Homemade laundry detergent and I went shampoo free. Invest in a Diva Cup. Ditch the paper towels and napkins for the real deal. I have gotten TONS of use out of the 938 baby wash cloths from when the kids were born.

Yes!!!!!!!! Someone else loves the Diva Cup!!!

Rhonda - some things that have worked for me over the years.

• Freecycle.com
• Started a babysitting co-op where we swapped services
• Bartered garden veggies with others in the community. We could grow squash like crazy, but I hated growing corn for instance.
• couponing and the numerous coupon and thrifty websites out there
• "make our own day" - spend a day baking and cooking and freezing a variety of items that we would otherwise buy convenience versions of (granola, muffins, pancake mix, bread mix, cookie mixes, etc.) A good cookbook for this is "More with Less"
• Second hand stores and garage sales
• Use the library for books, dvds, etc.
• Cancel cable tv - spend the time doing family things together instead
• Walk or bike as much as possible. Carpool if necessary.
• Homemade gifts for ALL relatives - photo albums, crafted items, baked goods, etc.
  
  

I woke up with poison ivy swelling my right eyelid, and it's between my fingers on the right hand. Twice in my past I have had it completely eat up one side of my face, placing a huge bubble over my eye...so I am happy just to be able to open it today. It has to be out in my flowerbed somewhere, because i get it every year soon as I start working out there. It's not as itchy as it is annoying that I can't open the eye all the way.

Figures, a whole week off and this comes on the day we have to be back out in public

I hope everyone has a god day, I'm going to try to regardless.

Purplefirefly - So sorry to hear about your poison ivy! I hope it clears up quickly!

I tried Diva cup and it wasn't for me. Wanted to like it.

Theresa - sorry about the poison ivy. I've never had that, but have heard that it's miserable. Doesn't it burn like crazy?

Counting Down - like all your frugal ideas also! I've been toying with canceling the cable...

Well, even with all my good intentions of staying very OP this weekend, I didn't manage to do it. Overall I give myself a C+. But, I know from past experience that doing stuff like this over the weekend only allows me to maintain instead of lose the following week. So why do I continue to do it 1-2 weekends a month... I need a very specific weekend challenge each weekend I think!

Hi Losers!

I'd like to say that I'm a loser today. The sad truth is that my off-plan weekend caught up with me quickly. Today was my official weigh-in day and I have a 2.2 pound gain. I'm discouraged with myself. I'm not really sure why I allow myself to keep going off plan over and over again. I lose a little, then gain some back...lose a little more, gain some back. It just doesn't make sense to keep doing this to myself.

Purple - So sorry to hear about the poison ivy. Hope it clears up soon.
Zinke - The Diva cup sounds...interesting? LOL I'm not too sure about that one. Of course, I no longer have a need for anything like that and I'm not real sure if I could convince my 12 year old DD to try it. She fancies herself a "greenie" but I'm not sure how dedicated she truly is.

My plan for today: To get through the mountains of work that built up during my week off. And, to walk the neighborhood for at least an hour.

Hope everyone has a great on-plan day.

Nori...maybe we can come up with a way to challenge each other on the weekend. Sounds like we both need it...and, I'm pretty sure that we're not the only ones!

Hi everyone...
I'm new to the challenge too. I looked at this thread and saw it was 20 pages and was a little overwhelmed so I didn't even attempt to read it all. I just wanted to say "hi" to everyone and I am ready for the challenge to start!!

I thought of that one in the middle of the night! I went to the thrift store and found 2 dozen, NIP cloth napkins. I found another dozen used that I use for paper towels.

Loved it until I got my IUD. Now it just cannot keep up.

If I lived alone, baby! DH never watches TV, but when he has the urge, he wants every channel available. I have pared us down to the minimum. Before we married, I had an antenna on a TV. 4 channels.

Oh, I am so sorry.

There is a book that might convince her, but you would want to read it before you let her. She is a bit young. It is by Inga Muscio. I cannot give you the name, as I would get kicked off the board. Anyway, it goes into the social/political reasons for not using commerical feminine products.

10:15, and I am still OP for the day!!

I need a weekend challenge too. When dh is here we both think it's a free for all! Plus I stay up late and eat most of my cals after 9pm. I guess I could make a rule like only fruit after 8pm bc sometimes I just HAVE to eat late just to stay awake and help him with whatever. If I could go to bed at 8pm each nite, I wouldn't have this problem. Uggh!!!

I have no idea what I'll be at when we start. Guess we'll see. At least I haven't gained back the 43 I lost since August last year. I just keep gaining and losing the same few lbs.

Well gonna go do WATP. Already did 5 stair sets and need to do 18 more today. Sometimes just the time to do them is too much. I was climbing them late yesterday to be sure to finish them. May not be able to add one each day and climb each day but I want each week to climb them and add more. I feel stronger so that is good.

I like all the money saving stuff you all posted! There is a thread here for that too I was reading. I am growing some veggies this year, I love thrift stores too and I buy clothes from stores I go to for my kids when the season is over for the next year. I have saved soooo much just doing that. Do that for myself too and dh when I find sweats or swimsuits or just about anything, jackets, gloves, and whatever else I can find.

Anna, hope things are better for you all.

Rhonda, I can't lose right now either! Hope we can get this under control soon. I am sabotaging all my weekly effort too on the weekends! What is wrong with me!!

Nori, dh will never cancel cable but I've wanted to before too. I might miss a few things but overall I have no time for it anyway. Hmmm...dunno, might reallly miss a few shows.

Zink, wow, homemade, eh? I can't get my store bought detergent to clean well enough, bet what I would make REALLY wouldn't work. Sounds interesting tho, esp. since I go thru so much.

Purple, OMG, how painful, just sounds dang painful. So sorry. Hope its better soon!

Hiya to Faerie, love ur name! Hiya to Chellez, Tina, CountingDown, Soul, Real, and everyone here!!

Challenge starts soooon!!!

Hugs, Selina

Morning everyone,

Glad to see we are still acquiring Newbies. Don't worry about it feeling a bit overwhelming right now. Just jump in a don't worry about the water temp.

Well, doesn't look like many have had a great weekend, between the poison ivy and the off plans. Sorry.

I was good this weekend and even ate out. I stayed on plan except for 1 extra starch on Saturday, but then I planned for it, and between planning and working out, I think it helped me.

Rhonda, have you considered changing your WI day? I am a chronic scale person, so I actually weigh each morning, but I use my WI day as Wednesday. If I go a little off plan (and I do mean a little, you still can't go crazy) I can get back on track and get rid of the salt and any extra weight by WI on Wednesday. Again though you still can't go crazy and expect to lose, but it looks like you are maintaining fairly well, so this might work for you.

Purplefirefly - I am iching as I type just thinking about your poison ivy. Hope you feel better

Hey Selina, thanks!

I soak mine overnight, and them nuke them in the microwave for 5 minutes. I use 1 part oats to 3 parts water. Then I add cinnamon. yummy!