Streams of Consciousness & Thoughts~~~

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MissCris

Guest
Mrs Cris: Look into cleaning with diluted vinegar. My niece is "medically complicated" and they have to avoid all the modern "anti-bacterial" cleaners as part of an effort to avoid MRSA. *Nearly* all the household cleaning is done with a diluted vinegar solution that is just as effective as somethings and better than others. It's Ridiculously cheap, too. The house sometimes smells a little pickle-y, but it's not any worse than the clorox/pinesol/windex smells.

As a last resort, eat the cat.
We've got three cats, but here's hoping we don't have to eat any of them until at least mid-winter...

I've been thinking about making my own cleaning products, but probably not with vinegar, because my mom used to do that and it made my stomach turn to catch a whiff of it. Though, I usually just use bleach, magic erasers, or dish soap to clean most of the time, but even those few things on my grocery budget are too much. I'll have to look into homemade cleaners, thanks for the idea :)


As a fellow feline I cannot endorse the ingestion of any feline matter.

I can endorse bent-and-dent stores, aka salvage groceries. If they have any in your area I'd recommend it. You have to look at each can you buy and I wouldn't buy anything TOO bent up, but it's way cheaper. And you can find some neat stuff you'll never find in your local grocery store. I actually shop at them more to find neat stuff than to save money.

I remember stories of my grandparents going through the depression, eating peanut butter sandwiches for three meals a day. Gotta do what ya gotta do... I shudder to think how my generation would make it if they had as little as our ancestors had. But we may find out, if the economic doom-sayers ever turn out to be right.
We used to have a store like that around here, but it closed down years ago. Which is really frustrating, because I remember my mom buying a ton of stuff there (actually, she worked there for a while so she got stuff extra-extra cheap), and I know it loosened up her budget quite a bit because I didn't have to wear my sister's hand-me-downs during that time. I think I'll check in other towns near here and see if I can find a place like that, it would be really useful.

And speaking of cleaning - most cleaners are variations on a theme. You don't have to buy seventeen different bottles to clean the house, you don't have to buy official laundry detergent (hint: Borax is a wonderful thing, and the internet can give a lot of help in how to use it) and if you use your head you don't have to get specialty shampoos, body washes, face creams and etc. Know what I use to shampoo my oily hair? Dawn dishwashing liquid. It works, it doesn't take nearly as much as I would have to use of shampoo and one small bottle lasts three months. It's strong stuff...
I use Dawn dish soap for a heck of a lot of things...but I just don't think I could wash my hair with it :p

I actually do surprisingly well at not buying frivolous or excessive or expensive toiletries...you know, for a girl. I don't really care what kind of shampoo or body wash I use, so long as it smells pretty and doesn't make me break out in hives (or cost more than a couple bucks).

Oooh, Borax...my step-dad used to put that in his work boots and let it sit over night...every night...it never occurred to me to use it to wash clothes hahaha.

Thanks for the tips and whatnot, I'm going to look into some of this stuff :)
 

blue_ladybug

Senior Member
Feb 21, 2014
70,920
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MissCris, lemon juice is good to clean with also. Do you have any $1 Dollar stores near you? I get almost everything I need there for alot less than I would spend at the grocery store. Some dollar stores also have a frozen food section.. Try looking on youtube for home DIY videos..they have some good ones. :)
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
27,411
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Aye, our "Dollar Tree" (the name of our everything's-a-dollar-store) has a frozen foods section. Most of the stuff is fast-food quality but there are some good things in the freezer there.

Here's a quick google on making your own laundry detergent.
https://www.google.com/search?q=make+your+own+laundry+detergent&gws_rd=ssl
Also homemade laundry detergent doesn't have sulfites, perfumes and chemicals you probably don't want to know about. It's just a cleaner, without all that other junk.

How does a guy know about this stuff? Beats me. I just do. Picked it up somewhere - my brain is a pack-rat - but I can't remember where.
 
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arwen-undomiel

Guest
Woohoo. Received a package in the mail today :) my T-shirt from the UK is here. *opens it* hmm... I hope there's no Ebola on it.. Lol
 

tourist

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2014
42,597
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Tennessee
Woohoo. Received a package in the mail today :) my T-shirt from the UK is here. *opens it* hmm... I hope there's no Ebola on it.. Lol
You might want to wash it first to be sure. I believe that it would be prudent to use an extra rinse cycle too.
 
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arwen-undomiel

Guest
You might want to wash it first to be sure. I believe that it would be prudent to use an extra rinse cycle too.
Haha well I was thinking of the package itself. Coming into contact with everything. PS. I have no idea how Ebola is spread XD
 
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Charcoal

Guest
Haha well I was thinking of the package itself. Coming into contact with everything. PS. I have no idea how Ebola is spread XD
It is spread only on currency. Any country, any denomination. Send it to me and I can cleanse it through a system I call commerce. I will convert it into a format that helps underprivileged adults that are lacking in euro sports cars.
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
27,411
9,399
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Cleanse it?

...

...

Charcoal's into money laundering! Charcoal's into money laundering!

*Lynx runs off to tell the FBI.
 

Roh_Chris

Senior Member
Jun 15, 2014
4,728
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*Trips Lynx while he runs*

*puts him into a sack*

Job done.

Charcoal where do you want me to dump him off?

:p

(Sorry Lynx, I take pleasure from mauling you.)
 
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arwen-undomiel

Guest
Oh. My. Goodness! Night Sky app on smartphones is so breathtaking!!! It shows all the constellations, planets, stars, sun, moon, everything in real time location in the sky. There are so many satellites roaming around the earth. It shows where the sun is directly under the earth at this time. So cooooool. And chill music too. Free. Get it.
 

AsifinPassing

Senior Member
Jul 13, 2010
3,608
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Sorry for the double post, but I've thought of a few things I want to say.

i really miss having someone to talk to. I miss having deep, personal, and unrestricted communication and fellowship with someone in the ungodly hours of the night/morning. I miss being loved and giving love in an intimate way that only romantic relationships offer. I miss the feelings all of this would bring. I miss a lot of things, and it hurts and it's sad and it's frustrating and for once instead of just swimming in all of this and talking to myself and God about it, I want to express it to others.

Maybe it's a cry for help, for someone out there who may become another such person in my life, or perhaps I just want to get this off my chest to help me through the present moment. Either way, here it is, and thank you for the moment of your time it took to read this.

If you're out there, and you know what I'm talking about, God bless you. I love you, and you're not alone. I can relate to your suffering and to what once was joy. Maybe, just maybe, knowing that can help a little bit... That's all I wanted to say right now.
 
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Aug 2, 2009
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MissCris...

Don't know if anyone's suggested this yet, but try living on that budget for a few months before committing to buying a house. It will not only give you a sense of if its actually doable but will also show you any unforseen problems.
 
Aug 2, 2009
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Sorry for the double post, but I've thought of a few things I want to say.

i really miss having someone to talk to. I miss having deep, personal, and unrestricted communication and fellowship with someone in the ungodly hours of the night/morning. I miss being loved and giving love in an intimate way that only romantic relationships offer. I miss the feelings all of this would bring. I miss a lot of things, and it hurts and it's sad and it's frustrating and for once instead of just swimming in all of this and talking to myself and God about it, I want to express it to others.

Maybe it's a cry for help, for someone out there who may become another such person in my life, or perhaps I just want to get this off my chest to help me through the present moment. Either way, here it is, and thank you for the moment of your time it took to read this.

If you're out there, and you know what I'm talking about, God bless you. I love you, and you're not alone. I can relate to your suffering and to what once was joy. Maybe, just maybe, knowing that can help a little bit... That's all I wanted to say right now.
I know how that feels. :(

One thing that helps me is to remind myself that it's not really all roses and rainbows when you have a relationship either. One can see what I mean by simply visiting the Family Forum. :/
 
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Fenner

Senior Member
Jan 26, 2013
7,507
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It's cold and rainy today. Whatba good day to sit and procrastinate cleaning the house.
 
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Shouryu

Guest
Oh. My. Goodness! Night Sky app on smartphones is so breathtaking!!! It shows all the constellations, planets, stars, sun, moon, everything in real time location in the sky. There are so many satellites roaming around the earth. It shows where the sun is directly under the earth at this time. So cooooool. And chill music too. Free. Get it.
The funnest thing about that app for me is pointing it straight down at the ground, so you can see what someone on the same point on the opposite hemispheres sees when they look up at the night sky. I also like pointing it at the daylight sky to see which constellations are hidden by the sun. ^_^
 

Roh_Chris

Senior Member
Jun 15, 2014
4,728
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Not again! Not again! I forgot my mom's b'day which was today. For the fourth year in a row. Not again!

I feel so stupid right now. I'm just so bad with dates...