fortune! Target charges $32-40.

Click on shop now (upper left) and it will ask if you have a code… type in onefree. Get them while you can!

Redbox distributes a code every Monday that you can use for 1 free movie rental at a redbox machine. The machines are usually located inside grocery stores (that’s where mine is). Check THIS site for a location near you.  

The code for today is: 89ZQJ3

The code expires tonight at midnight CST

To use the code click “Rent With Promo” on the first screen. Enter the promo code, choose your movie, and swipe your card. You will need to use a credit or debit card for a $1 charge to take the movie. As long as you bring it back by 9pm the next day they reverse the charge.

(inside tip) you can use one code per credit/debit card