Money Saving Monday-Gardening & Homemade Laundry Soap

I often get asked how in the world do I save the money I do especially with having a large family on a small income. So I thought I'd spend some Mondays sharing a few tips & ideas on things I do.




First and foremost, I need to start out this series sharing that as Christians, our family feels very strongly on following the Biblical command of tithing no matter what life throws our way (like the time when my husband was off work for 2 months due to an injury, we still tithed despite having no income). After all, we wouldn't have any of what we have if it wasn't for God giving it to us. All we have is His.

Honor the Lord with your wealth

    and with the firstfruits of all your produce.

Proverbs 3:9

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:6-7

Secondly, God doesn't want us to be stingy or hoard the things we do have and are given. I know how easy it is to fall into that mindset, especially when trying to save & store up for your family. You feel you worked for it and therefore you want to keep it to yourself. But you'll only feel miserable having that sort of attitude. We may not have tons but we enjoy being able to share what we do have with others. It doesn't have to be anything extravagant but little things like having friends over for a meal or giving a meal to a family, passing along outgrown clothes to another family, giving away extra produce from your garden or extra eggs your chickens may have laid, etc.

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Hebrews 13:16

Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Luke 6:38

I feel these are the reasons we've been blessed in how we've saved & in finding the deals we do. I certainly don't want to take credit for where we are at which is why I wanted to share the above. I think that is the foundation to really being able to save and be frugal.

Now you are asking just how do I take what I'm given & make it stretch? This is going to be hard to only share a few things at a time. ;) I have a LOT of things I've learned to do over the years and some I don't even realize I do as it's become such a habit. 

With spring around the corner (or so I am trying to keep in mind), a garden is a great way to save money. 

I freeze & can things from my garden to use over winter time when the price of fresh veggies is expensive. If you don't have room for a garden, you can grow things in containers on a deck or patio. Now is a good time to start thinking about a possible garden. You can start your own seeds inside to transfer outside instead of buying pre-grown plants. Save those toilet paper rolls & use those to start your seeds in then all you have to do is plant the whole tube as it's biodegradable. 

Another great thing I tripped several years ago was making my own laundry detergent. For a long time, I had seen the recipe for a homemade one but that including making 5 gallons of liquid. It seemed a bit of a pain to be honest. THEN I came across the easiest recipe ever. It's a powder that takes but a few minutes to make (my kids even make it when they see we are running low, it's that easy.) You are asking, "but I have a HE front loader, can I use this?" YES!! I also have the same type of washing machine. The only difference is I put the powder in with the clothes & not down the dispenser.

Homemade Laundry Soap:

1 1/2 cups Borax

1 1/2 cups Super Washing Soda

1 bar of Fels Naptha- grated

Grate the bar of soap and mix all 3 things together & store in a sealed container. Use 1 Tbsp for a small load, 2 Tbsp for a medium load & 3 Tbsp for a large load. I found all 3 laundry things at walmart in the detergent aisle. The Fels Naptha was $.99 and the other 2 boxes were around $3-something (I don't have a receipt handy). BUT those boxes make many batches of soap. So you can see how inexpensive this is AND it works great! My whites come out brighter using this & it has a refreshing, clean scent.

Do you have a great money saving tip you'd like me share? Have a question on saving money/bargain hunting that I can answer here for you? Please feel free to email me and I'll be sure to cover it in a future Money-Saving Monday post!