PRACTICAL PARSIMONY: 31 Frugality Measures at My House

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

31 Frugality Measures at My House

These are frugal things I have done this last couples of weeks or so:

*wash clothes in cold water
*wash full loads when possible
*hang all I could to dry in the house or on clothesline
*use dryer minimally
*eat all leftovers
*use washcloths instead of tp for wet
*eat food given to me--salads and greens, no wasting because it was free
*or give it away to avoid waste
*cut down on driving
*read books from library
*take Styrofoam to Publix to recycle
*use recycling bin, even though I was going to quit
*by owning the means of production--machine to mow, so I get it done my way and more cheaply.
*used crockpot to save electricity
*cooked meat and vegetables for more than one meal in crockpot
*eating from freezer and cabinets
*wasting no produce
*used a few high $ coupons
*use led bulbs to save money
*used led bulb outside the door to cut down on bugs waiting to come inside
*do not flush the commode for #1 every time
*color my own hair
*used a coupon for free haircut
*cut my own bangs
*mending to save buying new
*doing my own pest control
*planting to hopefully produce food
*gave myself a manicure and polished nails
*always style my own hair
*found cheap labor to install new ac
*found free labor to put in water heater when I ever get one

I am quite sure there are other things, but I am tired.

How about you?

11 comments:

kylieJune 12, 2018 at 2:33 AM
I bought a whole box of sweet potato for $5 so we are eating sweet potato at pretty much every meal

I dry washing outside (don't even own a drier)

We are not using the heater much at all, sitting with blankets instead

Dumpster diving continues

Eating a lot of lentils

The kids cut each other's hair ( I insist on a professional cut when I get one, haven't had one in 18 months)

My best money saver is that I qualify for government funding for the braces I'm getting to help my walking (they are worth nearly $3K)
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JanetJune 12, 2018 at 3:25 AM
We installed Solar with a company for free! Of course nothing is free so we do pay the solar company each month so I guess what we are actually doing is leasing. Our G&E bill was $18 and was only for the natural gas. I have a gas dryer, cook with gas and wash almost everything in HOT....yes our water heater is gas. I am not certain if the way we got the solar is the right way for everyone but I absolutely did not want to go into debt buying a system. We also did a reverse mortgage I was against it for years and years but our financial adviser told us that it is sometimes a way for people to enjoy their retirement on a fixed income. I know it is not for everyone but it has taken a load off of our shoulders.
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Anne in the kitchenJune 12, 2018 at 4:34 PM
I had a routine week, but I figure by going only where it is necessary for me to go I am saving money.
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tana50June 12, 2018 at 10:07 PM
Love your list!
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Ur-spoJune 13, 2018 at 11:04 PM
This is a virtuous list indeed; good for you for doing so.
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Lowcarb team memberJune 14, 2018 at 12:40 PM
That is a very good list!

All the best Jan
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Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.

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The Cast

Fancy is my favorite hen. She is one of the three youngest hens I adopted. Because she is so gentle and friendly, she may be the one I rescued when she was being pecked to death after she could no longer stand. She got to live in the house in a box. Sometimes, I let her sit in my lap while she was convalescing. Now, she comes to sit in the swing with me, cuddling up to my body like a cat or dog. She died in February 2012.

Fancy follows me begging, complaining, needing me to do for her. She talks to me in various voices. She allows me to pick her up and carry her. When she became an adult, her head was a darker red and her body was light brown. Around her neck were tips of black feathers. It appeared she had a necklace of jet around her neck. When I showed this characteristic to a friend, he said, "Oh, you have fancy chickens and plain chickens."

Chessie has a broken toe. I broke it! She had a habit of jumping really high and almost sticking. A raccoon ate her in October 2009.

Thelma is the blonde. She is also the largest hen and the alpha hen. I suspect the gigantic eggs are from her. She often squats and presents herself to me. She is top hen, but I suspect she knows she had better be deferent to top feeder of the flock--me.

Louise is the auburn-feathered hen. She looks like the true Rhode Island Reds in pictures. She is almost as large as Thelma. Some days I suspect she is trying to be top chicken. When I got Pepper, I found out Louise is the Alpha hen.

Pepper came here from the same home as the first four. We were discussing putting red pepper on their food, wondering if it really would increase egg production. Pepper is the only name we agreed on. She is terrorized each day by Louise. Even after the worst was over, she was and is still filled with terror and very wary.

Linda is owned by four hens. They allow her to fetch for them. She loves them dearly, so she allows them to boss her around. Linda comes out in the rain to perform chores for them and make sure they have food and water. She begs scraps from all sorts of places to make sure they have fresh fruits and vegetables.

Parsimony is not a vegetable

Parsimony is extreme care in spending money. Stick around and learn about my random thoughts on accomplishing goals economically--dumpster diving aka safari, gleaning, do-it-yourself, sewing tips, recipes, and whatever is happening in my life.

Okay so maybe "parsimony" is not your thing. How about thrift, frugality or just plain saving money? I try not to go the tightwad route as that seems to imply others will suffer from my habits.

Some of my not-spending habits have very much been a part of my lifelong habits. Other habits are newly acquired and are an extension of my lifelong not-spending habits.

I am very imaginative when it comes to substituting or making instead of buying. I will tell you about making a heater for the chickens' water. Not one dime was spent since I had everything I needed right in my basement.

Practicality must rear its head alongside parsimony. For example, I will use the dryer in bad weather or because of allergies in the spring. But, I will not wash clothes in a tub as long as I have a washing machine or can find one.

You may hear more about my four Rhode Island Red hens than you care to hear. They lay delicious brown eggs.

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Tuesday, June 12, 2018

31 Frugality Measures at My House

11 comments: