Begin your changes slowly, investigating the possibilities and trying your new mixes with an experimenting-spirit.  As you become more versed in using homemade cleaning solutions, you will very likely save time, avoid common toxins and spend less money.

When researching this topic, the other tips I found most often repeated:

*Purchase new spray bottles and other sealable containers for your homemade cleaning mixes. 

*Label the cleaning solutions clearly, and keep a notebook (or file) of your successful recipes so that you can duplicate them easily later. 

*Maintain the same baby-proofing precautions with your homemade cleaning solutions as you would with commercial products.

*Essential oils and other ingredients may become as costly as commercial concoctions. Work with your friends to purchase them in bulk together or at least share when possible.

Baking soda, as you may have heard, is not just for baking.   As a kid, my mom always had us dip our toothbrushes in baking soda, now they have made Arm n Hammer baking soda toothpaste.  I guess Mom had the right idea!  Many products, following the trend of frugal and more natural cleaning, are boasting that they contain baking soda.  Baking soda is very affordable and can cut many costs of maintaining your home.  Make-Stuff. Com has a list of “Sixty Uses For Baking Soda”:

http://www.make-stuff.com/cooking/baking_soda.html

Vinegar is another more affordable product to use for your homemaking needs.  It’s not just for pickles, anymore!  As you’re gathering in fall apples, did you know vinegar will help deter the fruit flies?  Mixed with other common ingredients such as olive oil and lemon juice, you can freshen up your home.  Here is a list of “Vinegar Tips”:

http://www.vinegartips.com/scripts/pageViewSec.asp?id=7

Salt, I read is another wonder-product which can do more than season – it can clean, freshen and solve several kitchen conundrums.  Now, take it “with a grain of salt” (Trial and error is the spirit), but here are “Sixty Uses for Table Salt”, by BellyBytes.com (check out their long list of healthy recipes too!):

http://www.bellybytes.com/articles/salt.shtml

Housework won’t kill you, but then again, why take the chance!
–Phyllis Diller

 Learning Can Be Fun:

 DoverPublications.com – Sign up for their weekly FREE Sampler, which includes puzzles, art, reading and activities for all ages.  Print out your choice, every week!

HighlightKids.com – All the fun of the childhood favorite, available to you (for free) online!

Familycorner.com – An online community, your source for family fun, craft projects, and more.

Nps.gov/archive/yell/kidstuff/scavhunt/index.htm:  Kids of all ages can find an online tours, an alphabet book and scavenger hunt through Yellowstone Park.

Windowsintowonderland.org:  Take an e-field trip through Yellowstone.  Includes “Ask an Expert” and spectacular photos featured as you meet animals who call Yellowstone home.  

Preschoolprojects.net: Daily (free) preschool projects, preschool topics of information and more daily delivered to your e-mail.  There is also an offer for a free sample of their preschool projects.

Nationalgeographic.com invites you to online “Congo Trek” adventure and other fascinating experiences. 

Creative Times:

Familyfun.go.com: Fun stuff for kids and fun family ideas.  This is free online content from Family Fun Magazine, and more.  Includes recipes, coloring pages, puzzles, crafts… all designed to keep your family having fun.   

Kaboose.com: Kids crafts, online games, and information for parents. Offers free Kids Crafts & Activities e-newsletter.

Crayola.com:  Join Crayola’s free Creativity Central community for 1,000+ coloring pages, craft ideas, online games, and an e-card creator.

Share your favorite learning places, online….  Where are you finding your creative, learning adventures?

 Rules and Tips for the Money-Saving Weekend Sport:

You see the signs and if you know the game, you follow them. This is a sport like any other. It requires speed, knowledge, determination and – cash?? 

Termed “Garage Sale-ing”, as it is known to seasoned competitors, it adequately defines this game of buying and selling. Like any other sport, those who are successful veterans arrive prepared each week and usually walk away as winners. You can see them around 2pm on Saturday, a little spring in their step and grinning as they head home with their scores of great deals.

How do they do it week after week – and just what are the rules of this (usually) non-contact sport? Let’s take a look at what the great sale-rs know.

One: Fuel Up: You’ve heard that “Early to bed, early to rise…” saying.  With garage sale-ing, it’s a must. The night before is crucial for vehicle and physical preparation. Making sure that all of your gauges are on “F” for full will insure you an edge over the competition at the first sales. For proper pre-game fueling, fill the car, set out breakfast, pack snacks, a lunch if desired and get to bed early.

Two: In God We Trust: This means carry cash and coin. Exact change speeds up the payment process and enables you to better present your final offer. How can you offer only $5 for a $7 item when you’ve just flashed them a ten or twenty? Cash is good; checks are time-consuming and increasingly unaccepted.

Three: Mind Your Manners: Garage sale-ing is as much of a social affair as it is a sport. Remember those out there are often people you will see again, long past the possible score of a great deal. Good manners and sportsmanship go along way toward netting you not only new treasures, but new friends as well. Be respectful of others’ belongings. Listen politely to them about their prized possessions (and how much they can’t bear to part with them…”.

Make an offer that is reasonable, leaving room for their inevitable rebuttal. If you are a ready, cash-carrying competitor, you’ll win the deals. Fighting over plates or digging through someone else’s stash of finds won’t earn you any points with your fellow sale-rs (neighbors).

Four: Love Thy Neighbors: Those would include the neighbors of those who are holding the sale. Patient courtesy is required with long, narrow driveways. Be mindful of whose lawn you may be parking on. Respect the property of others! Even if it means walking the extra steps up the driveway, instead of across the driveway, do go the extra mile.

Neighbors also include our honorable mail carriers. Please do not park in front of mailboxes. After the sale is over, whomever you are buying from will appreciate a peaceful rest from their undisturbed neighbors.

Five: Map Your Course: I have to hand it to my Dad here. He’s a seasoned sale-r (sailor) through both the high seas and the garage sale-ing game. Dad knows how to map a route and he’s got his map book in the car. (Great maps are found in your local phone directories or by contacting your chamber of commerce).

Dad numbers the sales by time and location (or sometimes by items listed in the ad he’s particularly interested in). Charting a course before you set off saves you time and prepares you mentally for the game ahead. When you know where you’re going, you can get there faster.

Six: Networking, Networking, Networking: Though this “hobby” may be seen as a sport to some, it really is about people helping people. Get to know the folks and let them know what you are looking for. While you are seeking the deals, seek information about what the other sales are like today or about an unknown address. Networking pays here- you may even find your next job, home or best friend while garage sale-ing.

Seven: Know your goals, Seek your Goals (or “Look Quick, Grab Fast!)”: There are sale-rs out there who are very quick on the draw! Some write lists, some take orders and others are seeking specific things (bookworms, antique collectors, handymen, ebay-ers, ect).

Do your homework. When you see something you like, grab it fast! Items move very fast and so should you! By knowing what you’re looking for, you know whether a sale is for you – or whether you should cruise on down to the next one.

Garage sale-ing, whether for sport or for keeping the cost of living within a reasonable budget, is great fun—and adventure. Once you’ve been out there, seeking the treasures and finding great deals, it can become addictive. Garage sale-ing fits in well with the rising popularity of living simple and recycling. Many local organizations also, hold great sales, as fundraising events.

My hometown is home to the best garage sales seen in our region—and your community, as well. Our neighbors hold the best sales—and the best stuff. 

The sale-ing folks believe that perhaps nothing new comes onto our island, we just move it from house to house, from year to year. This can be illustrated by the reappearance of my highchair, coming back into my family just in time for my son’s use – 15 years after my parents sold it at their garage sale.

There are many other stories like ours. Many happy reunions of old things once owned, super deals made and neighbors met when someone else’s discards become someone else’s treasure.

Tips and Links for Buying Second-Hand:

Be advised of Product Recalls and research products you may be looking to buy used: http://www.recalls.gov/ (six federal agencies)

Consumer Product Safety Commission:

http://www.cpsc.gov/

To Find a List of Thrift and Second Hand Stores Near You (and tons of other frugal shopping blogs, links and information) http://www.thethriftshopper.com/

Garage Sale Listings around the country and Garage-Saler Tips:

http://www.garagesaleshopper.com/

 http://gsalr.com/

 Estate Sales (Tag Sales, Auctions and Estate Sales around the Country.  Companies who conduct Estate Sales as well-has a “notify me of local sales” option):

http://www.estatesales.net/

Restaurant.com – Dining Gift Certificates, at a fraction of the cost.  Find your city on Restaurant.com and discover a new favorite dining escape.  Purchase and print your gift certificate, from home, and then go out and enjoy.  Frequent coupon codes, offered via their email updates net you a $25 gift certificate for as little as $2!

Visit the website of your local Radio/TV Stations/Newspapers  Look for “ Half-Price” Gift Certificate Deals or coupons for dining, attractions and more!

Want to Create A Custom Date Night or Day-Out Adventure? 

Start with a little research.  Internet, local libraries, and chambers of commerce are great sources of where to go and what to do in your area.  In the Seattle area (and in many other cities), there are the “Best Places to Kiss” books, and similar which direct you to the best for your time and money.   Ask around, look around and then plan something uniquely memorable.

Need More Sizzlin’ Inspiration? 

Here’s what I found when I googled “Cheap Date Night”:

Redbook Magazine gives you many fun, affordable ideas:

http://www.redbookmag.com/love-sex/advice/43-date-night-ideas-2

Focus on the Family offers ideas for “Keeping the Romance Alive”:

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/daily_living/keeping_romance_alive.aspx

RomanticLyrics.com offers their Romance on a Shoestring Ideas (and if you need a love poem, romantic song suggestion, or lyrics to a love song- they’re your website.):

http://www.romantic-lyrics.com/ros.shtml

Send your kids to school with little surprises awaiting them in their lunchbox.  Thoughtful notes can communicate your love and strengthen bonds between parent and child.  Your child will feel special; the extra attention and praise will be priceless to them. 

When creating lunchbox notes consider your child’s age and peer environment.  Young children will be delighted with cute words and pictures.  Older children will be thankful when you keep pet names and sweet words out of the notes.  Include a joke they can share with their lunch mates.  Children who do not take a lunch to school can be pleasantly surprised with notes of encouragement in their backpacks. 

Making fun and loving notes can be as simple as paper notes of stick figures, words large or small, or stickers.  Use copies of photos, jokes, drawings, colored paper, comics, and whatever else your heart leads you to create.  Notes on everyday napkins with or without drawings are a great idea as well.  If you’re out of ideas, Hallmark sells a line of .99 cents cards meant for children.  Tip: To avoid a rush to make your notes amidst the morning routine, make enough cards for the entire week ahead of time.

Choose words which communicate your love.  “You’re special to me”, “We’re proud of you”, “Thanks for all of your hard work”, etc.  Younger children can be aided in their quest to learn reading when you use the same words, on different backgrounds.  In your notes, compliment your kids and/or give them something to look forward to when they get home.

There are a number of books with tear-out notes or, online, you can find printable notes, decorated with their favorite cartoon characters (or other décor).  Here are a few sources:

http://www.nickjr.com/printables/dora-lunchbox-love-notes.jhtml

http://www.nickjr.com/printables/oswald-lunchbox-note.jhtml

http://printables.familyeducation.com/

Here are some jokes to inspire your sense of humor:

Question: What do you call the smelliest fairy? Answer: Stinkerbell.

Question: What did the computer do at lunch time? Answer: Had a byte!

Question: What do you call a bee that is always complaining? Answer: A grumble bee!

Knock Knock

Whose There

Candy

Candy, who?

Candy cow jumped over de moon!

However you create your lunchbox notes, you will be making memories and affirming your kids in these valuable years of their life.  And, you just might inspire hundreds of laughs throughout the lunchroom with your new lunchtime jokes.