WFMW - Homemade Diaper Sprayer

This week's Works for Me Wednesday post appears on my blog The Frugal Country Mom, so head on over to check it out!

Fresh Sqeezed OJ

Yesterday I was doing the dishes and I had my utensil drawer open so Jimmy would be occupied. He was having a ball playing with the measuring cups and spoons and a spatula when he found this strange orange object:


What is that?? It took me a minute to remember (most everything I own used to be my mom's and she had a lot of neat little gadgets). It's a little juicer! I think it is called a squeeze juicer or juicing trumpet. You stick the longer end into an orange and squeeze the orange over a glass and juice comes out the short end and it filters the seeds. It was pretty fun. Jimmy was entertained for a minute. ;-) It worked great on my oranges that got kinda shriveled because I kinda forgot about them.... I was going to put them in my compost or cut them in half and put them out for the birds, but this was much better! And I was surprised by how much juice I got, about half a glass from 3 oranges. Guess there was more life left in them than I thought! I added enough water to fill the glass and stuck it in the fridge to get cold (gotta have cold OJ! and I didn't have any ice) and it was delicious!

Now where do you buy such a little gadget? I found a couple places online selling it as a plastic "squeeze juicer", it costs less than a dollar, or you might try a store like Bed Bath & Beyond. There is a fancier stainless steel version out there called a Trumpet Citrus Juicer (try Googling it, or use Swagbucks), but I think mine must have come from one of those home cooking utensil parties, probably was a prize for a game.

This is what Works for Me for simple juicing (and it is super easy to clean!).
Hop on over to We Are THAT Family for more Works for Me Wednesday tips and ideas.

WFMW - Homemade Laundry Detergent

Welcome to Works For Me Wednesday. Hop on over to We Are THAT Family to join in the fun or to find more tips.

I posted this on my other blog, The Frugal Country Mom a few weeks ago. There is a powdered detergent recipe posted there as well as the liquid, for those interested!

Looking for a low cost laundry detergent? Worried about allergies to perfumes or dyes? Is it environmentally friendly, and is it low-sudsing for high-efficiciency front loading washers? Try this detergent! I use it for everything from daddy's really stinky socks to the baby's clothes. It's great and best of all CHEAP!

Liquid Laundry Detergent

3 pints water
1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated
1/2 cup Super Washing Soda
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
2-gallon bucket
1 quart hot water

Mix grated Fels Naptha Laundry Bar Soap in a large pot with 3 pints hot water and heat on the stove over low heat until dissolved. Do not allow to boil. Stir in Super Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until thickened. Remove from heat. Add 1 quart hot water to your 2-gallon bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Fill up bucket with some additional hot water, leaving a few inches at the top, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. If it gets too thick, just run a hand mixer through it to loosen it up. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load. Note: This recipe multiplies well, but you’ll need a 5-gallon bucket.

Storage: I keep mine in an old laundry detergent bottle. Depending on the size of the bottle you will probably need 2 if large, or more if they are the new smaller bottles. Use a funnel to pour the detergent into the spout. Then make sure you shake it up each time you need to use it, as it tends to get thick again and separate a little.


(I got these recipes from my sister, but I believe they can also be found at everydaycheapskate.com)

Happy Washing!

WFMW - No Excuses Workout

Alright ladies (and guys) =) here it is. For the last 2 months (almost) I have been doing the No Excuses Workout with Jonathan Roche. If you do are a Flybaby, no doubt you have heard about it. You can get free daily tips and workouts in your email if you join the Yahoo group. I joined the Yahoo group because I wanted to try to lose some of the weight from when I was pregnant. I have been holding on to an extra 25 lbs or so for the last YEAR+. ARGH!! Granted, I haven't exactly tried very hard to lose it, but it has been frustrating seeing others that have had babies since (SISTER) and they just seem to go right back to normal. :-P So I have only been doing these short workouts for about 7 weeks (and NOT very consistently) and I lost 5 lbs within the first 2! After that I kinda slacked a bit, so I stayed about the same, but I started back up last week and I have lost another 2 lbs! On Monday, Wednesday and Friday you do intervals and Tuesday and Thursday are the No Excuses Workout, which is 6 minutes of strength training (eventually working up to 24 mins). Free pdf instructions are on the website, just follow the Flylady link when you get there. So far, this is working for me, maybe it will work for you too!

To find other WFMW tips, head over to We Are THAT Family.

WFMW - BKF for Rust Removal

Welcome to Works for Me Wednesday!

This week I want to share my experiences with a product called Bar Keeper's Friend (or BKF as I call it). I LOVE this product. We have very "irony" well water, even with a water softener. Our kitchen faucet leaks (we could fix it, but I just want a new one and am waiting for one to go one sale =) ) so I have to clean the rust out of the basin all the time. Bar Keeper's Friend is the best thing I have found to get rid of the rust quickly, safely (no harmful fumes, its all natural) and inexpensively. I get it at Target for about $1.67 for a 21 oz. can. Here are before and after pics (I LOVE now-you-see-it, now-you-don't!) of my kitchen sink and our bathtub. I let them get all rusty just for you all, although its not nearly as rusty as before I found BKF!

It took me less than 15 minutes (love my Flylady timer!) to scrub and rinse each one.

Give it a try, you won't be disappointed!

Head over to Rocks in My Dryer for more great Works for Me Wednesday tips!

WFMW - Flylady

I am sure a lot of you already know about Flylady and perhaps you are a Flybaby yourself. Have you fallen off the bandwagon? Well, its time to jump back on! Do you need a home cleaning routine that works, but don't know where to start? Well look no further!

I have been doing Flylady for almost a year now and it is AWESOME! It gives me a great daily cleaning routine that is easy and not very time consuming - which is quite important with a 1 year old! If you join (its FREE) you will receive emails with great cleaning tips, inspiration and sometimes recipes, exercise tips and more. There is a weekly zone cleaning with daily missions that will help you get your house clean in no time. The Flylady says, "You can do anything for 15 minutes!" And it is true! Babysteps is all it takes to get your life and home in better working order.

I have always had a problem with clutter and with Flylady, I am learning to let go and "bless others" with my "stuff." I hope you will join in the fun, and once you do, you will be so glad you did. And don't be surprised if you discover friends and family that are already Flybabies. I have recently discovered many of the women I have known for a long time are Flybabies. It has been so neat to learn that I have a support group and didn't even know it!

I will tell you one little secret to getting a clean house: You actually have to DO something about it. It isn't going to clean itself! Flylady gives you great tips and routines, but you have to DO them! Flylady Works for Me, hopefully it will work for you, click here to get started!

Head on over to Rocks in My Dryer to see more Works for Me Wednesday tips!

WFMW - Babesafe Mattress Cover

This week I want to share a product called the Babesafe Mattress Cover. It is a polythene cover made to slip over a crib mattress (comes in different sizes) to block harmful gases that can release out of the mattress from getting to your child, possibly causing crib death, or SIDs. Please read more about the toxic gas theory in my previous posts here and here. A great blog is Prevent SIDs. Evie says it much better than I do! And she has put together some info concerning misconceptions about the theory.

I have been using the cover for almost a year now, and it has been wonderful for my nerves! I have been a very worried new mommy and before I learned about the whole toxic gas theory, I worried even more because there were no real reasons for SIDs. Finding the Babesafe Mattress Cover Worked For Me to give me the peace of mind I needed.

If you are interested in purchasing one of these covers after you do your own research and decide it might also Work For You, please consider Eve's Best as your online source. I have purchased 4 or 5 covers (a couple for myself and my sister and sister-in-law) through Evie and she has been wonderful.

PS - Along with wrapping the mattress, you should also use 100% cotton bedding and no waterproof, padded anything. I use a flannel blanket I made or 100% cotton bath towels to go under the 100% cotton sheet. We also only use 100% cotton pj's, to avoid overheating and really, who wants their baby sleeping in flameretardant, chemical laden pajamas? Changing over to all cotton is really very easy to get used to! We do however use cloth diapers made out of polyester, but with the cover blocking the mattress gases, it should be fine. No flame retardants in the diapers!

Thanks to Rocks In My Dryer for hosting Works-For-Me Wednesday!

WFMW - Easy Silver Cleaner

Hey guys, welcome to Works for Me Wednesday! This is something new I am trying. I will post a new tip or product here every week. This feature is hosted by Rocks In My Dryer, a great blog I have recently found and just LOVE! Have fun and I hope you return next week.

Easy silver cleaner can be found right in your bathroom. What is it you ask? You may have some splattered on your mirror, or stuck on your sink (if you are a Flybaby, SHAME on you! lol!) You guessed it, its TOOTHPASTE! All you have to do is take a very small amount, rub it onto whatever needs cleaning with a damp, soft cloth- I usually use it to freshen up any silver jewelry I have neglected - then rinse it off with water and dry with a soft cloth. Presto! Clean, shiny silver! I have only used the regular paste, so don't know if gel works too. Now, doesn't this make you wonder what exactly it is that you are putting on you TEETH that can also clean METAL? Eeesh, I don't know about that, but I try not to worry about it! ;-)

Before:
Look at all that dirt!
After - Look at that Shine!
(and I don't mean just the flash!)

Note: I don't know all the science behind why this works, I haven't bothered to look it up or anything, so test a small area first if you are worried something weird may happen to your jewelry. I have not yet tried this on any "big" items, but I do have a few larger silver items that need attention so if I get to them I will be sure to post the pics! Otherwise, I am not liable for anything undesireable that may happen as a result of this household tip, especially since I am not the one who originally came up with it (don't know who that is since I have just always "known" since growing up, I doubt my mom was the original thinker behind this!).