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1. Track Your Money Online… For Free!

If you’re a subscriber or frequent visitor, thank you for sticking around!  I really appreciate it!

So to help with my “return,” I’m participating in 5 Minutes for Mom’s Ultimate Blog Party 2010! If you’re visiting from the UBP10, welcome!  In short, I like to write about recipes, crafts, and home improvement and diy projects.  Want to know more?  Check out my about me page.  If you’re interested in what I write about, subscribe via email or RSS feeder.  Leave a comment and I’ll return the favor, I enjoy meeting new people and finding new blogs!

And to give some link love to the giveaway bloggers, these are the prizes I’m excited about!

• It would be great to have a laptop that is quiet and that I can travel with, so I’d love 5 Minutes for Mom’s Toshiba laptop giveaway!
• I enjoy essential oils and I’d like to try the Young Living Roll-On Stress Reliever from Oils for Wellness.
• I buy a lot of books off of Amazon so, The Product Review Place’s $25 gift card would be helpful!
• Other prizes I’m interested in include: US73, US74, US75, US87, US88, US112, USC8.

Anyway, go check out the blog party!  Fun times!

Related posts:

1. I Deserve to Go to Blog World Expo
2. Fun Party Punch
3. Kristin @ Blog World

I took photos for some recipes but with the losing photos/computer crash issues/holidays, but didn’t get them up immediately.  The photos are up now.  Hope you enjoy them!

Geico Money with Eyes (with 2 videos!)

Biscotti Recipe

Lotion Bar Recipe

Chocolate PB Cookies Recipe

Peanut Butter Dog Cookies Recipe

Related posts:

1. Update!
2. Christmas Dog Biscuits
3. Christmas Baking: Chocolate PB Cookies

The topics will include…

• Martha’s best holiday tips
• Handmade gifts, stockings, and ornaments
• Treats, menus, and party ideas
• Expert tree-trimming and wreath-making techniques
• Hostess how-tos and a magnificent holiday menu
• Time saving strategies
• A gingerbread-house contest and photo contests
• And many more ideas!

According to the email, more than 100,000 people have already joined, including me.  I’m a fan of Martha Stewart and can’t wait to see what wonderful tips and projects she has in store for us all.

The fun begins November 16.  Please visit the signup page to get in on the action!

Related posts:

1. Christmas Gag Gift: Geico Money with Eyes
2. Christmas Baking: Biscotti
3. Christmas Baking: Lotion Bars

If you are attending and see her, make sure you say hi! I made some pretty neat business cards for her and I am sure she would be thrilled to give one to you! Wish her luck in her latest blogging adventure and be looking for updates from her in the coming hours/days…

HAVE A  GREAT TIME KRISTIN

Related posts:

1. I Deserve to Go to Blog World Expo
2. K
3. Ultimate Blog Party 2010!

According to what the police said it went like this: The deer nicked the driver’s side headlight knocking it out, it spun around and slammed into the car above the tire and door, its head whacked the window caving it in and throwing glass all over me, it continued its trip down the side of the car and smashed in the gas cap area.  The people who witnessed it said the person behind me hit it too.

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1. An Inexpensive Option for a Flat Tire

I’m a recent graduate who has student loan payments coming up.  I live in a small, southeast Iowa town where the job market was dim before the economy went bad.  About one year ago my husband and I made lifestyle changes to save money and to try to save a little bit of the planet.  Friends and family began asking questions so I started this blog 10 months ago to chronicle my experiences and experiments.  I blog so I can share the results with others who like to save money or be more self-sustainable.  I have a love for teaching as is evident with this blog and my volunteer work.

My ultimate goal is to be a woman’s voice in the blogging world.  I think this would be an excellent first step.  This will be my first blog expo experience and I will soak up everything and put it to good use.

Lastly (but definitely not least!), I want to go to BlogWorld Expo to network and meet the greats; the best of the best.  Yes, John Chow, that would be you!  I would also love to meet (or at least see) Darren Rowse, Jeremy Schoemaker, Brian Clark, and Jonathan Volk.  You guys are my teachers and my inspiration.  If you gave me this opportunity it would be a life and career changing experience.

Our photo might look something like this…   Thank you for the opportunity, John!

Copyblogger, Problogger, John Chow, Me, Shoemoney

Related posts:

1. Kristin @ Blog World
2. Ultimate Blog Party 2010!
3. Prudent and Practical

Spring is HERE and with that, the inevitable spring cleaning.  Before you throw everything away, remember this: each day Americans alone produce about 4.6 pounds of waste per day.  While you may know what to do with certain items – items with the recyclable symbol can go to the recycle bin and spare items can go to Goodwill or Salvation Army.

Reduce

One important way to reduce is to stop drinking bottled water!  Most bottled water containers end up in the landfill even though they can be recycled.  They also take quite a few resources to create and research has shown that many companies falsely state their water is “pure” – meaning you can get comparable water from your kitchen sink.  Invest in a BPA free water bottle or metal bottle and a water filter attachment for your sink.  Many fridges now come with water filters already built in.  This not only helps ease the environmental impact, but also the financial impact on you.  For more ways to recycle based on the different rooms in your home, check out Reduce.Org.

Another big thing is to stop using plastic bags when you get groceries.  You can purchase the cheap reusable bags or reuse the plastic bags you already have at home.  You may also be able to find alternatives at Goodwill, Salvation Army, garage sales, or consignment shops.  I’m more interested in this option – many of the cheap reusable bags are “Made in China” which kind of defeats the purpose.  If you’re decent with a sewing machine, you can sew your own.

Reuse

I like to reuse stuff because I like to come up with new ways to use it.  Towels you’re not using could be turned into a beach bag and clean jars (think peanut butter and jelly, pill canisters) can be made into small item storage.  In fact, I reused my parents living room set – they didn’t have room for it and I had a new apartment, so I used them.  The set they purchased to replace the previous is now ours too.  Now that D and I have a house, one set is downstairs and one set is upstairs – it worked out great for everyone.

Gallon milk containers are reused during Christmas-time around here.  A string of C9 bulbs are placed on the perimeter of the lawn and driveway.  Holes are cut in the bottom of the containers and placed over the lights for a cool glowing effect similar to luminaries. This is a popular and cheap thing to do, especially if you drink a lot of milk!

My favorite is composting!  There are a couple different ways to do this.  Traditional compost can be created by throwing in leaves, grass clippings, fresh produce scraps, and napkins.  The bin can be created easily by screwing together a few spare pallets or you can use a spare garbage can.  Vermicompost is composting with worms.  You can either buy a specialized worm bin or create your own from a common closet storage bin.  The worm colony can eat up to two pounds of scraps (fresh produce, but no citrus, and paper) per day!  Plus compost and worm “castings” (aka: poo) are fantastic for your yard and gardening needs.

Recycle

Ok, we all pretty much know about recycling, but what about big items?  If you have mattresses or carpet in very good condition, you could donate to Habitat for Humanity.  Other options would be to list the items on Freecycle or Craigslist.

If you have “technotrash” such as computer-related items, cell phones, rechargeable batteries, and printer cartridges, go to GreenDisk to find out where you can recycle them safely.

To get rid of hazardous waste or recycling, visit Earth 911 for the place nearest to you that can help out.

Resources (hm, a 4th “R”)

A couple of my favorite places to visit for RRR help are the MN Pollution Control Agency and IdealBite.  IdealBite has an option to sign up for a daily tip – it’s a short and sweet email I enjoy every morning.  Sam Champion’s Just One Thing on the Good Morning America website has many ideas for reducing, reusing, and recycling.

Related posts:

1. How to Make a Free Compost Bin with Pallets
2. How to Compost and What to Put in It
3. 5 Ways to Green Your Cleaning in 2010

So, I”m finishing up my bachelor’s degree in a couple weeks.  After seven years, three different majors, three different colleges, and quitting school once for six months, I will finally have my B.S. in Horticulture!  Horticulture is the study of cultivated plants, similar to botany, but a wider field.  Common jobs include working for major corporations doing research (think Monsanto, Syngenta, and Pioneer), landscape design, landscape/grounds maintenance, greenhouse or nursery management, or golf course superintendent.  I could also work at an arboretum, botanical garden, publisher, or for the USDA.  If I wanted to continue my education, I could be a professor.

See, I know my options and I have a general idea about the job outlook.  I’m nervous about the economy though.  I’ve been looking for jobs and from everybody I’ve gotten, “Well, we’re not hiring this year.”  Economy, I think they’re saying it’s your fault!

There are a few sites that I use to find jobs:

• Hort Jobs is for those seeking a horticulture type job
• Indeed.com is a comprehensive search.  They cover other websites such as (Career Builder and Monster) as well as online newspaper jobs.
• Workforce Development in my area lists a lot of cleaning, gas station, and metal fabrication jobs, but occasionally a hort-type job shows up.  Most jobs require little to no experience but frequently there are jobs that require an associates or bachelor’s degree.  I’ve found that employers in my area don’t want to hire someone who’s over qualified.

If you aren’t sure what you want to do when you “grow up,” there are a few different places where you can research a variety of college fields and the coresponding pay.

• The Bureau of Labor and Statistic’s Occupational Outlook Handbook allows you to search for many different fields.  They have very detailed explanations of occupations as well as salary information and future outlook.
• PayScale offers different options for checking salaries.  Jobseekers can check on pay rates depending on field and location.
• Salary.com is similar to Payscale.

Related posts:

1. Creative Ways to Make Money Part 3: Computer Work
2. Creative Ways to Make Money Part 2: Start a Service
3. 3 Ways to Make Money Driving

The last installment in the Homemade Laundry Supplies series will be covering powdered laundry detergent.  Like liquid detergent, powdered detergent ingredients are pretty much the same across the board.  If you don’t have the room for a big barrel of soap, I suggest the first or third recipe since they’re in a much smaller quantity.

Powdered Laundry Detergent #1

• 2 bars (aka: 2 cups) Fels Naptha Soap (finely grated – you could also try other bars of soap)
• 1 cup Washing Soda
• 1 cup Borax

1. Mix all ingredients well and store in a sealed container.
2. Use 2 tablespoons per full load.
3. Servings / Loads: 32 loads
   
4. Cost: $2.83
5. Dollars and $ense comparison ratio: This would be like a 96 load detergent costing $8.49.
   

Powdered Laundry Detergent #2

• 12 cups Borax
• 8 cups Baking Soda
• 8 cups Washing Soda
• 8 cups Bar soap (finely grated)

1. Mix all ingredients well and store in a sealed container.
2. Use 2 tablespoons per full load.
3. Servings / Loads: 288  loads
   
4. Cost: $19.02
5. Dollars and $ense comparison ratio: This would be like a 96 load detergent costing $6.34.

Powdered Laundry Detergent #3

• 1/4 cup liquid castile soap
• 1 cup Washing Soda
• 1 cup Baking Soda
• 1 cup Vinegar (white)

1. Mix all ingredients well in the order given and and mix after the addition of each ingredient.  You will have a thick paste; keep stirring and it will turn into a powder.
2. Use 1/2 cup per full load.
3. Servings / loads: 6 loads
   
4. Cost: $1.73
5. Dollars and $ense comparison ratio: This would be like a 96 load detergent costing $27.68.

Dollars and $ense

• Powdered Laundry Detergent #1 = 96 loads for $8.49
• Powdered Laundry Detergent #2 = 96 loads for $6.34
• Powdered Laundry Detergent #3 = 96 loads for $27.88
• Cheer Powder = 80 loads for $16.18
• Gain Powder = 80 loads for $12.29
• Tide Powder = 80 loads for $14.35

The verdict: Homemade powdered detergents are much cheaper!  The liquid castile soap and the amount used per load in Detergent #3 make it a much more expensive option.  The benefit of the homemade detergents is that you know what’s in your detergent and you aren’t out there purchasing container after container of detergent that will probably end up in a landfill.

Related posts:

1. DIY Laundry Supplies Part 1: Detergent
2. DIY Laundry Supplies Part 2: Fabric Softener
3. The Cost of Homemade Soap Bars