Comments on: Newsletter Comments from Readers

By: Melody

Melody — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:33:57 +0000

I enjoyed having new idea’s for saving around our home. I have found that if I hang up my laundry it can save round $40.00 a month or more sometimes. I even hang laundry to dry during the winter. We purchased 2 clothes dryer racks and it dries well, even in the coldest, wetest times of winter in Missouri. If I do use the dryer, I rip the dryer sheets in 1/2. I workes better than reusing them.

By: Renata

Renata — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 04:11:34 +0000

Try looking into one size diaper covers for your new little one. There are many different brands, a new one that isn’t too expensive is the econobum, or there are the blueberry and kissaluv ones as well, they are more but have leg gussets to catch blow outs. A one size cover might look like it costs more, but we have replaced more rubber pants than i want to count and as we usually have multiple sized children in diapers at once, you avoid the I don’t have a cover for so and so, but 3 for the small one.

By: Deborah

Deborah — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:23:11 +0000

Hi Malia, Here are several money saving tips I have used over the years. One is for making homemade baby wipes. Here is the recipe/formula:
You will need:
10 cup container (ex: rubbermaid, w/lid)
1/2 roll of Bounty paper towels
2 tbls of baby oil
2 tbls of baby bath
2 cups of water
Cut roll of paper towells in half, remove center cardboard, mix liquid ingredients, pour on top of paper towels, pull first towel up. Each roll of towels makes 2 containers of wipes, which lasts aprx. 3 weeks.

I have found that if I let them sit for about 1 hour all the liquid has enough time to absorb the entire 1/2 roll. I also have tried several brands of heavy duty paper towels, and have found that Bounty expands when wet and the others seem to shrivel up. Remember do not shake the liquid, it will foam up.

I make my own laundry soap also. I use white vinegar in my rinse instead of fabric softener. If you like it scented you can add essential oils to it. I put lavender in mine to match my laudnry soap. : )

Another thing I recently have done is add some of my liquid homemade laundry soap to my hand dish soap. It extends my dishsoap quite a bit. I only add about a third to the bottle of dishsoap. If you add too much you won’t get any sudsing from the dish soap. I just don’t feel like my dishes are getting clean unless I see suds. : )

By: Stacey

Stacey — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:20:59 +0000

I was just reading your post about saving money and had a thought -

another way to save in the laundry room is to use distilled white
vinegar in your rinse cycle as your softner. With the laundry
detergent that you use, you’d only need to use 1/4-1/2 cup per load
to rinse all the remaining soap residue out of your clothes. The
soap residue is what makes your clothes stiff. No more dryer sheets
and no more chemicals/dyes/perfumes that aren’t good for your family.

I use your laundry detergent recipe and vinegar for a softner and our
clothes come out truly clean and so soft.

Another thing you avoid if you get rid of the dryer sheets is the
residue that can build up on your lint screen. That residue can
become a fire hazard because it’s not letting the air flow through.
You can check this by running your lint trap under water. If water
is not flowing through the screen, then you have this residue built
up on the screen. Scrub with soap and water until the water flows
through the screen to remove this fire hazard.

You may already know all this but thought I’d share just in case.
Stacey
Manhattan, KS (The Little Apple)

By: Leah Jones

Leah Jones — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:30:41 +0000

Malia,
You should look at gDiapers if you are considering cloth but haven’t used them before. gDiapers are like a cloth diaper hybrid with either a disposable insert or a cloth insert. I have been using them since my 4 year old was a baby and I love them! It is all I have used on my 3 year old. Actually, I have used some regular disposables when we are on trips for the little one, but overall, we stick to gDiapers. They are super for sensitive skin and my baby rarely has a diaper rash… only when she’s had a little too much sugar.
gDiapers has a new starter kit with tiny diaper covers for newborns. Check them out at http://www.gdiapers.com
Many blessings,
Leah Jones

By: Lisa Overton

Lisa Overton — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:03:23 +0000

I have been discovering as many ways as possible to save money at home as well. You said that you reuse your dryer sheets 3 times, why not try the softener recipe the Duggars use? I did and it is wonderful. We have a family of 5 with one due in Sept. and this recipe gives us enough softener for about a year! Not bad for $15 ($10 for the big bottle of softener and $5 for the bucket).

By: Denise

Denise — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:44:52 +0000

I just read the 2010 January newsletter and wanted to make a few suggestions on what we have done to save money. The biggest moneysaver for us has been our MagicJack. We have saved TONS of money since we make lots of calls especially out of state calls. We are big fans of Craigslist and Freecycle. I also buy things in bulk from our local healthfood store (EarthFare) and reuse the containers when we purchase things there. I have also started using my slow cooker more along with my bread machine,smoothie maker and blender.
Thanks for the great newsletter-now go get some rest!!!My youngest daughter was born in June so I know that you guys are so excited for the little one to make his/her debut:-)

By: Debbie Jackson

Debbie Jackson — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:37:39 +0000

Hi Malia, I really enjoy your newsletters. Reading the January 2010 one this morning motivated me to get started organizing receipts and records for taxes.

I agree that changing small things can make a big difference in finances. I was surprised to learn that using fabric softener sheets more than once would work. I usually cut them in half and use that half once, but maybe I should use your method and reuse a whole one 2 or 3 times.

Thanks!

Debbie J.

By: Nancie

Nancie — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:37:06 +0000

Hi Malia, I am responding to what I do to get my children to eat something new.
In our home we have a rule, TRY IT ONCE!! So many kids turn up their little noses without even trying it. There are many types of foods I don’t particularly care for and I understand that our little ones have those same dislikes. So our children have to try it first. I must say it has been slightly amusing watching them try out new things. Beets did not go far in our home. One evening I decided to make homeade Calzones. My oldest refused to have anything to do with it. Calzones sound kind of odd.So I said remember our rule, that evening he asked for seconds. This has helped us a lot teaching our children to be open minded. We are also parents who do not make extra meals so our children. They have to eat the same dinner the adults are eating. This too has also been great (for me mainly). I feel it has kept them healthy because they are sharing in well rounded meals rather than kids stuff. Our family sits together and eats our meals together (something instilled in me from my grandmother) this family time is so important. Thanks you for giving me the opportunity to share.

By: Juliene Herr

Juliene Herr — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:34:32 +0000

Malia, I get the 25lb (I believe it is) bag of bread flour at Sam’s and keep it in my parent’s upright freezer. It keeps great! Thank you!