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Do You Get Food Stamps But Lack Money to Have Other Necessities?

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Frugal FYI from my mother

Do You Get Food Stamps But Lack Money to Have Other Necessities?


 


Aching Joints Heat Ointment: Mix cayenne pepper with olive oil. Wash hands immediately or place your hands inside a thin plastic bag first.

Acne: Mix one part apple cider vinegar with one part water. First wash your face.

All Purpose Cleaner:  This also disinfects. Use vinegar and baking soda but do not mix them in a container. First, sprinkle the baking soda onto the surface you are cleaning. Next, either spray vinegar from a spray bottle onto the area or soak your cloth with vinegar. Scrub the area with the cloth. The baking soda will scrub and the vinegar will disinfect. Vinegar will cause the baking soda to bubble to help release stains. 

Arthritis: Mix 2 cups of oatmeal with 1 cup of water in a bowl, warm in the microwave for 1 minute, cool slightly,  apply mix to your hands. Sleep in sweats/a sleeping bag in the winter or sew up sides of a quilt.

Baggies: Save the bags from cereal, bread wrappers, etc. and reuse.

Blinds, Cleaning: Run white bread over each slat.

Body Powder:  Baking Soda for odor and Cornstarch for wetness & rash

Body Wash: Put baking soda in the warm water of tub or sink.

Christmas: Give gifts of cookies, casseroles, etc. or your time or service to help someone. Attend church services, make phone calls instead of sending cards. A simple tree can be a series of boxes stacked up with each one smaller, turn each to have a pointed corner to set an holiday ornament on and cover with a green cloth, blanket or sheet. Make up your mind to be grateful for what you do have; more than many.


Colds: At first sign, eat raw garlic with bread & orange juice. Stuffy nose: smell horseradish. Sore throat: drink hot tea with honey and lemon juice or vinegar/ Swallow a teaspoon of honey. Gargle with warm salted water

Church or other places of worship: Relieve your stress, learn ancient history, sing, join groups to socialize for adults and children.

Dandruff: Rinse with apple cider vinegar, lemon or strong tea. Massage scalp to loosen flakes.


Decongestant: Cut an onion into chunks and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar, cover, and refrigerate for a couple of hours. The syrup that is created makes a sweet and natural decongestant. Take the syrup by tablespoon and leave the onions behind.

Deodorant: Mix 4 teaspoons of baking soda with 1 teaspoon of alum, which is a spice or just use baking soda or wipe with vinegar. Wash with soap and water first.

Diapers: Use old hand towels. Boil in lemon water after washing to remove bacteria.


Diaper Cream: White shortening in place of cream and cornstarch for baby powder.


Dish Soap: This is non-sudsing, but will remove bacteria. One quarter cup of baking soda in hot water. Sprinkle extra baking soda on dishrag to wipe if needed. Then, rinse with some white vinegar in clear hot water. Boil dishes with vinegar or lemon juice if someone is sick to make sure to kill all the bad bacteria.

Easter Eggs: Set out your egg dying glass cups or jars, fill each one with  a cup of boiling water and a teaspoon of white vinegar. Then, start creating your “dye.† To one cup add a few chunks of the purple cabbage for a blue dye, into another cup stir in a couple teaspoons of ground turmeric for yellow, into the next cup pour in the juice from the jar of beets for pink, and into the last cup add enough grape juice to turn the water deep purple. You'll get the prettiest pastel Easter eggs.


Fabric Dye: Boiled Tea and/or Coffee make shades of nude, tan or brown. Be sure to remove tea bags/coffee grinds or they will make stain spots. Kool-Aid works well as a dye because it has natural dyes.  For each pound of clothing, use one packet of Kool-Aid mix. Use grape(purple) if you want gray.  Mix the Kool-Aid with 1/2 cup of hot water to each packet.  Fill bucket or washer with hot water. Pour in the Kool-Aid mixture and stir the clothes (end of broom works). Leave soaking for 15 minutes, then check the color shade. If you desire a darker shade, add another packet of Kool-Aid to another 1/2 cup of hot water in a separate container. Dump the mixture in with the clothing and stir the clothing up again. Wait 15 more minutes. Repeat this process until the shade you see is two shades darker than the shade you want, rinse the clothing with cold water . If possible, use a hot dryer to dry the clothing and set the color. If not, drip dry the clothing, but be cautious to protect the area underneath from getting stained.  Make sure you clean out the washing machine afterwards. Wipe it clean and/or run a dark load after dying.

Feet, Smelly: Rub with a cut lemon or soak feet in strong tea or vinegar after washing. Air out feet often

Food Cost: One recent USDA study found that you can get three fruit servings plus four vegetable servings a day for a total of 80 cents -- much less than the cost of a candy bar or a fast-food snack. Other healthy, low-cost choices include oatmeal instead of expensive boxed cereals; beans instead of red meat; and frozen orange juice concentrate instead of fruit punch, soda, or bottled OJ.

Gifts: Give baked goods or make a nice casserole for a birthday, baby food jars for a baby shower, spices and baking goods for wedding or bridal shower, etc. Flowers and plants from your yard are always nice. Save nice jars or cans, wash off labels and fill with homemade cookie or coffee mixtures they can make themselves (look on the Internet for ingredients). Wrap in pretty fabric cut from clothing, Tie with thin strips of fabric (very rustic) or save brown paper bags, maps or comic papers and wrap. Look at cards you have received or on the Internet and use similar sayings on your homemade ones. Give a gift of yourself: cleaning, weeding, baby sitting, etc.

Glue/Paste:  Put 1/2 cup of flour in a saucepan. Then, mix in cold water until you have a creamy substance (not too runny, thick like whipped cream). Put on medium heat and simmer for 5 minutes. This paste takes a long time to dry, but works very well.

Hair Cleaning: To clean your hair and scalp, put 1 to 2 tablespoons of baking soda in a jar or bottle. Add warm water and shake to dissolve.

Hair Rinse: 2 to 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in a water bottle. Add water. Also helps with tangles.


Hair Conditioner: Apply Coconut Oil  after you use shampoo. Leave it on for a few minutes and then rinse. It won't rinse out completely, but you want some to remain to soften your hair. This works for all hair types and textures including African-Americans.

Hair Oil: Just a dab of Coconut oil is ideal but olive oil is okay.

Hair Gel: Boil 2 cups of water. Add corn syrup until the mixture is thick, but still runny. Remove from heat. When cooled, this makes a hair gel.

Hair Spray: Put hot water into a spray bottle. Fill it three-fourths of the way. Then, add corn syrup to the other fourth left. Shake well. Spray on. Keep this in a warm area. Shake before each spray. It will keep for almost a week.


Halloween: Use old clothes, sheets, etc. Make make-up with white shortening, flour and food colorings. 

Hand and Face Softener:  Rub with olive oil or coconut oil. Pat dry.

Head Lice: See below.

Library: Free use of books, audio books, magazines, movies, music, computers, children’s programs.  Some have free group meetings.

Laundry Soap and Fabric Softener: Most of our clothing is not “dirty†but you need to freshen and clean from body wear and air pollution. Vinegar not only has disinfecting properties, but when used in the laundry, in combination with baking soda, your clothes will be softened. Just use one cup of white vinegar and one cup or more of baking soda in your laundry. Dry in the full sunlight to “bleach†whites.

Laundry Soap: White vinegar and baking soda.  Add 1 cup of vinegar to the load as you would add the regular laundry soap. Then, pour in 1/2 cup of baking soda or more. Let the wash run as normal. If you are hand washing your clothing, fill the bathtub up to about 3 inches deep and pour in the same mixture. You may need extra baking soda for clothes that are heavily soiled. If you are lucky enough to have a small box of Tide, put a couple of tablespoons and soak socks, diapers, etc in a pail of water for at least 20 minutes first, pour all into washer or just pour a bit right onto the stain and scrub. Then, rinse as usual. The baking soda leaves the clothing soft as well as clean. The vinegar cleanses and kills germs and odors. Hang outside if possible. Fresh air is the best clothes freshener.

Mopping Floors: Sprinkle baking soda and vinegar onto the area a little at a time so that you won't have to try to walk over or around it during mopping.  Place the mop directly on top of the baking soda & vinegar. If the floor is not too dirty, just mop with white vinegar and hot water.

Mouth Wash: Rinse mouth with baking soda in water or unsweetened Cranberry Juice has the potential of killing the bacteria so it can be used as a mouthwash. Rinse with clear water last.

Oven Cleaner: Make a paste with baking soda and rub all over oven walls and door. Close oven and turn on 200 degrees for 10 minutes. Then turn off and let cool. Place a very hot pan of water to help loosen grime. If you have an net onion bag, wipe around a rag and wipe clean.

Paper Napkins: Use squares of fabric or washcloths & wash. Can boil

Paper Towels: Use old towels & rewash or rags/newspapers & toss


Plastic Garbage Bags: Reuse plastic bags from grocery store or ask for brown bags and use them. Place cereal box or egg carton on bottom for drips.

Rubber Gloves: Place your hands in the tear off produce plastic bag or a bread wrapper.  You can handle raw meat, clean toilets, etc and then discard. You can twist around wrist to keep it on.

Rust in your Toilet or Sink: Sprinkle and rub with Kool-Aid or Tang

Sanitary Napkins: Fold an old wash cloth in fourths or flannel squares of fabric and wear snug fitting panties. Use safety pins if necessary. You can cut and sew a piece of a baby flannel rubber pad, raincoat or umbrella fabric to bottom layer of cloth. Tampons: A tightly rolled white cotton infant sock. Boiling after washing will avoid a possible infection.

Soap, Moisturizing: This hand soap is exfoliating as well as moisturizing.

It can also be used as a facial cleanser and body wash. For this, you'll need 2 teaspoons of oats, 2 teaspoons of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.  Grind up the oats with a blender. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Keep mixing until it has formed into a paste, massage it onto the wet skin, then, rinse gently.  Refrigerate any leftover portions. It can last up to 1 week in the refrigerator. Don't leave this out for long or it will separate and spoil.

Soap Scum Cleaner:  Use all purpose cleaner. You can also use hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol if it's really bad.

Stains on cloth: To remove stains from white clothing, mix one part dishwashing soap and one part white distilled vinegar in a small container. Dab on the stain and let it sit overnight. The stain usually fades completely by morning, but if it doesn't, rub more of the mixture on the spot and let it soak again before washing in cold water. It is a safe and effective alternative to chlorine bleach, and it works on many fabrics. You can boil napkins or diapers in lemon or white vinegar water.

Sun Burn: Apple cider vinegar

Tissues: Use handkerchiefs or squares of fabric. Wash & boil if necessary

Toilet Bowl Cleaner:  Baking Soda and white vinegar. A good habit is to sprinkle the baking soda and vinegar around the water line often.

Toilet Paper: Use a small spray bottle or take a plastic bottle, a 16 oz size is perfect. Put the cap on and drill a small hole just below the cap. Fill the bottle with water with or without vinegar to just below the hole.  Put in about a tablespoon of white vinegar. Use the bottle upside down and create a bidet by squeezing the bottle aiming where appropriate. Use an old wash cloth or rag to pat dry. If many rags for family are necessary, place in pail and wash same as you would diapers.

Toothpaste: Place a small amount of baking soda onto your toothbrush. Then, wet it slightly. Brush your teeth as normal. Baking Soda (Sodium bicarbonate), a mild abrasive powder can kill all the motile microorganisms in the mouth that are responsible for periodontal infections and other disease related bacteria. It will reduce the formation of plaque. It also act as a whitener. Common salt is not as powerful as sodium bicarbonate, but it is an antiseptic. You can follow up with the mouthwash described above.

Traveling: The night before, fill drinking bottles with an inch or two with water and freeze. Fill with water or a drink just before leaving.  Folded newspaper lining a box will keep them cold longer.  A peanut butter and jelly sandwich should not spoil as quick as meat. If hot out, wet a washcloth & leave overnight in freezer to wipe sweat and cool off.

Tub Cleaning:  When you are finished bathing, put some baking soda on the wash cloth and rub around tub at water line, drain tub, then rinse

Vegetable & Fruit Wash:  Rinse off with vinegar in clean water

Window Cleaner: 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 quarts warm water. Add cornstarch to water and mix well. Scrub mixture on window using a soft cloth. Use a clean dry cloth to dry and shine the glass. Your windows will sparkle for days. Or use white vinegar and scrub with newspaper.

Natural Cleaners can be highly effective in the kitchen, even when it comes to nasty food-borne illnesses like E. coli. The first steps to keeping a safe kitchen are simple ones: Wash your hands with warm, soapy water (which is just as effective against bacteria as triclosan, the chemical behind antibacterial hand soaps, and far safer) before and after handling meat and eggs. Keep separate cutting boards for vegetables, eggs and meat to avoid cross-contamination, and replace cutting boards when they become scratched so that bacterium can't hide in the grooves. Be sure to soak leafy greens and wash them good.


 


Head Lice:  These methods may suffocate some of adult lice and nits (eggs) on the person's head, but you must also comb with a louse comb. You can use olive oil to make it easy to comb out the lice and eggs. Saturate the hair and scalp with the oil, leave it on for 20 to 30 minutes, and thoroughly comb the hair from the scalp outwards with a metal lice comb to remove dead adults and all lice eggs stuck on hair. The oil prevents the hair from tangling and also makes it very easy to comb through the hair. If you have never done this, it is tedious - you need to do a small section of hair at time. Or shampoo with dog flea and tick shampoo if you have it on hand. Follow with lice comb from drug store. Clean up the infested person's clothing and bedding by washing clothing and bedding in a washing machine at a water temperature of 120 to 130 F, 20 minutes of actual agitation time. It needs that long a time of exposure to the hot water to kill adults and eggs. The actual bedding (mattress and pillow etc.) should be vacuumed thoroughly daily, as should other areas the person frequents. Vacuuming is incredibly effective! When cleaning up clothing, don't forget to clean brushes, combs, hats, hair clips and hair ties - minimum of 20 minutes in hot soapy water. Use an oil based shampoo (such as one that contains coconut oil) for daily hair washing and for washing combs. Until the house and person are lice free, make sure dirty laundry is stored in sealed plastic bags (or washed as above immediately) until washed to prevent re-infestations. Items that the person is around which are fabric (like stuffed animals) which can't be washed should be sealed in plastic bags for a minimum of two weeks. Alternatively, they can be placed in sealed plastic bag and frozen for 48 hours. Furniture, carpeting and floors should be thoroughly vacuumed daily. Toss the bag after each vacuuming!
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Do You
    Get Food Stamps But Lack Money to Have Other Necessities? Frugal FYI from my mother

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