Ooey Gooey Glob

Part of what started me on my coupon kick was researching cloth diapers a year ago. I came across some sites that touted the benefits of making your own laundry detergent to save a buck, and maybe a little piece of the environment. I am all about saving a buck, but I quickly became sidetracked with couponing and forgot all about my laundry dreams. Last week, however, dove soap was on sale and giving register rewards at Walgreens, and I had coupons that made it all come out to be nearly free (after RRs). That motivated me to look back in to my past apothecary discoveries. So tonight, using my newly acquired cool melon dove bar soap and some ingredients I had on hand from general household use, I did it! I also tried out making some liquid hand soap while I was at it. You can make your own household cleaners too, as well as hair care products!

I was able to keep the soapmaking process going while feeding myself and little B some delicious leftovers and doing a few dishes as well. Overall, I was out MAYBE 15 minutes of my time. I now have 2 gallons of wonderful goo sitting in a bucket waiting to be poured into old detergent containers, and it is totally AWESOME!!! The directions recommend letting it sit overnight to gel, but I couldn't resist poking at it to see if it was working yet...and it totally was. The consistency is that of a soft cooked egg, or softset jello, or maybe stagnant slimy pond water. I would be lying if I said I didn't stick my hand down in the gooey middle of it and squish it around between my fingers ;-)

I did modify a few things from the recipe- I added a little more borax because I believe I have hard water, I used my nearly free dove soap instead of special laundry bar soap, and I used baking soda that I baked at 450ºF for about 20 minutes (to convert it from Sodium Bicarbonate [Baking soda] to Sodium Carbonate [Washing soda]). Right now, I am off the wall excited about the prospect of nearly free laundry, not to mention a lessened environmental footprint AND I am not paying big bucks for gallons of water.


















I am a little giddy about the goo too.




***Note, these are images from other websites, they should show the URL in the source code. I was not super mom enough to photodocument my own process tonight, maybe next time.

Happy Birthday TO ME!!!

SWEET WALGREENS ACTION!!!

I called corporate today to clarify the use of 'register rewards' as I have had mixed results in the past. These are coupons that print at wags when you buy certain items, and you are supposed to be able to use them like cash on your next purchase. Well, many cashiers would not allow me to use more than 1 in a single transaction. Reading the verbage on the coupon, I should be able to use as many of these as I have items...as long as it doesn't push the total negative. The lady thought I could only use one on a transaction, but said that she would pass it along to the higher ups.

This was about 2 pm, and I already received a call from our local manager Jordan! WAY TO GO JORDAN! He said he had been going back and forth with the district office to decide how to handle these. He agreed with me that I should be able to use 1 per item (they are 'manufacturer's coupons', so coupon policy says I can use one MC per item) =) Ha said he just had a meeting with all his cashiers and it shouldn't be a problem! WOOT. I also had him clarify that a RR should print even if I use a coupon on that item (as long as the Q isn't a RR for the same item). Sorry if you're not a couponer, this would be about clear as mud right?

This is a huge victory for me as I have been fighting them about this issue for a month now =) WTG WAGS!!!!!!

Stepping up my game

The economy, layoffs, recession, other big scary financial words...blah blah blah.  It hasn't hit toooo close to home *yet*, but I have been trolling the net looking for $$ saving plans just in case...not to mention, saving money is good, right?  

I have been reading about people who save $$ at CVS pharmacy, and save to the point that they actually *make* money (after rebates and such).  I was pretty bummed that we don't have one of

 those nifty stores in the Tulsa area, but we *do* have an overabundance of Walgreens stores.  Apparently, you can do something similar there combining manufacturer's coupons, store coupons, and there EasySaver rebate program.  

I thought I would give it a try this month and see how it worked out.  I didn't really start until this week, so I missed some really great deals the week before =( Oh well.  Pictured are just a few of the items I have bought there this month, and so far, I have a total net cost of $12.  That includes-

Two Sunday Papers (that I clipped the coupons from that saved me over $15)  -$2 each

Two Glade Sense&Spray air freshener systems - Final cost they pay ME $1.01 after two coupons and rebates

Two 'say yes to carrot' lip balms - They pay me $.60 after two coupons each

Thermacare heat wrap - free after rebate

Starbucks fancy evil chocolate - $1 each after in store and EasySaver coupons

Walgreens Contact Lens Soln.- Free after rebate

Two packs of 40ct. diapers- $10 total after coupon and in store discount (that's $.125 a diaper, outstanding!)

Revlon Spa Foundation - Free after rebate

That is just the beginning.  I got a few other things throughout the month, and now I am waiting on my Walgreens rebate card to arrive in the mail.  They load all my rebates on there, plus 10%.  That covers tax (you still have to pay tax on rebate/manufacturer's coupon items) and then some.  From here on out, I should never have to spend another dime out of pocket at Walgreens as long as I can keep my actual expense at an amount less than the $$ on the card.   They also have some items that print 'register rewards' that you can turn around and spend like cash on your next purchase.  You can't use them to buy the same item you received them on (well, you can, but you won't get another reward), but you CAN spend them on a different item that will give you a reward...then use that reward to buy another of the first item if you so desire!  I will try to update in a few weeks and let you know how this is working out for me =)

This all started because I was searching for some coupons I could print to save on Cascade.  Well, I could only find coupons that would come in the mail, and I needed detergent like yesterday.  

I settled for Palmolive's new 'ECO' variety in a move to save the world...or a few bucks, it was considerably less expensive than other name brands.  Well, it turns out it's cheap for a reason...go figure.  

It cleans alright, but it leaves a nice white film in its stead.  It does wipe right off, but it's not exciting to have more work to do after you thought the work was done!  It does smell VERY nice though while the dishes are running.

In other news, Brookelynn is walking.  About a month ago she began toddling, and now she is quite proficient at getting around upright like the rest of us civilized types.  She really is growing up too fast...she will be a year old in a couple weeks!  It is SO WEIRD to see her chasing after all the other kids at our Bible study group.  She can't keep up yet, but she sure tries hard!  

Barry and I celebrated three years of joyous matrimony last Tuesday.  He came home from work early and we hit a movie and Olive Garden.  It is the first movie we've seen together in the theatre since we saw fireproof with our church.  Before that?  I don't even remember!   It was very nice.  We wrapped up our evening at around 7PM...we really are getting old, lol.  

Off off and away...