Supply List

I am currently 100 pages into the first book, called "Clean House Clean Planet" by Karen Logan, which was recommended to me by a friend who scrubbed my tub using baking soda and vinegar (my baby was 3 weeks old, and I hadn't been able to bend down far enough to clean the tub in about 6 or 7 months. It was gross.)

I am already confident enough in her so far to strongly recommend the book to you - I found it at my local library, and will purchase it when a bit of extra coin comes my way. Karen speaks in an understandable way and is easy to relate to because she's a mom trying to make bucks stretch farther and make her home safer. This book is ideal for the person who is interested in green cleaning/money saving and doesn't know where to start. She is a wealth of knowledge on why to make the switch, how to do it, and how much you'll save.

I have to make a few purchases before I am able to try her recipes, but here are the ingredients you will need:

Arm and Hammer Baking Soda (it doesn't clump as easy as other brands)

Heinz White Vinegar (it's less processed or something)

Lemon Juice

Borax (its in a green box in the laundry isle)

Liquid Soap (Vegetable Oil Based, Castile or Glycerine) - you can get Dr. Bronners Castile soap from our local health food store (the one in Walmart Mall is better), and it's good for more than cleaning - you can use it for LOTS of different stuff. I'll post about it another time.

Salt

Essential Oils (Like Tea tree, lavender, lemon & Peppermint) [optional]

And a few spray bottles, squirt bottles and shakers.

It's that simple. I would take time to read the book before you purchase the items you need, though, because she has lots of helpful and money saving tips on getting the right stuff.

The Myth About Gift Giving

So, I make most of my gifts to save money and have been for about the last year. A lot of people look at me like I am a mythical creature or like I have a growth coming out of my forehead when they find this out. Again, and not to rag on it, but it's our corrupted culture. We are going soul bankrupt. When you can't give a homemade gift without embarrassment, it's a sign. Like fiery chariots in the sky and the like.

Then there's the people who admire this achievement, but say with great conviction, "But I could never do that. I don't have a creative bone in my body." Let me say with great conviction, that's a load of bull crappers. If we are made in the image of God, then we are creative. We just aren't all the same KIND of creative.

So what are you good at? Do you bake? Do you write? Do you sing? Do you sew? Do you? You can take your area of expertise and turn it into gifts. Write some one a story. Give someone a ready made cookie mix. Or, better yet - cookies! Make a CD of your songs and give it to everyone for Christmas. Be creative. Any one can give some one a starbucks card (which is not to say that I don't appreciate them, because I DOOOOOOO!), but only you can give of yourself. You are the greatest treasure you own. My most precious possessions would surprise you, and one of them is a {very poorly} handsewn stuffed puppy. Some of the most touching mementos I have are letters, poems and stories. Some of the deepest treasures in my heart are unrecorded words.

So I want you to think in a different direction when you think of gifts. Think of the person. Give of yourself. Touch peoples hearts. You'll save money, but more importantly, you will live a richer life. This is the journey. Because when we die, all we take with us is relationship. Nothing else will stick to our souls hard enough to cross the great beyond.

Scrubby Gypsies... er....

Hello All!

Well, I am VERY proud to announce that I have not made any boo-boo's and am still a gypsy. I have been very restrained, and it's been easier than I thought because I have so far got an unexpected $70 this month, a $30 gift card for WOOL and a free coffee. So we are even UP in our budget. Even though I am not spending, I have not only what I need, but I have the option of getting what I want, too. Somehow it makes my resolve even stronger. I haven't used any gift cards this week at all.

On to the DIY Cleaning.

I have requested a bzillion books from the library, so I am waiting on that, but yesterday I watched a DVD from the Green Living Series, and not only is DIY cleaning less expensive, it is "green".

Did you know that the air in your home can be up to 5 times more polluted than what's outside? And most of that comes down to the toxins in cleaning products. By making your own cleaners, you reduce the risk of accidental poisoning, long term respiratory illnesses, even cancer - and of course, you are reducing the toxins leaving your home and entering the environment through the drain. The companies that produce cleaning products are required by law to indicate if something is poisonous or will burn your skin, but there are no rules or laws regarding ingredients that can cause serious illness over a long period of exposure. Some cleaning products even include known carcinogens. YIKES!

Also, there are studies out there that draw a direct link between cleaning products and NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS IN CHILDREN. The studies go so far as to say that it is a silent pandemic. I don't know about you, but when I heard that I was pretty much done. Our children are exposed to a much higher and varied amount of chemicals than any other generation before, they're getting new sicknesses and no one's really saying anything about it. So let's BE the change!

I haven't used any of the formulas that were in the DVD yet, so I am not going to give them to you until I've tested them, but I really think that this is an important change for all of us to at least try out. So try and think about it in the next few days. If our minds change first, then anything is possible.

Roughing It - Scrubby Girls

Alright, for those of you getting bored with the Gypsies, a sub-plot.

But first, to set the stage, an assignment. Go look at your cleaning cupboard.

Count the bottles.

How many of them have danger symbols on them?

How many of them cost more than $4 a pop?

How many of them do you really need?

Okay, I hope that your mind is suitably open.

You can apparently clean your house with simple kitchen ingredients that will not only expose you and your family to less toxins, they are CHEAP as chips.

I am going to test this and review it here for your money saving pleasure.

I will research various methods & theories using the library and internet (and of course your suggestions and questions) and my goal is to separate fact from propaganda and also set us up with a list of cleaning supplies and tools.

Disclaimers:

1) I will never give up my Magic Eraser. It is a superior cleaning product that truly shocked me into submission the first time I used it. No matter how toxic it is. Some things are beyond reproach.

However, you can save money on those bad boys - the Dollar Store by Canadian Tire (for my local readers) sells no name ones for $1.25, which I have tested and find to be just as good.

[EDITORS NOTE: I found magic erasers even cheaper at Superstore. It was a generic brand and you got 2 for $2.25]

2) I will never give up bleach. There are somethings that need to be disinfected to a higher standard than others (mould, poop, vomit) and for those reasons, I will always have an enormous jug of bleach on hand.

Temptation, Overcome

Oh, my, yesterday was a hard day not to spend money. It was one of those days where the house is clean, the baby is happy, the To-Do's are done, and instead of feeling a sense of freedom, I was at a loss with what to do with myself.

So I decided to go out. But no sooner had I decided that than an intense craving for a Latte hit me squarely between the eyes. And some french fries. And a new shirt.

RIDICULOUS.

But once the temptation was over come I realized that that is why we North Americans shop so much. I mean, do we really need {or even, truly, want} a new shirt. No, probably not. We want the feeling that comes from a purchase. We want the potential that comes from a new outfit. We want the feeling of well being that a $5 latte produces.

We shop because we are bored. Because we're lonely. Because we're unfulfilled. Because we're stressed. Because we're afraid. Take your pick.

I was feeling lonely - my husbands second day back at work after a glorious 2 week break and the house felt awfully empty, the day terribly long. So what did I do? I went and visited him at work for 15 minutes. Did wonders. Then two errands. And afternoon nap was upon us. Temptation, overcome.

DAY 4 and going STRONG

Alright, darlings.

Day four of the Gypsie Challenge.

Frivolous $ Spent?

Absolutely nothing.

Granted (and suddenly I feel like I am confessing), I used my Starbucks Gift Card once this week, and bought a coffee another time with money that had been given to me, but I am not really counting gifts as part of the challenge. Is that cheating?

Wait... I am the BOSS. I get to make the rules.

So, lets start that again.

In case you are wondering, fellow gypsies, gifts don't count in the challenge. Heh.

In other news, I made a transaction on the down low this evening. No names named, no faces seen. Just a farmer, his free range chickens and my hungry family. You can save around $2 a dozen (if you know the right people) on free range eggs by finding a local chicken farmer.

This gets 4 out of 5 stars because:

PRO - Eggs keep for months in a cold place. So when your supermarket eggs have a best by thats only a few weeks away? YOU ARE EATING REALLY OLD EGGS. When you go to a local farmer you guarantee yourself fresh eggs.

PRO - You are supporting local businesses. This is good. If you don't know why, pull your head out of your bottom and ask someone. After washing your hair. And possibly brushing your teeth.

PRO - You save money. And isn't that why you're here?

CON - It's less convenient to drive out of your way, with cash, to get them than it is to pick them up along with the milk and cheese.

Gypsie Update

No takers!? Aye, me, sad hours seem long...

Well, I am going to do this on my own then.

And so far so good! One day down and 30 to go = zero dollars spent. In fact, today I will be earning some unexpected income, so we're on the plus side.

To curb my spending tendencies, last night we watched a documentary on Lions in India and I started 3 sewing projects. Nice. I can see that this month is going to be very interesting.

Oh, and an interesting frugality tip:

You can make your own cutting boards by trimming the edges off of old ice cream pail lids. Granted, they are round, and they don't last as long as other cutting boards, but they work.