My love hate relationship with my Swiffer...

I love my swiffer but have to say even with coupons I still dread buying the refills. After googling and searching Etsy/Pinterest I thought I could make these and here is what I came up with. I am still not that great with the sewing machine and thought while I am out being a dance mom I can sit and crochet.

Crocheted Swiffer Cover
I love to use my Swiffer, but I hate the disposable covers. So last night I made a pattern out of 100% cotton yarn, that fits on a swiffer. I thought some here might be able to use it. Its machine washable, and it works great.

Re-usable Swiffer Cover

Size I hook and Sugar n Cream yarn - any color (its a *really* good use for scraps)

Measure your swiffer width, and add 4 inches. (my swiffer is 10 inches across.. so I crocheted 14 inches worth).

Chain 18 st. In the second ch from hook, sc in each st - 17 st across.
Repeat this row until you reach your measurement. I stretched mine out before I measured, because the cotton stretches as is, and I wanted a snug fit.

Fold over short edges 2 inches on each side(wrong sides together), and sew the edges closed, so the cover can slip on your swiffer and stay on securely.



Here is how to refill it with homemade solution.

WHAT YOU NEED:
An empty Swiffer bottle
A small pot
A dish towel
Fingernail clippers

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Fill the pot with about 2 inches of water, just enough to cover the lid on the Swiffer bottle.
2. Bring the water to a boil. Once the water has reached a boil turn off the heat and hold the Swiffer bottle upside down for 90 seconds.
3. After 90 seconds remove the bottle from the water and use a towel to twist off the lid.
4. Now that you have the lid off, notice the little teeth inside the lid. Simply take your fingernail clippers and cut them off. Voila, now you can remove the lid from your Swiffer anytime you need a refill! No more tossing those bottles in the garbage and harming our environment. You can be green while saving lots of green!

HOMEMADE SOLUTIONS:
For wood floors, I use 1 part white vinegar and 1 part vegetable oil.
For my linoleum and tile, I use 1/4 Cup white vinegar, 3-4 drops of lemon essential oil (optional) and fill the bottle with warm water.
Of course, if you have a store bought floor cleaner you’re in love with (or got super cheap with coupons) just follow the directions on the bottle for the ratio of cleaner to water. Pour the floor cleaner in the Swiffer bottle and fill the bottle with warm water.

No picture

I forgot to take one before sending Adriana to the basement to put everything away. Here is a break down of what I bought this week.

27 bottles of Pantene pro v
% bottles dawn dish soap
5 bottles of Tide
12 small tubes of Aquafresh (to be donated)
10 oral b dental floss (to be donated)
16 nivea lip cares
3 packages of pull ups
2 bounty paper towels
16 up2u oacks of gum.

I also was able to score some amazing 90 percent off deals on Christmas stuff for next year including teacher gifts which totalled a 1.80 each. Thats the plus side of having the same teacher for three consecutive years.

Donations

One of my 50 goals for the year was to get the kids more involved with charity work. While blog hopping I stumpled across a woman who is donating 100 shoe boxes full of personal items. My goal is to fill 50 boxes of supplies for our local homeless shelter. Which will include free things I obtain from couponing. Tomorrow will be my first purchase. I am also thinking about teaching a mini class for the teachers at the school. We must learn to pay it forward. I am a big believer of not being greedy. Which stems from being a spoiled child who married right out of high school. Learning what a drastic change it was to have to baby your own things. Considering I had never even washed a load of laundry before moving out.

Tomorrow I will be off to stock up on free aqua fresh travel toothpaste and floss. I ony have 14 coupons for each but hey you have to start somewhere right?

Downside of hubby being home

Is no blog time. Today was a very busy day. Lets Hope tomorrow I will have a little more time to sit down and make a post. This friday begins my saving for... Not quite sure yet. I am following couponing to Disney but would rather use the money towards a few mini vacations.

Sundays

There are really many reasons I love Sundays. One is because My hubby always has it off. Two we usually go to church then have family lunches.( Which I have to say lately I have been horrible at)Third would have to be COUPONS!!!! Some weeks are more exciting then others today was Amazing! I love proctor and gamble weeks. If you are a beginner couponer or are not too serious but would like to save a little money this would be the week to buy the newspaper.

This week I am trying something new. I ordered inserts from a clipping service. Which will send me the whole inserts. My problem is I did not do the math and am paying more for it then I should have. I noticed today that there were coupons I did not recieve that could have been regional so my hopes are I ordered from the region that has the. At the end of the week I will post a picture of everything I ave bought this week along with a breakdown of what I paid out of pocket. These first few weeks are really going to show I am spending more then I should but I am trying to build back up my stock pile. Not couponing for two months and sure make your stockpile dwindle down.