Coming Clean with Another Frugal Life Hack

I hate to pay money for some things.....like liquid hand soap.
And since I can't always get it for free at Rite-Aid, I do weird things, like this.....
I buy clearanced gift sets after Christmas.
You know, those fragrancey shower gels and gift set stuff that go 50% off and even more off if they sit on the shelf long enough after the Holidays.....

Here's a bottle from a set of 8 shower gels I got for 75% off after Christmas 2 years ago.  The whole set of 8 had been $14.99 and was marked down to $3.75 or something equally ridiculous.
Comparing the ingredient labels, I found that the liquid hand soap and the shower gel were composed of the same stuff.

So I took this.....

An almost empty bottle of hand soap and did this......

Added the shower gel and left a little room to add about a 1/3 cup of water since the gel was thicker than the hand soap had been. Since the hand soap had a little left I couldn't use the whole bottle of gel so I put another 1/4 cup of water in the shower gel bottle and refilled the hand soap container later as it emptied.
By slowly tipping the container up and down, the water and old hand soap mixes with the shower gel without a mass of bubbles.  The old hand soap floated to the top but eventually it emulsified with the gel.

Voila!....you have a full bottle of liquid hand soap for far less than buying more hand soap, even a refill sized jug!
Those 8 bottles of shower gel were each 8 oz., so that's 64 oz.  Add 1/2 cup of water per bottle to thin to hand soap consistency is 32 oz. more, so a total of 96 oz. of new hand soap for $3.75.
That's about 10-12 bottles of hand soap for under .40¢ each.

Sluggy

Looking for Some Help for a Fellow Blogger in Alabama

I met Linda on the Compact list a few years ago.  She started her own blog about a year ago(ok, I could be wrong about that).  It's called Practical Parsimony and she's all about frugality, simple living, etc.
Recently a tornado ripped through her small town outside of Birmingham Alabama.  You've all heard about the devastation to this area of the South by now.  The photo above is an ariel view of a part of her town.

Linda doesn't know I am doing this and she'll probably kill me, but here I go anyway.......

Linda has limited means and is a woman of "a certain age" with no steady income.  Without going into details, she has made due for years now.  However her home has some problems which she has recounted in her blog over the past year.  Due to various reasons she hasn't had the resources (financial and physical)to make adequate repairs to her house.  Most tenuous is the condition of her roof.  It's disrepair has also caused additional damage to the interior of her abode and continues to do so.

Then the tornado came through last month and caused further damage to the roof....not alot but some.

Since her roof was already in a sad state pre-tornado, FEMA will not help her with repairing any of the damage-either with labor or monies. Nor will any of the local church or non-profit organizations in her town help her.
Now the situation has gotten to a desperate point.  Her local officials have served her with a condemnation notice unless she fixes her home(the roof seems to be the sticking point).
You can read the post specific to this event HERE

I am sad for my blogging friend.
Sad that I don't live nearby so I can hold her hand as she goes through this.
Sad that I can't pick up a hammer and put some nails into new shingles for her.
Sad that I don't know anyone who could assist her so she can keep her home.

So I am doing the only thing I know how to do.....blogging about this problem and hoping that there is someone out there--

*Someone who has the home repair skills and compassion who lives in her area or will be traveling to her area(possibly to help with tornado victims repair needs through their Church?).
*Someone who knows someone who will be in this area of Alabama soon who can repair a roof for her.
*Someone who knows how she can find the funds to get the supplies for the roof repair.
*Someone who knows what governmental channels she can go through to get help to repair &/or pay for the supplies.

If you are reading this and you have any ideas, or you can blog about this situation to spread the word so that we can reach someone, ANYONE out in cyberspace who would be a resource, please pass this message along.
Linda can be contacted directly on her blog.
Or feel free to email me and I'll pass along any help you can give or find for her.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading this.

Sluggy

What I Bought At Rite-Aid So Far This Week

I've got $40+ in +Ups to roll/convert/burn this week.
I managed to convert $6 worth on Wednesday.  You can totally duplicate this transaction if your Rite-Aid has the Dental items Q booklet(it's hexagonal shaped), you have 2 copies of the 5/1 SS insert with the Colgate toothbrush Q in it and you have 2 Adperks/VV accounts set up.  If not, you can do something not quite as advantageous....

2 x Colgate 360 Toothbrushes on sale $2.99=$5.98 *the limit for +Ups is 2*
2 x Biotene Mouthwash on sale $5.99=$11.98
2 x Aquafresh Toothpaste on sale $2.50=$5.00
1 x Easter Peeps on 90% clearance=$.19
SubTotal....$23.15

Coupons Used
1 x $3/$15 Customer Survey Q=$3.00
2 x $1/1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush ManuQ=$2.00
2 x $1/1 Biotene Q from instore booklet in Dental aisle=$2.00
1 x $5/2 Biotene items AdPerks/VV IPQ=$5.00
2 x $1/1 Aquafresh premium Toothpaste Q from instore booklet in Dental aisle=$2.00
2 x $1.50/1 Aquafresh prem. Toothpaste AdPerks/VV IPQ=$3.00
Coupon Total....$17.00

$23.15-$17.00=$6.15
I used $6 in +Up Rewards and put the .15¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received back $9 in +Up Rewards(2 x $2 Colgate 360 Toothbrush, $5 WYB $15 in select dental items-Aquafresh/Biotene).

THIS TRIP
Number of Transactions.....1
Total Spent....$.15 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$42.13
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$9.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$6.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$87.00  And I have $39.71 left on my gift card.


Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--MAY Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......15
Total Spent....$7.79 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$706.42
SCR qualified for....$12.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for May SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 5/14.....$84.00
+Up Rewards spent....$63.52
+Up Rewards earned....$99.52
+Up Rewards left....$87.00  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period



I've got $30+ left in +Ups to use up by Saturday so I'll be going back to Rite-Aid this week.  Not sure what I'll get yet.  Maybe I'll do the Pepsi deal for the kids hanging out here this summer. 

What is everyone else getting at Rite-Aid this week??
Give me some ideas people, ok? ;-)


Sluggy

More Decluttering P*rn......Toys for Days!

The first photo, to get you to your decluttering "happy place", is of a couple of bags of clothes Hubs and I purged from our closet.  I found skirt/top sets I hadn't worn in 10 years!  Also some heavier fabric tops I never wore.....ugh.  And some really ugly colored pants....

Now onward to the toys.....yes, toys for days and days and days.
Again, if anyone wants/needs any of this stuff and wants to make me an offer(barter is good and cash is even better!lol), just shout out.

Would you believe Get Smart action figures? *said in my best Don Adams voice*

Original Toy Story and The Mask sticker books with packs of stickers and vintage My Little Ponies in need of a good comb thru....

More vintage MLPs, along with Johnny Lightning brand Hot Wheels type cars, Furby and M&M ornaments and Power Ranger stickers.....

Power Rangers in Space Astro Megazord......

The Smurf Tree-Go-Round and Power Ranger Quasar Launcher weapon.  I wonder how many shots from the launcher would it take to obliterate the Smurfs?

Bendable Jar Jar Binks and Wattoo dolls.  The Bert and Ernie of outer space......

A Star Wars puzzle and a couple of Power Rangers on Galaxy Gliders...

A Curious George Gumball Bank and another Smurf.   Where's my Quasar Launcher when I need it?!?

Behold, the Power Rangers Galaxy Megazord....the tiny 6" action figure sized one.....
and a couple of fake shoes....tiny collectible fake shoes for tiny fake feet.

A couple of Doughboy ornaments because nothing says the birth of Jesus like baked goods, right?
And if baked goods don't do it for ya, you could hang the John Glenn Hot Wheels action pack figures on your tree instead because nothing says Christmas like jet fueled rockets and astronauts who Dance with the Stars!

a large The Dog brand stuffed dog.....a beagle wearing reindeer antles because nothing says Christmas, well you know the rest.....
Ignore the Precious Moments box, that isn't going to Sallie's.  I can sell that shit even though it weighs a TON! 8-)

And a baggie with an ANNIE book, tape and a couple of Annie dolls.  I think my mother picked this stuff up at a yard sale ages ago for my Daughter.  Mom never gave the stuff to my Daughter however and I found this among her things after she died.  After she found out that the Daughter undressed her Barbie dolls to use the clothes to put on her stuffed animals and left the dolls mangled in a heap under her bed or something, she prolly decided to spare the twin Annies from that nekkid and unloved fate.
So now I get to dispose of them.  Yay me! ;-)

More to come, maybe later this week!


Sluggy

The Weekend Here

Well Saturday I spent running around grocery and HBA shopping.  I hit some Rite-Aids(well, that's a given!lol), and did a Cat Deal at Weis Markets(to roll my $8 cat from last week), and did some Instant Savings Deals(like a Cat Deal but you get the amount off that transaction instead of a Cat to roll)at 2 of the local independent markets here.  I have stocked up on food for the Graduation Party, as well as lots of food items for when #2 son is home from school this summer and I am feeding him and his bottomless pit friends for days on end.lol

Rolling the Weis Cat I saved 68.25%.
The one Instant Savings receipt I saved 57.80% and the average of the other 2 trips to the other Instant Savings store gave me a savings rate of 55.41%.
That's the good news.
The bad news is that I have blown my food budget out of the water to the tune of $325.18.....and May is only HALF OVER!
Ugh.ugh.ugh.

Sunday I spent catching up on my bookkeeping, cooking, digging through the freezer and meal planning.  I still have a ton of bags littering my kitchen floor from the shopathon that need emptying and the contents need to be organized and put into the stockpile.

Between what I've stocked up on and the veggies I'm hoping to get from the garden, my summer food bill should be well under my monthly budgeted amount.
At least that is the fantasy I am holding onto in my head. lol


#2 son was on his Marching Band trip to Disney this weekend.  2 full nights sleeping on a bus, 2 nights in a motel and 3 days at various parks.  They had to drag him back onto the bus to go home.  He is exhausted and fell asleep before 8pm Sunday night.  Of course, he spent every penny of the $100 his father gave him for 'necessities'.
You know.....all those 'necessary' sodas and bags of food-like substances to drop by his gullet.

Daughter spent the weekend working her last 2 shifts at her job before she became an ex-employee there.  Now she has more free time for avoiding chores and school work. And she has no source of money so this will put a damper on her constantly wanting to go out with her friends because she knows better than to ask me for money for this.lol
One more month until I can relax when she walks across that stage and actually gets her diploma.

And Hubs spent Saturday driving across the state and back to retrieve #1 son from college.  I might add that #1 son got a 3.8 GPA this past semester......2 years down, 2 more to go until he can go out into the big, bag world and support himself. ;-)
He has a serious girlfriend now and stays up most of the night on Skype talking to her.  He either has to call her earlier or start using his "inside voice".  We don't have cement dorm walls here and I need my sleep. 8-(

Here is my Meal Plan for the week....
Sunday--Meatloaf, Collards(the last from the garden last summer), Dinner Rolls
Monday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Rutabaga
Tuesday--Chicken Fettucine Alfredo, Salad
Wednesday--Probably leftovers since we have a school function to attend that evening
Thursday--Enchiladas, Corn, Squash Casserole
Friday--Lasagna with Collards
Saturday--Chili with beans, Cornbread

The only items I need to buy are the squash and some ricotta cheese for the lasagna....and some milk for the week.  I'll probably buy some lunchmeat for #1 son for sandwiches this week as well.

I'm off to go figure out what I want to get done for the next 14 days since I have a strong teen at my beck and call  24/7 for the next couple of weeks.

Sluggy