Thrifty Mommy » bathroom

A thrifty trick to saving money and water

kellys — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:59:55 +0000

I live and wash on teh hopes that there is rain. I am constantly running my well dry. I know I am getting older because I now look at rainfall in relation to how many loads of laundry I can do and how much water will be left for showers. Trust me, there is nothing worse than standing in the shower with soap in your hair and not being able to rinse it out. Talk about a bad hair day. I have heard about this water and money saving trick and like the idea. I will give a quick disclaimer, if you, shall we say, fill the potty a lot, then flush more often as you will have a little less water in the flush.
According to the video, you can save 16% on y ou water bill and 7500 gallons of water per year. Now I can handle that many showers!

Let me know what you think.

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Comparison pricing on steroids

kellys — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:37:39 +0000

So I went to Sam’s Club today and tried to comparison shop. I have always heard how much cheaper their diapers were so I made a list of my usual regular items and then went to Wal-Mart and figured out how much they were per unit. I checked a few items I use regularly and usually cost me an arm and part of a leg. I thought I would let you in on a little secret…

Huggies Diapers: Sam’s $.2373/ diaper Wal-Mart $.2936

Clorox 2: Sam’s $.1692/load Wal-Mart $.1970/load

Oxiclean: Sam’s $1.162/lb Wal-mart $1.96/lb

Surf: Sam’s $.087/load Wal-Mart $.0993/load

Downy: Sam’s $.0726/load Wal-mart $.075

Gain: Sam’s $.1257/load Wal-Mart $.133/load

Dishwashing Gel: Sam’s $.0387/oz Wal-Mart $.0384/oz

Wipes: Sam’s $.0292/wipe Wal-Mart $.0232/wipe

Turns out, Sam’s WAS cheaper. Their organic milk, however, was $.30/half gallon more expensive. So I will continue to buy my organic milk at Kroger for less than #3/half gallon.

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Mr Clean Magic Eraser challenge

kellys — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:45:10 +0000

Recently, I was given the opportunity to participate in the Mr Clean Magic Eraser Challenge. The company sent me 2 tiles, marker, and a wooden spoon, a set of magic erasers, and a competitor’s cleaner. Ok, so I am no so bright so I put the marker on both the tile and the wooden spoon. The magic eraser took care of the marker on the tile and made a good effort on the raw wooden spoon. Not sure I was supposed to use the spoon that way but I did The other cleaner worked ok but reeked of bleach and I didn’t feel so safe using it wherever my kids would be.

Then I remembered the marker all over my wooden door goingto the bathroom that Turkey Butt decided last year to use as an easle. It came off like butter on a hot knife. I was sold since I had tried to use another cleaner and couldn’t get it off my door without ruining the protectant surface. I liked the magic eraser before but now I am sold … hook, line, and sinker.

So thank you Mr Clean Magic Eraser for letting me participate in this little experiment and yes, I will be buying more erasers soon.

Stay tuned to next week to find out why.

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Frugal cure for sensitive teeth

kellys — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:03:05 +0000

My teeth are so sensitive that when I breath in cold air, they hurt. I use Crest Sensitivity and it has gotten better. So when I went to the dentist the last time, the hygienist suggested that I make sure I floss every day (which I am embarrassed to admit I do not do EVERY day) to toughen up my gums and use a sonic toothbrush. She said the motion will help with the sensitivity as well. So now I do both. I am willing to sadly admit I am mch better about brushing my teeth than I am flossing. But what a huge difference the sonic toothbrush has made.

She told me I could find a good sonic toothbrush for around $75 to $100. I croaked. Then I went to Wal-Mart and found one for $28 by Braun. It’s not a fancy one but it sure does the trick. Hope this helps. Good luck.

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Frugal and painless eyebrow removal

kellys — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:13:32 +0000

OK, I have a confession to make. I actually pay to have my eyebrows waxed. It is so painful for me to have them plucked (I actually cry when they pluck more than 2 hairs) that I actually ask the lady to wax my eyebrows mulitple times and NEVER pick up a pair of tweezers. But paying for it is very painful for me as well. It is one of my little treats that I give myself.

Now I have found that I no longer have to go and pay for someone to do my eyebrows. I have tried everything to reduce the pain so that I can do it myself. But now, I use … Anbesol maximum strength. It has 20% benzocaine and does a good job of numbing my skin so that I can pluck myself. I just got through and it doesn’t look too bad. And I didn’t even flinch!

So, if you are looking at a way to cut expenses, try a bottle of Maximum strength Anbesol (on sale at Walgreens right now) and give it about 10 minutes. Then pluck away. Hope this helps. Now my eyebrows will cost me less than $6 a year instead of $88 a year. And to think I only got my brows waxed only every 2 months or so. OMG, I can’t believe I spent that much but it was worth it to me since I didn’t want a horrible brow line and couldn’t do it myself. YEAH.. Another way to cut my bills.

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Looking for online coupons

kellys — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:20:29 +0000

I have had the best luck finding online coupons by simply searching the “item” and “coupon” on Google. It is worth a shot to get even more off of your online purchase since you will be paying for S&H, which I abhor! I recently found a 25% off coupon for Potty Patty Panties for Turkey Butt. Here is my search result and you can see that there were many sites to choose from. They are wonderful as they don’t leak and we aren’t having much luck with a very STUBBORN little girl and the potty. I consider her potty trained since she knows what to do. She just refuses some days and I will not keep buying pull ups for daytime. I will just do laundry every day.

But I regress… So if you want to find out if there are promo codes you can use online before you check out, go to Google and search your item or company and coupon. You will be surprised at the money you can save. Free shipping is usually the most common coupon you will find. Good luck!

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25% off at potty training concepts

kellys — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:59:42 +0000

I love Turkey Butt’s Potty Patty Panties. They are an all in one waterproof training pant. That way, I don’t have to use pull ups since she treats them like a diaper. I might have to do laundry every day but at least she will stop getting diaper rash from her pull up and maybe she will stop being so stubborn soon and can go to big girl panties. But I found a coupon online that gave me 25% off. So if you are in the need for potty training tools or waterproof training pants that are wonderful, use 25-off-newsletter in the coupon box for 25% off your order. And if your order is $50 or more, you can get free shipping.

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I am so excited to finally show you …

kellys — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:31:40 +0000

I told you months ago that I redid my hall bathroom. I saved hundreds of dollars by doing it myself. Many of you wanted to see before and after pictures. Well, I have just won a b5 contest and a brand new Sony Power Shot digital camera is mine! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT! I NEVER WIN ANYTHING!

So here are my before and after pic’s. Well, the before floor images are from my bathroom with the same horrible tile and then the after shots are of my new bathroom. I still need to decorate but you can imagine! I am so happy to sit on the pot and pee now that my feet don’t stick to the pee ridden floor. I can’t believe I am about to show you my current bathroom floor.

Floor before:

My New Hall Bathroom:

Stay tuned for my bathroom redo. I will probably redo the floor and paint later as the floor is the main thing that is bothering me right now and I am not that good of a painter. Besides, now that I know what I am doing, it won’t take me that long to do my floor.

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Top 10 green household cleaners

kellys — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:04:12 +0000

It always seems like I find someone every day who is talking about saving the environment. Granted, I want to be a good steward of hte things I am gifted, but I also want to use disposable diapers and I enjoy a good Styrofoam cup that doesn’t sweat all over my car or coffee table. So today I thought I would give you the top 10 green household cleaners. See how you stack up to the list and let us know how you are doing. Some will even save you money. That’s my favorite part.

Vinegar, we have talked about vinegar tons of times.
Baking soda. Use it to polish your silver and freshen your carpets.
Lemons help keep your garbage disposal clean and smelling good.
1 part Rubbing Alcohol added to a 1:1 vinegar water mix will shine up your mirrors and sinks nicely.
Salt added to lemon is a great scouring pad for your dirtiest dishes.
Don’t waste your money on bottle scrubbers. Boil an old toothbrush and use it instead.
Keep house plants inside. This will help to naturally clean your air.
Use egg shells and ice to work your garbage disposal to a shine.
Use an old dryer sheet to shine up your chrome.
Use half a box of baking soda downa drain chased by vinegar to clean out any slow drains. It’s best to let it set for about 10-15 minutes and then rinse it with hot water.

So there you have it. My top 10 favorite green household cleaners. Did you also notice that they are every day cleaners so you don’t have to spend any extra money using them? See, I shot 2 birds with one stone (for lack of a better phrase)

Thrifty shopping …

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Keeping your home healthy

kellys — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:58:22 +0000

Recently, we were sent a tip for a great hotline if you have questions about your home and how to keep germs from getting everywhere. Dr Kelly Reynolds (I just love her name ), has partnered with Clorox to create a hotline for anyone who has question s on germs, how to tackle them, and how to hopefully keep colds out of your home. She is a microbiologist and mother of 3. That takes way too much brainpower and energy for me to even comprehend right now. She teaches at the University of Arizona and has a desire to help all families stay healthy.

So if you have any questions about germs, how to kill them, how they spread, etc… Call the germ hotline at 1-888-MIC-MOMY . She has great ideas and will be glad to help.

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