Introducing Mopsters, Inc.!

So for those of you who've been following me for a while, you know I'm just a little bit too crazy/high energy for my own good.  In the spring, knowing my piano teaching income would come to a halt, I began looking for a part time job to keep the debt snowball going.  Not having much luck, and finding a $10 per hour cleaning job as my only viable option, I decided that if I were going to clean, I'd really like to make a bit more per hour than that.  That's when it hit me:  I'm good at cleaning.... I enjoy cleaning....  Why not start a cleaning company?  So, I did.  Yep, I'm crazy.  Crazy cleaning lady!!

I found a real estate broker on Carolina Beach willing to give us a chance with three condos she manages as weekly beach rentals.  They're absolutely beautiful and we've been cleaning them for about six weeks now.  The broker we're working with is awesome and has been throwing extra jobs our way, too.  (Thanks, Cindi!!)  So far, Mopsters has replaced all of my piano income, plus some!  I've even hired all of my kids to help me so as they're earning, I can teach them to give, save, and spend.  Not having the extra money to buy them things during the debt snowball, I find it an absolute treasure to be able to give them work so they can buy things for themselves.  It's a win/WIN!!

So here's to dusting and mopping our way to debt freedom!  As the summer winds down and the beach condos are no longer rented every week, I'll need to find some new cleaning gigs, but for now, we are thrilled to be working every weekend.  Debt freedom....here we come!!

Check out the awesome Mopster Monsters my sister created for me. I ordered business cards (below) and car magnets (above). She's creating her own business doing logos so if you even need any, let me know. :)

Make Your Own Laundry Detergent - Be Green & Save Some Green!

Yep!  Off the deep end I go...again!  :0)  This time, I am turning my attention to making my home more green - both with using homemade, green products AND saving some green, as in CASH!  Today I made my own glass cleaner, as well as a batch of homemade laundry detergent.

For the glass cleaner, I simply mixed equal parts of water and white vinegar and some freshly squeezed lemon juice.  I swirled it all together in a spray bottle and viola!  It works great.  I think the stuff you get at the store - the blue juice - has alcohol and/or ammonia in it, so it dries much quicker.  I noticed as I was washing my windows that I didn't need as much spray as I normally use of the blue stuff.

For the laundry detergent, I found a recipe online that uses Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda ($2.79, Harris Teeter), Fels-Naptha soap ($1.29, also at Harris Teeter), and Borax ($2.97, Wal-Mart).  There are lots of online recipes, but here is the one I used:

1 cup grated soap, such as Fels-Naptha
1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax


Grate the soap and then mix in a pan with 3 pints of water over medium heat, until it all dissolves, roughly 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the washing soda and Borax. Mix until everything thickens, another 3 minutes or so, then remove from heat. Put 1 quart of hot water in a 2 gallon bucket, then add the soap mixture you just made. Mix well.


Now fill the bucket with the mixture with cold water. Stir until well blended. It will thicken and separate as it cools. Stir or shake well before using. Use 1/2 cup for each load, or more for very dirty items.

An average gallon of laundry detergent is around $5.00. This recipe is environmentally friendly, and costs about 25 cents per gallon (1/20th the cost!), so you save the green in two ways!

My New Best Friend (Non-living, that is)

Okay, so in my married life, I think Aaron and I have purchased over a dozen vacuums. Seriously....a dozen or more. It's crazy!! We have never spent more than $50 on one, but still....that's a lot of cash over a marriage of not quite 16 years!! Last fall....I think in September or October....we purchased yet another Bissel vacuum from Wal-Mart for $35. (It was during the "back to school" savings time.) I had a Bissel before and really liked it. It was a 'bagless' model and easy to use & keep clean. Well, until I creviced the front porch two weeks ago. {PLEASE tell me that I am not the only person who would crevis their front porch!!} Anyway, apparently $35 Bissel vacuums are not the best choice to use when vacuuming your front porch.....should you feel the need to vacuum your porch. (I just can't talk about that right now.)

In the meantime, we have had this big home improvement project going on that involves drywall and a LOT of dust. I know what you're thinking....if I can't handle dirt on my front porch, how can I handle all of the construction debris & dust? YES!! So, in order to clean the messes up while we work, I asked Aaron to bring in his 12 gallon Shop Vac for me to use. Since my vacuum wasn't working, I started using the shop vac to vacuum the whole house.

I have to interject something here: I have NO carpet. Seriously....no carpet in my home. I have all hardwood or laminate flooring in my home. (Would you believe I can't stand dirty carpet? I know...it's shocking!) Seeing how I have no carpet, all I ever do with my vacuum is crevis around the edges of rooms to get all of the massive amounts of dog hair that Angel leaves behind. So, the shop vac works great!

I jokingly said to Aaron, "Forget buying a new vacuum....I'll just get my own shop vac." He said, "That's a GREAT idea!!" So, off we went to the stores to price out a smaller version. After checking prices at Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart and Target, we decided to go with the 5 horse power, 2 gallon Rigid brand vet / dry vac. She has swivel wheels and a 20 foot cord. She also has a ton of optional attachments....even mini attachments that will crevis vacuum my baby grand piano. (Oh, my heart just fluttered again!)

Needless to say, I have a new, non-living best friend. Her name is Gidget and she follows me all around the house, asking, "What can I do for you now?" I have vacuumed under all of our appliances, vacuumed out all of our kitchen cabinets & drawers, the furnace filter, you name it and it's been vacuumed! :0)

You can say it.....I really suck! Ba-doom-ching!