Search Results for: frugal home see also home blog frugal laundry

Invest Your Time Wisely

“Time is money” is an old saying that is meant to convey the urgency of rushing ahead because any time wasted could be time spent earning money. Many times in our frugal lifestyles, we trade off time in order to save money, such as cooking from scratch instead of going through the fast food line, taking out the time to create a grocery list and clip coupons before shopping, etc. Most of the time these are good choices and have a secondary benefit. The time I spend hanging laundry means saves some money, but it also means that my kids … Continue reading →

Extra Expenses of Caring for an Elderly Parent in Your Home

If you will be caring for an elderly parent in your home, you may need to budget for some extra expenses. Even if your parent has his or her own income to pay for items such as prescription medication, you still may have additional costs that creep up and raise your bills at the end of the month. Make sure to put a little extra aside in the following categories of your budget. Electricity With an extra person in your home, you may see an increase in your electric bill. Many elderly people can’t get around and tend to watch … Continue reading →

How My Laundry Baskets Save Money

Who would have known that a little thing such as a laundry basket could save you money? My laundry baskets save me money both on a daily basis and on special occasions. Here is how. Saving Money While Traveling To save on the cost of water, snacks and meals on the road, I load up on supplies and place them in a large laundry basket. The basket fits perfectly in the back of the car, and the wide profile means that we can see what is available. There are no more unexpected food stops when we are traveling by car. … Continue reading →

Four Things I Cut in Half to Save Money

There are many things in our home that we cut in half in order to save money. When we make those cuts, we never notice a difference. Using the recommended amount or the size something comes in isn’t necessarily the best idea, especially when something will work the same way, or sometimes works even better when it is cut in half. Your products will last twice as long! Laundry detergent I always use about half of what is recommended on those cap fill lines or the powder scoops. Why? I find that with a good detergent, the clothes get just … Continue reading →

Manage What You Can to Increase Your Income

Increasing your income can be easier than you think. You just need to stop concentrating on the things that you can’t change and start focusing on the things that you can. Managing the areas that are under your control is a quick way to start making your money grow. There are some things that you just can’t control when it comes to your money. Two good examples are if the stock market goes down or if gas prices go up. You can’t really manage those things. You can, however, manage other areas to increase your income. Manage Your Debt Finding … Continue reading →

What Do You Have an Abundance Of?

I’m in the process of reorganizing my house, again. My daughter got her own apartment so now I have a four bedroom house to spread out in, all by myself. Well, Clementine is here but she only weighs ten pounds and doesn’t insist on her own room. In moving things from one room to another, I still need to finish the remodel on the master bedroom before I can ever use it, I found some things that I don’t think I can live with out. It really is the little things. *Scissors, I think I have scissors in every room … Continue reading →

The January Fast

Do you need to put your budget on a diet after the extravagance of the holidays? Here are some simple ways to get back on track quickly. You don’t want to have to still be paying those bills in March. Cook from the Pantry Skip a grocery shopping trip or two or three. Just purchase the essential perishable stuff, such as milk and eggs. If you challenge yourself to cook only from your pantry, you’ll be able to save money quickly. Take that money and apply it directly to your bills. It can add up quickly over a couple of … Continue reading →

Cleaning up at the Dollar Store

Keeping your house clean can get expensive. Every time I go to the grocery store I’m amazed at how expensive cleaners can be. Everything from window cleaner to laundry detergent just seems to keep getting more and more expensive. In this economy who can afford to spend money on something they are going to wash down the drain? I prefer to use natural things to clean my home. I don’t want all of those chemicals in the air and on the surfaces my family touches. However, not everyone is a fan of using vinegar and baking soda. Commercials have done … Continue reading →

The Laundry Pantry

What do you do when the basement is the coolest place in the house during hot and humid afternoons? Clean up the laundry pantry of course! Our house is about 81 and very humid right now. We don’t have central air conditioning, and the window air conditioners have not yet been installed. Actually, I’ve never lived anywhere for more than a few months with central air conditioning, so I tell myself that I don’t know what I am missing. Still, no one wants to be hot, so my four-year-old and I headed down to the finished basement to stay cool. … Continue reading →

Keeping House When Life is Busy

You know you are busy when you forget to eat. I come from a long line of Italians. Eating is ranked just below breathing. Someone is considered too skinny and near death if their pants size falls below two digits. So you can see that things have come to extremes in our household. My husband has a full time job with several important projects. He is also working on finishing our basement work as a freelancer and have taken on many extra hours in the last two month, partially from the needs of my clients and partially from our goal … Continue reading →