Helping Kids Put Shoes on the Right Feet

I got tired of telling the kiddo that she had put her shoes on the wrong feet, so I decided to help her be able to figure that out herself. I took two smiley face stickers and put them on the inside curve of her shoe. I read this in some parenting magazine a long time ago.

Then I told her to make the faces kiss. She likes to make the kissing noise along with them.

Soap Carving or Whittling

Do you have a young boy who would enjoy whittling but you aren't so sure you want to trust him with a knife, but you's be ok with him handling a plastic one?

Or maybe you like fancy shaped soaps in the guest room, or want to make a friend a bath gift set (along with the homemade bath salts).

Then Ivory soap carving might be a fun project for you or your kids.

Here are instructions from Ivory.

If your child really gets into it, there is a book for children.

Bath Salts

Making your own fancy bath salts is easy. Take Epsom salt, drop in a few drops of food coloring and a few drops of essential oils until you are satisfied.

Would you like more detailed instructions and even pretty labels for making them into gifts? This is a nice site.

Straight Razor Saves Money

My husband is slowly getting sucked into the super thrifty lifestyle. He will come home now after a shopping trip and give me the detailed thought process he went through before deciding on coming home and making it himself or searching for it online, etc. I rub off on people; beware before you get too close to me!

So, a few weeks ago, I was proud of him when he came into the office and said, "You know. I have that antique straight razor and a diamond stone. These blade replacements are only lasting me two weeks. I should look up how to use that straight razor." Then he kicked me off the computer to look up how to do it.

It does take a bit of money to begin with. We bought a "Zeepk Straight Razor Set"on ebay for $45 (included was S&H) which is the best deal for all of it that we found (there are smaller kits and the razors themselves are not any good, but the other stuff is worth it (mainly the strop)) and some fancy aftershave; you do need aftershave, but he decided to try the best recommended which was a whopping $30. (You can put "Zeepk Straight Razor Set" in ebay, the store sells many of them) Of course, depending on your shopping skills it can be much more, so if you put in "buy straight razor" in Google and find one for $2000, don't be surprised. But let's say you spend $250 to start because you want some fancier stuff. If you were buying a $20 pack of 4 razors only lasting you two weeks a piece, then you normally spend $120 a year. After 2 years, it is paid for and you never have to buy anything more except shaving soap every now and then (a $2 purchase). Places with pharmacies (Like Walgreens but not Walmart) do carry brushes and soap, so you don't need to keep paying for S&H for a $2 soap which is nice if you live in the middle of nowhere. If you live in big city areas, I've read Nordstroms or fancy retail departments may carry it all. Also ask Grandma if she still has great grandpa's shaving stuff. Mom-in-law has some in her closet - try that avenue too!

Another benefit is that is it the closest shave you can get. His face after using the straight razor 24 hours earlier feels like his initial shave with his disposable razor.

I have to say though that the saving money thing and the fact that he has never had a better shave has become secondary in regards to his motivation. My hubby is a big knife guy. (He blacksmiths his own knives from scrap metal and walks around with patches of hair missing from his arms from the fun he has demonstrating to people how sharp he keeps his knives.) So, the fact that he is getting a big testosterone high from shaving with something that he could kill himself with, I think, is the real reason he is so excited about the process that has compelled him to tell everyone around him about his new thrifty hobby.

So, interested? Here are the sites he found helpful to learn how to reclaim the art of shaving with a straight razor. A warning: straight razor information sites do tend to be written by men running high on testosterone since they shave with a weapon, you will find several with a few bad words mixed in with the information. I wouldn't post any over the top ones, but it seems the ones my hubby found most helpful do have some of these words mixed in.

This is the definitive article according to my husband, it is long, but was essential to his know-how.

Good introduction article. (Questionable language in subtitle otherwise looks clean)

A kid fairly new to the process has a video series. Hubby liked seeing a newbie do it.
Equipment Care Video. Shaving Procedure Video. (Kid uses a few questionable words.)

Video of a man simply shaving with one.

Wowser Wednesday - Coat Hangar Shaving Caddy

TricksyHobbit posted a nice tutorial on Instructables on how to make a razor and brush caddy for the bathroom. I am sure something like this would work for any number of things in the bathroom.

Extending the Life of Razor Blades

Rust on a razor blade dulls it. So how do you prevent it and make those expensive razor heads last longer? By drying it. Make it a point to shake off your razor, blot it on a towel and store it in a less humid place (outside of the bathroom or in a ziploc bag (only if you make sure it is dry first!).

Need some research to convince you? Using a fan to blow dry a razor after each shave resulted in doubled life expectancy for a disposable razor head.

Inexpensive Aftershave

I have been doing this since I was a teenager. After shaving (especially if I can feel the burn starting), I splash on witch hazel. I put a small amount in the palm of my hand and wipe it on. If I try to tough it out and then decide later that I was silly to do so, the witch hazel is still there waiting for me and helps, but I feel it does better to do it immediately after shaving.

Cheap Shaving Gel

Instead of buying fancy shaving gel, you can use conditioner or lotion if you don't like the use of regular soap lather.

Some free sources for this: Complimentary hotel lotions and conditioners or Walgreens and similar stores often give rebates for hair products. In fact, I have yet to buy a conditioner for a few years, mainly because I hardly use it for my hair, but I pick up the free ones from Walgreens and they are starting to become stockpiled.

Conserve Contact Solution

I used to work for an eye doctor and ordered the contact cases (cost only pennies). The little flip top lid kind use much less contact solution than the screw cap travel kind for the exact same purpose. We always gave several away because of their cheapness that I didn't realize some doctor's offices don't have them. At my new eye doctor, the ladies said they didn't even know of their existence (I found that hard to believe, but they acted genuinely confused). With a necessary upgrade to a more expensive solution, I was not about to use the screw cap kind. (The only kind you can buy at the store; Quite tricky of your contact solution sellers -- use more, buy more). So, armed with the knowledge that these are cheap giveaways, I decided to visit another eye doctor. I told them that I wasn't their patient but I was looking for the flip top contact cases and they promptly handed me a handful.

By the way, I learned at my job (not when I first got my contacts) that you should rinse your contact case under tap water every day and flip them upside down to dry during the day to keep your contacts hygienic. Since I have done this, the contact case doesn't get crust on it and I can use that case much longer.

Homemade Liquid Hand Soap

In case you were all excited about some homemade recipe for smell good pretty stuff like you find at bath and body works type places, I think you will be disappointed. I have never understood the desire of ladies to buy expensive soaps that leave a lingering scent on their hands for a few minutes that when sniffing it, you are reminded that you are hungry and even if you aren't hungry it makes you think of vanilla sugar cookies that in turn make you thing of the goodies you could go grab and eat. BUT if you like soap dispensers and want your hands clean for pennies, then you may be happy.

Wait to buy dispensers on clearance or better yet, when some lady gives you one of the above mentioned smelly soap dispensers, reuse it once you are done making yourself hungry washing your hands.

Fill the container with water, put in enough dishwashing liquid to turn it blue or yellow or whatever color you got. That's it. Not only does it come in handy for washing hands, but for washing just a few dishes in the sink separately and for squirting one pump into your tin can or plastic food container to rinse out to store in recycling. And the boys won't turn their noses up at using fruity girly soap.

Homemade Deodorant

I was really tired of buying $2+ stick of deodorant that often didn't work. Plus, I am sure we have all heard the not-so-sure-deodorant-is-a-good-thing cancer and Alzheimer-wise, so I have fiddled with many things taking others suggestions offline, from family, etc. and have finally come up with something that works. It's my own "recipe."

I bought a little pump sprayer which I fill with rubbing alcohol. Then I have an old powder jar which I fill with baking soda and I have a ton of perfume and samples etc. I usually don't wear perfume because it competes with my deodorant smell. And I had been using a "natural" deodorant that made me smell like a cedar tree - what perfume compliments cedar tree? And I especially hate baby powder smelling deodorant. Inevitably sometime during the day, I'll sniff and wonder where the baby is and then realize it's me.

So I put a squirt or two of alcohol under my arms, then using a powder puff I pat on the baking soda which adheres now with the alcohol wetness and then I add a squirt of perfume under each arm as well. When I get to using the perfumed talc, I think I will just mix it in with the baking powder.

This has worked well for three weeks now, so hubby is glad he doesn't get to smell my failed experiments anymore, and I am glad I am spending such a tiny amount and smell like I want to smell.

Ice Cream Bucket Plunger Keeper

Do you hate moving that drippy yucky plunger across the floor back to wherever you have it stored, on its grimy spot? Take an ice cream bucket and permanently assign it to your plunger. After use, the plunger travels no farther than to the bucket and it stores wherever without making a mess.

Plastic Grocery Sack Trash Can Liners

I still see store bought tiny trash bags for bathroom trash cans in people's homes/businesses, and I wonder why they buy them. It is easy and virtually free to use your left over plastic grocery sacks for that purpose. And they come with convenient handles to tie them off.