Homemade Laminate Floor Cleaner

Yep, just 3 simple ingredients and water and you can make your own laminate floor cleaner that will WOW everyone! 

When we sold our house a few months ago, the realtor and purchaser both begged to know what I used on my laminate floor because it had such an awesome shine.  I think it was a real selling point!! 

Needless to say, they both wrote down the recipe! 

It nearly brought me to my knees to have to pay high dollar for my laminate floor cleaner ($13 - Are you kidding me???), so you can imagine the thrill it was to find a homemade recipe....especially one that worked so nicely! (And cost about $1!)

HOMEMADE LAMINATE FLOOR CLEANER

1 cup water

1 cup rubbing alcohol

1 cup white vinegar

1 Tb. liquid dish soap

1 qt. spray bottle 

Mix together and put into a spray bottle.  Use as you would purchased cleaner - spray and mop.....and enjoy the $$ savings!!

You may have to buff it up a bit, but we found just walking on it with our socks did the 'trick'....

You might also enjoy these Homemade recipes...

Homemade Ice Packs (2 Simple Ingredients)

Homemade Catalina Dressing

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk

​

LAUNDRY/DRYING CLOTHES

credit: Jagendorf

I do enjoy doing laundry. 

t's a little embarrassing to admit this, but when we were first married, if I didn't have enough dirty clothes for a load, I would pull clean ones out of the drawer to add to the washer. (RED face - I know!)

I DON'T DO THAT ANY MORE!

I wanted to share some easy and helpful hints to help you with the process of drying your laundry.

• Be sure to shake and untwist items before tossing in the dryer.  This not only reduces wrinkling, but allows the clothes to dry a bit faster, and this saves energy.
• I love using liquid softener, but just recently began using it in a different way, after my sis-in-love suggested this idea that works well for me.  In a plastic container with a lid,  I mixed the softener with twice the amount of water, cut a sponge in half and put it in the liquid. When I throw the clothes in the dryer, I lightly wring out one of the sponges and toss it in the dryer. The clothes will not have static, and the product lasts much longer. I think it's a wonderful money-saving tip.
• Cleaning your lint filter before drying every load reduces drying time significantly - another money saving idea.
• Don't overfill the dryer - it will take much longer to dry and things will be more wrinkled.
• Dry loads back to back so the dryer doesn't have time to cool down, then heat up again.
• A general rule for drying: If clothes were washed in hot water, most likely they can be dried on high, but if they were washed on permanent press/cooler water cycle, they should be dried at 'medium' or 'permanent press' setting also.
• I believe one of the most important things to remember when drying clothes, is removing them from the dryer right away so they don't have time to get wrinkled.  Keep clothes hangers handy and don't ball everything into the basket when removing, as that can add a lot of wrinkles too.
• When I don't get right to my dryer when it stops, I turn it on to reheat the clothes a little bit before I remove them.  Makes the task of folding the clothes a little nicer when they are warm.

HAVE A HAPPY LAUNDRY DAY!!

LAUNDRY/HOW TO SAVE BIG BUCKS

OH HOW THANKFUL I AM THAT I DON'T HAVE TO GO TO THE RIVER TO GET OUR CLOTHES WASHED!


I've honestly been thinking of putting together a post to share these very ideas,
so I was really happy to come across this, which explains it all more thoroughly
than I ever could.  Hope you pick up some useful hints to help you save big $$.

HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON LAUNDRY DETERGENT

picture credit: hoyasmeg Bob

Clearance & Bargains & Sales - OH MY!

I just LOVE my sales and bargains - one of my biggest 'kicks' in having to spend $$. (Or is it having $$ to spend?=) Just wanted to share some extra special things God has blessed me with recently. 

I shop at my local grocery store weekly, and buy mostly sale items and stock up that way.  They have recently begun printing out, not only coupon savings, but the savings on sale items as well, so I've really been thrilled over my savings.

This is what they've looked like the last couple of weeks....

I paid out $19.23 & saved $12.20.

Last week I paid out $19.63 and saved $16.13!

MY OH MY!

I had a 'mental health' day last week and got to spend the day away with a dear friend.  We shopped til we dropped and got lots of great deals then too.

I love Kohl's stores - their clearance racks are sensational!  Since neither of us had a coupon to take in with us, I decided to open a charge account, because they were giving 15% off when you do.  I did all my shopping at the clearance racks - plus the new cashier 'accidently' gave me a double discount...another 15% senior discount.  (Only to be told AFTER she rang me up, that they don't double discount...but since she had already given them both to me...well, OK. -Thank you Lord!) 

My receipt says I spent $66 & saved $255!  IT DOESN'T GET TOO MUCH BETTER THAN THAT NOW DOES IT???



I praise the Lord for all the smiles & sunshine He sends my way - these last couple of weeks have been very trying for me, so these special deals are very meaningful and uplifting. No doubt - heavenly gifts to me at this time in my life.

Are you a Coupon-er?

I have always enjoyed grocery shopping.  I know that's not the case for everyone, but part of the reason I find it 'fun', is because I make the most of couponing, and so I thought I'd share a few ideas and thoughts to help get you get the most for your money.

The best deal I ever had was when I once paid $39 for $63 worth of groceries. But I've heard of women who regularly save as much as 80% of their cost!!

• Scour your newspapers and magazines weekly.  Sunday newspapers are a treasure when you are able to use many coupons and store circulars with info on sales.

• 
  
  I try to stock up on my most-used items when they're on sale.  Many stores allow you - as mine does - to use a store coupon along with a manufacturer's coupon.  And if your store doubles or even triples the coupon, you can go home with free items. WOW! Ex: my grocery store once had a holiday coupon deal - Buy one 5# bag of flour, get 3 free.  That in and of itself is a real deal, but I had a 25 cents off coupon for the flour, that was doubled, and so I ended up paying 49 cents for 20# of flour!!


• 
  
  There are some great websites where you can print coupons.  Check out www.couponmom.com or www.moneysavingmom.com that can help you save even more.


• 
  
  Enlist your kids to help.  Joe Daugirdas of Willoughby Hills, Ohio blogs on his site - www.joethecouponguy.com and teaches classes at a community college on how to save money.  He suggests having your kids clip coupons and then match them to your shopping list.


• 
  
  A fun 'trick' I have learned, is that if I really like a product, I can call their 1-800 number and rave to them.  More often than not, they will send a coupon or two to me, just for taking the time to contact them. I've received a number of FREE coupons!


• 
  
  My daughter, Deb, recently had a post about couponing, that I'd like to share here too... check it out...

The "Kick" of Coupon-ing

I have to say I love shopping! I can't tell you how many times I've offered to do shopping for friends - of course, with their $$ - but I do enjoy getting as much as possible for my money, so going to the grocery store is a pleasant event for me, at least most of the time.

I recently got some great deals because my regular grocery store was running coupon deals for a 2 week period. As you can see by the picture of my receipt, I was able to save 40%. That's quite a savings these days, when we have to spend so much more for products than what we were paying a year or two ago. Paying regular prices these days can be a real killer.

I save coupons that come in our weekly newspaper, but I only save for the items that I would purchase, IF they were on sale. I carry a coupon keeper in my purse at all times, and I'm ready to save all I can.

Occasionally, I am able to save more with manufacturer's coupons, along with store coupons, but it wasn't so this time. I only used store coupons, and was very pleased with my bargains.

My local store regularly doubles coupons up to $1.00, and I have purchased items on sale for 99 cents - used my manufacturer's coupon for 50 cents, and gotten the item for free.

I try to stay stocked ahead, so that when things that I normally use, are on sale, I buy them, even if I don't need them right now. I believe it saves in the long run.

We prefer frozen vegetables. The regular price for a 1# bag, is $1.59. It is rare that I ever pay that price, because they are on sale often, and that's when I choose to stock up. This week, because of a store coupon, I was able to get 5 bags for $4. Thus, a savings of $3.95 there alone.

I also saved $4.00 on the 3# bag of quick frozen chicken breasts, because that was part of the coupon deal. That's nearly half price!

We like to shop at our local bulk food store too. We recently saw a sign posted there for co-jack cheese...our favorite...for $2.40 a lb. That's nearly half as much as the regular price, and we had to buy a big chunk. We got almost 6#. so I chunked some up for a quick nibble, and shredded much of it, and put some in the freezer. Cheese tends to crumble more after its frozen, so having shredded it first, will make it easier to use.

There are so many online sources for coupons, but I really love the look of Coupon Mom! She's a woman after my own heart!