Mommy Octopus

Did you grab up the deal on coconut oil? It’s still available! Here’s a great way to use it. Making your own deodorant is one simple and easy way to go natural and save money at the same time. Conventional deodorants are full of chemicals that can be toxic and natural alternatives are often pricey and sometimes not as chemical-free as you might think. It’s easy to make your own with ingredients you probably already have around the house in just minutes. Here’s what you need:

1/4 c. cornstarch or arrow root powder

1/4 c. baking soda

6-8 tsp. coconut oil in it’s solid form

3 drops teatree essential oil (found here-Tea Tree (Melaleuca) Essential Oil. 10 ml. 100% Pure, Undiluted, Therapeutic Grade.)

9 drops orange essential oil (found here-Orange Essential Oil. 10 ml. 100% Pure, Undiluted, Therapeutic Grade.)

Simply combine all ingredients together until well blended. I use a clean empty deodorant container to store mine so it rolls up just like a conventional deodorant. Be sure to keep it in a cool place to prevent the coconut oil from liquefying.

Spring is almost here! This beautiful weather always gets me in the mood for spring cleaning. I like to scour the house and purge any unneeded junk hanging around from winter. Here are 5 of my favorite tips to help you tidy up and get organized.
Tip 1: For everything that comes in to your house something has to go out. So, when you return with something new find something old to toss or donate.
Tip 2: Choose one area at a time to organize and clean. Rome wasn’t built in a day and you don’t have to make over your whole home in one either. If it’s a big mess or you don’t have a lot of time you can break it down even further into sections of a room or sections of a closet even. The easiest way to quickly organize an area I have found is to be prepared before you start. Gather up any necessary cleaning supplies and set up three boxes, one for trash, one for donate, one for keep items that belong somewhere else.
Tip 3: Ask yourself how much you really need an item before you purchase it or you decide to hang on to it. Is it really worth the space it’s taking up. For example, a few years ago I tossed all the pots and pans out of my kitchen that I do not regularly use. Anything Teflon coated went and most pans that could only be used for one specific thing. I love to cook but I usually stick to my favorite pots and pans and rarely took the time to dig out specialized ones. Now I have 3 or 4 pots of various sizes and 4 cast iron skillets. I haven’t once missed my old pans and I am much happier with the extra space that allowed me to better organize my kitchen.
Tip 4: Give everything a home. Every item needs a place to live. Homeless items cause clutter and distraction. Deal with any items that seem to keep floating around your home. In my home toys are biggest floaters. To help with this problem I ration toys into 3 totes and we rotate them every three days. This way the kids don’t get bored and there aren’t tons of toys scattered around the house.
Tip 5: Have a tidy-up time. Every evening just before bed I turn on fun music and the entire family takes 10 minutes and we tidy up. It’s fun, we do it together, and it gets tomorrow off to a much better start.
I hope these tips will inspire you as your organizing your home this spring. If you want more tips on organizing your home head on over to Amazon and grab this free Kindle book I just found Conquer Clutter: 3 Books in 1 – Declutter Now, Organize Your Home, Simple Storage Systems – Discover the Secrets of a Clutter Free Lifestyle. I can’t wait to read it! I would love to hear what your favorite tips are for organizing and cutting clutter from your home. So, leave me a comment if you have a great suggestion or favorite way to organize!

 

Thank you all that have been praying for my grandfather.  We have always been close and it’s been hard seeing him suffer.  He has lymphoma and has many complications that are not allowing them to treat.  Unfortunately it seems like we will have to say goodbye soon.  That’s where I am right now and why postings have been few.  I have 2 great assistants, though that will be posting when they can.

We appreciate any and all prayers for the family during this time.

I know I don’t share a lot personally, but I wanted to say that I feel incredibly blessed to have ya’ll as my readers.  Blogging has enabled me to continue staying at home with my kids and I will forever be thankful. Below are my kids.  They are amazing and bring a smile to my face daily.  So blessed to be their mom!

As ya’ll know I had my wisdom teeth out last Tuesday.  It’s been an okay ride.  Wasn’t in as much pain as I thought and really I think it went quite well.  I did learn some things and I thought I’d share those with you:

*It’s completely possible to be sick of icecream.  And yogurt.  And applesauce.  And mashed potatoes.

*Friends will offer to bring food for your family.  Real friends will remember to bring something you can eat.

*Have childcare lined up for several days after.  That supermom stuff is impossible with painkillers in your system.

*Eat your favorite foods for several days before.  You might as well say goodbye to them for the next couple of weeks.

*I’m entirely way too reliant on straws.  I had no idea how often I was using them.  Being strawless stinks.

*And lastly, REST.  Use this time to catch up on the years of sleep lacking.  Even if you’re feeling better, sleep for all it’s worth!  As a mom, you won’t get another chance like this in the next decade.

What did you learn from your wisdom teeth removal?

Such a relief!  I am DONE with my taxes.  I’m confident that they were done right since Turbo Tax double checks my stuff and checks for red flags that the IRS will look for.

If you haven’t done yours yet, it’s SUPER easy with Turbo Tax, it’s FREE for federal if you have a 1040EZ. Check out this awesome program here:

We’ve all seen the crazy stockpiles from Extreme Couponing and other shows.  I hear from a lot of you how crazy they are and how nobody needs a stockpile that big.

That’s true, however, I strongly recommend having a stockpile for your family to cover your needs.

We’ve never truly needed to use our stockpile.  I’ve rotated things and donated as they aged.

Until now.  Now we are fully relying on our stockpile.

I told ya’ll a few weeks back how our rental house was trashed.  Due to this, I had to take some time away from blogging, my husband had to take time off work, and we had a lot of expenses on the rental house.

Now before you think that I was making big bucks off the rental, let me further explain.  We had a rental company in charge of the house.  Due to the mortgage on it, we made nothing. Zip. Nada.  They just paid the mortgage fee and kept all the extra.  That worked great the past 8 years.  Then they moved out of country, leaving us with non-paying tenants and a wrecked house.

Oh yes.

It’s been a nightmare.  Our bills completely doubled overnight. In the matter of weeks, we had to come up with money to fix that house, make 2 mortgage payments, 2 electric bills, 2 water bills, etc.  That’s not for the faint of heart.  Keep in mind the rental is also an hour away from my current house and we know how expensive gas is, especially driving that distance daily.

Then the brake lines in my van cracked.  To the tune of $775.  That was a nice addition to this already chaotic time.

I’m not telling you this for you to feel sorry for me.  I’m telling you this because LIFE HAPPENS.  We never know what is around the next corner.  Without our stockpile, I have no idea how I’d be feeding my kids right now or how we’d wash our clothes.  Although my supply is really starting to dwindle, I can use my couponing knowledge to stretch our already stretched budget to the max.

Our stockpile has kept us afloat so far.

As a final note, please pray for us.  Not sure how much longer we can juggle all these things.  We are doing our very best to handle this right now, but it’s a true struggle.  If you know anyone looking to rent in Winder, GA, please keep us in mind.  So far we haven’t been able to find responsible tenants.

On a side note, I do still plan to do a great giveaway for our 3rd anniversary, but it’s going to be a bit as you can tell from above.

How has your stockpile or budgeting helped you in a time of need?  Leave and comment and tell us about your experience.