DIY

Creating a Vegetable Container Garden

March 12, 2015 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago, April posted about Square Foot Gardening. This got me thinking about other ways to have a vegetable garden such as using containers. For those of you in the city with a small yard or perhaps no yard at all, container gardening might be just the thing for you. For me personally, this method works best for us because our dogs do not dig in our containers like they do in our actual yard.

Now, all good things begin with a Google search and that is exactly what I did. Check out this insanely informative article about Container Vegetable Gardening. It is pretty much the same method as the Square Foot Garden only it’s not a square foot.

For us, I have huge containers already which worked perfectly for our veggies. Then, I found my husband’s old wheel burrow and decided to turn that into a planter too. As it turns out, he kinda used it so now I have to buy him a new one…not cool. But, it sure looks cute!

All this to say, grab some containers and think outside the box! You’ll save money and stay healthy at the same time!

Now I am trying to resist the urge to buy the old bathtub I saw on Craigslist…wouldn’t that be the cutest planter in the world?!!?

Frugal Living: Make Your Own Terrarium

March 12, 2015 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

It is planting time! One of the things my kids enjoy is watching little seeds sprout into something beautiful. This year, we made terrariums out of empty pop bottles and my kids get to watch them grow each day. How fun it will be to plant the seeds in the ground soon!

These terrariums are so easy to make and inexpensive. Even if you’re not a pop drinker, you might have family members who throw out 2 liters, just ask if they can give them to you instead.

{Supplies}

2-liter Pop Bottles

Potting Soil

Seeds

Spray Bottle

Directions: This could not be more easier to create. Simply cut the 2-liter bottle towards the bottom. Add dirt into the bottom half of the bottle and plant your seeds.

Place the bottle back together (you might have to tape it to secure it). Then, spray water inside the top with your spray bottle and close it with the lid. If it dries out, just open the lid and spray with water. Be sure to put them in a sunny spot to get your seeds sprouting.

Even my youngest thought it was fun…

Creating a Vegetable Container Garden

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Frugal Living: How to Make Your Own Shampoo

March 12, 2015 By Sarah Roe 1 Comment

As you’ve probably noticed, we have been making a lot of things around here! Check out our Frugal Living page for tons of great recipes. A few weeks ago, someone requested a homemade shampoo recipe on our facebook fan page. For a simple recipe, you can easily just mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda with 8oz of hot water for a quick and easy shampoo…not to mention cheap.

However, if you want to dress it up a bit, check out the recipe below.

{Ingredients}

1/3 Cup Castile Soap (You can get this at health food stores)

1/4 Cup Coconut Milk

1/2 tsp of Vegetable Oil or Olive Oil

Directions: Mix the ingredients together and pour it into a squirt bottle or even an old shampoo bottle. The bottles below were only .49 each, they’re great for this. Be sure to get the ingredients correct, too much coconut milk or oil and you will end up with oily hair.

It only takes about a teaspoon of this mixture to wash your hair, much less than conventional shampoo.

You’ll find using organic Castile soap does not necessarily make this recipe frugal. If you’re trying to save money, go with 1 TBS of baking soda and 1 cup of hot water. However, if you want a nice shampoo that is free of chemicals then use this recipe. The Castile soap was $6 for Dr. Bronner’s and I bought a citrus scent which was great. The coconut milk will run close to $3 at most stores.

I love that it is free of harsh chemicals and smelled great too!

{Related Posts}

Frugal Living: Make Your Own Terrarium

Creating a Vegetable Container Garden

Frugal Living: How to Make Your Own Dish Soap

Make Your Own Toilet Fizzies

March 12, 2015 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

So let’s have this conversation…

I live in a home with 6 other people, yep, I remarried last month and now have 5 kiddos and a husband. Did I mention all 5 kiddos are boys? That’s right, I’m completely outnumbered. At this point you can only guess what our bathrooms are like, I have to clean them daily and sometimes several times. Yuck.

I was scrolling through facebook when I saw this awesome recipe for Toilet Fizzies on AllYou.com. I think these are the coolest things and easy for my boys to throw into the toilet as needed. I’m going to make some this week and I thought I’d share the recipe with you too!

Frugal Living: Homemade Carpet Stain Remover

March 7, 2015 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

Ok, I’m having a problem. A few months ago, we adopted a Chocolate Lab named Bolt. Bolt is very cute. The problem? Bolt likes to bolt. He hangs out in the laundry room while we’re at work however, he has found a way to get out and well…trash our entire house while we’re away. We did manage to find a remedy for this situation and all things are now good. However, the carpet stains and lingering smell still live on.

Gross.

I have tried everything. I have been trying so hard to avoid getting our carpet cleaned professionally right now since it was already done not that long ago. In my search for gross stain remedies, I actually came across a carpet stain remover recipe that actually seems to work…and work very well!

For the smell factor, I had already sprinkled the stain with baking soda and vacuumed it off. Keep in mind, I have been scrubbing the stains using various commercial cleaners and other miscellaneous inventions however none compared to this one.

{Homemade Carpet Stain Remover}

1 TBS Dish Soap (If you can find clear soap, use that to prevent it from staining your carpet even further. Although, I will admit, I used blue Dawn and it was fine…but I don’t think you’re supposed to do that).

1 TBS White Vinegar

2 Cups Warm Water

Directions: Mix it all together. Make sure the water is warm. Scrub the stain with a washcloth and blot dry with a towel.

It took very little scrubbing before the stain was completely gone as in, totally invisible and non-stinky. I even used this on those weird stains that seem to appear mysteriously on the carpet and it got those out too. I still plan on getting our carpets professionally cleaned in the next month or so but in the meantime, this worked great!

Obvious Disclaimer: I am not a carpet expert. Be sure to try this on a small area of carpet before you cover the entire room. Use the recipe at your own risk.