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February 26, 2015

Throwback Thursdays: Homemade Slime, Only $0.20!

Throwback Thursday Graphic-01

Good afternoon, savvy savers! For this weeks Throwback Thursday’s, just in time for Halloween,  I want to bring you a fun, family-friendly find from my own childhood, Slime! If you were anything like me as a child, than watching Family Double Dare was a favorite, and the best part of the show was the contestants who were systematically slimed! Sure slime, that awesome polymer that was presented both liquid and solid statuses simultaneously, was more than a molecular anomaly, it was an event of epic proportions! What was even better? When the stores began to carry this awesome gak, slime, or as my mother called it, the substance that will not come off of my couch!

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Oh, the dealing of a kid from the 1990′s. But why let the 1990′s evade us one day further, when we can make out own slime, and so here is my recipe for homemade slime! Please note, I can make slime for $0.20 a container, per child.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup Elmer’s School White Glue
  • 2 disposable cups
  • Food coloring
  • 3 Tablespoons Water
  • 1 Tablespoon Borax Powder
  • A plastic spoon

Directions:

  1. In your first plastic cup, add your water and Borax Powder.
  2. Stir the mixture gently, then set aside.
  3. In your second plastic cup, add your Elmer’s School White Glue.
  4. Add the food coloring, in your color(s) of choice, to the second cup, stirring until mixed.
  5. Now, add 1 Tablespoon of the mixture from the first cup at a time, to the second cup; the slime will instantly start forming, but allow the mixture to set-up for 30 second before playing with each batch.
  6. Store slime in sandwich bags.
  7. Avoid placing slime on textured, carpeted, and porous surface.
  8. Enjoy!

Here’s to Halloween,

Shamrock 21

DIY Soft Scrub with Bleach

 

softscrub

Hello again, savvy savers! For this week’s Thrifty Thursday’s, I want to share with you one of the ways I have found to save on cleaning supplies, and that is with my DIY Soft Scrub, with Bleach! As this product is priced around $2.98 locally for me, I find that my making my own, using products purchased online via Amazon and ePantry, I am able to make a batch of cleaner for under $0.25, nearly 85% off retail pricing, using only four simple, household ingredients! 

Here’s how to make it:

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup baking soda 
  • 1/4 cup Castile soap 
  • 2 Tablespoons room temperature water
  • 1/2 Tablespoon bleach
  • Glass jar, with lid

Directions:

  1. Combine the water and baking soda in a non-lidded glass jar; set aside for 1 minutes.
  2. Next, add the soap to the mixture, folding in the soap slowly.
  3. Add the bleach, and set aside for an additional minute.
  4. Store your mixture, in your lidded jar, and use 1 teaspoon for each cleaning, as needed. 
  5. When cleaning, use a white cloth, scrub your surface, and allow mixture to remain on the surface for 60 seconds, for disinfecting purposes, before rinsing with water, and drying with a clean cloth.
  6. Enjoy!

 

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As you can see, the left side of my kitchen sink, with just the smallest amount of this DIY scrub, with a simple white cloth, cleans my kitchen sink to an impressive shine! I also use this mixture in my bathroom sink, bathroom showers, and to clean my grill and smoker at home. This scrub comes in handy during the winter months, when the extra bit of help, by way of the household chlorine bleach, helps to not just clean but disinfect the surfaces most used in my home! If you use something similar in your home, I’d love to hear about it below!

 

February No Spend Month Challenge: Day 26 (How to Become A Book Reviewer)

Day 26-

Hello again, savvy savers! A new day, and a new way to save with today’s No-Spend Month Challenges! If  a mug of soup, a cup of hot tea, and a great, new book sounds like your perfect night, than that makes two of us! If you are anything like me, than you are nothing short of a bibliophile! Well, you are in luck, as today’s challenge centers around being able to score free books.

How can be score free books?

  • You can become a book reviewer, with one of several dozen online book reviewer programs.
  • The best part is that you do not need to be a designated book blogger, to be able to review books.
  • You simply need to have a love of the written word, a social media following, and a verifiable mailing address.
  • Each blogger will need to apply for book reviews, and just wait for the reviews to come in.
  • Keep in mind, you will need to keep reviews legal, by always disclosing your reviewer status. 
  • Beyond this, you will need to review books online, as well as reviewing on an online purchasing outlet, such as Goodreads, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble. 

Here are a list of Reviewer Programs:

1. BookSneeze:  They have both print and e-books available. Booksneeze sends out a monthly newsletter informing participants of the latest books available for review.  

2. Blogging for Books: This program is ran by Waterbrook Multnomah. It has a pretty simple sign-up and I like that they send out email notices monthly informing you of the different books they have available. 

 3. Bethany House: Here is a link to the latest newsletter with the list of books available for review.

4. Tywebbin: Offers a quick simple sign-up to be host of one their virtual book tours. Books offered from this review program tend to be primarily African American books. 

5. Cross Focused Reviews: This program is a service of Cross Focused Media, LLC. Once you have signed up on their list, you will receive email notifications of available books on tour. 

6. TLC Book Tours:  Offers a quick sign up process to get on their list of tour hosts. 

7. Tyndale Blog Network:This program is hosted by Tyndale House publishers. Each month they send out a list of available books once you have been approved. 

8. NetGalley: This program offers books from a vast number of publishers. According to their website, “NetGalley is a service to promote and publicize forthcoming titles to readers of influence. 

10. The B& B Media: I have done several reviews through this program. Once you’re on their distribution list, you receive an email notification of available books they have and you simply fill out the form to be a part of that book’s tour. They give you a date the review must be posted by.

This list provides a great start for book lovers and bloggers alike, that are looking to review books. Each program offers free books in exchange for an honest review and have their own requirements about review length and where you must publish your reviews.  So, today I challenge you look into saving on your monthly book purchasing costs, by becoming a book reviewer!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a new day’s challenge!

Here’s to saving,

Shamrock 21

 

Challenge Links: