fabulous

A Photo Clock:

Family Fun magazine had this idea in their April 2004 issue. Buy an inexpensive or used clock, and remove the plastic cover with a screwdriver. Make a colored-paper circle to go around the center with any picture or design you choose. How about something goofy like “We love you all the time!” Glue it on in place. (Cut a slit up the circle if the hands don’t come off.). Replace the cover.

Fleece Pillows:

The advantage to fleece, besides that it is made out of recycled plastic and is warm even when wet, is that the edges do not need to be finished. So you can make pillows or scarves or whatnot out of it and not do any sewing. You can also made simple fleece scarves by cutting a long strip of fleece and cutting fringe into the ends.

Bathtub Tints:

Crayola makes bath fizzies in colors for kids. A homemade copy is easy: Mix three parts baking soda with one part citric acid and add essential oils and paste or powder food coloring. Mix thoroughly. Let it dry and put it in a container with a cool label. Add a measuring spoon or detergent scoop. You can give these out as sets to mix in the tub!

     With the economy in the tank and dirty clothes still needing to be washed who couldn’t use to save some money on an essential like laundry soap? My problem is wearing a set of “work clothes” (typically jeans and a polo) then coming home and putting on something else to go out in, or pajamas immediately. So this equals two outfits a day.

     But regardless of how many outfits you wear, clothes will always need to be washed. Same goes for sheets and towels, and anyone who knows me, know that I absolutely love sleeping on clean sheets.

     However, it turns out that homemade laundry soap is not only substantially cheaper than even the cheapest ready-made laundry detergent, it’s also more environmentally friendly, more effective, and better smelling than Tide or whatever else you get at the store. It is also easy to make.

     There are many recipes online for homemade laundry soap. The liquid ones strike me as a mess and a bother. But here is a very effective laundry powder: Grate a bar of soap (and old soap will do, I prefer girly scented ones but I bet you could use an unscented soap and a couple of drops of essential oil, too).

     To the soap flakes, add ½ cup of Borax. Also add ½ cup of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda, not always easy to find; you can get it online if you have to).

     Mix these three ingredients well and put in a canister or whatever you choose to store it in. 1 tablespoon will wash a load of laundry well, so this recipe makes 32 loads.  It doesn’t suds up, though, so don’t worry if you look in your machine and nothing seems to be happening.

Have another recipe? Tried this one? Let me know!

Here are three ways to indulge your Starbucks cravings while still taking it easy on your wallet!

• $1/1 Starbucks Frappuccino printable (IE) — Use this coupon at the Kmart super double coupon event, and you should be able to walk away with a FREE bottled Starbucks Frappuccino, or use it at other stores to get it for cheap.

• FREE Starbucks Frappuccino coupon — Nominate a friend who deserves a Starbucks Frappuccino. Maybe they can nominate you in return and you can go out for coffee together!

• FREE $5 Starbucks card credit — If you have an iPhone, you can receive a FREE $5 Starbucks credit when you download the new Starbucks Mobile Card app and reload you Starbucks card with $25 or more. I did this and was credited instantly!

Feeding your pets can get expensive along with trips to the vet and other expenses, so what better than a free bag to help out a little!

 Treat your pup to some high quality puppy food at a steal. Register with Eukanuba to receive a voucher for a FREE bag of Eukanuba puppy food!

Just scroll down to where it says “Get FREE Puppy Food”!

Just in time for your budget-saving weekend entertainment, there are two new Redbox free rental codes available! I simply love Redbox! It’s fast easy and very inexpensive. I can do my regular shopping and grab a new release on the way out the door!

• 9HB6MP22 – valid at all Redbox kiosks

• SMR8DVD – valid only at McDonalds

These can be used once per debit/credit card, so you can rent more than one for free by using different cards.

Join Victoria’s Secret Pink Nation and login to your account today and print a coupon valid for 10 PINK Panties for just $25! That’s a great price given the cheapest I’ve seen Victoria’s Secret underwear in the past is 7 for $25. (Typically it’s 5 for $25.)

Use code 10PANTIES at checkout.

Expires 9/28/09.

If you’re not a member, join now to get this great coupon!

So this shopping trip I went with tons of coupons in hand to check prices on items and see what I would need. I didn’t use all or even most of then but I did use a good amount. I had some good coupons for things I can stock up on like hamburger helper, soup, etc. I did a ton of scouring, printing and cutting coupons this morning to prepare but was only held up by UPS saying my delivery would be here today. But it wasn’t all the bad, it gave me time to be prepared to stock up!

With my shopping trip I bought 24 items, and had 13 coupons. I had coupons for all but 6 items.

What I bought:

Overall I saved 19.98 on my trip!

I stocked up on items I always use and got a few that I just like to have around!

Sunday came and went before I realized it was time for new secrets! Here’s a sample of some:

In case you don’t know…

Every sunday http://postsecret.blogspot.com/ post new secrets sent in.

“PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard.”

You can mail yours to:

PostSecret
13345 Copper Ridge Road
Germantown, MD 20874

http://www.postsecretcommunity.com/

Want to help out those in need, but don’t really have the time or money to do so?

With just one click you can do plenty of good!

With this site click each tab at the top of the page, click once and you can do alot of good!

This site has a lot more clicking around but it still can help if you have time!

http://www.oneclickatatime.org/

I’m sure many of you are already MyCokeRewards member, but if not, you’ll want to register here. After you register or login, click on “Pick Up Points” and sign up for the T.G.I. Friday’s Give Me More Stripes program.

Your account will be credited with 25 points which is enough to redeem for one of the following prizes:

• FREE 20 oz. Coke (Sprite, Diet Coke, etc.)

• FREE 18.5 oz. Dasani Essense

• FREE 32 oz. Powerade

• FREE 20 oz. Minute Maid

Or you can hold onto your points and save them towards one of the other great prizes!