Skinny Jeans: They're Not for Everyone.

I think I’m one of the only women my age not wearing skinny jeans. When they were first popular (five years ago?) only the junior high girls in the youth group at our church wore them. And I was a pharma rep then. Skinny jeans wouldn’t have been appropriate work attire.

Then I was pregnant. Skinny jeans wouldn’t have fit. And they [probably] didn’t sell any maternity skinny jeans in my price range.

Freezer Paper Stenciling Tip of the Day

While working on my latest project, which will be posted in the next day or so, I discovered you can re-use your freezer paper stencils.

This is exciting, yet sad, since I have always thrown mine away after one use. I am now mourning all the stencils I could have re-used. (Like the bike stencils I used to make my husband a shirt for Christmas. I could use that one right now!)

I found this tidbit of information out when I tried to re-position a stencil. Instead of recutting the stencil, I just thought I'd try to restick part of it.

So this means that if you are positioning a stencil and you iron it down, then change your mind on the positioning, you can peel it up and re-iron it before painting.

I guess I'd better get a used stencil storage system started!

One-Pot Pasta Dinner

This lasagna recipe is really yummy and makes cleaning up easy! It tastes like lasagna.

1 # sweet sausage

1 small onion, chopped

1 jar of spaghetti sauce (26 ounces)

4 cups of egg noodles

1 cup of water

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

2T Parmesan cheese (from the green plastic can)

1 T fresh parsley, snipped into tiny pieces

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded.

1. Cook sausage and onion in a large pot until brown; drain.

2. Stir in spaghetti sauce, noodles, and water and bring to a boil.

3. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occassionally.

4. In a separate bowl, combine ricotta, parmesan and parsley. Drop onto the pasta mixture. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top. Cover and cook for a few more minutes to melt the cheese.

Unloading the Dishwasher

Could there be a more boring title for a blog post?

Anyway, just wanted to share some tips I've been using to make the task of unloading the dishwasher go faster. I personally hate this quick chore.

1) Open all your cupboards and drawers in the kitchen and leave them open til you're all done putting away the dishes.

2) When loading the dishwasher, put all the forks in one of the utensil spaces in the utensil caddy. Do the same with the spoons and knives. That way you just take them out and plop them into the drawer. No sorting necessary. (My husband instituted this one in our home.)

Do you have any time-saving tips for doing dishes?

Altering an Undergarment

If you are a woman and wear tank tops in the summer, you likely have the problem of bra straps that show. I've seen a number of ideas for adding snaps and things to the tank top to hide the straps, but I decided that was too much work to alter all the tank tops. Instead, I altered one of my bras to create criss crossed straps and will wear it with tank tops.

It was very easy to criss-cross the straps and only required sewing two tiny seams.

After you take apart the seams, cross the straps, making sure not to twist them in any way. Note how to thread the loose end back through the tiny buckle on the bra (you might have to use an intact bra for reference):

Then you'll just sew it in place and backstitch a few times at the beginning and end of the seam!

Easy, frugal, and a time-saver over adding ribbon and snaps to all your tank tops!

Organizing and Tossing

Since we're moving, I've been cleaning out drawers. By my computer, I have accumulated a modest stack of gift cards. I didn't know if they had any money left on them but wanted to either toss them or put them in my wallet--depending on their status, of course.

I started trying to search each store's individual site to find where to enter the codes...but that was taking too long. So I googled "check balance of lands end gift card" and this website came up that links to lots of different store's pages where one can do this.

I'm not being paid or anything, but thought I'd share this tip with my readers.
giftcardbalancecheck.com

I wish I had thought of that idea for a site!!

Cereal Prices Going Up?

I just read that cereal prices will be rising due to smaller wheat crops around the globe (but excluding the US).

I recommend not relying on cereal as your main breakfast source anyway (it is a highly processed type of food, full of simple sugars, and expensive). But if you are a cereal addict, you'd best stock up now. Try to find some coupons if brand name cereals are a must. If not, try checking out off-brands at Wal-Mart, Aldi, or Trader Joe. It might save you time to stock up, anyway.

You could say "No" to big cereal's alleged rising prices by branching out and making your own cooked breakfast cereals like oats or Bulgar and adding dried fruit or honey to make them palatable.

Powdered Milk

We've been using lots of whole milk at our home lately since that's the only kind toddlers are supposed to consume. But when I cook, I hate to use it (calories!) and also we seem to go through it so fast I don't like to 'waste' it.

So I started using non-fat powdered milk in my baking and cooking excursions. I had a big box I used for my DIY Frappiccuino which is taking up space in my pantry. The instructions are on the side. Baked goods seem to turn out well when I substitute the reconstituted milk for the regular milk.

It is far cheaper and has less calories and fat than using whole milk. Also, if you were out of milk, it saves you a trip to the grocery store!

Time Savers

-Keep the same glass all day. Saves time & dishwasher space. Mark it with one of those oil pencils used in chemistry labs if necessary!
-Use a few different laundry baskets in your room. One is for whites, one is for colors, and one for delicates.
-Put your junk mail straight into the trash instead of setting it on the counter.
-Buy birthday cards in bulk. Address them while you're thinking about it. Put them in a stack, and send them out once a month.
-Put a piece of bread into your brown sugar container. This keeps it moist and helps it not form small rocks (you know what I mean!)
-Brush your teeth in the shower. I used to do this in college. It saved me time!
-Moisturize your cuticles with baby oil. Cheap and easy and makes your nails shiny.
-Do bicep curls with large cans of soup while you wait for water to boil in the kitchen.

Sweet Potatoes for Babies

My little guy loves sweet potatoes. I found it is far cheaper to make them myself from whole yams than to buy them in the tiny packages already pureed.

I used to peel, steam, and puree the sweet potatoes.

WOW ... I was wasting my time. A lady @ my MOPS table clued me in:

1. Rinse sweet potatoes
2. Prick sweet potatoes with a fork
3. Bake in 350 degree oven for 60-80 minutes.
4. Cool for 20 minutes.
5. The skins peel right off.
6. Mash with a fork or potato masher*.
7. Freeze.

*One would likely want to puree with some water in a blender
 for younger babies or for babies who dislike lumps or the stringiness I've found to be typical of sweet potatoes.

Save Time: Socks

Pin your socks together before putting them in the laundry.

You don't have to sort them once they're all clean and dry!

Have you considered...

...washing your clothing less often? As in, "I only wore these jeans for a few hours, they don't smell, they aren't visibly dirty....I'll just hang them back up"?

I see this as a frugal practice for two reasons:

1) Less wear & tear on the clothing. For example, I wash each piece of my son's clothing practically every time he wears it. (It is usually dirty as he is a messy eater! Also, he is in the crawling stage, so his clothing has been all over the floor.) But his clothing just LOOKS WORN very fast. I attribute that to the fact that I wash it quite often. I don't want my clothes to wear out that fast! Kids grow quickly; they need new clothes often.

2) Less water, laundry detergent, and energy costs.

Plus, it saves time! Enough said! Hang up your not visibly dirty clothes and don't feel guilty about it!

Make Life Easier

~When painting, put the roller or brush in a plastic bag and it'll stay wet for a few days. No need to scrub it out three times over the course of three days.

~Multi-task in the morning....use your hair straighter to iron your clothing (as a touch-up for small spots on a button-down shirt). This won't help you iron an entire dress.

~Why pay the UPS store for foam packing peanuts? Pop some popcorn with an air-popper. Buying packing materials is highway robbery.

~Get stickers off of things like mirrors and glass: use mayonnaise & a putty knife.

~Dry out the bath toys by hanging them in a lingerie laundry bag from a suction cup in the bathtub.

~Cut pizza with scissors. That's what we did at camp when we made pizza for 180 people. It's faster and much easier.

When Brown Sugar Turns Rock-Solid...

Put a piece of bread into the container! It will soften right up.

I am still working on finishing my 'unfinishable projects'. Stay tuned.

Spreadsheets and Saving Time

My husband loves to make spreadsheets. I really don't. But I do like making lists, particularly if we're going somewhere. Two weekends ago, we went camping (a great frugal way to take a vacation). We noted that we make the same list every year but forget at least a few things.

This year, we came home, didn't throw away the list, but added a few things we'd forgotten. Then we made a spreadsheet and saved it on the computer. What a great way to save time next year!