Save Big Saturday

I have always loved a deal--I learned it from my mother. I remember her using coupons and shopping wherever she thought her money would go the farthest. I also recall that all those free food samples during a Saturday shopping trip at Cub Foods were "lunch." Very thrifty, indeed, Mom! She (and my step dad) has a big garden every year that provides a lot of food for the entire family and they buy meat in bulk--like a whole cow at a time. For a few years, she tortured us with some homemade things that just couldn't compete with the real deal. The best example was ketchup. If you have never tasted it--DON'T! I don't care how much money you can save by making it, it is not worth it. Somethings are better left to the professionals! Although she doesn't use as many coupons now and Jim does a lot of the quick trips for day-to day needs, she still loves a bargain. Kohl's can attest to that! And, since she has flirted with the idea of making everyday products that will be a bargain and possibly better for the family, I am dedicating this post to her!
Who knew you could make your own laundry detergent? Probably my mom, and definitely a mom of 18, Michelle Dugger. That is where this particular recipe came from. You may have seen them on a talk show or their own show on TLC. Anyway, the real inspiration for this Save Big post was not Michelle Dugger, but a sweet Christian sister named Samantha. Before I go any further, in the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that when I heard talk of her making her own laundry detergent, there was a little bit of snickering involved. I mean seriously, who does this? But, after reading her email and speaking with her (and smelling her) about how CHEAP and EASY it is (two of my favorite qualities in ANYTHING), I decided it was not something to poke fun at, but rather to try. So, that's what I'm gonna do! You can still make fun of us if you want to, but when I'm stock piling money instead of the cheapest detergent I can find with a coupon, who will be laughin' then?

Here is the recipe, taken straight from the Dugger Family site:

TIPS FOR LAUNDRY SOAP: We use Fels-Naptha bar soap in the homemade soap recipes, but you can use Ivory, Sunlight, Kirk's Hardwater Castile or Zote bars. Don't use heavily perfumed soaps. We buy Fels-Naptha by the case from our local grocer or online. Washing Soda and Borax can normally be found on the laundry or cleaning aisle. Recipe cost approx. $2.
Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine
4 Cups hot tap water

1 Fels-Naptha soap bar

1 Cup Washing Soda

½ Cup Borax
- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

Samantha told me the whole process took her 15 minutes and she had no problem finding the ingredients.

Now, for some math. . . They say each batch will cost you approximately $2 and yield 180 loads for a top load machine. Most recently I have been using Purex because it is cheap--around $2.99 for 32 loads. But, I'm betting the average person spends $4-$5 on their detergent and really fancy people are buying Tide at closer to $7 a pop. So, let's just say we spend an average of $5 each on 5 bottles of detergent, we will be washing about 160-180 loads of laundry in a top loading machine for $25. That saves you $23--okay, that's good! I happen to have a front loading machine, so based on the same assumptions of cost, etc., I would buy 20 bottles at $5 each to wash 640 loads costing me $100. I can look forward to saving $98! Yeah! That's a lot of money! Granted, these are estimates, but I really believe this is going to be a money saver. I'm also betting it will be easier on the skin and on the washing machine too! Due to the length of this post, I'm not even going to talk about the options for fabric softener, but let me just say that today I have done a little vinegar experiment--substituting it for fabric softener--and although my clothes don't smell perfumy, they don't have any lingering sweat smells common to work out clothes. Check out the Dugger Family Site for tips on fabric softener and if you are a proof-is-in-the-pudding kinda gal like me, smell Samantha at church some time--I'm sure she won't mind!

Financial Peace Friday

As I have briefly touched on in other postings, John and I began taking the Financial Peace University course at our church about 2 weeks ago. So far, it feels like an extended pep talk from Dave Ramsey. While it has been entertaining, I'm ready for some meat and potatoes! Thanks to our tax check, we are ready to accomplish his "Baby Step #1" which is $1000 in an emergency savings fund. So, we are gearing up to accomplish "Baby Step #2" which is pay off your debts in order from lowest to highest. The rational is that you will experience some early victories that will keep you motivated. For us, this is easy (well, sorta) because we only 2 major debts.

1. My student loans, which I am behind on by a few payments. The interest rate on these is low at about 7%, but now that we can have a plan, I'm so excited to watch this debt disappear.


2. A fairly sizable loan my parents made to us when we were buying our house and a past debt of my husband's threatened to end our home-buying dream completely. (Thanks, Mom & Jim!) I'm also thrilled to be able to start paying them back on a regular basis. They have been so generous and they only send threatening letters and make harassing calls about half as much as other debt collectors. They are the BEST!

The most important aspect of this new process will begin on Sunday, March 1st. This is when the new budget goes into place and we begin to record EVERY DOLLAR WE SPEND. I just love a new beginning and I'm anxious for progress. I'm counting on those of you who see me out and about to keep me accountable! (That means you too, Kira! Now I really NEED to win your books!)
Just in case you are like us, living pay check to pay check, NO SAVINGS, not much in retirement accounts, making no real head way on your debt..., I encourage you to look into this program. Clearly, I can't say it works from my own experience, but I have seen how it worked for friends of ours who paid off, like, $80,000 worth of debt in around 2 years. I also have faith that this will work for us because this program is Biblically based. With that in mind, let me leave you with a scripture that we have discussed repeatedly in the last few weeks:

"The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." Proverbs 22:7

You can also read "servant" as slave. Who are you a slave to today? If you seek Peace in your life, this is a good place to start.

Thirsty Thursday (Revisited)

While trying to decide if I want to get back to blogging, I decided to revisit some of the posts I made. This was one of my favorites! I'm thankful that Andrea Deckard of MommySnacks.net is writing a series on blogging. I think I am getting inspired again, but perhaps with a little more direction. We shall see. . . Anyway, hope you enjoy reading this (again).

When I was in college, the weekend meant consuming mass quantities of alcohol. And since Thursday was almost Friday and Friday began the weekend, why not begin drinking on Thursday. Hence, "Thirsty Thursdays" were born. You can see how this sort of logic became a problem for me. . . Anyway, fast forward about 15 years (really, I just did that math and I cannot believe it) and my thirst, although still unquenchable, is for something entirely different, but in many ways even more intoxicating.

Like the Psalmist, "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God." (42:2a) That space in my soul that I once attempted to fill with many, many things is now overflowing with Living Water. Just as Jesus explained to the Samaritan woman, "but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14) So, although I no longer celebrate "Thirsty Thursdays" with the same exuberance of my 20's, I now partake daily from the Living Word, Jesus Christ, through the written Word, the Bible. I have discovered it is possible to be completely satiated, yet overwhelmingly thirsty at the same time.

Are you thirsty today? Indulge in a little Living Water--you'll be hooked!

Word-Free Wednesday

Here it is: My Dirty Little Secret. . .

For your viewing pleasure:

The Pierson-Lusk Family

Beautiful, right?

t.m.i. Tuesday

So, almost anyone reading this at this point knows me fairly well, but just for the sake of posterity, I'm going to give you the scoop on my crazy family tree. Just so you understand the format of how I'm sharing this info, I remember learning that when you are giving some one feedback, it is good to make a "positive sandwich." Meaning, say something positive, give your criticism, say something positive. Nice, huh? It is supposed to take the sting out of the criticism (which is clearly constructive) and end on a positive note. Keeping that in mind, here is the run down on my husband and 8 (yes, EIGHT) kids.

1. Steven (22) Sweet, unemployed, making me a grandma again (#2)
2. Michael (20) Funny, attending college?, has his own posse
3. Jade (18) Fiercely loyal, fiercely stubborn, has a fiercely tall boyfriend
4. Jasmine (16) Currently making all A's in school, creates a mess faster than anyone I know, gives me her hand-me-downs
5. Madeline (13) Very smart, no common sense, will ask almost anyone almost anything
6. Levi (10) Good, good boy, also completely devoid of common sense, keeps a tidy room (mostly)
7. Patia (p-long a-shu) (6) Passionate (her word) about singing and dancing, sneaky, has her dad's dimples (DO NOT ask my mom where dimples come from)
8. Olivia (4) Sweet little voice, unrealistically afraid of being left for even a second, LOVES to talk to me ALL DAY LONG...
9. Last, but not least, is John (40) Good Christian father, very little phone etiquette, loves me just the way I am (I know, hard to believe, right?)

So, there you have it--that's the scoop. On the off chance that anyone who hasn't seen me since high school is reading this, think back--you know I didn't begin having kids at the tender age of 13. I married a man with 4 kids. I know what you are thinking--and yes I had quit drinking by then. And although there are some days I consider taking up the habit again, I instead find solace in a cup of coffee, a quick cry, and an encouraging word from a friend. Besides, better to practice parenting on someone else's kids, right? We also have 2 kids together, Patia and Olivia. That brings the kid-count to 6 if you are keeping track. The last two we added 2 1/2 years ago after their parents passed away with in 6 months of each other. Madeline and Levi are John's niece and nephew from his older sister, Christine. We had a 10 year age gap to fill in between Jasmine and Patia, so that worked out nicely. It has been interesting, challenging, and a complete blessing to add them to our family.

I'm not sure t.m.i. is an accurate heading for this blog, but it sure is a lot of info to digest. Knowing what you now know about each of them, feel free to take the quiz below! Next Tuesday I promise something a little less lengthy and a little more scandalous. Ooohhh, ya! Of course, I will change the names to protect the innocent!

Tomorrow will be Word-Free Wednesday. And, yes Jeni, I completely plagiarised this from your blog. But like any good plagiariser, I changed it just enough to make it my own! Since I am vowing not to use any words tomorrow--here's the caption for the picture you will see:

"My dirty little secret."

Just another manic Monday

Consider yourself warned--do not come to my house, invite me or my kids to your home, or even shake hands with us. Get it Nancy? NO HUGS!! :) I have one kid home sick and one I'm going to go pick up from school early. The two youngest occasionally complain that their tummies hurt, but I suspect that has to do more with not eating something they don't want to eat than this nasty "gasarrhea" bug we have acquired.

b.t.w. "crap happy" (see my Inaugural Post) and "gasarrhea" are fun little words that Patia has made up along the way. Cute, huh? She's a wordsmith like her mama!

So, aside from illness, what makes this day qualify as "manic"?? Well, first it is Monday and for no other reason than that, this will be my theme every Monday. Monday's are just like that. Would you agree? Just getting back to the early, early routine of a school day is always rough! But, I am getting better at doing simple things to make my mornings easier like, laying out the little girls' clothes the night before. I know that isn't rocket science, but just a habit I have never fully developed, but it really helps! Levi does this every night with out fail. My only battle with him is convincing him he cannot actually sleep in the clothes he wants to wear the next day. . . boys. . .

Good news--my grocery shopping/"hunting" for the week is done and I think I came in right at budget. (more on this later!) Bad news--we had to touch grocery carts. Have your kids ever actually leaned down and licked the cart? P.t.L. my kids are over that. I can stop spraying hand sanitizer in their mouths now! Anyway, thanks to our venture out, I'm sure I will have some new ailment to cover later this week!

Okay, just to recap:
1)It's Monday. 2) Gasarrhea x 2 3)Grocery shopping

Stay tuned for tomorrow's intriguing theme. . .

Inaugural Post

So, here it is...the beginning...of what...who can say... I'm certain I shouldn't say much as it is nearly 1 a.m. and "crap" happiness has set in. Just to clarify, that has nothing to do with actual crap, but actually is our little family way of saying slap happy.

I'm sure my husband is wondering what I've been up to on the computer all this time. Well, if one can wonder and snore at the same time that is. He went to sleep hours ago, but when the snoring stops, I wait for the call from the bedroom--"are you still on that computer?"
Just in case you wonder what I've been doing all this time, thus far I have:
1) checked & deleted an inordinate number of emails from 2 different accounts.
2) created our budget on Dave Ramsey's "My Total Money Makeover" (check back later for more on this!)
3) created a facebook page (this may not please him, but it is just for fun!)
4) and now this...

So, there you have it! Quite an exciting couple (4) of hours! Uh, oh! Pretend like you're asleep! I think I hear him coming! Sure enough--my "dad" just gave me a lecture on self-control. Actually, my dad was a little more clever when he lectured me...John was not so clever, just grumpy. I guess later today--it is already Monday--it will be my turn!