other money saving tricks and couponer etiquette

Well, sorry about the little bit of delay with this post, I had work and then had my own coupon buisness to take care of. Here is me in the middle of my coupon glory! LOL

if you look reallllly close at the bottom you can see my glorious notebook!!! :D

So, as I promised its not gonna be all about the coupons, so here are some awesome money saving tips and tricks that will save you some SERIOUS $$$!!! YAY!

Baking Soda:

this stuff is really a wonder substance of all sorts of awesomeness!!!! I always have a great amount stocked up because it is soooo versitile! and you can always get it on the cheap!!! oh yes, and sometimes there are (of course) coupons! and im talking about more than just making desserts or keeping your fridge smelling like something died in it! :)

• use it as a cleaning scrub! mix one part water to two parts baking soda and you now have a scrub that will get that stove spotless! works great in cleaning out the microwave too! it also is great for polishing silver.
• its also a great body scrub! mix 1/4 cup of your favorate shower gel and 2 tbsp of baking soda for a smooth and satin-y exfoliating scrub. use it while taking a bath and it will soften your water too! not to mention it kills odors!
• use it as an air freshener anywhere in your home! you can fill a small decorative bowl with baking soda and a few drops of your favorate smelling essential oils for odor elimination anywhere! refresh the odor killing power by shaking the bowl once every two weeks, and change out every 6 months.
• keep down odors in the litter box! sprinkle a light layer on top every time you clean the litter and stur to dispense evenly.
• use it to unclog drains! (yes you read that right!) Screw draino, you have baking soda! for sinks, pour 1/2 cup baking soda down in the drain (it has to be empty for this to work, so catch it early) and follow with 1 cup vinegar. the foaming will boil out the clog and allow for it to break up. for tubs and showers, double the amount used.
• use it to scrub gout! take an old toothbrush and dip[ it in water then dip it in baking soda. use the amount thats clinging to the brush to scrub.
• use it as a whitener for your teeth! do a paste of one part water one part baking soda and brush. follow up with regular toothpaste for a whole new mintiness!

Vinegar

Vinegar has natural disinfecting quailities and is really cheap to buy! (you can get a store brand gallon jug for under $2!) its also great for breaking up soap scum and cleaning windows! the most veratile blend is 1 cup vinegar to 1 cup water and place in a spray bottle. you can also soak your jewelry (including gold and diamond) in full strength vinegar for 1 hour and scrub crevaces with a soft bristle toothbrush for a brilliant fresh from-the-store shine!

Table Salt

just your plain run of the mill salt, you can get it as cheap as 3/$1 sometimes, but usually just $1 most places for store brand. it absorbs grease like no other (like the frying pan after cooking bacon, for example). pour an amount of salt unto grease or oils that you are trying to clean, wait about one minute and add some of your favorate dish soap. scrub until loosened and rinse with hot water. works great on baked on foods and cookie sheets.

make your own Laundry Soap!

this is a life saver! initial cost for all materials will be about $20-$25, but that is for everything! each batch costs about $2 and will last at least a month (for me and my husband it lasts about 3 months and we do only one large load of laundry a day, two at the most). here is what you will need:

• 1 bar of Ivory soap (a three pack is $.98 at walmart).
• 1 bar of Fels-naptha (its kinda hard to find, but its found in the laundry soap section. its a white package with a green label. its like a oversized soap bar and it also says "ideal for pre-treating stains heavy duty laundry bar soap. we get ours at the Thomaston Walmart and its only $.97 a bar.)
• 1/2 cup of borax (again this is found in the laundry section, and its only like $3 a box and it will last you a LOOOOOOOOONG time.
• 2 cups washing soda (in the laundry section. it is by Arm and Hammer and is usually right next to the borax in a yellow box. its the same price as the borax usually)
• your favorate liquid washing degergent (hopefully that you got cheap with your coupons!!)
• a 5 gallon bucket with a lid (we got ours at roses for like $7)
• a plastic cup (this cup needs to be durable but can never be used for drinking so you can get a cheap pack of two at dollar tree and keep one for the degergent)
• a cheese grater (I say this because I would advise to use one just for this purpose because of the Fels-Naptha)
• a very long handled spoon (I like wooden the best and needs to be at least as long as your forearm elbow to wrist. I got mine at dollar tree)
• a funnel (you can get this at dollar tree in a three pack)
• either a empty washing detergent bottle or an empty (CLEAN) milk jug.

and here is what you do:

• grate the Fels-Naptha and the Ivory soap with the cheese grater.
• full your 5-gallon bucket half full of hot tap water
• Heat 5 cups of water on the stove and stur in the grated soap and stur constantly until all the soap has dissolved. (do not let it reach boiling because it foams up really bad)
• pour mixture into bucket.
• add two capfulls of your favorate laundry dertergent, 1/2 cup of borax and 2 cups of washing soda to bucket mixture and stur well.
• add more hot tap water until about 2 inches from top and stur well.
• let sit overnight covered.
• after it sat overnight, it will be a consitancy between jello and pudding. this is normal. stur well until smooth, then fill empty detergent bottle/ milk jug (using your cup as a scoop and the funnel) HALF full with mixture.
• add water until container is full.
• before using with a load of laundry, shake the bottle well to keep it even and smooth because it will seperate slightly after sitting. Use the normal amount you would for average soiled clothes, double for very soiled (mud, grass, etc.) and 2 1/2 times the normal amount for very soiled clothes (i.e. cloth diapers). this can also be used with your favorate fabric softener! yay!

thats all Im sharing with yall this time! if i did everything in one post it would take FOREVER to read and even longer to type! so down to my final subject: Couponer etiquette. This is important because even though you can score some awesome deals, we dont want to give couponers a bad name! (and plenty of people have already) here are some great tips of breaking those negative sterotypes and be able to save money all at the same time:

• if you are going to get alot of something, DONT CLEAR THE SHELF! the only exception to this is if there is literally a few of the item left. but if its a full shelf, unexcuseable. (there is a shelf clearer here in town and I hope I dont see her because I will probally tell her how rude and selfish she is!) if you are getting large quantaties (like for a 6 month supply) talk to your store about special ordering! most stores will order you the amount you need without clearing out their stock! you can also visit several stores too. you want to save some for other customers too who are in this same economic situation!
• if the shelf is cleared off, dont be sad! get a raincheck! (this is where having your ad comes in handy) go up to the cashier and politely tell them that one of their sale items is out and ask to have a raincheck for the sale amount. (also make sure that you can still use your coupon with the raincheck when you come back to redeem it) then come back about a week later and score your sale item! sometimes with ads it will say in the small print that no rainchecks will be issued for certain sales/items or some store wont allow a coupon to be used with a raincheck. So double check all your raincheck policies before you leave the store.
• If you have a large purchace, let the cashier and the people behind you know. that way if they are in a hurry, they can go to another checkout lane. Also, always tell the cashier before they start scanning that you have coupons. Every cashier likes to do it differently, like some like to scan the coupon after they scan the item and some like to do them all at the end. (I always like to have my coupons done last along with my store card so I can literally see the difference and feel like in on the show! LOL)
• When getting your groceries, try not to go at a crazy busy time. Like when the store first opens or at least three hours before closing, expecally if you have a large purchace. the worst time? between 5:30pm and 7:30pm. Its store "rush hour" and people are rude as no other during that time.

so that should be enough info to chew on for now! :D