Lots of times I've been asked to share Why That Name...
more recently I've expressed my desire to return to my old Title...and many of you have said resoundingly YES! that I should. (thanks for the support) *wink*
So I'll tell you.
Some years back, during a very dry hot summer. We were broke. "Broke-as-an-OLD-JOKE " is what I used to say as kid.
Being a homeschool family, living in the country, and always (my whole married life) living off one income; I've tried to find ways to stretch my Honey's hard earned income. At times it's been hard, but that summer...whew! We had barely the money to get by on and since it was summer, we opted out of buying Propane when we ran out of it around this time THAT year.
Well, that meant no HOT showers after a long hard days work. It also meant coming up with inventive ways to cook for a family of 6 and do the dishes properly.
If we didn't fire up the grill , then I used the crock pot, or the electric skillet. Sometimes the microwave...but it just wasn't the same- I've never mastered COOKING in the microwave. Mainly just heating. For dish washing, I would use the coffee pot to heat water to wash with. It hardly ever took much time as we would rinse them first in the cool water; so not much hot water was needed.
Then one particular day we weren't grilling, I was cooking indoors. One of the boys had requested Corn on the cob for dinner...I had some in the freezer so why not. Now, how to cook it. There it was born.
I got my coffee pot ready just like I was making a pot of coffee, MINUS the coffee of course. Ran the water through the machine and let it sit there on the warmer and we had the crunchiest best tasting corn on the cob that summer!
Of course when Honey and the kids came into eat...nobody could believe their eyes! (Mom! why is there corn in the coffee pot? ) Because that's just how it is around here child, there is always something where it shouldn't be, something doing what it wasn't intended for...using what God gives you and making the most of it, without complaining.
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
Phil.4:11
Which brings me to todays post!
Boy! it's been hot and humid here lately.
I don't mind the hot ...at all really. But the humidity...blech! Drives me crazy.
Since Honey retired in December, we've cut back on a lot of things to keep life comfortable. I'm trying to wait until Memorial Day to 'officially' turn on the A/C.
However, Sunday is the Baby Shower Day at my house. I want my guests to be comfortable. So I'll have the A/C on for that.
I hope we don't get too used to it. I don't want to have it on all the time. We still have cool nights and only sleep with a sheet and a fan.
I've been examining where there might be waste in the budget.
That's no fun to most people; but I find it exhilarating! I love finding ways to stretch our household income.
The thing about it is...it does help one to be more creative.
*Creative in the kitchen: planning meals, and making use of left overs and mostly cleanup has changed.
I use Palmolive dish soap. I love the Lavender - since Palmolive is 'gentle on your hands', and I buy the concentrate. I put a little bit in a squirt/pump bottle and add water (gently, so not to make bubbles) and that is what I use to wash my hands in the kitchen.
I am also using (have been for years) cloth napkins at meal times. No more paper napkins.
I am also using rags (ie: old t-shirts and towels) for quick wipe ups and spills. No more paper towels either.
*Creative in the Laundry: I'm still using our homemade soap. I think I'm on 3 1/2 years now of making this soap, I've learned alot. Add extra 20 MULE TEAM BORAX for extra tough stains. I am also adding distilled white vinegar to my rinse cycle too. It helps the clothes smell fresher!
These are my grand-daughters socks I was asked to post dirty vs. washed w/homemade soap.
these came pretty clean, considering they weren't perfect to begin with. (for some reason, Mommy doesn't spot treat. urgh!)
*Creative in the bathroom :
I've started to save the soap slivers and stuff them into a leftover shampoo bottle, add water, give it a good shake, and let sit until it thickens up. Makes great body wash or hand soap. No more buying hand soap.
I mentioned hand soap in the kitchen too, let me just say, the pumps you buy dispense WAY TOO MUCH SOAP in my opinion.
***Here is a tip to make your soap last longer, especially if you have kids in the house, I take a rubber band and wrap it around and around the pump, the part that pumps up and down on the outside of the bottle. This creates a bumper, so to speak, and only lets you squirt out a little at a time, saving even more soap!
Another tip, I haven't implemented yet is to put your soap slivers in an old CLEAN sock, and tie it with a string and hang it in the shower... like soap on a rope!
Ok... now this part is going to sound odd to most of you out there. So AGAIN...As I said when posting about ; FireStarters ...From this point on...
****NOT FOR THE SELECTIVELY SQUEAMISH!!!!
We've been TP free for about 1 -1/2 months. There is a true savings here. It only makes one extra small load to wash a week.
We are still in the experimental stages. And... we have no kids still at home. The biggest argument FOR these wipes is if you used cloth diapers to diaper your children, then you are half way there.
Maybe you've never ever heard of such a thing. You may email me w/ questions if you like. I'll leave it at that. Otherwise just Google : Family wipes. You may even find them listed for sale on ETSY.com , just look for yourself.
You were warned.
One last thing that we make a habit of now...after that long hot broke summer...
You remember it don't you ...way up front at the beginning of this long post?
*** When the temperature starts getting up there... we turn the thermostat on the water heater down to 'VACATION' even though we can't afford one anymore... we give our pocket book, and water heater one. It doesn't have to work as hard. It isn't heating WARM water that gets heated by the Texas HEAT... naturally. It makes coming in from mowing so nice, too. So REFRESHING.
That's it for my frugal post this time 'round. I know I'm leaving you with a lot to consider.
Or this may be one for the WTMI (way too much information) category!
You may check the 'you're nuts' box below this post if it makes you feel better ! LOL
Either way-
God bless you and Thanks so much for reading.
if you're wondering...yes, I had to truly think long and hard before hitting the PUBLISH POST BUTTON!
1 comment:
Wow, great post! Thanks for sharing, and I don't think it's TMI at all. :) We are a cloth diapering family though, so like you said, it's not really that much of a stretch. I really don't think my husband would be supportive of 'family cloth', however. But I sure enjoyed reading your frugal ideas!
genelle@ sleeplessinsandy
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