I started this blog to keep myself accountable to help my budget and the world’s ecology by increasing my efforts toward a more frugal lifestyle. It’s not totally foreign to me. My parents raised 6 children on a budget. We all had chores. Dad gardened. Mom sewed and knitted. When we were older, she went back to work so we girls cooked and cleaned. The boys kept the lawn mowed, the cars washed and the trash taken out. We all pitched in and despite some murmuring and complaining, we were all the better for it. When the summer’s bounty came in, we all helped Mom can the tomatoes and the peaches. We made jelly, piccalilli and sweet pickels.
Over the years, I’ve gotten away from most of that. It’s hard to be “Suzie Home Maker” when your husband is trucking and you are raising the kids and running a plant business. There are only so many hours in a day. Now, the business is sold, the kids are grown with kids of their own and it’s time for me to get back to saving when I can. Here are some of the areas I am working on:
- Using cloth grocery bags instead of plastic – I have only been about 50% successful at this but I am doing better. I keep thinking about that growing morass of plastic in the ocean and that we need to avoid plastic whenever possible.
- Using an environmentally friendly dishsoap – Seventh Generation isn’t the cheapest product on the shelf but I am trying to avoid using petrochemicals on my dishes. If it is going near my food, I want to keep it as safe as possible. On that note, I know that organic food is better than nonorganic which is still better than genetically modified produce. It’s one of the reasons I wish I could have a garden here. I am working on buying the best food for my dollar. Sometimes that is organic and sometimes it isn’t. I can get 25 pounds of organic carrots for $15 at my local grocery store. I also buy my oranges from a neighbor who doesn’t spray his trees with chemicals. The oranges aren’t organic because he still uses fertilizer but they are a good second choice and cheaper as well.
- I reuse plastic bags that aren’t too soiled. However, if they had meat in them I will probably throw them out. I am keeping my eye out for some glass containers with lids that I can use for leftovers. I often find such things “good as new” in thrift stores.
- Countertop convection oven – last year I researched convection ovens and the best I could do was about $60.00 which was more than I wanted to pay. I waited until after Christmas and my church’s food pantry had 10 of them donated to them. I ended up buying one for $30.00. It is big enough to reheat pizza, cook banana bread or casseroles. I think I have even done a chicken in it. It keeps me from heating up my big oven unless I really need it. It toasts bread ok but I think my toaster is more efficient for that. It’s all about using the right size of appliance for the job.
- A clothesline – There’s no question that you save money by drying your clothes outside. The problem is that Florida can be so humid that you have trouble getting them dry before an afternoon rain rewets them. It’s a little easier in winter but you still have to watch the forecast. I have decided to use one anyway because even if I only get my clothes 3/4 dry, it saves my drier from having to do that much. Yes, it is more work but I like being outside and I don’t have as many clothes as I used to.
- Turning off lights, TVs, etc. when no one is using them – I think this one is more about becomming aware of what you actually need. I don’t leave the TV on as back ground noise. My husband likes his on but I try to be sure that if he is going out, his gets turned off. It’s the same with the kids and lights. I have some eye problems that make it easier for me to see with good light so I am not a fanactic living in a darkened room. I just use common sense and try to cut the electric bill.
I would be really interested to know what others are doing along these lines. Please feel free to leave a comment and share both successes and failures. We can definitely help each other out with what works.
Tags: budget, Cheap Living, frugal lifestyle
