Living for the Present...after all who doesn't love a gift!

Eager_Elephant

debtfreewannabe321 wrote: »

you need =

1 bar of household soap
226g of borax
226g of soda crystals

Grate the bar of soap (I bought a small cheese grater from 99p shop although i'm sure you could just use your old one)
Put it in a mixer (or a bowl) add the Borax & the Soda Crystals and mix well! I used a mixer to make sure it was all mixed in well and then just washed it immediately.

Move to an airtight container and store! I use 2-3 tbs in each wash (levelled off spoons not heaped) and our water is very hard here. For soft water I would recommend 1-2 tbs in each wash. I put it straight into the drum not the powder compartment too.

Put half a mug of white vinegar into the conditioner section of the washing machine and it will soften your clothes and keep your washing machine nice and clean of limescale- you can then ditch the calg0n and the clothes conditioner

:A

Finally I have found borax and soda crystals.

DH needed to go to an Aladdins Cave near us aka Hardware Store for fencing things so I said I would go and look for things I don't need and lo and behold I found some :rotfl:

Then I couldn't remember the measurements so I half remembered you talking about kilos so I brough 1 kilo of each and 4 bars of soap :eek:

Now I have come home I realise I only need 226g of each and 1 bar of soap:rotfl:

Luckily they also had square storage containers with lids that stay attached and you just lift them up - it must hold loads so I got that and now I realise it was just as well :rotfl:

So I am going to have a go at making this and will report back.

Have got seperate grater just for soap!!

If this works (which of course it will) I will move on to white vinegar - I don't think the Aladdin's Cave do that in bulk :rotfl:

debtfreewannabe321

banwa wrote: »

Hello DFW, just thought I would come and give you a wave.:wave:

Good job on the table, looks really good and the wedgewood looks smashing (not literally lets hope)

Just wanted to let you know I am also in the sub £10k club now too. So can stop being bitter about you doing so well;)

Banwa x

*waves back* :j

Thank you I love my wedgewood & 'new' tables & chairs I don't ever let the kids in the kitchen alone now :rotfl: well actually saying that my ds2 slipped in earlier (sneaky!!) and he got hold of a paint brush and painted over my newly varnished chairs luckily i caught him straight away and wiped it off!!! He's a slippery one i have to watch him like a hawk :eek::rotfl:

:beer::beer: to getting sub £ 10K :beer::beer: race you to the end :rotfl::D

debtfreewannabe321

lizalloareds wrote: »

table and chairs are fab x

Thank you :T I don't have much to be proud of these days aside from my children (of which i am super proud of course) so it's always nice to do something like this and realise i'm not just a 'mum' i'm a cook, cleaner, iron-er, taxi service, answering phone service and now a table & chair restorer :rotfl:

debtfreewannabe321

Eager_Elephant wrote: »

Finally I have found borax and soda crystals.

DH needed to go to an Aladdins Cave near us aka Hardware Store for fencing things so I said I would go and look for things I don't need and lo and behold I found some :rotfl:

Then I couldn't remember the measurements so I half remembered you talking about kilos so I brough 1 kilo of each and 4 bars of soap :eek:

Now I have come home I realise I only need 226g of each and 1 bar of soap:rotfl:

Luckily they also had square storage containers with lids that stay attached and you just lift them up - it must hold loads so I got that and now I realise it was just as well :rotfl:

So I am going to have a go at making this and will report back.

Have got seperate grater just for soap!!

If this works (which of course it will) I will move on to white vinegar - I don't think the Aladdin's Cave do that in bulk :rotfl:

Oh sorry that was me harking on about looking for it in 1kg bags/boxes have confused you :rotfl:I like to buy the 1kg lots so i can make up 4 loads all at once and I keep it in a lovely little chintzy jar I found (half price of course :money:) so it lasts me for a fair while I hope it works out for you :j oh and experiment with amounts like you would normal wash powder as our area is hard water we use tonnes when i was in london though the water was soft and i didn't have to use much powder there (shop bought) :T

debtfreewannabe321

Evening all :j

I've finished the two chairs today :T will post a pic when i've screwed them all back together :eek::)

Kum0n came round earlier and it was pretty funny really. DD was a little too young, so she only did the reading test for which she scored really well :T and she couldn't do the maths as it was designed for year 1 + the lady said ?? DS1 did math & English tests and scored so highly that apparently the course wouldn't really be beneficial to him :T:D (super proud moment as was GCSE level that she gave him ) although she still tried to sell me termly tests and phone support (no ta...) we're umming and ahhing about whether to get DD & DS2 the help. They aren't struggling but i'm acutely aware (and feeling the guilt) that ds1 went to prep school from 3-7 then boarding school from 11-14 (in between we got him into a superb local school in london with outstanding ofsted reports and the same for the one here when we moved) so he's had a great start. Plus I had the time to sit with him each and every night and help him in the early days and I just don't have the time now so am debating the kum0n.....although not sure how i would fit it in with childminding in September?! It's £13.XX a week so £52 a month....(lots cheaper than prep and boarding....) But on the other hand i'm also aware that I could be teaching them myself! I could get materials free/cheap and save the money. Am leaning towards the latter tbh. Parting with money these days is just too painful :rotfl:

Another LSD here as DS1 woke up with swollen puffy eyes his hayfever had gotten the better of him so I went and got him some eye drops....£5 something for them :eek::eek: nearly had to be picked up off the floor. I'm such a cheap skate. I want everything for 99p :rotfl:

Oh and another proud mummy moment from DS1 (he's full of them this week!) I got a letter in the post to acknowledge the outstanding work and effort he'd put in this week and had received extra merits (or house points or something so forgetful....:o) and the letter was to let me know in case he hadn't told me (which he hadn't) :T DS2 got star of the day on Thursday too as he sat still for 10 mins :rotfl: oh dear....he's a pest that one DD got a ribbon last week too as recognition of hard work in reading so i'm a very proud mummy now

Oh and to top my day off 'SHE' paid me :j:j:j:j

slm6002

What a lovely post full of great achievements You deserve to be a proud mummy

brizzledfw

Agree... Go your kids!

Have to say am v glad SHE paid...

debtfreewannabe321

June targets

NSD-11/15 with one week to go....:eek: We get paid on Friday and I need food on Monday. So if i get everything I need monday I reckon I might pull it off :cool:

LSD-2/5 (less than £10) (think there have been a few of these that i've not tracked ...?)

List at least 15 things on eb@y/fb/gumtrae for sale done- 22 items listed and 6 items on fleabay from my new 'upcycling' business :T (will send a link if anyone wants a nosey )

Stick to petrol budget (£100) 80/100 :j We are now going to DH's bro's birthday tomorrow (100 miles away) we told them we couldn't afford it but we've just had a phone call from his other brother offering £40 petrol money and no need to pay it back. I feel like a sponger though and am not happy bout this so may need to look for money from somewhere to give back to him

Stick to Grocery budget (£500 this includes bulk buys as i'm trying to restore my stock cupboard to it's former glory! Hope to drop this in a month or so when i've done so) UPDATE: Have come below £500 (even with spends due on Monday) but have no money spare as I spent the 'spare' from food budget on paint/varnish/sand paper :o:rotfl: I think food came in at approx £400 :T:T

6 month plan

Emergency funds £123.71/£500
Emergency house funds (rental house) £360/£500 :T
Pay off 3 smaller debts - 1 down. 2 to Go :T Just received the statement for the one I paid! I overpaid it by £5 *d'oh* wondering if I can ask for it back it's a catalogue and I doubt they have anything I can order for a fiver - stoopid me!
Get grocery spends to between £350-400 a month (not sure how realistic this is when eating organically wherever I can?!) It was just over £400 this month so it can be done :T

Eager_Elephant

debtfreewannabe321 wrote: »

Oh sorry that was me harking on about looking for it in 1kg bags/boxes have confused you :rotfl:I like to buy the 1kg lots so i can make up 4 loads all at once and I keep it in a lovely little chintzy jar I found (half price of course :money:) so it lasts me for a fair while I hope it works out for you :j oh and experiment with amounts like you would normal wash powder as our area is hard water we use tonnes when i was in london though the water was soft and i didn't have to use much powder there (shop bought) :T

I have made it up now and checked the storage container I got and it holds 10 litres :eek:

My concoction has filled about an eighth of the container!!

I was just thinking about what to use as you said 2 tablespoons - we are quite hard water but also I have a Dyson washing machine and the drum is massive - 10 years ago when we got it (couldn't afford it now) it was double the capacity of others on the market but I know now they are all quite big.

Best I go and do some calculations :rotfl:

Eager_Elephant

slm6002 wrote: »

What a lovely post full of great achievements You deserve to be a proud mummy

I second slm - great achievements from all your children :T

If you are looking at doing more work with them at home MemoryGirl aka Elaine Colliar - used to be on here but now has her own website and forum (MortgageFreeInThree) - had 1 child in Montessori that shut down so her youngest could not go.

As she does not have much money she made a lot of the Montessori equipment they use for a fraction of the cost - I think some of her mentioning it was on her thread on here (before she moved on) and she did pictures as well.

If not maybe you could email her?