another frugal flop

I'm not doing so well in the save-money-by-doing-it-yourself department.  Not well at all.

Last week I wanted to try making my own yogurt.  I first read about yogurt making in the The Tightwad Gazette.  I watched Alton Brown make yogurt on Good Eats.  Then yogurt-in-the-crockpot hit the internet a few years ago.   It seemed so easy.  It also seemed cost-effective.  We love yogurt, and we eat a lot of it. 

I always have almond milk on hand and don't always have regular milk.  So I used this recipe.  I was so excited.  I couldn't wait to have yummy homemade yogurt.

Instead all I got was a great big flop.  I don't know what I did wrong exactly, but I sure as heck didn't get yogurt.  :( 

I may try one of the alternate yogurt-making methods (the heating pad is supposed to be fool-proof) if I decide to give it another whirl.  Or I may just buy yogurt at the store.  I can buy 32 ounces of Dannon vanilla yogurt for $2.99 ($0.09 per oz.).  Nostimo vanilla Greek yogurt is $0.88 for 6 oz. ($0.15 per oz.).  To make the yogurt, I need a half gallon of milk (the almond milk I used was $2.99), plus 1/2 cup of yogurt (I used the above-mentioned Nostimo).  That makes the cost for 64 oz. of yogurt $3.87, or $0.06 per oz.  Not really huge savings there--especially when you consider that store-bought yogurt goes on sale and has coupons. 

But we'll see.  I may try again and have it go a bit better.  :)  If so, I'll revisit the calculations and reevaluate whether I want to add yogurt-making to my homemaking routine.  

more fun fest

Today we went to see the annual Fun Fest magic/comedy show.  Sarah got a big kick out of it.  I'm not sure Natalie understood much of it, but she stayed still and quiet, so that's a success in my book.  :) 

After the show, we played some of the "carnival" type games that are set up at a local elementary school.  They also had several of those big bouncy things.  Sarah had a good time in one of the smaller ones.  However, one had a rather high slide which she did not like at all.  She managed to make it down once, then opted not to go back into that particular bouncy structure (what ARE those things called, anyway?). 

Both girls had a great time visiting the Kindermusik booth.  They stayed awhile, playing with every instrument there.  Sarah liked the shark and sun mascots (pictures below) and greeted both enthusiastically while Natalie cowered.  Once again, Natalie refused to have anything to do with them and claimed to be frightened.  Then as we were heading home, she declared, "I wanted to say hi to the shark!" 

We still have a few more activities to go this week, and I'll try to remember the better camera. 

fun fest adventures

It's the week of Fun Fest here.  We always enjoy many of the offered activities.  Sunday was "Farm Fest," and the girls had a great time...well, Sarah had a great time.  Natalie did too, up to a point.  But by mid-afternoon, she was WAY overdue for a nap and it SHOWED.  Finally, she had the biggest meltdown known to mankind (yes, if you heard a screaming hissy fit Sunday afternoon, it was probably her), so we left. 

I only had my phone available for picture taking, so I don't have many shots and they aren't very good.  But hopefully you'll enjoy them anyway. 

Sarah got to try her hand at good old-fashioned weaving.  She was very meticulous about it.  

Watching the experts.

Both girls liked the dulcimer.  I guess those Kindermusik classes have made an impact, huh?

This was funny.  It was a demonstration of composting.  Sarah watched and listened, but she did NOT want to touch the stuff.  Natalie, however, reached right in and grabbed the biggest handful you've ever seen.

Stringing green beans. 

Making sauerkraut. 

A cup of water--cinnamon water!  I'd never even heard of such a thing, but it was refreshing.  I may have to try to make some.  :)

The hay was a big hit.  Both girls spent a long time playing in it, running through it, rolling around in it, and throwing it at each other!  :)

Bunnies!  They were so cute and cuddly.  I wish I had better shots of each girl holding a bunny, but I don't. 

We also toured the garden, Sarah and Natalie washed handkerchiefs to hang on a line, and we saw horses, cows, and chickens.  Natalie said the chickens were the most beautiful she'd ever seen.  She talked about the horses for ages...right up until she saw them.  When we got close enough to interact with the animals, Sarah petted a horse and brushed another one.  Natalie clung to Nelson and refused to touch one.  Then she promptly spent the entire ride home wailing that she'd wanted to pet a horse and "Daddy wouldn't let" her. 

Did I mention she really needed a nap?

So we went home, and she slept for eons.  She awoke in a more pleasant mood, although still kind of bummed about the horses.  However, there were more Fun Fest activities to come. 

To be continued...

DIY: liquid castile soap

I really love Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap.  This stuff is is lovely--all natural, very mild, and it doesn't aggravate my sensitive skin. 

The downside?  It's EXPENSIVE. 

My favorite grocery store here sells Kirk's castile soap in bars for only about $1 per bar.  Much more reasonable.  The bars lather well and have all of the above mentioned advantages of the above Dr. Bronner's. 

The downside?  I really prefer the liquid.  I can't help it.  I just do. 

So when I read this idea, I knew I wanted to try it. 

I started out grating the soap with a box grater.  It's kind of a pain, and I'm honestly not sure why I did that.  I know better.  I figured out a long time ago that a rotary style grater works better for soap.  Once I switched, the process went a lot faster.  I'd say I spent about 15 minutes grating two bars of soap.  I could have spent less time if I'd never bothered with the box grater to begin with, but we'll stick with the 15 minute time frame for now. 

Once I was finished, I had this much liquid soap to show for my efforts: 

I estimated, based on the sizes of the containers that I filled, that I have about 108 oz. of liquid soap. 

The cheapest I could find Dr. Bronner's was $14.16 for 32 oz. at Amazon.  That means to get 108 oz., I would have to spend $47.79. 

Again estimating, I spent $2.41 (once tax is included) on my two bars of soap.  I don't think the energy expended to boil water is really that significant, but I'll go crazy here and round up to $2.50. 

That means for about 20 minutes worth of work (I'm including time to pour the soap into my containers, and again I could have spent less time if I had switched to the rotary grater sooner), I saved a whopping $45.29.  If you want to figure out an "hourly wage" like The Tightwad Gazette does, that's $135.87 per hour.  Not too shabby.  If you include the hour the soap is just sitting, it's still an hourly wage of $30.19--again, not too shabby, though far less impressive sounding.  But I'm pretty content just to say I save over $45 by making my own, for only 20 minutes worth of hands-on time.

The results weren't perfect.  My liquid soap solidified somewhat overnight.  So I will definitely need to adjust something.  I'm thinking I need to remove the stockpot from the hot stove eye, rather than just killing the heat, since the blogger I'm stealing the idea from thought maybe it cooked too long. 

However, I added a bit of water to my first container of soap and shook it up and although it's still not real "liquid-y", it is more gel-like and will at least come out of the container and lather up on my pouf.  I'm satisfied with that.  I know I've read that people who make the homemade laundry detergent in its "liquid" form sometimes find its consistency strange.  It apparently doesn't get truly "liquid-y" either.  So it may just be par for the course as far as trying to make homemade liquid soap.  For over $45 in savings, I'm not going to be too picky.  The stuff works, and I have an awful lot of it for just $2.50. 

So all in all, I'm satisfied with this DIY project, and I will do it again.  I'll update if my results vary next time (especially if it ends up working better and avoiding the solidifying problem!).  But don't hold your breath--it's going to take me awhile to use up all that I have currently!  ;) 

DIY projects that I've done so far:

1. Cleaning wipes
2. Sourdough bread
3. Fry bread
4. Detangler spray (this is so ridiculously easy, it almost doesn't count)
5. Liquid castile soap

Note: product links are affiliate links.

parenting 101

So if you're on Facebook, you know that I signed up for a "Parenting Workshop" at church.  Natalie immediately implied that I didn't need it because I was "a great parent!" (her words).  Sarah, on the other hand, said I had done a "good job" signing up for the class. 

Ironically, it's Natalie who demonstrates why it might be a good idea for me to take the class. 

Wednesday I dropped the girls off in the child care and went off to my classroom.  I know all the child care workers; they're a lovely bunch.  No worries at all.

After class, I returned to the kids' area to retrieve my children (Nelson is taking a "Faith and Politics" class, and it always tends to run long; I end up being the one to get the girls since I get finished first.  Go figure).  Sarah was hanging out in the nursery.  She claims the "big kids" room is too loud, and she says she likes helping "make the babies smile."  So upon fetching her from the baby room, I headed to "big kid land" for Natalie.

Only she wasn't there. 

The child care workers had taken the kids outside for part of the time and had apparently just gotten back in.  In the shuffle of coming in from outdoors and other parents arriving to get their children, Natalie had managed to slip away. 

A friend of mine immediately offered to walk around the building to see if Natalie was still outside.  I began looking around inside.

Where was she?  With the food, of course.

We have a brief time for everyone to hang out, chat, and eat dessert once the classes are done.  Natalie was at the dessert table, declaring to anyone who would listen that she was hungry and could someone please get her a snack.  I guess I should be glad she wasn't just diving right in and eating straight from the dessert table. 

Of course, all's well that ends well.  Natalie was safe and sound, and we have talked (and will continue to talk) about the importance of staying with the child care workers until Mommy or Daddy comes to get you!!!  But looking back on it, it's kind of funny now, even though it wasn't so much at the time.
 
See why I need a parenting class?  I have an imp for a child!  :-p 

if at first you don't succeed....

...just give up and make something else!  :)

I can't make tortillas.  I'm in good company as far as not making them from scratch goes, but the fact remains that I can't. Make. Tortillas.

It's kind of sad, really.  Sandwich bread and buns and rolls and pizza dough?  No problem.  I can do all those.  But I can't. Make. Tortillas.

So my fabulous SIL recommended once that I try fry bread instead.

Yay!  I can make fry bread!

Actually, I remember Nelson's aunt making fry bread tacos once several years back.  Everyone liked them.  So I gave it a whirl.

Sarah is crazy about fry bread, let me just say.  She loves it.  After we have our fry bread tacos, she likes to butter a piece and top with honey and cinnamon for dessert (kind of like a sopapilla).

The recipe says the fry bread is also good with stew or chili, if you prefer that to tacos.

This very silly, pointless post has been brought to you by my rather insane need to soothe my battered ego after failure.  :)  We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.  

DIY and frugal flop

Making your own and doing it yourself are mainstays of any frugal lifestyle.  Money Saving Mom frequently posts DIY projects she has attempted and their results.  I already make several cleaners and do a lot of cooking from scratch.  Still, there's always room for growth and improvement, for trying new things. 

So...being the list-making nerd that I am, I have a list of things I want to try to do/make myself.  Sourdough bread was on that list, and I have to say I'm very proud of my efforts in this department.  We gone through multiple batches of bread in the last few months.  Within the next couple of weeks, I want to try making yogurt (I've put this off waaaaay too long).  And on and on goes the list.

Today I decided to try something that wasn't on the list.  Maybe the spontaneity of it was my first mistake; I don't know.  Maybe it was just a stupid project to start with; I'll let you decide.

You know those disinfectant wipes they sell in stores?  Sort of wet wipes for cleaning.  They're overpriced, they're wasteful, they create too much garbage...but they're awfully darn convenient.  Sometimes when you just want to do a quick wipe down of the bathroom sink or the toilet, they come in handy.  I rarely buy them (because let's face it, a cloth and spray bottle work just as well, without all the drawbacks). 

But I do like them.  I had an empty container lying around from the last time I had bought them and I thought, "Why not make my own..." 

Paper towels are another things I rarely purchase.  I read somewhere that the average family goes through two rolls of paper towels a week.  Even back in my heavy paper towel usage days, I never went through more than a roll in a month.  But several months ago, I just quit buying paper towels altogether and started just using cloths.  Other than when microwaving bacon, I found that I didn't miss them. 

I can't remember what prompted me to buy a roll of paper towels a few weeks ago.  I'm so out of the habit of using them though, that almost the full roll is still on the holder.  Still, they're nice paper towels--the thick Viva ones.  They would make good cleaning wipes, right? 

Um...maybe not. 

Everything went wrong with this little experiment.  The towels are so wonderfully think that they won't go through the opening of the wipes container.  I didn't make the solution right.  It's too soapy, so when I try to wipe down the counter or whatever, I end up having to follow up with a cloth anyway to clear off the soapy mess.  That sort of defeat the purpose.  And the towels themselves are kind of falling into tatters.  Gross--and not helpful at all. 

I know there is a way to make your own cleaning wipes--I've seen blog posts reference it.  But at this point, I'm so frustrated with the whole thing that I doubt I'll bother.  A cloth and a spray bottle are looking pretty good at the moment.  :-p