Planting Pepers

It’s planting season, and I am very busy with 6 big gardens that need to be planted. Right now I am planting my starter plants. These plants I have been growing inside my house for the last 6 to 8 weeks. I have peppers, tomatoes, herbs and spices and my watermelon and cantaloupe to plant outside.

Today, I want to show you how I planted my peppers this year. Since this is one of my plants I started early inside they are about 3 to 4 inches tall already.

First, I took some old cottage cheese containers and cut out the bottoms.

Second, I planted my plants in the ground and put the cottage cheese container with the cut outside toward the top over my planted peppers. This acts like a little greenhouse to keep the peppers warm.

Third, press the container into the ground a little bit, now put dirt around the container to hold it in place. This will help keep down the weeds.

As the peppers grow they will come through the whole and branch out. These containers make a nice base for your peppers. I spaced my peppers about 2 feet apart so I can walk in between them with ease when I want to pick them.

These containers are a cheap way to protect your peppers and to help you have fewer weeds. I save my containers each year and reuse them.

You don’t have to go out and buy all these expensive covers and containers when you probably have them in your cupboards already. I planted 20 pepper plants, now will we see how well they produce this year.

I try to find cheap and easy ways to garden since I plant 6 very big gardens each year. I like knowing that I did it myself without breaking the bank. Gardening is fun to do and gives me a great workout, but mostly I like to eat and process what I grow for my family.

I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day. As you can see I was busy this weekend.

I hope you try my cottage cheese container idea and see how well it works for you. Happy gardening from Suzie Homemaker.

Robot Vacuum Cleaners

I am going to try something different today. I have a question for you about vacuum cleaners today. Recently I was asked to test a Robo vacuum cleaner and what I thought about how it works and if I would buy it. I am going to show you the vacuum I am testing and my likes and dislikes.

First, my likes of the Robo vacuum cleaner: The vacuum is very quiet and small. This vacuum goes under furniture and beds with ease. The vacuum cleaner I am testing also has a nice feature where you can place a device anywhere you do not want your vacuum to go.

It automatically stops and goes the other way. This feature is great for steps it will stop and not go over and fall down the steps.

Second, you just place the vacuum cleaner in your room and it does all the vacuuming for you. You can start dusting your next room as the vacuum cleans another room. This vacuum works great on hardwood, tile, and carpeting floorings.

Third, this vacuum goes around furniture and under furniture with a sensor that automatically detects objects to go around. The vacuum has a sensor brush that cleans corners and walls with ease.

Forth, the vacuum tells you when to empty the bin and when it needs to be charged. When it needs to be charged you press a button and the vacuum automatically goes back to its charger to be charged.

Now for my dislikes, this vacuum cleaner cost up to $700 dollars. I think I can buy a vacuum cleaner and do my own cleaning for a lot less, besides I need the exercise anyway.

First, you have to keep on relocating the vacuum cleaner and placing the special tool for area and steps you don’t want to be done. You still need a vacuum for steps.

Second, you have to empty the little trash container often because it is so small. Plus the vacuum cleaner needs to be charged a lot. Each charge lasts less than 1 hour.

Third, I have a cat and it did not pick up cat hair off of carpets very well. Plus my tile and linoleum floors this machine did not pick up cat litter very well.

Fourth, my cat hates the machine and pawed at it non- stop.

I love testing products, but this product did not pass my test for price or quality. It was convenient in some ways but a problem in other ways. I still like my Shark vacuum cleaner I bought 1 month ago, it has more suction power and cleans much better and at a price, I can afford. Sometimes convenience is not better. Again this is my own opinion, so if you find you like these kinds of products and are willing to pay the price that is your choice.

I hope you find this blog post informative and helpful for when you want to buy your next vacuum cleaner from Suzie Homemaker.

Mother Day

Yesterday was Mother’s Day, what did you do yesterday? How many of you had a fry out with your family and mother? Mother’s Day is a time to say thank you to your mother and say how much you appreciate all they have done for you.

Any holiday can be very expensive, but I found some easy ways to save for Mother’s Day yesterday.

1.       Buying Mother’s Day Cards! This can really add up if you go to your local stores to buy a card. I went to a dollar store and bought my cards here. You don’t have to spend a fortune on cards when you go to a dollar store. You can still find very nice meaningful cards at a reasonable price.

2.     

  Buying gifts for Mother’s day! Depending on your budget this can really get expensive. My daughters made me a really pretty gift this year instead of buying one. She painted me a bird on a piece of wood for me.

3.    

   For my mother, I decided to grow some plants for her. I gave her tomato plants and some herb plants. These cost me pennies to plant and grow these plants.

4.       We also fried out and invited my parents and my husband’s parents over for a nice family get together.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to show your appreciation on any holiday. Just be creative and just enjoy the time spent together. Trying to outdo each other to see who spends the most is so wasteful.

 I hope everyone had a nice Mother’s day from Suzie Homemaker.

carpet cleaners

Today I have a question to ask you, how many times a year do you shampoo and clean your carpets in your house? Carpet cleaning can be very expensive to do, depending on which type of service you use.

 I am going to give you three options today on how to clean your carpets, and then I will tell you what I use and why.  As you know I like to find the cheapest and easiest way to save money and this is just another area that I can save money in.

Carpet Cleaning Services

This is the most expensive way to get your carpets cleaned. Yes, they are professionals and do a good job but the cost is extremely high. Most services start at $80 to $130 dollars for 200 to 400 Square Feet of carpet or $200 to $400 dollars for 1000 to 1500 Square Feet of carpet. This can really add up very fast. I have a 3000 square foot house with mostly carpet, this would cost me anywhere from $400 to $800 dollars to carpet clean my house. I can’t afford that price. I can do better than that.

Rent a Rug Doctor

I have tried this several times with mix reviews. First, you have only so many hours you can have the machine and have to return it. If you carpet cleaning takes more than a day, this can add up fast. The Rug Doctor is also very heavy and hard to use. Plus you have to buy their chemicals, which cost anywhere from $10 and up depending on how much you need. The machine rents from $30 and up depending on how long you will need it for. Now you have to take the machine back and make sure it is dry and clean or you will get charged a service fee.

Store Bought Carpet Cleaner

Last week I went online and bought a Carpet cleaner from Bissell on Amazon. Previously I owned a Hoover carpet cleaner and after 15 years it finally died and needed to be replaced. I prefer to have my own carpet cleaner so when I need it I can use it at any time I want to. The upfront cost is a little higher than a Rug Doctor but a lot cheaper than a Carpet cleaning service. My Bissell Carpet Cleaner cost me $160 dollars and a big bottle of chemicals cost me $17 dollars.

If, this machine last as long as my last machine, look at the money I will be saving. This machine is lightweight and has a long hose and tools for steps and furniture. This machine has great suction and a good scrubber and rollers to clean your carpets. I prefer to do my carpet cleaning on my terms and the price I fell much more comfortable with.

In a previous blog post, I wrote about doing surveys online for cash and gift cards, this is how I paid for my new Bissell carpet cleaner. I used my Amazon gift cards and paid for my carpet cleaner this way. So I had no out of pocket money to worry about.

No matter what you decide to do when your carpets need cleaning saving money is the ultimate goal here. I like to do things myself and take pride in what I accomplish. This is just another way I can save money by shampooing my carpets myself with my own carpet cleaner that I can use over and over again. My youngest daughter thought this was fun to use especially when she got to help pick out the carpet cleaner. We carpet cleaned her room first so she could try out the machine herself. Whichever method you choose, just remember saving time and money is the goal from Suzie Homemaker.