Save TIME and MONEY when cleaning

I'm always looking for ways to save both time and money.  There are days which I have very little time to keep up with even the basic chores and then need to do a quick cleaning.  When I was younger I was very scattered and often found myself overwhelmed.  With help from my husband, I have learned to first not let a mess pile up and also be able to create a routine for a quick pickup.  I'm still learning, but I am getting much more organized and getting a little faster.

Cleaning products are VERY expensive and often contain harmful chemicals but advertisers tend to scare us into thinking that we cannot have a truly clean home without using them.  Ease your mind.. there are natural household items that you likely already have in your home that work just as well!  Did you know, for instance, that Vinegar kills bacteria and mold?  Vinegar is very inexpensive too!!  Baking soda provides a scratch free surface scrub.  Dish soap removes grease from surfaces.

I have recently read some articles which shared some great ideas on how to quickly clean and I have utilized some of those ideas to help create my own cleaning routine to save time and money!  I'm still learning to perfect this method and may update this blog post as I find additional solutions.

The first step is to see what appliances can be running while you do other things.  A load of laundry can be quickly put in and be washing while you are off doing other chores. (See my blog on homemade laundry detergent.. $12 for the ingredients, easy to make, cleans better than Wisk, All or Arm and Hammer and some who have used it say works as well, if not better than Tide; and for my family at 2 loads a day lasted me 5 months.)  http://simplybalancinglife.blogspot.com/2012/03/simple-homemade-laundry-detergent.html

Next on to the kitchen.  If you have a dishwasher,empty your dishwasher if it has clean dishes in it.  Load it up w/ the dirty dishes and run.  If you do not have a dishwasher or have many to hand wash, run the sink full of soapy water and place your dishes (especially ones w/ stuck on food) into the water.  I have learned that by turning the dishes and bowls upside down that they appear to be better immersed. Fill any dirty pots w/ soapy water and also place items that did not all fit into the sink into them.  Sprinkle a little baking soda on your stovetop if you have a glasstop stove (take out the burners if you have a traditional stove top and sprinkle the top w/ baking soda) Take a couple of dishtowels and dip them into the soapy dish water.  You want sopping wet dishtowels but not dripping.  Lay over the top of your stove top.  You can also do this on your counter tops if they have stuck on foods.  Now on to another room.

Go around your house and just put away items.  No cleaning.  Just putting away items to give your house a picked up look. If I find items of my kids that is out I just place them in their rooms so they can put them away.  Starting with rooms that may be seen by guests first.  DO NOT get caught up in organizing a messy drawer or closet as you put things away.  This was something I use to get caught up doing and the rest of my house never got cleaned.  Once your house is clean you can then go back and clean out a drawer or closet if you have time.

Check to see if clothes are ready to go into the dryer and put another load in.

Microfiber cloths are awesome!! I recently discovered these and they not only easily pick up dust but also are great at shining mirrors.  Use a microfiber cloth and wipe down all surfaces such as tv's, mirrors, end tables, coffee tables, fan blades etc...starting with the least dusty to the most dusty.  (Do not use fabric softener with microfiber clothes or they will not pick up dust as well)

Check clothes if they were not previously ready during this step. Put the next load in.

Back to the kitchen.  Put away left out items.  Wipe down the counter, kitchen table and stove top.  Everything has had plenty of time to soak and washing the dishes (even the stuck on stuff) should be very easy.  Wash, dry and put away.

On to the bathrooms!  Unlike most people, the bathrooms are one of my favorite rooms to clean because they aren't very big and I can quickly see results.  Wipe your toilet down with toilet paper and flush. I squirt a mixture of vinegar and dishsoap into the toilet and then sprinkle in some baking soda.  Let it sit.  

Spray your mirror and wipe down with a old washcloth or rag. Go over with a microfiber cloth afterwards for a nice shine.  I use a product called Advanage that I purchased from a door to door salesman.  I love this product!  It is rather pricey initially but only a small amount and then mixed with water makes quarts of products.  In the long run it is cheaper than other cleaning products and puts a shine on mirrors and also prevents finger smudges.  I'm not sure when I am finished though I will buy again because I can save even more by using a couple of  tablespoons of vinegar to a quart of water will work to clean mirrors as well; I can put up with a few finger smudges.

Wipe out any toothpaste or anything that is fairly stuck on the sink w/ a paper towel or toilet paper and throw away.  Spray with cleaner or use the vinegar/soap mixture and a little baking soda.  Use a wet rag or old washcloth to wipe down the sink (I try not to use many paper towels).  Rinse the rag, and use the vinegar/soap on the rag to wipe down the toilet lid and around and under the seat.

Use your toilet brush and scrub the toilet bowl and then place the brush between the seat and the bowl to let the brush drip dry.  You can then come back and spray with an antibacterial spray or spray w/ vinegar to kill germs on the brush before putting it back into the holder.

Depending of if you are going to mop, you may want to hold off  cleaning your bathtub or shower until you are finished mopping so you can rinse out your mop and bucket.  You can now mop if you are putting this in your schedule for the day.

My shower gets very dirty and grimy and sometimes is difficult to clean, but I found a way that is fast, easy and works well!  Throw out your scrub brush...it does not work as well as a

Scotch Bright  heavy duty scouring pad.

Sprinkle tub or shower w/ baking soda then squirt or spray the vinegar/soap mixture.  Use the scouring pad and scrub down and rinse. You will be amazed at how quickly you can get even the worst shower or tub.

Go back, check your laundry and put in another load if you have one.

Your dishwasher should now be close to being finished.  Empty.

Vacuum.

Fold laundry and let family members put away their own.

Now that everything is put away and clean, if you still have time and energy, you can tackle that drawer that drove you nuts when you put away that pair of scissors.  ;)

Working to balance what appears to be unbalanceable

As you can see, it has been quite a while since my last post.  In the process of trying to keep things on the simple side I found myself giving up a few things for the sake of time and that included keeping up with my blog.  I have a full time career that keeps me very busy along with family demands.  I am certain that many of you relate.  While I would like to be able to be more consistent here and provide what is working for me and what isn't, my work hours are going to be changing up a bit, so I suspect it may add to complication....but who knows...maybe it will work better!

Anytime my life schedule changes up it throws me temporarily out of balance and I have to make an effort to put myself back on track.  I am currently frantically thinking ahead to planning out meal plans as my career takes me into working evening hours, including all weekend.  This means my hubby will be making dinner for us after he gets home from work.  Fortunately, I work from home and I will get to enjoy these home cooked meals.

Something I have not been so good at is putting my children to work on a consistent basis, and this is an area that I will need to make a higher priority.  I am thankful that at 11 (my son) and 13 (my daughter) my children do not do much complaining when I ask them to help me around the house.  I have found that it helps that I don't over burden them with demands but just request 1-2 simple chores to help keep the house picked up.  I also found that it helps to remind them on those occasional times in which they would like to negotiate, that we all live here and it is not fair for one person to have to do all the work...I lay on the pity party and try to encourage them to put themselves in my shoes by asking how would they feel to be the only one doing everyone else's work for them. This works most of the time.  :)

While most chores are not paid, I am trying to offer them ways to earn at least some money.  This past week my son worked very hard helping his dad in the yard and mowed the grass while his dad used the weed eater.  Then my husband edged our badly overgrown sidewalk, driveway and street front while my son went behind him and shoveled it all up into a wheelbarrow and hauled it to the back yard.  To be honest, while my son was enjoying knowing his hard work was paying off (literally), I think that he enjoyed just as much to be working outside with his dad.

After seeing my son outside, my daughter asked for ways she could make some money as well.  I had her do some of the chores I normally would not pay for, however since I had so many of them I was more than willing to give her the cash to get the house caught up a bit.  She did a great job of thoroughly cleaning out both our bathrooms.  I was so proud of both of the kids for all the hard work they put in that day.

Keeping a balanced life often means making sacrifices and while I hope to start spending more time sharing my experiences here, I want to be sure to take the time to thoroughly spend time with my amazing husband and kids...it's the simple things around us that we need to fully appreciate.

Taste Testing Foods Found Through Pinterest

So I am a bit addicted to Pinterest as many of you can relate.  Recipes tend to be the number one thing I think most of us pin often "hoping" to go back and try them out.  I have made a point to actually try out some of these recipes and will plan to update my opinion on the ones I try.  Today I tried a couple of food items that turned out really well.  I am also including the links to them so that you can easily find them.  I will try to use this post to continue to update additional meals I have tried so everything is kept in a fairly neat and organized place.

Crock Pot Lasagna
http://www.creatingthroughlife.com/2011/10/crock-pot-lasagna.html

This meal was very good.  I put the prep work together the night before and it was very easy and very quick to put it all together.  In this recipe I browned the ground beef with a little garlic, oregano and basil.  Then added the Food Lion brand of traditional pasta sauce that comes in a can (one of our favorites and very inexpensive).  I stored this in the refrigerator over night.  I also put together the cottage cheese and mozzarella cheese and stored them in a separate container in the refrigerator.

When I got up the next morning, I was able to get all of this in the crock pot in literally 5 minutes, layering the meat mixture (I did not spray down my crock pot first as the recipe recommends), the dried lasagna noodles and then the cheese mixture and doing this one more time finishing with a top layer of meat sauce.  I put the crock pot on high while I got myself ready for church and just before I left I turned it down to low (although I meant to just turn it to warm which would have worked just as well if not better).  When we got home this meal was actually already completely cooked and could have been eaten, however I turned it down to warm and we had it for dinner.  This meal was a winner!  I am often very short on time and not only was it quick to make, the clean up afterwards was also pretty simple.  This will certainly be on my "will do again" list.

1-2-3 Cake
http://thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2011/11/aunt-bettys-1-2-3-cake.html

Of course, by nightfall a little sweet tooth tends to develop, however, trying to keep the calories low can be a bit difficult. After I put my kids to bed, the sweet tooth set in and I couldn't resist trying another recipe found on Pinterest.  This one for 1-2-3 cake.

This cake simply is made from a box of Angel Food cake mix (has to be angel food) and any other type of cake mix plus a little water.  Basically you mix the two boxes of mix together to create the base of your mix. You then take the new mix, add a little water, mix to moisten (but not too much)  and cook in the microwave for one minute.

For mine I had on hand the angel food cake and yellow cake.  I put all the ingredients in a mug and mixed as directed above then dropped 3 hershey kisses to sweeten it up just a bit.  The caked turned out perfect and easily fell out of the mug when turned upside down.  The texture was a cross between the Angel Food cake and regular cake.  As an extra note the kisses did not really melt in this but it still seemed to be a very nice addition to this cake.  If you had a container of frosting or wanted to mix your own by taking a little powdered sugar, plus cocoa powder, a touch of melted butter, a dash of vanilla and a drop or two of milk then mix together you can use that to frost as well, but if you are watching calories or sugar intake you could skip all together.

After trying this recipe I was very impressed and I like this better than the mug cake that seemed to make it around the internet a while back. The mug cake is a bit heavier and you have more ingredients to pull out to make it and seems a bit more of a hassle.  I also found it difficult to clean the mug afterwards which I did not find true of this recipe for the 1-2-3 cake.  I do think this recipe is a must try for anyone who wants to take the edge off of their sweet tooth but doesn't want the hassle of going to the lengths of baking.


Quinoa Mac and Cheese
http://monicanelsonfitness.com/blog/meals/quinoa-mac-n-cheese/

I love quinoa and usually cook it up then add saute'd veggies in olive oil such as green pepper, onion and carrots.  Even my kids enjoy quinoa when I prepare it.  This recipe caught my eye because cheese seems to make anything taste even better!  After trying this recipe several weeks ago it was really good but it would be more of something I would make as a side dish.  It had pretty good flavor but it was more of a 4 recipe instead of a 5 if you were to rate it on a scale of a 1-5.  I did encourage my kids to try it and they were not as fond, however this is more of a baked quinoa and cheese and my kids are not very fond of even macaroni and cheese.  It is a recipe that is at least worth giving a try as I think this one is more based on what your tastes are.  This recipe could also be modified and you could even make it using a traditional macaroni and cheese style which may be more appealing to some.  This is one of those recipes that is what I would consider a more "upscale recipe" so if your family is more of a traditional meat and potatoes family that tends to stick with the same similar type foods then this may not be for you, but if you are less of a picky eater and enjoy venturing out this may be one you will enjoy.

Everything in 3's

It's been said that bad things come in 3's and for my sake, I sure hope so and nothing more.  As I am trying to keep things in balance I am finding that things are becoming more primitive around here and not necessarily by choice.  Within the past month or so we have been without an oven due to a part that needs repaired that we have yet to purchase, we also had to recently replace our over the stove microwave and today discovered that our dishwasher needs a part replaced.  

Due to our oven going out, cooking has gotten much more creative and I am striving to better plan ahead.  We have not been able to toss in a quick frozen or homemade pizza when we can't decide what else to fix.  Going through this process hasn't been so bad however. I have found that when you don't have an oven that it is much more difficult to fix the junk foods we love....yes we could still microwave some of them but it just doesn't taste the same and I prefer not to use the microwave that often if I can help it.  Surprisingly, since our oven has been out of commission, our meals have become much healthier and the crock-pot is being used several times a week.  In fact, Saturday I am going to try a crock-pot lasagna recipe and am really looking forward to seeing how it may turn out.  Since spring is here we also can grill vegetables and hamburgers, which we are having tomorrow.  Yum!

Now that I have been creative enough to come up with cooking solutions around the broken oven, I guess I need to figure out how to get the dishes washed.....Ah, I think I have the perfect solution for that too!   I do in fact have a couple of dishwashers that can help with that by way of a son and a daughter.  :)

Simple Homemade Laundry Detergent

 Being a saver and a couponer I was saving up my $2 laundry detergent coupons and then having to wait until the laundry soap was on sale and try to stock up as much as I could.  I tried to not pay more than $2 for a 32 load bottle however, this was such a pain in my very busy schedule.

Not long ago I decided to try a homemade laundry detergent.  I had heard that users liked it equal to and/or better than the leading name brand detergent.  I just HAD to give it a try.  One thing I was a little skeptical about was how little detergent was needed...just 1-2 TBS.  As it turns out, many of the products we purchase at the store contain unnecessary fillers so we end up needing more of it.

So I decided to make up a batch of this homemade detergent and was blown away by the first load.  My daughter had a red shirt that came out so brilliant!  I didn't even know that our clothes had become dull in the first place!  She and I looked at this beautiful, vibrant color and we became convinced that this stuff really does work.

Another thing about this detergent is that my husband has super sensitive skin so I have to be careful with what I use or it burns his skin.  I have a friend that I shared some of this with who is even more sensitive than my husband...neither had a reaction which was great news!  It washes out completely and everything just has a fresh smell.

It has now been about 4 months since I made my first batch and I'm down to about 2 weeks worth left.  I also realized I had given away about 2 weeks worth so, in all, this detergent would have lasted me nearly 5 months.  So last night the hubby and I went to purchase ingredients to make more.  The cost?  Just $12!  I usually do at least 2 loads of laundry a day on average, sometimes more but rarely less.  And I use 2 TBS per load.  So if you were working on being extra frugal and your loads aren't all that dirty you could really stretch it out by just using 1 TBS in each load.

After recently sharing my results, I have been asked by a number of my friends to please send them the recipe.  I decided it will be so much easier just to post it here so anyone can find it at anytime.

Ingredients:
4 lb 12 oz box Borax (2.15 kg or 76 oz) 
4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (1.81 kg)
1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz (3 lb 7 oz)
3 bars of Fels-Naptha soap (pink Zote soap, octagon or any other bar laundry soap...I have heard you can also use Ivory but I have yet to determine if this is regular ivory bar soap or if there is a laundry bar soap that may be different)

*Updated:  In regards to Ivory Soap being used.  I have tried to research this and it does not appear that Ivory makes a bar soap for the laundry.  It is likely that those using Ivory are using the original bar bath soap for this.  If you are sensitive to smell, this may be a good choice since the Fels-Naptha does have a moderate scent; however I have not personally tried it to know what kind of results you will experience.  If you decide to try it, I would love for you to post a comment to share your results.  :)

*You can also add 3.5 lbs of oxy clean if you would like, however I did not since it is so expensive.  I figured if I needed it I could purchase it and just add a little to extra dirty loads.  I have not seen that this is a necessary ingredient.  Please note:  If you use oxy clean in your detergent it is not recommended to mix with bleach.

All of the above ingredients were found very close together at our local super center laundry isle.  So you should not need to track them down once you know what you are looking for.  

So next you will need a 4-5 gallon container for mixing all of these ingredients in.  You want something large enough so you aren't dumping it out as you are mixing.   I actually store mine in one of those super large barrel pretzel containers.  I'll post a picture of that when I get a chance.  

Now for the easy part.... you will want to dump all of your box ingredients into the container.   Then take the bar soap you are using and you can either grate on a cheese grater (if you want to do it the slow way) or you can take your soap, chop it into small chunks and throw it into a food processor.  This will chop it up into very fine little balls of soap. You might also want to add a teaspoon or 2 of some of the powder from the other ingredients to help the soap breakdown more easily in the food processor if your soap doesn't seem to process well.  Once the soap has been grated/processed, just toss it in with the other ingredients and mix well.  You are now ready to do laundry with your own homemade laundry detergent!!  

The more finely you chop the easier it will be for it to process.

It should look like tiny little balls of soap.

I included my glasses to provide more of an idea of the size of this jar.  This was a jar of pretzels that has been re-purposed.  As you can see it makes quite a bit of laundry soap.  

Overall, as mentioned before, I usually do 2 loads of laundry a day and I use to purchase at least two 32 load jugs of laundry detergent a month which the cheap stuff at regular price is around $6 for one 32 load jug.  So for the same price I can get 5 times as many months!  A savings of $48!

I do use this in cold water and have never had a problem with residue.  It dissolves completely.  It can also be used in an HE machine since it does not create suds, but you would want to add it to the barrel of the machine and not the dispenser.

Enjoy!

Staycations vs Vacations

Spring is nearly here and the trees have begun blossoming, birds are migrating north, and the glimpses of warm weather are approaching.  Spring is my favorite time of the year, and would be absolutely perfect if the allergies didn't get in my way of fully enjoying it.

The closer spring gets, and knowing summer won't be too far away, I often think about just getting away.  Remembering those times when you can just go somewhere, sit back with a nice cup of hot tea and enjoy the scenery around me.  I'm sure many of you have those pleasurable memories as well.  Wouldn't it be great to live in a place that you could enjoy year round?  

Since vacations are expensive and not something our family has the money in the budget to do, we try to create a staycation that will last longer than a week away somewhere.  Instead of putting away money for a one week vacation we put money aside to create something more long lasting.  We love spending time outside, so our goal is to create an escape just outside our backdoor that we can enjoy nearly every day.  The money goes so much further this way and is enjoyed for a much longer period of time.  It's been so long since we have actually taken a vacation I honestly don't know how much the average family of 4 spends on one, but I can image by the time you include gas, hotel stays, eating out and entertainment, that for a one week I would estimate that you would be looking at around $1500 at a minimum.  I would much rather take that kind of money and put it towards something I can enjoy all summer long or longer.  Each year slowly adding to create additional beauty.  

My husband and I really enjoy sitting outside in the evenings after a long day working.  We invested in a screened in gazebo which we have enjoyed sitting under night after night during warm weather.  We sit and have our dinner outside together and enjoy good conversation. It is so relaxing and really helps us feel recharged.  It helps us be more connected with each other which may be why we are still best friends after  14 years.  I'm looking forward to doing a little more this summer with getting my garden back into shape after the dullness of winter.  

Our garden after it was first put together. It's expanding little by little and I will post another newer pic once a few more things are in bloom.   We have since added a few additional  plants so it is getting prettier.  

Lunch Ideas for Kids

This weekend while sorting through a pile of papers I discovered a lunch idea list I used for my kids one summer during their summer day camp.  Since pre-packaged meals are so expensive and that tends to be what my kids wanted I decided to just make my own.  The kids actually enjoyed the homemade versions as much as they did the prepackaged ones.  It can be so difficult to find a good variety of foods kids will actually eat so I thought I'd share a few of them here.

• Homemade Lunchable® 
• Favorite Lunchmeat cut into squares, triangles or other desired shapes
• American cheese folded in half then folded in thirds...gives 6 cheese pieces per slice
• Crackers of your choice
• Homemade Pizza
• Pita bread sliced into desired shape
• Pasta sauce put into small container with spoon*
• mozzarella cheese 
• pepperoni

*We also purchased VERY cheap metal spoons to put into the kids lunches so we could re-use them over and over to save on the cost of plastic ware but also wouldn't upset us much if we lost one.  

• Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches with a thin spreading of peanut butter on each slice of bread so the jelly doesn't soak into the bread
• Nachos
• Tortilla chips
• Cheese dip in a small container.  
• Turkey or Chicken salad wraps
• Homemade chicken salad (mix chicken, mayo, chopped apples or grapes and a little garlic and onion powder)
• Flour tortillas
• wrap chicken salad into wrap and add lettuce or tomato if desired
• Pizza wraps
• mozzarella cheese and pizza or pasta sauce wrapped into a flour tortilla 

I also would include a snack as well such as:

• Fruit: watermelon, grapes, fruit cup, mandarin oranges, apples, cantaloupe, etc
• Pretzels (to save, buy a large bag and split into small bags)
• Cheese cubed (buying blocks and cubing will save money)
• Pudding (can be homemade to save!)
• Goldfish crackers
• Carrots and Ranch
• Granola bar
• Raisins