As most of you know my poor husband took a very large pay cut a few months ago (bad fresh and easy, bad)... so large it was like me quitting a full time job.... yeah, sucks... really sucks... we have a family of 7!!!!
The upside to this you ask??? His wonderful wife (Me) has been on a "I'm gonna figure this out, no problem" trip... I have become Ms. Frugal I tell ya... so, because I am loving this new road I have gone down I thought I would share a few of my AWESOME finds to save us money....
First I started out by creating a meal plan... breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner... and I am the Nazi when it comes to following it!!!!! You can get your own awesome meal planner
here from my mentor and friend Jen... her blog is
I heart organizing... be careful if you visit, you will become ADDICTED!!!!
I also use
coupon sense and let me tell you, it seems expensive at first but after a couple months of collecting your coupon inserts, you can save a ton of money!!!! I heard if you "like" them on facebook you can get the same info for free but I haven't tried it. Last week I went to Fry's and I spent $189.72... I saved $444.89!!!! Yup, over $600 in groceries for less than $200... and no it wasn't just toothpaste and protein bars... it was actual edible groceries.
The next thing I did was a bit questionable... I am in love with the way Tide clean breeze smells... but with a family of 7 we were spending an average of $50 or more on laundry soap alone... so I decided to try making my own. I got the recipe
here and it cost me about $10 for all the stuff. I have been using it for over a month now, it smells great and it doesn't even look like we have put a dent in the amount it made yet... I bet you we do at least 80 loads before we run out, and this is only half of the ingredients. You only have to use a tbsp. scoop per load... I put it in a pretty glass jar I got from Target... someday I might get around to putting a "laundry soap" label on it, but for now the soap looks nice by itself...
Next I made homemade fabric softener... I think I heart it more than the soap... I got the recipe
here. I put it in the old fabric softener bottle so I don't have a picture yet. The XL bottle of softener I used to buy was at least $10, the softener I made cost me $2 to make and it filled the old bottle I had.... cha ching!!
So, did I have mention I have a family of 7??? Myself, my husband, my four kids and my little brother all live in our 4 bdrm house. Most of us are home the majority of the day, which means LOTS and LOTS of dishes... and more dishes means our dishwasher has to run more... I am a germaphobe so it goes through all the germ killing cycles too.. I don't wanna know what it costs every time it runs! So, my solution to my "get a new cup every time we need a drink" kids was to get the olders their own dishes. Plate, bowl, and glass. They wash, dry, and put them away after every use. BUT, with the washing of dishes after every meal comes the use of dish soap. My first solution was to buy the foaming soap so they use less soap, but when the soap is gone the refills are outrageous! So, yup, you got it, made my own! I got the recipe
here and it works wonderfully.... not to mention a huge money saver. AND I HEART money saving ideas!!!!
Alright, there are many little things we have cut back on, or done to save money... the next thing wasn't a necessity, just important to me... My aunt calls me OCD when it comes to the organizing dept. But, I have to be organized in this chaotic house! So, I love "in boxes" or ways to keep everyones important papers handy. The problem? They cost way too much money, booooo to that. So, I came up with this solution. Keep your empty cereal boxes people!!! I try to upcycle EVERYTHING!
So, all you do is cut the top off of the cereal box, cut the sides at an angle, and cut the front across so it is shorter than the back. Cover it like your wrapping a present, leaving the center open, you can use wrapping paper, scrapbook paper, fabric, etc. Punch holes in the front and tie a ribbon. Punch holes in the back on either side and stick a command hook through the holes. Wa La, you have an inbox! You could also make some pretty labels and stick them on the front to keep track of whose is whose.
I don't think my next project really saved us too much money, but it did save me some headache... and I guess in the long run because it's organized I won't be buying a 6th bottle of Advil because I couldnt find the last one. I keep a medicine cabinet in my kitchen and I hated opening it because all the "stuff" would fall out everytime. I got the baskets at the dollar store and made the labels myself. My friend Jen at
I Heart Organizing has a great label making tutorial on her blog
here.
I also created this hanging file... for two reasons.
1. My kids bring home a tree's worth of papers from school everyday and were just setting them down wherever.
2. Because there were papers everywhere I was constantly wondering where in the world I put the electric bill, or whatever seemed to be due that week. I bought the files at Target and hung them on the wall. They attach to each other so they hang nicely. But then I came across
this on my friend DaNitas blog
Delightful Order. She is awesome when it comes to organizing a house full of kiddos. Her home is BEAUTIFUL! This is my version of DaNitas mail organizer. Hers is much better looking, she has pretty labels, which I haven't gotten around to making yet. But, mine does the job and someday it'll get labels... promise.
So, there you have it people. My attempt at being frugal and being organized in this houseful of screaming, crying, loving, snuggling, sweet chaos.
Feel free to email me with any questions... and if you have an idea that might help us to save, save, save, PLEASE share!
Xoxo, Lesli
