Frugal Organizing Tips

It was late at night and I was in bed doing one of my favorite things.....listening to a podcast!  Haha, I know what some of you were thinking!  The podcast I was listening to was What Really Matters with Vicky and Jen and they were sharing some great organizing tips.  Some of them I had heard before but while they are fresh on my mind I thought I would share with you.

I don't know how many times I have looked at those pretty velvet jewelry organizers and been oh so tempted to buy them, thank goodness I never did.  Hello ice cube trays!  Who cares if there not fancy and velvet, no one is going to see them besides you and another great thing about the trays is they are stackable so it's a great space saver.  Another great tip is shoeboxes, these are great to use as drawer dividers especially for things like your delicates.  Do you need a drawer organizer for a narrow space, how about a velveeta carton?  I'll have to admit I have gotten pretty bad about throwing away all those sour cream and butter containers with lids just because I didn't have the space to store them, but the possibilities with them are endless, so those days are over.  They are perfect to send leftovers home or for arts and craft projects with the kids, one of the girls had the great idea that she always freezes water in a few of hers and she always has blocks of ice for the cooler.

I saw on another blog where you could turn diaper boxes into really pretty fabric lined bins as well as formula containers into really nice pencil holders or whatever.  I am currently saving all of mine, however I have not one crafty bone in my body, so I will be sure and let you know how those turn out!  What are some of your frugal organizing tips, I'm sure there are tons that I would have never even thought about out there, so I can't wait to read about them!

Stacey

Ah, yes, the swap party.....

I am very excited about my first swap party on Saturday.  I just think this is the greatest idea ever, and I hope I find enough people that are interested to keep it going....I have several theme ideas.  Mine will be a little different than the one that Stephanie went to....I just don't like the clothes pin idea.  At mine, we are going to draw numbers each round, so lucky #1 gets to "shop" first, and so on.  Stephanie suggested we re-draw each round, so if you were last in the first round, you wouldn't be last every round.  This is definitely something that may have to be tweaked as we go along....there could be anywhere from 2 people to 50, and my house isn't very big, so we will see.  I will fill everyone in next week on how it goes.  Do you do anything with your friends to recycle/reuse the things you already have but don't use anymore......one woman's junk is another woman's treasure!  Have a great Thursday and spend some time with your kids!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Blogs and the internet are full of recipes for homeade laundry detergent, my thought at first was what's with all the hype it's just detergent, we use this stuff everyday and is on sale every week at one store or another.  So I decided to take on the challenge and was I surprised at how easy and inexpensive this task was.  The detergent also works just as well, if not better, than any store bought detergent I have ever used.  My 9 year old daughter loves to help in the kitchen so she jumped in which made it even more enjoyable for me.  The three ingredents are Fels-Naptha laundry bar soap, Washing Soda, and Borax.  I have to admit that I had never heard of Fels-Naptah or washing soda.  The washing soda and Borax were very easy to find in the laundry isle.  The Fels-Naptah laundry soap did take a little more effort to find but is very inexpensive.  Following is the recipe that I used.  One batch makes about 2 gallons of detergent and the cost per batch is about $1.  I do have an HE front load washer and I use the same amount that I would normally use. Give it a try, you have nothing to lose.

1/3 bar Fels-Naptha laundry soap
1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
Empty laundry containers for storage
Bucket for mixing

Grate soap and add to 6 cups of water on stove top until soap dissolves, add washing soda and borax until dissolved.  Pour 4 cups hot water into bucket, then add soap mixture.  Stir, then add 1 gallon plus 6 cups additional water.  Stir, then transfer to containers.  Let sit 24 hours to thicken and gel.  Stir or shake container before each use.

Stephanie

Swap Party

So, I attended my first swap party over the weekend and decided to post information and maybe get some other ideas.  When I was first invited I thought it was a good idea, although not as excited as my co-writer Stacey, who has already scheduled a swap party of her own.  The whole idea is to take things you want to get rid of and swap for other things that people bring.  The way you get the items you want is a little tricky because others may want the same items.  At this paticular party you brought 5 items that you wanted to "swap" and you got 5 clothes pins with your name on them to put on 5 items you would like to have.  You could put one pin on each item you wanted or put several pins on an item your really wanted to make you chances of getting that item greater.  There was everything imaginable at the party, purses, jackets, jewelry, pictures, dishes, books, toys, gadgets of all sorts....somewhat too broad in my opinion.  I like to idea of the "swap" but not the process, I ended up bringing most of my original items home and not really getting anything I truly wanted or really needed.

Stacey has decided to host an "On the Go" swap party, with a little input from me;-)  We will bring purses, wallets, bags, totes etc.  Stacey also plans to have future theme parties.  So, any ideas of having a more successful "swap" would be appreciated. 

Stephanie

Introduction of Moms Part 2

Hello Cyber World!!  I am the second part of this great duo!  I am a born-again, saved believer of the Good Lord above!  I am also a 34 year old working mother.  I have three wonderful children...two handsome boys ages 4 and 2, and a sweet baby girl who is about to be 6 months old!  Yes, I do work full-time, but I have a very blessed situation where my mother watches my kids while I am at work, I feel like they are with the next best thing next to being with me.  I also think that I have the greatest husband God could have ever given me.

I really hope that you enjoy our blog as we go about our daily lives as well as learn a few things along the way.  I have a pretty simple life but that is how I like it!  I love to learn about new ways to save money especially couponing strategies and how to save at the grocery store.  I also love to try new products and get free samples in the mail.

After the birth of my 3rd child, I knew some changes needed to be made, so hopefully you will encourage me as I have successes and failures with changing the way I eat, adding in exercise, and the ultimate goal....weight loss!

So, stay tuned for more posts and follow along with us as we travel down this road called life, as well as sometimes giving you two different perspectives on the same thing.  We also hope to make new friends along the way with other moms out there just like us. Hope you have a blessed day!

Introduction of Moms

Hello blog buddies, my name is Stephanie and I am one of the 2Moms1Blog writers.  I am a 34 year old Christian working mom with two beautiful daughters, ages 9 and 2 and 1/2.  I am the wife of a K9 Police Officer married for over 15 years.  I work full-time at my job and full-time at home.  I am always looking for ways to make things easier and save money. 

I enjoy spending time with my wonderful family and friends.  I love to laugh and make others laugh as well.  I love some Zumba and getting my groove on!!  Shopping from the clearance rack is one of my favorite things.  I absolutely love to grocery shop as well.  My family enjoys watching too much TV, including NASCAR, and camping in our travel trailer.  We are really looking forward to spring 2011 to hit the campgrounds and hang by the fire.

I am excited about blogging with my long time friend and hope we can share some great tips and learn some things along the way.  Pay it forward!! 

New to the blogging world.....

Welcome to our blog....we hope you will find it helpful, refreshing, and encouraging.  Follow us as we share with you our daily lives, struggles, and experiences.  We, much like you, are trying to juggle family, job, church, and whatever else comes along our way.