Part of my Thrifty Divas routine is to look at things I buy and see if there is a homemade alternative. I am not sure I’ve found anything I can’t make at home. Maybe besides gas 
I have found another new amazing product that is expensive at the store, but pennies at home! It’s homemade Febreze and it really works! And with only a few ingredients, you can’t go wrong!
What You Need
1/4 Cup of fabric softener
4 tablespoons Baking Soda
Hot water
Spray bottle-you can use your empty Febreze bottle too!
What To Do
1. Mix fabric softener and baking soda in your spray bottle.
2. Fill with hot tap water and shake. The hot water helps the baking soda dissolve.
3. Enjoy by spraying everywhere!
This really works just like Febreze!
Is winter over yet? Our house just can’t seem to get well from things like the common cold. So now, we are on a mission to boost our immune systems, but we’d really like to save some money by not investing in a ton of over the counter remedies. Instead we are trying these more natural and more thrifty options.
1. Garlic! This is my favorite immune booster and it really does work. I cook with a lot of it and when we are sick, I boost that amount. If you don’t like the smell, you can buy garlic capsules, but it’s definitely cheaper to cook with it.
2. Yogurt. The probiotics are great for the health of your gut. A healthy gut will help you fight off infection and just overall make you feel better. Try THIS crockpot recipe and save even more money than making it yourself.
3. Eat less processed and sugary foods. Sugar suppresses your immune system. Eating less will definitely help your immune system.
4. Sleep. Whoever thought of this obviously doesn’t have small children, but sleep really does help. It’s in those hours of sleep your body is able to repair itself.
5. Gargle with salt water. Japanese scientists say doing this simple thing twice a day can reduce your chances of a viral infection by almost 35%. And of course if you have a sore throat it really does help with the pain.
What are you doing to stay healthy?
It’s the weekend! Let’s not cook! But let’s not pay full price either! There aren’t a ton this week, but enough to get me through the weekend
Red Lobster
Get a free appetizer when you buy 2 Lobtserfest meals. You just need THIS coupon you sign up for and your set.
Burger King
Small hot or iced coffee for $.25! The price doesn’t include flavors and whipped topping. Get all the details HERE.
Quiznos
BOGO with their subs with a drink. You’ll need to print THIS coupon before you head in for a yummy sub, but what a great deal!
Free Coffee at Starbucks
This ends today so try and hurry and get yours. Sign up HERE, and be warned they are only doing 5,000 a day. You’ll have to sign up and install their app on Facebook, but you’ll be able to get a free Blonde Roast Coffee for you and a friend!
I’m a bit of a budget junkie… meaning I love tracking the household finances through charts and graphs! Especially when you are working on a goal, such as spending less, reducing debt, increasing savings, or even just sticking to your monthly budget, having an easy way to track it all makes it more exciting and easier to stick with.
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Have you heard of minimalist parenting and lifestyles? I recently heard about it on the Today Show and did some more research because it seemed Thrifty. Of course anytime you eliminate buying some things, you will spend less money. However this parenting/lifestyle movement seems to be much more.
The jury is still out for me personally, but I do think this is great to think about and obviously will save you money.
The basic premise: Own Less, Do More.
Seems pretty simple huh?
A woman who calls herself the minimalist mom is taking this very seriously. To begin this journey they got rid of their car and half of their belongings. Because of this lifestyle they’ve paid off over $60,000 in debt in one year alone!
A few steps towards minimalsm…
1. Purge. Go through your stuff and get rid of it. You don’t need a dozen of similar items. Stick to just a few and reuse. Make life simpler.
2. Go through the toys. A lot of parents following this movement want few toys and more use of imagination and play with their children themselves.
3. Less in your pantry. This truly means only buying what you’ll use. No reason to have a ton of stuff in your pantry that takes up space and may never be used.
This way of life intrigues me although I don’t think I’ll be giving up my minivan anytime soon
What do you think about it?
Admit it… you love eBay, don’t you?
If you’re not already an eBay bargain hunter, let me tell you why you should be.
First, let me guess… you think eBay is just a junk yard-sale online where used, broken down, ugly things go to be sold to hoarders.
Now, let go of that sterotype for a minute and read this:
eBay Daily Deals: Each and every day, you will find a huge selection of highly discounted, top brands and products. They go fast – so act quickly!
There are TONS of brand new, discounted products available on eBay shipped right to your door and easier to find than hunting through a discount store clearance bin.
So give eBay a try! And if you like it, sign up for the Daily Deals e-mails.
My little ballerina-princess-baby girl just turned 4 years old yesterday. She loves dancing and loves her tutus. The only problem is the that her favorite tutu is too small for her. I had to hide it in order for her to stop wearing it. The whole thing made me decide to make her a tutu for her 4th birthday.
Thanks to the internet, it was very easy to find out how to do it. So, I got right to it. First, I went to Hobby Lobby and let the birthday girl pick her colors. Thankfully, they had tulle in rolls that were 50% off. So, I got one roll of each color and a roll of headband elastic (thanks to the Hobby Lobby employee for the tip), which was also half off.
Once I had everything, the first thing I did was measure the elastic and sew it together into the waistband. I encourage you to make it slightly smaller than you normally would because it will stretch a little bit.
Then, cut your strips. The great thing about the rolls is that I only had to worry about length because they width was perfect. I measured from my daughter’s waist to her knees to figure out how long I needed to cut the strips. I measured 11 inches. So, I cut the strips at 22 inches (doubled).
Once the strips in both colors were cut, it was time to tie them onto the waistband. As you can see in the picture below, I just tied them pretty close together on the waistband, alternating with the two colors I had.
Just keep doing that until you get the waistband covered! And, ta-da! I did it! And, she loves it!
What DIY project have you taken on recently?
I don’t know why it does, but it bothers me to throw away orange peels. They smell so amazing. I just knew there had to be uses for it, so I researched, tried it and here’s what I’ve been doing.
1. Deodorizer for your garbage disposal. Those things can get stinky and now you can even buy little scent beads to help. However, throwing a little orange peel down will help just as much. Lemons help as well.
2. Skin care. Orange peels have powerful ingredients for your skin. Check out this awesome tutorial for making your own body scrub from orange peels.
3. Room freshener. Simmer your peels in water and it will freshen your room.
4. Infused oil. If you like the flavor of orange you can infuse olive oil with the peels. Just throw some of the zest in there and let it soak for a while.
5. Garbage can deodorizer. Throw some peels in the bottom of your trash can and it will help with any strong odors.
6. Fire! Did you know that oranges are pretty flammable? Next time you go camping, use it to help start a campfire.
What do you do with orange peels?
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