Frugality

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** I LOVE my clothesline! **

 

It’s finally done!!  After 2-1/2 years, I finally have my clothesline done and in use!  Brian built the posts last fall while I dug the the holes, and we poured the concrete and let them set.  Then things went crazy and we never got to finish it. 

So, almost 2 weeks ago, I went out and dug the holes for the anchors, mixed and poured the concrete and set those.  A few days later, Brian hung the lines and ran the lines for the anchors.  After the concrete had set a little over a week, we went out and tightened the lines.  I finally got to use it for the first time yesterday! 

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We made 3 posts and have 200 feet of line.  We bought 200 feet of 1700 lb vinyl coated wire (like this found online at Lehman’s).  It is guaranteed not to stretch or break.  Overkill?  I don’t think so.  It should hold up very well over time and still be going strong when the cheaper line that is normally recommended  is stretching and breaking and in need of replacement.  I’m going to be able to hand 6 to 7 loads of laundry out at a time (if I need to, LOL)!  I did hold off on laundry for a couple of days just so I could hang out a few loads at once.  I have really missed having a true clothesline to use in the warmer months.  I do have drying racks that I used and had ran a line on our screened in back porch, but there’s nothing like looking out and seeing all my nice, clean laundry drying in the sunshine and blowing in the breeze. Not only is a wonderful to see, but it saves me money by not having to use my dryer all the time!  Just a wonderful added bonus for me!

Thank you, sweetheart for the wonderful clothesline!  I love it!  I plan to use use my clothesline for many years to come!

 

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~Steph’s Frugal Tips – 07/31/09~

I’m always talking about my love for frugality and finding ways to save money, so I thought I might start sharing a few random tips that I’ve learned through the years each week. Of course, I wouldn’t know half as much as I do without Frugal Families. I hope these tips will help someone else as much as they have me through the years.

Tip #1:

Double duty – if you can make something pull double duty, do it. Such as, if you make mashed potatoes for dinner but have some left over, make potato cakes.

When all of your coffee grounds are gone, reuse the container to store something else in such as cookies, pretzels, chocolate baking chips, corn meal, flour, etc. The new plastic containers work great in your pantry or in your freezer. You’ve already paid for the container so why not use it instead of sending it to the landfill.

Tip #2:

You know how when you get done with a jar or peanut butter there’s still quite a bit around the sides and bottom? Scrape it out! Take your scraper and get every last bit you can. There’s usually enough for at least 1, if not 2, more sandwiches in there. Same with mayo containers, jam/jelly, etc. Again, you’ve already paid for it so why not get your money’s worth.

Tip #3:

Think that tube of toothpaste is really empty, or there’s not much lotion left in the bottle that won’t pump any more? Think again. Cut open that tube of toothpaste and you’ll have a few more uses out of it- you’re only supposed to use a pea-size amount anyway. As for the lotion, cut open the bottle and scrape it out. I usually have at least about 1/4 of a bottle each time and do this. Put the lotion into a smaller container that you can dip your fingers into to get the desired amount. Lotions are not cheap – definitely use it all up when you can!

Tip #4:

Let’s talk laundry and dish detergent. Did you know that you can use half (or less) of the recommended amounts and still get the same results? The amounts recommended on the bottles can actually cause quite a bit of build up over time in our appliances which is where a lot of the repair bills come from.

Got really dingy clothes, don’t add extra detergent or OxyClean, add Borax (you can usually find it in your laundry isle at the grocery store). It works just as well (if not better), and costs a whole lot less!

Tip #5:

While we’re on the subject of laundry, make sure that you always wash a full load, and wash in cold water. You don’t need hot water. Even your whites can be washed in warm water. If you have super dingy clothes, you can put them on a soak cycle or let the washer fill up and agitate, but stop it before it gets to the rinse cycle and let it stand for about 15 to 20 minutes, then reset it to go back through the wash cycle again.

Also, make sure to check your articles of clothing for stains before putting them in the dryer. Your dryer will set stains in and make it very hard to get them out. (We’ll talk about dryer usage another day).

This post is linked to Frugal Friday. There’s lots more frugal tips there so go on over and check it out!

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A Day In the Life Of Frugality

 

Today has been a beautiful spring summer day!   I can’t believe how mild the temps have been for July!  God has truly provided us with some wonderful days!  It’s not too hot to be outside for long, and the kids are loving it!   It’s been so nice to have the windows open and feel the gentle breezes blowing through the house.   This is definitely a welcome change from the heat and humidity!  There’s also the added bonus of no AC running today!  A welcome respite on our electric bill!

I have been baking today which is using electricity, but I’m taking advantage of the hot oven and I’ve baked:

Homemade brownies
Bread
Bacon wrapped tenderloin 
Garlic potatoes
Homemade crescent rolls (from the freezer)

My other frugal endeavors today consist of 1 load of clothes washed using my homemade laundry detergent and they have been hung outside to dry in the nice breeze.    It’s frugal and they smell so crisp and clean!  And if you’ve never tried homemade laundry detergent, you need to!  The savings are unbelievable and it works wonderfully!

I’ve also made extra of the tenderloin.  Some will be for leftovers, and some will either go into another dish right away or in the freezer, most likely in the freezer for now.   It pays to plan ahead.  I’ve posted about planning a baking day, and the same goes for main courses.  Cook once and eat 2 or more times!  It makes those days when cooking dinner seems impossible a little easier to handle because you’ve already got something ready in the freezer.  All you need to do is a spend a few minutes thawing it out and throwing into a simple dish.  Tada!!  You can have dinner on the table in about 30 minutes!

As for other frugal acts today, while they may seem like they make little difference,  they add up over time.  I didn’t have any errands to run today, so we just stayed home, saving gas and wear and tear on our vehicle.  We also had all of our meals from home (Brian takes his lunch), so no unnecessary spending was done.  My menu has been planned for the week so there is no need for us to eat out.  This saves us a huge amount of money!  Just think, even when our family of 5 goes to a fast food burger place, it costs us between $20-$30, depending on where we go and what we order.  If we did this once a week that would be $80-$120/month or $960-$1440/year!! 

Another way to save some quick money on your weekly grocery run is to stop using or cut down your use of paper towels/napkins.  Use dish towels/rags when working/cleaning in the kitchen instead of grabbing paper towels.  If a roll of paper towels costs  approximately $1/roll (forgive me if I’m off, I haven’t bought any in ages) and you use about 8 rolls/week, that’s $416/year!  Will using more dish towels add a lot to your already growing laundry pile?  Not really, you might add 1 extra load every 4 to 6 weeks, unless you’re just really messy!  You can save even more by using cloth napkins in place of paper napkins.   

Also, make sure that you use up any and all leftovers.  If you can’t use them before they will go bad, freeze them!  Save them for a future meal!

There is really no limit to the ways that you can save money.  You’re only limited by what you’re willing to do and how far you’re willing to go.   If you really want to make you money stretch further, then just rethink how you do EVERYTHING, how much you use at one time of certain items, and make it your new goal to not waste anything!   You can find tons more information at my favorite site, Frugal Families.   I’ve learned more there than I could even try to put into a post here!

My favorite saying actually comes from the depression era:  Use it up, make do, or do without!  In other words, waste not, want not.