Coupon Savings

Aunt Sissy suggested blogging my exciting coupon shopping trips, so I figured why not? I had a small shopping trip this week, but did have some noticeable savings that I was proud of! (Is it strange that coupons make me so excited?) How about you?

Wal-Mart Coupons
Most of these coupons were printed coupons from coupons.com or manufacturers' websites. The Suave coupon I got in the mail by doing a survey or something.

Toaster Scrambles: $1.88 - $1 coupon = $.88
8 Yoplait Yogurt Cups: $.60/each - $1/8 coupon = $.48/each
(Elizabeth & I have been eating a lot of yogurt lately)
2 Yoplait Kids Yogurt Drinks with DHA: $2.58/each - $1/2 = $1.58/each
Suave 2-n-1 Shampoo/Cond, large bottle: $3.00 - $3 coupon = FREE!
Aveeno Baby Wash/Shampoo: $2.97 - $2 coupon = $.97
18 gal Rubbermaid Storage Tote: $8.94 - $1 coupon = $7.94
(for storing outgrown girl's clothes)
Total savings through coupons (some of these were done more than once) = $14.00

Kroger Deals
Most of these coupons were from Sunday paper coupon inserts. Some printed coupons from coupons.com or manufacturers' websites. The e-coupons I used were from cellfire.com.

Pillsbury Cake Mix: Sale Price $0.94 - .40 coupon, doubled = $0.14/each
(got 2 for upcoming birthdays)
Red Seedless Grapes: Sale Price $.99/lb = $1.08
Viva Big Roll Paper Towel: $2.39 - .35 coupon, tripled = $1.34
Frito's: Sale Price $2
Cottonelle 4-pk: $1.19 - .25 e-coupon - $1.00 coupon = $0.06 OVERAGE
Cottonelle 4-pk: $1.19 - .50 coupon, doubled = $0.19
Cottonelle 4-pk: $1.19 - .50 coupon, doubled = $0.19
Kleenex with Lotion, large box: $2.09 - .40 coupon, doubled = $1.29
Kroger Milk: reduced for quick sale to $1.89/gal
Kroger Milk: reduced to $1.89/gal
Kroger Milk: reduced to $1.89/gal
(the sell by date on the milk was Feb 19, so I put it into the freezer until I need to pull it out)
Mr. Bubble Bubble Bath: $2.89 - .50 coupon, doubled = $1.89
Eggland's Best Large Eggs: $2.59 - .35 coupon, tripled = $1.54
Eggland's Best Large Eggs: $2.59 - .35 coupon, tripled = $1.54
6 Yoplait Light Yogurt Cups: $.60/each - .50 e-coupon - .50 coupon, doubled = $.35/each
Total savings through sale prices, coupons, and doubles/triples = $14.11

Total savings on this small trip = $28.11 !!!

The one that got away...

I find it's easiest for me to get away to do shopping by myself on Monday or Tuesday. Our Kroger sales run Wednesday-Tuesday. So on the last day of this week's sale, one biggie got away from me. They had the small boxes of Totino's Pizza Rolls on sale for 4/$5. Then I had 4 coupons for $.35 off, which would have been tripled, making each box $.20! I normally don't buy these, but at $.20/box I thought it would be something different for the kids or a quick snack for Dad. Apparently, this had been a popular sale, because they were completely out of the small boxes! Oh, well...

And nothing I've tried has helped, but I still can not print coupons from my computer from smartsource.com or eversave.com. : ( It's really annoying me, too, because I missed some more Cottonelle coupons and Tidy Cat!

Coupon shopping takes some prep-work, but it works for me!

Sorry about that massive banner for coupons.com. I put in the code for the smaller banner & this big one keeps showing up. If you're seeing a small one, never mind.

My Homemade Laundry Detergent Story...

Several people have inquired about my homemade detergent, so I thought the easiest way to respond would be to blog it. First of all, I must say this is not my invention, but a recipe I've seen all over the blogosphere since I've been reading homemaking & sustainable living blogs. I think my interest in detergent came with our switch over to cloth diapers when Elizabeth was a few months old. You have to use additive-free detergent with diapers (and no fabric softener) or they develop a residue build-up... which leads to really stinky diapers.

I started out with some homemade detergent that I'd found on Etsy. I used it only for the diapers & everything seemed to be working with it. But then I ran out. I read that baking soda was good on diapers, so then I used that alone on the diapers for a while. Then I started seeing the recipe for detergent all over these blogs I was reading, so I decided that when I ran out of Cheer, I'd make a total switch over to homemade. That happened in December 2008.

Homemade Laundry Detergent Powder

1 c grated laundry soap bar (which is about 2/3 of a bar)
1/2 c washing soda
1/2 c borax

Grate the soap with a cheese grater or food processor. Add all ingredients into a bowl that has an airtight lid. Stir or shake to mix well. Store the air tight container. Use 2 Tablespoons per load.

Here's what mine looks like all mixed up. I store it in a plastic Ziplock storage container. I used a regular cheese grater for the soap. The next batch I made I used a finer cheese grater & I like the finer texture a bit better. That's just personal preference. I can't tell any difference when it's in use. My next batch will be a double batch.

Now the nitty-gritty - does it work? I haven't noticed any difference since I switched between how this works & how our store-bought detergent worked! The Fels Naptha is a stain remover, washing soda cuts grease and odors and borax cleans, deodorizes and softens the water.

So now we use this for all the laundry. If I've got stains, I'll still use some OxyClean or a pre-treater. For our family, the biggest benefit to homemade detergent is that it's cheaper and it's also safe for diapers & sensitive baby skin, so I don't have to have 2 detergents. Some of the other bloggers have done the math and figure this recipe comes out to about a penny per load. The initial cost was about the same price as the big box of detergent from WM, but these ingredients are going to last me a long time!

I did have a problem at first finding all 3 ingredients. I found Borax at every store I looked, but no washing soda. I finally found it at HEB Central Market. The box was all dusty like they didn't sell much of it. I found a laundry soap bar at WM called Pink Zote, but it was really soft & I couldn't grate it, plus it had added color & scent, so I didn't end up using it. I finally found all 3, including Fels Naptha at Kroger. They can be ordered online if you can't find them locally. I know Amazon.com has them and there's probably other sites that carry all 3 also.

If you're interested in other homemade cleaners, check out the homemade cleaners at Down to Earth, an Australian blog which I just love reading. That entry includes recipes for: laundry liquid, laundry powder (which is what I use), heavy duty laundry powder, laundry stain removers, fabric softener (use this also), diaper pre-soak, all purpose cleaner, skin cleaner, oven cleaner, silver cleaner, soft scrub, window cleaner, wood polish, assorted flooring cleaners, crayon mark remover, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, and deodorant!

Homemade cleaners... It Works for Me! (click to see more Works for Me Wednesday participants)

I'm Finally Doing My Job!

I feel like, after almost 2 years, I'm finally doing my job again - Domestic Engineer. And it took me all week to write this post because I've been so busy!

Unpacking & getting settled in is still an ongoing task (NO, we're not settled in yet!), but now that we're in the house, all the tasks of running the house are also in full swing.

This week, we celebrated Thanksgiving with a meal at Uncle Bubba's house. And I finally tried my hand at Minestrone. I found this great minestrone recipe, but used chick peas for the white beans and Wacky Mac Veggie Shapes for the macaroni. See mine here. Next time, I'll try a different bean, or less beans. We also had to add more salt. We had our first supper guests for this recipe & it was well received by all! Even though I couldn't find the spoons....

I also tried a new muffin recipe for breakfast: Healthy Harvest Muffins. We just call them pumpkin muffins. David helped me with this recipe & we changed it up just a bit from the link by using all purpose flour, the individual spices, and 2T wheat germ instead of all the flax stuff she used. While I was adding the wheat germ, David asked, "What's that?" I told him it was healthy stuff. Then while stirring, he said, "And I'm stirring in all the healthy stuff." All 4 of us loved the muffins - another keeper!

Thanks to this stinky hard water, I discovered that vinegar in the dishwasher works even better than Cascade's rinse agent! Next, I'm going back to using vinegar instead of liquid fabric softener in the wash before my whites turn permanently dingy! And I finally found the silverware! I was so excited to see it, that I took a picture of the silverware in the dishwasher!

No more sharing one spoon for us!

We finally got our verses written out for Aunt Sissy's Christmas project, whatever it may be, and will try to get them mailed soon. And we assembled the Happy Thanksgiving Banner that she sent us:

Gluing the letters to the tickets.

A couple of days later, I found my hole punch,
and David threaded the tickets onto the ribbon.

This was fun and good for his fine motor skills!
Plus it looks cute hanging up.

I finally dug out the dining table! That was my goal for Saturday. By Saturday night, it was all clean, we put all the leafs in to create the super honking table, and decorated it for Thanksgiving. David & Elizabeth were both excited about sitting at the big table. Who knew? David kept asking, "Is it Thanksgiving???"

Sunday (today) we celebrated our Thanksgiving meal with Grandpappy's side of the family. Dad was on duty, but David & Elizabeth fit in better than ever before. When we got home, David said he wanted rolls for supper. Um... we don't have any rolls, sweetie. "We can make some," David tells me. Perhaps I've made too much stuff this week!!! So I dug around & found a recipe for Easy Yeast Rolls. Indeed they were easy, and tasty, too! I had no idea how big to make the balls, so some of them ended up pretty tiny, but perfect for little hands.

Wow, I just realized that I also made chili, chocolate chip cookies (again), and bread this week! And that my son now thinks I can make anything. : )

Tune in Tuesday for Tiny Talk! I won't miss it this week! I've already got it set to post! : ) It will be all about Thanksgiving!