DIY bargain book stands

These Ikea Spice Racks are amazing to create your own little reading haven and at just $2.45 each (at time of purchase), they are a bargain as well. You can do this many ways, and they don’t just have to be for the kids! Place one above your bedside table. Or in the kitchen to hold your recipe book. Are your kids beds against a wall? Got bunk beds? Place one along the wall half way down for easy access to reading in bed.
The spice rack itself is very easy to assemble as it simply screws together with the Allen Key (all included). The racks only come in a plain wood finish so if you would like a splash of colour you will need to paint them first. For a more sophisticated look go for a plain white high gloss or even just match it to the wall colour. Could also have the kids decorate their own for a fun activity!
How are these are fixed to the wall? This can be a tricky job and if you are like me, I just marked out where I wanted them placed with a pencil, asked my husband to do it, then quickly found an elsewhere to be! (haha)
Unfortunately there is not only one way of fixing these to your wall of choice so this will require a little of your own research as the methods could vary depending on your wall type. Ikea DO NOT provide the screws needed to attach this to a wall (I suppose this is due to the possible variations), you will therefore need to find out what you need for your particular room – however here is a little more information before you commit.
* The official ikea assembly instructions are here: http://www.ikea.com/au/en/assembly_instructions/bekvam-spice-rack__AA-111092-7_pub.PDF
* The back view of the spice rack is shown below. Once you have the suitable two screws in place on the wall, you can see the rack clicks on and sort of locks in place with a push downwards:



Finished product

Christmas gift idea – Roasted Cinnamon Nuts

These roasted cinnamon nuts make the perfect Christmas gift, although they taste so good they are unlikely to last long enough!  You can substitute the almonds for any nuts you like.  This recipe makes for the perfect budget gift, particularly when almonds are in season.

Roasted Cinnamon Nuts
1  egg white
1 tsp vanilla extract
500g (3 cups) whole almonds or pecan halves
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a large bowl whisk the egg white and vanilla until frothy, or about 2 minutes.  Stir in the nuts.  ix the remaining ingredients together and then add the nuts, stir to coat.  Spread the nuts in a lamington pan sprayed with oil.  Bake at 120c for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stiring halfway through.  Bake for a little longer if the nuts are still sticky.  Cool in the pan and then transfer to a container, gift jar or cellophane gift bag.

Doh Magic - The easiest way to make your own play dough

I have to admit I was very excited when asked to try Doh Magic,  as my 2 year old daughter had not yet used play dough.  I often come across recipes on the internet for homemade play dough, but I never seem to have all of the required ingredients on hand.   Doh Magic makes it easy; you can keep the packets of mix in the cupboard ready to go, which makes a very convenient rainy day activity.

The instructions on the packet were very easy to follow, only requiring the addition of water and oil, and within minutes we had play dough!  It was actually really fun to watch the mix turn into dough, and the colour appeared as though by magic as soon as we added the liquid ingredients.

Once the dough cooled we got creative.  The Doh Magic mix makes a very generous amount of dough, and looks, feels and smells just like play dough.  The packet containing the mix has a zip lock seal, so you can use it to store the Doh Magic when not being used which I loved.

Doh Magic is a budget friendly activity at $7.50 each, and also makes a fantastic gift.  We also loved that it is Australian made and owned, a very important factor when making purchases at Bargain Mums HQ.

You can purchase Doh Magic here http://dohmagic.com.au/main/page_home.html#.UKr6QYbWGyE.  Make sure you also visit the Doh Magic Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/dohmagic to receive updates from the wonderful Doh Magic team.

Bargain Mums (www.bargainmums.com.au) were provided with a product sample for this review thanks to Doh Magic.

How to save money by using Reusable Cloth Nappies

How to save money by using Reusable Cloth Nappies and 5 Quick Tips for those who are new to Cloth Nappies

Our children, our babies, the apple of our eye, ones we would do anything for our children but boy do they cost us a lot of money! I try hard as possible to save money on my babies. I didn’t buy a baby bath, or a change table or even a bassinet. I rarely buy ‘good’ clothes as I know my children will just grow out of them or run around in the dirt. I rather buy toys that cost a little more that will last then the $2 ones that fall apart.

  

I love saving money and if you have babies in nappies using cloth nappies is one easy way to do it. It may seem daunting at first but there are many things that can help you to make it easy. I was always going to use cloth nappies and had a vision of buckets filled with smelly water and dirty nappies soaking but when I started to research modern cloth nappies in the early days I found that this is not the case anymore and they are really easy to use and it doesn’t cost the earth.

Lets quickly work out the math:

Young babies will require 8 to 12 nappy changes a day and toddlers will require approximately 6 to 8. Of course some babies will require more and some will require less.  It works out to be approximately 6,000 nappy changes in 2.5 years. That is a lot of nappy changes!

Single Use/Disposable Nappies and Wipes

Let us assume you use one wipe per nappy change even though there may be times you wont use any.  Then there are times such as the ‘pooplosion’ you will use many. I must admit in the beginning I used to wipe with every change even when it was only a wet nappy.  It is seriously not needed regardless if you use cloth or disposables. I am one that uses several wipes with the soiled nappies and even more so with ‘pooplosions’. I can never understand how my husband gets away with one or two wipes when it comes to soiled nappies but he does.  

Anyway let us get back on track….

On average it costs 50cents per single use nappies and 3 cents per wipe. This equates to $3,180 conservatively.

The Cloth Nappy System

Depending on your system you can cloth a bub full time between $750 and $1125. If you wash every 2^nd day 1 child will need approximately 20 day nappies and 5 night nappies. I recommend 30 reusable wipes too. An example of a basic day nappy can be found here. A sample of a night nappy can be found here.

You can save well over $2000 and the best thing is that some of these nappies can be used on subsequent children or family members thus saving even more money in future years to come.   

Little plastic bags to hold the used nappies have not been accounted for as well as the extra wipes that are used elsewhere besides the baby’s bottom. I also haven’t factored in the costs of water consumption.  My reasoning as to why I haven’t factored in water consumption is that everyone washes cloth nappies differently and thus it is not easy to determine an average amount used by each family. Also we are all charged differently depending on which State or Territory we live in.

However to give you an idea I wash every second day and I have 2 children in cloth. I wash in cold water and I run a quick eco rinse and then full cycle with the water level on low. My water consumption does go up but in my mind saving water is not in my opinion a cost saving exercise in terms of $$ it is an earth saving exercise. I prefer to compare the amount of water I use for 1 child in cloth nappies to that of the water used to produce 6000 disposable nappies and it is for another blog post as it is too complex to look at here. It has been found however that water consumption of an eco-minded person using cloth nappies is far better for the environment than the manufacturing of single use disposables.

Please visit this link for more information:

http://www.crdc.com.au/uploaded/file/E-Library/Climate%20Change%20July%2009/LCA%20Cotton%20v%20Disposable%20Nappies%20OBrienetal2009.pdf    

5 Quick Tips for those who are new to Cloth Nappies

1.       Use biodegradable liners! They make clean up easy and flush away the mess. I cannot live without them.

2.       Use a water hose connected to your toilet (or laundry sink) to rinse your nappies easily. Something else that I would not live without.

3.       Stick to a One Size Fits Most Brand as this will save you more money over the long run. Some nappy brands come in sizes such as, small, medium and large. You will need to buy more once they grow up and change in size. Nifty Naps signature piece is an OSFM (One Size fits Most) that fit from 5kgs to 17kgs approximately.

4.       If cost saving is a major factor for you, use an AI2 (All in 2 system). That way for nappies that are just wet you will save even more money as you do not need to change the whole nappy. Changing the booster is just fine in this case. You can buy boosters separately and instead of buying 20 day nappies you may even only need 15 with 10 extra boosters (depending on the bubba).

5.       Get your partner involved. It is fun to choose prints with them and it makes cloth nappying easier when they help ;)

If you have any queries at all please email me at contactus@niftynaps.com.au

Thank you,

Director of Nifty Naps

Susan

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References:

http://www.crdc.com.au/uploaded/file/E-library/Climate%20Change%20July%2009/LCA%20Cotton%20v%20Disposable%20Nappies%20OBrienetal2009.pdf    

Using credit cards to your advantage

Credit cards are often referred to as evil, unnecessary and a certain way to get into debt, but used to your advantage they can be a fantastic financial tool.  The most important thing to consider when applying for a credit card (and considering your credit limit) is, can you pay it off in full each month?  This is a MUST.

To make the most of your credit card, use it at every opportunity, and by that we don’t mean shopping sprees.  Use it for your everyday purchase, such as groceries, petrol, bills etc.  You will be surprised at how quickly your spending adds up, and if you are spending the money, you may as well be rewarded for it.  Once you have accumulated enough points from the rewards program, you can then convert your points into gift vouchers, you might be able to get a voucher to cover a week’s worth of shopping a few times a year.

The features to look out for when credit card hunting include:

They offer up to 55 days interest free – This is especially helpful if you are making a large purchase on your credit card (and you would of course already have the cash in the bank ready to pay it off).  It means you can keep your cash in the bank longer, earning interest that you wouldn’t have otherwise earned had you paid cash for your purchase.

They are often connected to rewards programs –meaning you can get rewarded just for making your everyday purchases.  Credit cards offering an attached rewards program often have higher interest rates than those without a reward program, however if you are paying of your credit card in full each month the interest rate won’t matter.  Even if your credit card only offers frequent flyer rewards, you can usually still turn these into gift cards for major retailers.

Choose a credit card with no annual fee, or a fee as low as you can possible find – Obviously it’s ideal if you find a credit card with no annual fee, but these can be hard to come by when you want additional features such as rewards programs.  A card with a low annual fee can work, just be sure that the annual fee is less than the benefits you will receive from the rewards program.

Our pick of the best credit cards featuring all the benefits of a rewards program, without an annual fee:

American Express Qantas Discovery Card – Offers an interest rate of 20.74%, 44 days interest free, $0 annual fee, and a rewards program.

Horizon Credit Union Visa – Offers an interest rate of 12.95%, 44 days interest free, $0 annual fee, and a rewards program.

Qantas Staff Credit Union Lifestyle Plus – Offers an interest rate of 16.5%, 46 days interest free, $0 fee, and a rewards program.

 

How to Freeze Onions

Sometimes you come across amazing bargains, like the 10kg bags of onions for $1.97 at our local fruit & veg shop, but have no idea how you would make good use of such a bargain?  Well the good news as I have discovered is that chopped onions can be frozen for 6 months, just like the ones you can buy from the freezer section of your supermarket.  Here is how:

Use a food processor to chop your onions, you probably wouldn't want to cut onions by hand in bulk amounts, I know I wouldn't!  Just peel, chop into quarters and process.  Then package 1/2 cup amounts of the chopped onions into freezer bags, and place these freezer bags inside a zip lock bag.

When you are ready to use your onions just take them out of the freezer half an hour before you need them and the are ready to go (you can also cook them without defrosting, you will just need to break them up a bit).  Saves time and money (not to mention all those tears)!  If you are wondering what to do with all the onion ends you end up with, freeze those too and use them in homemade stock.

Making your own vinegar

Who knew it was so simple to make your own vinegar!  You can make endless combinations of flavoured vinegar by using different fruit and vegetables in the recipe.  It's the sugar in the fruit and vegetables that ferments, so anything with sugars in it will turn the water into vinegar.  It also makes a fantastic gift, make a flavour combination the gift recipient would love and pop the vinegar into a pretty bottle.

First of all you will need a large glass jar or bottle.  This will need to be sterilized, which you can do by pouring boiling water straight out of the kettle into jar or bottle, and let it sit for 5 minutes, then empty you jar.

Next, place the peelings or flesh from fruit or vegetables (both work well) into your jar, and cover with distilled water.  Place any type of porous cloth on top of the jar, and secure in place with a rubber band.

Place the jar in a cool dark place, and be sure to stir it every day to ensure the vinegar ferments evenly.  Leave the vinegar to ferment depending on how string you like it, the longer you leave it (and the more sugar in the fruit/vegetables used), the stronger the vinegar will be.  Once it has reached your desired strength, strain into a glass bottle and store in a cool dry place.

                                                    Image: Herbal Gardens