The Original Color Safe Bleach

Borax is an old school product. The box design even looks old and the brand name, 20 Mule Team, certainly sounds old.

Sometimes old is better. I mean, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Right?

Borax is an all natural product that is relatively safe to use in the home as long as you don't rub it in your eyes or eat it.

It's best use, in my opinion, is as a color safe bleach in the laundry. Borax boosts the cleaning power of any detergent, naturally softens hard water, and gets those lingering nasty odors out of clothes. Just add about 1/4 cup to a large load of laundry and you're good to go.

You know how after awhile your gym clothes will stink as soon as you put them on no matter how may times they've been washed or how strongly scented the detergent is? Yeah, that kind of stench. It also works on lingering ammonia build up in baby clothes.

According to the 20MuleTeam website, Borax can also be used as a non-scratching surface cleaner in the kitchen and bathroom, though I would recommend wearing gloves for that application as it's alkaline pH can be a skin irritant (as can baking soda).

Some things that you're not paying for with Borax is fancy packing and expensive advertising campaigns. Because of this, Borax usually costs quite a bit less than everything else on the laundry and cleaning supply isle, especially the products touted as "all natural" and "non-toxic".

Simplify your shopping list with one product that is safe to use, effective for many cleaning purposes, and inexpensive to boot!

The original is still the best.

Happy Dog Popsicles

Help your dogs cool down in the summer with some inexpensive dog treats by making them "Doggy Popsicles".

Just freeze chicken broth in an ice tray and voila! 

I recommend low sodium or, better yet, no sodium chicken broth. No one wants a doggy bloated with water retention! My six month old Labrador Retriever puppy always has to be chewing on something so she munches on these things like they're going out of style.

Here is a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to keep your pups happy for the summer and to save your shoes from becoming a teething ring!

This hot dog needs a doggy popsicle!

Frugal Latte Part 2: How To Keep Your Frugal Latte From Getting Watered Down

No one likes an iced coffee after the ice melts because then it becomes a watered down mess.
But wait! There's an easy fix and its name is Coffee Ice Cubes.
The recipe: pour coffee in ice tray and freeze.

The method: use coffee ice cubes in your afternoon glass of frugal latte. As the ice cubes melt they add coffee, and not water, to the mix.

Now your iced coffee is still delicious even if the ice melts!