thequeenofthecastle's commentsComments On: EverythingArticles Blogs Journals Photos created by: Everyonethequeenofthecastle Toilet Frugality - Blog Entry05 Oct 2009 11:24 AM That's a good point. Thanks for the info. I hadn't really thought about that. The other thing is the plastics, especially having left it in the sun. We might have to stop that. Oh well.. the hidden toxins all around us.. they sure can be a joy kill. Are you Ashamed of Being Frugal? - Blog Entry05 Oct 2009 09:56 AM Sometimes I become embarrassed because it seems like even though my husband and I are always exceptionally frugal we always seem to be low on the scale of finances represented around us. I think there are many reasons for this, including belonging to a community that really is well off. Being with wealthy people you realize they tend to stick together and others have floated in and back out of our group probably because they feel they don't belong if they are not upper middle class. That leaves us being unusual in our group. But, the other thing I have to remind myself is that you can never truly judge someone else's finances by outward appearances. We share one car that is old and somewhat ugly, we live in a small home, we dress simply and inexpensively, but we also have significant savings, we give a large portion of our income away, and we have no debt. We live below our income. We very well may be comparing ourselves to people who drive nicer cars, live in bigger homes and have huge debts we are unaware of. Appearances can be deceptive. The Strange Things I Found Around the House - Blog Entry21 Aug 2009 12:35 PM I mentioned this in a comment for another blog.. but I recently found a tennis ball under the couch... but we don't play tennis and I can't remember every buying a tennis ball for any reason... mysterious. Do You Leave Your Kids Alone in the Car? - Blog Entry21 Aug 2009 12:21 PM I had an interesting conversation about this with a group of my friends recently and was shocked to realize so many of them do leave there toddlers strapped into the car while they run into Starbucks or the dry cleaners. I too have two small children 3 and 2 years old, but I don't EVER leave them in the car.. even for a minute to go into Starbucks. I also think it must leave a child with a great sense of insecurity to watch mommy walk off into a store and leave them behind. My children are a part of what I am doing when I'm out. If I can't include them then I should find a sitter or go out without them while they stay with my husband at home in the evenings. The Perfectionist and Clutter - Blog Entry21 Aug 2009 11:43 AM This article is me to a tee. I am learning to cut up all projects into manageable littler jobs that I can start and finish to my satisfactory standards. I am also just having to learn to let go of some of my unreasonable standards and I have to remind myself that I can always organize later, or just give up and throw all my junk away, but the time I am devoting to being mommy to my preschoolers, will NEVER come back to me. Thanks for the article. Not So Extreme Home Makeover - Blog Entry21 Aug 2009 11:04 AM You know a great way I've found to kind of make an ornate, classical piece of furniture feel fresh and contemporary is to paint it a solid color. It kind of minimizes the "frump" factor while still showing off the details. I love painting chairs black and leaving the table wood. It is a really nice combo and I've seen it done in some of the high end stores catalogs, so I think you can pull it off very nicely with a high end effect. I also recommend a paint with a little bit of gloss. Spray paint works best because it goes on nice and even and gets into all the little details nicely. The secret is to be patient and paint several light, even layers of paint letting them dry in between. Tackling Mount Washmore: Easy Laundry Solutions - Blog Entry21 Aug 2009 10:49 AM Can you be a bit more specific about ages and jobs for kids? I have very small children (3 and 2), but I try not to underestimate their ability to help me. I think many people assume that kids this age can't do anything to help, but they enjoy helping SO much. Do you have any creative ideas for simple jobs they can participate in for laundry? I have already taught them to throw away their own trash, put empty plates and dishes (plastic ones) in the sink, and wipe down the table with a washcloth after meals. Any other household job ideas I'd love to hear. Make It Easy to Not Eat Out - Blog Entry21 Aug 2009 10:28 AM We've also realized that being TOO CHEAP at the grocery store leads us into more temptation eating out. I tend to be anti any convenience foods because they aren't healthy and they are more expensive than cooking from scratch. Having said this, I'm realizing by having NOTHING convenient in the house, we are much more tempted to eat out at the end of a long hard day when neither of us feels like making something totally from scratch. So, we've realized sometimes spending the extra money on a few convenience items at the store, ultimately saves us. A frozen dinner is still cheaper and healthier than a last minute fast food drive through meal. Toilet Frugality - Blog Entry18 Aug 2009 12:40 PM Here in the summer when it's really hot outside we bathe our two children in the back yard in a small wading pool. This pool is much smaller than our bathtub inside, so filling it up takes a lot less water than the inside tub. The other thing is leaving the hose laying out for the day, so the water coming out is warm for our evening bath time. Most importantly, the kids love it because it feels more like swimming than having to take a bath. :) Greening Up Your Neighborhood - Blog Entry18 Aug 2009 12:35 PM It's a small thing, but me and my children now have a mantra that we will leave all the places we walk in looking better than when we came. It's just a simple commitment to always carry a bag on our walks and pick up trash we see along the way. We take a few different walks to the walking distance parks in our neighborhood and I noticed that really the trash I was seeing was often the same trash I had seen last week, and if I pick it up I won't have to look at it next week. I've been surprised at what a dent we've made with our little daily walks. The back of our subdivision walk is prettier all the time. |
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