Stain Fighting

Meet Charlie, my stain fighting friend! I’ve been using Charlie’s Soap since I started cloth diapering back in May. It works wonders on our diapers! After a few blowouts when Paxton was a newborn, resulting in stains on his clothes, I decided to give Charlie’s Soap a try on soiled baby clothes and it works!

I typically will rinse the poo off of the garment with cold water, apply a little Zout and then wash with Charlie’s Soap and usually there is no stain.

This past week while we were traveling, Paxton wore disposables (which means more blowouts!) He soiled several pieces of clothing. The worst was a light blue onesie (the poo was all over the back!)

Once we arrived home (just a few hours after the incident), I rinsed the poo out and let it soak in cold water overnight. The next morning I applied Zout and washed in Charlie’s Soap. Unfortunately, Charlie failed me and there was still a faint yellow stain on the back of the onesie.

I decided to give Charlie another chance and dissolved about 1/4 a tablespoon of Charlie’s Soap in cold water and then soaked the onesie for 2 days.

It worked! Here is the onesie…minus the stain! (I didn’t take a before picture for comparison because I really don’t like the idea of taking pictures of clothing covered in poo!)

I am thrilled that the stain is gone because this is a really cute little onesie.

Warning: The water I soaked the onesie in had a faint blue tint when I poured it out, so it is pulling a little dye out of the clothing after a 2 day soak. However, I’d rather the color of the garmet fade a little instead of being stained permanently!

Do you have any stain fighting tips?

Linked to: Works for Me Wednesday

Bum Genius 4.0 with Snaps

We received our new Bum Genius 4.0 with snaps last week and so far we love it! It’s a lot like our 3.0s but with a few improvements! And the snaps should give this diaper a longer life (which will save us money!)

A Different Outlook on Frugality

Have you ever had a moment when a simple conversation changed the way you thought? A conversation about a bottle of lotion gave me a different outlook on frugality.

Growing up I would give 10%, save about 40% and spend the rest because I really enjoyed shopping. I even went through this phase around 14 where I only wanted to wear “name brand” clothes, I remember buying a pair of $36 jeans that I only wore 3-4 times! I loved buying purses, shoes, expensive lotions and lip glosses! Once I was out of that phase, I started shopping clearance racks and being “smart” with my money!

When I moved to college, I was taking care of my finances. I had a full scholarship that paid for tuition, housing and had a little money left to live on. My parents purchased my vehicle but I had to pay for insurance, gas, oil changes and other maintenance. I realized that I had to live within my means but I still was shopping for fun because I had money in my checking account. I wasn’t buying $36 dollar jeans, instead I was shopping at thrift stores and clearance racks but I was buying things that I didn’t truly need.

I started dating my husband right before beginning my freshman year of college. A few months later we were seriously talking about marriage. I remember very vividly a conversation we had one night that really changed my perspective of money and gave me a different outlook on frugality.

It was late November and my roommate and I had been Christmas shopping. One of our stops was Bath & Body Works and I purchased a bottle of Pearberry lotion because it was my “favorite” scent, I believe it was even “on sale” for $8 or so!

Later that night I was talking to my then boyfriend and he asked about my evening. I told him I had been shopping and then proceeded to share about my purchases I’d made thus far. I mentioned the $8 lotion and he told me something along the lines of “if you want us to be married soon, you can’t waste your money on stuff like that.”

Wow! At first I was a little offended, it was my money after all. The more I thought about it, I realized he was right, if we didn’t spend $8 on a bottle of lotion or $2 on a drink or $10 going out to eat we could save more and be married sooner. Were the small sacrifices worth it? Certainly!

By committing to give up the little things and save more we were able to be married just 6 months later. Sure we lived (and still do) on a tight budget but it’s amazing how much you can save when you stop shopping for fun and purchasing things you don’t truly need!

And that bottle of lotion, I didn’t even use half of it and it’s long gone!

Plate Rack Makeover

My beautiful plate rack “makeover”! Complete with precious newborn pictures of Paxton!

I created this family oriented look for our dining room for under $20! I already had the plate rack (I bought it from my sister a few years ago) it held 2 of my regular dining plates (Mikasa French Countryside). However, having 2 of my 9 plates on the wall meant we were sometimes scrambling for plates when we had company over. It was time to use them for what they were intended for and I wanted to incorporate more family elements into the room! I do believe the pictures do just that!

“B” plate at Hobby Lobby :: $5

2-5×7 pictures frames at Hobby Lobby :: $10

2-5×7 prints :: $1.50

Total :: $16.50

Here’s a view of the wall! The plate rack is really the focal point of the dining room. (And isn’t the wall color just gorgeous? It’s called “Dill” and my fabulous husband picked it out when I was having a hard time deciding on the perfect color!)

Before ::

You can see the two dining plates on the wall…not as pretty or personalized! (And my table is leaf-less and missing a high-chair!)

After ::

My lovely dining room! (One of these days I’ll “makeover” my maroon seat cushions to match my white, black and dill dining room, but until then they’ll work!)

I do believe that $16.50 was (birthday!) money well spent!

Our Cow Family

Yesterday we participated in Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A!! The closest Chick-fil-A is 45 minutes away but we were already planning an outing to the “city” to run some errands so we decided to dress as a little cow family for free meals!

The bull & adorable bull calf!! (Since I have an agriculture degree, I refuse to call them cows!)

Mama cow and sweet baby calf! I made Paxton a tail out of yarn, complete with a switch…PRECIOUS!!

Cow Appreciation Day made for a fun and inexpensive family outing! John David enjoyed a spicy chicken sandwich and I had a lemonade with my meal!! We  did spend $3 on a strawberry milkshake, but you can’t beat $3 on a delicious meal and dessert…not to mention family memories!!

(For the cow-stumes, I cut the spots out of black and white fabric and taped them on our shirts with packing tape! And I’m saving them for next year!!)

Did you participate in cow appreciation day?