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Gardening This Summer? Check Out VeggieTrader.com -- A New Fruit & Veggie Exchange
Depending on where you live, you may be getting ready to plant a vegetable garden. More and more people are growing their own food--either to save money, to avoid pesticides and enjoy fresher produce, or both.
You may also have fruit trees where you live. We were happily surprised to find a pear tree in the backyard of the house we moved into a few years ago. Well, I should say I was. No one else ate pears in our house, and we had a TON of them at the end of the summer!
You might have the same situation with your garden--lots of extra food that you can't eat fast enough. You can freeze or can it, and you can also check out this new website, VeggieTrader.com. It's a free site where people with extra produce can sign up to exchange their fruits and veggies with another gardener who has something they'd like to trade.
This is a new site as I mentioned, so the more people who register, the more successful it will be. The site has lots of information about how it works, how to "make a trade," and a link to help you find out where to donate extra food if you'd rather do that than swap it. You can even find out how to buy and sell your fresh produce.
All of you gardeners may want to bookmark VeggieTrader.com for the end of summer when that big bumper crop comes in!
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Free Admission to National Parks April 17-25 (and Again This Fall)
If you haven't heard, from April 17-25 over 100 national parks across the U.S. will be offering free admission during National Park Week. Click here for the park's website to get more information about this event and details about more free dates in the fall.
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Easy, DIY Laundry Detergent -- It's Simple to Make, So Inexpensive, & It Works!
I recently took the plunge and tried a frugal experiment I'd been thinking about for awhile. Some of you may want to try this one yourself.
I'm talking about making my own laundry detergent! It was incredibly easy and very inexpensive. I'm wondering now what took me so long to try it.
I'm talking about making my own laundry detergent! It was incredibly easy and very inexpensive. I'm wondering now what took me so long to try it.
I used a simple three-ingredient recipe I found online for a powdered detergent. The liquid ones seemed like too much work, but this recipe is as easy as mixing together dry ingredients in any baking recipe. If you can mix flour and sugar, you can do this!All of my ingredients cost about the same as just one bottle of good quality liquid detergent, but should last for several months, may-be longer. The recipe I used only requires two tablespoons of detergent per large load, since it's so concentrated. By the way, all the ingredients were available at my local grocery store. (I'll give you the recipe below.)
So far, after many loads of laundry, this detergent's doing a great job for me. It smells like "soap" but the clothes come out of the washer with almost no scent.
If you'd like to add scent, you can use dryer sheets or liquid fabric softener. Many people with sensitive skin like this detergent because it is free of artificial dyes and fragrances. And, I should mention my family's clothes are coming out clean--may-be even a little brighter than before.
If you want to save money--and you can save quite a bit--don't be afraid to trying making your own laundry detergent. It is so easy!
Here's the recipe I'm using--
If you want to save money--and you can save quite a bit--don't be afraid to trying making your own laundry detergent. It is so easy!
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Here's the recipe I'm using--
Mix together:
Use 2 tablespoons for a large load (adjust for smaller or less soiled loads of clothes)
I found all these products at the end of the laundry area up on the top shelf in the grocery store. They are also available in Walmart. My parents are giving this a try too, and they found these products at Ace Hardware.
Update: I have been using this detergent for over three years, which tells you I'm very pleased with it. I use dryer sheets in the winter to cut down on static cling and to add fragrance. By the way, I cut them in half, and they work just as well.
I hope you'll consider giving this recipe a try. It's so easy to make a part of your routine, and you'll feel great when you get to walk past those expensive laundry detergents.
For deals and coupons, check out my homepage at MomsWhoSave.com.
You can also find me on Facebook and join me on Twitter, along with more than 119,000 other bargain hunters for daily deal updates!
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- 1 cup Arm & Hammer (or other brand) Washing Soda --not baking soda
- 1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax (note the look of the box has changed since I took this photo)
- 2 cups (or approximately 1 bar) very finely grated Fels Naptha laundry bar -- some people use Zote brand soap
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I found all these products at the end of the laundry area up on the top shelf in the grocery store. They are also available in Walmart. My parents are giving this a try too, and they found these products at Ace Hardware.
Update: I have been using this detergent for over three years, which tells you I'm very pleased with it. I use dryer sheets in the winter to cut down on static cling and to add fragrance. By the way, I cut them in half, and they work just as well.
I hope you'll consider giving this recipe a try. It's so easy to make a part of your routine, and you'll feel great when you get to walk past those expensive laundry detergents.
_______________________________________________________
You can also find me on Facebook and join me on Twitter, along with more than 119,000 other bargain hunters for daily deal updates!
Don't miss a freebie, deal, or giveaway! Subscribe to MomsWhoSave's blog posts below! Then be sure to confirm your subscription when you get the confirmation email.
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Thanks Real Simple for Naming MomsWhoSave a Top Five Twitter Account for Discount News
Just a quick post to say thank you to Real Simple magazine! Their April, 2010 issue is their tenth anniversary issue, and I am thrilled to tell you that they named MomsWhoSave one of the top five sites to follow on Twitter for discount news!
Real Simple is one of my favorite magazines, so to be included in their big anniversary issue is especially exciting!
Real Simple is also celebrating their anniversary all month with live events, and you can find out more by visiting the Facebook group they set up just for the occasion.
You can also find them on Twitter here and at their regular Facebook page here.
To check out MomsWhoSave on Twitter, click here, and to visit MomsWhoSave's homepage click here.
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This Giveaway Has Ended--Signed Copy of Sherri Shepherd's Permission Slips Giveaway and Review
I have a new review and giveaway for you today. All of you will love this one, but since lots of my readers are also fans of Sherri Shepherd and found my site through her mentions of MomsWhoSave on Twitter, you'll want to be sure you enter this giveaway.
Sherri's written a book for all of us women called Permission Slips: Every Woman's Guide to Giving Herself a Break. For all of you who are too busy to sit down and relax, this one is for you! It's not only a great book, it's written in short sections, so you can read a little at a time when you get a moment to yourself here and there.
Be warned though, you may not be able to put this book down once you pick it up. I read Permission Slips in just over a 24-hour period, and here's why I couldn't put it down--
You will completely relate to Sherri! She's had lots of the same ups and downs, guilt, made the same mistakes, had the same fears, same joys, and same struggles as all of us.
The way she tells her story makes you feel like you're talking to an old girlfriend. You'll find yourself laughing, feeling awful for some of what Sherri's gone through, asking "What in the world was she thinking?" and finally thrilled that she is in a happy place today.
She's had bad boyfriends, struggled with infertility, found out her husband was cheating, worried and prayed over her premature son, and adjusted to life as a single mother.
Through it all, you will recognize yourself. May-be you didn't have exactly the the same experiences as Sherri, but there are very few of us who get far in life without some pain--or may-be a lot of pain.
I doubt she was laughing through a lot of these trials, but Sherri tells her stories in a way that always keeps you interested, engaged, and usually laughing. She is just such a survivor even under the worst of circumstances that she can't help but be an inspiration.
Throughout the book, Sherri offers you lots of little "permission slips" to give yourself a break, lighten up, and know that you are good enough!
I admire Sherri very much for having not only survived all of the things she has, but to have come out so successfully, with a sense of humor, and without bitterness. That's why I am especially happy to tell you that she has been generous enough to sign two copies of her book--one for me and one for a lucky MomsWhoSave reader!
Here's how to enter to win your signed copy of Permission Slips.
1. Visit SherriShepherd.com. Then come back here to leave a comment below telling me something you learned about Sherri! Be sure to leave an email address with your entry, so I can reach you if you win!
For extra entries:
2. Follow @MomsWhoSave on Twitter, and retweet the following: " @MomsWhoSave is giving away a signed copy of Permission Slips by @SherriEShepherd at http://su.pr/1YcAiC " Leave a comment below with a link to your tweet. You may do this once daily.
3. Visit MomsWhoSave's homepage here, and leave a comment below to let me know which deal is your favorite today. You may do this once daily, but you must choose a different deal each day.
4. Follow @SherriEShepherd on Twitter, and leave me a comment below to let me know that you are following her.
5. Add the MomsWhoSave button to your blog or website if you have one. You can find my button here. Let me know by leaving a comment below. Be sure to give me the link to your site, so I can check it out!
6. If you have a blog, write about this giveaway linking back to this post. Leave me a comment below with a link to your post.
7. There hasn't yet been an announcement on whether "Sherri" (Sherri's show on Lifetime) will be renewed. If you are a fan of the show, and want to see another season, check out this page of contacts for Lifetime, and let them know how you feel! Leave me a comment below to tell me how you contacted Lifetime, and I'll give you another entry. Be sure to leave me your email address.
This giveaway will end on Friday, April 30th at 11 p.m. Eastern time and is open to U.S. residents only. One winner will be chosen from qualifying entries using random.org. Please be sure I have a way to reach you if your entry is chosen.
Good luck!
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