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“I’ll Get Right On That”

Lately, this has become my son’s response to requests that come from me. I remind you that my son is currently 15 and all sorts of challenging! He isn’t being obviously rude, but it is more a covert way of putting me off without either ignoring my requests or saying something snarky. I am not sure, however, if this is a step forward or a step backward. Sometimes, it can be hard to tell with teenagers! “Could you please take your dirty socks upstairs?” is the request that comes from me upon finding that he has balled them yet again … Continue reading →

What is That Smell?!

One of the things that no parent is fully prepared for when embarking upon parenthood and family life is…the smell. I know, we are all enamored of the glorious, clean, fresh baby smell—but new babies don’t always smell that great. And, as the years progress, chances are, the child smells not-so-great, more often than he or she smells good. But sometime around the late elementary or early teen years, life can get pretty darn stinky… My kids tease me because I have a rather keen sense of smell and I am forever walking through the house saying “What’s that smell?!” … Continue reading →

Sew What!

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When I was growing up many parents in my neighbor made their kids clothes. Not mine, she couldn’t (or wouldn’t?) but one of my older sisters did. She was a whiz on the sewing machine. She would even make matching outfits for the three girls still living at home (herself, me and another sister). I still remember a yellow Easter outfit that she made for us. It was too cute! And she made my first halter dress. During this time, we seemed to always need dresses sewn for some special occasion at school or church. Today, kids are told they … Continue reading →

Saving Scissors

Don’t throw those dull scissors away! Here are two tricks to help get them back into action. At my house, we go through kitchen scissors like juice boxes. The scissors are constantly being snatched from the little knife block where they rest and pressed into service all over the house. When my husband needs to cut a wire and doesn’t have his knife handy, he reaches for the kitchen scissors. If my son has cutting homework and is too “tired” to go all the way over to his desk to get his scissors, he takes mine. And of course, I … Continue reading →

You Know You’re Really Frugal When…

Whether you need a quick laugh or some more ideas on how to be frugal, check out this list of signs that you are really frugal. You look forward to ironing just so you can warm up your hands on the ironing board when you are done (free heat). You look forward to the day you’ve save up enough for that big ticket item at the thrift store. You make do with newspaper until the price of toilet paper goes down. You check the coin star machine at the grocery store to see if anyone left any extra money in … Continue reading →

How to Repair A Garden Hose

Garden hoses are expensive! Learning how to repair your hose can save you lots of cash. Remember that one of the principals of frugal living is to reduce your waste, so why buy a new hose when you can still use the old one? Do you have a hose that is generally good shape but is in need of a repair? You can easily repair most damage, from a pin hole leak to a tear in the hose. There are two main ways to patch a garden hose. The first and easiest is by using a hose repair kit. These … Continue reading →

The Second Principal of A Frugal Lifestyle: Reuse

If you learn how to reuse what you have, you can save a lot. This is the second principle of living a frugal lifestyle. In an earlier article, I talked about how The First Principle of A Frugal Lifestyle is to reduce consumption. The next step, or second principle is to reuse everything you can. You will purchase and consume less, and therefore save money. There are so many ways that you can practice reuse in your life and home. We’ve all heard about washing out plastic baggies to reuse them. That is just one example of stretching out the … Continue reading →