How Far Will You Go?

I know with a title like that you must be wondering what on earth I'm talking about. But don't have a hissy fit; as always the blog is G rated.

I'm talking about how far will you go to save money? How much is saving and how much is silly? For instance, some people will save their aluminum foil or wash and reuse their plastic storage bags. Other people think that's idiotic.

Some people spend time clipping coupons and cruising through sales papers and going to four different stores to get their grocery shopping done. Others think it's a waste of gasoline and time that they can't afford, and manage to get their grocery shopping done at one store.

Some people are almost professional shoppers at the thrift stores, while others always know when to hit the clearance racks at Macys and walk out with designer suits for peanuts.

Sometimes people think generic is the way to go, but other times people are willing to pay extra for brand name products because they're of "more value" in the long run.

Some people will drive a few further miles to a gas station that sells gas .03 cheaper. Other people calculate in their head how much more this gas station might cost and then decide the extra time is not worth the money saved.

Some people make their own laundry soap (been there!) and others think you're silly to waste time making something you can so easily buy in the store. (Also been there!)

So how do you save? Leave a comment telling me how you save money, time, etc., and also tell me what "savings technique" is a waste of time in your book. Enquiring minds really want to know.

Confessions of a Reluctant Martha

Okay, I know that some of you were absolutely and totally unable to enjoy your weekend for wondering what on earth my inner Martha had created. I must remind you that I'm a suspense writer. I'm nothing unless my story has a hook. But fret no longer. I'm about to tell you what I created.

This all started because of Katie at The Baby Factory.  Back in December Katie posted about making something. I was pretty impressed because I was struggling with getting any of my Christmas baking done. But then I read that Katie hadn't been making cookies. She'd been making laundry soap.

I freely admit that I thought she was off her rocker. After all, Katie has three boys under the age of two. She barely has time to make dinner, I'm sure, so why on earth would she be making laundry soap? Did she not realize she could buy it "ready-made" at the store? Then she said that it worked just as well or better than the stuff you could buy at the store.

Yeah, right.

Then she said she was only paying .06 cents a load.

And she had my attention. After all, we go through a lot of laundry soap, color bleach and fabric softener. I spend about $60.00 a month on all that stuff. Between the fact that we have a bunch of boys who generate their own odors, and we live in Florida where you can work up a sweat ten months out of the year, our laundry needs a lot of help. But still, when has something homemade been as good as what you can get in the store?

I thought about this for another two months, but finally my inner Martha screamed to be let out. So I took this--

And these--

and made this--

and now I use two of these:

to wash an entire load of clothes. That's an entire load that fits into one of the largest frontloaders we could find. My laundry is just as soft as it was with fabric softener. And it smells cleaner too.

I'm now spending about $9.00 a month on laundry.

Martha and I are both happy.  But I'm warning you--if my inner June Cleaver shows up, she's dead.