Yummy

I found these when I was getting golden raisins for something I was cooking. They are sour fruit flavored raisins, they taste like sour skittles or sour patch kids candy. My kids love them! After they tried them I went back to the store and bought ten more boxes. My son is crazy about candy so far we have been able to satisfy that with the raisins. My daughter who likes Skittles, but shouldn't eat them because of her braces, is enjoying them also. What a fun healthy replacement for a sour candy.

Costumes

This is a good time of year to fill a little girls dress up box. I was at Walmart and saw that they had Disney Princess costumes for $10. (would make a great Christmas present) Those dresses cost $30 any other time of the year. Watch for good sales on these items just after Halloween. Other places I have had good luck are local second hand stores (they cut the price in half the day after Halloween) and resale shops.

Pumpkins!

No one wants to throw away a pumpkin that they spent all that time on. I have found the answer. (You may have seen these before) Craft pumpkins!! One Saturday in October (at Michaels) you can purchase a craft pumpkin (at a discounted rate for this activity $5) and work on it in their craft room. Every year they have different projects for the pumpkins and they always have more then one option.
I love that the store provides the supplies and the room to make the mess. (No cleanup for mom!)

Every year we pick our favorite one and add it to our collection. I wonder what it will be this year?

Halloween Decoration

Halloween Decorations are fun! and they don't have to be spendy or fancy. As you will notice my life and surroundings need to be kid friendly, and affordable. The kids have a blast with these. I picked up each bucket for a quarter a piece at a local second hand store. We have stacked them to make a Halloween totem poll, and they can still use them for trick-o-treating. As an added bonus the kids I watch LOVE to play with them, fill them with toys and restack them when done.

Financial Friday (#3)

A 2006 study published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted by Rutgers University found that almost three fourths of the people surveyed ate out at least once a week, and 10% ate out almost every day. The U.S. Department of Agriculture calculates that eating out accounts for half of total food expenditures, an increase of more than 16% since 1972.(Just one generation ago)

Did you know??

-Keep your laundry room door shut while the dryer is in use. A dryer uses air to dry the clothes. By keeping the door open you force your dryer to work harder. (not to mention your air conditioner)

I do this in the summer because I don't want the dryer heating up my home. But I had never thought about the cool air causing the dryer to work harder, that's a double whammy.

-Also don't forget to clean out your lint trap. Do this after every load and you could use up to 50% less energy. (I do this all the time because I'm worried about the extra lint floating around and becoming a fire hazard.)

-Don't overload your dryer! An overloaded dryer cannot work efficiently. Limit the size of your dryer's load. Not only will it take less time to dry, but you clothes will come out less wrinkled.

My favorite MOP!

It took me a few years to find a mop that I liked. One that did a good job so I wouldn't have to get on my hands and knees so often. I like my Swiffer mop, but not the way you would think. At first I liked the wet pads, but after a few moppings the floor seemed a little tacky. I like my Mr. Clean. I like the way it makes the house smell when all the floors are cleaned with it.

Before I mop the floor I make sure I have some mixed up. I have a special bottle (make sure its labeled!) I mix a little Mr. Clean and some water in the spray bottle.

A clean rag is needed for this way of mopping. I chose a pack of white washcloths because they can be bleached. (and I've learned to buy colored washcloths for in the bathrooms so their is NO confusion)

I tuck the dry clean rag (washcloth) into the tabs of my Swiffer.

So that the bottom is completely covered, just like when you use their pads.

Then I spray the Mr. Clean on the floor and wipe it up with the mop.

You can see the dirt that it picks up, and the reason I bleach my rags.

This is easy enough that my kids mop the floor. My son is very visual so this works well for him. He tries to see how dark he can get the rag from mopping.

Money wise this works for me also. A couple bucks for the Mr. Clean and a few bucks for the washcloths. We have been using the same Mr. Clean and washcloths for over a year and my floor gets mopped at least twice a week. (It gets cleaned more now that the kids can help)