Frugal Friday ~ Laundry

I posted in January about making my own laundry soap. I gave 7 gallons away and kept 3 gallons for myself. Well I am just coming to the end of the batch. For 2$ I have not had to buy laundry soap for 7 months. The soap works great, it gets out the most difficult stains and leave every load smelling fresh. I will be making another batch this week. I am so glad I stepped out of my consumer mentality and tried this recipe out.

Yet another frugal development in my laundry routine. About 7 weeks ago our dryer broke and the very nice repair man stood us up 3 times. Needless to say we had an little bundle of joy 4 weeks ago adding significantly to our Mount Washmore. Trying to keep up with it, I decided to start hanging the laundry up to dry. At first my husband hung it around the house, um no, so then we graduated to two drying racks. I love them because they they are so easy to set up on our back deck.

Well when little boy was born, we needed to do significantly more than the drying racks could handle. So up went the laundry in the back yard. Thankfully we have to poles in the back yard that have been there for decades.

What turned into necessity has awakened a new way of life! I love hanging out my laundry. They smell fresh and take no longer to dry than in an electric dryer. I do miss the softness of towels in the dryer. As crazy as it sounds it is so peaceful out there. The two boys can come out and enjoy the time with me. No distractions or noise except the birds.

Doing a load of laundry a day keeps me from hating the washing, folding and putting away. I wash it at night, hang it out and put if away before the day is done. No piles upon piles waiting for me. I am also looking forward to seeing what the difference in our power bill is after exclusively handing laundry out for almost 2 months now. It has to be a little better.

Life with a double stroller

Well life has turned a huge corner. I am officially pushing a double stroller with a 4 week old and a 2.5 year old. Errands with two are an interesting feat of gymnastics, negotiation, compromise and Bribery.

The morning was really no different. Got up, dressed, made a list of errands to run. Put both in the car, and still life feels normal. Until we get into the FIRST store. It takes 5-7 minutes just to get them both hook into the stroller, because I KNOW for certain the 2.5 year old is not going to go into the cart. So I know they will both be hooked in if juggle the stroller.

We make a very quick trip to the items we need to purchase and get to the register in record time. Thanking my lucky stars this stroller has 5-point harnesses!

By the time I am headed to the second errand I am deciding what destinations I will be cutting from the list! We make it through the third errand and leave the last two for another day. What an adventure life really is. I love every moment (even the ones I don't like).

Getting off to a great start for Fall

What is your favorite season? My absolute favorite is Fall. September is my favorite month. It is so full of possibilities. In some ways it is better than January for me. The heat of Summer begins to fade, and the harsh cold of the North East is still a long way off.

I find myself pulling close to home, organizing and spending time in the kitchen. This year brings an added dimension as my first child enters pre-school, so I add educational planning to this season as well.

One very awesome thing I note as I begin this new season is I have stuck with my January resolutions. I have turned my thoughts and efforts to a more frugal and simple way of life. This has taken shape in many ways as I cut and trim my commitments and budget. I have continued to focus on what brings my home and family the most joy.

As fall comes I am looking forward to continuing this focus and blogging about it more. Tee hee haven't been very good about that necessarily.

Nesting In Full Force?!

Well I decided to take on the kitchen for some reason today. It is amazing how things get shoved back into corners and forgotten about. The Ziploc plastic lids seem to multiply like litters of kittens down there! How does that happen?! Lets not even speak of the expiration dates on the spices in there!

Rather than one cabinet at a time I decided to re-organize and put things in a more practical order. I pulled everything out so I could see what I had and now as I put it back. The cabinets are starting to look very good. I love the look of a nice open shelves.

One thing that is difficult with kitchens and two adults doing dishes (not that I am complaining) is things get stashed where "they don't belong" so I am going to label the shelves and create an inventory of my special occassion dishes and disposables that are up in the hard to see shelves. The label maker is my friend today.

It seems so refreshing and cleansing to purge in the kitchen. I will sleep well tonight!

Awesome Meal Planning Find!

I have found the greatest meal planning website. Thanks to my good friend B! I have used several programs both free and for a fee and never come across something as easy and streamlined as this!



Plan to Eat

This site allows you to upload your recipes with the click of a button. You can import a recipe or input your own. Once the recipes are in your recipe book you can drag and drop them into the day you would like to use them. You can save plans according to any theme (holiday, season, budget friendly). With the click of a button you have your shopping list according to the dates you choose, and have the option of keeping track of what is already in your pantry and does not need to be bought to make the recipe. This can be as quick as 15 minutes a week!

One great feature is you can coupon and take advantage of sales as your list can be divided by store each week. It really is an all in one site great for people with no time to sit and spend a lot of time on meals each week.

This has given me the tools to get back on the meal planning band wagon in preparation for the newest addition coming to our family in the summer. It is saving my budget, and helping me keep to my special diet this pregnancy.

I highly recommend this site to everyone!

Frugal vs. Cheap

I saw these two definitions tonight and realized I had never thought about it before.

Frugal - money saving measures that benefit both yourself and others

Cheap - money saving measures that benefit yourself at the expense of others

The last few months I have brainstormed and at times "white knuckled" my way toward better choices for our family. I always have said " I am too cheap to...." you name it when it came to something I was not willing to buy, but I think I will not say this about myself again. There is nothing I love more than sharing what I have, and at times it allows me to save. Just like my last blog post about Laundry soap which I shared 250 loads each with 8 other families while saving a bundle myself!

I have found other mothers to trade children's clothes with and save on having to buy for my son while helping others out with the clothes I have to share. The clothes are returned at the end of each season. A win-win for both mothers who have growing children.

This summer, I been unable to pick from my strawberry patch and there is nothing I love more than the ability to have friends drop by and pick them. I save a bundle in my grocery bill by growing my own produce and in the process bless others with it too.

The list could go on. If I have it to give, I will. It makes me realize that pursuing a more frugal life allows me to connect with those who are most important to me. I think what was a "whim" at the beginning of the year may just be a lifestyle change taking effect.

So my goal for this month is to come up with more creative ways that are frugal and not cheap!

The Attitude Of A Home

What a blessing and a curse it is to be the CEO of a home. Many years ago, a woman was the keeper of the home and it was really like a fulltime job as she ensured that her family, friends, and physical home was cared for. Sometimes this meant managing others who were doing the work other times it meant doing the work herself. Either way it was her responsibility.

It will be 3 years this summer that I work fulltime managing our home, and raising our son. With Little Boy Blue on the way this summer I realize just how important my role is. I have not been able to keep up with daily and weekly tasks while pregnant and that has left my husband to pick up most of the responsibilities. While he has done an awesome job of managing the extra responsibilities it re-enforces just how important my "job" is regardless of how much I get paid. It is just a different form of payment.

It is both daunting and empowering to know that I as wife and mother spending full days caring for my husband and family sets the mood, tone, and pace for our home. I realize it is something I should not take carelessly. It is to easy to get bogged down in meal planning, laundry, diapers, and wiping baby noses that I don't see a bigger picture.

I need to remind myself more just how important what I do is, he already does and I love him for it!

Frugailty: My latest Whim

Who knows if this will be a long lasting change but the new year has brought with it a new level of frugality to my home. I have made my own laundry soap for a fraction of the cost of Tide and All, and find I absolutely love it! It reminds me so much of the fresh smell of my clothes hung on the wash line that I went out and bought a clothes drying rack.

Since we moved to this home I have been trying to figure out how to hand my laundry AND keep track of my little one. Well I figured it out. I bought a drying rack for the back deck. Now he can run safe while I hang the clothes out. The wonderful smell of clothes dried in the sunny warm breeze is heaven! All this fails to mention the drop in electric bill I am hoping for. My darling husband is happy with this whim as long as it keeps me from talking him into a chicken coop. It won't be long honey!

In the spirit of homemade soap I tried a dish soap recipe out that I did not like so it is back to the drawing board for that one. I will figure it out though. If it is not economical I will got back to coupon for free dish soap. After all it did take me over a year to use the purchase of 40 bottles at .10 cents each.

I am really excited about some of the whimsical creativity that 2010 is already luring me towards!