Our fave ice pop molds!

Why ice pops are essential for thrifty families:

You get to use up all the leftovers: I’ll freeze darn near anything – chocolate milk, old smashed berries, carrots that will go bed soon, older yogurt, bottom of the jar blackberry jam with water, and more. Seriously, if it can be blended in the blender, I’ll do it and freeze it, and there’s a 95% chance my son Cedar will eat it without thinking twice. Don’t believe me? I once made a huge list of things to freeze, and still it’s just the tip of the iceberg, or the ice pop as the case may be – 32 Unique Homemade Popsicle Recipes & Ideas

It’s so cheap compared to store bought: EVEN if you don’t use up the leftovers to make them, your homemade pops will cost far less than store bought. Get yourself some long lasting quality molds plus one blender and you’re in ice pop business for years to come (see some molds I like).

It saves on the garbage bill: Even if you don’t care a snot about the environment, I bet you do care about the garbage bill. In summer this can go way up. The kids are home, the garbage is full of ice pop trash – what a mess and an extra cost! Reusable ice pop molds end this issue.

It’s cheap entertainment: Now, maybe my son just likes the simple things, but going through the fridge, choosing ingredients, and concocting fun blender messes to freeze does keep him entertained for a good hour.

Personally, I’m hard pressed to find a better year round value, let alone summer value than homemade ice pops. What do you think? Let me know what your best summer money saver is in the comments.

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String and clothespins: I hang most of my clothes up to dry year round to save money, save energy, and to make my clothes last longer. However, if you’ve never hung your laundry up to dry, summer is a great time to try it out. A set of clothespins and some string is super cheap and you can hang the string anywhere between two points. Tip for apartment dwellers - hang your clothes right on the hangers on the shower rod.

Air conditioner filters: Air conditioner filters are super inexpensive but save you a lot on your energy bills during the summer. When your filters are full of gunk they don’t work as well and that means your air conditioner has to work harder overall which in turn raises your cooling costs.

Ice pop molds: Making homemade ice pops saves you money because they eliminate expensive boxed ice treats, reduces your gas use (no more frequent trips to the store), and it allows you to use up leftover foods in creative ways. Besides that, homemade ice pops save resources – there’s no excess packaging and your trash can doesn’t fill up with lame plastic ice pop wrappers. To save the most, buy ice pop molds that come with holders vs. ice pop molds that require wooden sticks.

Solar cooker: Solar cookers cook with the sun, kids think they’re way entertaining, and your house will stay cooler because you don’t need to turn the oven on, so of course a solar cooker will lower your energy bills too. You can buy a solar cooker or easily build your own. If you’ve never used a solar cooker, you’d be surprised at all the great recipes you can make with one. IF a solar cooker is not for you, try an inexpensive barbecue. No matter how you do it, cooking outdoors saves you money because it lowers your energy costs.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Luckily I did some research and found some single serve ice pop options a while back.

I ordered three sets of Tovolo molds – you can read about these here. They cost me about $16 total, but have saved me much more. A box of ice pops costs at least $1, but that’s at a discount store. Usually $2-3 is typically. Since my son eats ice pops as if his life depends on it, that’s a lot of cash. Homemade cost nothing except ingredients and recently, I’ve only been using leftovers to make pops so it’s almost like spending no money. If you’ve got strawberries, squash, watermelon, bananas, yougurt, or carrots that are getting too old, you can make them into pops before they go bad.

All in all – homemade ice pops save resources, are gentle on the earth, eliminate trash, preserve leftovers, and can save you oodles of money. I’d say homemade ice pops are one of the best money summer savers ever.

To learn more read: 32 Unique Homemade Popsicle Recipes & Ideas

[image via Tovolo Star Molds]

Post from: Thrifty Mommy