Coupon, coupons and more coupons!

Yes, I am a coupon clipper. It drives me crazy to pay full price for anything! When I need something (other than food), I will first check my local freecycle group. My next step is to check Craigslist and finally I will look for a coupon. There are so many sources for online coupons, and even on Facebook there are groups like FreeSnatcher that alert you to free samples and other deals. Just this month, I received a free beach towel (from a trivia contest on Facebook), a shampoo sample, a laundry sample, a free bag of pretzel M&M's and I have more freebies on the way, including a full size Suave Shampoo.

But back to coupons! I am an organizational freak! And there are so many way to organize your coupons. I started with a small file box and index card tab dividers. I have to say, at first it worked fine, but now I'm finding it a bit of a hassle...it's just hard to see what I have, and it's hard to pull them all out in the middle of the grocery store with kids telling me to look at this and 'can I have that'. I have seen women using 3 ring binders with clear pages to organize and since I am a lover of 3 ring binders (I use them to organize everything that is paper) I think I like this method. I found this website... http://http://moneysavingmom.com/2010/05/31-days-to-a-better-grocery-budget-finding-a-coupon-organizational-system-which-works-for-you.html through a fellow homeschool mom and I love it!!! Great tips and other organizational info, including videos on how to use coupon organizers and choosing the method that works for you. Take a look and let me know which way works best for you.

I think I'm going on over to my freecycle group now to look for baseball cards pages to fit in my 3 ring binder...lol

Happy savings!

Compost Cookies

OK...so last time I posted about starting a compost container in your garden... Now I have a different kind of compost recipe for you to try...this one is compost to eat! Yes, I said eat! Don't turn me off yet...it's actually really good and fun to make, especially with children.

I saw this one morning on tv and just had to try it. How many times do you have a bit of this (nuts, crackers, potato chips) and that (candy, cereal) but not enough to actually use for anything? Now you can put all those extra little ingredients into a "Compost Cookie"...not wasting anything. I found the recipe on the MomoFuku Milk Bar website... MomoFuku is a little bakery in the East Village in New York City. I've never been there, but have heard about it...looks like a cool place.

I made a big batch of the basic cookie recipe, then divided the batter into 4 bowls...1 for myself and 1 for each of my 3 girls. That way we could each add what we wanted to make our own custom cookies.

The basic recipe is:

1 Cup Butter

1 Cup Sugar ( I use Splenda)

3/4 Cup Brown Sugar ( I use a Splenda blend)

1 Tbsp Corn Syrup

Mix above ingredients in mixing bowl until creamy. Then add vanilla and eggs.

1 tsp Vanilla ( I make my own)

2 large eggs

Continue to beat about 10 minutes on medium speed.

Then add the last 4 ingredients below and beat at low for 1 minute.

1 3/4 Cups Flour (of course I grind my own soft white wheat grain)

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

2 tsp Salt

Now you are ready for fun!!! Add 1 1/2 Cups of 'this' and 'that'. If you want to divided your batter to make different kinds of cookies, you will also need to divide the 1 1/2 Cups of extras accordingly. After you mix in your extra goodies, cover your bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. You can also roll into a log and have slice and bake cookies ready to bake anytime you want them. This will keep in the refridgerator for up to 1 week. When ready to bake, scoop into balls on cookie sheet and bake at 400 for 9-11 minutes.

In my cookie I added: Peanut Butter, coconut flakes, crushed pretzels, mixed nuts, dried cranberries, grated white chocolate and butterscotch chips. My girls used M&Ms, chopped candy bars, Goldfish crackers, and chocolate chips and cereal.

I've been told you can add just about anything...that's why it's called a compost cookie...you just dump in whatever you have on hand. And...they are very tasty! What will you put in your compost cookie?

Want to try another crazy good recipe from MomoFuku? How about "Crack Pie" ?!

Don't waste a thing...

It drives me crazy to waste things. I love to recycle and will find a way to recycle just about anything. There are charities that take almost anything...cell phones, clothes, printer cartridges...even cars. But what about the kitchen? I have learned to take left overs and create a new dish...left over broccoli & cheese soup turns into broccoli and chicken casserole. Roast and potatoes turns into a stew over cornbread. But what about all those beautiful fruit and vegetable scraps that you cut off and can't use? Sometimes I save those for making chicken stock...onion, celery and carrot scraps are great to throw in a pot with a chicken carcas for stock. I freeze the stock and use it for soups later.

You can also use the scraps for composting. When we lived on a farm in the early 90's, I had a garden and compost bin. Haven't had one in about 10 years and I really miss the feeling of growing our own food and soil. After hearing about all my friends planting gardens this year, I decided to go ahead and do it again...and when I do a garden, I do a compost bin as well. To me they go hand in hand. I will share with you both of these projects, but let's start with the compost bin.

I am sure I'm not alone when I say money is tight right now. I just don't have the money for a $100 compost bin. But there are ways to do this with very little to no money. You can make a wooden frame to hold a trash can that you lay on its side so it can rotate...that was too much work for me...so I decided to use an old rubbermade storage bin that I already had around the house. Just drill a few air holes in the lid and around the top of the bin itself...then your ready to add compost ingredients...it's that easy!

Coffee grinds (including the filter), tea bags, fruit and vegetable scraps, saw dust, grass clippings, leaves, dirt, junk mail, etc. Just about anything that is biodegradable can go into your compost bin. You can buy a mini compost can to keep on your kitchen counter for holding your scraps until your ready to add to your larger bin outside, but those are around $50. I just keep a mixing bowl on my kitchen counter by the sink so it's handy when I'm chopping and cooking. I just throw the scraps in the bowl and at the end of the day...or the next day...I take it and dump into the compost bin outside.

When starting your compost bin, it's always good to start with a layer of shredded newspaper or junk mail...I know...finally a good use for that unwanted mail that comes every day.

SSo... a layer of shredded paper, then dump in your kitchen scraps. Now, I know you're thinking...'dump'? Not an attractive word...but since we are talking about compost we'll use this word. However, when we're talking about cooking, I'll use a more lady like word. I did throw some leftover potting soil on top of the newspaper and kitchen scraps. Then comes the magic of composting...the worms! You don't have to use worms, but it does speed up the process. We found a really quaint, little, ole hardward store not far from us that was like stepping back in time...and they sell composting worms...you want 'red worms'. They also sell ladybugs and praying mantis eggs, but we'll save that for another post.

My sweet baby girl (7 years old) loves to dig in the dirt, catch lizards and carry around 'holy polies' (her name for rolly pollies) helped with the worms, but she really didn't care for them as much as some of her other little critter friends. She did let me take this picture before dumping them in the bin.

So...shredded paper, kitchen scraps, a little potting soil and worms...now pour some water over the top to moisten everything and put the lid on tightly...that's it! The only thing to do now is mix it up every few days, keep it moist and keep adding ingredients. In a few weeks or months we'll have great fertilizer to add to the soil in the garden. Not sure how long it will take to compost, but I'll post progress as well go. Let me just add this disclaimer: I am not an expert on composting or gardening! Just a mom that loves to do things inexpensively and be wise with resources. Feel free to add comments teaching me more on any subject that I post here.

Homemade Laundry Detergent...

OK, so for a long time I've heard about making homemade laundry detergent. I never tried it because I thought it would be a difficult process. Well, let me tell you...it's not! It's super easy!!!

With the economy the way it is right now, I've been trying to stretch our dollars to the max. I was so excited to find this recipe and I can't believe how much money it will save us. Check this out...

$1.49 Fels-Naptha Bar Soap

3.79 Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

$3.49 Borax Powder

$3.47 5 Gallon Bucket

Total for all supplies...$12.24

My normal store brand detergent cost that much and I buy it about every 6-8 weeks.

I figure this homemade version will save us approx. $100-$150 a year! Isn't that amazing?! And...I still have supplies left over for several more batches of detergent. It very well could only cost me less than $15 for several years worth of laundry soap. If I could only find a way to make homemade toilet paper and paper towels!!! That stuff is outrageously expensive!

Here is the link to the Duggar Family's Website...this is where I found the recipe...

http://www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html

We've also tried their tatortot casserole recipe...YUMMY!

What dollar stretching things do you do? Let's share ideas and help each other out.

Let Me Introduce Myself...

Anyone that knows me, knows I LOVE shoes!!! Not just plain ole shoes..but cute, pretty, trendy, stylish shoes. But based on that alone one would not think that same person also loves clipping coupons, saving money, baking, cooking, quilting and other 'homely' things. After all, the stay at home mom uniform is a denim jumper and white socks with sneakers, right? That is just NOT me...thus the name 'High Heels and Mixing Bowls'.

I was actually in the kitchen the other day, baking. I happen to have on high heels and noticed for the first time that things on that top shelf were a little easier to reach. It made me think, "I stay home all the time homeschooling kids and doing household chores, but that doesn't mean I have to wear sweats and t-shirts all the time... I can get 'dressed' in nice clothes and wear my nice shoes...even around the house". It just makes me feel better to be 'dressed'...even when I'm in the kitchen.

So grab your best pumps or wedges girls and lets get to work. I'll be sharing many fun and interesting things with you along the way, and hope it will be a blessing to you.