Well, its been a while...

It has been a very busy year in 2012, and I realized I hadn't written a post since April... for that I am sorry.  However, I have made some awesome discoveries since then that I am excited to share!

**MAKE YOUR OWN FLEA SPRAY**
This is safe to use on carpets, bedding, and pets!  and it is so easy and, of course, cheap!!!

1. Get a spray bottle.  I got mine at Wal-mart in the cleaning section for $.98.  I have also saved febreeze bottles and rinsed them out.
2. Fill your bottle halfway with 70% rubbing alcohol.  (I found this works the best.)  Fill the rest of the way with water.  Add about a 1/8 tsp of Dawn dish soap.  
3. Shake well and spray carpets and bedding every other day.  The Dawn kills eggs, and the Alcohol burns and suffocates the fleas.  When spraying pets, saturate them and rub it into their skin.  After they have their spaz moment like they do with all sprays, comb or brush with a flea comb dipped in a cup of undiluted alcohol.  Do this weekly to daily until the problem dissipates.

Some other tricks:

• When bathing your animals, make a mixture of 1 part dawn and 1 part alcohol.  use to bathe the animal, then follow with a hair conditioner.  The alcohol/Dawn mixture will kill the fleas and the conditioner will soften their fur, soothe their irritated skin from the flea bites, and prevent their skin from getting too dry.  This works well for both Cats and Dogs.  (Yes, I bathe my cats, they get bathed about once a month.  Yes, they hate me for about an hour or two then get over it.)
• Put a flea collar in your vacuum canister.  This will kill any fleas that get sucked up by your vacuum.
• Use the flea powder that is meant for pets on your carpets, especially under couches, tables, desks, etc.  This is cheaper than most carpet powders/sprays and a little goes a long way.  Just sprinkle, let it set for about 15 minutes, then vacuum the whole room. 

**MAKE YOUR OWN LETTER BANNERS**

This is something that is a lot of fun to do!

1. Get a pack of cheap construction paper at like Dollar Tree.
2. Write out what you want the banner to say, then jumble up the letters.  (For example: If I want the banner to say "Happy Birthday Amanda" I will jumble the letters like this: "HDAAPYPAYMBAINRDTAH"
3. Open up Microsoft Word
4. Type out the letters for the banner in CAPS and with a space between each letter.  Make it in Bold and do it at a size that will have about 4 letters per page.  Dont forget to have the letters mixed up! (I have found that around the size of 280, narrow margins, and Times New Roman look the best to me, but play with it.)
5. Make the letters only outline.  (If you have the latest version of Word, click the little icon and the bottom right corner of the text box on the toolbar.  it looks like a box with an arrow coming out of it.  When the popup box appears, click the "text affects' button.  Select "No fill"  for the text fill and then select "Solid Line" and Black color for the Text Outline option. then close out the pop up windows.)
6. Trim the construction paper to the size of the standard paper.  Cut the number of pages you need for your letters.
7. Print.
8. Once your pages are printed, carefully cut out your letters on the lines.  Now place them in order.  Try to make sure no two colors are touching.  (thats why you mixed up your letters! :D ) punch a small hole on each side of the letters.  like *S* the astericks being the holes so to speak.
9. Tie together the letters with thread, string, or embroidery floss.  (whatever is available)
10. hang and enjoy!

It takes a little bit of work, and its more complicated in instruction form.   You can also just tape up the letters individually to the wall, stick it on a door, window, whatever!  Get creative with it!  Use pastels for a baby shower, school colors for a graduation, favorite colors for a birthday, holiday colors for Easter/Christmas/Halloween, the possibilities are truly endless!  Aren't you glad you didn't drop all that money for a cricket cutter?!  For letters like S,W,H,M, you will need to reinforce the letter if you do it as a banner.

**HOMEMADE CLEANERS**

you will not believe how well these work, and how much they will save you.

• BLEACH CLEANER-  in a spray bottle fill 1/4 with bleach, the rest with water.  Add a 1/2 tsp of Dawn.  Shake well before each use.  works great on cars/soap scum/kitchen counters.
• OXYGEN CLEANER- substitute the bleach for Hydrogen peroxide.
• HOMEMADE FEBREEZE- Soak and squeeze out 4 dryer sheets (or use 1/2 tsp of liquid fabric softener) in enough water to fill a spray bottle.  Shake well before each use.
• QUICK WRINKLE RELEASE- spritz item with homemade febreeze and tug wrinkles away, then blast with a hair dryer on warm.
• FURNITURE POLISH-take a washcloth and dab some lemon juice onto it and wipe off your furniture.  Follow QUICKLY with a rag dabbed lightly with olive oil.
• TOILET CLEANER- Pour about two cups of cheap off brand cola then swish brush around the rim.  let set overnight, then flush.

So that is all I have to share today!  Happy Saving!

Awesome Coupon Tip of the Post: Some stores will allow you to stack a BOGO coupon with a BOGO sale resulting in two free items.  Make sure to check your store's coupon policy before attempting this!