Showing posts with label Frugal Friday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frugal Friday. Show all posts

Friday, January 13, 2012

Frugal Friday...Exfoliating/Moisturizing "Mud" Scrub

Every winter my skin gets even drier than it's already very dry state. I used to pay over $5 a bottle for that "in-shower" body lotion that you use after your body wash. It seemed to be the only thing that worked to remotely control my dry skin. Buying a bottle a month of that really adds up, plus I'm not exactly thrilled with putting all of those chemicals on my skin. That's why I love sugar scrubs! They exfoliate, moisturize, are 100 % natural, are very inexpensive and can be made in a variety of scents. You may remember my first sugar scrub, I've been out of that for quite awhile and the winter is really starting to take it's toll on my skin. I was very excited when I came across another sugar scrub recipe to make. It looks like mud, hence the name.

"Mud" Scrub
1 C. Sugar
5 Tbsp Coffee Grounds
1/4 C. Oil*
1 tsp Peppermint Extract**
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Mix the sugar and coffee. Add oil to coat the dry ingredients, then add extracts.


*I made it at first with 1/4c oil and found that after the first day it was too dry, so I added more oil. You can add oil or sugar/coffee to make it more or less dry.

**I didn't have peppermint extract so I just used vanilla.

Just rub a bit over your body while your in the shower and rinse. I use mine after my body wash, right before I get out and pat dry, so I don't rub off all the oil. Try not get water in mix as the mix of oil and water will spoil.

This smells so good first thing in the morning!

Friday, January 6, 2012

52 Weeks To A Better Me -Week #1/Frugal Friday...Make Your Own Make-Up Remover Wipes!

This is my first goal/project. I recently came across a tutorial to make your own Make-Up remover wipes. I love those they are so much more convenient than using face wash when it comes to removing make up. I prefer to use wipes to take off my makeup at night and to use regular face wash in the morning. So when I saw the tutorial I was very excited, you know me I love to make anything most people would buy and especially if it turns out cheaper and better than I could buy.

You need 4 simple ingredients: a container, paper towels, coconut oil, and water.

Coconut oil can be eaten, used as a butter substitute, massage oil, has natural antibiotic properties. It is used in several natural health and beauty product recipes that I want to try.

I used the container from my store bought face wipes.

Step 1. Cut a roll of paper towel to fit your container. Since the face wipe container is short I only used 1/4 of the roll. It is important to use a NON-SERRATED knife to cut the paper towels, unfortunately I didn't see that note until after I had cut my towels so I had a lot of  extra fluff come off my roll. Using a straight edged knife to cut my roll would have eliminated that.







Step 2. Mix 4c of warm water and 2 tbsp of coconut oil(if making the whole roll's worth into wipes) I just made 1/4 of a batch (although I forgot to cut the coconut oil in fourths instead of halves so my batch has twice the liquid, I'll let you know how it turns out). Coconut oil has a really high melting point so it's solid like shortening or butter. I put tap water and the solid coconut oil in a microwave safe dish and microwaved it in 30 second increments until the oil was melted.



Step 3. Pour the liquid over the towels in the container.




Step 4. Let it sit at least 5 minutes. The cardboard tube will separate from the towels and will be easy to pull out.



Step 5. Grab the towels from the center of the roll and pull up. Since my container has a pop open lid I just shoved the towel through the hole. When you need one you just have to tear it off.

The tutorial said to use the select a size towels and that's what I had anyway, but I think regular would work just as well.

They are easy to make, but are they cost effective?
I was able to find all my ingredients at Walmart. Of course I had the container at home, but really any type of plastic container would work.

The coconut oil I got cost $10.
The paper towels I used are VIVA 6 pack of Giant Rolls at Walmart they are $7.62(online).

I calculated how many batches you could make if you only used the ingredients to make the face wipes. Surprisingly the amount of towels I have and the container of coconut oil I got equal out almost perfectly if I were using them solely for this purpose so it was easy to calculate the price per wipe.

Each roll of paper towels has 100 wipes, cut the roll into 4 pieces and you get 400 wipes. Six rolls equals 24 batches making a total of 2400 wipes. The cheapest make-up remover wipes I found at Walmart were the Equate brand. You can get a 2 pack of 120 wipes total for $5.97.

If you buy the Equate wipes the price per wipe is $0.05/wipe, which is not bad at all really. The homemade wipes are less than $0.01/wipe! Not only are they cost effective, but they are better for your skin.

I just started using them, but love them so far. I'll let you know in my monthly recap how they work long term.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Frugal Friday - Sunburn Relief

Have a sunburn, but out of aloe gel? Use Vinegar! Vinegar has a cooling effect on sunburn. Splash it over the sunburned area, then lightly rub into skin. Or simply cool sunburn with diluted vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray on affected area. I usually like to try out everything before I post it but haven't tried this one. I'm not going to get sunburnt just to try this out, a coworker told me about this tip and then I also came across it in a helpful hints book. If you try it please comment to let me know what you thought about it.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Frugal Friday...Foaming Vanilla Honey Bath!

Foaming Vanilla Honey Bath

1 cup sweet almond oil (light olive or sesame oil may be substituted)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup liquid soap
1 TBS vanilla extract

Measure the oil into a medium bowl, then carefully stir in remaining ingredients until mixture is fully blended.

Pour into a clean plastic bottle with a tight-fitting stopper or lid. Shake gently before using. Enough for four large luxurious baths.

Swirl desired amount into the bathtub under running water – then step in and descend into a warm, silky escape.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Frugal Friday...Got Ants?

Do you have those tiny annoying ants in your kitchen or bathroom? No need to buy harsh chemicals and poisons to get rid of them. A simple sprinkling of baby powder around the areas you have the ants will kill/keep them away! I've also heard that cinnamon does the same thing and that a helpful tip is to dip the rim of your sugar bowl in cinnamon to keep the ants away. I've also heard that if you know where the ants are getting in, you can draw a line of chalk around it and the ants won't cross the line. I've personally not tried the chalk or cinnamon so if you do let me know how it worked. Do you have any tips for getting rid of ants?

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Frugal Friday - Make Your Own Foaming Hand Soap

For this Frugal Friday Post (I know it's Saturday, I tried to post it yesterday but it wouldn't let me for some reason) I'm going to show you how to make your own foaming hand soap. I love foaming hand soap but hate to pay the price for it. I quickly found out how to make it and I've been making my own for years! It's SUPER cheap and you can make it in the time it takes you to refill your dispenser. And the best part is you can use your favorite regular soap or body wash! For the last several years I have gotten several little gift baskets/bags that had small bottles of body wash in them. I hated to throw them out but I simply couldn't use them all up so I turned them into hand soap! I haven't had to buy soap for over a year!

WHAT YOU NEED:
Foaming Soap Dispenser (This will cost some money. I just bought one with soap in it and once the soap was gone made my own to refill)
Liquid Hand Soap or Body Wash
Water

HOW YOU MAKE IT:

1. Pour a small amount of soap into your soap dispenser. Less than an inch.



2.  Fill the dispenser with water.

3. Give it a little shake and let it mix together. This will take a few hours to get fully incorporated, but you can still use it in the meantime just give it a good shake before using. Once the soap is all mixed (you can no longer see a separation and it's one solution) it's done!



Enjoy!


Saturday, April 9, 2011

Frugal Friday (On Saturday) - Deodorizing and Cleaning Your Garbage Disposal

This is a quick inexpensive way to clean and deodorize your garbage disposal. Fill up the garbage disposal with ice cubes. Put in the stopper and fill the sink with hot water and a little dish soap. Turn on the disposal and run until you can no longer hear the ice being crushed. Once that happens un plug the sink and let the hot soapy water run down the disposal you can follow up with a cold water stream if you wish. Once your dishwasher is cleaned you may deodorize it by cutting a lemon in quarters and running it through the garbage disposal. This will freshen your garbage disposal for practically no money!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Frugal Friday - Homemade Laundry Soap

This is a recipe I have not made myself, but have used. I saw no difference in the freshness or cleanliness of my clothes after using it. It's extremely cost effective. One batch makes enough for SEVERAL loads.

Homemade Laundry Soap
4 cups Hot Tap Water
1 Fels-Naptha Soap bar(I have seen recipes that say any bar soap you have will work I have not tried it though)
1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (NOT BAKING SODA)
1/2 cup Borax

Grate the bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir Continually over Medium-Low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap then fill the rest of the way with water. Shake before each use (will gel).

Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: Lavender, Rosemary, Tea Tree oil.

Top Loading Machines: 5/8c per load (approx. 180 loads)
Front Loading Machines: 1/4c per load (approx. 640 loads)


Let me know if any of you try it and what you thought!

Friday, March 25, 2011

Frugal Friday - Homemade Lemon Sugar Scrub

Today's edition of Frugal Friday features a Homemade Lemon Sugar Scrub I made last weekend and have been using all week! I found this recipe on www.TipNut.com. The recipe is so simple you cannot mess it up and it leaves your skin feeling so soft! You can pay good money for similar products, but why when you can make it for pennies?! There are other recipes and I plan to try them also so if you like the whole sugar scrub experience stay tuned! Ok that's enough yakking on to the recipe...

Lemon Sugar Scrub
1 cup granulated white sugar(I used brown sugar because it was all I had)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp Lemon Zest

Simply mix everything together. I did find it to be very oily and ended up adding about twice the amount of sugar. Not sure if that had anything to do with using brown sugar instead of white or not. I did think the brown sugar gave it kind of a darker scent and the white sugar would be much lighter! I do intend to make it with white sugar next time.

Now that you know how to make it you need to know how to use it. Just scoop some onto your hands and rub together for several seconds, before rinsing with water. Pat dry and enjoy the soft feel of your skin. I have been taking this into the shower or bath with me and scooping out about 2 Tbsp and rubbing it over my whole body and then rinsing as an all over exfoliating moisturizer! Just make sure you don't get water into the unused portion as that could lead to bacteria growth!

This recipe doesn't really have a very long shelf life, it only lasts a few weeks. So its best to make small batches more often rather than a large batch. I ended up splitting the recipe with a friend and with using it all week still have plenty left. When I do run out I plan to try a different recipe and I'll let you know how and what it is. If you have any recipes you like please share them with me, I'd love to try them out!

Happy Scrubbing!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Frugal Friday-Homemade Face Wash

I came across a recipe for homemade face wash on Money Saving Mom. It uses the Oil Cleansing Method I had not heard of that before yesterday but it looked intriguing. Basically store bought face washes completely strip your skin of all oils, which either completely dries it out or makes your skin produce way too much oil to compensate making you wash it more often. That makes the problem worse rather than better. Personally my skin is extremely dry, so much that I have red scaly patches that don't go away until humid summer time, no matter how much moisturizer I use. When I do put on moisturizer it burns my skin because of the dryness. There were several comments of people that had tried it and loved it, so I thought I would give it a try too! It's made up of two simple ingredients: Olive or Sunflower oil and Castor oil. I used Olive oil because that's what I had. You just mix different proportions depending on your skin type.

OILY: 3 parts Caster oil to 1 part Olive oil
NORMAL: 1 part Caster oil to 1 part Olive oil
DRY: 1 part Caster oil to 3 parts Olive oil

The Caster oil has cleansing and purifying properties in it.

I made some last night I used 1 tsp Caster oil to 1 Tbsp Olive oil and just filled a travel size bottle and shook it up together, so easy.


To Use:
1. Pour a quarter-size amount on your palm, rub your hands together, and slowly massage your face with your finger tips. Do not splash your face with water first, put it on your dry face. Work it into your face for about a minute. Don't scrub, just rub.
2.Wet a soft washcloth with hot water, (but not scalding), and put it over your face for about 1 minute or until it feels cool on your face.
3. Rinse and wring the washcloth and gently wipe off the oil.

I did it last night in the shower. It was very relaxing. My face felt a little oily right when i got out of the shower but with in 10 minutes, if even that, it just felt very smooth. Usually my face feels very tight and almost irritated from dryness after I shower, last night it felt refreshed and soft. I went to bed right away and when I woke up this morning I could immediately feel and see a difference in my skin. It is so soft and smooth and my dry patches are probably 50% better after just one use! I am totally sold on this and it's so economical to make! It cost me $5 for all the ingredients including the bottle to put it in! I love that its made from natural non-toxic ingredients, makes a lot for little money, and works better than anything I've ever bought from the store! You really only need to use it once a day and it is supposed to remove make up too(I wasn't wearing any so I can't weigh in on that). I even crocheted a cotton washcloth last night to use with it! It was so cool to be using a face wash I made in 5 minutes on a washcloth I made in 20 minutes and LOVE the results!

You must try it, if you don't like it you can always go back to your regular stuff, but I don't think you will want to!

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