Cardboard Play

Today I decided to finally go ahead and make that project I promised the kids I'd make a month ago.  What happened a month ago to spark interest in a new 'project'?  Well, we went to Ikea, you see... and...

 

It all went downhill from there.  ;)

 

At Ikea, the kids love playing in the kids rooms and with the toys they have set out there.  One such toy that was up on the shelf (not available to be played with, but very visible) was a cardboard market.  This one, actually.

And me, being the frugal mom that I am, said "Hmm.  I can make that.  We've got lots of cardboard from our previous Ikea purchases that would work".  And my kids heard me, and got all excited, and I wished I never said it out loud.

Well, only kinda wished it.  You see, if I say it out loud, there is a much higher chance of me doing it, whereas if I keep it to myself, the likelihood of it ever happening remains at less than 10%.

So, since my husband was taking out the recycling yesterday, I made sure to nab the cardboard I needed for this project, and today (with a lot of prompting from my kids, and in between working on making lasagna and taking care of a cranky baby), we turned this...

 

...into this!

 

I'm thrilled, actually!  And I took a few photos of the process which I will share with you here!

We needed two boxes from Ikea's bookshelves.  Those were the sides.  The inner cardboard pieces were great for the roof, counter, and extra cover ups for the front and back.  Then we needed three diaper boxes (which we always have plenty of) and duct tape.

First I cut the 'tabs' off of the three diaper boxes and duct taped them together.  You can configure them however you like.  All three open to one side, two on the bottom open on one side, whatever you think would make for a great display/storage.  Once done, cover up the exposed 'bottoms' of the diaper boxes on both sides with extra cardboard.  This just looks nicer.

Don't worry about the top or the sides yet.

Next I drew my 'roof' angles on both sides of the two long and skinny boxes.  Make sure to remove any damaged corners this way.

Duct tape these to the sides of your diaper boxes.  I make a loop with my duct tape so it is like a double sided piece of tape and do it that way. 

Once that is done, I took more cardboard and made a 'counter', taping it to the top of the diaper boxes.  I made little shelves for inside and outside, found a small box (probably for hardware or something) that was perfect to 'hang' from the top of the diaper boxes for 'condiments' or whatever the kids wanted, and went all out in decorating it.  Also made the roof with the extra cardboard pieces.  Cut two pieces slightly longer than the whole width of the market stall, lay them on the floor flat with their long lengths together and tape them, then turn that tape to the underside and tape them to the roof.  (sorry, I forgot to take pictures at that point).

Voila!  The kids were thrilled to play market with this.  I made a little sign and hung it with string and sticky hooks so the kids can flip it.  Made some little shelves and a 'mail bag' of sorts as well using boxes that were too perfect to pass up.  I might take time to decorate it with stripes of paint yet.  Or I may buy some fun colored duct tape and use that instead.  Never know.  ;)

See?  Cardboard is soooo much fun!  Although, you probably already knew that.  ;)

Last month I also made this shelf for my daughter out of diapers and wipes boxes, some 'mack tack' paper (picked up for 50cents at LW when it was going out of business), and hello kitty duct tape I found at the dollar store.  It has been great for storing her 18" dolls and things.  She loves it, and so do I since it was cheap and it is solving a storage issue for her.  :)

Diaper boxes... who knew?

Oh, and they are FANTASTIC for kids clothing storage.  If you have a dry enough storage area, of course.  They stack so nicely and are a great size.  I have all my kids clothes that they are growing into or out of in these boxes. 

So... I'd love to see your cardboard creations!  Let me know what sorts of things you make out of boxes in the comments!  <3 p="">

Bedroom Progress

The last two weeks have been busy!  I've been trying to get the bedrooms worked on, and since we don't have the basement done yet (not even close), we have to attempt to get the work done while the kids are still in their room, and we are still in ours.  First thing we needed to do is move the door in the bedroom from the bathroom to the hall.

 

So, this here is the 'before' picture prior to getting any of the work done (wish I had taken more in between pics... oops)

 

 

And below is the after!  I reused the casings/baseboard, door, frame, inner wall (we moved it over... you'll see in the next pic), etc.

 

Yay!  We have an entry point into the 'third' upstairs bedroom!

 

Below is the bedroom side of the change... with a few in between pics.

So... door going into the bathroom above, and now the door goes into the hallway (below).  And yes, I cut the wall out where the door frame used to be, and my husband and I took and moved it over (I think I posted about it last week... but I'm just so excited that I'm posting pics again).

 

There's baby A! :)

We also put up the wall frame, and cut some panels to make a wall.

 

 

This will separate the bedroom into two.

 

Notice the purple wall color?  My son will be taking this room, and he wanted red and grey (in keeping with a cars theme).  I went to the basement and found out we actually HAD red AND grey paint!  Yay!  Didn't need to buy any.  However, the red paint wasn't enough to cover the wall in two coats.  :(

 

This last week I did a lot of mudding and taping, sanding, etc.  I've never taped before, so it was a bit of a learning curve.  My husband has pictures of that on his phone... I think... I don't have his phone, haha.  So, no pics. 

 

I finished sanding the mud on Saturday, only to find that it needed a little more mud on the bedroom side (I was not going to worry about it so much on the bathroom side, since that is a closet).  After mudding a little more, I was able to sand just before bed.  Sunday I cleaned up all the drywall dust, washed down the walls, and primed the first coat.  Yesturday I was thrilled to be able to prime the second coat of primer on the mudded wall (and the 'new' wall and the closet door I never painted in all the years we've had it up, haha) before the kids woke up!  I did the bathroom before making breakfast, and then later in the day I painted the rest of the bedroom, finishing the second coat of grey (and cleanup of paint supplies) around midnight!  YAY!  (I think I spent a good 3-4 hours painting yesterday).

 

So, here's the pics of it now!  The red still needs a second coat, and the closet doors in the first pic are going to be red, too (they are primer white right now). 

 

Haha... I never noticed that the bedroom door was in the way when I took this picture.  The red wall is a lot bigger than that.

 

 

The above pic of the black wall is the 'new' wall that wasn't there before.  It's done up with chalkboard paint.  :)  I want to put a ledge all along that will hold chalk and brushes (and contain any chalk dust that flutters down instead of it all getting on the carpet).  I may just buy one from Ikea to make it a little easier on myself.  We'll see.

 

I am excited to get this done!  My husband is getting more red paint today, and I'm hoping to, just maybe, get some of that magnetic primer, too (it is pricey... a 1L pail costs $30-40, and it only covers 25 square feet.  It will be enough to do a road along the wall (kind of like a wavy border), plus maybe some fun things on M's side of the room.  I want to put magnets on the bottoms of some of my son's cheap cars and put them on the magnetic road after all is done).

 

I am so excited!  Things are finally looking like they're happening!  I want to go through the kids stuff today and get it all ready to move upstairs so we can wash and paint that room before we move into it (and yes, we'll be using up plenty of the paint we have in storage rather than buying any new).  Then, after we move downstairs, we can paint what will be M's room before moving her in.  Carpets need to be cleaned in between everything, too.  Glad I have a carpet cleaner right now!

 

So far, this renovation project has cost a grand total of $90 (for the 2x4s and panels for the barrier wall, some mud and tape.  Everything else we already had and reused).  With paint purchases, I'm expecting it to total about $150 or less... unless we decide to buy another color for our bedroom.  I'm not sure if we need to buy any baseboards as I know we have a bunch in our workshop... I'll have to check when we get that room empty enough to put stuff in there.

 

Hooray for cheap renovation projects!!  Now if only we could get that basement done.  (actually, the farm's insurance company contacted us to say that we HAVE to get rid of our oil furnace and replace it with gas or electric by the end of 2014 or else the farm insurance will be affected.  My husband is working like mad to try to get the hydro company to finally answer us on if we qualify for their programs or not.  We've been working at this for well over a month now with no answer, and they didn't even know the information they needed when we asked them in the first place.  They now told him they need some papers he has to drive into the city for, and pay for as well.  He gave them what they asked for when he called them weeks ago, and they went and changed it on him.  Sigh.  I think qualifying is riddled with trials so less people try to get into the program.)

A Mudroom Switcharoo

This week I focused on the entryway again.

Remember what I was saying about storage?  Yeah, we have lots of stuff that should be in a mudroom of sorts, but it was in the basement, making things a bit more difficult for me when we need to find winter items during spring/fall, or spring jackets after the weather has cooled.  I loved the way our entry looked with the nice metal framed shelf, the flip lidded 'grass' box, the picture frames on the wall... but it wasn't functioning the way it needed to any more (and this is actually moved around a bit, too.  The bench was on the wall under the frames before, with the shelf/box against the wall the bench is now at).

This is how our entry way was.  The kick in the pants for me was when the kids hooks came out of the wall.  Ripped the drywall right out, in fact.  We had some nice solid metal anchors in there that were supposed to be able to support 20lbs each... and there were two of them.  I guess the drywall just couldn't handle it anyway.  So, there you see a pile of jackets on the infant car seat that is actually expired now (sniff... need to buy a new one for baby #4.  But we got some good use out of this one!).  The wire shelf has been housing my diaper bag, which is really quite heavy and makes the shelf sag when I set it down on there.  Otherwise, it was mostly only holding trinkets and pretty things.  The black hooks/shelf is something I built a number of years ago, when we finished the renovation that gave us an entryway of sorts.

Well, that was the before.  Here is the after.

 

Ta-da!  Welcome, storage!  And lots of it!  I'd have preferred it on the back wall, but that wall was just 3 inches shy of allowing these bookshelves to sit there, side by side (and I'd have to remove my hooks as they go too close to that wall to slide a bookshelf behind).  I haven't yet rehung the picture frames, and the tops of the bookshelves need some decorated diaper boxes to house out of season jackets and whatnot (there's a whole two feet of emptiness up there).  But I pulled up two boxes of outdoor gear from the basement, plus the stuff we already had, and put them all into their boxes.  Each child has a box for their jackets/ski-pants.  There are at least 5 or 6 empty boxes in those shelves, and I need to make the labels for each one yet.  I still want to see if I can have proper shelves that fit at the back instead as it would look and fit nicer than having the bench way over there, but for now, this is a nice change.  I may just make my own 'built ins' as I cannot seem to find anything to fit properly.  Although, the Ikea Billy Bookcases might fit... I'll have to check their measurements again.  They are also much deeper (15.5 inches deep vs. these ones at less than 12 inches deep).

And now there is a nice place to put my bag where my daughter cannot reach it (and play with keys, and remove items that need to stay there so when we need them I'm left searching for something that is back at home... on the floor... in the living room).  The basket under the cowboy hat I plan to use to put extra diapers, wipes, bibs, things of that nature for when we need to replenish the diaper bag.  I even have a bin for all our grocery bags.  When we head out, we just put them back in the van!

All I spent was about $25 on baskets and bins (how I love Dollarama).  We already had the bookcases in our bedroom which we emptied as we need to move stuff downstairs with the bedroom renos anyway.  It is kinda fun to rearrange what you already have to see what you can do with it.  This is not our final, permanent, solution, but it is much easier than it was to find what we need.  I really want to find something that will look prettier (like it did before with that beautiful wire shelf we've now relocated into our bedroom as there aren't any other walls I can think to put it on), and I should put the picture frames back up on the other wall, too.  I'll work out a 'built ins' solution eventually.  But for now, this will work nicely.

I love having all the stuff we need for outside right here in our entryway!!  :)

Using what I've got! Crafts are fun!

I mentioned on a previous post about how I've been doing yardwork and such using the things I have already.  Well, one such thing was that I really wanted to get brick to put around the house to separate my dirt 'garden' area from the grass.  I found rocks in the area near the field and used them as a border instead!  Free!

 

And yesterday I finished up another little project.  I wanted to build little fairy 'houses' in the circle of trees we have.  I took some of the dead branches from the stuff I pulled out of the tree circle area and chopped them into discs and made this!

 there is a cute little path and some stools and table.

 I used twigs to make a 'doorframe' with 'steps' leading up to it.

 M wanted a firepit too, so we made one with some little stones.

 This one tree has lots of steps up into three areas.

 A different angle.

 And this is on a tree completely separate from that area... by our swings, actually.

 

Then, today I also made some cute pendants of sorts with some #6 recyclable plastic (mine is from the top of those containers you get already cooked rotisserie chicken in).  It works like shrinky dink plastic!  Did some with the kiddos, and made myself a set of earrings for later.  Need some jump rings of sorts though.

I think they turned out rather cute!  The kids had fun doing this, and I have lots left for doing more projects later on.  I look forward to it!

I got information for this project here at Rust and Sunshine, and here on Instructibles..

If you want to make stuff with this plastic, what I found worked was to draw on the plastic with black sharpie, then color on the other side so it didn't smudge the black.  Punch a hole and cut the pieces the way you want them because it will get thick as it shrinks.  It won't shrink uniformly either (the Mario charm did pretty good, but the others not so much).  These started off as 3-4inches high, and ended up about a third of the size.  Any bumps or text disappears as well with shrinking. 

To shrink, bake in a 250-350F oven.  Watch it as it shrinks and curls, settling flat after a minute or so.  It doesn't take long at all.

Have fun!

Savings Sunday - The importance of Tithing

I know it is late again.  I really need to try to blog on Saturdays so I get on this on time... ah well.  A belated Sunday post, haha.

Anyway, I wanted to talk about tithing.

Often when I think about 'saving money' I don't think about giving money away.  But the Bible tells us that we will be blessed by giving our money through tithes and offerings.

Proverbs 11:24 ESV         
One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.

Malachi 3:10 ESV        
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

Now, I am not trying to 'preach' the prosperity gospel.  Not at all.  I am just saying that the Bible teaches we need to give the tithe.  The money we have is not ours.  It is God's.  The same goes with everything we have.  So, we need to give of the gifts we've been given.

And God says he will bless us.

I can attest to the blessings.  I am not sure how it is even possible for us to have as much as we do, but God has made it possible!  We have been faithfully tithing since we got married, and God has given us blessing after blessing.  Many would say they don't know how we afford to live off what we make, but we have enough.  We are satisfied with what we have, too!  I think that perhaps that is something we need to have more of... satisfaction with what we have!  It is amazing how many blessings we will see when we are satisfied with what we have!  And God will provide all we need.

And when we need things we cannot get for ourselves, the blessings we receive from our heavenly father are even more incredible when we get them!

Savings Sunday - Use What You've Got

I know this is a day late (plus a week late!  I had this idea on Saturday but I never got to it).  Ah well, you'll forgive me, right?

Yeah yeah... I've been blogging a lot today.  I'm task oriented, so I had blogging on my to do list, ok?  ;) 

Yeah... I am not kidding!

Anyway, the big 'aha' I had on Saturday for a Savings Sunday post is this... use what you've got!

I've recently started working on the yard.  Trying to beautify it before my daughter's birthday party in September.  I don't want to spend a bunch of money on it, but it needs a LOT of work.  So... I found out that there are a bunch of rocks that need to be removed from my inlaws yard, and my MIL was only happy for me and the kids to pull a bunch out for her.  We brought them over to our yard and are using them as edging around my house.  I've also been pulling down dead branches, and clearing out many weeds.  You can make mulch from dead tree branches if you wish.  I actually want to take some of them and chop them into discs, then use those discs to make little 'fairy homes'... doors and stairs and such on the trees on our yard.  I'll post pics when done.

We also have some pallets that we cannot return to the feed company.  I will be using those to make outdoor furniture for around the fire pit and what not.  Free!!!  Yay!

You can probably find someone who has perennial plants that they need to have thinned out anyway, or saplings growing by lilac bushes or other shrubs.  I've been saving seeds from the apples we've been buying to see if I can't start my own apple trees.  They may not grow apples, but they would still grow into trees, and I love the flower blossoms on fruit trees!  You can also find all sorts of uses for old items, not just in your gardens, but for organizing in the house, or even up-cycling into something fabulous!  This is where pinterest can really come in handy!  ;)

Seriously... before you go out to buy something, try to see if you can't take something you may already have and just adjust it a bit to make it work for what you need!  Like, cereal boxes to organize scrapbook paper.  Or shoe boxes decorated with paper to organize cards!  Perhaps those old ice cube trays you don't use for ice cubes anymore could be upcycled into sorting earrings.  Or that tin can!  Just punch a bunch of holes in it in fun patterns and hang your earrings on that!  We recently took an old pail, a sour cream container, cardboard, and tape and hot glue, and we made a little dollhouse (my daughter says it's Twilight Sparkle's treehouse... Twilight Sparkle is a pony who lives in a tree which is a library in case you were wondering).  It is a lot of fun, and you don't have to worry about messing it up, cause it cost nothing!  :)

Have fun saving money and creating your own fun items!

Savings Sunday - Label Label Label!

Here is a little tip for everyone out there.  Something I'm really wishing I would have done recently.

Label what you put in your fridge.  What is it?  When does it go bad/when was it cooked?  Or, what are you planning to use it for?  (example - DO NOT EAT!  I want this for making suchandsuch meal).

Recently my husband, who was trying to do me a favor, went through our fridge to trash some of the old stuff.  He came across a full container of something he thought was old beans.  It happened to be date paste I recently made for baking with.  This stuff ain't cheap, people.  Guess where it ended up?  He had no idea what it was, it doesn't smell strong enough to be able to tell immediately upon opening the container (and if you are afraid of what smell might come out, you wouldn't be smelling it anyway) and while I've always labelled it before, I didn't bother this time because I was the only one who'd been clearing the fridge for a few months now, and I knew what it was.

Needless to say, I was very upset for awhile.  I saw it on Tuesday afternoon, and I was baking on Wednesday... only to find that my go-to sweetener was gone.  That is why I decided to tell all of you to label your food items.  Not only will you be able to see what it is at a glance, you will be telling yourself and those in your house what is good, what you are saving things for (I put bones from chicken in the fridge to make into soup stock), and what needs to be trashed.

Savings Sunday - Price Check

I don't have much to talk about today, but I do have a happy report!  Bulk Barn does indeed have star anise seed for much cheaper than our local grocer.  Locally I managed to find it for $6.50 for 70grams.  It only costs $1.47/100grams at Bulk Barn!  I was thrilled!  I right away got some rice flour (to attempt a few more gluten free recipes) and some dried chick peas (for the same, ha ha). 

So buying in bulk, while not always the cheapest, can often be in your favor!

Yes, I said not always cheapest.

The thing I love most about Superstore is that in the bottom corners of each of the price listings on the shelves, they have a price per item (whether $/100g, or $/item, etc).  Always double check the 'sale' prices against your usual purchase, and even check the bulk.  We buy a large container of mixed nuts vs. the bulk nuts because it is actually much cheaper than the bulk (weird, I know).  There have been times we've bought the smaller bags of frozen berries because the sale made them much cheaper than the larger bag.  And there are times we will go to a different store for specific items because they are definitely cheaper there, sale or not.  It is a good idea to have 'stored' the usual prices for the items you buy on a regular basis, so when you see a sale elsewhere you can figure out if it is worth getting the sale item, or if it is still cheaper to get it where you usually do.

Example:  Costco.  I like Costco.  However, there are a few things I won't buy there because I can get better deals elsewhere.  This weekend we did go to Costco and picked up a couple of things because they were definitely cheaper!

Some people just know the prices of the items they buy regularly.  Some find it helpful to make a chart and list the prices from different stores, keeping it on them so they can do price comparisons at different stores.  How you go about it is up to you. 

Happy Shopping!

Savings Sunday - Activities

One thing that can really take a financial beating is our entertainment and activities.  Dates cost money, theatres cost money, going to the zoo, museums, theme parks, restaurants, movie rentals, games, swimming... they all cost money.  But really, who wants to stay home and do nothing?  Especially when you have kids!  Going out is so much fun, and experiencing what our local areas have to offer can be such an eye opener.

So... try to find free activities (or mostly free).

Not all, but some of our lovely parks and zoos and museums offer 'free days'.  If you wish, you can put in a donation, which I recommend by the way.  However, you don't need to pay full price to get in, and you can still experience a bit of what is there.  For example, we were lucky enough to be in the area of St Paul/Minneapolis Children's Museum during their free weekend!  They have one free weekend per month.  We gave a donation, and got to experience the awesome museum for a fraction of the price!  The kids had a great time, too!  And even though we couldn't spend the whole day there, we still got 'our money's worth' as it were.  Note- it is usually busier at this time, so these are the times to try out new things to see if you wish to spend more money to go later on in the year.

Our local area has a splash park that is free to use at certain times of each day.  Afterwards, people need to leave and the gate is closed from free access, but those two hours are great!  I went for the first time ever with the kids, and they couldn't stop talking about it.  I'm thinking this should be a weekly thing.  Fun thing to do as well is to pack a picnic lunch (to avoid spending too much later on restaurant food, since it closes at 11am... when the tumblies begin their rumblies).

Parks in general are a great free activity.  Bringing picnics, a few toys, and meeting with friends always makes for a fun time!  Remember to do your part and clean up your trash before you leave!  Why not help the grounds and clean up anything else you come upon as well?  Good teaching experience for the kiddos, too!

Movies don't have to be expensive.  Netflix is a great option (I prefer it to satellite, and I think I'd rather not have satellite and just pay for Netflix...$8/month is a great price).  Watching something you already own is cheap too, right?  And I prefer to watch in my own home, with our own popcorn and pizza.  But if you just really need to get out of the house (I don't blame you!), going to a cheap theatre is an option.  And sometimes if you are lucky you can find boxes of cereal with free tickets, or other coupons elsewhere for a date night.  Costco has packages you can purchase as well.  I've never done so myself, but it may be a cheaper option overall.

Going for walks or bike rides are great activities, and joining the church softball team might be just the thing to get your muscles working too.  There are a surprising number of activities we can take part in that cost next to nothing!  Please, feel free to comment about the sorts of fun free (or close-to-free) things that you like to do as a family!

Savings Sunday

I saved $2 Saturday!  Haha, yeah, silly.  Well, actually, not as silly as you may think.  If you save only a couple of dollars each day, you end up with over $700 at the end of the year. 

What did I save on?  Not buying an item I really liked that I almost bought, but decided to put back in the end.  I don't really need it.  And I wasn't sure where to put it... until after I left the store.  If I really want it, I can always buy it later.

I actually saved more than this, but this was more fun to talk about, lol.  We went to Canadian Tire and found a bunch of stuff on clearance, which I was thrilled about.  Their laundry detergent was only $2.30!  The one I normally buy at superstore is $15 for the same number of loads!  And I've been making my own laundry detergent for $1 for the same number of loads, but it leaves a bit of residue I'm not a fan of.  So, using liquid for my towels/sheets is something I will probably do more,  and this detergent was cheap!  I aim to get more.  Also got some hardware and tomato wire... things... for cheap.  The hardware was 90% off.  No joke.  Concrete screws and pieces for legs to save your flooring (I have other plans for that.  It was only 87cents for 4 solid wood pieces and the corresponding felt pads).  I know I didn't need it, but I definitely know where to use it, and at dollar store prices... it's great stuff (plus, I'm all out of those pads and have been using felt which comes apart after awhile).

I've also been noticing how much we have been saving by using baking soda instead of shampoo.  A little note on this though... I'm finding it frustrating for my hair.  The kids have such fine hair, it works fine.  Same with my husband, who also has short hair.  As for me... my hair is thick and long, and almost impossible to rinse out completely.  Today I attempted to use my large bowl filled with water to dunk my head into so I could get at my scalp.  It did make rinsing easier, but I still have baking soda living on my brush.  I'm not sure how to make this work better for me.  And my hair feels a bit greasier than I would like.  Unlike my kids and husband's hair.  Sigh.  Anyone else doing this that has found a solution to fix such an issue?  I've tried using less baking soda, more baking soda, less vinegar, more vinegar... etc.  I think my biggest issue is rinsing, and so I feel I'll be using this bowl for rinsing my hair more often (saves water vs. filling the whole tub).  Perhaps I should get another hair cut and have my hair layered again.

Oh, I've also been on the hunt for cheaper star anise seed.  I can't believe how much they want to charge for it at our store.  I really want to go to a Bulk Barn and see what the price per 100g is there.  At this store, it's $6.40 for 70g.  Yeah.  That is INSANE!  It must be cheaper at Bulk Barn... right?  Right?  Please tell me I'm right?!

Savings Sunday - Nix the Extras

Today I'm going to post on something that I think is actually the most effective way of saving money... but also the most difficult (ain't that always the way?).  Just not buying stuff. 

Yeah.  Sounds simple, but really takes a lot of willpower.

First, get rid of the TV.  I know, that might sound weird, and I don't mean to literally get rid of it, but to stop watching it.  You see, television is the main way that companies advertise their goods to us... and I think of advertisements as having an element of 'want it need it' syndrome.  You didn't know you wanted the item, never mind even thinking you'd need it, but you watch a commercial enough times and you'll think you need it.  Or that you want it.  Or when you see it on sale in a store you are more tempted to buy it.  It's been proven that the more you see an object, the more you feel you want it.  And you know what?  Most commercials for food items are for junk foods anyway... or restaurants.  All very pricey in comparison.

I think this is one of the reasons that people generations ago didn't 'need' to work as many jobs or hours to make ends meet in their homes.  They weren't spending so much of their money on the extra 'want em need em's like we do today.  They weren't bombarded with advertising like we are, either.

Another thing... keep yourself busy.  I don't mean being a busy body... I mean things like cleaning house, doing laundry, working outside, playing with the kids, going for walks together... work.  The more free time we have, the more we spend online and watching tv, and the more we are bombarded with the 'wants'.  Shopping is not a sport, contrary to what many say.  If you can't walk into a store without buying something, don't walk into the store unless you have a specific goal.  I always loved window shopping (what my mom called 'shopping' without buying anything) because it was fun to see different things and imagine what it might be like to have said item.  But, we'd never get it.  Instead, we'd go home and often I'd come up with my own version of it using whatever we had around the house.  Making things is a great way to keep busy and you end up with 'stuff' without spending the money on it.  Plus, it's great for making you feel like you've accomplished something.  I feel much better after putting something up I've made myself, than I do when I've bought the same item.  There's a sense of accomplishment that comes with it.  Also, it's a great thing to teach the kids!  They love making things!  And imagining stuff is something else. 

Something I often do when tempted by items... is imagine where that item will go.  If I do not know what I'll do with that item when I bring it home, or if it will just go into storage for 'if I may need it later', I won't buy it (even if it is a great deal).  It is very rare where I actually regret my lack of purchase months later.  I may regret it immediately, but within a week I'm usually fine without it and don't miss the item I never had anyway.  Plus, if I really find myself wanting that same item, it is generally available to buy later on anyway.

Now, I'm not saying we should never buy extras.  After all, a treat now and then is great!  However, the less 'extras' we buy, the more meaningful the ones we do buy will be.  Plus... less clutter, haha.

Savings Sunday - Parties!

Birthdays are so much fun, and birthday parties are always a great thing to look forward to.  I don't know about you, but I've been seeing more and more online where parents are giving their babies and toddlers super duper uber fancy parties... and it's costing them more than graduation!  When you have a few kids... that sort of coin does not come easily.  However, we still want to give our children memorable birthdays!  What to do?  Enter... the frugal birthday party!

Growing up, my mom chose only a few years where we would actually get a birthday party with our friends.  That was age 5, 10, 13, and 16.  I am continuing that with my kids.  However, each year I love to invite friends and family over to our house to partake in cake and snacks, and give the birthday girl/boy well wishes.  Nothing fancy... although some years I have more fun with the décor and cake than others (depends on my energy level).  The birthdays so far have all been memorable for my kids.  They love the cakes, and have come to realize that those cakes are very much part of their birthday gift.  Mom (aka, me, ha ha) becomes a bit unavailable for a few hours a day, a few days before the celebration, as I get to work on those works of art (that's what I'll call them, haha).  And the kids love to watch them transform from a simple cake into a colorful piece of edible fun! 

Making your own cake is much cheaper than buying a fancy one from a cake store, but you can get a simpler cake slab with some decorating on it from the grocery store for $30, and young kids will love it either way!  Plus, sometimes you just don't have the time to decorate Minnie Mouse in tons of icing stars.  Balloons are another cheap decorating option.  And streamers.  The dollar store is a great place to get some of the themed party decorations/plates/napkins.  And if you want, you can go even cheaper.  For my son's cars birthday, we had leftover black plates from both his Mickey party the year before, and my daughters Minnie party.  Red napkins were perfect as well (Lightening McQueen is red, after all).  So, we got a cars tablecloth for $2.  You can get a basic tablecloth to use for multiple parties and themed cups, for example.  You don't need it all!  In fact, I like it better with only one or two themed items (my personal opinion of course).  And have fun with the food!  Make normal food items fit the theme and use cards to tell guests what they are... printed from your own computer.  The options are as limitless as your imagination (and time, of course).

Get the kids involved, too!  Ask them what they want in their party.  Most of the time with young kids, all they want is cake and ice cream, and to watch a movie.  Go with it!  Kids really don't need a whole lot of fancy stuff to have a great time!  For my son's 3rd birthday I did more with the theme than usual.  He wanted Cars.  You know... the Disney Cars.  So, I used some of his Cars cars (sorry... confusing, I know) and made a giant '3' cake using a square and a round cake tin, cut to shape, and decorated with icing.  I made a 'road' with fondant, and put his cars on top.  Then I printed signs for the other party foods (stoplight crackers, Flos Fuel, etc) and printed 4 coloring images per paper (to save on paper) for the kids to color, with dollar store stickers nearby to decorate their sheets, and dollar store cars stamps.  Really, the Dollar Store is the best place to buy party stuffs for kids.  I had an art station, lots of food, and it was perfect for my boy.  And it only cost $5 in decorations.  You can make a lot of decorations yourself to fit your theme as well... and personalized to your guest of honor.

Oh, and check out Pinterest for lots of ideas.  I easily get overwhelmed with Pinterest, but it is so much fun to see all the ideas.  I like to pick a few things that I can easily replicate for minimal cost.  You can really make an awesome party for little money.  I've never spent more than $10 for a birthday party, and the gifts I've gotten for my kids were never pricey either... which brings me to another money saving point ... gifts.  Wait for sales and buy items your kids will love on sale.  Or, check second hand stores and garage sales!  Toys clean up really well for the most part and can be brought to 'like new' condition more often than not!

The most important thing to remember about parties is this... it's not about the decorations, the games, the food, or even the cake and presents.  It's about having fun with friends and celebrating together.

I know I didn't have a lot of 'specific' money saving points in this post, but since parties are all about the individual, it's hard for me to do.  The best way to save on parties is to have fun with your imagination.  That's what I love about parties!

Savings Sunday - Baby

Another late Savings Sunday post.  Seems I just can't blog on Sunday... but Savings Monday doesn't sound as fun, haha, and I know I won't get on here Saturdays.  Ah well.  We'll just say I'm always late.

This week I'll be talking about saving money where babies are concerned.

Diapers - You can save a LOT of money per month buying the store brand vs. the name brand (think Huggies or Pampers) alone, but go even further and only get them when they are on sale.  For most of our diapering days, we purchased the Superstore brand of diapers at a sale price of $20-22 per box... each box containing about 150-170 diapers (depending on diaper size, of course).  Another way to save is to keep your child in the smaller size as long as possible.  Don't move up a size because your child can fit into them, you get less diapers per bag/box.  Wait until you can really see that the diapers are too small.  The weight ranges are a guideline, not a rule (I had to teach my husband that one, haha).  Plus, wait until the sales are on and buy as many as you can.  Sales cycle every few months as well.  Buying in bulk is a good bet as well, but try to take notice of the 'cost per' part of the price tag.  I know Superstore has this on their tags so you can easily compare cost per diaper/wipe for bulk vs smaller boxes or brand name vs store brand.  You may not always get a better deal with a sale on a smaller quantity, but you might save a few cents per diaper that way as well.

Another way to save big is to go the cloth route.  You can make your own cloth diapers, get them second hand, or buy online.  I was lucky to find covers for 1/2 price at a baby store moving sale, and I got a bunch free from friends who were no longer diapering.  Baby diaper detergent can be pricey as well, but there are plenty of options for making your own for pennies a load.  I did my calculations and I figure that, even with going the cheapest route for disposable diapers (as I did for my other two kiddos), I'll easily save $1000-1500 by the time my third baby is two.  Oh, I'm using cloth wipes as well... and not only is this a cheap, reusable route, it is more earth friendly.  Especially since I make my own laundry soap which doesn't contain any chemicals or harmful ingredients for the environment.  Yup... saving money AND going green!  It just... takes a lot more of my time. 

Baby Food - Make your own!  Yup, you pay way less this way!  I can get baby food on sale, 3 for $1. but I can make my own with less preservatives, less processing, and less packaging (and freeze it myself for later use) for half the cost (or less).  After introducing the baby to food, I will change things up and just use our own food mashed really well, so as to reduce 'baby food making time' from what I used to do.  I hated making baby food with my first (I was trying so hard to be 'by the book' and it was far too much work).  With my son, we introduced him to more textures earlier on and he had no trouble handling them.  I didn't bother with food in the freezer for him, he ate the same things we did.  I will be doing that as much as possible with our third baby.

Nursing - This is the cheapest option over formula!  Really.  If you can, I highly recommend it.  Sure, it means you are more tied to your baby, but it really isn't so bad.  I also recommend getting a second hand pump for those odd times you'll need one.  I bought mine for $10, and I hardly use it because I mostly just nurse.  Formula can cost anywhere from $60-$120 per month, depending on what your baby eats and what brand you use.  There are always coupons to get, and I would snap those up as much as possible if you are using the formula route.

Big Ticket Items - You can get lucky with a number of these things by waiting for sales, or getting second hand.  Since we were planning on having more than one baby (I know, not all plans come to be, but still), we bought our car seat and stroller combo new (but got it at a deal... I love sales).  Also, you don't need a change table.  We hardly use ours.  Ever.  The floor is the easiest place to change a baby, and the safest.  Or the bed.  Or the couch.  You could even make a change table on top of a normal dresser.  We also bought our crib and mattress used, and managed to get a free toddler bed (meaning we needed to purchase another mattress, which we did on sale).  You don't need a high chair... those boosters with multiple settings for placing on regular chairs work great and take up less space.  However, it is always possible to get used high chairs, or if you can nab a really great deal, do so.  We managed to get a $200 high chair brand new from Toys R Us for $50.  Prior to that we were using a really old high chair that didn't fold away very well that I picked up for $10.  It was falling apart, and while it served us well for 2 kids, we really didn't want to use it for number three if we could find something better.

As for Moses baskets, bassinets, swings, and pack n plays, they aren't really a necessity and take up a lot of space.  If you get these items as gifts, awesome!  If you feel that, after having your baby for a while, you can afford and would really love said item, get it then.  Babies are born into the world with nothing, and you will find that, for the first few months, all they really need are clothes, diapers, love, and food.  A dresser drawer on the floor will work just fine as a bed if needed.

Clothes - You most likely got an entire wardrobe for your baby at your showers, but otherwise, to save on clothes, buy second hand.  I like to wait for bag sale day at our local thrift store.  Money goes to a good cause, and I can get a bag full of clothes for $7.  Garage sales are a good option, but watch out for that because some people like to charge too much for used baby gear.  I've been to garage sales with items that I picked up at the local stores on sale for less... brand new!

Any pointers you can give for saving money with babies?  Please feel free to tell me in the comments!  I'd love to read them!

Savings Wednesday (cause it ain't Sunday no more!) - Personal Care

Oops... can you say I've been busy?  Yeah... uh... busy.  Anyway, funny thing is, I actually had this post half done already and I still didn't get it up on Sunday!  Oops.  Well, you get it today instead.  :)  Hope you like it!  As a bonus, I'll write in a few more things... some tried and true, some I've not tried, but are probably true (ha ha).  So, let us begin!

Hair - Shampoo and conditioner can be replaced completely with baking soda. Actually, you will find you need less styling products as well. I usually don't style my hair. For 3 months now I have changed how I wash my hair by not using shampoo or conditioner. Shampoos strip your hair of their natural oils, oils which actually help your hair hold styles. Now for the first while it was weird to not have sudsing on my hair, and I felt like my scalp was overcompensating in the oil department, but now having had no shampoo for three months, I can honestly say this works well! My hair even has a little bit of a wave to it, it has more volume, and it holds ponytails better. No hair products. To do this, use baking soda mixed with water in an old shampoo bottle. Shake and apply to the roots of your head. Scrubbing well is difficult, but you really want to rinse it all out. Use apple cider vinegar on the tips of your hair as it helps repair any damage. A spritz bottle works nice for this. And don't worry about the smell, it rinses out completely.

Added bonus - not using shampoos and conditioners means having less chemicals, and xenoestrogens (you know, the ones that have caused an awareness for BPAs, but still manage to make it into most of our skin care products?) that are entering your body!  And yes, your skin is an organ and will absorb a portion of what you put on it.  And fragrances?  Most of these are actually phthalates, which are a source of xenoestrogen (source - a book called 'Jump Off the Hormone Swing' by Lorraine Pintus... I highly recommend it!).  I have a high sensitivity to fragrances and phthalates, so I have had to limit my exposure to them already.  Doing the 'no shampoo' treatment has actually decreased my exposure even more!  As for my eczema... still there, but not nearly as debilitating as it once was.  And it just feels good knowing that I'm decreasing my kids exposure to xenoestrogens, which have been shown to cause problems with not only the feminine cycle, but have also decreased the testosterone in men...

Toiletries - You can also find recipes to make your own deodorant, toothpaste, etc. I haven't tried any of these yet.  I'm hoping to start... mainly with toothpaste!

Razors - Did you know that you can save your razors and use them beyond what you normally do?  When your razor starts to feel like it just isn't cutting it (snicker), just push it backwards over your arm.  No kidding.  Some would rather use a strip of leather specifically for this purpose, but my husband and I have been using our arms, since, you know, we have that readily available!  ;)  I am not even kidding you, since we started doing this, my husband has not needed to buy razors near as often.  He used to go through one per week... two if he was stretching it.  His last one has lasted over a month already.  In other words... HALF the cost on razors, just by pushing it backwards on your arms once it starts feeling like it just isn't working for you.  As for me... my razors last a REALLY long time.  I think I've pushed this one over a year now.  Not sure if that is amazing or kinda sad...

BONUS:
Sunscreen - This will probably throw some people off... but this is actually NOT a necessary purchase.  There are parabins in sunscreen that are known carcinogens... and these parabins work in relation to the sun.  What?  Yeah... your sunscreen may actually be the one causing those strange marks on your skin that the doctor is a bit concerned over.  I'm not kidding.  I decided to forgo the sunscreen this year (using a hat instead... and the shade)... and I found another trick that I'm using to boost my natural SPF.  No soap.  You heard me.  Instead of using soap over my whole body, I use it sparingly where needed.  Otherwise, I use a scrubby to wash... without the body wash.  And I noticed that my skin has upped its SPF.  I usually burn so quick, and I haven't burned yet this year... and this weekend we were at the fair, in the sun, for hours at a time.  My kids... they haven't burned either (only soap where necessary for them as well).  Washing your body daily with soap actually burns out your skin (again, by stripping it of your body's natural oils which are produced to protect your skin).  Yeah.  So in addition to having a higher natural SPF, I also don't need moisturizers anymore!  Ta DA!

Just as a side note, I've been learning more and more about how wonderfully God has designed our bodies through this process (and through the whole healing challenge... my eyes have been opened to more and more).  To put it in a nutshell, here it is...

God's design is perfect.

Only in man's methods of trying to make things 'better than perfect' have we actually been causing more harm to our bodies than good.  I could write an entire book on things I've found, from the way our bodies remove harmful substances, to the remineralizing of cavities in our teeth, all of which have been hindered by the very products that are supposed to 'make them work better'.  Look up tooth remineralization and be amazed.  Research our skin and it's oils and sit in awe.  Then there are all the organs we cannot see, and the amazing things they do to make our bodies heal themselves.  And why do our bodies need to heal themselves?  Actually, most of the problem is found in our 'food products'... the ones that were processed by men to 'make them better'?  Yeah.  And the pesticides in our water and on our produce?  That too.  Then there are GMOs (one of the biggest reasons there is a much higher allergy rate to things like gluten and nuts than ever before), sugar (basically, look at this as though it is a drug... because it sure is treated like one in our bodies), soy products (xenoestrogen alert)... I could go on.  Basically, I want to get back to doing things as naturally as possible lately.  Back to what God made, not what Man made.  I won't be doing this 100%, but definitely more than I used to.

Oh, and if I could tell you one thing to NOT do... DO NOT consume any Aspartame (or Sucralose).  Just... don't do it.  Look it up, it is terrible.  Oh, and since companies have figured out that consumers are figuring that out, they are changing the name that these man-made sweeteners are labelled as.  I am not kidding you (don't believe me?  Look that up too.  I don't remember where I saw it, but I've seen it in a few places now).

Just a little food for thought... that I somehow decided should go on this 'Savings Sunday' post... cause it's a Wednesday, not a Sunday, and I'm weird like that!  ;)

Savings Sunday - Organizing/Cleaning

Hello, and welcome to another Savings Sunday!  Today I will be writing about some money saving tips in regards to cleaning and organizing the house.

Organizing - Reuse the containers your food comes in.  I've been saving and reusing the plastic containers from berries, organic greens, etc.  I use them to package cookies as gifts, for the kids toys to sort them (great because they are see through) and for organizing dried goods in my pantry.  Keeps things contained and easy to find, giving me more space to put my potatoes.  :)

Cleansers - Another way to save money is to use vinegar and baking soda for just about everything.  Clean your kitchen sink with it instead of buying other cleansers.  Clean your oven by making a paste of baking soda and water and smearing it on the inside, then let it sit for an hour or two and wipe it all out.  You can get the racks clean by soaking them in the tub with one cup of dishwasher detergent (apparently there are recipes to make this as well) and really really hot water (put an old towel down on the bottom of the tub first to prevent scratching).  You can clean windows with vinegar and newspapers rather than Windex.  Really, if you look around online you will find so many things you can use these two items on... instead of buying cleaners.  And, they are non toxic and food grade, so you don't have to worry about the kids... as much...

Another tip on baking soda - If you can purchase it bulk at the grocery store (think Costco, or the giant box in the baking aisle of your local supermarket), you will get a better bang for your buck, but the best soda for your dollar can be found at feed plants.  Yes... for cattle.  It is not the same quality as the stuff you get in the store (hasn't been processed and 'cleaned' to the same degree as it's for use in cattle feed, so I wouldn't recommend it for baking as the quality is down), but you'll pay WAY less.  I only figured this out recently (you'd figure I'd have caught on with our own cattle feed purchases over the last 6 years of doing the bookwork, but for some reason I was clueless on this.  Probably because it is called Sodium Bicarbonate on the forms and although I knew that name was Baking Soda, I didn't really make the connection until I saw the bags this week with the little arm and hammer symbol on them).  Same thing with Epsom Salts.  If you can get them from the feed company and have the storage space (remember, these things cost much less per 100 grams, but you're getting a 25kg bag), you can save a lot (again, the Epsom salts aren't perfectly 'clean' in that there might be a stone or two in there per cup of salts, but for a bath it doesn't really matter).  I would be cautious however as some feed companies will charge more per bag (or may not sell it to you) if they know it is for household use instead of for feed.  Lucky us, living on a farm! 

Laundry detergent - if you are like me you will have found that this is a pricey item in your house.  I found out that I can make my own for much cheaper.  I buy the soap bars in the laundry aisle for $1 a bar, grate them, and then put in 1/2 a tablespoon each of grated soap, borax, and washing soda into my dry soap compartment of the he washer.  I have only been doing this about a month, and so far so good.  I found a recipe for melting the soap and making a 'sauce' from this which is supposed to be better for keeping soap residues off the clothes, and I may give that a try with the second bar of soap when the time comes.  For now, this works great. 

Washing cloth diapers - For my diapers I use 1/2 tablespoon of washing soda with 1/2 tablespoon of baking soda in the dry soap compartment.  No soap residue on the diapers.  To strip them I use a large bucket and put them in with a bunch of boiling water.  Yeah.  And a small scoop of washing soda.  Or lemon juice.  Not both together though.  Then I 'rinse and repeat' until the water is clear.  Then I throw them in the machine again for good measure.  To 'bleach' them, I use the sun.  Oh, but don't put your snappi covers in the boiling water as it could potentially melt the snaps.  I put my covers in once it was cool enough that I could stick my arm in there.

Savings Sunday - The Kitchen (better late than never!)

Sorry this is late... yeah, I didn't manage to get on to blog yesterday at all!  It was busy!  But not a bad busy, haha.

Anyway, this week I wanted to tackle saving money in the kitchen.  You can find a post I did on stretching your dollar on more expensive foods and how to make things like chicken and beef pull 'double duty' by getting more meals than one, here.

For a good bun recipe (note that I estimated a cost of about 35 cents per dozen if you get your flour on sale at $7/10kg), click here.

For a good tortilla recipe (again, cost is way less to make your own vs. buying... at less than 1/10th the cost of buying from the store), click here.  This will actually give you a recipe for bean burritos which is a super cheap meal in general!  I mean, super cheap.

Next up, some interesting things I learned from pinterest!

Did you know that you can take what you'd normally trash from your produce and plant it, growing your own?  No need to buy the seeds!  Serious!  I heard you could do this with celery, bok choy, leeks, and onion greens.  Since I only bought celery recently, I decided to give it a shot.  Chopped off the bottom of my celery stalk, and popped it into a bowl of water for half a week.  On Monday last week I planted it, making sure to keep the ground moist every day (this is something I'm usually not so good at... I'm no good at the gardening thing).  This is what I saw today, exactly one week later!

My celery is growing!  I'm so very excited!  I planted some seeds from my spaghetti squash on Monday as well, and I'm looking forward to seeing those start sprouting as well.  Nothing yet, though.  Although, we also planted this beauty that we got as a 10th anniversary gift from my in-laws.

 

An apple tree!  I'm very excited about it.  Oh, and the bottle you see in the ground next to it?  I read on Pinterest that you could poke holes in the bottom of a 2L bottle, bury it next to your plants, and then fill it with water for a slow release into the ground near the roots.  I like this idea!  I absolutely love reusing things this way!

 

Another money saver is buying lentils and sprouting them.  Not only is it cheap (and great on salad and in stir fry), it is super healthy for you!  I started last week Monday.    

 

First, rinse your lentils... about 1/2 cup.  Put them in a large canning jar and put 2 cups of water in to soak for 8 hours.  To close the jar, you could do what most sites suggest and buy a special lid... OR you could just use the netting from the three pack garlic like I did and stretch it over the mouth before putting the ring on.  Reusing at its finest!  Saved me $5.

 

After the  soak, dump the water and rinse them a few times through the cloth.  Drain as much water as you can, then lie the jar on its side in a dark place.  Rinse the lentils every 12 hours to prevent it from getting slimy (I did it whenever I saw the jar... showed it to the kids too, they loved watching it grow).  After 4 days, you should have this! 

Our food just quadrupled (or more) in size!  We used most of it in stirfry that night, the rest I use in salad (and my 4yo daughter likes to snack on them).  You can sprout all sorts of things.  Not sure what to do next... probably more lentils.  For more info, click here.

You can save money and get healthier food by supporting your local farmers!  Get your produce locally if possible.  I know that here in Canada you can't do that with certain things due to regulations, but things like beef, chicken, pork, honey, and produce can all be purchased from farmers and farmers markets.  I know that in our area you really have to watch for good deals and go looking for them. A lot of farmers markets are overpriced here (in my opinion).  We buy our cheese direct from the plant and save 30cents or more per 100 grams.  We've bought local honey from the farm directly and got a great deal that way.  Also, if you know a dairy farmer you can get beef for cheaper from them.  It won't be the same quality as the stuff grown specifically for the stores as it will generally be older animals, but for ground beef it's all we eat, and is much cheaper in the long run.

That's all for now!  If you have any of your own tips for saving money on food and in the kitchen, please let me know in the comments!

Savings Sunday

I really want to start blogging a little more regularly, so I'm going to start a new 'series'... we'll see how long I last, haha.

Anyway, as you can see, I want to start something called 'Savings Sunday'.  Basically, I will write about some tips I'm learning and attempting, or follow up on something that I've been trying as something new, that will save us money in the long run.  With a family of 5, and our income not going up, along with basic living costs on the rise, I think I'll need to find even more methods to save us money.

Over the last few years I've been attempting a few things to save our family money.  First thing I did was stop all the unnecessary spending so we could eliminate our debt.  The amount of money you save by eliminating debt can be huge!  Just $1000 in credit card debt will run you $240 in interest at 22% in one year.  Yes, it is more than the $220 because you pay interest on the interest on a monthly basis.  And that is only on $1000.  Here are a few other things I've done that have saved us a lot, and I'm hoping these tips could help you as well.

Use your credit card - Yes, you heard right.  Credit card companies don't charge monthly fees for using them like the banks do.  We've saved over $15-$20 per month just by using our credit card for almost all our purchases.  Not only that, but using your credit card will add value to it... by the points system it uses.  Using our credit card for most purchases allows us to gain about $200 a year (or more, depending on your spending amounts) in points that can be used for whatever you need it for!  (personally, I use it on groceries on months where I would otherwise be over budget).  Pretty handy, if I do say so myself.  Just make sure to track all your spending and pay it off every month so you don't get charged interest fees.  Making a budget and tracking your spending on a weekly basis can really help in that area... just to keep you and your family on track (I notice when I'm lax on keeping track, we spend much more than usual in short order).

Reuse and Recycle - Seriously, you'd be surprised at all the things you can use that would usually head into the trash.  For example, I got a bunch of organizing 'shoe boxes' for free by using the containers that package my organic greens instead!  At $1.50 a piece, that is pretty nice!  Especially since I buy most of my greens at 50% off and sale prices.  And who needs to spend good money on toys?  Why not make your own out of boxes?  My kids love to play pretend store with the old boxes for awhile.  Check out pinterest for other awesome ideas that cost nothing.  Example, who loves shrinkydink paper?  You could buy it a Michaels, or you could use the plastic packaging from food items (look for the recycling symbol 6, apparently this can be used similarly to shrinkydinks and I will be attempting this with the kids sometime soon).

Compost and Garden - something I'm NOT good at.  I am attempting some new things this year however to save on groceries.  There are pins all over pinterest that talk about using the groceries you buy to make your own garden (instead of paying good money on seeds).  I'm trying to grow celery and spegghetti squash this year.  Grabbed the seeds from the squash and will be attempting to grow them using tips I found on the web.  Used the base of my celery stalk and put them into a cup of water, which I will plant later (pics I've seen show the stub growing a new stalk in the water, and then they say to plant it outside).  Since my only attempt at a garden really bit the dust, I'm hoping to try this again, and maybe succeed a little better.

There are many other ways to save money as well!  I hope to go into saving money with a baby, things to reduce eating out costs, bringing down your grocery bill, etc.  But for now, it's time for me to head to bed. 

Have any tips to share?  Feel free to comment with them here!

Nesting or Renovating... Staying or Moving...

I do not feel like a good person today.  Somehow, everything I do makes someone snappy (either me or my husband... and when it's me I feel like a terrible person).  Somehow, every decision I make doesn't sit right in my gut.  Somehow... everything just feels so wrong.  My world is turning upside down, and crying isn't going to fix any of it.

I don't even know why I'm posting this.  Maybe it's a cry for help... or prayer, or something.  I just don't know myself today.  I can't do this.  I don't feel secure in anything right now.  What I have 'known' for so long is being ripped out, and I just don't have the capacity to handle it.  I can't make my house work properly for my family, no matter how hard I try.  Ideas are made, ideas are lost, new ones are created, and none of them feel right at all.  I'm trying so hard to make things work, to reorganize, remix, refigure... but it seems like it's all for naught.  I've packed away so many things today that I just don't know what is happening anymore.  I have ideas to make my craft room/sewing room work, but I can't get my jigsaw working, I can't get things cut beyond what my small mitre saw can do, and I'm at a loss.  I've done a lot in our house to organize things... and I have much more I really want to do, but I can't get there.  I'm stuck.

And as for the bedrooms...

We were going to take our bedroom and turn it back into two bedrooms, as it was originally.  It would work well, I figure.  We put in an easy wall, no drywalling needed, where the wall used to be (difficult to explain here unless I have pics, which I don't, so I won't bother).  Needless to say, simple.  Probably only $50 cost total.  Then we put a door back where the old door used to be.  Well, we thought we had a door.  Apparently not.  Meaning we'd have to buy a door and frame.  That's not too pricey for a 28" wide door.  I've been reorganizing our bedroom closets, taking down our collections in our bookshelves and putting them all into storage, etc.  Then the idea of having the kids share the downstairs spare room as a bedroom came up.  That room is huge.  Their current room is about 12x10?  Maybe?  If that?  The room they'd move into if ours was split into two would only be a few inches shorter in the one direction, and has a walk in closet.  No dresser needed... which brings about a LOT of space in the long run.  Still cozy and would work fine.  Our room would be a lot smaller, and everything in our current room closets would need removing to make way for our clothes, but it's totally doable, and in my opinion, cozy and nice.  Nursery would become the nursery again, and I'd put our rocking chair back in, have everything set up for baby, etc.  I liked the idea. 

The spare room is huge.  15x15.  With a deck door (which is now sealed with plastic as it was not installed correctly and you could feel the cold air coming in... badly... I really thank my parents for sealing that off!  It will make a huge difference).  The room is cold.  It WAS full of 'stuff'' and I used it as my craft/sewing area for awhile.  The office was being turned into a compatible space for this (my project that needs a jigsaw, you see, has halted my progress).  It is a lovely room... but not for a bedroom.  It's right by the front door of the house.  It has more windows than any other room in our house (in fact, I'd say total window space is larger than that of the entire second floor all together).  It is a living room.  Our current living space has NO windows... just a deck door that leads into a workshop... I really do not like the idea of my 2 and 4 year old sharing that huge, cold, room as a bedroom.  Not one bit.  My parents figure I'd love it in the long run... but I just can't wrap my head around it.  But moving us into that room means we'd share a room with the baby for a rather long time.  Why?  I'm not hiking it up a flight of stairs multiple times a night to nurse.  And we found out quick with our son that sharing a room prevents any of us from sleeping through the night.  The day we moved him into the same room as our daughter, all of us slept.  All of us!  And it took us ten months to figure that out.

I just don't know what to do.  We're looking at buying a house, but nothing is standing out right now.  We've looked at a few places, and while many of them are really nice, none feels right.  There was one that did the first time we saw it... and then the second time we looked it just... didn't... something was off about it.  Either way, it is still in the back of my mind because of that first viewing, but I just don't know anymore. 

I want to trust God in all of this.  My husband has been looking around and doing his research in a number of things (when I said I feel our world is turning upside down, I mean it), and I am trying my best to do what we feel God is leading... and yet... I don't know where He is leading us.  I feel torn between so many different places right now, and I just don't know.  I want to be ready for whatever is thrown our way, but I just don't know how to go about it.  Decluttering is one thing we can do I suppose... and the second I start I feel like I must be the worlds worst pack rat.  I have a million projects I wish to finish that have been started... and I don't know what to do with them all.

My workshop is now a mess... I cleaned and organized it earlier this month.  My basement feels like a disaster (although I know it isn't TOO bad), and I cleared everything out of it a few weeks back before the plumber came in.  These are rooms we hardly go into.  I just feel like crying, as I can barely keep up with my kitchen, dining room, and office... rooms that need reorganizing and a frequent cleaning multiple times a day to stay sane.  I just don't know what to do anymore.

I know, I'm ranting.  I feel at a complete loss, though, and I just don't know how to deal. I'm trying to organize my thoughts... and I still feel as though I want to turn our one bedroom into two instead of turning that spare room into a bedroom... but it feels as though renos aren't a good idea, especially if we are looking to move.  I just don't know when we'll move.  Or even if we will.  I feel like God wants me to be ready to stay for awhile yet, but that I'm also supposed to be ready to move at a moment's notice.  I just want to cry. 

And I'm due in three weeks.  And that terrifies me.  I'm NOT ready to have this baby!

I just don't know what to do.  I don't feel comfortable with anything right now.  Not at all.  And I feel that no matter what I am doing to try to make the situation work, it doesn't work.  I know that isn't completely true, but it feels that way.  I am not feeling secure.  I am not feeling peace.  I am not feeling safe.  My house is not mine.  And it only started to feel that way the last few months.

One really good thing about today though... we removed a lot from the house.  It was mostly garbage, things I'd already said would be removed, and recycling, but still.  Now if only I could bring myself to sell stuff online through facebook or something, maybe we'd be able to get rid of more.