How I saved money this week (June 22, 2013)

Life was very full this week. I'm thankful for health and strength to put in a full day's work. I remember a few months ago when my knee joint was swollen and I could barely walk. I did a lot of sitting. I'm grateful that I can now take care of my home again. There are different seasons in our life.  A time to work and a time to rest. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

This week I've been working diligently to put up the produce that we are harvesting. My freezer is full so I need to continue pressure canning whatever produce I can. This will help with the limited storage space I have available.

Here are a few things I did to save money in my home this week:

1. I washed my car at home using 2 buckets of water. One bucket with soapy water (car wash liquid purchased several years ago from Walmart. It lasts forever.) and one bucket with warm rinse water. I didn't think it was possible to only use 2 small buckets to wash an entire vehicle .. but it is.

2. I made a batch of homemade dog food and froze it in small containers.

3.  I made 2 batches of homemade spicy tomato sauce and pressure canned 8 pint jars. I also pressure canned my first batch of green beans. I bought a Romano green bean seed and we love it. It's wider than most and has a buttery flavor.

4. I was blessed with free plant stakes, a medium sized flag pole for the garden and a stepping stone from Freecycle.

5. I purchased birthday cards from the dollar store instead of a drug store. They were very nice.

6.  I bought a belt from the thrift store instead of a department store.

7. We're eating the vegetables in season from our yard. I'm buying very few veggies at the grocery store. An occasional avocado or romaine lettuce head but nearly every dinner meal has a salad or multiple vegetables from our yard. I just heard you can put kale in a smoothie so that will be my next attempt. Hubby says 'no thanks'. :-)

8.  Seeds (broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, pumpkin) have been planted for our fall garden. I was also given some sweet potato seedlings from my daughter in love.

9.  I made another batch of The Duggar's homemade liquid laundry detergent.

10. I'm researching how to harvest stevia and make it into a liquid sweetener. Currently, I am paying nearly $15 for a small bottle. I'm hoping to make my own someday.

There was more but those are the highlights.

What are you doing in your home this week? There is no small task when it's done with love for God.

A Productive Home

 I've been thinking about a book I read years ago called, When Father's Ruled. It was an interesting study of how the Reformation affected the family and how the home was thought of as a place of productivity.  I liked that thought!

 Most of the productivity in our generation seems to be outside the walls of the family home. It's not a sin... mind you! I don't really know of a direct command forbidding it one way or another... just that all we do should be done for the glory of God.  But, I do find it interesting to look back and see how different the home was viewed in previous generations.

Zucchini

Why make the home a place of productivity in this generation when we don't have to? I like to think of it as a trade off.  I can pay someone to produce items for me or I can cut out the middle man. If I do the work myself it saves money. Saving money benefits our home in several ways.

- It stretches our income.
- The extra income can go into savings for unexpected future expenses. A savings can help avoid expensive payments because we have cash on hand.
- The extra income can be used to help others.

Herb Garden

For instance, my tomato plants are producing right now.  I have enough to make 2 batch of homemade spicy tomato sauce. I already have my jars from previous years. I've been picking up a few boxes of canning lids each payday. I have fresh basil and parsley. I've been harvesting onions and a neighbor blessed us with garlic. I have everything I need to make the sauce from my home except 2 cans of tomato paste which I picked up this afternoon. I use a lot of sauce in soups and stews in the winter. Producing my own tomato sauce and canned tomatoes will cost less than purchasing them from the store which will give me extra money to use in other areas.

In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty. Proverbs 14:23 ESV

Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.  Proverbs 13:11 ESV

How about you? I'd love to hear what you are producing in your home.

"From beginning to end, Scripture repeatedly emphasizes God’s ownership of everything: “To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it” (Deuteronomy 10:14).When I grasp that I’m a steward, not an owner, it totally changes my perspective. Suddenly, I’m not asking, “How much of my money shall I, out of the goodness of my heart, give to God?” Rather, I’m asking, “Since all of ‘my’ money is really yours, Lord, how would you like me to invest your money today?”"

Randy Alcorn on money!

A Frugal Yard

We've lived in our little cottage nearly a year this month.  The house had set empty for a year and a half before we moved in so it was in need of TLC.  The elderly lady who lived in this home for many years was a flower lover and the yard displayed that love.. even though things were dry and nearly dead. It didn't take much time before the flowers perked up and new plants began popping up.

I've never spent a lot of money on flowers for our yards. There has always been someone in the family that was willing to share seeds or small plants. This past week my mom dug up her Blue Dawn (a special kind of morning glory that blooms for a long time) and shared a bucket full of roots.   I planted them along my cyclone fence for privacy. We had planned on purchasing privacy slats but they are so expensive that we decided to plant morning glories instead. I also had an asparagus fern that had babies coming up in random plances so I transplnated them along the fence, too. Receiving free vines saved us over $100.  If you don't have any flower lovers in your family then you may find free plants through FREECYCLE. I periodically see free seeds and plants offered.



I think a frugal choice for plants would be those that re-seed themselves. I've never liked spending money on flowers that only produce for one season. Cosmos, Coreopsis, Geraniums, Mums, Poppies.. there are a host of flowers that will give years of enjoyment without having to buy them every year. It's fun to share seeds with others, too. I was walking in the neighborhood one day and fell in love with some Aster plants. The next time I walked by the owner was outside and I commented how much I loved her flowers. She immediately offered me some seeds. That was so nice of her. I have found that flower lovers are generally nice people. :-)

I'm also fond of plants that don't require a lot of water.. especially since we are on a tight budget. I have quite a few plants that fit that descriptions such as Iris, Surprise Lilies, Geraniums, Dusty Miller, Tiger Lilies, Camellias and a small pink clover plant.



I want to improve my soil so that it will hold water longer. I'm using a lot of water now that the summer is heat is here.  I plan on using my homemade compost in the flower beds too and not just the vegetable garden. I have rinse water running from the washing machine to water flowers (not veggies) alongside the house. I'm still saving the rinse water from the dishes and the beginning water before it turns hot. I throw those on the flowers, too.

My yard gives me so much enjoyment. I love going out after dinner and working until dusk.  It's  great exercise, too.

 



How do you save money in your yard? Our vegetable garden is doing so well that I'm tempted to tear out the lawn and flowers and make it all veggies and fruit. I keep wondering why I am paying out water for decorations instead of food. But... I do enjoy the flowers.. so .. for now they are safe. :-)

Frugal things I did this week!

I haven't had a lot of new things to post. It's not that my days lack frugal saving ways. I continue to practice, practice, practice all that I've learned. The new ways are becoming familiar and tend to flow easily in the schedule of my days. I remember how awkward it was when I first started saving the beginning cold water that runs before the hot water comes through the pipes. But, now it's so engrained in the way that I do my dishes that I don't even give it another thought. I collect the cold water in a small bucket and then set it outside my back door while the warm water is running into my dishpan. After I finish the dishes I take the rinse water (that would have been wasted down the drain) and throw it on some flowers. I get 3-4 buckets of water a day. It's amazing how many plants I can water. 

I made another batch of homemade dog food tonight. I didn't have enough table scraps of meat to make a batch last month and had to spend $10 on canned dog food.  This month I can use that $10 towards another necessity. I boiled the scraps of meat, leftover vegetables and rice in a big pot on my single burner in the garage. I put an old puzzle board across the sink to use as a work table. I liked having the mess out in the garage. It was easier to clean up and it kept my kitchen from getting hot.

The garden is doing great. I'm picking zucchini, white and green small squash, yellow squash, radishes, raspberries, some blackberries but not many, spinach and lettuce. The tomatoes are starting to turn red. I got my water bill for this past month and I stayed within budget. I was shocked. I thought for sure we would go over because of all the watering in the garden.

I think my comfrey plant is just about ready to be made into liquid fertilizer. Comfrey fertilizer is supposed to be high in nitrogen which is good for peppers or tomatoes. I'll pick the leaves and place them in a bucket covered with water. It will take about 20 days to decompose. The leaves will be thrown in my compost bins and the liquid fertilizer will be poured on my tomatoes and green peppers. This is a cheap alternative to the store bought fertilizer and organic to boot!

So what's new in your neck of the woods?  How did you save money this week?

Free Kindle Books (even if you don't have a Kindle)

If you don't own a hand held Kindle then just click on one of the links below and look below the price where it says: "Don't own a Kindle?". It will download an app on your computer which allows you to read any Kindle book right from your own computer. There are so many great deals in the Kindle books and many are free.  You can bookmark your page and also make notes. Very cool!

 The ones I've listed below are FREE. Enjoy!


Does God Control Everything?  Can I have joy in my life?  Can I be sure I'm saved?  Can I know God's will?  Does prayer change things?  How should I live in this world?  What can I do with my guilt?  What does it mean to be born again?  What is baptism?  What is the trinity?  What is faith?  Who is Jesus

Keeping cool without A/C

I should clarify that even though I don't have A/C I do have 2 window air conditioners and ceiling fans. It still gets very warm on days that are near or over the 90's. So, I'm looking for ways to keep the house cool which will also help with my electric bill.

Cooking in my kitchen heats up the entire house ...  even if I cook early in the morning. So,  I'm finding alternative ways to make my meals by developing a routine to cook outside. I have a propane camp stove (high powered that I purchased at Bass Pro), a very large toaster oven and a crock-pot. I use the propane stove on the patio and the toaster oven inside my garage along with the crock-pot.I also have one electrical burner that was given to me last week.

It's a little inconvenient to cook my meals outside. I think over time I'll come up with an easy routine. I use a large tray to carry my food items out to the stove. I set a TV tray next to the camp stove for my utensils and plates. I take notice what keeps me running back and forth to the house and look for ways to reduce my steps. As a result I decided to leave a couple of potholders in the garage along with a few cooking utensils.

Cooking outside makes a huge difference when it comes to keeping my house cool.

The second thing I do is to watch where the sun is hitting my windows and keep the curtains drawn. I realized the sun hit my kitchen windows  until around 10 o'clock. I had a burgundy sheet in good condition so I made half drapes and found 2 tension rods. I keep the bottom part of the curtain up until the sun stops shining on that side of the house and then I take them down.

Thirdly, I ,like to take advantage of the cool air outside so I open up the windows in the early morning hours and allow the air to flow inside. Once the air outside starts turning warm I close all my windows to trap the cool air.

Fourthly, I use small personal table fans in several of my rooms. I have a small table fan in my kitchen, office, bathroom and next to my bed. Oftentimes I can use the small fan in place of the ceiling fan which I believe costs less electricity.Last night I was warm but my husband was not so I was able to turn the small fan on next to my bed and save using the overhead fan.

Lastly, I wear lighter clothes on hot days. It's amazing the difference between wearing capri's and a  long pair of pants. I've collected a few light cotton tops for the summer which really help. Putting my hair up helps, too.

I read last week to run some water in your bathtub about ankle deep and to dip your feet when you get too warm. I haven't tried it yet but I think it would help.

How about you? Could you add anything to this list?