5 ingredients or less

I'm sure that several of you Works for me Wednesday Posters have some fantastic recipes and I can't wait to read a few but 5 ingredients or less, oh my! I had such a hard time thinking of a recipe. I don't know why, I'm a firm believer that the simplest things taste the best. I know I've made meals that only had a few ingredients but I couldn't think of anything fabulous.

I think I may need this book to give me some ideas when it comes to simple cooking.

I did think of something as I couldn't miss a Works for me Wednesday post

We like hot dogs-I know not the healthiest and certainly not gourmet but it's well rounded when served with baked beans and a veggie like corn on the cob.

1.kosher hot dogs (Hebrew National-were snobs when it comes to hot dogs)
2. store bought buns (I've made my own but I have yet to master a perfect hot dog bun)
3. mustard
4. relish
5. sauerkraut

If we don't feel like grilling I broil the hot dogs, it only takes a couple of minutes, I also throw the buns under the broiler for a few seconds so they become warm toasty.
Hot dogs are such a tasty, quick, and cheap meal. I feel so American when eating a hot dog (silly I know.) If I plan on making hot dogs I usually buy some Coca Cola the real stuff in a red can, It breaks my no high-fructose corn syrup rule but sometimes you just have to have an ice cold can of Coke with your hot dog, that's all there to it.

Homemade cleaning supplies

This morning as I was showering I noticed that my postponement to clean the bathroom had caught up to me, I spotted mold showing it's ugly face on the shower stall corners.

Grocery shopping was top on my list of things to do today and cleaning the bathroom became a close second. Naturally at the grocery store I browsed the cleaning supply aisle in search of that magic formula that would eradicate my mold and soap scum with little effort on my part. I read the backs of bottles and I debated with myself but when it came down to it I just could spend $4 on a bottle of cleaner when I had stuff at home. And you know what I'm proud of my frugal choice.

Once home from grocery shopping, I attacked the bathroom and cleaned the shower stall vigorously with my homemade softscrub, I wiped the mirror down with vinegar water and for good measure I sprayed those moldy trouble spots in the shower with bleach water. My bathroom is now mold free, clean, and beautiful.

Making and using my own cleaning supplies saves money and works for me.

Head to Rocks in my Dryer for more Works for Me Wednesday Tips

Magazines

I love my magazine subscriptions, it's like a present in the mail each month. But I quickly learned that magazines pile up fast, and look really cluttered. My solution to magazine overload was to toss them after my pile grew to high. This didn't work for me because later in time I would remember reading about some fabulous craft project or tasty recipe but whatever magazine it came from was long gone. Keeping stacks and stacks of periodicals didn't work for my hubby (He hates clutter and stuff of all kind) Last summer I got smart, before I toss a magazine I tear out all the recipes, projects, ideas, and anything else that strikes my fancy. I have created binders that I stuff my articles in. The binders save a lot of space and clutter, plus I have a wealth of ideas and inspiration. These are my binder categories:

Recipes to try (this also includes online print outs)
House hold tips and ideas
Craft projects
Holiday Ideas (my favorite)

If a binder gets to full I just skim through it and toss anything that I will never use or do. Some ideas seem great at the time but several months down the road, you realize that you'll never do it. It's actually kind of fun to go through my binders once in a while, I often forget some of the things I've torn out and saved.

Click here for more Works for Me Wednesday

Organizing left over contianers

Several months ago I was cleaning up the spare room and came across a shoe box which I couldn't throw away it was sturdy and neutral in design. I don't know why it I didn't think of it sooner but I used my shoe box to hold all my lids to leftover plastic containers. (Ziploc plastic containers, yogurt and sour cream cups and so on) It works beautifully at keeping my cabinet clean and organized where before lids (which don't stack nicely) and containers were strewn about everywhere. I even glued a cute label to my box, there used to be some ribbon but it fell off.

Adding to my cabinet organization, last week I found a yellow basket at the thrift store, it's super cool, the color is great and the shape is square, it could easily be a fruit basket. I'm using it to keep all the little containers "contained."

I don't have a before picture and even if I did I would be pretty embarrassed to show it.

It's amazing that one little shoe box could clean up a perpetually disorganized cabinet.

For more tips and ideas go to Rocks in my Dryer for Works For Me Wednesday

Bake Sale Containers

I'm contributing to a bake sale fund raiser for the Navy Wife Family Support Group. Some of my baked items are rather gooey and don't really package well in plastic wrap. To maintain the presentation of my peanut butter drizzled chocolate cookies I reused come plastic clam shell food containers which I bummed off from a few coworkers who buy their lunch from the cafeteria.

They look so professional and pretty, plus I reused items that would have sooner been in the trash, works for me.

For more Works for Me Wednesday Tips go to Rocks in My Dryer.

Impromtu Gifts and Frugal Packaging.

I save a lot of things that some people would say belong in the trash. Pretty much any food container that could possibly be reused is washed, dyed and put into a big box loaded with "trash" and saved for any future craft project or gift container.
I get excited when my container collecting pays off. Sunday night we were invited to a birthday gathering, celebrating two belated birthday's with some board games and good company. It was very impromptu and we were invited two hours before it started. I couldn't bear to show up empty handed with no gifts. I had cookie dough in the freezer (a huge time saver) in 20 minutes I had freshly baked cookies in the most adorable packaging made with a quickly stamped tag and a little ribbon to dress up my blue trays I found in the "trash" box ( mushroom containers from the grocery store). I just love reusing items, it's such a great way to save money, Plus my gift packaging is original and receives plenty of oohs and awes (boosting my ego just a wee bit)

Reusing packaging works for me.

for more Works for me Wednesday tips go to Rocks in My Dryer.

for more frugal tips go to Biblical Womanhood for Frugal Fridays

Folding Towels

I was thinking a little too hard to come up with a Works for me Wednesday tip, and than it hit me as I was folding laundry how much I like folding towels, I'm a little compulsive about my towels, I like them to be uniform and neatly put away in the closet. I've got my towel folding down to a science and I thought my method would be perfect for sharing on Wednesday, after all it works for me.

I don't have a matching towel set, we own a whopping 9 bath towels in three different styles, thankfully they are all white or beige colored, so they look somewhat cohesive.

Here's how I fold my towels:

1. Fold in half (hamburger style)
2. Fold in thirds (hot dog style) like folding a letter
3. Fold in half (hamburger style)

This method is so easy I love how it gives the towels a uniform look when put away.

Go to Rocks in my Dryer for more Works for me Wednesday Tips

Ribbon Tree

I'm cleaning up and organizing my craft stuff, this has been an ongoing project. I have a large twig that I just couldn't throw away I knew it could serve some purpose. I have emptied out my ribbon box and strung my ribbons on a sting hung on the wall. With my ribbons out in the open I can see what I have and I don't have to dig through a box making a big mess in the process.
Back to my twig: I have tied all my ribbon scraps to it, now I can see them all. Again- no more digging through a box.
My ribbon tree is a little big but it's cute and now my twig has a purpose.
By the way the twig is held in a wrapped Quaker oatmeal box and rock salt for support (the only thing I could find short of digging for rocks outside)

In case you were wondering this is what my ribbon organization used to look like:


For more Works for me Wednesdays go to Rocks in My Dryer.

Frugal Craft Storage

To keep my craft items organized I love to use labels, they are so easy to make and items look organized and cute at the same time. To keep organization frugal I have to be a little creative when it comes to containers. I have containers and bins that I've purchased over the years, but my craft supplies have increased beyond the containers I own. Rather than buy some more craft containers I've taken a milk or juice carton, cut it to size and wrapped it in pretty paper like a present and attached a cute label identifying it's contents. My milk carton container is functional and looks prettier than anything you could buy at a store plus it takes up hardly any space on my craft table.

Check out Rocks in my Dryer for more Works for Me Wednesdays

For Frugal Tips check out Frugal Friday at Biblical Womanhood

Keeping Envelopes Handy with a Cash Budget

Greg and I jumped on the Dave Ramsey band wagon a few months after being married. We quickly paid off all our debts began an emergency fund and have since than been a little fanatical about our finances and keeping a tight budget. Our budget has changed over the years and we seem to always tinker with it. We first started out with an all cash budget using envelopes, we had an envelope for gas, groceries, clothes, entertainment, you name it we had an envelope for it. We've learned to simplify things a bit since those first few months. It's not real convenient to carry envelopes of cash around and we always felt uncomfortable having a month's worth of cash sitting in my purse. Once we tried forgoing using cash, but realized it was harder to stay on budget. After examining things we realized the two categories that seemed to be overspent if left unchecked were groceries and entertainment. Now we only take out cash for those two things, once the cash is gone it's gone. This method has simplified our budget, we stay on track and we don't hassle with too much cash.
I like to keep the two envelopes on the fridge and take out only the cash I need. With the envelopes in a permanent spot I never worry about where I put the money last. I also store the month's receipts in the envelopes. It's the best of both worlds-the restriction of cash where needed and the convenience of a debit card for all else. It works for us.

Check out Rocks in my Dryer for more Works for Me Wednesday Tips

Works for Me Wednesday - Backwards Edition

This week instead of a tip we are asking questions. Sounds like fun, I can't wait to read what others are asking. Me? I have all sorts of questions but I'll keep it to just one. Here we go:

How do you take care of tile flooring?

I've had a tile floor before, (tiled it myself in fact) that was one little room, this time around We've moved into a house with all tile floor, not one foot of carpeting anywhere. Carpet's easy-you vacuum and you're done. Tile on the other hand, hmmm. I hate to have to mop the whole house, and what to mop with? how about a dust mop? what about all the stuff the get's stuck in between the grout lines. Ukkk! help!
I want to know the best procedure for keeping my tile floors clean, and I want to know the easiest, quickest, and most frugal way to do so.

suggestions anyone?

Check out Rocks in my Dryer for more of Works for Me Wednesday - Backwards Edition

Making my own greeting cards – I don’t need a whole lot of stuff to do so

This is my first Works for Me Wednesday Post. Card-making is something that works for me. I love being crafty and I love making cards. I have a large assortment of card making things and craft stuff. I have got pretty papers galore but sadly all of it is somewhere on a boat along with all my other household goods patiently waiting to come home.

I am a real mess when trying to pick out a store bought card, I stand in the card aisle for hours reading each card, crying or laughing at each and still not finding the one perfect card. With birthdays coming up and thank you notes due I can’t wait for our stuff to arrive before I make some cards. My other half would never let me run to the craft store and buy up a new collection of card making tools, it's a good thing for the both of us that there isn’t a craft store around. Starting with nothing I headed to the store, I knew I couldn't attempt to pick out a card after just browsing the card aisle so I headed to the nearby stationary/office/craft aisle. I picked up some scissors, double-stick tape, and a paper stack. There was only one choice in paper-lucky for me it was full of pretty patterns that I could work with. I spent $15 with most of it on the paper. I only need to make a handful of cards and I will recuperate the cost of buying your standard greeting card.

The birthday card I made yesterday is simple there are no embellishments or pretty ribbons it’s nothing fancy just paper and tape. It’s not my prettiest, most creative, eye-catching card however I still had a good time making the card and I’m sure the recipient will receive from it our thoughts and love.