I’m still ‘Poo Free and loving it. Little by little, baking soda has also been sneaking it’s way into the other things I do in the bathroom.
- Bath Soak – ~1/4 cup in the bath water (I know, I know, baths are a waste of water, but we all deserve an indulgence every once in a while.)
- Shampoo Substitute – Duh
- Exfoliant – Make a thick paste of baking soda and water for a gentle exfoliant. I like to use this below the belt before shaving to help prevent ingrown hairs.
- Gargle – A weak baking soda solution is often a good remedy for food induced bad breath.
- Toothpaste Substitute – Instead of paying extra for baking soda in your toothpaste, dip a damp toothbrush into a little baking soda and then brush to keep your teeth white. Just don’t forget to also use commercial toothpaste, because baking soda doesn’t fight cavities like fluoride does.
- Drain De-clogger/De-oderizer – Put ~1/4 down the drain followed by white vinegar, wait until the fizzing stops and then pour in some boiling water.
- Bathtub/Sink Scrub – Use like Comet on a damp spunge. For grout, mix a thick paste of baking soda and water.
- Trash Can Deoderizer – Obviously changing the bag more often works, but sprinkling a little baking soda in the bottom of the can will help keep the smell down in between changes.
- Shower Curtain Mildew Remover – Soak the offending curtain in a baking soda solution and then scrub like crazy.
- Toilet Cleaner – Every time you leave a ‘deposit’, flush, and then sprinkle a little baking soda in and do a quick scrub with the toilet brush. Takes 30 seconds and keeps any odors or stains from happening. If there already is a stain, use about 1/2 cup of baking soda and let it sit before scrubbing.I’m sure the ‘experts’ could give you more uses, but some are a little more granola than I’m willing to go (like using it as deodorant.)
Popularity: unranked [?]
Food and Kitchen
Rose Napkin Folding @ Martha Stewart – A cool way to fold napkins if you’re having a dinner party.
Crafts and Sewing
Lacroix Leggings @ Fashionista – It’s getting to be tights season again, here’s how to do an awesome dye technique to give them a little oomph.
Sock Monkey @ Urban Threads – I keep meaning to make one for my niece.
Fashion
Hosting a Clothing Swap @ Capessa – A great way to reuse and recycle clothing.
Not Couture – A site to gawk at fashion finds from other users.
Financial
How to Become A Millionaire Selling Plasma @ Dear Money Guy – Not really a lesson in selling blood, it’s a lesson on the snowball effect of investing small amounts of money over time.
37 Killer eBooks @ Fortune Watch – Some great eBooks to download for free.
Misc.
20 Signs You Don’t Really Need That Thing @ My Things – How much crap are you holding onto that you don’t need?
Anti-Theft Lunch Bag @ skforlee – I admit this made me gag a little, but it probably works.
Popularity: unranked [?]
The deadline for voter registration (in the USA) is coming up in early October (check your state website for more info). Don’t miss your chance to register because you’ve forgotten about it.
There’s NO excuse not to vote in this election, especially with all the crazy financial issues bouncing around. Educate yourself, then get your ass out there in November and vote.
Popularity: unranked [?]
I’m such a procrastinator and having my computer in my little ‘studio’ doesn’t help me much. Here are some of my favorite ways to ‘entertain’ myself online while I work up the energy to do something useful.
I Can Has Cheezburger? and all it’s cousins, like I Has A Hotdog for dog lovers. Just watch out, because spending too long on that site has been known to subconsciously make me switch up my grammar.
Homestar Runner. Granted, this one requires a juvenile sense of humor, but if you can laugh with your inner 10-year-old, you’re golden.
Polyvore, good for my inner stylist. Since I spend most of my time in grubby clothes thanks to all the painting I do, I need some outlet for my crappy sense of style.
Wikipedia, the fountain of useless knowledge. Since it is user-edited some facts can get distorted, but unless you’re writing your thesis it’s a great place to learn just about anything you want.
StumbleUpon, the supreme ruler of all things procrastination. If you install this free (and ad-free) plugin, you may never been seen outside your home again.
Kingdom of Loathing, the stickfigure online MMORPG. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but it really is fun.
Shockwave, hundreds and hundreds of quality flash games. I admit to having an actual shockwave account so I can play offline, but there’s no reason to pay if you’re just online and fooling around.
So, what are you’re favorite places to waste time?
Popularity: unranked [?]
So…guess whose automatic posting plugin isn’t working. 
Oops. Just a quick post today as I figure out why things aren’t doing what they’re supposed to.
Goldstar is a free program that offers half-price tickets to cool events, theatre performances, and concerts in most major cities.
It’s totally worth your while to check it out. This week in D.C., we’re being offered half-price tickets to the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s All-Male Production of Romeo and Juliet among other things. I really want to go, but we had a big BBQ this past weekend and our entertainment budget has been used up. Darn.
Popularity: unranked [?]
I hate shopping for anything even remotely tech related in a brick and mortar store. I’m sick of employees talking to me like having a penis is a prerequisite for understanding how computers work, and it’s worse when they insist on talking to Mr. instead of me. I also hate them trying to hard sell me stuff because half the time they are talking out of their asses. I’ve actually had to call a few salespeople on blatant lies, although they at least had to have the courtesy to look embarrassed.
It’s a salesperson’s job to make the store as much money as possible. It’s your job to make sure that you are only buying what you want.
If you are looking to be frugal, there’s no excuse for not doing your own homework online before you purchase. Type what you’re looking for into Google and see what pops up. Look up product reviews on places like Amazon or NewEgg. Ask on tech forums.
When a salesperson is talking up a product, it’s easy to get distracted by all the shiney bells and whistles while forgetting that you don’t necessarily need them. For example, a relative of mine was talked into buying the ‘classic’ 120GB iPod. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against iPods (I have a 30GB myself) but we’re talking about a 60-something-year-old gentleman with about 50 songs on his computer. Poor guy got upsold and taken advantage of because he didn’t know the first thing about about iPods or that they came in smaller sizes. Five minutes on the Apple site would have saved him $200.
I also highly recommend buying online, not just because you don’t have to deal with pushy salespeople, but because you have a better selection AND you can almost always find a better deal. Once you figure out what you want, you can use a price aggregator like PriceWatch to find the best deal. With a little bit of patience, you can even hold out for free shipping deals.
Popularity: unranked [?]
Favors – The pretty little doodads that get left on the table when everyone staggers home at the end of the night.
Like invitations, the only one who really pays attention to the favors is the bride. The rest of us don’t really want an itty bitty picture frame, a rhinestone encrusted coffee scoop, crystal paper weights, a heart shaped coaster, or a plastic shoe filled with candied almonds.
I’ll let you in on a secret, too: You can skip the favors altogether if you want.
That said, most brides do want to have some sort of favors on the table for their guests, or they want to double up and use their favors as placecards (Mr. and I did). But, fortunately, you don’t have to buy expensive yet amazingly useless trinkets if you don’t want to. Here are some frugal favors that your guests will actually like.
Chocolates and other Candies - It’s very hard to go wrong with sweets and you don’t have to break the bank to get fancy ones either. If you love Gummy Bears, use those. Milk Duds? Why not? All you need is pretty packaging (I’ll get to that later) and you’re good to go.
Personalized Bottled Water – Great for summer and outdoor weddings. Hand them out as guests are seated. Buy your bottles in bulk (Aquafina 16.9oz 32 pack for 4.99 anyone?) and print your own labels.
Cookie and a Cookie Cutter – Homemade cookies are the best! If one of your relatives desperately wants to help out, let them do the baking. And don’t buy the cookie cutters from ‘wedding’ websites. Search out places like CookieCutter.com and buy in bulk.
Hopefully you’re noticing a trend: Things you can eat = Good. Things they’ll throw away as soon as they get home = Bad.
And as for packaging, STAY AWAY FROM ‘WEDDING’ SITES. They’ll charge you 100-200% markup just because you’re an excited bride (or groom.) Same thing goes for big name ‘craft’ stores.
Look on eBay or bulk sites for rolls of organza, cellophane bags, boxes, ties, ribbon, tags and other assorted packaging. If you want to get personalized ribbon, do a thorough search because prices vary wildly.
Honestly, the best favors/placecards I saw were apples. Not apple candles, apple paperweights, or apple-scented tea bags. Apples. Granny Smiths to be exact, with the names and seating stuck in the top where the stem would be. Simple, inexpensive and very stylish (not to mention tasty).
Popularity: unranked [?]
This is a bit massive because I missed a week or two. Enjoy!
Food
Vegetarian Frugal Housewife – I think the title sums up the blog quite nicely.
Cheddar Ale Spread at Brown Eyed Baker – This sounds delicious and would be a fun addition to an end-of-summer BBQ or an evening of watching sports on tv.
Lunch Box Suggestions at Hillbilly Housewife – While this list is designed for school lunches, it’s also great inspiration for those of us who brown bag our lunches.
Joe’s Baked Egg Muffins at Simple Daily Recipes – This is an easy way to cook up some of your favorite breakfast foods. These would be great at a brunch.
How To Make Chocolate Cobbler at Southern Plate – Cheap, Easy and Delicious. What more do you want?
Mocha Pots de Creme at The Pioneer Woman Cooks – Ree says this is easy, delicious and elegant…and the Pioneer Woman doesn’t lie.
Deli Dip at Noble Pig – A Reuben Sandwich in dip form. Sounds like a great addition to a cocktail party, although I’d leave out the ketchup.
Whoopie Pie Cake at Road Food – If you have fond memories of eating whoopie pies as a kid, you’ll love this.
Cold Brewed Iced Coffee at Smitten Kitchen. – I knew you could cold brew tea, but it didn’t occur to me to try it with coffee.
Kitchen Measurement Equivalents at Tip Nut – Great if you’re working with a British or Australian recipe and don’t have a scale handy or don’t know how much fruit you’ll need.
Student Recipes – Cheap, Easy and Fun recipes submitted by users.
Craft/Sewing
Baby Burb Cloth Tutorial at Make and Takes – Need something quick and easy to take to a baby shower?
Sewing Techniques at I Sew – A couple of good tutorials for sewing techniques.
String Quilt Block Tutorial at Craft Blog – I always wondered how to do this.
Easy Tote Bag at Craft and Fabric Links – I still have to try this one.
Fashion/Beauty
Pin-Up Clothing – An online store for pin-up, 50′s/60′s and rockabilly style clothes. I want pretty much everything.
Top 10 Fashion Mistakes at Mom Grind – Warning, the accompanying pictures may scar you for life.
Misc.
Keeping Pet Costs Down at Money Central.
Do Green Cleaning Products Really Work? at Miss Britt – A hilarious photo essay on experimenting with green dish soap. (Spoiler – They do work)
Non-Toxic Cleaning Recipes at Creek Cottage – A pretty all-inclusive list of non-toxic cleaners you can make at home.
Popularity: unranked [?]
A dinner doesn’t need to be filled with ridiculously expensive ingredients to be impressive. Here’s an minimalist recipe that takes simple foods and turns them into an impressive display.
Recipe is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License. In other words, I didn’t create it, I’m just sharing it. Original recipe by Wokboy
Personally, I would use a nice piece of steak (remember 3-4oz is a serving) in place of the lamb, but a golden, roasted chicken thigh would work just as well.
Ingredients
1.5 Lamp Rumps per person (or one serving of whatever protein your choose)
Potatoes (red skins look wonderful here)
Spinach
Heavy Cream
Butter
Salt
Pepper
Rosemary
Red Wine
Prep…
1. Marinate Lamb – Rosemary, Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil – Overnight ideally
Mash…
2. Make smashed potatoes w/heavy cream, butter…the good stuff. Leaving the skins on adds a nice contrast.
Lamb…
3. Pre-heat pan – Add olive oil.
4. Pan fry lamb – 3 min each side (depending on the thickness)
5. Rest lamb and cover with foil
Spinach and Au Jus…
6. For au jus, skim extra fat off from pan juices. Add wine, turn heat to high and boil while scraping any yummy brown bits off of bottom of pan. Turn down and simmer for a few minutes until reduced, skimming fat off top. Correct seasoning.
7. Saute spinach with butter, salt and pepper
Plate…
8. Make bed of smashed potatoes
9. Place spinach on potatoes
10. Slice lamb
11. Stack lamb on pile and drizzle with au jus.
Popularity: unranked [?]
It’s that time of year again. Time to start pulling out your sweaters and jackets as fall comes in.
Because I have so little closet space in our teeny tiny apartment, I have to store out of season clothing in storage boxes. Every time I switch out my clothes for the coming season, I sell, donate or throw away any items that have not been worn and anything that doesn’t look fabulous on me. While I probably should put the proceeds of any successful sales into saving, I fully admit to using that money on any items I need for the coming season. (You can read the full process here)
It may seem counterproductive to start getting rid of your clothes if you’re trying to save money, but part of being frugal is not over-consuming. Don’t rush out and fill up the empty closet space with new clothes. Instead, step back and take stock of what you really need clothing-wise.
Most of us have dressers and closets full of things we haven’t worn in years (and sometimes don’t even remember we have.) I know I’ve been known to find items with the tags still on. Having too much ‘stuff’ isn’t good for our lives or our wallets.
Popularity: unranked [?]
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