frugal Archives - Grow. Pray. Build. - Bloom Where You're Planted.

Frugal Fridays #35

on July 27, 2015

Successes/Blessings: I picked some flowers from around the yard to enjoy in the house (in the picture above). I don’t plant much in the way of flowers. I pretty much only allow flowers in my yard that are easy to grow and come back year after year. I just don’t have the time to dedicate to flowers, unfortunately. I planted the hydrangea 3 yrs ago when we moved in, the sunflowers re-seeded themselves from last year, my mom gave me some zinnia seedlings this Spring because she knows I think they’re beautiful (she has such a green thumb!), and the cone flowers and black eyed susans are perennials. I have been harvesting red onions from the garden as needed. I made homemade kefir and then used that for soaking grains and also for smoothies (this smoothie was made with kefir, frozen berries from my yard, raw honey from my beekeeping uncle, and some kale powder that I dehydrated and ground up using kale from the garden. I made ginger carrots a la Nourishing Traditions I made a candle using some beeswax from my uncle’s hives (mine isn’t mature enough to take wax from yet) and a bit of tallow that I rendered from our beef order. I added 1 tsp of pumpkin spice for scent. I dehydrated 2 batches of kale and 2 batches of carrots for our food storage. I also purchased 40 lbs of dry pinto beans. I went to our local thrift store for a few items. They were having a 30% off sale on housewares and books. We got 8 books, 2 puzzles, a silicon bundt pan, a bag of wooden […]

Frugal Fridays #29

on June 12, 2015

Successes/Blessings I had my first beekeeping lesson from my husband’s uncle! So very exciting. And I’m so thankful to have his wisdom and willingness to teach me. I’m 100% hooked! This venture will probably push back the meat rabbit thing because I can really only handle getting used to 1 venture at a time. For the time being, I’ll probably keep a hive or 2 on his land since we don’t really have a good spot on our 1/2 acre to keep them. Do you have experience keeping bees on a smaller lot? I’d love to hear about your experience! I hung most of our laundry outside except when it was raining. I have a new development in the hanging laundry department-very exciting! Watch for future posts. I made 4 loaves of bread. I used my homemade soap for household cleaning. I have been conserving water in a few different ways, specifically in the kitchen. Our water prices are extremely low since we live 5 minutes away from Lake Ontario, but I want to get in the practice of being more prudent in our water usage. I will harvest garlic scapes today and make pesto. I planted more mesclun, beets, and kale. I’ll plant more carrots today or tomorrow as well. The beets that are currently in the garden are ready to be harvested, which will happen in the next few days. I’ll probably boil the beet root and saute the greens or use them in a salad. I love that all parts of beets are edible! I purchased some Egyptian Walking onions that I will plant today or tomorrow. If all goes well, I’ll […]

Filed Under: Frugal Fridays Tagged With: frugal, frugal tips, gardens

Frugal Fridays #17

on February 27, 2015

Successes/Blessings: I earned two $5 Amazon gift cards through Swagbucks (referral link). I’ll be saving them to use for birthday/Christmas gifts. I have started my weeks of prodromal labor (typical for me…happens with every pregnancy). The other night I was having contractions (not braxton hicks…but real deal contractions) from about 8:00pm until 4:00am, and then everything just died out. So I’ve been exhausted and frustrated. My mother inlaw kept 3 of my older kids overnight the night before last so that I could rest, and when she dropped them off yesterday, she brought a tray of her Spanish rice and chicken (a family favorite). It was so nice to not have to worry about cooking dinner! I’ve traded a few more books on paperbackswap.com and used the credits for books needed for homeschool. I used the rewards points system that my husband’s work offers to order 2 books as well. Through his program, I discovered the Picture Book Biography series and have ordered 3 of them so far. We’re really enjoying them! I normally don’t like most children’s biographies, but these were well done and not at all boring to read aloud. We filed our taxes this year with TurboTax, and that came with an offer to put a certain amount toward an Amazon gift card, and receive a 10% bonus on that amount. We opted to do that and figured out how much we’d like to spend on birthdays and Christmas for the kids this year, plus a little extra to cover some of the cost of birthday gifts for our 12 nieces and nephews, and put that much on an Amazon gift card from […]

Filed Under: Frugal Fridays Tagged With: frugal, Frugal Fridays

18 Uses for Orange Peels

on December 15, 2014

I was able to find oranges on sale this week for .37 cents per pound, which was really exciting. Especially because they were actually *good* oranges. Do you ever buy oranges, only to bite into them and they have absolutely no flavor or are totally dry? Such a bummer. These are good, though. So we have an abundance of orange peels, and I just hate to throw anything away, so I thought I’d write a post about all the ways you can use orange peels. (Note: When you’re planning to use orange peels for cooking or medicinally, organic is always best). 1. Orange peels can easily be dehydrated and saved for later use. You can dehydrate them in a dehydrator, in the oven or even just out on a cookie sheet. Alternately, you could freeze them so that you’ll have some available for orange zest the next time a recipe calls for it. The zest can also be ground into a powder to be added to any recipe that calls for orange zest. 2. Candied orange peel is also an option for your baking needs. Dipped in chocolate, it makes a delicious snack all on its own. 3. Like many fruits, oranges, and specifically the peel, contain a lot of nutrients, flavanones, antioxidants, and enzymes that can help your body perform better. This website talks about how orange peels are especially beneficial during times of respiratory issues. It works as a histamine and has irritation reducing properties, making it a fantastic addition to your medicine cabinet during cold and flu season, as well as allergy season. Consider adding some dried, frozen, ground, or fresh […]

Filed Under: tips Tagged With: cleaning, DIY, frugal, reuse, simple living, tips, upcycle

Uses for White Vinegar

on December 6, 2014

So many people responded well to the post I wrote, titled, “25 Everyday Uses for Hydrogen Peroxide.” So I thought I’d do another post on uses for white distilled vinegar. I think there’s really something to be said for being able to make use of basic, household items for most things, rather than having to purchase umpteen different products that only serve one or two purposes. You save money (’nuff said), because you’re not purchasing multiple different products. Your cabinets stay organized, because there aren’t as many bottles in your cleaner cabinet. Most of these household products that I use for multiple purposes, including hydrogen peroxide and vinegar, are safer alternatives to the chemicals typically sold in stores. That means a couple of things with regards to kiddos: You can train your children to work alongside you doing household chores and feel confident that they are using materials that are safe for them to come in contact with. You don’t have to be a nervous wreck if you accidentally leave the cleaner bottle out on the counter and see your toddler reach for it. You know they’re safe. So, here are some of the ways that I use White Distilled Vinegar in my household (I buy it 2 gallons at a time from Sam’s Club because we use so much of it!): I use it in my cloth diaper laundry when we get an ammonia build up. The only time we’ve ever had rash issues with cloth diapers was because of ammonia build up. A few glugs of white vinegar in a soak cycle neutralizes the ammonia, and my little one’s skin stays happy. […]

Filed Under: Frugal Tagged With: cleaning, DIY, frugal

Frugal Fridays #6

on December 5, 2014

I’m a little late getting this posted today- I’ve got 4 sick kiddos at the moment, so it’s going to be short and sweet. Side note: There was a point in my day a couple of days ago where I felt like I wasn’t doing enough. I felt like I should be doing *more.* I’d just finished reading a blog post from a fellow mom blogger whom I admire, and sometimes I have a tendency to let my imagination run a little wild. I imagined for a moment that her house was perfectly clean, that she (unlike me) was NOT still in her pajamas at 2pm, that her husband got to come home to a wife who was put together and maybe even had her hair and make-up done, and that she smiled joyously while driving her kids around to activities rather than sometimes being totally exhausted and overwhelmed by it like me. The crazy thing is that I had dinner cooking, bread rising, yogurt culturing, and the 6th load of laundry for the day going at this moment … not to mention the school lessons and parenting I’d done that day, and I was STILL knocking myself down. How nuts is that? I really had to stop for a moment and redirect my heart. Sometimes I think we mothers are our own biggest drag. If you ever have moments like that, or if you’re having one today, I wanted to share a scripture verse that I turn my mind to during those times. Successes: I made 2 loaves of bread. 1 batch each of crockpot yogurt and pumpkin maple walnut granola. We […]

Filed Under: Frugal Tagged With: frugal, Frugal Fridays

25 Uses for Hydrogen Peroxide

on October 22, 2014

One of my favorite ways to save money and become more self-sufficient is to discover new uses for everyday basic household items. Hydrogen peroxide is one of those. Everyone probably has a bottle or bottles of it sitting in their house somewhere. If you stock up on basic household items that have many uses, you’ll be less likely to have to run to the store multiple times a week. Being resourceful is a major saver of time and money. Note: Any time you’ll be using H2O2 on your food or potentially ingesting it, you should look for food grade (not the stuff in the brown bottle). 1. Propagate mushrooms from the store (I’m totally going to try this!!) 2. Clean your sponges. Everyone knows that sponges are a breading ground for bacteria. Create a solution of equal parts water and hydrogen peroxide, and soak your sponge in it for 15 minutes. 3. Get rid of blood stains. Apply hydrogen peroxide directly to the stain (best if it hasn’t dried yet). Let it sit for a few minutes and then rinse with water. You may need to repeat the process, but I’ve used this method several times with great success. 4. Use as a mouthwash. (Note: Swallowing hydrogen peroxide can cause an upset stomach because of the bubbles). Swish around to kill bacteria and help heal canker sores faster. 5. Multipurpose cleaner. Solutions with hydrogen peroxide can be sprayed on your counters, cutting boards, toilets, etc. as a non-toxic disinfectant. Added bonus that it’s safe for septic systems! 6. Use 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide in your laundry to whiten your whites. 7. Treat foot fungus. […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: cleaning, frugal, simple living, tips