How thrifty are you?

[Beekissed]

Quote:
Ya' know what, Newnanchic? I have run out of the washing soda before and just used a whole cup of the Borax and got the same results! They are both laundry boosters. Don't sweat it!

 

[domromer]

How am I thrifty?

I ride my bike a lot of places.
Grow a lot of my own food
share a car with my wife
Don't run the AC in the summer
Have all floru bulbs
wear my clothes until they start falling off
Have a small house
put mu comnputer on stand by after 10 minutes
Hang our laundry out to dry


I'm sure I could do a lot more, but I'm ok with this much.

 

[herbandteas]

I hear ya on that.....we have way more veggies in the garden than we have in past years. I got the chicks for eggs/meat. I have ducks coming too. I will have duck eggs before the chicken eggs. Besides veggies I also grow herbs for different uses.

I am just trying to figure out what else we need to do.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Great ideas on this thread! Some of the things we do:

Grow food in our small backyard
Grow more food at a community plot at our church.
Have chickens (since I only have three, I'm not spending money on eggs that I don't use).
Cook from scratch.
Shop the sales at the grocery store. I have my top prices I won't go above on most items. I shop for my fridge/pantry and not for specific meals which saves me from paying too much for anything.
Buy produce items when they're in season.
Buy used cars.
Don't carry the medical coverage on the car insurance because it costs a lot and pays little, plus we already have medical insurance.
Run no debt (other than house, to keep interest costs down).
Use items until they're are worn out.
When replacing worn out appliances, replace them with Energy Efficient models.
Use CFLs in all of our lighting.
Keep blinds closed on the sunny side of the house in summer, open in winter.
Open the blinds instead of turning on a light (when it's not on the sunny side of the house and it's hot outside).
Use the windows and fans instead of AC.
Bundle up in the winter instead of running the heat.
Cook only a few days a week, eat all the leftovers (we end up with a lot of soup!).
Don't buy sodas - drink water instead.
Make my own sun tea.
Bought a house and have stayed in it even though it's a tad small now that we've added kids to the household. In this area, this is a huge savings in taxes.
Turn off appliances via the power strip to avoid using phantom power.
Keep all lights off in rooms we're not using.
Group my errands.
Hubby rides his bike to work.
Give the kids an allowance and bday and Christmas presents. Anything else they want, they have to spend their own money.
Shop Craigslist and Freecycle.

I'm going to put in a clothesline this summer and will use that with some of my loads. I have a Energy Efficient washer that makes my dryer load take only a bit over a half hour, but I know I can do even better if I don't use it at all.

Question for you folks using the homemade laundry soap . . .

My washer clearly states all over it that use of non-HE detergent will void the warranty. I've not been able to find anything about this online. Is there any chance of the homemade stuff gumming up the HE washers?

 

[CarriBrown]

Quote:

And I blamed it on your uncle!!! Geez. I better get those cans over to you and get in line!

LOL Well he took some too... I'm just not out there enough! I won't be out there again until the 28th... so if you're around, I can bring some to you!

 

[Omeletta]

Great list, Backyard Buddies. As to your questiona bout the detergent and HE washers, I've used my homemade soap (similar recipe was posted in this thread) for over a year now. My front load has never gummed, my laundry gets clean, and I haven't even used 1 whole box of either the washing soda or the borax...if I had to guest-amate how much this has cost me in the time I have been using it, I would say it cost me a total of $6. I have never had a problem, and our eczema has all but disappeared. I used to be a tide girl..never again! I also dilute some of the stuff and put in a spray bottle for spot treating. It really works and doesn't take much time to make, about 15 min for 3 honkin' huge pickle jars full. Hope this helps!

Tanya

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Quote:
I may or may not be around then. We're supposed to drive up to Washington, but it's getting more and more expensive to do so. So far, still cheaper than airfare, tho.

If I'm not around, I'm sure one of the other folks will be willing to meet you. I'm not sure if anyone in the group has a truck and can come do a pickup, but I promise you I'm not puttin' a can of horsey poop in my car!!

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Thanks Tanya! I'm glad to hear that your experience has been OK. Since my washer is less than a year old, I may just call them and double check. I paid a lot of money for it and certainly don't want to risk losing it. But, the energy savings have been HUGE, so it was worth every penny!

I really hope this works for us. I just paid a bit over $12 for some earth friendly soap that does 120 loads. It was still cheaper than the Tide (over $17, 110 loads), but I'm all for the homemade if it'll work for me! Besides, I just don't understand buying "earth friendly" soap in a container that has to go into the landfill!

 

[CarriBrown]

Quote:
I may or may not be around then. We're supposed to drive up to Washington, but it's getting more and more expensive to do so. So far, still cheaper than airfare, tho.

If I'm not around, I'm sure one of the other folks will be willing to meet you. I'm not sure if anyone in the group has a truck and can come do a pickup, but I promise you I'm not puttin' a can of horsey poop in my car!!

Well... Hopefully we can meet up for beers and iced tea again! LOL

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Quote:
Ice tea, huh??

Sounds great! And, there's always the fair! Maybe we need to do a So. Cal chickenstock!

Next time you're down at your grandma's, take a drive by and see the garden. It has changed a LOT since you last saw it. I haven't been out there in two weeks (last week was DS's bday - I'll make hubby work on his bday, but not DS!

) so I'm sure it's even changed since then.