With the economy the way it is there are so many people going back to the basics, finding ways to cut corners, spending less and then there are the people that have been doing that forever. I am kinda in the middle. I grew up in the country, the youngest of 6 kids, we had a farm which we raised chickens, pigs, had dairy cows and we had a sawmill. Yes, times were busy for sure! We also had a HUGE garden which my mother canned and froze things from along with having enough potatoes to keep in cold storage over the winter. It brings back great memories of my parents when I think of those days. It wasn't easy for anyone. We all had our chores and we worked together to make it work.
I remember one year we had so much milk and you would get fined if you were over your quota so we made butter in one of the old fashioned churns. I wasn't that old at that time and I didn't really realize how wonderful knowing how to do that was. It was fun to me, to help out, to churn, to pack the butter in dishes.....ahh the good ole days!
Wait???? Good ole days??? That wasn't all that long ago but I think a lot of people are getting back to some of those ways and being as self sufficient as possible. A lot of people are living paycheck to paycheck or on fixed incomes and just can't afford the luxury of buying new all the time or buying brand names. For me, I never was that person to begin with. We weren't poor growing up but we certainly weren't rich (at least as far as money goes), we were rich in family values, morals and integrity and we were respectful. I miss those days, I miss my parents...but I know they are looking down on me and the rest of my family and smiling.
There are so many things that people are doing to save money or to be more self sufficient, like raising your own meat, having a garden, making your own dish soaps and detergents, beauty products etc...you get my point. Some people are doing it to save money and some people out of neccessity. I love making my own laundry soap and cleaners. I can't ever see going back to store bought. The ones I make are very easy and very cheap to make.
Other ways to save money: Buy store brand items. I know, I know, store brands aren't as good as name brands.....WRONG! I prefer store brands on many things and I do buy name brands but normally only if I have a coupon that makes the article cheaper than buying the store brand. It is all personal preference but even if I had an endless supply of money I would still by store brands on pretty much everything.
Buy at thrift stores...Goodwill...Salvation Army etc. We shop for most of our clothes etc at thrift stores and a lot of the time they have things that are new with the tags on them. On Monday's (the one we go to) has 50% off of EVERYTHING...how can you beat that. I have bought my husband a NIKE winter coat for 4$, yep 4$, now that is when I will buy name brands the added bonus is that a lot of these places help charities out so not only are you saving money you are helping others as well.
Entertainment: Instead of spending $$$ on cable, use an antenna and a converter box, you will have the main channels and no costs per month. Go to the Library and get movies to watch, the one near us, you can borrow 10 DVD's at a time for 2 weeks.
Instead of spending 3$ a day on that coffee out, make a pot at home. If you need it on the go, get a cup so you can take it with you on your commute. 3$ a day adds up at the end of the year.
Eat in and make food from scratch: We eat out or order in once a month and it is a treat. We both love cooking and cook everything but once a month is our treat time and we may order a pizza or go somewhere but we limit that to once a month.
I am not saying NEVER buy a coffee or NEVER go to the movies but do it once every couple of months, make it a date night, go for a meal, then the movies and then have a coffee after.
There are so many other things I can say but I will leave them for future posts.
How do you save money?
Cloth VS disposable has always been something that a lot of people disagree on but I think that over the past few years people are getting more and more into cloth for diapers, baby wipes,napkins, paper towels, and even feminine hygeniene products.
Not only does this save money it also is much better for the environment as so much less is going into the landfill.
I know it may be more money up front for diapers and more work BUT to me and so many people it is worth it.
We do buy one roll of paper towels a month but mostly all we use for cleaning are rags (old socks, washcloths etc).
Also, we use cloth napkins that we bought at a garage sale that were brand new and never been used.
A lot of it comes from being thrifty or for some just the fact that it is more enviro friendly, I think for me, it is a bit of both. I like saving the money but I also like the fact that I am helping the environment.
We have diminished the use of plastic bags and only use recycled cloth bags for groceries.
I am not saying we never use plastic or disposable EVER but for sure over the past year or two we have slowed down on these things so much and we really notice a difference.
How about you? Do you buy disposables at all anymore?
To some people doing dishes is a job that they would rather not have to do! I guess I am one of the rare people that don't mind doing dishes (yes, you read it right) ....
There is quite a bit of an age difference between my siblings and I and so when I was pretty young I had to do them as one of my chores. My mother was sick most of my life and so I had more chores than other kids my age did to help out. My brothers and sisters had all moved out and were married by the time I was 12 and at that point my mother was getting worse. I pretty much started doing dishes when I was a lil kid on a step stool. I remember helping out by drying the dishes at that point but as my mother got worse and I was getting older, obviously I ended up doing them. I remember my mother winning a dishwasher when I was about 10 years old and we hated it! It was one of those that you had to bring to the sink and hook it up, not to mention rinse everything first. I didn't see the point of wasting my time doing such a thing so we used it a couple times but it wasn't something that we made a habit of using. For that matter, we put it in it's place and used it for storage of canned goods! Yep, it did serve a purpose!
So all of my life I have hand washed and dried dishes. I have a lot of fond memories in the kitchen washing dishes, especially when my aunts and uncles would come and visit and one of my aunt's would always help do the dishes...usually they would wash and I would dry and put them away. It was a great time and it was a bonding moment as well. Even though I was a kid and didn't really realize it at the time, those moments are times that I now treasure and smile when I think of them.
I am now married and still we hand wash and it is something that both of us would rather do than use a dishwasher. I have never had a dishwasher other than that one that my mother won way back when.
Over the years, I remember using all sorts of different brands of dish soap but it has been in the past year that I have discovered one that I truly adore...it is one that I make! I never would have imagined making my own dish soap but now, along with my other cleaners, I can't think of why I would ever go back to store bought.
It is a simple recipe that I will share with you. Keep in mind that the first time I made it, it was a bit too thick but it worked great. Now I make it by the gallon and save so much money doing so.
The Recipe Is:
1/2 cup of grated soap (I use aloe but you can use any really)
3 cups of boiling water
5 -10 drops of essential oils (whatever you want)
Directions: Boil the water and put in a bowl, put the grated soap in and stir til it is melted. Let set for about 20 minutes and pour in a squeeze container. Once completely cooled add the essential oils.
I get 3 cakes of aloe soap at the dollar store so for one batch of this size it costs about 25 cents.
For those of you that do use a dishwasher here is an easy recipe:
1 cup of borax
1 cup of baking soda
Mix together and use.
Either way, it is so much cheaper to make your own no matter if you hate doing dishes or not!
Do you hand wash or use a dishwasher?
I just started making mayonaise a few months ago and it is so simple to make yet so tasty! There are tons of recipes out there and the possibilities are endless as to what you can add to your basic recipe.
We have all seen the flavored mayonaises at the supermarkets and I love them but they can be pricey. So now that I started making my own, I am experimenting with all sorts of flavors.
Basic Mayo Recipe:
3/4 cup of oil
1 egg
1 tsp of lemon juice or vinegar
1 tsp of mustard
2 tsp minced garlic
In a bowl mix all ingredients together except the oil. Add the oil in a bit at a time and mix until it is the consistency of thick pudding or a cake batter. It won't be as thick as mayo yet.....put in fridge and let set for about 24 hours. Simple! Simple! Simple!
Now, I have used olive oil but we don't like the taste as much plus it is a lot more expensive to make, so if you are trying to do it cheaper olive oil is not the way to go. I use canola and we love it.
Also you can exchange the minced garlic for garlic powder and we love our garlic so I usually put in a bit more than what it calls for.
The first time I made it, I made it using the quantities it asked for, as we weren't sure if we were going to like it. Although, I didn't make it thick enough, the taste was amazing! So now, I quadrouple the recipe and that fits in a normal mayo jar.
There are so many things I want to add to it...I have heard of putting horseradish in and would love to try that. Instead of garlic one day I will use onion or possibly chives...so many possibilities!!!!!!
The cost for a jar of homemade using canola oil is about $1.50 - $1.75 and it tastes so good. You know what is in it and you have the satisfaction of doing it yourself. How much better can that get?
