A couple weekends ago I had the absolute pleasure of taping a Frugalista video for BrighterLife.ca

What made this shoot so special was the fact I got to work with the uber-talented Tiffany Pratt.  She art directed the shoot superbly and filled her space with frugal decor to set the tone for our budget-savvy holiday party.  

The cherry on top was having our friends come over towards the end of the shoot to party with us on "set" aka: Tiffany's dining room.

Happy almost-holiday-season!

A few months ago, I read a fascinating post on 
Savvy Housekeeping. It shows how to turn bar soap into liquid hand soap.  Ingenious! 

I decided to give this a try.  My first batch didn't work out too well, but with some tweaks, I tried again and persevered.  

Yield: 1 litre of liquid soap — cost 50¢!

Instead of writing out the instructions I wanted to produce a pretty video to show the process.  

Click on the "Show more" tab once you're in YouTube to find complete instructions.  

BIG thanks to my talented friends, Tiffany Pratt and Harbinder Singh.  They made everything in the video look extra pretty.  

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Maybe someday I'll live in a space that has space.  
It would be great to dry my clothes on the line every day, but right now that's very far from my reality. 

I have to use my dryer frequently, and there are some money-saving buddies that take the tumble each time. In combination, I find these two things cut down on dry time and eliminate static cling.  

1. Dryer Balls
   
2. Tinfoil Balls

You can make your own dryer balls but if you aren't a DIY'er the more efficient route is to buy a set off ETSY.  I keep three in my dryer and put a dab of spearmint essential oil on them to add freshness.
These felted wonders absorb moisture and keep things moving and fluffed in the dryer.  They cut down my dry time by about 1/3 and I've been using the same three for two years now.  

NOTE: You do hear these tumbling in the dryer. However, they are way quieter than other options i.e. tennis balls.

The tinfoil ball is super easy.  Tear off a 1 to 2 foot strip of tinfoil, ball it up and throw it into the dryer. With each session the ball will compact more and more.  One tinfoil ball can stay in the dryer for up to two months before losing its zing.  These shiny orbs absorb static and keep clothes cling-free.  

This one-two punch of wool and tinfoil means I haven't had to buy dryer sheets in a very long time and I'm using less power too.  Who doesn't love eco-friendly solutions that are frugal too? 

NOTE: I recently did a Frugalista video for Brighter Life and the tinfoil trick is featured! You can watch the video HERE.

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I've read before that if you squish your toilet paper roll you will save on paper and therefore save a bit of cash.

I was skeptical about this but decided to give it a try.  And, guess what?  I can't get enough!  Here's why...

1. The act of squishing the roll is super satisfying and a quick thrill.

2.  When you use a squished roll, it doesn't unravel freely which means you ultimately get "just enough" for the job at hand :)

3.  You lose nothing but a few seconds of time to give this frugal tip a try.

Granted, I have no idea how much money this act will actually save me in the long run, but there are plenty of reasons to keep at it.

Here's a list of frugal travel booking tips that work well for me.  I'd like to fly less and explore more in my own country, but who can resist the occasional trip abroad to new places and new adventures?  Travel safe.

BOOKING YOUR FLIGHT (try this!)

Step One: go to itasoftware.com and use their airfare search to find the cheapest flight.  I love this site because itasoftware has developed the software that other search engines like Orbitz and Kayak use for their airfare searches.  Nine times out of ten you find a cheaper flight using itasoftware.com directly. NOTE: You can't book your flight through this website, but it will give you an exact itinerary which is what you need for step two.

Step Two: once you have your itinerary, go directly to the airline site of your choice and book your ticket.  Plug in the exact flight details you've discovered in step one.  If you don't have time to book your own flight, provide your travel agent with the itinerary and have them book it for you.

No more guessing which departure and return to select to get the best price.  This two step process is quick and I feel confident I'm getting the best price possible.

BOOKING YOUR HOTEL

Check coupons.ca and search for "hotels".  This will provide you with some online (or printable) coupons that you can put towards your hotel booking.  I want to love coupons.ca but find it isn't as comprehensive as it could be.  Having said that, I still make sure to visit it each and every time before making an online purchase in hopes I can find a promo code.  If you feel like more intimate lodging, I still really like homeaway.com as a source for vacation rentals.

OR

If you like to gamble and take some risks (sometimes I do!) priceline.com is still a great way to book cheaper hotel stays.  Before I bid on anything, I go to betterbidding.com.  This is a fascinating forum because it lists successful bids people have made on priceline (or hotwire) for different cities around the world.  Once you know which bids are being approved you can go to priceline.com and bid strategically.

STAYING ORGANIZED

Talk about one powerful app!  TripIt is pretty amazing and is so popular it's now available for almost all handheld devices and also as a PC or Mac application.  We all know keeping track of all your confirmation details and reservation numbers can be a hassle when traveling.  TripIt solves the problem by consolidating all your trip information into one place.  The graphics are friendly and it's simple to set up and use.

Add a bottle of club soda to your green cleaning kit. It works wonders on stainless steel appliances.

Here's how:

Pour a bit of club soda into a spray bottle. Spray onto your stainless steel surface. Use a clean microfibre rag and watch grease and grime disappear to reveal a shiny surface. The carbonic acid in the soda helps make it a good cleaning agent - a bit more powerful than just plain water. The fizz is not important so you can store the spray bottle in a cupboard or fridge for several weeks.


NOTE: It's really important to use a clean cloth!

This is a fabulous way to make use of dryer lint from home! These fire starters cost basically nothing to make.

You'll need...
Cardboard egg carton
Dryer lint
Unscented candle
Microwave-safe glass bowl
Scissors

Method:
Remove all metal bits from the candle and place it in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt into liquid wax - shouldn't take more than thirty seconds. Fill each egg carton ¾ full with dryer lint.  Drizzle liquid wax on top to keep lint in place. With scissors, cut each egg carton into individual fire starters. 

Store fire starters in resealable bags and make sure to keep them dry.  These are great for camping, emergency kits, or for building a roaring fire in your fireplace.

Lint is extremely flammable so be careful to not leave these anywhere near an unattended flame!

Tired of plain white furniture, walls and accessories?  Here's a cheap and fun idea.  Decorate them with wall tattoos!  

You can find wall tattoos at lots of home stores like Home Sense.  They are basically big cut-out stickers of patterns on clear adhesive sheeting.  You simply peel them off and then stick them to walls and furniture.  This is a great solution for renters because you can add some visual interest to walls...and it's temporary.  

BIG thanks to designer Jo Alcorn for sharing this frugal tip.  She picked these floral tattoos for me and added them to my den wardrobe and accent wall.  Fun!