After a long, cold winter, even the nicest homes start to feel a bit stale. You could spend a bunch of money on new decor for your home, buy some new furniture, or buy chemical-laden air fresheners and cleaners. Or you could try some of these no-cost ways to freshen up your home this spring. … [Read more...]
Recently, when we were on vacation, we ate at a pizza place that served our pizza by the yard with homemade chili oil and fresh basil pesto. We ate there several times and I couldn't get enough of it. I knew I had to make some at home. The cost of chili oil varies greatly with some gourmet bottles costing $20-$30 for an 8-ounce bottle and smaller bottles costing under $10. I made an 8-ounce bottle of chili oil myself for UNDER $1. … [Read more...]
When you live 30 minutes from the store, you try really hard to make sure you have everything you need on hand to do your cooking or baking. But sometimes you do forget to put something on your shopping list, and you don't realize it until you're in the middle of making dinner. With neighbors few and far between and a long drive to town, it's better to make some simple ingredient substitutions to help you finish your cooking. Just a few ingredient subsitutions can help you save money on … [Read more...]
Swapping our decorations for the holidays can be fun, but can also become costly if we're not careful. So when I thought about Easter, I wanted to make sure I came up with an inexpensive idea. … [Read more...]
This has been a project that you have undoubtedly seen floating around Pinterest in one form or another for quite a while and if you are not already saving toilet paper tube rolls then it might be a little while longer before you get to making this. … [Read more...]
One of the best ways to save on groceries is to have a plan. And if plans go awry, then having a stash of meals in the freezer is a great way to make sure you eat at home instead of hitting the drive-thru. I'm a big fan of make-ahead meals. I'm NOT a big fan of spending all day in the kitchen preparing them. That's why I'm so excited that my friend Erin Chase from $5 Dinners has come up with a brand new set of meal plans to get dinner prepped quickly and on a budget. … [Read more...]
It's easy to learn how to make your own butter. It doesn't take many ingredients or a lot of time, and the results are amazing. Of course, unless you have access to cream from a dairy farm, you won't save any save any money by making your own. I don't have access to free cream, but let me tell you a few reasons why we decided to make our own butter. I like being able to control how much salt is used in the butter. I like being able to teach my children about how a commercial product can … [Read more...]