The Adventures in Frugality

Adjusting to lower pay isn't easy.  Habits that have been ingrained in us have to be broken.  New things are tried out and often tried again.

I am somewhat enjoying living frugally.  The hunt for cheaper ways to do things is kind of a challenge.  The time spent making up homemade concoctions is a bit fun.  Some of the results are awesome, and some are not as great as I would have hoped.

For instance, the homemade bread is a huge hit in my family.  They love it so much they could eat a loaf a day.  The laundry soap has worked out really well too.  I had to travel to find washing soda, but I did eventually find it about an hour away in a larger city.

The homemade flavored coffee creamer was not so great.  The liquid was ok, but I don't think it saved me any money.  The powdered was horrible.  It definitely was not like the store bought brands.  Live and learn I guess.

I'm experimenting with body wash and liquid laundry soap.  I'm thinking of planting a garden this summer.  I'm researching lots of different things.  The goal is to find ways to live without spending a bunch of money.  If that means learning new things or doing things in a more old-fashioned way, then that is what I will do.

The irony is that I haven't heard many complaints from my family.  They used to love the perfume smell of laundry soap and fabric softener in their clothes... especially fresh from the dryer.  I expected to hear complaints that the air-dried clothes were too stiff, or that they clothes didn't smell the same.  Instead, my oldest says that her pants no longer shrink after being washed a few times.  In fact, I've had no complaints at all.

The bread, as I mentioned earlier, is a hit.  I've been boxing up clothes into tubs for storage, and the closets are starting to look less cluttered as a result.   My girls started to complain about this, because they like having their stuff around.  However, they can't complain about the end results.  Slowly, my home is starting to get more in order.  Though, in the middle of the clothes project, I wondered if I'd made a serious mistake.  It looked worse than if I would have left things alone.

There are a couple things I am having a difficult time sticking to.  One of the main bills for us is our utility bill.  I am trying desperately to lower it.  I am constantly walking around shutting off lights.  Our furnace is a gas furnace.  I turn it down occasionally.  I just can't seem to keep it down.  I freeze.  I put on two pairs of socks and extra layers and I'm still cold.  I have never done well in the winter.  Turning down the furnace too much in this old house is not easy.  My husband and I thought about a wood stove, but we couldn't afford it this year.  Maybe in the future...