Tip of the Week!

For those of you that have cats, this tip is for you.

We have 2 cats. One we have had since right before we were married, so she is about 15 years old. The other one my husband decided to get for my oldest when she was about 3 or so. So she is about 7 years old.

Sadly, when these cats kick the bucket, we will retire our litter box for ever. While I adore kittens and cats, I do not like their bathroom arrangement. We of the four cats we have ever had, only one made the litter box every time.

Our cats are strictly indoor animals, so that mean they use a littler box. We have tried everything from multiple litter boxes, to brand new boxes, to all kinds of litter. But have yet to find out why occasionally they will pee on dirty laundry.

We have a laundry chute in our house that goes from the top floor to the basement. Occasionally (like on the day the girls have to clean their bedrooms) there is a large quantity of laundry that is sent down before I get to it and it will spill out of the tub onto the floor. Then, you guessed it, one of the cats will pee on it! Yuck. And we have yet to figure out who is the culprit.

I used to just pitch the item. When it was the occasional towel that was okay. But when it was my second daughters new jeans, I knew their had to be a better way to take care of it. And I happened to find it!

We have a front loader washer and dryer system and ours' has a "sanitize" setting. Which runs for about 2 hours, using super hot water and steam to clean the laundry. Yes, I know running the machine for two hours isn't cheap, but it is cheaper than throwing out laundry ever month or so.

 I put the stinky item in with like items (towels with towels, jeans with jeans, you get the idea) and put in my detergent like normal. I add about a 1/4 of a cub of Borax to the detergent. Then run it on the Sanitize setting.

For those of my friends that don't know, Borax is super cheap and is carried in most stores in the laundry aisle. I use it to make all sorts of homemade cleaners. It is much easier on my asthma than store bought cleaners. And nicer on the wallet as well. I have been making my own cleaners for years.

Voila! Out of the dryer comes clothes smelling fresh and clean and no hint at all that they had the horrible urine smell on them. And they are actually clean. Even better.

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

Tummy Saver

For those of you that don't know, I have a very sensitive stomach. I have whole food groups that I have to avoid. However, one thing that I do that makes my tummy feel better is to drink this tea. Peppermint Tea to be exact.

I will admit that it is an aquired taste. As someone who adds cream and sugar to her black tea, I thought this straight peppermint tea tasted like dirt at first. Then I got used to it and now not only do I love, I drink it all the time, hot or cold, inside or out, up or down. Okay, I got carried away, but you get the picture.

I have tried many brands along the way, but my absolute favorite is the Celestial Seasonings brand. Not only does it taste good, it is very reasonable. My local stores sell a small box of 20 for about $3-4, I don't mind paying that much because it is such a livesaver for me.

However the cheapest price I have found is on Amazon. They sell 6 boxes with 20 in each box for below $12. I cannot beat that price locally.

I keep a box at work, a box at home and even carry a few in my purse. When I am out and about or at a rare restaurant meal, I ask for hot water and make my own. It just makes my belly happy.
 
Peppermint is so soothing to your stomach and I have grown to not only love it, but incorporate it into my daily life.
 
If you too have stomach issues, I would suggest you give it a try, it works for me.
 
This post is linked to Works For Me Wednesday.

When Is It Time to Clean the Oven?

I know those that know me are thinking I have some profound reason to clean the oven. But honestly, this is how I knew it was most definitely time to clean it . . . it caught on fire.

Yes, FIRE!

I was making oatmeal cookies last night and it was getting pretty late. I had already made a coffee cake, so I was about ready to call it quits last night. So instead of waiting for each pan of little cookies to bake I decided to make one big cookie.

That would have been a novel idea except for one thing, I neglected to remember that cookies not only rise but spread and increase in size as well. Even my cookies that are egg free. So my large cookie dripped over the side of the pan as it increased in size.

Which led to the cookie dough falling to the bottom of the oven and smoking up the whole house, which still reeks the next day I might add.

So fast forward to tonight, when I heated up the oven to 425 degrees to bake my potatoes for dinner. About half way through the preheating time, my oven literally caught on fire. So I had to turn off the oven and it eventually died down and completely went out in a few seconds, thank goodness. I was standing with my kitchen fire extinguisher just in case though!

That meant my husband had to throw the potatoes on the grill with the chicken, which was still very good.

So, I HAD to clean the oven or else I couldn't use it at all. Not very good for someone that loves to bake.

Instead of using expensive store bought cleaner though (my friends and family know me better than that) I made a paste of baking soda and warm water and it worked wonderfully. I simply scrubbed it in with a rough sponge.

Then I sprayed a solution of 1 part Dawn dish soap to 5 parts water. That got rid of the rest of the gunk.

My sister always jokes that in her house you know when dinner is done when the smoke alarm goes off. But in my house, I know that when my oven is on fire, I know it is time to clean it!

Being able to joke about it definitely works for me.

This post is linked to Works For Me Wednesday.

Being a Yes Mom

This summer has been unbearably hot. If you are outside for any amount of time and are not in a pool, then you are sticky, sweaty and cranky. The kids have been begging all summer to go to the local "castle" park. But with the heat, I had no desire to go.

Today however, it was only 80 degrees and zero humidity. Perfect weather. So after we ran a couple of errands, I treated them to McDonalds and we took it to the park for a picnic and then spent the next couple of hours playing on the playsets!

Being a yes mom definately works for me.

Wow, I need to work on my posture! This is right as we were leaving. Little man was getting tired.

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

Garage Sale Finds!

It is officially garage sale season around here. My favorite time of year! I love garage sales. I love finding things that I can redo and reuse around my house, for for not a whole lot of money. Which my frugal side just loves.

I have decided to post my finds that I get. It might not be weekly, it all depends on the garage sales. But I promise to post what I do find.

This is what I found at the local huge garage sale. The whole local town does it. It is a frugal persons paradise. You go into one subdivision and there will literally be hundreds of them. Instead of driving from one to the next. You simply park your car in the middle of the neighborhood and then walk around.

I have to make frequent stops back to my car because I can't fit my finds in my stroller. So I have to go back and unload.

Here are some of the things I got at the big town garage sale.

This was an ugly mauve and green basket. I simply spray painted it and put in some silk flowers I had. Then I put it on our front door. I paid a quarter for the basket.

This was also an ugly basket, which I spray painted, added wave petunias and hung it on my ladder that leans agains the front of my house on the porch. I also paid a quarter for this basket.

See the milk tin on the step? This baby became mine for only $5, my heart started to flutter when I saw it. Then when I saw the price I tried to hide my excitement! I didn't paint it or anything, just put it on my front step.

See the green chair and table? I do plan on refinishing them, they are in great condition structurally. They just need some sanding and a coat of paint. I stole bought these lovelys for only $10 for the set. I put them on my back porch with my bench and I have an instant living room feel. I still need to refinish them but for now they look just fine.

This definately works for me. This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

Getting Things Done

I have had many of my friends make comments or question how I get everything done. Well, first of all, I will let you in on a secret, I don't.

First of all, my house is only super clean when we have guests. I mop my kitchen once a week, almost always have a pile of laundry to clean and sometimes my bathrooms go longer than they should between cleanings.

But there is one thing that I have managed to figure out over the years, multi-task and when I say multi-task, I mean I rarely sit down. I remember when I was growing up, my mom would fall asleep sitting up in a chair. I could never figure out how she could do that. Until I had kids and now I know. My super secret weapon is that I avoid sitting down until it is time for bed, unless I am eating a meal.

I am rarely doing just one thing at a time, except when dealing with the kids. I try to have my mind on my task when I am with my kids. Doesn't always work out that way, but I do try.

Here was my day today, this is a typical work day and a night when we have no sports or activities:

4:45 a.m.--woken by 13 month old (he is teething)

6:00 a.m.--lay back down after baby goes back to sleep because I was tired from being at an amusement park all day the previous day, normally I would just stay up

6:30 a.m.--alarm goes off for work (between now and when I leave for work, I shower and dress for work, get the baby up and started on breakfast, make sure school bags are packed, my breakfast and/or lunch is packed, if the girls are packing, I pack their lunches, get them their snack, depending on my time and how tired I am I might make coffee, then kisses all around and out the door)

7:30 a.m.--leave for work

5:00 p.m.--home from work, hugged everyone and asked about their day

5:15 p.m.--up to change into my comfy clothes(we have no where to go tonight, yay!)

5:20 p.m.--put hamburger in microwave to thaw since I forgot to get it out yesterday and start helping and checking homework

5:30-7:00 p.m.--put together new recipe of 7 layer casserol and get it into oven since it has to bake for 1 and a half hours. I also immediately start to brown the other 2 pounds of ground beef with onion. While this is browning I play with baby and keep checking on it. When that is done and cooled, I bag it for another meal later on this week and to freeze again. I also get started on the homemade Chex mix so that it is ready to go in the oven as soon as the casserole is finished.

During this time, my husband comes home and we chat for a few minutes. I talk to my kids about school and look over their papers and graded tests. My thirteen month old is very tired today so I feed him early and lay him in bed to for the night. My husband tells me he got called back into work and leaves. I finish dinner, call the kids to set the table and get drinks
7:00--we eat dinner (late for us, oh well it works out that way sometimes)

7:30--finish dinner and get started on chewy granola bars for morning, I will share the recipe soon

8:00--the kids are hungry again and grab a snack of chex mix, I finish cleaning up the kitchen put the granola bars in the fridge to harden

8:30--kids are in bed for the night, everyone is tired from yesterday at the amusement park, including me. I get started working on my blog.

I am off tomorrow, if it was a night before I worked, I would pack the diaper bag, do any ironing for my husband and myself, get my work bag and clothes ready for the morning.

Sometime around 9:30 I will go up to bed to read and depening on how tired I am I will go to bed anywhere between then and 11:30.

Right now I only watch one show on tv, Bones on Thursday nights at 8:00, which I have to DVR and watch later on that night.

So there you have it, that is my typical work day. I will eventually post about my non work days. I currently work a rotating schedule of 2 days one week and 3 the next. I love my 2 day weeks, I am not going to lie to you.

I am very thankful that I became someone that knows how to multitask and use my time wisely. Otherwise I could never get anything done!

This post is linked to Gratituesday.

Huge Announcement!

I interrupt your regularly scheduled broadcast to bring you an important message. My van is paid off! My husband did the last on-line bill pay the other day for my van. Now we are simply waiting on the title.

We have no car payments right now. Yes, you heard that right, no car payments. What a wonderful feeling!

Now, on to the next debt! Have I mentioned that I hate debt?

This totally works for me!

This post linked to Works For Me Wednesday and Finer Things Friday.

New Sewing Machine

So I have mentioned before that my husband is wonderful. He is so thoughtful. Well, he has done it again.

I have been borrowing my moms sewing machine for years. I never would buy my own, I am way too cheap for that. Well my husband found this online. It is refurbished so it was pretty reasonable. But did I mention that it looks brand new?

Yes, it is digital. Yes it has over 120 stitches, including hearts, leaves and flowers just to name a few. I also prints the alphabet, that is right, the alphabet! Of course I haven't had as much time to play as I would like, but the first night I was up past midnight playing.

I made a purse for my daughter, isn't it cute?

This is a blurry close-up of one of my stitches.

I cannot wait to make more things! I will hopefully have time in the next couple of weeks. And of course I will post my creations!

Having  a new to me sewing machine definately works for me!

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

I've Been Sewing!

So I gave you a sneak peak the other day of some craft supplies I had gotten. My mom and husband both bought me a slow cooker for Christmas, so I had to return one of them. The money I got back from the return, I decided to put towards some craft supplies.

The other day I decided to do something with them. Something very dear to my heart.

I love bags, it is my downfall. I am not choosy either. Whether they be from Kohl's, Target, TJ Maxx, on clearance, on sale, from a consignment store, garage sale, it doesn't matter to me. I just love bags. Tote bags, wallet on a string, purses, backpacks, it doesn't matter.

I don't know where it started, I just love them. I have this very quirky thing about me that remembers what kind of purse you are carrying. Wierd I know. But if I met you and you were carrying a purse, I would probably remember 10 years from now what kind of purse you had.

I don't care about name brands, I like them all. However, I am cheap. So, I prefer to get them on clearance, or as a gift now that I have kids. I rarely, if ever buy a new one anymore, unless I get it for a gift for my birthday or Christmas.

So that is what I made with my fabric. I made 2 purses! My 2 older girls love the black one and I cannot wait until Spring to use the light colored one.

This is the one I cannot wait to use come spring. Isn't it cute?

Here is the other one. I did loosely use this pattern here to make this one. And yes, my pocket is not centered on the side, it was my first one okay? Cut me some slack. I was however very pleased with how everything else turned out. It is a little small for me, with 4 kids, I tend to carry a lot.

And here is the inside of this purse, I lined it with roosters, adorable right?

I love doing crafts. It is fun and relaxing. I am not one to sit, so this gives me something to do when I do have time for myself. I know, rare, but when I do, I enjoy doing things like this.

Wait til you see what I am making for my kids for Valentine's Day. Stay tuned.

This post linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

2010 Goals

Since it is a new year, a new beginning, I thought I would take a few minutes to post my New Year's resolutions. Better late than never right?

1. Find a solution that works for my back. I have had on and off back pain since highschool. Lately it has been more on than off. I am hoping to find something that works.
2. Of course, like ,most people, I would like to lose weight. I still have about 20 pounds that I gained with my pregnancies that I have yet to lose, I would love to lose those. But I am trying to lose them by eating smarter and exercising, not necessarily by dieting. These are changes that I want to do to be healthy and I am hoping that a side effect will be weight loss, which in turn might help my back to feel better.
3. Spend more quality time with my family. I would love to spend time playing and not just running from one activity to the next.
4. Enjoy the moment. Learn to enjoy what I am doing at the time, instead of thinking of the 10 other things that I need to be doing.
5. Finish paying down debt. We are working really hard to pay off all our debt. I loath debt.
6. Purchase new windows for the house. This is a major expense, but one that is very much needed. Hopefully it will help with our electric bill also in the winter.
7. Spend less and track my spending. I have a problem with Target. I go in to buy diapers and come out with $100 worth of stuff that was a good deal and I had to have. But I didn't need it.
8. Buy only what we need. This goes with the one above. Reduce spending by buying what is a great deal to stock up or what we need.
9. Work on my friendships. I have made a couple of new friendships this year. I am hoping to work on those, I find it hard to find people that I have something in common with. But I have found some new friends this year and I am super excited about it.
10. Be supportive of my husband. He works hard and I am lucky to be able to be part time. There are many that would love to be in my shoes. I need to be thankful for that.

So, that is it. I think that is alot. These are really just improvements I want to tackle. To make me a better person.

This post links to Works for Me Wednesday.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

So, about a month or so ago, my friend Jeannie and I made the homemade laundry detergent. Can you just say that I am in love? I am so in love with this laundry detergent.

I believe I stated here how senstive my skin is. I have only been able to use the free and clear versions of laundry detergent. Add to that the fact that we have the new front loader washer and dryer and now I also have to use the high efficiency detergent. That can get quite expensive. I was using organic detergent that I bought in a huge jug at Sams, not horribly priced, but I didn't feel like my clothes got that clean. After a while they started to look dull and never really "felt" clean.

I had been wanting to try making homemade for quite some time, but honestly, am embarrassed to say that I was a little embarrassed by it. I mean, who makes their own laundry detergent? Like many of you, when you think of someone that does that, you think of either a nature nut or someone who cannot afford not to.

I always thought they were nature nuts. I do love natural products and being kind to the environment. But I also drive a minivan, live in a suburb, send my kids to public school, have a love/hate relationship with Lands End and eat frozen pizza on occasion. And not the good kind, the cheap, not sure if it is real cheese kind. So, you see, I am not the typical "nature nut."

I remember when I told my sister that I did some canning this past summer, when the tomatoes were in season. She jokingly said, "next thing you know, you'll be making your own detergent" well, little did she know that I was hoping to do just that.

I have mentioned my friend Jeannie a few times in earlier posts. I feel like we are long lost sisters! She too loves Lands End, lives in the suburbs,  will eat the occasional frozen pizza and loves natural products. She too made her own cleaning supplies. And in a simple conversation, we learned that we had both been longing to try making our own detergent.

So we set up a time and did just that. She came to my house and my husband took my 3 older kids to her house! We had just the baby, who slept most of the time. We based our recipe loosely on a few different ones we found. We mainly used the one here. I completely forgot about taking photos, I was so excited to get started!

The recipe that we used was this:

1 cup Borax
1/2 cup Super Washing Soda
1/3 bar of Fels Naptha soap
1 bar of Dove Sensitive Unscented bar soap (Jeannie used Ivory)

Simply grate the Fels Naptha and bar soap, I used my food processor. It was interesting to grate the different soaps. The Ivory soap grated super fast, as it was super soft. My Dove took longer to grate.

Melt the grated soap on the stove top in a pan along with 6 cups of water. Once the soap has melted, pour that along with 4 cups of hot water into a bucket. We used old cat litter containers that we(Jeannie) washed out. Mix that together. Once that has all come together, add 22 cups of water to the bucket and mix.

This has to set up for 24 hours before you use it. This will separate some and some will be jelly like and some will be liquid. Mine didn't separate, it stayed together in a very jelly like state. Maybe because I used the Dove, but Jeannie's did and she used Ivory. I use 1/2 to 1 cup of this detergent depending on how big my load is.

I have seen this recipe made without the additional bar of soap and only the 1/3 Fels Naptha. I have also seen this made with a whole bar of Fels Naptha.

I have been using this for 2 months now and I love it. My whites have never been brighter. Our clothes smell nice and are super soft.  I don't know that I will ever go back to store bought. The savings is phenominal, and you know exactly what is in your detergent, I like that.

And having sensitive skin myself, one child with eczema and a baby, we have had no problems using this detergent. So what are you waiting for? It only takes minutes to make and is so  worth it. Try different combinations and see what works for you.

Do any of you make your own laudry soap? If so leave a comment and tell me your recipe and whether or not you love it too!

This post links to Works for Me Wednesday, Frugal Fridays, Ultimate Recipe Swap, and Tackle it Tuesday.

The Snack Tub

My youngest daugher is in preschool. I was very worried as they have a snack during their time there. This is the first time anyone but a grandma has watched her. I was a nervous wreck about what to do about the snack. Having allergies to eggs, dairy, treenuts and peanuts, there is very little that she can have that is store bought.

My best friend Cindy, who also has a food allergy daughter gave me this tip that she used for her while in school. She took in a tub of safe snacks. So that is what I have done along with a few other things to make sure my daughter is safe at preschool.

I took a tub and put safe snacks in it. Raisins, applesauce, Teddy Grahams, pretzels, Oreos, all of the store bought snacks that she can have. I also sent in individual packs of soy milk for the days the kids have milk to drink instead of juice with their snack. If the mom has already dropped off the snack (we have a rotating schedule) I will check it to see if it is safe or not. If it isn't, or it has not been dropped off, I tell the teacher that she must choose from her box that day.

In addition to that, for birthday parties, I make a cake that is safe for her and ice it. I cut it into serving sizes and wrapped with parchment paper. Then I put those in a container and they keep that in the freezer at school. When one of the kids has a birthday celebration, they simply pull the cake out at the beginning of class and it is ready to eat by snack time. I also keep a box of Tofutti Cuties in the freezer. These are soy icecream bars and they are delicious, for the days the other kids have icecream.

This helps me to know that she is safe and not to worry so much.

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesdays.

Number 2 on My Thursday Thirteen Ways That I Save Money

I bet you thought I would never post this. Well, to be honest, I completely forgot! This is number two on my list of Thirteen Ways that I Save Money - Planning Ahead.

Not only does planning ahead help out with saving money, but it is a must when you have food allergies in your family. And two of my favorite things are saving money and making our life with food allergies manageable.

Some of the ways that I plan ahead are having a "to do" list for every day that I am not working. This will list everything from returning books to the library, baking muffins, dropping off things at Goodwill, to ironing and laundry. Anything that needs to get done, including phone calls that I need to make will  go on my list. I found my lists here. I love this site, there are all kinds of lists that you can print off.

I plan ahead on just about everything. When I grocery shop, I do what I call "offensive shopping". Which means that I buy things at the lowest possible price, knowing that I might not need it now, but will definately in the future. For instance, when green peppers are at their lowest price of the season, I buy a bunch and cut and freeze them for when I need them during the out-of-season times. I do the same things with onions, fruit, meat, I will freeze just about anything for use later.

So by planning ahead with my grocery shopping, I am able to buy things at great prices and have them there when I need them, so that I don't have to  run to  the store because I planned on making something with ground beef. I have 20 pounds, packaged individually in my freezer that I got for $1.25 a pound!

When I have leftovers, which I discuss here. I make sure that I plan ahead and not only label them (with item and date), but make sure that I divide them properly for future use. So for instance, if we have baked chicken one night, I will take the chicken off the bone and freeze it that way. That way it is ready to use, already in bite size pieces.

As for hamburger, I buy whatever is on sale and freeze it. But if I have bought it in a bulk 8 pound package, I will individually wrap one pound sections in wax paper, then put many one pound helpings into a large freezer bag. I do this the day I bring home my meat. I always separate it out into the proper sizings before I freeze them. This way when I need a pound, I simply take a wax paper section out and reseal the bag. This way I am not trying to thaw 8 pounds of meat when I only need one.

When I make a large batch of pasta sauce, I make enough for 4-5 meals. Same thing, I make sure that I package enough for one meal,  label them and put them in the freezer for another night.

I also plan ahead by making a two week meal plan. What I normally do is when I come home from the grocery store, as I am putting my groceries away, I keep a notepad close by. As I come across  my pork shoulder, I write it on the list, same for lasagna noodles, hotdogs, chicken, you get the picture. Then I will sit down with my meal plan papers, printed from SimpleMom.net and go to work. I make sure that I keep in mind what activities we have going on that week and also how many days a week I work.

On the days I am home, I often make not only that days meal, but the meal  for the following day when I work. It is super easy since I have the oven on anyway. If I am baking a chicken, I might also make meatballs for the next days spaghetti. If we are having homemade pizza or bread sticks, I will make the dough the day before when I am home so they are ready on a work day. I night throw in a roast at the same time as my chicken. So that I can make shredded barbeque the next day.

Another way I plan ahead is with baking. When I know that we have 2 birthday parties to attend this month, I make sure that I have cake made. I will make an allergy safe cake, ice it and then cut them into individual servings, wrap in wax paper and freeze in a large container. Then I simply pull out a piece of cake and put it in a container and by the time we get to the party, it is thawed and ready for my daugther to eat.

As for snacks, we go through a ton. The older 2 girls like to pack their lunchs, they can be a bit picky with the school lunches. And since I am home half the time, we just go through a lot it seems. I always have fruit on hand and veggies of course. But I also like to have some sort of crunchy, salty snack. We usually have pretzels and I will buy the generic rice "chex" cereal. So about every other week I will make a big batch of homemade Chex mix.

We cannot buy many store bought snacks due to the food allergies, with the exception of very few. Homemade snack mix is not only healthier, but by making it at home, I make sure that it is safe for my daughter to eat.

I do  the same thing with muffins, granola, oatmeal, cookies, I make all my own at home, from scratch. I usually make a batch or double batch and always freeze some for later. Again, planning ahead for those mornings when we are rushed. Or when the kids are hungry and are not in the mood for fruit!

Dealing with food allergies means that you cannot count on others to make sure that they have safe food for you or your child, you have to do it. By planning ahead, you can do this easily and don't have to be stressed and rushed.

I also do it to make sure that my child doesn't miss out. Sure there will be times that we simply cannot help it, that she will not be able to have certain foods to eat and will have to simply deal with it. But a little planning and work on my part means that she can have cake at the party too, or a snack at a friends, or popcorn at the movies. It is the simply everyday things that are taken for granted. But they can mean a lot to a little 4 year old with food allergies.

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesdays and Frugal Fridays.

Homemade Baby Wipes

When my third child was little, she had horrible eczema and would get diaper rash quite often. After trying every brand of wipe I could find and have them all irritate her skin, I finally resorted to making my own. I remember thinking at first that it was going to be so time consuming. It only takes minutes though and even my older 2 kids like making them for me. It is super simple.

Here is what you will need:

1 roll of paper towels
baby wash (I use Target brand)
baby oil (I use Target brand)
water

I have seen this done many ways, with getting the whole thing wet and pulling out the inner tube, or cutting the roll in half with a knife, this is just what works best for me. I don't like all the paper balls I get when I use the knife.

I use whatever paper towels that I have on hand, usually either Bounty select-a-size that I bought with a coupon, on sale of course, which is my favorite. Or Target brand, my second favorite. I like both, but the Target brand you have to cut.

Here is how I make it. I tear the towels off the roll and make a big pile. If you don't have the select-a-size then you will need to use scissors to cut them once you get your pile done. Just cut them in half. Then separate into two equal piles.

I use 2 cups of water with mine, as I like my wipes really wet. Mix about 1 tablespoon of the baby body wash and 1 tablespoon of the baby oil in the water. I pour about 1/3 of the water in the bottom of a diaper container I already had. Add a third of one of the piles of towels to that to soak up the mixture. Then add another third of the towels, pour a third of the mixture over it. Then finish with the last of the towels in that pile and the rest of the mixture. That is it. This makes me two containers and lasts about a week.

I do buy premade baby wipes for when we travel and for grandma's house. Mainly because I know not everyone likes the homemade wipes. But with my son, I have not had any problems using these wipes and he has had almost no diaper rash at all.

I have also used these as a quick type of bath. when I am getting him dressed I will sometimes give him a once over with the wipes and it makes him smell like a baby again! I love that baby smell.

I choose to do this for the health of my kids skin. So as far as cost saving, I don't really know the exact numbers. But I do know they are cheaper than store bought wipes. I get my rolls for less than a dollar a piece and get two containers of wipes from each roll. That is a huge savings in my book.

This links to Works for Me Wednesdays, Super Saving Saturdays and Frugal Fridays.

What works for me!

Little known fact, I have horribly sensitive skin. Can't wear any makeup with the exception of certain brands of under eye concealer and lipstick. But even then, certain brands can burn my skin and lips, so I am very careful of what I use, I have used the same brand and color of lipstick for about 10 years.

When it comes to cleansers I cannot use anything that is anti-aging or that has any acid or alpha-hydroxy in it. I have used the same cleanser and lotion for about 20 years and only recently added some new cleanser to my meager collection. For a cleanser I use Dove sensitive skin bar soap and when I need some extra cleansing in the summer, I use a little witch hazel diluted with water on a cotton ball. I have most recently tried the Burts Bees Lemon Poppy Seed Facial Cleanser (4 oz.), which I use in the winter months, as my skin needs more moisturizing and is more sensitive when the weather is cold!

As for moisturizers, I only use one, Oil of Olay, sensitive skin active hydrating creme. I use it all year round. I have used this for many years also and I love it.

On a good note, I guess due to my lack of wearing makeup, I have pretty good skin. I often get compliments on my skin, which makes me feel really wonderful. There are many days I wish I could wear makeup, the days where my skin is sallow or I have the occasional pimple. But most days I am glad that I don't need it. And luckily my husband thinks I look better without it!

These are all products that I would be lost without! What can't you live without? Is there anything that you just hate if they stopped making it? Tell us about it!

Head on over to We Are That Family to see more Works For Me Wednesdays.

The List

I am a list person, it is who I am. At any given time, I have multiple lists. Lists for the grocery store, lists for what I need to do that day, that week, that month. A running list of things to do around the house. A list for movies I want to watch, books I want to read. A list of gifts I need to be on the look out for, the list of my lists goes on and on!

I need a list, without it I would forget. I don't mean to be forgetful. But at any given time I have a number of things going through my head. Things like: switch the laundry, set out meat to thaw, pay preschool, mail sympathy card, put more money toward kids school lunches, iron husbands shirts, clean bathroom, buy toilet paper, schedule 8 month old's photos, you get the picture. This is why I need a list.

One of my favorite place to find lists is over at Simple Mom, she has lists ready for you to print and use! One of my favorites is this one above, the pocket docket. I printed them and cut them. Then I simply used magnetic clips to attach to my fridge. I make my list for the day. In the list above, it was actually for the weekend as it included cleaning the garage, baking, etc.

It even has a spot for your meal plan for the day. I love it. You make your list, and check it off when completed!

This definitely works for me.

This post links to  Works for Me Wednesdays.