No Magic Pill for Cleaning

So often I want to have a magic pill for cleaning. The advertisers know this and play right up to my magic pill desire, for a pretty penny too. They know we will pull out the wallet for promises of a clean toilet, sink and tub with little to no effort. Well I get a big E. I don't like cleaning my bathrooms, they are yucky and I am unwilling to pay an arm and a leg for magic pills. I would rather keep my arms and use their "elbow grease" to get the job done. To over come the "yuck" factor, I must do a little something every day. I then found these "cheepos".

I highly encourage you to make visiting your local (true) $ store part of your shopping day. When I walk into my local $ store I always ask myself, "why do I shop the super centers? Why don't I come here more often?" The answer is that the super centers are so convenient and they know it. I bought these 3 little "cheepos" for 50 cents or 6/$1. They are plastic/nylon scrubbers. They pull off the grime better than any chemical. I scrub a little every time I take a shower. I am so pleased to see white again. When I do my sink it takes less than a minute to wipe it down with my scrubber. Beautiful! Elbow grease is free, these scrubbers are cheep and effective.

The toilet...well, maybe I'll find a magic pill for that. :)

When is Spending $ Not a Good Deal

Just because some thing is on sale, sold in bulk or at the thrift store for a greatly reduced price, does not mean it is a good deal for YOU. Will storing 20 roles of toilet paper be practical? Where do I put all the rice? When we consider buying some thing, we should not only think of the savings in money, but where in the world it can stay in our homes for the next...oh lets say, year.

Another question I ask myself is if I actually need the sales store item. Yea, I might have seen it on TV for $200, and it is on sale at the thrift store for $2. What a deal! But do I even need this thing? Where will it go in my house? In the garage with all the other things I don't use? Think, think, think.

The advertisers job is to get you to spend your money on them. My number one job...to keep my money.

Take One, Please

One of the best ways to save money is to get it free. Companies want you to buy there products and most of the time people might never try them unless maybe it were free.-- Every week Walmart gives away many awesome free samples. I have received over $50 worth of free stuff in the past 6 months.This week you can get a free Curves Cereal bar, free Netflix, and Dove shampoo. My favorite free sample has got to be deodorant, it comes in a great travel size and worth sending away for.
Free Stuff

Find of the Week

Thank you Ahna for your post "Eureka". We are starting a new contest. The winner will be advertised/featured on this site, "Thrift Store Shopper."

Leave a link to your site in the comments. We want to see what you have found this week, what it cost and what you will use it for. Like this:



Description: Four glasses and a Lionel brand clock. Cost: My grandmother was having a garage sale...free to us. She got them for cheep. Use: We are trying to teach the children good manners at the table. I wont mind if these free glasses get broken as they practice. My husband needed a clock for his shop. Bonus, he likes trains.

Eureka!!

Man, we've been hitting up the thrift stores a lot lately. Time to share your latest discovery. The best thing I've bought at a thrift store was humm.......Tell us all about your most recent bargain!
I hope you check out my finds, click here!

Home Decor for Pennies

This weekend I am visiting my grandparents. My grandmother has a beautiful home and a knack for decorating. When I asked where she got a monkey figurine, she told me, "$0.50 at garage sale!

"Wow! She then proceeded to give a tour of all her good deals. From curtains to tea cups. She is a confessed dish-a-holic. I'm sold on garage sales and sales places, how about you?

CHEEPOS

Puzzling over play things for a two year old, my mother ended up purchasing sponges. This gift became the play thing of choice over many expensive toys. The two year old was my self. I now have four children and have discovered that boxes, sponges, plastic cups and other day-to-day items are choice for my children's imagination.

This idea is not new. We have generations of experience. My grandmother calls them "cheepos". All the little things that are so cheep, yet make us smile. All the granddaughters would spend hours at the mirror Christmas day, applying the "old" make up they received from grandma. We were delighted to have this treasure from her. She was (and is) so beautiful. Having her old make up offered us the opportunity to look just like her.

Opening gifts on Christmas Eve was anticipated...we wanted to see what kind of "cheepo" she found at garage sales and sales places, just for us.

Don't underestimate cheep stuff. Often they are the play thing of choice with kids.

This was written by our first guest writer and my very beautiful sister Rachael, from http://thriftyroost.com/ Get your Bread Basics from Rachael today! Read about how to make homemade bread using your very own homemade yeast.

Free Stuff

It's a new year so time to make out your list. You might think it's impossible but if you want it you will find it. Easy to do, Just make out a list of all your wants and needs. Whats on your list? Last year I was looking for Looking for a piano, treadmill and ,2 toddler beds and I got them all free. You have to check out freecycle.org ,

"entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills."

Do you have a stack of lumber full of rusty nails, bits old carpet or a litter of kittens? I have given so much stuff away, and you can make people really happy. I gave away gym lockers, 5 gal. of pink paint, baby clothing, and the piano I thought would be so great. If I am only going to give it to the thrift store so they can sell it, why not just cut out the middle man and give it away? Sometimes I'd rather see my stuff in the trash than at the thrift store, being sold for way too much. A clean basement and garage is also a benefit and you don't have to waist your time haling it away or having a garage sale.