Times are Tough...

Sometimes life gives you lemons and you have to make a souffle {lemonade would be way too easy}.  I have never actually attempted to make a souffle.  To be honest, I heard they are pretty tricky and I've never really had the guts to give it a try.  These next few months we may be doing lots of things that we haven't had to try in a while, so it could get a little interesting around here.  It seems our little family has hit that point in our lives again when we are forced to learn and grow.  The past few months have been grand and truth be told, it was nice for a while to not actually NEED to use coupons.  Sometimes in life, when we get comfortable or complacent, that's when the Lord decides it's time for us to grow some more.   This is one of those times for us, and I am looking for more ways to squeeze every little bit of use our of our dollars.  Here are some things I will be doing to cut back that budget even more so than only on the groceries, since I already rock at that ;-).

• Meal Planning - I will be more diligent about planning meals around the items that are on sale that week.  I may just share what I come up with so you can follow along, or make suggestions.  
• Bake my own bread - I have the yummiest recipe for both white and wheat bread. The hardest part about this though, it it tends to get eaten rather quickly right out of the oven which doesn't leave much for sandwiches.  Joe says the white bread tastes like candy, so I think I will use this opportunity to teach my daughters how to do this as well. 
• Buy Dryer Balls - I ordered some dryer balls from Norwex at my party last week.  This way, I won't have to buy fabric softener or fabric sheets, and it will cut down on my energy usage if I don't run such a long dryer cycle.
• Crock Pot - By using my crock pot more often to cook meals, it will cut down on our utility bills instead of using the stove. 
• Re-use/Re-purpose - One of my goals this year is to actually DO some of the crafts that I have built up in my storage.  I have lots of ideas on how to reuse things like formula cans and baby food jars.  I will also be looking for some REALLY cheap ways to decorate the house, particularly for the holidays.  
• More Norwex - buy using their anti-bacterial cloths I can eliminate ALL the other household cleaners in my home.  No more pine sol, bleach, windex, toilet bowl cleaners, degreasers, stainless steel polish, and not to mention sponges and paper towels!  Super excited about this one!  The best part is, I got lots of product for free at my class.  Love to replace cheap products with FREE ones!!
• Date Night - while not ready to give this up due to financial difficulties, I will find some fun and cheap ways to spend time with my sweetheart.  "Love Will Keep Us Alive" {this is our song by the Eagles}

In a nutshell, getting back to the basics.  Family, Faith, and Love.  I embrace these times of hardship because without trials, we cannot be tested and we cannot learn and grow.  I can't wait to see what's in store for our little family, and while the wait may be tricky, like baking that proverbial souffle, I'm sure the reward will be grand. 

I would love to hear your ideas on what you and your family do to cut back... Leave a comment or email me at thegrocerygeeks@gmail.com and your ideas may get their very own post!  

I WANT IT ALL... {bad}!!

*UPDATE* In home demonstration has been postponed*  Check the sidebar to contact Sara if you would like to order products or host your own class!  THANKS!! 

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know that we are all about saving time and money.  Well, I went to a party last week and I was over the moon excited about the potential of these new cleaning products.  Not only will this be better for my family, but in my mind, I am calculating the amount of paper towels, cleaning products, and even some beauty items that I could ELIMINATE from my budget!  The company is called Norwex and their stuff is awesome!  I just knew that you all would want to check it out so I am hosting a virtual party for the next week or so and you are invited!!

{If you need to come see, touch, and feel, see below for an real live party info}

OK - so here's why they are so cool... This company from Canada have created these microfiber cloths that contain silver in them because no bacteria or virus can survive when it comes in contact with silver.  So all you do is get these cloths wet and then go nuts cleaning your house!  When the towel dries, all the germs and gunk are dead and the cloth is completely sanitized and ready to go for another round.

I'm not a sales person per say, so if you have a little bit of time, check out this virtual class at this link.  It's about an hour so get comfy and grab a paper and pen to make your wish list.  My favorite part in the presentation {so far - I'm listening to it while I write this} is when she said by using this you can save about $600 a year on cleaning products {probably way less for us coupon savvy gals, but hey! savings is savings right}, and 75% of time cleaning!  Now THAT makes me excited! These cute gals go through a bunch of items in the catalog, but if you want to check out the catalog click here to view it and get more info.  They have some fun customer deals this month.  The best deal I think, is the cleaning pack.  Pretty much for $46 you can get everything you need to clean every part of your home.  They do have loads of other stuff, but if there was a "go to" kind of product this would be it.  The set of kid cloths are totally on my wish list... Imagine it... "here kids, go clean the bathroom", and not handing over any harmful chemicals for them to use!

Now for the fun stuff!!  Like I said, I am hosting this "virtual" party until the end of the month.  Well, what's a party without a prize, right?!  On January 29th, I will give away 1 travel size Enviro Cloth!!  Here's how to enter:

• Place an order here.  Leave me a comment that includes your email address, and let me know what items you would like.  I'll get in touch with you to get all the other info you need for your order.  
• Refer a friend to this party, and when they order, please leave another comment and there's another entry!! 
• Book a class!  Let me know that you want Sara to come show you and your friends all about this and you could have a 3rd entry as well! 

If you are like me and are more of a touchy feelie person, and need to see this demonstration live, you are welcome to come to my home on January 26th at 7pm and see Sara use these products to clean my house {my other reason for wanting to host a party}.  I promise, she will have her work cut out for her ;-).  Email me at jcrewmamma@gmail.com and I will send you the evite information!  

THANKS!  and Happy Cleaning!! 

p.s. I almost forgot!  If you want Sara to come clean your house too, I mean if you want to host a party as well, here are the January and February hostess benefits!  I can't wait for a clean stove! ;-)

Coupon Tidbits

Last minute shopping at Smiths? There's great deals this week to be had at Smith's if the frozen promo works for you and you need some household items (detergent, toothpaste, fabric softner, etc.). Are you a baker? Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming sales for all the stuff you need for those yummy holiday recipes!

What I learned...Last cold season my DH got sick and I found myself at Walgreen's at 10 pm buying OTC medicine! I was sick to my stomach! I didn't have any on hand and ended up paying close to full price! So lesson learned. Cold season is upon us. When you spot good deals on any OTC medicines (even Kleenex!) you might use, stock up. That way you'll have it IF you need it and if you don't need it, you didn't pay FULL price for it anyway!

One list tidbit about coupons. I challenged myself to keep track of my coupon savings. I was sent this cool savings tracker (let me know if you want it I can send it to you!) and I've been tracking my savings since January. Well....drum roll please...I spend $208 on my papers annually and I've saved SO far this calendar year $5400!!! Can you believe it! So simple math says it's WELL worth the paper investment. Give us a call to book your free coupon class and you too can be well on your way to HUGE savings!

LAUNDRY SOAP!

You know you are a Grocery Geek when....

You sit up late at night making laundry detergent because you are way too excited about how cheap it is!

At one of my classes a few weeks ago, my friend Shannon gave me a recipe for laundry detergent that she swears by and is super cheap and easy to make.  Honestly, my first thought was - sounds good, but will I ever really do it?!  However, seeing as how laundry for a family of 7 has begun to rule my life, and laundry detergent isn't cheap (even with coupons and sales), I figured I would give it a whirl.  So, I went to Glaziers to pick up the key ingredients - then I saw them at a Smiths by my house too if you don't want to drive that far, and there they sat for like 4 days.  All the while, every load of laundry I was doing I was thinking in the back of my mind how much cheaper it will be once I just MAKE the dang stuff!  So I did.  I made 2 batches.  I used it.  I love it!  And then I sat up very late one night calculating how many loads I was gonna get out of those 2 batches (I told you I'm a geek - I do math while laying in bed...lame).  So, here ya go...

Most Excellent Laundry Detergent

1 Cup Washing Soda

1 Cup Borax

2 Cups Fels-Naptha Soap

Directions:  Cut up the Fels-Naptha and put in your food processor (about 1 1/2 bars will be your 2 cups).  Blend it until the soap forms tiny little balls.  Then add 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup of Washing soda to the food processor.  (Tip: Use a damp hand towel and wrap it around the food processor so you don't get any "dust" floating around the kitchen).  Blend it for about a minute and you will have a nice light yellow fine powder.  Store it in an airtight container.  

Guess what?!  You will only use 2 TBSP per LOAD of laundry!!

Now, the whole box of Washing Soda, Borax, and 4 bars of soap cost me about $12 and with using only 2 Tbsp of powder per load, I am looking at 128 loads of laundry!!  Then when I run out - I'm gonna keep track - I will only have to spend about $3 for a few bars of Fels-Naptha and BAM another 128 loads!  You can't beat that deal anywhere!!

Don't have a food processor to make this soap?  Don't worry... check back VERY soon for our first GIVEAWAY and you could WIN ONE!!!

(I feel like we have finally "made it" in the blogging world now that we are doing a giveaway - stay tuned)