Money saving tips and tricks

[Anna Michele]

A simple hand-made Mosquito Trap - A very Cheap Way to kill mosquitos:

This information could save thousands of innocent lives from the cruel fate of dengue.

FIGHTING DENGUE MUST START AT EVERY HOME.

A Simple hand-made Mosquito trap ( Prevention of Dengue & other mosquito born diseases)

It’s just a mix of water, brown sugar and yeast.

1. Cut a plastic bottle in half, keep both parts. Can be soft drink
bottle.
2.Take the lower portion of the bottle. Dissolve the brown sugar in hot
water. Let it cool down to ~70 deg F (room temperature).
3.Add the yeast. Carbon dioxide will be formed and will attract the
mosquitoes.
4.Cover the bottle with a dark wrap and insert in the top portion upside
down like a funnel. Place it in a corner in your house.
5. In 2 weeks you will be surprised by the number of mosquitoes killed. Pls. don't forget to share this to all your friends if really care for them.

[cath007]

Little tips I discovered over the year: If you are in QC and love the Maple Sirup Product like ''tire'' and''maple butter'',candies and cookies....Go to the ''marche public'' no taxes and great prices. I purchase a 8,50$ (2 small container) of this maple butter and because I know I will eat this all I saved 1,50$ plus txes If you drink a lots of spring water maybe get a machine. At the end of the close ours ''marche public could reduce stuff of vegetable and fruits and you could geet greats deals,same thing the spring with flowers

[Anna Michele]

GO GREEN TIP 97# : DIY Rainwater Harvesting Tips

http://greenglobaltravel.com/2013/03/22/diy-rainwater-harvesting-catchment-system-tips/

[Anna Michele]

Combine in a 16 oz bottle:
15 drops lavender oil
3-4 Tbsp of vanilla extract
1/4 Cup lemon juice.
Fill bottle with water.
Shake.

[Anna Michele]

http://www.the36thavenue.com/2012/09...ning-tips.html

Baby Powder as Stain Guard

Sprinkle a little on the shirt’s underarms and collar,

then iron to prevent sweat stains on white shirts.

How cool is that?

More details about this tip over at Real Simple

2

How to clean a Microfiber Couch

Step by step awesome tutorial over at 551 East

3

Heavy Duty Floor Cleaner Recipe

Use white vinegar, liquid dish soap, washing soda and water to make your floors spotless.

Cleaner recipe over at food.com

4

Baby Oil as Chrome Polish

Apply a dab to a cotton cloth and use it to shine everything from faucets to hubcaps.

Love it!

More about this tip over at Real Simple

5

Keep the Fridge Clean

This is brilliant!

These Fridge Coasters absorb, keeping us from taking the bins out to scrub.

You can n find the coasters over at fridgecoaster.com

6

Erase Hard Water Stains

Simply use a lemon. I tried this and WORKS!

Via broccolicupcake.com

7

Homemade Carpet Stain Remover

The best part? No scrubbing need it!

Recipe over at One Good Thing

8

Smell Free Sponges

To prevent a smelly, waterlogged sponge, air-dry it in a binder clip away from the sink.

So darn clever!

More about this tip over at RealSimple

9

How To Get Nail Polish Off Just About Anything

Great tips over at Bellasugar.

10

How to clean the inside of your Dishwasher

So easy!

All you need is vinegar and baking soda.

The vinegar will help to wash away the loose, greasy grime, sanitizes, and helps remove the musty odor.

Instructions over at One Good Thing

11

How to clean a window

We are talking about how to clean a window like the professionals do.

Pretty much all you need is a few drops of dish soap, squeegee, rags, Q-Tips, white vinegar, paper towels

and the great tips by Ask Anna.

12

Olive Oil as Stainless Steel Cleaner

Buff streaks out of stainless steel with a little oil on a terry-cloth rag,

then shine with a dry paper towel.

More about this tip over at RealSimple

13

Cleaning the Bathroom

Use dryer sheet (or new) to cut your bathroom cleaning time in half.

Makes mirrors and bath fixtures sparkle.

Cuts right through soap scum on bathtub and makes the bathroom smell great!

Learn how over at The Crazy Coupon Lady

14

Baking Soda as Silver Polish

As simple as adding a baking-soda solution and cover for a few seconds.

The result? A chemical reaction that gets the black off the gravy boat.

More about this tip over at RealSimple

15

How to clean a Porcelain Sink

I am finishing with one tip of my own.

Just three steps to a perfectly clean porcelain sink.

I do this every 4 to 6 weeks to my sink.

It works perfectly!

[Anna Michele]

[Anna Michele]

http://diyfashion.about.com/od/mendi...pairZipper.htm
How to repair a broken zipper. Sometimes the teeth on a zipper don’t line up right, causing the zipper to catch. At this point, most people will get rid of the entire garment. What a shame, because this is such an easy fix! Follow these basic instructions to easily fix your zipper. You will need:

• A pair of pliers
• Scissors [recommended scissors]
• Thick thread – This is thicker than regular sewing thread, often used for buttons.
• Needle

Remove the metal stopper at the bottom of the zipper with a pair of pliers. With a little bit of muscle, you can do it Zip the zipper all the way down to the bottom, stopping just below the last of the teeth. Don’t pull it off completely.


Using your fingers, rearrange the teeth of the zipper so that one side isn’t bunched up. Straighten them out. Slowly zip up the zipper halfway, paying careful attention to whether or not the teeth are not locking together.

Using a needle and thread, sew around the place where the metal stopper was. The idea is to replace it with thread. Sew around and around the bottom of the zipper until you have about six stitches in place. Use more stitches if you need to. Tie off in a knot on the backside of the zipper.

Pull your zipper all the way to the top. It shouldn’t catch anymore. If you zipper gets misaligned again one day, just remove the stitching with a seam ripper and repeat this simple fix. That was easy! I bet you're ready to try another project:

[Anna Michele]

http://diyfashion.about.com/od/mendi...awstring_4.htm
How to Replace a Drawstring

[Anna Michele]

I absolutely LOVE Burt’s Bees Lip Balm and I recreated the perfect copycat recipe from scratch!
History of Lip Balms

Our ancestors didn’t have the luxury of owning many beauty products. From what I have researched it looks like when they got chapped lips they used goose or duck fat, vaseline, and in a pioneer memoir there was even mention of someone using ear wax (ewww!). Chapstick itself wasn’t invented until the early 1880′s by Dr. Charles Browne Fleet and didn’t get popular until around 1912. He was a physician from Virginia and invented ChapStick as a lip balm. The handmade product looked like this picture.


Making Homemade Burt’s Bees Lip Balm from Scratch

As part of this Happy Homesteading series I am doing, I wanted to try to make my own lip balm from scratch.

Burt’s Bees Lip Balm is my ultimate favorite – in fact if I had to go on the show “Survivor” it would probably be one of things I would choose to bring. I just gotta have my Burt’s Bees! Since I love it so much I wondered if I could make it myself.
I turned the tube around and read through the ingredients: Beeswax, Sunflower oil, Vitamin E, Lanolin, Peppermint and Rosemary. Yes..yes I think I could make a copy cat recipe of Burt’s Bees Lip Balm! And so that’s just what I did.
I got right to work looking for and ordering up some of these natural items like Beeswax and Lanolin. Found some chapstick tubes online and ordered them in. Then I played in my kitchen for a few days trying to get the recipe right. And I did it! My recipe feels, smells and tastes just like Burt’s Bees Lip Balm!! Plus when I did the math they only end up costing me only $0.12 per tube – wow!

INGREDIENTS:

• 20 grams Beeswax (about 3 Tablespoons of the whiter beads, but you can use a white/yellow bar too)
• 20 grams Cocoa Butter or Coconut Oil (about 2 Tablespoons)
• 45 grams Sunflower Oil (1/4 cup)
• 8 drops Vitaman E oil (4 vitamin E oil tablets worth)
• 2 drops DoTerra Rosemary essential oil
• 12 drops DoTerra Peppermint essential oil
• Pea-sized drop of Lanolin (don’t use much of this or your balm will taste bad)

DIRECTIONS

I added the ingredients in grams so that if you have a little scale you can get accurate & exact measurements (which is best) but if you don’t have a scale I measured them too.
I never realized how extremely easy it is to make chapstick! Basically all you need to do is melt it all and pour into your containers! Easy peasy.
When I first started making chapstick recipes I just used a glass measuring cup and melted my recipes in the microwave which worked perfectly fine. But then my microwave broke so now I am using a double boiler method, but you could just melt it in a pot too. I used a metal measuring cup to add all my ingredients into.
Step one – measure out all your ingredients except essential oils into a cup or pan. I cut open the little Vitamin E tablets and squeezed the good stuff into the cup.

Next, melt all the ingredients, and stir. The beeswax seemed to take the longest to melt, but it was all melted within a couple of minutes.

Once it’s all melted add your essential oils and mix it up.

Then test it out, to make sure it has the flavor you want by letting a tiny bit cool on your finger. Rub it on your lips and check if its just right. If you feel it needs more mint or other flavorings, add more!
Then use a dropper to add the melted goodness into chapstick tubes. (If it cools too quickly before you’re done filling your tubes, just pop it in the microwave till it melts again.)

Then voila! You are done. Just let them all cool.


I had more liquid than I had tubes so I poured the rest into a small container and let it cool. I will stick this one in my bathroom and use it everyday, it will probably last me a whole year!


I cannot believe how easy it was to make my favorite Burt’s Bees Lip Balm from home.

WORTH THE COST? YES as each tube costs $0.12 each to make + about $0.17 for tube/caps vs. $3.00 Burts Bees Lip Balm at store

WORTH THE TIME? YES - super quick, easy and enjoyable!

DRAWBACKS: The only drawback I can see is the initial start up cost can run you from $30-$60, but you will be able to make lip balms and other products in the years to come with all the leftover oils and products.

Price Breakdown & where to get these products:

Beeswax ($0.46)

• TheSage.com (8 oz.) $5.50+ shipping
• Etsy (1 oz. brick) $2.94 shipped
• Amazon (16 oz.) $13.80
• Hobby Lobby: $14.99 1 lb block
• Michaels & Craft Warehouse (1 lb. block) $17.99
• Heathfood store (local) 1 lb. block $11.40

Cocoa Butter ($0.60)

• TheSage.com (8 oz.) $5.25
• Hobby Lobby (1 oz) $2.99
• The Puritans Pride: 7 oz. $5.79 + free shipping
• Health food store, local ($2 oz.) $5.99
• Amazon (16 oz). $10.25

Lanolin ($0.06)

• The Puritans Pride (7 oz). $5.99 + free shipping
• The Sage (8 oz.) $8.00 + shipping
• Amazon (7 oz.) $9.85
• Health food store, local (8 oz) $15.70

DoTerra Essential Oils ($1.05) : Order online from here or from Amazon.com: Rosemary / Peppermint.
Organic Sunflower Oil ($0.28): purchased at Walmart for $3.96 (plus had a $1.00 off coupon on it) so =$2.96
Vitamin E Oil ($0.23): purchased 15 ct. bottle at Walmart for $0.88
Final: $2.70 for the recipe = $0.12 per tube!

Final thoughts on making my own Burt’s Bees Lip Balm. The only problem I had with this process was that I had to spend around $50 for all the ingredients since I had to buy oils and products in bulk. Seemed like an awful lot of money to start out spending when I could just spend $3 on a tube at the store right now. But after I got all the ingredients, and only used a teeny bit of them, I was able to make 20+ tubes of my expensive Burts Bees chapstick. It was so worth it. Plus almost every one of my ingredients does not expire for a LONG time ( in fact the only one I am worried about is the sunflower oil). So as soon as these tubes are used and gifted away I can make another batch. I will NEVER go back to buying store made chapstick again after this experience. I am hooked for life. It’s so easy and when I see that I only spent $0.12 per tube of Burt’s Bees lip balm when I usually paid $3.00 at the store I feel good knowing I am saving lots of money!

Print
Burt's Bees Lip Balm Recipe Clone



Ingredients

• 20 grams Beeswax (about 3 Tablespoons of the whiter beads, but you can use a white/yellow bar too)
• 20 grams Cocoa Butter or Coconut Oil (about 2 Tablespoons)
• 45 grams Sunflower Oil (1/4 cup)
• 8 drops Vitaman E oil (4 vitamin E oil tablets worth)
• 2 drops DoTerra Rosemary essential oil
• 12 drops DoTerra Peppermint essential oil
• Pea-sized drop of Lanolin

Instructions
Measure out all your ingredients except essential oils into a heat friendly cup or pan. You can use a glass dish in the microwave also.I cut open the little Vitamin E tablets and squeezed the good stuff into the cup.
Next, melt all the ingredients, and stir. The beeswax seemed to take the longest to melt, but it was all melted within a couple of minutes.
Once it's all melted add your essential oils and mix it up.
Then test it out, to make sure it has the flavor you want by letting a tiny bit cool on your finger. Rub it on your lips and check if its just right. If you feel it needs more mint or other flavorings, add more!
Then use a dropper to add the melted goodness into chapstick tubes. (If it cools too quickly before you’re done filling your tubes, just pop it in the microwave till it melts again.)
Then voila! You are done. Just let them all cool.

[Anna Michele]

Homemade Mustard Recipe

What You’ll Need…
4 tbsp dry mustard powder, 2 tbsp vinegar, 1 ½ tsp turmeric, 2 tbsp water, 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder, paprika, salt.


How To Make Homemade Mustard…
Step 1: Add all dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk together.
Step 2: Add the vinegar and mix well.
Step 3: Add the water 1/2 tbsp at a time.
Step 4: Let sit for about 20-30 minutes before serving (will thicken while sitting).
This can be stored in your refrigerator for up to 2 weeks!
Thanks FrugalLivingOnTheWatkinsRanch!

Homemade Ketchup Recipe

What You Will Need…
28 oz can of chopped tomatoes, 5.5 oz can tomato paste, 1 large onion (chopped), 1 cup red wine vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 tbsp ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 2 or 3 bay leaves, Salt and Pepper.
How To Make Homemade Ketchup…
Step 1: Add all ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
Step 2: Continue cooking, stirring regularly, until the mixture reduces to half (about 30 minutes)
Step 3: Cool to room temperature.
Step 4: Once cooled, puree in food processor or blender.
Thanks ChefMichaelSmith!

[Anna Michele]

Going on a trip and don’t want to spend a fortune on drinks? Pour your vodka in an empty Listerine bottle, add 3 drops of blue food coloring and 1 drop of green. Wa-la! You now have a 5th of vodka to use for your beverages!!! Classy right

[crAZy4dEAls]

Don't believe the amount of product the manufacturer 'suggests' you use on the package. ie) a bottle of detergent states '32 loads' on the packaging. The aim of the manufacturer is to have you buy and re-buy their product. Try to decrease the amount they suggest by a little, and a little more. When you reach a point when the product is less effective, or is unacceptable to you, go back to the amount you used before that.

[crAZy4dEAls]

We all know sales are cycled. We all know that items expire on our shelf. If you use an item with regularity (in our house it is peanut butter) write the date you opened that item on the packaging. IF I know that I use a 2kg container of peanut butter in a month, and that peanut butter goes on sale every 3 or 4 months, then I know how much to buy to last 'til the next sale or for the whole year. We redo this every year or so as things change...kid's grow (and so do their clothes, and their affinity for certain foods), or you buy a new washing machine that is more efficient, etc. We have dates on things all over our house.

[Anna Michele]

http://archive.org/stream/cu31924089...ge/n0/mode/2up
In 1916, Procter & Gamble published a booklet called Unusual Uses of Ivory Soap. More than one hundred ideas were selected from over 50,000 that people had submitted. The booklet said in 1916 that the reason this soap has so many uses is that it

“contains nothing harmful - no free alkali, no harsh materials of any kind. It is just mild, pure, high-grade soap - nothing else. Therefore, it can be used safely and successfully where ordinary alkaline soaps would be disastrous.”

Some uses from the 1916 book:

1. To clean children’s stuffed toys
2. To clean children’s white kid shoes
3. To prepare floors for dancing
4. For sting of mosquito, bee, wasp, etc
5. Amusement for Rainy Days — An Ivory Soap-Bubble Party (click for details)

The formula hasn’t changed and Ivory Soap is still a mild pure soap with lots of uses.

http://blog.chalkdrop.com.au/post/37...-of-ivory-soap

[Anna Michele]

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2012/04/...die-tub-soaps/