Hair Detangler for Cents

I don't know about you, but I really struggle to pay full price for kids and babies "necessities". So often items are sold to us as essential, when in reality they are merely an advertising gimmick sent to us by companies whose entire purpose is to make money from parents who are desperate to do the best for their kids.

In walks hair detangler!

My daughter loves her hair. It is long. It is straight. It is proof that she is a princess.

However, when she gets up in the morning, my little princess looks more like a little bramble bush. Her hair is incredibly knotty and difficult to brush.

And so begins the daily battle of readying ourselves for school. She fights. She yells. But every morning the result is the same. Long, straight hair that looks as if no one ounce of effort has gone into creating that princess effect.

One day, in desperation, I went to the supermarket looking for anything that would help tame the tangles that we faced every morning. I went from shop to shop, and eventually found something called "hair detangler". Perfect! At not so perfect a price. It lasts 2 months. Every 2 months I am expected to fork out $6.99 for something that can be made at home for less than a dollar.

Here is my money-saving solution. Its really quite simple. All it needs is two ingredients and very little time.

Simple Hair Detangler

You will need:
A good quality conditioner - we use Tresemme bulk conditioner
Warm water
Strong arms

Method:

1. Squirt 3/4 inch of conditioner into the bottom of a spray bottle. I used the original hair detangler bottle once we had emptied it.
2. Fill the rest of the bottle with warm water, leaving an inch of air.
3. Close the lid and shake until the conditioner has melted into the warm water.
4. Fill with warm water to the top and seal.
5. Your hair detangler is ready to use!

Enjoy having smooth, shiny hair that brushes easily!

Livin' on a Prayer

There are times when I'm reminded forcefully that whenever we are in need, all we have to do is ask, and God will provide. Well, we've certainly been provided for this week! I decided that we need to refine our grocery budget a little as we seem to have items in our pantry, fridge, and freezer that we do not necessarily need or use.

Enter "The $21 Challenge"!!

 

"Pretend you have no income for one week. Now imagine you have $21 in the bank left for groceries. How are you going to survive? Its like the reality show 'Survivor', but instead of going away to some remote location you are stranded in your kitchen with only your pantry, freezer and fridge to help you. You have been given lifelines, like recipe books. Will you win the Challenge?" (simplesavings.co.nz)

 

First off, I sat down and wrote a list of the things we usually need to buy. Things such as bread, milk, margarine and laundry powder made it to the list. Then I went exploring.

 

 

I dove through our pantry, freezer, downstairs storage pantry, and fridge, mentally listing the items in the above places. Then I started hunting. What recipes did I have that used those items?

 

 

What I came up with was healthy, frugal and fun for the whole family. Here is our weekly menu for this week:

 

Breakfast

Slowcooker porridge with stewed apples, cinnamon, dried currants and almond meal.

1c soy milk (for Cupcake)

 

Snacks

Rice crackers, carrots, apples, celery, homemade white bean dip, homemade choc chip biscuits, dried fruit (bananas, apples, apricots, sultanas), popcorn.

 

Lunches

Soy yoghurt (Cupcake), homemade plain yoghurt, sandwiches with leftover jam/marmite on them, homemade tomato soup with homemade bread.

 

Dinners:

Minestrone soup with homemade rolls

Honey sesame chicken with rice and vegetables

Devilled sausages, potatoes and vegetables

Chicken schnitzels with vegetables

Beef enchiladas

Pumpkin soup

 

(Both soups will do 2 meals each)

 

Baby food

Broccoli and potato puree

Baby rice

Peach, apple and strawberry puree

Mango and banana puree

 

I then sent hubby out to do the shopping (cringe!) but surprisingly, he only got what was on the list! No chocolates, icecream or things that were on 'sale'. Here is what we spent:

 

Sour cream tub $1.29
Margarine $1.99
2ltr budget milk $2.97
White bread x4 $5.50
Frozen corn $3.89
Sugar $2.49

Total = $15.90

 

Mission Accomplished!