The 12 Most Popular Posts from The Creative Cheapskate

 The Creative Cheapskate turns one today

Last week I turned 70. Today my blog turned one!  Yesterday I posted on 10 simple ways to improve your life with very little effort.  Number 9 relates to this blog---except the "with very little effort" part!

I have learned a lot over this past year. I hope that my learning to blog has helped you with the "ings" of
your life ---- child-rearing (hints and helps), homemaking (all areas), cooking (simple, cheap and do-it-yourself), making (toys and gifts), preparing (for the unexpected), maintaining (sanity and peace in this increasingly crazy world) ---- all aspects of making the most of making do on little, and having fun in the process!

I am still learning, and this week I  learned that my blog statistics lists the number of visits to each of my posts.  This was an amazing and fun discovery. Here are the top 12.

1. Rocking Horse Cake without special pan
http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/2012/02/simple-rocking-horse-cake-to-make.html

2. Make Your Own Windex and Shout
http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/2012/02/make-your-own-windex-and-shout.html

3. What If . . .  Dry Milk --- When the Grocery Shelves are Empty
http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/2011/11/2-what-if-dry-milk-when-grocery-shelves.html

4. Simple Teddy Bear Cake without special Pan
http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/2012/02/simple-teddy-bear-cake-wo-special-pan.html

5. Peanut Butter Cookies Can't Get Much Easier Than This
http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/2011/09/peanut-butter-cookies-cant-get-much.html

6. How to Creatively Garden in Bits and Pieces
http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-to-creatively-garden-in-bits-and.html

7. Do-it-Yourself Barrette Holders for Gift Giving
http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/2011/10/diy-barrette-holders-for-gift-giving.html

8. Cob Corn in Nature's Own Microwaveable Shake-and-Eat Packaging
http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/2012/04/cob-corn-in-natures-own-microwaveable.html

9. Homemade Olive Oil Lamps: Safe, Cheap and Quick to Make . . .
http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/2011/09/homemade-olive-oil-lamps-safe-cheap-and.html

10. Buyer Be Wiser: The Latest Scoop
http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/2011/09/homemade-olive-oil-lamps-safe-cheap-and.html

11. Make 5 Great Meals With Only Two Pounds of Ground Beef
http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/2011/08/make-5-great-meals-with-only-two-pounds.html

12. More Copy-Cat Candy Bars
http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/2011/08/more-copy-cat-candy-bars.html

These "most visited" posts tell me a lot about my readers.  When I started learning how to blog my guide was appropriately, Google Blogger for Dummies! Several portions of this book teach

• ways, sneaky and otherwise, to increase your readership, i.e. words to use in titles, etc.
• how to make money, by inviting advertising, on your blog.
• to use your statistics to determine what you should blog about.

These suggestions are probably good for others---but not for me.  Yes, I am excited to see the numbers of readers grow but I am excited because I take that to mean I am able to help others.  That was and still remains my goal.  I started married life saying just what Sgt. Shultz on the old Hogan's Heroes TV show used to say: http://www.hark.com/clips/stcglgpcfd-i-know-nothing
and the learning curve was, out of necessity, steep. 

The above 12 most visited posts "tells" me that I should concentrate on cooking (recipes). Still, I will continue as I have covering all the "ings"  and hope I continue to provide help for many.

Since Anything Can Happen to Disrupt Everything . . .

I have one request.  If you do not follow the posts under my "What If..." tab, please check them out. We live in uncertain times and things don't seem to be getting better. Anything can happen to disrupt everything.  And "it" can happen in an instant---personally, regionally, nationally...  Being prepared for sudden events brings great peace of mind. Just like insurance, you hope you never need to use it but it is helpful to have. . . just in case.

Thanks for coming along for the ride this past year. I hope you want to stay on board.

I remain
         Simply, Gail

10 Simple Ways to Improve Your Life . . . with very little effort!

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them----that's what they're paid for!


2. Hang out with only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.


3. Enjoy the simple things (but you must learn to recognize them)!

4. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.


5. Accept that tears happen. Endure, grieve, and then move on. The only person who is with us our entire life is ourselves. Be alive while you are alive.


6. Surround yourself with what you love whether it is family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies or whatever. Your home is your refuge.


7. Cherish your health. If it is good preserve it. If it is unstable improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve get help---and then, make the best you can of it.


8. Take a trip --- to the mall, the next county, a foreign country, or wherever but --- never take a guilt trip.


9. Keep learning about anything you choose: computers, crafts, gardening, golf or whatever. Keep your brain engaged. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop," and the devil's name is Alzheimer's.


10. Remember to tell the people you love that you love them. We never know when it will be too late.

What If . . . you consider going Back to the Basics?

If you have not read my previous post please do so first.
It is the introduction to this one.

1. You will save lots of money --- first on pads for menstruation and by the time you have finished that stage,  if you are like me and millions of other women, you have entered what I refer to as the laughing-sneezing-coughing-leaking stage of life!

2. You would do your part for our landfill problem --- "The average woman will throw away 15000 sanitary pads and tampons over her lifetime. That adds up to about 12 billion pads and 7 million tampons yearly in North America (alone)."
http://groovymama.net/blog/


 "More than half and some say as high percentage as 80% use some sort of incontinence product. There are adult diapers, absorbent pads and a variety of products in between. If we estimate only 2 items used daily over a 15 year period, that comes to 10,950 items per person from 65 years- 80 years of age."
http://www.naturopathscottsdale.com/2012/02/

and, what was news to me

3. You will be safe-guarding your health --- Although we don't hear about it much "Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is still a risk for anyone using tampons. The risk is much higher with disposable products. This is why they are required to warn you on the label and on the instruction sheet inside the box. Experts agree that TSS is under-reported, despite the fact that all states are required to report all cases."

"Despite the bleached white appearance, tampons and pads are not sterile. They are not sterilized - no disposable menstrual products are sterile.

"The FDA does not require disposable menstrual pad users to list the ingredients on the label so you do not know exactly what chemicals are being placed against your sensitive and absorbant tissues for several days each month."

http://www.comfyclothpads.com/

What started out to be one simple post (as the result of my discomfort and a Wal-Mart discovery*)  has certainly evolved!

Personal Confessions of Simply, Gail

I do sneeze-cough-and definitely laugh regularly. . . therefore I, uhmmm leak.  I hate putting out the money for incontinence products but more importantly they make me ITCH "down there!" 

No matter how thick it is or how much I pay for it---toilet paper SHREDS!

The internet is an amazing tool --- often with TooMuchInformation! And, we have a filter that blocked some of the sites. Searching the internet I discovered. . .

•  I am definitely NOT ALONE!
• Many women suffer much more serious problems than itching.
• The products themselves, it is being discovered, cause/increase many problems, including increased cramping during periods and increased discharge the rest of the time --- naturally the manufacturer's won't admit it.   

I discovered the new trend toward "homemade" supplies you can buy on line --- if, like the days of the early commercial products --- you can afford them. While there are many offerings, I'll get you started with a couple of examples and you can take it from there:

Retro Rags™ pad measures approximately 14" long by 4.5" wide and is designed for overnight usage with heavy flow or postpartum usage, or plus size women.  $8.00 each

The Committed to Cloth Pad Stash Reusable Set of 24 $128.00

The first site I came across for DIY products is the HillbillyHousewife. 

 http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/sanitarypads.htm

Admittedly my first thought was "yuck!"  But later thought "why not" and made a few. Most of the pre-made pads on line seem to be patterned after those on the hillbilly site, although there are variations.  

http://diy-pads.livejournal.com/45190.html

http://lunapads.com/tips-and-advice/lunapads-overview/ 

Because I am simple and cheap  my favorite site is 

http://www.biblicalscholarship.net/menses.htm

This site has the most simple ones---but I simplified them further. 

* And, here is where Wal-Mart comes in:

They sell packs of 18 100% cotton, wight, light-weight washcloths for $4.00. Folded into thirds, they work out perfect for me. (The more you wash them the softer they become, but even after one wash they work for me---but do not use fabric softener because it decreased absorbency.) These washcloths are not huge but I am a plus-size woman and they are plenty long enough. 

The cost is 22 cents per washcloth pad. 


You can also use old towels and washcloths---free and already soft!

The pads on the site were stitched to stay pre-folded but I decided they might be more useful (especially for washing and drying purposes) flat. 

At the same store they had soft 45-inch-wide print flannel on clearance sale for $2.25 per yard.  I bought one yard and began experimenting. I cut a few rectangles the size of the folded washcloth and using a tight zig-zag stitch, sewed a piece down the center of the washcloth. On some I sewed it  along one side (eliminating the need to be precisely in the middle) of the washcloth.  Not only does this give you an extra layer of protection but folded with the flannel side up provides a softer pad. 

I also cut and zig-zagged the edges of squares of flannel and folded them into thirds to use as pads instead of the washcloths. They worked also.  

If you need a heavy pad you can layer a flannel square on a washcloth and fold the pair into thirds.

With close-fitting underwear these stay in place really well.  I feel the little bit of readjusting that might need to be made after going to the bathroom is well worth the effort. If you want added "security"  make a small loop of masking tape.   I also read that if you make the bottom section fleece, it will not move around any and it is waterproof. I haven't  checked those claims out yet. I would not put the fleece against your body because it is synthetic rather than 100 percent cotton.

Toilet Paper Replacement 

My research uncovered the following: the average sheet of toilet paper is 4x4 inches and that 5.9 sheets, on the average, are used each time.

I decided to cut another package of white wash cloths in half to use as toilet paper after urinating. A half cloth was too large. I couldn't imagine  1/4 would be enough but it is perfect. A simple blot does the job.  


Not being too precise, I cut each washcloth into fourths and used a tight zig-zag stitch around the two unfinished edges. The cut edges will shed when cutting and for the first couple of washings.

18 washcloths for $4.00 makes 72 reusable wipes at 5.5 cents each!

I toss both the pads and the squares in a covered container under the sink. On wash day I simply empty them into a large mesh bag to launder.

I guess I am another generation of tween.  Not old enough to have gone with the flow using rags but too old to have known about making my own pads during my productive years. 

The economy, as well as the horrible things we are learning daily about how what we eat (and now what we use) are created/manufactured, is making us think twice and---make changes.

What we once innocently thought of as “disposable” is in reality pollution, and what we once accepted as “sanitary,”for our most personal purposes, we are learning are not only without guidelines, but with problems---from relatively minor to deadly toxicity!