Category: frugal

Green Cleaning with the Norwex Dust Mitt & Kitchen Cloths

Last week I reviewed the Norwex Enviro Cloth for y’all, which is my favorite Norwex product.  Today I’m sharing details about two of my other favs, the dust mitt and the kitchen cloths.  Together with the Enviro Cloth and the Window Cloth, these products have helped us drastically reduce the chemical usage in our home, as well as reduce our paper waste and bring down our cleaning budget. 

First up is the dust mitt.  In my opinion, this little beauty is the most fun to use.  You put it on and just go for it, dusting any and every surface.  You don’t need Pledge, chemicals, or paper towels.  When you are done you bang the dust out of it (like you would a rug) and throw it in the laundry after a couple of uses.  It picks the dust up without spreading it around, so your surfaces stay dust free for quite a while and nothing ends up on the floor.  It can easily clean between mini blinds and the tops of ceiling fans.  The dust mitt retails for $16.99 and will last for years, paying for itself in savings on paper towels and chemical dusting sprays in a few months.  You can also get it as part of the Household package (my personal favorite deal) with the Enviro Cloth and Window Cloth for $48.99.  Click here to shop and be sure to list me (Becca Eby) as your hostess.

My other must have item from Norwex is the kitchen cloth.  This comes in two sizes (cloth and towel) and I have both.  I love the small one for cleaning up after meals and wiping down the counters and Bear’s high chair, and the large one for bigger messes.  As you can see below it has a looser weave than the Enviro cloth which helps it to grab onto big food particles and pick them up rather than spread them around.  The kitchen cloths contain silver making them anti-bacterial.  As long as you wring them out after each use bacterial growth in inhibited in the cloths and they won’t cross contaminate.  You can buy the small kitchen cloth for $9.99 and the larger kitchen towel for $19.99.  You can get a better deal and buy them together in the Kitchen Microfiber Collection with the Veggie and Fruit Cloth and Kitchen Scrub Cloth for $54.99.

If you are truly interested in reducing the chemicals in your home, reducing your paper waste, and reducing your household cleaning budget, give Norwex a try.  There are several small collections you can check out just to get started.  The products are made with fair trade practices and will last for years, paying for themselves in savings on chemicals and paper goods in just a few months.  Feel free to email me or comment below if you have questions.  You can check out the full line of Norwex products here and shop away.  Please put my name (Becca Eby) as your hostess.  My online party will be open until June 20th.  

Five Easy Ways to Entertain Toddlers in the Summer

Summer is officially here and our regular week day events during the school year have slowed down or stopped completely until September and we are constantly looking for ways to keep the Bear entertained.  Today I’m breaking down my favorite toddler entertaining ideas for you that are all free or super cheap ways to beat the heat and keep that kiddo happy.

#1 Fill up a Kiddie Pool in your yard.  We actually have 2, one from Amazon and one from a consignment sale and he LOVES them.  He will splash and play for hours in both of them.  Give a toddler a hose and a few buckets and he will be happy all day.  At the end of the day we take his buckets and water the plants and trees with whatever is left in the pools, so nothing goes to waste.
#2 Visit you neighborhood pool.  Our city has 5 neighborhood pools and membership is super cheap ($60 for the whole family for all 5 pools all summer).  We visit a different pool every few days and swim our hearts out.  The Bear has a great little Puddlejumper life jacket and is already jumping off the wall into the water.  We love it and he always eats and sleeps well after a big swim.  As a former pool rat (shout out to my Leawood pool peeps) there is no better summer getaway than the neighborhood pool.  We use cloth swim diapers in both our backyard and our neighborhood pool.  You can read all about swim diapers here and shop for them here.
#3 Go to Story Time at the Library. Air conditioning + free = awesome.  Our local library has story times for every age group as well as one for the whole family.  We signed up for the toddler class and are so excited to have an air conditioned, fun, educational, and FREE place to get out of the sun all summer long.
#4 Find a free Splash Park in your area.  We are so lucky to have several free splash parks near our house and will be spending lots of time there this summer when the playground equipment is too hot to touch. Check out your city’s Parks and Recreation website to find splash parks in your area.  They typically have several water elements and a soft pad underneath for kids to run on barefoot.
#5 Mall walk and play at the indoor playground.  Several of our local malls have great indoor, air conditioned play spaces perfect for toddlers.  We pack up the fam and a picnic lunch and head to the mall in the morning to mall walk like champs getting a little exercise for mama and then hit the mall play ground to get a work out for the Bear.  Everybody wins and nobody sweats.
How do you entertain yourself and/or your kids in the summer?

Frugal Friday: Our Top 3 Cheap Babysitting Solutions

As parents on a tight budget, we are always looking for a cheap babysitting solutions so we can have date nights, go to social events, and spend time with friends.  We don’t have any family near us, so that’s not an option.  In Dallas the going rate for babysitting one child is around $10-15 per hour.  PER HOUR, people.  That means if we want to go out to dinner and a movie we are shelling out an additional $40 to the babysitter, minimum.  There is no room in our budget for that kind of expense, unfortunately.  Our whole dining out and entertainment budget for an entire month is $95.  Yep, that’s it.  We are on one income and prioritize saving for retirement and other things above dining out and entertainment.  So, we’ve had to get creative when it comes to babysitting solutions.  We’ve found a few things that work well, and one we really want to try.

Cheap Babysitting Solutions:
1) Parents’ Night Out – Several churches and local kid businesses (YMCA, etc) host Parents’ Night Out evenings a few times a year.  We sign up for every one we come across.  In our area these are typically a 4-5 hour window where you drop your child off and pay a fee to help the church youth group raise money.  Most churches are well equipped to care for children because they do it on a regular basis, and we feel good about helping out a local church.  Usually you don’t have to be a member, and most in our area charge $10 for the first child for the whole time slot, and $5 for each additional child.  This is a steal!  To find a Parents’ Night Out in your area, just do a google search or call local churches or kid friendly organizations.

2) The Swap – Trade babysitting nights with another family.  We’ve done this a few times and hope to schedule more in the future.  Most kids Bear’s age go to bed around 7 pm like he does, so we put him to bed and then have 1 parent from another family come over and watch tv, read in peace, etc on our couch while we go out for a few hours.  Then one of us goes over to that family’s house on another night to relax and watch the baby monitor while they go out.  Everybody wins.  This doesn’t work as well for single parents unless you can take your child to the other house and put them to bed there, then transport them home when the parents return.

3) The Co-op – My parents were part of a babysitting co-op in our neighborhood growing up, and my mom has encouraged me to start one here with our friends.  A babysitting co-op is a group of families who organize themselves to trade off babysitting using a point or voucher system.  You earn points by babysitting for others, and then cash them in when you need a sitter.  I haven’t gotten around to starting or joining one, but hope to soon.

What’s your best cheap babysitting solution?  

 

Frugal Friday: Cheap Toddler Entertainment

On a recent grocery store trip I accidentally purchased the wrong kind of dried beans.  I was going for kidney but came home with pinto.  I meant to return them but kept forgetting.  Best $2 I ever accidentally spent.  I didn’t get the red beans and rice dish I was craving, but I did create a fresh way to entertain Bear.
We took half the bag of beans and poured them into Bear’s sand pail and got out the rest of his sand toys as well as a few plastic cups.  Every afternoon we go outside and sift, pour, and dump the beans til his little heart is content.
He LOVES them.  I love them because they are super easy to scoop back into the bucket and there is no harm done if a few end up in the grass.  All that scooping and sifting is great for his motor skill development, and keeps him completely entertained.
I’ve seen lots of sensory trays on Pinterest and have wanted to make one for a long time.  Instead we have a cheap sensory bucket.  Yay for cheap entertainment!
How do you keep your kids or yourself entertained on the cheap?

Frugal Friday: Shopping Big Consignment Sales

 Have you ever shopped a BIG consignment sale?  We are thrift store regulars, but have fallen in love with the world of big consignment sales.  This time around I’m consigning at the upcoming Rhea Lana sale in Frisco and hoping to make money.  I’m also planning to shop.  When you consign you get to shop early, and let me tell you that these sales get competitive.  I’m hoping to find a birthday present for Bear, as well as summer clothes for both kiddos.  To see details about the Rhea Lana Frisco sale or find a RL sale near you check out the website here.

 So, you might be thinking that the big sale atmosphere is a little intimidating.  The first time around is, but you get the hang of it.  Everything is marked down to at least 70% off retail, so the prices are fantastic. I also feel good about helping other families to clear out their stash and make money, all while saving money myself.  We all win.   These sales are especially great for pregnant mamas because you can find maternity clothes AND tons of newborn to 6 months clothes because they wear them for such a brief period of time.  I’ll give you a few tips to succeed at a big sale like Rhea Lana.
1) Arrive early.  Do your research and find out if you can get an early shopping pass.  Most sales have these available online for pregnant or expectant adopting mamas.  You can also volunteer or consign at the sale and get to shop REALLY early.  Whatever your time slot is, get there before it starts because there will be a line.
2) Bring a collapsible laundry hamper.  Trust me on this.  You want a lightweight carrier for all your finds.  That way you can toss everything you like into the basket and sort through it while you are in line.
3) Bring a list of everything you are looking for so you don’t get confused or forget something important.  I would break it down like this: big items to look for first (strollers, ride on toys, playhouses,etc); small toys; clothes by age/gender/season.  For instance, I’ll be looking for a tricycle, board books, summer shoes in size 6 & 7, 0-6 and 6-12 month soft leather girl shoes, and 3T summer clothes for Bear.  I will have a list of everything detailed and in my purse, so my pregnant brain doesn’t have to concentrate too hard.
4) Come back for the Half Price Sale.  Most big sales have several half price time slots at the end of the sale, so again check online and find the time slot for you.  Everything will drop from 30% of the retail price (70% off) down to 15% of the retail price.  Heck yes.

Have you ever shopped a BIG consignment sale like Rhea Lana?
What is your favorite big consignment sale?


Frugal Friday: Reusable Swim Diapers for Your Wee One

If you are anything like us, you are so over this whole winter thing and ready for summer.  Our new neighborhood has 5 community pools we can use for the whole summer for $60!  So excited…  For this week’s Frugal Friday edition I’m sharing one of my favorite summer money savers, the reusable swim diaper.  No, I’m not talking about reusing the Little Swimmers or Splashers.  That would be nasty and impossible.  I’m talking about using cloth swim diapers that are made to be worn all summer long.  We’ve actually used the same Bummis swim diaper the last two summers because of the wide weight range.  It will probably work again this year.  I also have 2 teeny tiny i-play swim diapers lined up for Mini Bear to wear.  Yay for water babies!  
How much can you really save by using cloth swim diapers? About 90%.  I did a little research, and the cheapest I could find disposable swim diapers for was $11.13 for an 18 count pack of diapers ($.62 each).  For the price of one pack of disposables (or less) you can buy a reusable swim diaper that will last all summer.  You can find a ton of sales right now on many great brands like Bummis, i play, Imse Vimse, My Swim Baby, and Apple Cheeks.  If you are at the pool or beach all summer going through one pack of disposables per week you could spend as much as $156 per kid on swim diapers.  Yikes.  
How do cloth swim diapers work?  Just like disposable swim diapers.  They hold in the poop and let out the pee.  Once they are soiled you just rinse them out (like you would a swim suit) after dumping the solids in the toilet, then hang them up to dry for tomorrow.  Easy.     
Why should I think about swim diapers right now?  They are on sale!!!  Buying off season is a fabulous way to save even more money on seasonal items.  

If you are interested in shopping for reusable swim diapers, I’d love for you to use my affiliate links below to find deals at Kelly’s Closet and Amazon. If not, check out your local cloth diaper shop where swim diapers are probably in the off season sale section right now.  Thanks!
– Swim Diapers from several brands starting at $9.95
Amazon links are below to my two favorite brands of swim diapers.

Do you use cloth or disposable swim diapers?  On a scale from one to “get me to a beach before I hurt someone”, how ready are you for summer?  I’m at a strong 8 right now.

Frugal Christmas: Five Easy Ways to Save Money Next Year

This year marked our fourth Christmas being debt free with no credit cards!  I cannot believe it has been that long.  The sense of freedom when debts are gone doesn’t go away or lessen over time.  When we started following the teachings of Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover and Financial Peace University in 2009 we had NO idea how much our lives would change for the better.  You can read more about our financial story here if you’re interested.  This past year we transitioned to one income.  Funny story: I actually called in to Dave Ramsey’s radio show to ask if we were okay financially to quit my job and become a stay at home mom in a few months and he told me to do it that day.  I waited six more months, but it was so great having the advice our one of our financial heroes.  Christmas is a tricky time for money and frugality.  We all want to make it special for ourselves, our kids, our friends, our loved ones, and even our pets.  It is totally possible to be frugal and still have a fabulous gift giving, charity helping, generous, festive Christmas.  I promise.  We’ve done it for the last four years and we get better at it every year.  
To start you off I’ll share five easy ways you can start NOW to have a frugal Christmas next year.  
1)  BUDGET!!!  Yes, I mean it.  Plan now for how much you want to spend on everything from decorations to Santa gifts to cookies for your child’s classroom.  Christmas will be here on December 25, 2013, just like always and as Dave says, it is not an emergency.  If you set your budget and start putting a little bit aside in your gift or Christmas fund in January, you won’t be strapped for funds and it will make it easier to save on other things.  Don’t know where to start? Write down how much you spent this year on everything.  If you will be paying it off for months you know you will have to reduce.  I’ll share our Christmas budget as an example.
Cards: $20 
Stamps: $25 
Gifts to each other: $200 ($100 each) 
Gifts for Bear: $50  
Gifts for Family: $160  (We draw names but still buy a little something for our parents and nieces/nephews.)
Decorations: $20
Total: $475
That total may seem super low to some of you and super high to others.  Jed polled his 9th grade students and they guessed overall that we would budget to spend $500 each on each other and about the same on Bear.  Let’s just say they are a little bit confused about how much their teachers get paid.  Our budget will go up next year with our new addition, so we will probably budget $50 per month over the year.  If you like to do holiday specific charitable giving, plan for that as well.  We give monthly to our churches and causes, so we don’t do a big year end gift.  Most folks do get a lot of charity asks in December though, so it might be wise to set aside a bit to cover the unexpected.
2) BUY ON SALE AND HIDE  I start looking for Christmas stuff at after Thanksgiving sales, the year before.  Then I strategically hide everything.  All of the Bear’s presents were purchased at consignment sales, thrift stores, garage sales, discount stores like Ross and Marshall’s, or were at least 50% off at retail stores.  They all looked new and he loved them.  The wooden activity block came from a Rhea Lana consignment sale and cost $12.  They retail from $75 to $150.  I bought it in October of 2011 and saved it for this year.  Your toddler will never know that you got that doll off Ebay, I promise.  We have all fallen prey to the “my baby deserves the best” ploy so many times.  Your baby deserves a stable home with no money problems.  This premise applies to other categories as well.  Decorations are on clearance everywhere right now.  Buy Forever stamps for next year and set them aside.  They will only go up in price.   
3) LOOK FOR DEALS AND THINK AHEAD  If you like to send out photo cards, take a cute family picture in  August and have it ready.  Sign up for emails from printing sites like Shutterfly, Tiny Prints, Minted, and Snapfish.  Companies start sending out emails offering 10 free cards in September this year.  I sent out about 50 cards and paid around $12 total using deal emails like those.  I ordered from several different sites and only paid shipping.  On other things always shop around.  Always, always, always check Amazon.  Download the app and do it in the store.  Target now price matches year round, which rocks.  
4) USE CASH MONEY, HONEY  Studies show that your brain actually reacts differently when you use cash as opposed to cards.  You feel it more and it triggers pain receptors.  This is a GOOD thing.  Remember that money you budgeted each month in #1?  Take it out of the bank and put it in an envelope marked “gifts” and use that to make your purchases.  If you find a deal online, write that amount on the envelope and put amount of cash back in the bank.  Using cash is hard, but it is worth it.  By the end of the holidays next year you will know exactly how much you spent and will have paid $0 in interest on your cards.  Winning.  You can read more about how we use a cash system year round here.  
5)  MAKE MEMORIES, NOT MONEY MISTAKES  If you think back on all your holiday gifts and experiences, you will probably be hard pressed to remember more than a few gifts.  What I remember most are the experiences: cooking together, driving around to see lights, decorating the tree, caroling (or kazooing – I had a really fun youth pastor),  volunteering, Christmas Eve services, etc.  Think about what makes your holiday special to you.  Ask your spouse or siblings what matters to them.  Most people probably won’t say the gifts.  Draw names and set a price limit with your adult siblings, their spouses, and parents to take down the stress level for everyone.  We do a $50 limit with my family.  Buying one thoughtful gift for a family member is sooo much nicer and less stressful than buying 18 crap gifts for the whole bunch.  Give priceless but cost free gifts to friends and family like a night of free babysitting or offer to take their family photo.  Use your natural talents to make special presents for your loved ones.   Our consumer culture has turned Christmas into a competition, instead of celebration of God’s love for us and our love for each other.  Let’s take it back. 
How do you save money during the holidays?
Do you plan ahead?  
Send me your favorite frugal holiday tips by email or blog post comment and I’ll link to you in an upcoming post.  

Best of Bare Feet on the Dashboard: Frugal Living Edition

For folks who knew me back in my wild and crazy shopaholic days, the fact that I live my life debt free with no credit cards and write about frugal living probably comes as a shock.  It’s the real deal though, y’all.  My life changed completely when I came to the realization that if I kept digging holes for myself I would never have the life I wanted.  I was never a saver and always lost at Monopoly because I just had to have those hotels.  Now we live by the Dave Ramsey code of conduct and have a 6 month emergency fund.  Crazy! You can read about our financial story here, and I’m sharing some of my favorite frugal living posts from the last three years with you below in celebration of my three year blogging anniversary.  
Cash Money Honey
We use cash instead of credit cards.
Frugal Pregnancy Tips
Buying a Used Car with CASH
Creating an Emergency Fund
Grocery Shopping at Aldi
It will cut your grocery bill in half, seriously.
The Road to Financial Freedom
Financial Peace University Changed Our Lives
Budget Busting Temptation
How to Save 20% On Your Medical Bills
For real!
Mad Money
This explains how we budget our monthly spending money.
Are you debt free?  If so, how did you get there?  
Share your best frugal living tip in the comments below.

Frugal Christmas: Our Red and Aqua Mantle and Color Scheme

My goal this year was to decorate our new house in as festive a manor as possible while spending as little as possible and repurposing old decorations.  For this project I ended up buying only one can of spray paint and two spools of ribbon.  Everything else came from old decorations or prior projects.  Mission accomplished.  I just love red and aqua together, and I had some candles, mason jars, and Christmas balls that worked toward the color scheme, so I went for it.  

 These blue mason jars were a gift from my Meme (that’s southern for grandmother) and I use them all the time.  I filled them with Smell of Christmas potpourri by Aromatique, an Arkansas company.  I tied red ribbon leftover from other projects around them and placed this cute little trio on one end of the mantle.  

 Our stockings are hung by the chimney with care.  I made Jed’s and mine, but ended up throwing the one I attempted for the Bear away in a fit of crafting rage last year (long story).  You can read about how I made ours here.

 For the wreath I took apart this spring wreath, spray painted it white, and wrapped it in aqua ribbon.  I used pine cones that were already wired from my bouquet in Marci’s winter wedding, spray painted them white, and tied them with aqua and white ribbons.  I attached three red jingle bells leftover from the Bear’s toddler friendly Christmas tree.  I hung it with wide aqua ribbon.  

 I bought the joy sign at a yard sale a few years back, and the red and aqua Christmas balls were from after Christmas clearance years ago.  I nestled them in aqua fine net tulle that I also used the last few years.

 The red candles normally live in other spots around the house, but they look cute as a trio mirroring the trio of mason jars.

 I carried the red and aqua theme into our bedroom by decorating another mini tree with leftover jingle bells and white ribbon.

What’s your favorite Christmas color scheme?
How do your stay frugal with holiday decorating?

Frugal Christmas: A Toddler Friendly Mini Tree

 I LOVE decorating for Christmas.  I long for a touch of Christmas cheer in every room of the house.  The Bear’s room is a special challenge because he is now 18 months old and into EVERYTHING.  He can reach to grab things off his shelves and has a special gift for taking things apart.  I decided the answer was a toddler friendly mini tree, but my budget was only $5.

I found this mini tree in the dollar section at Target years ago, along with the hat topper and mini tree skirt.  They cost $2 total.  Target has mini tinsel trees right now, and all of their Christmas stuff will go on sale soon if it isn’t already. 

                                 

 I looked at mini tree ornaments at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, and Target, but most of what I found was either breakable or a choking hazard.  Yikes.  I remembered seeing a fun idea using plastic animals on Young House Love last year, but I couldn’t find the post and got frustrated.  After strolling the aisles of Hobby Lobby I came across a big container of large red jingle bells on sale for $3.50.  Jingle bells are festive, give a pop of color on my little silver tree, aren’t breakable, and are too big to be a choking hazard.  Hooray!  I bought white grosgrain ribbon on sale for $1 and pieces through each bell.

 The Bear had a fabulous time playing with the bells and was able to help me decorate his tree.  Hello, fine motor skill development!  I love the simplicity and festiveness of his tree, and the fact that he can’t break it or hurt himself on it.  Let’s call it a Christmas Mini Tree Miracle.

Here’s the toddler eye view.  Shiny!
Do you decorate your kid’s rooms for Christmas? How do you make it kid proof?