Today is your last chance to win!
Today is your last chance to win “Fix it, Make it, Grow it, Bake it: the DIY Guide to the Good Life,” by Billee Sharp. Not that I want to give it away. Win my review copy below.
Sharp tackles extreme thriftiness, shares a detox bath recipe, promotes bartering over buying, and that’s only half the book! I got sucked into her tips for unsticking wood drawers, making sourdough starter, and constructing your own Christmas tree decorations. You can read the 263-page book front to back, or flip to a specific topic, using it more as a reference.
Sharp’s directions are simple and easy to follow. What astounds me is the breadth of her expertise. She has suggestions and ideas for every aspect of home and life. Make no mistake, Sharp is a hard core do-it-yourselfer.
But you don’t need to convert to enjoy this book. You can learn and create new habits as much as you are open to.
To win my review copy, comment with a DIY project that you have been putting off, and why. So far, 51 people have entered the contest, so your chances are good! Or buy a copy from Amazon for $12.44 (orig. $15.95). Comment by tonight, Thursday Sept. 29, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EST to be eligible to win. A winner will be announced Friday!
Comment to win this book!
This is one book that, quite frankly, I don’t want to give away. But hogging “Fix it, Make it, Grow it, Bake it: the DIY Guide to the Good Life,” by Billee Sharp would be cruel. (See how to win it below).
In 263 pages spread across seven chapters, Sharp tackles extreme thriftiness, shares a detox bath recipe, promotes bartering over buying, and that’s only half the book! I got sucked into her tipS for unsticking wood drawers, making sourdough starter, and constructing your own Christmas tree decorations.
Sharp’s directions are
Internet TV at home is a DIY reality!
I’m hearing a lot about services that, for a fee, let you play computer videos, like Hulu and YouTube, on your TV. Is this a necessary expense? How hard is it to do yourself? I talked to Shawn DuBravac, a head honcho at the Consumer Electronic Association, and learned that, for many TVs, you can buy a cable for about $45 that will eliminate the need for a pricey service. This interview has been edited and condensed.
How hard is it to stream videos from your computer to your TV? If you want to play YouTube videos on a television, you have to have some type of computer object connected to that television: a browser in essence.
What is an Internet TV? About 20% of televisions are Internet-enabled. If you have one of those televisions you really don’t need to do anything.
What about a non-Internet TV that has an HDMI input? If you have an HDMI port, then all you have to do is
locomomo / Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
My father is a fan of cheap haircuts and seldom pays more than $7 to get his hair cut every two weeks. This weekend he got a free cut by me after realizing electric razors are not so expensive.
While running errands this weekend we ended up at Target, were he bought an electric razor that cost $20. We did the math and he has been paying
soulshine20_05/Flickr
Spring and gardening on are my brain, even though today my world is covered in gray fog. I can’t see more than a few hundred feet out my window! A short article in the Spring issue of freshHOME takes the mystery our of making a mosaic pot for flowers, veggies, or cat grass! Making a mosaic pot costs about $20, requires 1.5 hours plus however long it takes you to gather supplies (see list below), and is a relatively low skill project. Let’s get started!
Supplies you need
Tile, old china you can break into pieces, smooth stones, glass beads (thrift stores are a great place to find cool plates) (more…)
Hygiene Matters / Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
Bargain Babe recently shared her dirty little secret about washing her hair every three to four days and asked if we would change our habits to save money. I did. Not washing my hair for one day makes me look like a greasy mess. Jealous of Bargain Babe and the readers who commented on how they can go for days without a washing, I sought solutions. Heres what I found:
1. Dry shampoo I am obsessed with dry shampoo. At the drug store I found Pssst, an aerosol dry shampoo. On the can was a bright red sticker that read: try me for free. With that in mind, I couldnt pass it up and bought it. (more…)
justj0000lie /Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
The season is changing and so will many women’s hair color, but the cost doesnt have to make you want to pull your locks out. Many of us are heading back to school or the office and are craving a fresh look. Here are some tips for inexpensive hair color and care. A previous post covered how to get a cheap hair cut.
Highlights I speak from personal experience: dont do this at home or risk looking like a skunk. Instead, have a friend recommend a professional and get highlights done at a salon. For touch ups, you can use a similar color from the drugstore and do it at home. You can also try (more…)
norwichnuts/Flickr
I spent $11.47 on three items at the grocery store yesterday, including a $6.29 tub of hummus. Arg! Some foods are so expensive. I vowed to reconsider making my own hummus, which I eat a ton of. But food processors are also expensive (and I abhor cleaning all those parts) so I’m skeptical that making it myself is actually cheaper.
How does the cost break down over one year?
Store bought hummus costs $6.29 per week = $327.08 per year.
Homemade hummus = chickpeas ($1.19 bag) + olive oil (approx. $.87 worth) + lemons (approx $.35 each) + garlic (approx. $.15 worth) + sesame oil (approx. $.05 worth) + spices (approx. $.15 worth) = $2.76 for one batch = $143.52 per year + the cost of the food processor, which I’m willing to spend $60 on. (That should get me a pretty hefty processor at Macy’s, where they are on sale by 40% off today.)
That brings the total cost of homemade hummus for one year to $203.52. I’m going to get myself a food processor!!!!
As for the time it takes, I consider both options equal. I have to go to a special store to get hummus, which takes me a good 30 minutes. If I make a double batch of hummus every other week, it will take me an hour.
Here is my friend Kristin’s delicious hummus recipe that I based the costs on.
2 – 15 oz cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed (I buy them dry and follow directions on the bag)
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil, or more as needed
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 dark Asian sesame oil
1 t ground cumin
1/4 t Cayenne pepper
12-15 grinds black pepper
How do you make hummus? I know there are a lot of variations out there.
UPDATE: Readers shared lots of tips and recipe suggestions.
Laura said:
Yes, I agree to make your own. Id go for the Cuisinart processor, get the basic model with the bar on the bottom.Also, the sesame paste is a key ingredientyou can get it at Cambridge Farms Market on the NE corner of Whitsett and Burbank Blvd. in N. Hollywood. You can cut a bit of the oil if you want and add a spoon or two of water to get the right consistency.
BRB said:
just started making my own hummus and falafel, we had never really eaten either before, but with the food processor it is so cheap and easy it really is ridiculous what they charge for it. I add curry to mine for a really great curried hummus.
Monica said:
We only make hummus at home and LOVE IT! We do buy the canned chickpeas to save the time of cooking them. We have found a new hummus jalapeno recipe that is amazing! A food processor is a must in our kitchen, I make our kids baby food and typically drain the processor in around 12 months from purchase time. Any recommendation on a great food processor that can handle daily use?
Audry suggested I check Tuesday Morning before running out to Macy’s and Tommy said Walmart has processors for $50. Christine recommended the Healthmaster Blender, which is pricey at $200 but apparently is easy to clean and has many other functions. Many readers suggested I buy hummus from Trader Joe’s, which is cheaper than my local grocery store.
meddygarnet/Flickr
There was a cool story about doing home improvement on your own versus hiring someone in the latest Real Simple (April). The story was strangely skewed toward hiring someone to do the job, however, and missed the benefits of doing projects yourself.
First, the story says, consider three factors before making a decision.
1. Peer pressure. Whatever your family and friends do, you are more likely to do. So if everyone you know colors their hair at home, you will feel pressure to eschew the salon. Similarly, if your family has always hired contractors instead of doing it yourself (DIY), you’ll probably hire, too. Follow your gut and make the decision that is right for you, regardless.
2. Your positive attitude. People assume their DIY project will go well but often underestimate the time and skill it takes.
3. Your perspective on your free time. People believe they have more time than they really do. (What??? I don’t know anyone whose schedule isn’t jam packed.) We have a hard time measuring time and “are willing to take more risks with it” than we are with money, the story says.
Then Real Simple suggests you answer four questions. Can I realistically pull this project off? (i.e. learn the required skills?) What kind of time commitment is really involved? (Double estimates from a contractor.) How much will this task cost to complete myself? (Supplies + calculate your hourly rate.) And lastly, how much will I really enjoy the process?
I wager that doing home improvement projects yourself (which is a lot like growing your own food) has many benefits that the story missed…
1. The enjoyment of learning how to do something challenging that you didn’t think you were capable of.
2. The money saved over time from learning new skills. Snake a toilet once, and you’ll never fork over $200 to a plumber again.
3. The confidence from pulling a project off. What an accomplishment!
An important part of the DIY v. hire debate is determining how much your time is worth. See the post below to calculate your hourly rate!
My grandmother could copy a pattern from a dress she tried on in the store and she sewed many of her children’s clothes. The sewinggene skipped my mother (by forceable choice) and landed in me. At least, it tried to.
Two months ago I decided to make my own curtains as part of a project to re-decorate my bedroom. When a coupon for 50 percent off at Jo-Anns fabric store landed in my inbox, I was raring to go. I even had a few dollars on a giftcard to apply.
I arrived at the store and was delighted to see nearly everything was on sale by 40 – 50 percent off. I could save my coupon for a regular-priced bolt of material and get other items at a steep discount, too.
I carefully searched the aisles of fabric for the perfect material and discovered wonderful terry cloth for towels that you can buy at a fraction of what the finished product costs at Macy’s or Target. Bath sheets for $5.99 a yard? Sign me up! I also spotted fuzzy flannel for $4.99 a yard. New sheets in no time!
Then I came upon the most steeply marked down fabrics in the store: the discount rack. Some of the material was down right fugly, other pieces were damaged. One bolt was irresistible. For $12.50(orig. $24.99),I could buy one yard of heaven – a cream-colored piece of suede-lined,fuzzy sherpa goodness. My plan was to turn the material into two pillow coverings.(Pillow insideswere 50 percent off, sealing the deal).
I purchased the sherpa material along with 11 yards of brown suede (40 percent off)to make curtains. I ran out of brown thread shortly after starting the curtains so I turned my attention to the pillows. I made as few cuts as possible (reducing my chances of error) and got to work sewing a cozy three-sided enclosure for my pillow, top. On the fourth side I sewed on three buttons, above right(simpler than a zipper, I reasoned).
The material was difficult to work with because itisvery thick and the fuzz got caught in the string many times. I didn’t run out of thread, but I did run out of time so the project stretched from Friday night to Sunday afternoon. Overall I spent $25.50 (and forgot to use my gift card 
) to buy two pillows and the pillow cover material. I devoted five hours over three days to completing one pillow.
A waste of time? Me thinks not.The process was very entertaining and I renewed my appreciation for sewers, quilters, and knitters. As for making towels and sheets? I may just wait for a great sale at Target.
Sewing lessons:
- Measure thrice, cut once
- If you don’t have pins to hold material in place, needles will do
- You can undo a lot of stitches, but it’s a total pain in the a**
- Sewing straight lines is actually very difficult
- Lumps mean it was made with love
