Recipes and Helpful sites from we who have been where you are.

[leftofcool]

I remember when hubby and I were raising kids and how poor we were, even though we both had jobs. We did lots of stuff to save money. The kids are grown and we are retired with a bit more money but we still live frugally and rely on those old money saving tips. We are fortunate to live near an Amish community where I shop and swap stores and recipes with some of the gals. I think you can probably find this old laundry soap on the net but I will post it here courtesy of Mrs Swerke of the Amish:

1 box of washing powder
1 box of borax
1 tub of some sort to seal it in

Mix Borax and washing powder in container and seal it so it doesn't dry out too much.

Use one small scoop per wash load. This cost about 2 cents per load as opposed to 50 cents a load with store bought laundry soap and your clothes will rinse better and be cleaner.

and

Poor Man's or Hiking Chili

1 lb of ground turkey (ground beef if you can afford it)
1 can of dark red kidney beans
1 can of light red kidney beans
1 can of tomato sauce
1 package of your favorite chili mix

Crumble up and fry ground turkey
Put tomato sauce and can of water into pot.
As soon as tomato sauce starts to get warm add chili mix and stir in
Drain beans and add to the mix
Add fried turkey to the mix then bring to a boil
Turn off and eat when ready
Onions are optional as well
A family of two or 3 can eat on this for 2 days.

Here are a couple of tightwad/frugal sites it frequent a lot!

http://www.frugal-families.com/

http://www.frugalbabe.com/

[NaturalHigh]

1. The chili sounds great!

What do you mean by "washing powder"? Is that just regular detergent?

[leftofcool]

2. No washing powder is different.

Here is a link to Amazon for a combo:

http://www.amazon.com/Mule-Team-Borax-Washing-Variety/dp/B00AZ6IH68/ref=sr_1_19?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1444571821&sr=1-19

[NaturalHigh]

3. Thanks!

[ladyVet]

4. I make a similar detergent, and have for years.

I use Fels Naptha soap in it as well. It's very inexpensive to use, thought there's the initial cost of a box of washing soda and the borax. We get it all at the Wal Mart where my son works, thus getting an employee discount.

Takes a few minutes to make, but it will last a while and I think it cleans well. I like to let the soap dry out before grating it, as it will make a nice powder rather than the moist shavings. I used to make a liquid soap, but it's a pain and I hate having to store it.

We eat chili a lot here, or make it into nachos or burritos, or a casserole. I make up my own chili powder, to avoid a lot of preservatives and who knows what in the store bought. It's cheaper when you use it at least once a week.