Get Green – Handmade Laundry Detergent

A lot of us are trying to be more frugal these days. In an effort to help the mom’s out there that want to go greener as well as save a little cash doing something they already do… I wanted to share this recipe from a fellow Mia Bella Rep.

To make Homemade Laundry Detergent from a Gourmet Bath Bar:

What you will need:

1 Gourmet Bath Bar
1 Cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1 Cup 20 Mule team Borax
5 Gallon Bucket
3 Gallons 4 cups Water
2 quart sauce pan
Large spoon

Place 4 cups of water into 2 quart sauce pan set on medium/high heat (be
careful not to let water boil over)
Grate the bath bar using potato peeler or other device and add to the
water gradually as it heats
You want the bath bar to be completely melted in the water leaving no
clumps or chunks.

Fill your 5 gallon bucket with 3 gallons of hot water, 20 mule team and Washing
Soda
Stir with large spoon
Once the bath bar mixture is ready, add it to the 5 gallon bucket and stir
Place lid on bucket and let sit for 24 hours

Use One Cup for each load of laundry

This process takes about 15-20 minutes and you have saved money and gone
more green by using a quality product that will leave your laundry smelling GREAT!

Need A Vacation?

Are you looking to get away from it all for a few days and enjoy a last minute vacation? Of course, we all know that waiting until the last minute to book a trip could mean paying more than someone who booked months ago, but there are ways to save on last minute travel.

Instead of booking each piece of your trip individually, try looking for a vacation package. Some experts insist that a family can save between twenty to sixty percent on their overall vacation by traveling this way. These packages may include flights, rental cars, hotel rooms, and tickets for tourist attractions.

If you have any travel rewards, such as frequent flier miles, cashing them in on a quick getaway can definitely help bring the costs of travel down. When flying, remember that many airlines are now charging fliers for checked bags and other services that were once free. Have some extra cash on hand to make sure your bases are covered.

Looking online for the best deals will help stretch your budget. Discount travel websites such as hotwire.com receive notices from hotels that are looking to fill up their rooms. This can be a great source for last minute deals. Priceline.com allows travelers to name their own price for their travel costs. You may not be able to pick your flight times or the exact hotel they’ll be staying at, but the cost savings can be worth it.

Need More Traffic For Your WAHM Blog?

If you’ve been on the Internet for more than 5 minutes, you’ve probably heard of the ever growing popularity of the “mom blog.” You may even have one yourself. Mom blogs are great ways to connect with other moms, share your thoughts and feelings on being a mom, and maybe even make a little dough (not the kitchen variety this time) too.

One problem many moms have is getting people to read and participate their blogs. After all, without readers you can’t do any of the things mentioned above with your blog. So, how do you attract more readers to your mom blog? And, once you have them how do you keep them there? Here are a few tried and true ways to increase readership and maybe even make some life long online buds in the mom community.

Be Yourself
No one likes to read a blog that is nothing but a copy and paste of articles, news topics, and pictures. Yes, those things are interesting, but to really get people coming back for more you have to show them you are a real person. Don’t be afraid to let them in and give readers a taste of the true you. If you have an opinion on something don’t be afraid to share it, after all it is YOUR blog so it should represent the person you really are.

Hold a Contest or Giveaway
There’s nothing moms like more than getting free stuff they can actually use. As a mom yourself you probably have or know people who would be willing to donate prizes to a contest or giveaway on your blog. Think of something fun and create or do a random drawing from those who post comments. Get creative and come up with something other moms would be happy to enter and happier to tell their friends about.

Post Reviews
People love to know if something works or doesn’t work before they decide to buy. Have you used products that you think are the greatest thing since sliced bread? Or maybe you want to warn others to steer clear of something you wished you hadn’t wasted your money on. Either way, let your readers know. There are even companies that love to send product samples to mommy bloggers specifically for their opinions. Your opinion does matter, especially because you’re a mother.

Create a Recipe of the Day Section
If there’s one thing all moms are looking for it’s something different for dinner. To feed your reader’s hunger for new meal ideas as well as their family’s bellies, set up a section on your blog dedicated solely to recipes. Post a new recipe once a day. It doesn’t take long and you don’t have to write all (or any) of the recipes yourself if you don’t want to thanks to private label rights (PLR) content.

Mommy blogs are created and visited by others for many reasons, but if yours is informative, comical, shows the true you and gives moms what they are looking for, chances that more readers will come are higher. Enjoy your mommy blog and make it your home sweet home on the web where friends feel welcome and love coming back.

Ready to add a recipe section to your blog to increase readers? Get 30 recipes every month at http://www.wahmsinbusiness.com/recipies

Online Business Owners Find The Benefits of Outsourcing

When you are in business for yourself, especially one that is conducted online, you’ll find there are a number of different things for you to learn about that can save you time and make you money. Outsourcing is by far one of the more exciting things to discover and put to use.

All too common is the business owner who feels they have to do everything themselves in order for things to go smoothly in their online venture. This couldn’t be farther from the truth! In case you’re curious about why so many online business owners are singing the praises of outsourcing, keep reading to see just five of the many benefits it can obtain.

More Value for Your Time
When you own an online business, one of the most important things to remember is how much your time is really worth. When you think about the dull or repetitive tasks that you are doing, you’ll find this work is not worth your high per hour price tag! When you outsource, you’ll pay someone else to take care of those responsibilities while you give attention to the more important, money-making projects.

Saving Resources
Think about everything that goes into the tasks that you would outsource. This will range from things like your time and space to costs such as Internet and software. After awhile all of these costs add up. For instance, graphics software can get quite expensive. If you are outsourcing an activity, you get more than just the task itself out of the way. You will also get someone who specializes in areas of your business that you may not know quite as well as or have no desire to learn. More than likely these people will already have the tools needed to complete their assignment. Depending on the project, this might save you money and learning time. This brings me to the next benefit of outsourcing.

Going to the Experts
The tasks you are outsourcing might not be ones that you have no desire to learn about, whether they are troubleshooting, manufacturing, taking orders, website design and maintenance, or something else. By handing the work over to an expert who enjoys and makes it their business to know these things, you’ll be able to take advantage of their knowledge in the area without having to learn it yourself. This in turn will give your customers or clients more than you could possibly give them yourself.

Expand
When you outsource, you will soon realize that you are in a great place when it comes to getting more involved with your business. You will be able to expand and provide everything your customers need. Outsourcing frees you up to try new things with your business, learn more and experience new aspects of your industry.

Accountability
When you outsource, you will have a contract with the person or company you are working with. By having someone else who is depending on work from you, you are more apt to stay ahead of the game by planning better and making sure that you’re tasks are getting completed as well.

When you first begin learning about and implementing outsourcing techniques within your business, you’ll find out those boring or repetitive tasks can easily be handed off to someone who enjoys doing them. This will allow you, as the business’ owner, to free up more time to concentrate on more important aspects of your business such as product creation, advertising, networking and other marketing practices.

These are the things that will help your business to grow even more profitable.

Are you a slave to your Online Business? Break the chains. Check out www.OutsourceWeekly.com to find out how!

Hot Summer Meals

Cooking in the summer provides a unique challenge. In the winter, turning a cold kitchen in to a warm and cozy place is a benefit of cooking. In the summer, turning that same kitchen into a sweltering inferno is not. Planning ahead can eliminate the need for turning on the oven. Here are several options to help ensure your kitchen remains cool in the hot summer months.

Gazpacho, a Portuguese and Spanish soup made from stale bread, garlic olive oil, salt, vinegar and vegetables doesn’t need any cooking and has undergone many variations since its inception. Modern gazpacho includes a tomato base and a wider range of vegetables. It can quickly and easily be prepared with a food processor and stored beforehand in a refrigerator.

Ceviche is a Peruvian seafood salad marinated in citrus. Traditionally made from raw fish and onions with lime or lemon juice, modern variations include using a tomato sauce of ketchup. In its original form, it can be adapted to most tastes by using a wide variety of fish and cold vegetables. You should check with your local fishmonger to make sure the quality of fish is good enough that it can be eaten raw. The citrus juice in the recipes allows it to be served at room temperature while eliminating the risk of immediate bacterial growth.

Pickled cucumbers and beats can be prepared the night before. Ways to prepare them range from simply placing julienne vegetables in vinegar to more complex and elaborate preparations that include chili oil and sugar. This concept allows for a wide variety based on what you have available and what your taste preferences are. And they don’t require you to heat up the oven.

Likewise, sandwiches are easy to prepare without heating the kitchen. Using coldcuts and already cooked meats and vegetables, they can be quickly prepared to suit individual tastes and served with a wide variety of sides such as coleslaw or any of the ideas above. In addition, setting out a simple tray of individual meats, vegetables, and cheeses that you have on hand will allow friends and family to prepare their own sandwich creations.

The traditional American answer to keeping the summer cool is to grill outside. Virtually anything can be grilled outside, from corn to cucumbers to beef and vegetarian hotdogs. This flexibility can be combined with any of the other ideas above to make a complete meal. Plus grilling allows you to enjoy the fresh summer air without feeling like you should be doing some yardwork.

A crock-pot can cook meats without heating up the rest of the kitchen as much as a traditional stove. Prepared the night before and left to cook on its own without much attention, the crock-pot not only keeps the kitchen cool, but allows the chef to work on other parts of meal preparation, or enjoying the summer weather. You can cook complete meals in the crock-pot by throwing in a roast and vegetables. Or you can cook meat, such as boneless pork ribs seasoned with barbecue sauce which can be used for chopped pork sandwiches.

Salads also offer a multitude of options for summer meals. Using lettuce as a base, the options of what you can add to a salad are limitless, from common vegetables such as tomatoes, onions and carrots to fruit, nuts and diced meats and hardboiled eggs. Salads are not only an effective way to prepare a summer meal without heating up the kitchen, but can also be used to help clean out leftovers. When you don’t feel like cooking, take out leftovers from the refrigerator and allow each member of your family to create their own salad masterpiece. Plus, salads offer the versatility of serving as a meal starter or a meal themselves. You can make them as light or as hearty as you want.

Pasta salads are also great in the summer. You will need to heat up the stove to cook the pasta. But you can cook a big batch and then use it for several options. Add Italian dressing, pepperoni, olives, and cheese cubes. Or add mayo and ranch dressing long with peas and carrots. Just about anything you like can be added to cold pasta to make a zippy salad.

Grilling is another great summer option. Plus it allows you to spend more time outside on the patio rather then in the kitchen. Marinade meat in your favorite seasoning then toss on the grill. Or cut up meat and veggies into bite size pieces and thread on a skewer for kabobs. For even more variety, add fruit such as pineapple or peaches. You can even cook garlic bread and cheesy potatoes on the grill but wrapping them in foil.

For those with more exotic tastes, researching Asian or Mediterranean cuisine online, at the library, or at your local bookstore will provide a wide range of inspiration and ideas. An exotic taste doesn’t mean that food has to be hard to prepare. It can be as simple as using rice paper wrappers, traditionally used to serve hot food , to serve cold food.

Whether your tastes range from the traditional to the exotic, summer cooking doesn’t have to mean heating up the kitchen. Use your imagination to find creative ways to keep summer cooking cool. Planning ahead allows you multiple options will little heat.

For more great meal ideas and a free menu planning report visit Menu Planning Central – Watch for a great meal planning offer after you sign up and let me – The Menu Mom – help you take care of dinner tonight!

7 Reasons Why Meal Planning Is A Great Idea

Planning meals ahead of time is a great idea, since there are many benefits that come along with it. Meal planning affects many different aspects of life, including your time as well as your financial situation. No matter what situation one may be in, planning your meals ahead of time is always a good idea. Meal planning makes it possible for almost any size family to eat healthy meals everyday of the week on a budget.   It also gives you more time together as a family while spending less money.

Saves Time

Planning your meals ahead of time will save you a lot of time. When you visit your grocery store, take a list with you that shows everything you need for your weekly meals.  This way there will be no return visits to the grocery store for something you forgot, and you won’t waste any time deciding what you are going to have for dinner that night. Forgetting a key ingredient or having to fight in long lines at the grocery store can be very frustrating, but meal planning can completely eliminate that.   

Saves Money

Who doesn’t like to save money?  And if you can reduce the amount you spend on grocery bills, you can save it up for something really fun – like a special night out or a family vacation.  Meal planning saves anyone a significant amount of money, since meal planning is much cheaper than eating fast food. Also, since you will be bringing a shopping list with you to the grocery store, there will be no more impulse buys and wasted food.   We’ve all fallen victim to foods that we suddenly have a craving for when we are shopping only to get home and realize that we need other ingredients to turn it into a meal.  And having a shopping list will make it easier for you to clip coupons, since you know what you will be purchasing each week.  This means even more savings to you and your family.

Meal planning allows you to create a calendar of what you will have for dinner each night.  If you create a menu one month at a time, you can ensure that you aren’t having chicken nuggets five nights a week.  Have an overall calendar of meals will allow you to shop for foods when they are on sale and buy in bulk whenever possible.

Health

Planning out what you are going to cook for dinner will make it possible to ensure you are cooking a healthy meal every day of the week.  While eating out is convenient in our ever busy world, eating fast food or at restaurants is not nearly as healthy as cooking it at home.  This is largely due to the fact that you don’t have control over  what goes in those meals.   By preparing your own meals, you can choose healthy options, like baked chicken, and add any of your favorites for a side like a fresh green salad or steamed vegetables. Most boxed or frozen dinners contain a great amount of fat and sodium, but cooking the meal from scratch can eliminate them.   You control the flavor and the fat.  You can take steps to reduce the amount of fat by adding seasoning and spices to perk up the flavor.

Prevent Obesity

The rise of fast food chains in the world means that more people are becoming overweight and obese. Obesity can bring on many health issues, including heart or breathing problems. It is important to prevent a child from becoming overweight and teach them the importance of balanced meals.  Cooking homemade healthy meals can do this. When you plan out what you are going to make, you can be certain that it will be healthy for the entire family.   It allows you to have a better handle on the nutritional content of your meals.   You can also tailor it to each family member’s needs.  If there is someone who needs to watch their fat consumption, you can cook grill or broil instead of fry.  If there is someone that is trying to get more servings of vegetables in their diet, you can help by offering two veggies for side dishes.

Spending More Time With Your Family

Because planning out your meals gives you more time during the day, you can spend it doing something that really matters. Spending time with family should be the first thing on anyone’s priority list, and being able to spend more time with them is a wonderful perk to meal planning. You can use this time to either play with your children outside, or maybe talk with your spouse about their day at work.   With the time saved with meal planning, the family can enjoy a walk together after dinner, play yard games such as croquet or bocce ball, or compete in a board game night.  No matter how you use the time, it is special and necessary to keep a family running.   And when you kids are grown up and look back on their childhood, those will be the times they remember most fondly.  Just think about all the home cooked meals that you look back on warmly.  No one cooks it like mom does.

Teaching Essential Skills

By including children in the meal planning process, they can learn many skills that will carry with them into adulthood.   They can help to plan the meals, and learn about the different nutrition groups.   Learning how to assemble a balanced meal is a great skill to have.  Measuring different ingredients in the meals teaches children about fractions.   Younger kids can just play with the different kitchen utensils, which allows them to explore and learn about the huge world they have yet to explore and learn about. Spouses can get in on the fun, making it possible to bond with one another by cooking a meal for each other.   Meals where each person can individually tailor food to their liking, such as making your own pizzas or a taco bar, allow a great opportunity for the whole family to cook and learn together.

Reduces Stress

Our world is hectic.  We are being pulled in several different directions each day.  Because we live in a fast paced world, it is important to do everything possible to reduce your stress load.   We have enough stress with our every day lives without mealtime stressing us out.  Planning meals can reduce your stress since you won’t have to worry about everything that goes into making a meal for your family. As long as you bring your list to the store and buy everything on the list, you will be all set. You can choose to either visit the store each week or twice a month, rather than a million times like before. The increased time you have will allow you to relax more often, and even feel great when interacting with your children.  If you are enrolled in a food delivery service, having a handy list makes online shopping a breeze.  Have it with you when you log in to order food and you won’t have to worry about a thing.

As you can see, there are many benefits to meal planning.  From the ever crucial facts of saving money and eating healthier, to reducing stress and spending more time with your family.  Meal planning only takes a little extra effort.  And once you get the hang of it, it’ll become second nature and make you life so much easier.  You’ll be wondering why you hadn’t started meal planning earlier.  And will all the time and money you save you can spend on something that really matters – your family!

For more great meal ideas and a free menu planning report visit Menu Planning Central – Watch for a great meal planning offer after you sign up and let me – The Menu Mom – help you take care of dinner tonight!