money savers

Renee - posted on 05/07/2010

I love Meijers, we always shop there when we visit my husband's family in Michigan. We don't have them down south where we live, nor do we have Vernors. It's starting to take hold in the south but we live out the middle of no where so not near us yet. Aldi will probably make it out here before Meijers. I miss all the nice fresh big vegetables organicly grown, we don't get much sellection on that where I live. Anything organic down here is tiny when it's in the stores. Before my husband I hadn't ever heard of Meijers, or Bushes. Do you have a Bushes where you are? Our son always loves playing in the kids center.

LaCi - posted on 05/07/2010

I shop at meijer. I think its only in my general tri-state area. It's got an amazing produce department. Like half the grocery section is produce. I was a kroger shopper, but their veggies were lame and setting foot in a walmart puts me in a generally bad mood for the entire day. The aldi's here are terrible though. Meijer rules, they have everything organic in their own brand for super low prices, and fruits I had never even heard of until I went there. And I can get canadian candy ;D

Emma - posted on 05/07/2010

O and sorry this wont help you but we buy in bulk from where my hubby works so get it at cost, and we also get loads of free food as the restaurants wont accept damaged boxes, so even thought everything in the box is vacuum sealed if the outer box is ripped they wont take it madness but great for us i had to buy a cheats freezer as over x mass lots of boxes get crushed ect so we get lots of free food

Emma - posted on 05/07/2010

Well i found this one out as i ran out of wet wips, the rolls of multi purpose kitchen cloths you get work like a dream,
i use 1 cloth a day when i change my sons butts and it washes out really easily, i keep it in a bowl on the windowsill with week dettal in it. this has saved me a small fortune as i only have wet wipes for the nappy bag when we go out

Johnny - posted on 05/06/2010

Ah, ladies, my husband used to do that. I'd find him finishing cleaning up the floor with this shred of paper that once resembled a paper towel. I think he was using his hand more than the paper. It pushed me in the direction of cloth re-usables. Shudder. That's what I get for marrying el-cheapo!

Renee - posted on 05/06/2010

LOL I do that too with the paper towels, glad to see I'm not the only one. My husband acts like I'm a genius and crazy all at the same time when he sees me do it. If I can find a way to make something stretch I will.

Tanya - posted on 05/06/2010

I also try to use only one paper towel while cleaning the bathroom. I start with the mirrors, then the counter around the sink, then the sink, then the top and back of the toilet, and finally the toilet itself.

Rosie - posted on 05/06/2010

sara, i make my own, and it's healthier. get a packet of hidden valley ranch, use hellmans mayo made with canola oil. it has 50%less fat and no cholesterol than regular mayo, and use skim milk. not the best for you still, but a heck of a lot better!!
aldi's is absolutely the best priced grocery store around. glad we have so many here.

Renee - posted on 05/06/2010

I loved shopping at Aldi’s when I lived in Germany, great prices and food. They had frozen salmon in a flaky croissant stuffed with some spinach goodness, my husband and I still talk about those meals. I miss. the different flavor of German food, good dark beer on tap, and the less sugar in everything, oh and Krauter Butter (Seasoned Butter). I still fix my yogurt like the Germans, and will for life (it’s awesome). I also loved their smoothies, took some getting used to without so much sugar but now I wish I had those instead of the American version. Oh and their ice cream is really good too, creamy and can’t be compared to anything really. I had to look up an Aldi’s just now and they are only in East Tx for me, I live in West Tx, maybe they will spread over my way one day. I love ranch on a BLT Pizza, but BLT’s aren’t popular down here so I’m going to have to make my own. I fell in love with them in Michigan visiting with my husband’s family, didn’t know what one was before then.

Good Day! - posted on 05/06/2010

ranch on pizza....sooo good

but not for my waisteline

Rosie - posted on 05/06/2010

how does anybody live without ranch dressing?!

Lady - posted on 05/06/2010

I can't believe you have Aldi's over there, we have it too!! I loved publix when I lived in America especially that cooked chicken - can't remeber what is was called - it had lemon and garic and seasoning it's about the only american food I miss that and ranch dressing, I sooo miss that!

LaCi - posted on 05/06/2010

I go through a lot of laundry detergent. Switched to ecos, and now I've had the same bottle for 4 months. I was buying it biweekly. $20-30 ish per month

I switched from Matrix sleek look to the suave professionals sleek, it actually is just as good. I switched because of animal testing, but it saves a ton of cash since my hair is ridiculously long now and I go through a ton of conditioner. savings of like $15 a bottle X 6 per months, so almost a hundred bucks each month.

I clean with vinegar or dish soap, was using 7th generation so theres $20 ish per month savings.

We don't drive anywhere unless we have to. Grocery, school, and work. Gas over the summer will be $5 per week or less, during the school year $10 per week or less. Most things are within walking distance. Big improvement over our pre-baby gas usage. I drive and SUV and he drives a truck (motorcycle when whether permits) so thats a pretty small amount.

Using LED lightbulbs, I won't have to buy lightbulbs for 20 years and they're ultra low on energy. I hate the other energy efficient bulbs, they all contain mercury, which I didn't know until I broke one and the package insisted I air our the room for hours and pick up with duct tape and seal in a glass jar. ;/

Rechargeable batteries are always good, we go through a lot of batteries. Haven't had to buy any in over a year.

Making everything we eat from scratch saves money. Especially since our diet consists of a ton of beans and legumes which are like a dollar a pound dried, and veggies which are ultra cheap and farmers markets should be well stocked soon.

I'm about to cancel cable TV, so theres 60+ a month. keeping my internet though. If I switch to dish I'll still save 30+ each month.

Nikki - posted on 05/05/2010

I love ebay too, we are moving interstate in a couple of months so I have been ebaying all of our junk ad I am amazed at how much some things do for, in the past month I have ebayed bits and pieces nothing huge and have made over $600! I had a dvd season of Mcleods Daughters (Aussie show) which I purchased for $30 and it went for $90! Couldn't believe it! And baby clothes I bought a huge bulk lots of girls dressed for $40 she didn't wear many of them so I put them back on individually I got over $100! One mans trash....

Melissa - posted on 05/05/2010

I buy Target Up and Up brand when I can. Formula, diapers, wipes, paper towels etc. I love Target brand! And I love saving the money!

Tanya - posted on 05/05/2010

I wish I could live on a farm. I keep saying that when we have the money we should move. Not only to you save money with a farm but it would keep the kids busy.
You might do this already but at Christmas and b-days we save all the bows and gift bags. This past christmas even my two year old nephew very carefully took his bows off and put them in the bow box.

I also buy frozen juice form concentrate. I don't use fabric softener at all. Not even dryer sheets. i can't tell a difference. You can sign up for diaper coupons online with huggies, pampers, and luvs. Luvs sends the best on 2.50 off. You can also sign up for other coupons online to be mailed to your house.
Also you can start a movie swap with your friends even with movies from blockbuster as long as you can count on each other to return the movies.

Good Day! - posted on 05/05/2010

I hear a lot about Aldi's. We don't have that here! I do what I can at Winn Dixie and Wal-Mart.

When we finally save enough cash to renovate our kitchen and replace our windows, we'll definitely go energy efficient. Hopefully the tax rebate will still be available then.

And I can't wait to start my veg garden and can my own tomatoes, etc. We recently moved into our own home, so the goal is to have a veg garden this fall. Maybe we can even sell off some of our extras at the local farmer's market. That would make me feel so domestic and self-sufficient!

If it were up to my husband, we'd raise a dairy cow for milk and make our own cheese and yogurt and butter. And we'd raise and slaughter a beef cow, pig, and chickens. We used to have chickens for eggs when we lived in the country, but we're in a neighborhood now. We might try it again anyway!

Rosie - posted on 05/05/2010

i grocery shop at aldi's (where the duggars shop, lol).

we bought energy efficient appliances, and furnace, airconditioner, hotwater heater. this one step has saved us tons on our electric and gas bills. used to be $130 for electric, now it's $95. gas used to be $110 and now it's $70.

we have paid our cars off. used taxes and other money we've gotten to put a dent in them each year. saves loads on interest. also pay a bit more on the mortgage each month to cut back on huge interest as well.

this is illegal, but hey, it works for me. we have an apartment building next door and we use their dumpster to put our extra garbage in instead of buying garbage tags.

buy tons of things that are on sale-we have tons of meat in the freezer because of this.

i scour the ads for sales on items that i've already bought. i definitely get price adjustments on a regular basis.

i can and freeze alot of food as well. my uncle gives us loads of sweet corn every year and my mother and i make a day or two of it. i also make my own strawberry jam-love it. so much better than buying it. we also make frozen strawberries and sugar, and peaches and sugar. (my mom has a peach tree, and we go to a farm for the strawberries and pick out own-it's fun!!) great alone, on cereal or icecream. i've been trying to plant my own veggies and herb. only thing to be real successful was parsley and green onions. got more this year-we'll see!!

Sharon - posted on 05/05/2010

OMFG@buying real coyote urine online... holy shit.

Now I want to buy some lion urine, then I'm gonna spray it down by my neighbors place and see what happens to her alpaca breeding program... maybe some lion dung too...

Lady - posted on 05/05/2010

Wow some really great tips. We are awful at money saving and really must try harder. We do have energy saving lights and I try and turn things off when they are not being used and I try and buy things when they are on special and plan meals round what I've bought - we make a lot from scratch.
I've thankfully saved a lot of my first two children's clothes to pass on to the next two so that's saved a bit and toys get reused a lot - I do that thing of putting them away for a while too then bringing them out again and they really do act like it's a brand new toy - it's great.
We don't really have coupons over here which is a shame as I'm always seeing on Opera or whatever about how much you can save.

Renee - posted on 05/04/2010

I like Carol's idea, sounds great, but if you still want coyote urine Amazon.com has it. I'm still laughing about that. I read online that there is a sythetic verson but most are natural, supplied by zoo's that collect it under grates they stand on. Still it's funny that you can get it in a 32 oz bottle, hope one of the two options work for you.

Nikki - posted on 05/04/2010

Sara, here is what I use for cleaning.

For windows I use straight vinegar with a micro fibre cloth
Shower and bath - straight vinegar and salt on a cloth gets rid of soap scum
Bench tops - detergent and water in a spray bottle, to sanitise if needed I use eucalyptus oil and water.
Stain removal - vinegar and baking soda
Sticky marks - eucalyptus oil
Once a month I sprinkle baking powder on the carpet and couches, leave over night and vacuum.
Stains on bench top - lemon juice
To clean stainless steel - baby oil
To scrub the sink - salt and lemon juice
To clean microwave - put a bowl of water with a few slices of lemon or tablespoons of lemon juice, turn on for ten minutes then wipe down with vinegar or detergent and water.
Fabric softner - you can use vinegar as an alternative.
I do use bleach for mould if needed.
Toilet - I use detergent spray then wipe over with eucalyptus. If needed Ill put some bleach in the bowl.


I don't really have any measurements, I use most stuff straight, for my bench tops I just fill a spray bottle with water and put a few drops of detergent on it.
I still use oven cleaner but I do the same thing as I do with the microwave before I put the oven cleaner on.

It is so much cheaper and safer, except for the bleach and oven cleaner.

Johnny - posted on 05/04/2010

I use coffee grounds spread around and chili/garlic oil sprayed on the foliage to keep cats out of my garden. Works like a charm and helps me to get away with my coffee addiction, "but honey, I need another pot so that we have enough grounds". I've also heard that lion dung works and that might be easier to obtain than coyote urine. That is if you don't mind following lions around.

Jenny - posted on 05/04/2010

I live right downtown in my city so it's cat central. I think I'm going to put a small garden in my side yard and cover it with chicken wire between the fence and the house. I've heard container gardening is good to put off cats but wouldn't they just jump up into the container and shit in it?

Oh, another HUGE money saver for our family is having a handy man. He has put a new motor in my Jeep on top of the regular maintanence stuff, brake jobs, oil changes, replacing tires etc. He reno'd our bedroom and will be doing our bathroom shortly, he's a pipefitter by trade so that helps big time. My guy could build an entire house and everything in it, given time and money of course lol.

I really admire him for that as I wasn't taught practical skills so I'm trying to blindy acquire some. I'd love to learn to sew for one thing. His family handmakes entire wardrobes and look great doing it.

Sharon - posted on 05/04/2010

next time we catch a coyote, I'll attempt to collect some urine for you, lol. Um we've never caught a coyote and um if we ever do, it'll probably be dead, lol and urine collection will either be much easier than expected or much harder... now I'm going off to google coyote anatomy pics to figure out where to stick the needle....................

Good Day! - posted on 05/04/2010

I hear you on the cat thing. Our across the street neighbor is a cat lady and we're always finding crap in our flower gardens. My husband is a country boy and keeps saying he's going to get his gun after those cats. I have to remind him that we live across from the owner. I'd hate to be on bad terms with a neighbor! A landscaper friend told us that coyote urine keeps cats away from gardens. But don't ask me where to get it! We haven't found it yet.

Jenny - posted on 05/04/2010

I don't have a microwave so there's a big energy savings. I grill alot too year round which avoids stove/oven usage. My partner says I grill like a man lol.

I buy my meat and a few other things at Costco, my canned goods and sundries at Superstore and my fruit and veggies from Farmer's Markets.

My partner's gun license should be coming in any day so we will be hunting this winter for a good chunk of our meat (if only there were wild cows in my neck of the woods). I am just getting into gardening but am limited by space and neighbourhood cat's shit.

I dry out the ends of my bread loaves to make bread crumbs which I use for Shake and Bake and other recipes.

Hand me down clothes for sure and I buy lots at Value Village.

I'd love to start making more things from scratch such as granola bars, bread and sauces so I'd love to hear all your recipes.

Sharon - posted on 05/04/2010

Oh yeah, freecycle. I hardly ever have much to give because I tend to use things until they are just falling to bits. But in years past we got two microwaves for the kids school. The teachers have them in their rooms for impromptu snacks and regular popcorn making.

I once got a refridgerator when ours went on the fritz. I didn't freecycle it but I did give it to someone else who needed one.

Ah, I did once freecycle a juicer.

I use amazon.com to buy books for the kids or ebay. But on ebay you have to watch out for idiotic shipping costs versus the value of the books. I bought the entire set of Alex Rider by anthony horowitz for my oldest for $15, most were hardbacks.

I shop discount stores and when i find good deals I buy them and stash them. I got a $50 leather glove for $6. We totally made a little boy's (well little me, he's 11) birthday, he was so thrilled.

Nikki - posted on 05/04/2010

Ill write up my recipes for you when I get a chance Sara. I find the credit card thing works really well with a few restrictions, our limit is slightly under our monthly income, therefore we can't spend 2 months wage in one month, our pays go directly into the credit card account to pay it off each moth therefore we don't pay interest, a small amount goes into savings. With the frequent flyers I earn I probably get anywhere between $500 - $1000 of free flights per year. All I have to pay at the end of the day is a $50 account keeping fee on my credit card.

Johnny - posted on 05/04/2010

Gardening, canning, buying in bulk for dishwasher detergent, tp, paper towels, etc, making our own pastas, sauces, soups, breads, dish & laundry soap, and other cleaners, cloth diapers, dryer balls, line drying when it's not raining (sadly rather rare), always looking for hand-me-downs, toy swaps with other moms in my co-op, getting most of our books from the library, babysitting co-op, only having 1 small car, buying whole meat (we buy a 1/4 cow with another family and it is delivered butchered, in packages, & frozen for the deep freeze - way cheap, lasts us a year & organic), eggs from friend's backyard chickens & my husband is a militant energy saver (I'm currently sitting in the dark and will shortly trip my way down the stairs).

I am unwilling to give up my good shampoo/conditioner but I buy it in 2L jugs in Chinatown for cheap and my coffee addiction is my other major vice. Hubby won't give up beer, but he bottles his own for a $1/beer and he also bottles wine. I also often buy certain organic vegetables (lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes) when I don't have any of our own, which is a bit more pricey. I need to be a better coupon clipper, I hate going through flyers.

Renee - posted on 05/04/2010

Wow I'm glad to have helped more than one family. We also turn off lights ect when we leave the room. Although my hubby doesn't do the same most of the time when he comes home, so I go behind him and do it for him most of the time, even with the microwave ect. He's a lost cause on remembering little things like that, but on the other hand I will be able to depend on him for life. So he gets by without a fuss most of the time on electricity waisting. He did change all our bulbs inside and outside with the energy efficent ones, I love them. There are two types of light that you can buy, some are a soft light and others are a brighter more incondecent light, so decide what you like before you buy for the whole house. And especially try them in small rooms like the bathroom ect, often you don't need as many bulbs as you did with the older light bulbs. Just a heads up before you buy more than you will use. I hope to see the website you shop on Nikki, sounds like a good idea. We started a vegetable garden, but it's not doing so well since we didn't mix in a lot of fertilizer before we planted (we only put one small bag down) they grew to a small size and stoped, now they are trying to die. We are going to get more fertilizer soon when we can, we only use organic or bone mill. So I guess you can't skimp there. I too use Suave most of the time, but to get my hair soft, I like Aussie. It's the purple bottle with the kangaroo on it, it can make frizzed fried hair into silky soft flowing and shinning hair, I love it, and you don't have to use much at all. My hair always feels heavenly when I use it. On toys I put the excess of the toys that the kids don't play with anymore away in a box for a couple of months, then when they are bored after some time has gone by I bring it out again. It's like they are new toys all over again, my kids love it and stay occupied for a while with the new/old toys.

Sharon - posted on 05/04/2010

Sara, this family of five goes through so much tp and pt, I just buy the kirkland brand from costco. I used to drive myself nuts trying to figure out which was the cheapest & yet a good product.

OH i did bite the bullet and bought 40 white utility towels and I keep those in a bag for clean ups to cut down on use of papertowels. This works best when your husband doesn't use them to wash the car and leave them in the mud!

Good Day! - posted on 05/04/2010

Nikki, you must have posted while I was typing my last response! I also buy at season's end for the next year and get hand-me-downs. And I love consignment sales for my daughter's clothes!

Could you direct me to a website or tell me how you make your cleaning products? I'm really interested in trying that.

And where do you buy groceries online?

The only thing I don't agree with is the credit card. I used to pay mine off monthly, but I recently cut it up. I do everything with cash now. I take out a set amount on payday and that is to last me until the next payday. Really helps me keep track of it a lot better and I don't "accidentally" overspend.

Thanks Nikki!

Good Day! - posted on 05/04/2010

Wow thanks Renee. I'm going to print off what you said and work on that this week!

And Sharon, you sound a lot like me! I do coupons and take the circulars to the stores and stockpile when things are on sale. My husband and I set a goal to have a vegetable garden this fall. I wash and re-use ziploc and aluminum foil. I buy cleaning supplies, but only when they are on sale and I have coupons. I'm going to have to trying making my own. And I also only use half a dryer sheet and half the recommended amount of laundry detergent. It doesn't make a difference! (And I only buy detergent when I can get it around $2 for 32 loads, make that 64 loads since I only use half)

I've gotten some products down to the lowest possible price, but I'm still struggling figuring out some, like toilet paper and paper towels. What is the highest you pay for that?

Thanks ladies! I stay at home so my very big (and probably unrealistic) goal is to save the equivalent of what I would bring home if I had a job. That is after childcare and gas and clothes I would have to purchase if I had a job.

Nikki - posted on 05/04/2010

We have changed all of our light globes to energy saving ones.
We have changed our hot water system to off peak
I buy most of my baby clothes on ebay, or I buy end of stock specials too big for next year. I also have friends with babies and we swap clothes.
I have stopped buying lots of expensive baby toys, my daughter gats bored easily with her toys and I was spending a fortune, plus I don't want to get into the habit of her thinking she can have new toys whenever she wants as she gets older, so I have been making her shaking bottles and giving her different things from around the house to play with, she loves it, she played with a packet of noodles all day yesterday!! She loved the crunchy noise they made - I am sure if anyone walked in and saw this they would think I was strange!!
For big ticket item I layby rather than put them on the credit card.

Put all spending on the credit card with frequent flyers but make sure you cant spend above your means and pay it off in total before the end of the month, I get a few free flights a year doing this.
I make most of my own cleaning products
Cook ,meals and freeze like sharon does.
Buy in bulk
Do my groceries online, I have just started doing this and I have saved so much money, no impulse buys, it is only $5 to deliver and I can set out my weekly menu and make sure that I have everything ready to go. If I go shopping even with a list I always end up forgetting something or it is not available so I end up with mixed matched ingredients which just sit in the cupboard.

Renee - posted on 05/04/2010

I have the microwave and coffee pot on a surge protector, so that I can turn them off when they aren't needed. Appliances like that are called vampire loads, since they are using energy when they don't need to be. I have a battery operated clock on the wall that I go by for time. As it gets warm in the day, we go from jammies to shorts and shirts, until after the sun goes down, then I turn on the a/c to get the temperature back down. I block the sun from coming in the house with the blinds except for a few here and there, so that I wont need to turn on lights until after it's dark outside or near dark. We use are celling fans to keep the house more comfortable instead of running the a/c. I unplug the monitors and fans and night lights during the day since they do continuesly use energy even if turned off. Things like the fans ect do pull a slight load from the outlet even when off, this is why they turn on the moment you flip the switch, they have continuesly pulled power the whole time it was off. I'm also going to get a smart surge protector that notices when you are no longer using your electronics that will stop them from pulling what I mentioned earlier as the vampire load. When your electronics have those little lights on but your not using them, they are using power that you have to pay for but didn't need. Also electric companies charge you off your daily rate of usage, this is determined by the highest peek of the usage in a day. Keep the highest peek lower and you will be put into a lower expense bracket and charged less. You do that by reconizing the highest usage peek and doing what you can during you lower usage peek. This causes your highest peek of power usage to go down, which means the charge less. It's an incentive the power companies use to try to get people to keep their demand for power at lower consitant rates to ensure they will continue to supply everyone with power. With most families you can redistribute your power usage by doing laundry at night ect. Don't have your hot water heater set on the highest setting, you can save up to 15% of your electricity bill just by turning it down to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. That's all my tricks, and we have an electricity bill of $95 a month because of it, when my husbands friends and co-workers pay over $300 a month.

Sharon - posted on 05/04/2010

Oh a subject near & dear to my heart. I can pinch a penny until it squeaks. I'm also a shopaholic ... I think.



I reuse. Whatever is sanitary enough, I reuse. Like ziplock bags. I store rice & other dry goods in ziplock bags. This prevents spoilage and saves space versus bulky square containers. I do not reuse ziplock bags I used to store raw meat in.



I buy in bulk. I do a lot of shopping at Costco. Costco is no longer the savings it used to be. Only a handful of things actually save me money there.



I get coupons online. I check my grocery store sales ads and I shop religiously by them. I'm more religious that way than I am in church going, sad but true. I try to plan my meals by the sales.



I cook in bulk. Freeze the extras.



Coupons coupons coupons. my husband freaks out when he sees the grocery total at the cash register. Then he freaks out as the coupons ring in, discounts kick in, etc.



When the sale is "buy 10 get get 10 for $1 each" I do it. And if its something we really like or can use a lot of, I'll buy $20 or $30 worth. At one point we had 40 jars of our favorite spaghetti sauce & alfredo sauce.



I buy the cheaper cuts of meat as a rule. Yeah, we have steak frequently but its always on sale. hubbys favorite - ranchers choice sirloin or something like that. But instead of buying boneless chicken breast meat, i buy the thigh pieces. MUCH cheaper and just as versatile and I don't feel guilty when I slice it up for stir frys or fried rice.



I marinade meat for days or freeze it in its marinade - for the cheapest meats - I choose a marinade designed to tenderize as well as infuse flavor. (yogurt is a miracle! So is beer!!)



I love my pricey shampoo from the salon it makes my hair look fantastic! But in general my hair is twisted and bound up, hardly a showcase! So I have it but I don't use it often. Suave $1 - $3 a bottle works perfectly fine to keep my hair clean and sweet smelling. It took a while to find the formula that works best with my super long hair but the kids and hubby get to use the rejects so none ever went to waste.



Thrift shops. I really don't like buying clothes there, but I have no qualms about buying a casserole dish, pie plate, etc. Oh yeah magazines & books too.



We are trying to ease our dependency on the grocery store so years ago we planted fruit trees. I bought canning supplies and a dehydrator, hopefully bad weather won't ruin our crops this year. It is amazing how much ONE fruit tree can produce and how good you feel eating your own fruit off it. If you own a home, buy ONE.



Grow your own veggies & herbs too. Easy & cheap, if you have to, make container gardens. Its getting late in the season to find those at the resale shops, most other people have already snagged them but it doesn't hurt to look.



I use half a dryer sheet.



I don't buy the fancy the dishwasher "packs", I use simple powder but a name brand. It just seems to work the best for my washer.



I don't buy a lot of cleaning stuff. No windex, 409 or comet. I use vinegar, baking soda and powdered laundry detergent. oh and bleach. All nice environment friendly items and they do a perfect job. laundry detergent cuts grease like you wouldn't believe but DON'T use it on your pots & pans.



Find a group of moms with kids close to your childs age and start a coupon swap. We did this across the USA - One person mailed their unused coupons to another, they took what they could use, added their unused coupons and passed them to someone else.



Baking soda is a great deoderizer. When I think the house is funky, I pour it on the carpets and take off for a while, come home vacuum it up. simmering cut lemons over a candle or on the stove in water w/cloves is an awesome air scent. Or a stick of cinnamon & vanilla etc.



i'd better stop or I'll be here all day and I have GOT to figure out what to do with that damn roast.