Sunday, August 30, 2009

Reuseable Lunch Containers GO GREEN!!

ReUseable Lunch Containers

 With just a few snips, you can create a set of cool, eco-friendly, reusable snack and sandwich containers from juice cartons and milk jugs. They're food-safe, easy to rinse clean, and absolutely free, so it's no biggie if they get tossed accidentally. Let your kids decorate the boxes with stickers and permanent markers for an even more personalized look.

Idea from family fun magazine..

 SANDWICH BOX:
    1-gallon milk jug
    Marker
    Scissors
    Thumbtack
    Adhesive-backed Velcro dot

SNACK BOX:
    Juice or milk carton, in any size from a half-pint to a quart
    Scissors
    Adhesive-backed Velcro dot

SANDWICH BOX: Mark a clean 1-gallon milk jug as shown.
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2. Cut along the lines with scissors. To make the crease lines, use a thumbtack to pierce a row of dots at 1/4-inch intervals across each side of the jug, 1 3/4 inches up from the bottom. 
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3. Fold the flaps at these dotted lines, then open them and fold them in the opposite direction along the lines (this will make the flaps easier for your kids to open and close). Fold up the box and add an adhesive-backed Velcro dot closure.

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4. SNACK BOX: Use a clean juice or milk carton. Cut off the top, then cut the sides into flaps as shown. Carefully crease the flaps, then fold them down and add an adhesive-backed Velcro dot closure.
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Home Remedy Pink Eye

As a mom I know the dreaded feeling in the stomach when your child wakes up with crusty eyes, the oh god they've got pink eye you freak out cause its so contagious and you don't want the other kids getting it so what to do...

Lipton Tea bags to the rescue or generic works too if its Orange Peoke which is the same tea in Lipton.
Place the tea bags under a warm stream of water making sure to get the entire bag damp, then place bag over affected eye for 10 minutes. Do this 3 times per day at least more if child will tolerate. This will essentially suck the infection out of the eye and also soothe it in return.

For breastfeeding mothers, a few drops of breast milk in the affected eye will also get rid of pink eye and unclog blocked tear ducts.

Tip of the day

Save your old Shampoo bottle, when you buy a new bottle put half of the new bottle in the old bottle and fill to top with water. Most shampoos work exactly the same when diluted with warm water, so you'll get two bottles for one.

Homemade Beauty

Exfoliating Mask (dry skin)

Use it to: Calm and soften skin
Why it works: Soothing and anti-inflammatory, oatmeal contains beta glucan, a soluble fiber that creates a thin, moisture-retaining film on the surface of the skin. It exfoliates dead skin. The egg whites soften and smooth dry skin.
What you need: Egg whites and oatmeal
How-to: Mix the egg whites and oatmeal in a bowl. Put the mixture on your face. Leave it on for five minutes. Rinse with water

Body Exfoliator (all skin types)

Use it to: Slough dry skin off heels, knees and elbows
Why it works: The fruit acid loosens dead skin cells.
What you need: Orange, granulated sugar, olive oil
How-to: Cut a fresh orange in half and squeeze the juice of one half into a bowl. Add ¼ cup granulated sugar or you can use sea salt and ¼ cup olive oil and then blend into a moisture rich scrub. Next, rub the exposed side of the other half of the orange over the knees, elbows, heels, and any other dry spots. Slough off the dead skin by rubbing in the mixture. Rinse with warm water and pat dry.

Toner (combination to oily skin)
Use it to: Fight breakouts
Why it works: Its high acid content makes skin inhospitable to blemish causing bacteria.
What you need: Parsley, apple-cider vinegar and tea tree oil
How-to:
Place a handful of parsley (a skin-clarifying herb) into a French press and cover it with ½ cup of boiling water. Steep for 10 minutes, and then plunge and let the liquid cool. Transfer to a spray bottle along with a splash of vinegar and 4 drops of tea tree oil (an antiseptic), shake well, and spritz on a freshly cleaned face. (Store the spray bottle in the fridge.)

Beer (flat and dull hair)

Use it to: Pump up flat, dull hair
Why it works: Yeast and hops help to swell the hair shaft and plump the cuticle, adding volume. The acidity of the beer helps remove built up products residue.
What you need: A rich beer with a high yeast content works best (no light beer)
How-to: In the shower, after you've shampooed, pour a bottle of beer over your hair. To avoid the smelling like a eau de liqour cabinet, rinse briefly with fresh water.

Deep Conditioner for Hair
Banana: Mash one banana with 2 Tbsp olive oil until smooth. Apply liberally throughout hair. Cover with a shower cap or plastic wrap and allow to sit for 20 minutes. Wash and condition as usual.

Exfoliating Body Scrub 
Fill a resealable container (like Gladware) with brown sugar or salt (I prefer brown sugar it smells nicer). Pour in olive oil until it reaches the top of the salt. Cover and use the next time you shower. The salt will scrub away dead skin cells, giving you a healthy glow and the oil will moisturize your skin. This is a great way to rejuvenate skin
and can even help make that cellulite a little less noticeable.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Awesome Website

Quite a few months back we were gung ho on a budget we kinda slipped off the bandwagon it happens I suppose. But while we were on our budget I came across a website I really found quite helpful for couponing. So I figured I'd share that with you today www.couponmom.com , she provides a weekly list of deals for several stores and she gives you the percentage of how good the sale actually is on the item. If this site doesn't help you save a buck I dunno what will. Check out the Grocery deals by state tab. The account with that site is free as well so sign up and have a look around I promise you'll find it useful.

Re-Purposing those Baby Food Jars

GEL AIR FRESHENERS
Make them from liquid potpourri or from scratch ~ they make great gifts!
2 cups of distilled water
Essential oil/fragrance of your choice
4 packages of knox gelatin
Food coloring (optional)

Heat 1 cup of water almost to a boil. Add the gelatin and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat add another cup of distilled water, 10-20 drops of oil/fragrance, and food coloring if desired. You can replace food coloring and oil/fragrance with pre-made liquid potpourri (available at most craft stores, candle shops, etc.). Just make sure it's the concentrated kind or it won't retain its smell. The procedure would be the same. Heat 1 cup of the liquid potpourri, almost to a boil. Stir in 4 packets of Knox gelatin, until dissolved. Then stir in 1 cup cool liquid potpourri. Pour the mixture into clean baby food jars and set at room temperature overnight until "set". You can place the jars in the refrigerator if you need them to set more quickly, but be aware that the smell will permeate the fridge. For gift giving, you can decorate the baby food jars by wrapping with material, or glueing on wallpaper, stickers, wrapping paper, etc.

To use, place the jar on the stove top (not directly on the burner!) while cooking, heat in a potpourri burner, or simply set out on a table and enjoy the aroma.

Lets get this Party Started

So, I was at the library yesterday with my kids and was going through some of the isles there looking at the cookbooks and books and thought hey I'll look up a frugal living book, to my surprise there wasn't many. I was sort of disappointed really especially now days with the economy being how it is. So I figured I'd start a little book of sorts of my own online in blog form. So here I am.. In my blog I hope to give lots of frugal tips for moms as well as home remedies and also give some re-purposing ideas for items you may usually throw away. Hopefully I help all you mommies save a little money which makes everyone happy at the end of the day.. I'll hopefully have a tip for the day for you as well so lemme get this party started and get to the tip of the day..

Tip of the Day: Buy block cheese and shred it put it in a zipper freezer bag and freeze it. Only take out what you need when you need it it thaws quickly and your cheese won't go moldy before you use it all. And if it sticks together a little bang on the counter will take care of that.