Steps to a Greener and Cleaner Toilet

Consider for a moment what you are putting in your toilet and how it impacts the earth or maybe your pet's health. Yes, I did say your pet! It was an article I read somewhere that brought up the dangers of toxic chemicals used in your toilet (especially those blue drop-in cleaners or any other drop-in or hanging toilet cleaners that work for days/weeks.) Do you know for sure that your pet is not drinking from the toilet bowl while you are gone or while you sit in the other room? I didn't … [Read more...]

DIY Hair Treatments for Pennies

By Justin Weinger 2 Comments

My daughter and I both have this thick hair with natural curl that dries out and snarls easily. With the summer sun and pool chlorine, we need a little help in keeping our hair manageable without breaking the budget. The two treatments we tried at home and WORK! that I will share with you are vinegar rinse and a detangler. Vinegar Rinse Gather your supplies of a quart jar, vinegar, hot water, and an herbal tea bag (optional, for fragrance.) Pour 3/4 cup of vinegar in to the quart … [Read more...]

How to Make Homemade Fabric Refresher

By Justin Weinger 6 Comments

I do not normally purchase a fabric refresher product like Febreze. It might be the $5 price tag that deters me, but I thought I would try out a homemade fabric refresher recipe to see how it works because with two cats sleeping on any and every couch and chair in our house I knew it wouldn't hurt to spray them down periodically. After hunting down an unused spray bottle in our house, I tailored the recipe measurements to fill this bottle. The only ingredients you need are water, vinegar and … [Read more...]

How to Make Homemade Foaming Soap

By Justin Weinger 9 Comments

If you have kids, you know how quickly they can go through a bottle of liquid hand soap by taking too many squirts to wash their hands or while making bubbles to play with in the sink. And when a $3 bottle of liquid soap costs approximately 30-cents an ounce, you start to explore options on how to cut those costs so you don't have to hover over your child at the sink to make sure they are not using too much. I found that when we switched to foaming hand soap, only 1 squirt was used (instead … [Read more...]

How to Make Homemade Wrinkle Releaser

By Justin Weinger 35 Comments

Did you know you can make your own homemade wrinkle releaser? Don't get me wrong, I love Downy Wrinkle Releaser, but instead of paying around $10+ for a bottle of wrinkle releaser from a leading manufacturer, how does only 4 cents for the same size bottle sound? I try to purchase natural and organic products when I can, but I have to admit that ironing is not something I enjoy and was willing to purchase and use this product in order to avoid ironing whenever possible. I decided it was … [Read more...]

Clean Naturally with a Few Inexpensive Products

By Justin Weinger 3 Comments

Shopping List: Borax Baking Soda Vinegar Essential Oil (optional) Cleaning naturally does not have to be expensive, complicated or time consuming. You can clean nearly every surface in your home with just a few products, most of which you probably already have in your pantry. Vinegar is a natural anti-bacterial agent that I love. I use vinegar in most of my cleaning. I know some people aren’t sure about the smell, but as soon as the vinegar has dried the smell will be gone, and … [Read more...]

Save Money with DIY Dryer Sheets

By Justin Weinger 27 Comments

Making your own reusable dryer sheets is so quick, easy, and cost-saving that I am not sure why I didn't start doing this before. What I like best about this project is I can turn my favorite liquid fabric softener into a dryer sheet and can stretch that bottle from 40 loads to 400 loads. And instead of spending approximately $60 a year on fabric softener, I end up spending $6 (or maybe less if I can get a few more flannel strips in there.) I choose to use Seventh Generation products, so … [Read more...]

Northern Cheapskate

Frugal. By Nature.