SAVE MONEY AND REFURNISH YOUR HOUSE

Want to know how you can have beautiful furniture on a very small budget?

We all want nice, matching furniture in our homes.  A cohesive style throughout the house.  Unless your my husband.  Then your like, meh.  ;)

I like nice matching furniture with a cohesive style and color scheme.  However, I can't afford to just go buy a bunch of new furniture.  I would love to, but I have much more important things to spend my money on.  I came up with a solution.  I started going to Goodwill and other local thrift stores to see what they had available.  They had a lot of furniture but it was really ugly.  I mean really ugly.  

I know. Not the best picture.  Lol. :)

I paid $10 for two of these. Ugly huh?

Good thing I like to work on things.  

The total investment for two end tables was $25!!
That includes the cost of the tables and the material!

I went to Walmart and the Habitat for Humanity Restore and started to purchase supplies.  You can get a gallon of really good paint really cheap at the Restore. I mean like $5!!  I was really excited because I got Glidden Diamond 0 VOC paint that had never been opened for $5!  

If you don't have access to a Restore I still recommend this paint.  It is really good and goes quite a long ways.  I am very happy with it.  I used some of it on my cabinets and am able to scrub them down with no problems.

I picked up some other basic supplies like tape, nails, stain, brushes, etc and started picking up some pieces that I liked and restoring them and updating them.  The great part about this is if you find a great inexpensive piece but it won't work in your house you can still restore it and just sell it to help pay back the cost of the furniture you bought for your home.

Some really great places to sell your refurbished furniture are:

Craigslist.com

Local facebook selling pages

ebay.com

etsy.com

local stores that sell used furniture

You can even get artsy with it if you have artistic talent and sell it to a furniture gallery.

Amanda

Disclosure:  This post contains affiliate links for products that I like to use.  These links help me to be able to continue producing these blog posts.  Thank you!!

WHAT KIND OF TIPS DO YOU WANT?

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?

 

 

 

What kind of money saving tips do you want?

 

Is there some common ailment that you would like to know if I have used essential oils for?

 

A financial situation that you would like to know if there is some way that you can save money?

 

How about a specific grocery budget and how to streatch it?

 

You ask the questions and I will do my best to provide the answers.

 

Email me at uncommonsensemom@gmail.com with questions or leave a comment on my post.

 

Amanda

 

Peppermint Oil for Fever Reduction

We've been sick.  I mean really sick.

My 8 year old daughter had a fever for a couple of days.  My 5 year old did to as well as throwing up.  I have been sick for a week.  It sucks.

Now my oldest son is catching it.  Thankfully my youngest and my husband don't have it. YET.

So, I drew a complete blank when it came to fever treatment.  I was giving the kids Tylenol but it was doing nothing!  Then I remembered that I had read that peppermint oil on your spine could help bring down a fever.  So, I decided to try it.  I rubbed a couple of drops onto each girls spine and told them to go lay down.  Within the hour my oldest girls fever broke and my 5 year old's went down.

Once again my oils came to the rescue.  I love oils and peppermint smells sooooo good!!  Peppermint oil in a glass of water can also help to ease an upset stomach.  Just make sure that you use therapeutic grade essential oils from a brand you trust.  I absolutely love Edens Garden.  They are therapeutic grade and I have used them for years now.  They are also affordable!!  That is really important for me since I can't afford the multi level marketing brands.  These are quality oils that pretty much anyone can afford and they actually work!!

Amanda

This post contains affiliate links for products I like to use.  This in no way influenced my opinion on them.  These links help me to continue to write this blog.  Thank you!

STOP THROWING AWAY MONEY!!

STOP THROWING AWAY MONEY!!

Seriously stop wasting money.

We all throw away money every day.  From tossing out items that aren't completly empty to wasting food.  I'm going to give you 10 tips on how to stop throwing away the money your spending on replacing  items and keep it in your pocket.

Tip #1

Don't throw away honey bottles with a little honey still left in it or if it has crystalized.  It has not gone bad!  Honey really doesn't go bad unless it is contaminated.  All you have to do is heat the honey and it will return to its liquid form.  You can do this by placing your honey bottle in a container of warm water or you can zap it in the microwave for 15 seconds at a time.

If your bottle is almost empty just ad a little warm water to it and shake it up.  Then use to sweeten your tea or cereal, etc.

Tip #2

Stop throwing away stale chips.  There is no need to.  Just spread them on a sheet pan and bake them in the oven on 350 degrees for a few minutes.  They will come out nice and fresh and taste fresh from the Mexican restaurant!

Tip #3

Instead of throwing out the dish soap bottle you just emptied add a little water to it and shake it up.  There is likely enough soap left in the bottle for one or two more sinks full of dishes.

Tip #4

Keep those herb stems and bones left over from your roast chicken, turkey, and beef.  These are great for making homemade stock and bone broth.  The stems and bones have an amazing amount of flavor, vitamins, and minerals in them.  Also, the bones will add natural gelatin which if very good for your hair, skin, and nails.  Since these are all ingredients that you would normally throw away your delicious homemade stock will cost you next to nothing!!  YAY!!

Tip #5

So, you treated your family to a nice breakfast of homemade waffles.  MMMMM.  Yummy!  But, your eyes were bigger than everyone's stomachs and now you have left overs.  Don't throw them away!!  Just put them in a ziploc when they are fully cooled and toss them in the freezer.  Presto!  Now you have your own toaster waffles for use during the week!

Amanda

This post contains affiliate links.  These links help me to be able to continue to put out posts like this one.  Thank you!!!

Remedy for Night Terrors

I thought I would take a break from money saving ideas today and share with you a sanity saving idea.

My youngest gets night terrors.   They are awful.  :(  Its not just one episode a night either.  When he has them it's all kicking and screaming and throwing fits all night long.

This mommy gets really tired.  I mean really tired.  On those nights I get next to no sleep. And, I can't just take a nap, although sometimes I do ;).  I have to homeschool my oldest son, get my girls off to school, clean the house, converse with you fine folks ;), and many many other things.  I just don't have time to be tired.  

When this first happened I did some research online and found Ann over at littlewomenandamom.com had gone through this and shared what she used to find relief for her and her daughter.

Since I didn't have any Young Living oils, (they are far to expensive for me!), I decided to use what I had on hand.  I have been using Edens Garden Oils for years.

                                                     

I love their oils and have found them to work very well.  Not only are they affordable, but they are therapudic quality as well!

The oils that I used in place of Ann's from littlewomenandamom.com are Stress Relief and Good Night.

I diluted these oils and put the the Stress Relief oil on his ear lobes, and the Good Night oil on this temples and big toes as Ann suggested.  Then we went to bed and hoped for the best.  

The next morning I woke up and realized that he had not woken up even once!!  OH HAPPY DAY!!

We did this for a few months and then I stopped doing it to see if he needed it anymore.  He was still sleeping good without the oils so i stopped applying them and life went on.  

This was last summer.

Then about a few days ago he started having night terrors again.  Kicking and screaming all night.  UGG!

I could not deal with sleepless nights again so I grabbed my oils and put them on him and went to bed with happy thoughts that I would get some sleep.

BOY WAS I WRONG!!

My oils had failed me. :( 

 I don't know why it didn't work this time, but I was not willing to give up.  I decided to look up some info on the best oils for night terrors and found some information about when night terrors occur.  Apperently, it is believed that night terrors occur when you are transitioning from the deepest non REM sleep to REM sleep.  The thought is that if you can alleviate fears and induce a deeper sleep that this will help to stop the night terrors.  So, I looked up the best oils for these application and it turned out that I had most of them on hand already.

YAY!!

I came up with my own blend and decided to try it.

And, IT WORKED!!!

WOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!

Here is the recipe

Deep Sleep

10 Drops Clary Sage

5   Drops Roman Chamomile

10 Drops Lavender

5   Drops Frankincense

5   Drops Bergamot

5   Drops Sweet Orange

Add all of these to a 10ml roller bottle and top with your favorite carrier oil.  I used grapeseed oil.

Peaceful

15 Drops Lavender

10 Drops Frankincense

10 Drops Chamomile

10 Drops Bergamot

Add all of these to a 10ml roller bottle and top with your favorite carrier oil.  I used grapeseed oil.

Apply peaceful to the earlobes and deep sleep to the temples and big toes. 

This worked so amazingly well for us.  First night we had success and he slept all night.  He even said, "Mommy! I slept all night!"  To have your 3 year old excitedly tell you that is amazing.

I hope this helps someone!!

Amanda

Update:

I have been using these oils for a few days now, including when he spent the night at his great grandma's house.  We have not had a single episode of night terrors since we started using them.  The other kids have requested to use them as well and they have been sleeping much better to!  

I LOVE MY OILS!!!

This post contains affiliate links for the products that I like to use.  Clicking on them can help me continue this blog.  Thank you!!

How I Save on My Monthly Bills

Bills

We all have them.

I don't know about you, but I hate paying bills.  I can think of so many other things that I would like to spend money money on.  

Like camping. Or makeup.  I like shiny things, lol, but I have kids and responsibilities.  UGGG.  So, in order to be able to do fun things like camping with my family I had to find ways to save money on every day expenses.

Here are some great tips that I have found really help and that I use.

1. Realize you don't need to have every channel available out there.  I cancelled our cable about 6 years ago.  Instead we bought a game system and signed up for Netflix.  My cable went from over $100 a month down to $8 a month.  I know I had the initial cost of the game system which was $299, but I recieved a $50 gift card when I bought it, and by cancelling our cable it paid for itself within 2 months.
2. Call your internet company and ask if there is any specials that you are elligible for.  Many times they are authorized to give you special discounts in order to keep your business.
3. Cancel your home phone and stick with your cell phones.  I mean seriously.  Do you actually use your home phone?  Most people have cell phones in this country.  Why double up and have twice the bill?
4. Shop around for your home and auto insurance.  Check around, do the math, and get the best deal.  Plus, make sure you are getting your discounts.  Some companies give discounts for deadbolts, smoke detectors, security systems, multi policy, multi car, being close to a fire hydrent, etc.
5. TURN OFF YOUR LIGHTS AND TURN DOWN THE HEATER!!  If your not in the room do you really need the lights on? NO.  Use a timed thermostat so that you are not heating the whole house when your not home.  This will save you a lot of money and is a really easy way to save money on your electric bill.
6. Get rid of memberships you don't have to have.  If your not actually going to the gym do you really need a membership?  Or, can you babysit in the nursery in trade for a membership instead?  Think about the different things you belong to and decide if you actually use these memberships, or if it's something you can do without or trade for instead.

These are some of the strategies that I use to save money on my monthly bills. I hope this helps!!

Feel free to comment with any questions.

Amanda

How To Preserve a Large Amount of Potatoes

So, the other day I got an awesome deal on russet potatoes.  The grocery store was clearing out their older stock to make room for the new stock for the large supply they brought in for the big Easter sale.

They put 10# bags on sale for .69 cents!!  I know right!  That is unheard of!

Well, I ended up with 50# of potatoes.  I now what your thinking.  What are you going to do with all those potatoes?!  

Well, first of all I have a large family with 4 growing kids that eat a LOT.

And I do mean A LOT!  Sometimes that all I think they do is eat..  Secondly, I have people over fairly often.  But, even then we still could'nt go through 50#
 of potatoes without at least some of them going bad.

SO WHAT TO DO??

Well what I am going to do is take about 20# of them and turn them into frozen hash brown.  To do this all you have to is shread them and blanche them in salted boiling water for a few minutes.  Then rinse them in cold water to stop the cooking process.  It is important to do this because if you don't the potatoes will turn brown due to oxidation.  Then, squeeze them dry and lay them out on a sheet pan and freeze.  After they are frozen put them into freezer bags and put back into the freezer.

This will save a ton of money and be convenient.  I am going to use mine when we go camping this summer.

There are many other things you could make like your own fries or stew potatoes, etc.

Amanda