When it comes to keeping the bathroom not only smelling clean, but actually really clean drastic times call for drastic measures. Everyone has times when visiting the bathroom can fill you with dread. It may be you have littlies toilet training or illness in the house or a dozen other reasons. Bathrooms are a thriving bacteria factory.
Deodorize and kill all those unwanted germs with some MOO toilet bombs. You will need: 1/3 cup bicarbonate soda 1/2 cup citric acid 30 drops of lavender, peppermint and lemon essential oils Water A tray to use as a mould - a flexible ice cube tray is good for this Step 1. Mix the bicarb soda and citric acid together and add the oils (if the mixture is not damp add a little water to the mixture). Step 2. Press the mixture into a mould (an ice cube tray is ideal) and leave to set for around 6 – 8 hours until they are dry. Once set, they are ready to use. Drop one or two in the toilet last thing at night, let them fizz and bubble and work their wonder overnight. In the morning just flush for a sparkling toilet.
8 Comments
Glitter is fun to use. It adds sparkle and shine, and wonderful colour to lots of different craft projects. Kids love to use it on posters and cards and on dough crafts. Mums love to sprinkle it under the Christmas tree or on a bedside table as fairy glitter and watch little faces light up with wonder and delight when they see it.
The problem is glitter is expensive. And it gets absolutely everywhere. Well not this homemade glitter. It's so cheap it's ridiculous, is really easy to clean up, safe for kids to use and can be made whenever you need it because it only takes about 15 minutes to prepare. To MOO glitter you will need: Table salt or sea salt, depending on whether you want fine or chunky glitter Food colouring Small bowl Fork Biscuit tray Baking paper Air tight jar Turn the oven on to heat to 180 degrees Celsius. Put your salt in small dish and add 1 drop of food colour. Stir with a fork to mix the colour through. Add another drop if you want darker colour. Make sure you mix it really, really well so the colour is evenly spread through the salt. Line a biscuit tray with baking paper. Spread the salt on the tray. Bake for 10 minutes. Let the glitter cool on the tray. Store it in an airtight jar, and use it just as you would regular glitter. Shared from Debt Free, Cashed Up and Laughing There are lots of kitchen tools and gadgets around, most of them pretty gimmicky or only good for one particular function. Things like tea bag squeezers may seem useful and cute in the shop, but get them home and you really do wonder why you bothered.
One set of kitchen tools I couldn't be without however are my spatulas. I have 5, all different sizes and shapes and made from different materials. There's the Tupperware pot spatula, just perfect for beating a batter due to the cut-out in the centre. I'm not sure if they're still available, this one is about 20 years old (Tupperware just keeps on going doesn't it?). Then there's the soft plastic spatula that fits the curve of my favourite mixing bowls. It does a great job of scraping every last drop of cake batter into the tin. But my very favourites are relatively new. I have three silicone spatulas, all different sizes and shapes. They were a spontaneous buy, I hadn't planned on them at all. I was in Big W with Mum, looking for cookies sheets and we were checking out the silicone bakeware. The smallest is just perfect for scraping out cream bottles and jam jars. The medium size cleans a mixing bowl perfectly. The largest is spoon-shaped and ideal for spooning pancake batter into a hot pan and cleaning out large mixing bowls. And they are three of my favourite kitchen money-savers. It's amazing just how much cream is left in the bottle after pouring it out. I use the smallest spatula to get every last drop of cream out of the bottle, sometimes as much as 1/4 cup - that's around 35c that would have gone into the bin if I didn't scrape. We use one bottle of cream a week, so over the course of a year that's $18.20 I am not throwing away. With that one use alone the spatula has paid for itself many times over! I scrape out all jars - pasta sauce, peanut butter, jam etc. And when I open a tin of baked beans or tomato soup it's always scraped out too. Australians waste billions of dollars worth of food each year, and a lot of it is the food left in jars, bottles and cans. A spatula can help reduce that waste! Vegemite jars are never recycled until they have been scraped and then swished with warm water (not hot, it will explode) and used to make gravy. Peanut butter jars are scraped out for sandwiches and then swished with a little warm water that I add to a curry, stir-fry or satay dish for extra flavouring. Scraping the mixing bowl can get two extra cupcakes from a batter, that's around 40c that's not going in the bin. I even use a spatula to scrape the pot when I've made mash - with two hungry boys - sorry young men - to feed there's never enough mash! These little scrapes are all small, quite insignificant on their own. But add them up and it's hundreds of dollars a year that isn't going into the bin or into the supermarket's profits. I'm always asked how I keep the grocery bill so low, this is one of the main ways. I make sure we use every last drop of everything and don't throw good food out - that really is just money in the bin. My spatulas make it easy to save money. Shared from Debt Free, Cashed Up and Laughing I LOVE this muffin recipe, because like it's name, it is always ready! Make up a double batch and keep it in the fridge for up to four weeks (I can guarantee it won't last that long). It makes oven fresh, warm muffins so easy you can surprise the family with an extra special breakfast in the same time you can set the table, get out the bowls, cereal and milk and sit down. If you don't have raw sugar, white sugar is fine, or half white, half brown works too. I've even substituted honey for the molasses when I've been out (you can get molasses in the health food aisle of the supermarket and use it to MOO brown sugar as well, it won't go to waste). Use vegetable oil if you don't have coconut oil (olive oil makes moist muffins, but can leave a heavy taste so half olive oil, half vegetable oil is good). MOO buttermilk is easy, and cheaper than buying it unless you already have it on your shopping list. Simply take two cups of milk, less two teaspoons. Stir in two teaspoons of lemon juice or white vinegar, let it sit for five minutes and you have your MOOed version of buttermilk. Always Ready Muffins
Ingredients: 3 cups rolled oats (not Quick Oats) 1 cup hot water 3/4 cup raw sugar 1/4 cup molasses 1/2 cup coconut oil (or butter) 2-1/2 cups wholemeal flour (or gluten free flour blend with xanthan gum) 2 tsp bicarbonate soda 1 tsp salt 2 eggs 2 cups buttermilk 1 cup dried fruit Method: Mix oats and hot water. Let stand 5 minutes to soften oats. In a separate bowl, cream coconut oil (or butter), sugar, eggs and molasses. Add oat mixture, bicarb soda, salt, fruit and flour alternating with milk. Store, covered, in the fridge up to 4 weeks. To cook: Fill greased muffin tins or cupcake liners 2/3 full (I use an ice ream scoop.) Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Makes about 3 dozen. The beauty of this recipe is that you cook as many as you need and chill remaining batter for next time. Ingredients:
2 flour tortillas or Mountain Bread* 2 corn tortillas or Mountain Bread* 2 tomato & basil tortillas or Mountain Bread* 2 spinach tortillas or Mountain Bread* Nonstick cooking spray garlic salt onion powder chili powder Method: Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Put tortillas on a clean surface and spray with cooking spray, then sprinkle with seasonings to your taste. Flip over, spray and season the other side. Pile the tortillas up on a cutting board and cut into quarters using a sharp knife, forming 4 triangles. Put the cut tortillas on baking sheets, being sure not to overlap any. Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven and slide off onto a cooling rack. They will get crisper as they cool. *Mountain Bread can be bought at your supermarket or online. You can order online from www.mountainbread.com.au There is a minimum order of 8 packets of Mountain Bread. If 8 packets sounds a lot Mountain Bread can be used for wraps, as lasagne sheets and in place of tortillas as well as making really nice chips. Bear in mind that it has a shelf life of 60 days, and can be frozen for up to 12 months. You can also share an order with a friend, delivery is free. From the October 2011 Journal It's school holiday time again, and I can guarantee there are hoards of hungry kids out there, peering into pantries and staring into fridges, looking for something to eat. You can buy snacks from the supermarket, when they are on sale - half price is the most you should pay, ever, or from grocery clearance stores like NQR here in Melbourne, but you are paying for a lot of nothing: packaging, artificial colours, artificial flavours, salt, sugar, fat - all things we don't need or really want to be paying for. Or you can be a very clever Cheapskate and whip up some great snack treats that cost a fraction of the price and rest easy knowing you're being kind to your budget and your kids. Over the next few days I'll post a few different snack foods, all favourites of ours. You can be sure my kids gave them a good taste test when they were younger, and you can be sure that we still enjoy them. Some of them are so simple the kids will be able to make them - a double win for you. They'll be doing the (not so) hard work instead of you and they'll be entertained for a while too! Today's snack idea is one of my absolute favourites - caramel corn (you'll need to to at least supervise this recipe, it does require a little cooking). Caramel Popcorn Ingredients: 20 cups pop corn 2 cups light brown sugar 1 cup butter or margarine 1/2 cup condensed milk 1 tsp bicarb soda 1 tsp vanilla extract Method: Spread the popcorn in a thin layer in shallow, greased baking pans. Preheat oven to 120 degrees Celsius. Combine the brown sugar, condensed milk and butter in a medium saucepan. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil over a medium heat. Boil for five minutes, stirring continuously. Remove from the heat and stir in the bicarb soda and vanilla essence, beating well. The mixture should be light and foamy. Immediately pour over the popcorn. Stir with a fork to mix. Don't worry too much if not the popcorn isn't completely covered with the caramel. Place into preheated oven and bake for one hour, stirring completely every fifteen minutes. Remove from oven and empty onto sheets of baking paper. Break the caramel corn into bite size pieces. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Variation: Bliss Bombs - add 2 cups unsalted peanuts to the popcorn before covering with the caramel mixture. From Debt Free, Cashed Up and Laughing - the Cheapskates way to living the good life I've just been browsing the Coles catalogue for this week and notice that condensed milk is on sale for $2.50, save 70 cents. I was gobsmacked! It's obviously been a while since I bought condensed milk because the last time (I just checked my notes) it was $1.69!
I do use condensed milk quite often, in baking and to make Russian caramels, but I can assure you I wouldn't be if I had to pay $2.50, let alone $3.20, a can (and those cans are about 30g smaller than they were when they were $1.69!). MOO condensed milk has been a staple in my pantry for years. It's easy to make, tastes and works exactly like the tinned version and costs less than $2 to make more than double the quantity you'd be paing $3.20 for. Here's my go to condensed milk recipe - and don't worry about being able to store it before it goes yellow. It will keep in the fridge for at least a week, longer if you turn the container upside down. But it freezes! Yes, put any extra in the freezer until you're ready to use it in another recipe. MOO Condensed Milk Ingredients: 1 cup hot water 2 cups skim milk powder 2 cups white sugar 6 tbsp butter or margarine Method: Place all ingredients in a food processor and mix for about 3 minutes. The mixture will be quite thin, but thickens on standing for about an hour. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to one week. Can be frozen, thaw before use. Makes 3 cups. Seriously, it is so quick and easy to make and so cheap - why would you ever spend your hard earned dollars on tinned condensed milk? Shared from Debt Free, Cashed Up and Laughing This topic came up again a few days ago, so I thought I'd revisit it here. Mountain Bread (that thin, flat wrap stuff) can be bought direct from Mountain Bread for 33% less than you buy it at Coles or Woolworths. If you order more than 8 packets (and no reason you can't - it lasts for just about ever, no preservatives and very little in actual ingredients, and it freezes) then delivery is free. There are a lot of different varieties. I buy wholemeal and corn. I use them for wraps, as lasagne sheets when I'm too lazy to make them, for quesadillas, to make "pita" chips and to make Australian sushi. We take them with us when we go camping, as fresh bread is hard to get in the bush. Being light and flat packed they store easily in the food drawer. They make great strudels when you don't have filo. I use three sheets, spread with melted butter, sprinkled with almond meal, and stacked. On the last layer i put stewed apple and sultanas, or apple and rhubarb, sprinkle with a little cinnamon and brown sugar, roll up and bake 30 minutes. Delicious with ice-cream. Use them as pastry sheets in the pie makers or quiche tins. Two sheets layered is great for sausage rolls when you don't have pastry. You'll find ordering info here You'll find the order form here (with prices and varieties). Lots of uses - if you have another one, please share it. This post has been shared from Debt Free, Cashed Up and Laughing
When is it wrong to live the Cheapskates way?
Obviously breaking the law and engaging in illegal practices is wrong and unethical. But what about bending the law a little? If you were to just walk in to a coffee shop and take three packets of sugar then that would be considered stealing. But what about when you buy a coffee and take an extra packet to keep in your bag or add to the picnic stash? Or when you buy a coffee and take the sugar even though you don't have sugar in your coffee? Is that stealing? Is that unethical? What would you do if you were given too much change at the checkout and realised it as soon as it was given to you? Would you just put it in your purse and say nothing? Or would you point out the mistake and hand it back? After all, the checkout operator made the mistake, not you. They should have been paying more attention to what they were doing, shouldn't they? How about when you are shopping for prices. Is it ethical to go from store to store, asking prices and playing each store off against the other to get that rock bottom price? It is a dilemma isn't it? To me living the Cheapskates way comes with responsibility. The responsibility to do my very best to live within our means, to be generous with our excess, to be able to maintain our lifestyle ethically and to be a good role model to my children in all things, including living honestly, morally and ethically. At the end of the day we have to account for the choices and decisions we make, no matter how small and insignificant they may seem. I've posted a Bare Bones Grocery Challenge in the April Journal to help with finding cash to rebuild the grocery stockpile. Yesterday I did a lot of inventories - fridge, freezers and pantry - with Tom's help. Here's what we have in the house at the moment: Cans:Pie Apple Fruit Salad Tomato Soup Cream of Chicken Soup Tuna Baked Beans Black beans Refried Beans Nutmeat Pizza Sauce Pineapple Beetroot Tinned Spaghetti Pie Apricots Apricot nectar Cereals, Flours, Sugars, Baking Supplies, Powder & Tinned Milk:SR Flour Plain Flour White Sugar Brown Sugar Icing Sugar Powdered Milk Gluten Flour Wholemeal Spelt (Plain) Dried Fruit - Sultanas, Mixed Fruit, Apricots, Prunes, Raisins, Craisins, Peel Yeast Rolled Oats Wheat Biscuits Quick Oats All Bran Shredded Wheat Ground Rice Cocoa Coconut Pasta, Rice, Noodles, Beans, Soup Mixes etc.:Rice x 15kg Spaghetti x 18kg Noodles x 3kg Lasagne Sheets x 2 boxes Drinks:Tea Mint Tea Coffee Coffee Pods Hot Chocolate Drink Mix Cordial Cocoa Condiments, spices, herbs, sauces, dressings:Peanut Butter x 8 Honey x 2 Vegemite x 2 Jam x 37 Tomato Sauce x 2 Barbecue Sauce x 10 Mayo x 11 Olive Oil x 4L Salt x 2kg Here's what's in the freezer: Meat, Chicken, Fish:Mince x 10 meals Steak x 3 meals Chops x 2 meals Corned Beef x 5 Sausages x 2 meals Whole Chickens x 3 Chicken fillets x 17 meals Roast Beef x 1 Leg of Lamb x 2 Crumbed fish fillets x 1 meal Prepared Meals, Sauces:Pasta Sauce x 10 Soup x 6 Meatballs x 3 Haystacks x 4 Freezer Meals x 11 Bread, Pizza, Pies:Crumpets x 2 packets Pizza Bases x 6 Pastry Sheets 4kg Fruits & Vegetables:Apricots 3kg Onions x 19 1/2 cup packs Beans x 7 bags Cauliflower x 13 bags Broccoli x 9 bags Rhubarb x 5 bags Mixed Vegetables x 5kg Zucchini x 23 1/2 cup packs Tomatoes x 23 bags Carrots x 4 bags Casserole Packs x 6 This week's shopping list: 2 x 3L milk $5.98 1 doz eggs $2.79 1kg Tasty Cheese $6.00 500g Butter $2.78 5kg potatoes $3.99 Total $21.54 I'll be shopping at Aldi for everything other than the potatoes which I'll get at Pellegrinos because they're on special today. I'll be baking bread today for the weekend and picking tomatoes from the garden and looking at that list there will be absolutely no need for me to go anywhere near a supermarket, butcher or green grocer next week. Follow the Bare Bones Grocery Challenge in the Forum
|
Archives
April 2020
Categories
All
|