Nicole

How I Save My Family $625.00 Annually With My Homemade Flea & Tick Remedy!

Calling all pet-parents! Do you have cats or dogs? If so, then you know all too well the nuisance of fleas and ticks can pose for your furbabies, your family, and your home. As you might know, I have a large furbaby family, including three dogs and three cats, so as summer approaches flea and tick remedies, which can save my family time and money, is a top priority for my home! After my West highland White Terrier, Roxxie, developed a skin allergy two years ago, my vet recommended I try more homeopathic treatments to repel fleas and ticks, as I live in a humid southern state! After some experimentation, I came up with a formula that is safe to wash pets, including small mammals, but is also effective enough to be sprayed on the perimeter of your home as a flea and tick home barrier as well! This remedy saves my family $625.00 annually!

Here’s how I make it:

Ingredients:

20 cloves
2 cups cold water
Plastic Container
8 oz apple cider vinegar
4 oz warm water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
12 Drops Eucalyptus Oil

Directions:

1) Take 2 cups cold water and add 20 cloves; seal for four days stirring twice a day, each day.

2) On the 4th day, mix dry ingredients first then slowly add to wet as the vinegar and baking soda will react slightly.

3) Add the clove mixture to the vinegar solution.

4) Put the combined mixture into spray bottle, adding the Eucalyptus oil at the end, and then spray pets down. Be careful not to get in pets eyes.

5) Use this blend, plus one cup water in your home attachment to spray outdoor walls, door frames, windows, and house parameters as well.

6) Retreat pets and home bi-weekly.

0 Comments

Stockpile Tip: Save 90% Off Off-Season Produce Prices When You Blanch and Shock Vegetables!

Calling all Stockpilers! For this weeks Stockpiling Tip, I wanted to post about one of my favorite ways to save money while stockpiling, blanching and freezing vegetables, otherwise known as Blanch and Shock Vegetable preservation! By blanching and flash-freezing your vegetables, you will be able to save 90% off of your produce bills! If you watch your weekly sales ads, and purchase vegetables on promotion, and take a portion of all fresh produce, and freeze these goods, you will never be without health, life saving vegetables!

Here’s how to make them:

1) Take your vegetables, and prep them; wach, sort, inspect, and chop your vegetables.

2) Prepare a pot of salted water; use 1/2 teaspoon of salt per half gallon of water.

3) Bring water to a boil.

4) Put your vegetables in the boiling water for 3 minutes, no more no less; use a kitchen timer for this process.

5) While your water is boiling, take a separate bowl, and fill it with ice.

6) After 3 minutes, using a strainer, transfer your blanched produce to your prepared ice bath; soak vegetables in the ice bath for another 3 minutes, timed. The ice water will stop the internal cooking process, and flash-freeze the produce.

7) Strain, then drain your vegetables.

8) Place the produce in pre-marked and dated baggies, then freeze!

9) Enjoy your produce savings!

0 Comments

Tips From The Man Cave: Frugal Methods of Cooking!

Guest post, by Daniel Roberts.

As I have already spoken of in earlier posts the meat you cook and how you prepare it to be cooked can have a big impact on your food budget. I would now like to delve into the area of how that food, meat in particular is cooked, and the options each method provides. To start I would like to remind the reader that the lesser the cut of meat the more I recommend the low and slow approach to cooking.

A look at the history of BBQ will find that that relationship between the cut of meat and the way it is cooked goes back a very long time. There are four variations I would like to cover today. The first is grilling. Grilling can be done either on a gas, electric, or coal cook top. Your choice in this depends on your commitment to the slight flavor variations some attribute to the use of charcoal or wood instead of gas. Charcoal to some degree and wood to a larger extent can add some flavor to your meal. If using wood then there are many charts to be found that match specific types of wood to the meat they will be cooking. Maple or Apple for pork, mesquite for beef, and a myriad of other possibilities for chicken can really add to the finished meal. Charcoal is a little more straight forward but like wood, has to be maintained while you cook. The temperatures in wood and charcoal fires can vary and have to be watched especially if you are trying for a low and slow cook (usually no more than 200 degrees for three or more hours).

Gas grills and smokers (another good method for cooking that offers the ease of gas with the tastes of wood ) will not have some of the added flavors of wood and charcoal but their temperature do not need to be tended half as much. It all depends on how comfortable you feel with each method as to which you should use. For those who do not have a grill or smoker let me offer up a few in home alternatives.

The Crockpot is a wonderful tool when trying the low and slow method. All one must do to have a great meal is add whatever meat you have on hand, add some water or better yet whatever you chose to marinade your meat with, and heat. If you don’t have a Crockpot, baking bags or even paper grocery bags can be used. One method I have used to a great level of success is placing butter under the skin of a chicken or turkey, adding a good rub to the skin, then placing the bird in a paper store bag, folding the end closed in such a way that the bird’s weight is enough to pin the bag shut, then baking on 200 for 8 to 10 hours.

All in all, take your time, experiment with what flavors you enjoy more, and have fun.

0 Comments

Homemade Roundup Weed Killer, Only $0.10!

Good afternoon, savvy savers! For this weeks Ways To Stretch A Dollar, I wanted to share with you my formula for homemade Roundup Weed killer! I use all natural ingredients, which can be purchased at the Dollar Tree, and each treatment will only set you back $0.10!

Here’s how I make it:

Ingredients:
2 cups table salt
1 gallon white vinegar; the vinegar should have 5% acidity.
8 drops liquid dishwashing soap

Instructions:
1) Mix all ingredients in a large jug.
2) Let the mixture sit overnight.
3) In the mixture in a spray bottle of pump sprayer, mix 1 cup mixture to one half gallon water.
4) If using the mixture with a hose attachment, place one cup mixture to one cup water, and fill the container for use with a hose. I spray weeds, during the evening and let the weeds die overnight.
5) Make sure to label your mixture, and keep it out of direct sunlight.
6) Enjoy your weed-free area!

12 Comments

Homemade Customizable Chalkboard Paint!

Calling all chalkboard enthusiasts! If you are anything like me, you have at least a couple chalkboards at your home! For today’s Tuesday Tutorials, I want to show you a way to make customizable chalkboard paint on the cheap! This formula will allow you to make chalkboard paint in any shade or hue, for only $0.25! Considering the leading brand of green or black chalkboard paint is $11.98 a pint, this is a huge savings! This formula can be used on any paintable surface, including canvas!

Here’s how to make this:

Project Materials:

Any color acrylic paint
Non-sanded white tile grout
Surface to paint
Paintbrush
White chalk

Directions

Prepare your painting surface, making sure it is clean, dry and sanded smooth with a fine grit sand paper.
Mix 1 tablespoon of grout with 2 ounces of paint. The addition of the grout will make your paint dry more quickly, so only mix up as much as you’ll use right away.
Paint your surface with several coats of paint, leaving ample time for each coat to dry.
Once it is completely dry you will need to “slate” your surface before you can begin to draw on it. You slate your board by running the side of a piece of chalk lightly over the entire board and then wiping it off with a dry piece of cloth.
Create to your heart’s content!

0 Comments

Check Out The Lady Prefers To Save’s Recipe Central Page!

Calling all cooks out there! Please be sure to check out RecipeCentral.com, a site full of recipes, food-prep videos, and food decoration advise created and run by chefs to help at-home chefs expand their culinary knowledge and expertise! Recipe Central offers chef-tested recipes, celebrity chef favorites, high-quality images, videos and community favorites. Visitors can search an array of cuisine and meal types, all tailored to their specific needs. This site is awesome and very helpful when needing to decide what to cook, or what to list on your weekly savings menus!

What’s better is that The Lady Prefers To Save now has a page on this site, and I hope you will check it out, here!

Here’s to cooking!

0 Comments

Homemade French Onion Soup Mix

Hello again, savvy savers! For today’s recipe post, I wanted to share with you my recipe for Homemade French Onion Soup Mix! Everything in this mix can be purchased at the Dollar Tree, and can be made for only $0.05 a packet! I generally make several batches at a time, and place them in snack-sized baggies, in my pantry, which will last up to one year on the shelf! I love that my homemade version is at a 95% savings off Lipton brand!

Please note, each batch equals one packet, which is enough for one roast, but two packets would be needed for enough soup to feed four!

Here’s how I make it:

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons beef bouillon granules, or 4 cubes
8 teaspoons dried onion flakes
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions:

1) Mix all ingredients, and store in a baggie.

2) Ingredients can be stored in a pantry up to a year.

3) Enjoy!

6 Comments

Older Posts

Newer Posts