Sensibly Frugal Living

Amazon Christmas Decorations on a Budget

if you are in need of some Christmas decorations, but don’t want to pay silly prices, then this is the post for you. I have scoured Amazon for what I believe are great prices to help you prep your house for Christmas on a budget.

*affiliate links used

Silver Baubles 24 Pack

Mumustar Christmas Bauble Ball Ornaments Shatterproof Xmas Trees Hanging Decorative Balls Set Embossed Finished String Tied Pendants Home Party Decorations 3cm 24Pcs/Box (Silver)

Red Bows 12 Pack

Christmas Decorations Red 12 mini 60mm 6cm Rim Velvet Xmas Ribbon Bows Ornaments

Wooden Tree Ornaments 10 Pack

10pcs Wooden Embellishments with String Christmas Decoration Snowflake Pattern 01

Snowman Decoration 4 Pack

Unique Party 90340 – Mini Honeycomb Snowman Christmas Decorations, Pack of 4

Hanging Snowflakes 6 Pack

6 Piece White Snowflakes Christmas Decorations Supplies Hanging Ornaments

Tinsel Wire 23ft

23 Feet Glittering Red-Star Shaped Tinsel Wire Garland Christmas Decoration

Wooden Baubles 6 Pack

Sperrins 6pcs Heart Christmas Ornament,Decorations Wooden Ornament Xmas Tree Hanging Tags Pendant Decor Christmas Wood Tree Ornaments Decorations Heart-shaped

Santa window Sticker

Christmas Xmas Wall Sticker,LEvifun Cute Santa Removable Vinyl Art Wall Sticker Window Door Home Decals Decor Decoration,50*70cm

Snowman Toilet Seat Cover

Siswong Christmas Snowman Toilet Seat Cover Xmas Bathroom Decoration Home Decor

Merry Christmas Sign

NiceButy Christmas decorations for home decorations, decorated Christmas tree or hanging door decorations (Santa Claus) decoration hanging sign

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*Disclaimer: I am a member of the Amazon Associates program. This post contains affiliate links to products. At no extra cost to you, I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links

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Free Bookmark Printable

You know what this means? It means I hit 2k followers on my Sensibly Frugal Living Instagram page and I am fulfilling my promise of a free bookmark printable. If you follow me on Instagram, then I am very grateful. I hope you enjoy my little gesture of thanks.

Now, without further ado, here they are! Yes, I said they. You get 4 bookmarks of differing designs.

Download your free bookmark printable here:

Free Bookmark Printable Download

These are perfect to give as Christmas presents. Whether you give all four as a bundle, or split them up to accompany a book, you will make the book lovers in your life very happy. You could even write a sweet message on the back. Of course, you can print some for yourself too.

For best results, print on card stock. You can leave them as they are, or get a little creative with laminating or tassels, the choice is yours.

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3 Spooky and Fun Halloween Ideas

Making a special Halloween for your kids doesn’t mean spending a fortune. You can create some fun spookiness with these 3 D.I.Y ideas.

Creepy Crawly Handwash

This really is a simple spooky idea to give your kids a little fright. Who knows, it may encourage better hand-washing too.

All you need is some of the little, plastic bugs that you can buy in most supermarkets during the Halloween period. Tesco have packs of spiders etc for £1. Squeeze one or two into the neck of your hand-wash bottle.

Mouldy Milk

Does your little one like to have a glass of milk or bowl of cereal for breakfast? Why not spooky it up with a drop of green food colouring.

I’m sure they’ll be telling all their friends about their Halloween breakfast.

Satsuma Jack -O-Lanterns

These are a great little Halloween treat for lunchboxes. I don’t know about your children, but mine will be more inclined to eat fruit if it is spooky and fun.

Draw on a simple jack-o-lantern face before popping the satsuma into your child’s lunch box. They also look good fun and make a fantastic decorative touch to your fruit bowl.

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All Natural Glass and Window Cleaner

Cleaning streaks from windows and mirrors doesn’t have to be a difficult task. The best ingredient for a streak free shine is our old, trusty vinegar.

What You Will Need:

Spray bottle
2 tablespoons vinegar
Water

Method:

Fill your spray bottle with water
Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar
Give the bottle a good shake
Spray directly onto the glass and wipe with a microfiber cloth, or better yet, good old fashioned newspaper.

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It really is that simple to get shining windows and glass throughout your home without spending a fortune on shop bought glass cleaners.

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3 Halloween Costumes on a Shoe String

Halloween costumes need not cost an arm and a leg. If you begrudge paying store prices and want to have a go at some DIY projects, then this is the blog post for you.

Photo by Александар Цветановић on Pexels.com

Cat Ears

Turn a regular headband into cat ears with just sticky tape, cardboard, and black paint/ marker pens.

Simply team the cat ears with black clothes and perhaps a little face paint.

Vampire Brooch & Shirt

To create this vampire look, all you need is card, a black marker, sticky tape, a safety pin, and a white school shirt.

Apply a little face paint or fake blood to set off the vampire costume.

My daughter really got into character for this photo.

Witch

To create the mini hat all you need is some card, a headband, a black marker/ paint, and sticky tape.

Team with black clothes, a wand or a broom, and a wart drawn on with eye make-up or face paint to pull the look together.

we paid £1 for the broom in our local supermarket.

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If you would like links to face paints and fake blood, I have some affiliate links below:

Face paints: Technic Face Paint Palette

Fake blood: Amscan International Red Fake Blood Tube 28ml

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D.I.Y Halloween Decorations on a Budget

If there is one thing my daughter looks forward to each October, it is the Halloween crafts. We have a few crafty sessions throughout the month, and everything we make can double up as decorations.

Everything in this post is made from items that can be easily sourced (most from around the home) and are inexpensive.

Toilet Roll Ghosts

What you will need:

Toilet roll tubes
Toilet paper
Black marker
Glue or tape
String or yarn

Method:

Cut a length of toilet paper to wrap around the toilet roll tube and glue/ tape in place.
Draw on a pair of eyes and a ghost mouth with the maker pen.
Tear another couple of lengths of toilet paper, and then tear them into strips length-ways. Glue these strips to the inner side of the tube at the bottom. This creates the hanging tendril effect.
Cut a length of string to hang the ghost. Glue/ tape to the inner top part of the tube.

Balloon Drawings

What you will need:

Plain balloons. (Any colour will do)
Black marker

Method:

Blow up the balloons.
Draw your design on the balloon. We opted for simple bats and webs as pictured. if you are creative, you could draw more elaborate designs.
If you are hanging the balloons, remember to do the design upside down.

Pumpkin Candle Jars

What you will need:

Glass jars
Orange paint
Black marker
Small candles

Method:

Clean the labels and sticky residue off of the empty jars and dry thoroughly.
Paint a layer of orange all over the jar and leave to dry.
Once dry, you can draw on a scary pumpkin face in black marker.
Place a candle inside to illuminate the design.

Ghostly Banner

What you will need:

White card
Black marker
String or yarn
Sticky tape/ stapler

Method:

Cut ghostly shapes out of your card. We did seven ghostly shapes.
Draw on eyes and a mouth with the marker.
Cut a length of string or yarn and staple/ tape the shapes to the yarn at regular intervals.
Hang as a banner.

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D.I.Y Fabric Freshener Spray

I do like my sofas and cushions to smell nice, but all those chemicals in the shop bought fabric freshener sprays put me off. Instead, I use a homemade version with three simple ingredients, the main one, my old friend… bicarbonate of soda.

What you will need:

Spray bottle
Bicarbonate of soda
Essential oil
Water

Method:

Pour 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of bicarb into your empty bottle. (2 tablespoons if it is a particularly big bottle).
Add 10 to 20 drops of your chosen essential oil. If it is a mild scent use more and vice versa.
Fill your bottle with warm warm. It has to be warm to help the bicarb dissolve.
Screw on the lid and shake well until the bicarb is dissolved completely.
Spray lightly over fabrics to freshen them.

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Tips for Keeping Your Home Warm

If, like me, you have put some of your heaters/ fires on now that the weather has gotten colder, you may want to learn a few nifty tips and tricks for keeping the heat in. There’s nothing worse than heating your house only for your house to lose heat like sieve.

Close doors to heated rooms. This may sound simple, but it really is the best way to keep heat in a room.
Use draught excluders. Placing draught excluders along doors or windows will stop air escaping from unseen gaps. This is particularly important if you do not have double glazed doors and windows.
Invest in lined curtains. Whether you buy new or second hand, lined curtains minimises the heat escaping through window panes etc. You can even put curtains up on doors.
Rugs for wood floors. If you don’t have carpeted rooms, throwing some rugs about will help retain heat, and it just feels cosier.
Leave your oven open after use. Only do this if safe to do so (my toddler makes this impossible for us). Once you have cooked your food, leave the oven door open to use the heat within.
Install a second flap or brushes on letterboxes. Letterboxes can be really draughty. The second flaps/ brushes are designed to minimise draughts and heat loss.
Loft insulation. This can be quite an investment, but worth it in the long run. Inadequately insulated lofts lose heat, and where the warm air meets the cold, you may experience damp/mould.

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5 Simple Cleaning Hacks

I’ve been asked a few times on Instagram if I had any cleaning hacks that could save money. This is my forte, and I am happy to share some little tips and tricks I have gathered over the years for cleaning on a budget.

Use an old toothbrush to clean hard to reach areas. I keep all our old toothbrushes, put them through the wash, and use them to clean around taps and plugholes etc.
Used dryer sheets are great for dusting. I now make my own dryer sheets (see tutorial here), but if you do use shop-bought dryer sheets, to get extra use out of them once they have been in the dryer you can use them to dust. They pick up dust and repel dust from settling again.
Old sports socks make great covers for micro-fibre mops. Rather than buy replacement cloths for your mops, stretch sport socks over the head and spray on a little floor cleaner for wet use, or simply use dry to collect dust.
Biological washing powder is not just for laundry. Biological washing powder cuts through grease, so can make light work of tide marks in bath tubs or greasy oven hoods. etc. Just rinse well after use.
Bicarbonate of soda is a natural deodoriser. Bicarbonate of soda not only neutralises acidic odours, it absorbs them. It is cheap to buy and easy to use.

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Benefits of Using Nettles in Cooking

Last week, I posted about why and how to harvest nettles, so I thought it only right to follow up with a post on the benefits of using nettles in cooking.

You can forage nettles for free.
They can be stored in the freezer to be used all year round.
The vitamins and nutrients in nettles help strengthen the immune system.
Nettles are known to be beneficial for skin conditions such as eczema.
B vitamins that are released when nettles are infused in hot water are good for alleviating stress and helping relaxation.
Circulation may be improved from the vitamin c and iron found in nettles.
Nettles are known to be anti-inflammatory and reduce the effects of arthritis.
There are polyphenols present in nettles and polyphenols are being researched in regards to treating certain cancers.

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