Frugal Franny Friday

I'm thinking of making this a weekly feature...is that something you are interested in, my dear readers? (This would be a great time to de-lurk & let me know who you are, you lurkers you. In other words, comments comments comments, I love me some comments :))
I would post a frugal recipe or tip & maybe a question every now & then...might put mr linky to work (if I can figure him out) if y'all like the idea.

So today's Frugal Franny recipe is my first frugal recipe find. Laundry soap is soooo expensive & not so great for the environment. I searched online to see if there was a cheaper alternative & found several. Most of them made liquid detergent, but I've always used powder so I went that route. Plus to make the liquid stuff you need a five gallon bucket to store it & I just don't want that much detergent sitting around (Eli is just waaaay to good at opening things he shouldn't, if you know what I mean.)
So I tweaked the original recipe to suit my tastes & it's what I've used for about the last year.

1 bar '>Fels Naphta soap
1/2 heaping Cup Borax
1/2 heaping cup Super Washing Soda
Grate the Fels Naphta, discarding the last bit of the bar (which, if you do grate it, might make you loose a fingertip or 2. Not that I know anything about how that could happen...nope, not me!)
If it grates into little curls, smoosh them up so they will dissolve better. (a food processor would be very handy here, unfortunately I don't own one so I have to do it the manual way.)
Add Borax & Washing Soda & stir.
Use 1 tbsp per load, for heavily soiled clothes use 1- 1/2 to 2 tbsp.

You could use other kinds of soap if you have sensitive skin or anything, just your usual bar soap works just dandy. However, my hubby is convinced those would gunk up the pipes over time so we don't go that route. I could find nothing on the Internet about anybody having this problem though.
I wash most of my clothes in cold water to save energy & this mixture works fine for me. I do run just a little hot water to dissolve the soap before I switch to cold & add the clothes.
If you are interested in the liquid recipe just Google homemade laundry detergent & you should find it pretty quick.

Just stay away from that dryer lint frugal franny!

I have a confession to make...
I'm a penny pincher.
I rip my dryer sheets in half & wash & sometimes reuse plastic bags.
It's a sickness really - shhh, don't tell anyone!
But some of my frugal-franny ways are useful & we can all use an extra buck so I'ma let you in on a secret every now & then.

I love coffee.
Specifically I love expensive coffee - Starbucks coffee frappacino with vanilla, and make that a venti if you please. Ohhh, heaven in a cup!

Not good when you are a family of 5 living on one blue collar income.

My sister turned me onto this frappe freeze stuff she found at Costco, which I loved & drank heartily until I realized I was spending way too much on the stuff & decided I could make it cheaper.

Thus was born my frugal frappe - fancy coffee for gals on a budget.

Into a blender place desired amount of hot chocolate mix.
Add desired amount of instant coffee.
Add desired amount of water.
Add a few ice cubes & blend - adding cubes until drink is desired consistency.

Yum-o & the fact that I'm saving money makes it taste even better!

I like a big coffee so I make a lot - my version makes enough for a venti and then some. I almost cover the blades in my blender with HC, put in 1 small spoon of coffee (I'm sensitive to caffeine so you might want more), add water to the 2 cup mark & blend with ice until very thick. I prefer store brand HC but use Swiss Miss instead, it's what Costco carries & cheaper per ounce. It would taste even better if powdered creamer was added...but of course it would add to the cost.