Trying to be Frugul

[rdsaltpower]

We are trying to be Frugal in many ways here including doing some recycling, trying to use things laying around the house for other than intended use, reducing consumption, home canning, and using our wood burning stove as much as possible. Also bought my wife a used sewing machine to repair rather than replace clothing. Anyone out there with some simple ideas on saving and being frugul?

[plantoneonme]

This is something we have been doing for quite some time. My husband is medically disabled, my son & wife were both laid off and things are just plain tough in our area....I am extremely fortunate though that I am in a profession that is in demand in our area and can work extra hours if necessary. I still would rather spend my time with my family and chose to live simply instead of working more hours. One thing that saved us money almost immediately was to start hang drying most of our clothes. I tumble clothes such as shirts and pants in the dryer for 5 minutes, just enough to get out the wrinkles, then put on hangers and let dry. Another thing I did which saved about 20% on our electric bill monthly was to install switches on all major secret energy wasters such as the computer, tv, stereo etc. Even when turned off, they still consume about 20-30% power. When we had to replace our hot water tank, we went with a tankless, instant type and saved over 30% monthly on our gas bill. One area that many people waste is food. I work very hard on using everything possible as far as food goes...very, very little is wasted. I can feed 5 people on about $40 a week...and I don't feed us beans and rice or junky foods either (three of those people are my son, wife and granddaughter since they have had NO income since Dec). When we purchase a car, we purchase a vehicle about 2 years old still under full warranty and then drive it for at least 10 years. We always maintain the vehicle very well and spend very little in repairs that way. I began vegetable gardening again and was able to feed 7 people all the fresh vegetables and fruits we used during the summer last year. We only purchase things in cash! If we do not have it in our pocket, we don't spend it or have to put something back. I look everyday for simple ways to cut costs but do not feel deprived...it is a choice not to purchase new clothes frequently. We shop resale shops and almost always find clothes like new to wear.

The list goes on and on. Don't get me wrong, there is still plenty of room for improvement...especially when it comes to the grandkids. I hope others share what they do as well. Kim

[rdsaltpower]

Great ideas, Plantone. The phantom loads on tv, computers etc can really suck the power. I have an electric water heater but I turned down the thermostat on it and installed a timer. 90 % of my home lighting is compact flo. I cant wait till March, thats when we can start line drying again! I am lucky enough to still be working along with my wife but am trying to prepare for hard times. I traded in my old van 4 years ago and downsized to a 4 cylinder car which saved a bunch of gas. We just started growing some of our own food last year but are expanding the plot this year. With all the recent food scares lately its just more incentive to plant more. We got 10 years out of our old van before we sold it and I hope to get 10 out of our car. We have three in the family and I think we could survive it times got really tough. But you have to adopt a more frugal lifestyle to do it. I think most people in this country will be forced to adopt a more frugal lifestyle with the terrible financial mess we are in. And if and when its over we will all be better citizens and smarter consumers. Once you learn to live without a lot of material things its much easier to do. :)

[plantoneonme]

I "line" dry my clothes year round. I tumble for 5 minutes in the dryer which will remove wrinkles the place on hangers. I then hand them on a bar in the basement. Before we had a basement I put a tension rod in the bathtub and hung them there. I would do a load of wash after showers were done and then hang the clothes, by the next morning they were dry and since they were already hung up all I had to do was put them in the closet. I use the spring type clothes pins to secure socks and under clothes to hangers also. Towels and jeans come out "crunchy" as my kids used to say but once dry, I tumble them for 5-10 minutes and they soften up...it sure beats 40 minutes!

I passed this hint along to my DIL when their dryer broke and she has been hanging the clothes in her tub for almost a year. Since she can no tumble at all she has a fan blowing on them and this helps remove the wrinkles. The jeans and towels are still a little stiff but it sure beats paying what the laundry mat charges. In their case, they have no choice but to hang dry.

One more thing I do to help with the electric costs besides the flourscent bulbs is to put a 4 watt night light in the hall and other strategic locations...for some reason my husband knows how to turn the light switch up but for him down doesn't work. By having motion sensing night lights, he doesn't bother to turn the lights on just to walk through. Kim

[ecogirl]

We do have a tumble dryer but we never use it! (why did we buy one in the first place?!) But on our washing machine it has different steps, one is de-crease and one is dry clothes. That's why we never use the tumble dryer! We put our washing outside on the washing line its sunny. And we put it on the bar in the utility room if it's not sunny. And if your in a rush and you needed that piece of clothing urgent then you can always hang it on the radiator! (it's what I do!) Hope this helps!

[gardenjoinery]

The dryer makes a great root cellar if it is in a cool room, since it is vented and tends to stay cool!

I really advocate trading labor for produce on a CSA, and joining a coop. These things have made a difference in our expenditure as well.

[plantoneonme]

Last fall I posted on freecycle and craigslist that I would do garden clean up in exchange for any produce left...I was able to get a lot of food this way. I also cleaned up apples fallen from an elderly neighbor's tree which saved her the cost of having the lawn service do the work and we both got some applesauce and pie! Kim

[Marcus]

Amoney saving tip I learned wich tends to work for a few of the following but takes a little experimentation too

Shampoo,shower gel,washing up liquid

most of these products tend to have detergent in a stronger concentrate than they really need many times if you keep the empty bottle from your last one when you buy your new replacement one put half of the new in to the old empty bottle and then top them both up with water with most of these products you end up with two bottles of usable products for the price of one

you can do a real lof of household chores with just good old vinegar rather than expensive cleaning products. I have found the very old way of washing windows with vinegar and water and then buffing up with old news paper still one of the best ways to clean windows.

I use a mix of about quater a cup of vinegar to 2 cups of water and a little bicarbonate of soda (too much and it reacts so only about 1-2 teaspoons) put it in a spray bottle and you have a reasonable general cleaner (you can experiment with more and less vinegar)

A little vinegar in the final rinse of clothes smooths natural fibers and removes any left over laundry detergents you can put it in the machine where you would normally put fabric conditioners but only use a small amount so it doesnt make your clothes smell of vinegar! (it is also supposed to help whites come up whiter)

if you have dark hair (and again its an old fashioned trick) a couple of teaspoons of vinegar in a pint of warm water makes a great rinse after washing and makes hair very shiny.

I can only say these tricks have worked for me some take a little experimentation to find what works best for you

take care
m

[gardenjoinery]

You can also make your own laundry detergent quite inexpensively, and give up shampoo for a baking soda scrub and vinegar rinse.

[Aspen]

This isn't available to everyone, but...there is often food waste at the nursing home where I work. I grab any stale bread, crackers, etc, to bring home and feed my chickens. The girls love the treat. I figure that anything that fills them up a bit saves me on feed.