by Texas Homesteader ~
Living here has taught me to make the most of what we already have. It’s really very easy when you learn to do little things each day to save a few bucks. It’s rarely the big grandiose things that make the most financial difference, but the small daily tasks repeated over & over.
So I’ll share with you 5 frugal things we did this week to save money. It has a nice little side benefit of almost always being gentler on the environment too!
by Texas Homesteader ~
Y’all know I shun plastic like a banshee, right? I haven’t accepted a plastic shopping bag from the store in years, much preferring my pretty shopping basket anyway. And I refuse to buy over-packaged items too. I’ve learned that recycling isn’t the answer to our landfill problems – PRE-Cycling is! But what is precycling? Well that’s shunning trash from coming into your home in the first place.
But today I’m talking about cling film. You know the stuff, it’s always sticking to itself and hardly ever sticking to the item you’re trying to wrap. Use it once & throw it away. But whaddyagonnado?? Well, I’ve started using beeswax wraps!
by Texas Homesteader ~
In a continuous push to purposefully spend more time with our family, RancherMan & I always look for opportunities. We have a tradition to drive to one of our kids’ homes once a month to have dinner together & spend the day with them. They fix whatever they’d be having for supper that day, but with two more servings to accommodate RancherMan & me. We bring something to go with the meal such as dessert, a side dish, or maybe a bottle of wine – hostess’ choice!
We also try to drive to Oklahoma when we can to visit my dad, or to west Texas to visit my favorite aunt & uncle. There’s an important message here:
Spend time with the ones you love. If life is busy – make time! Tomorrow is never promised…
But recently RancherMan & I enjoyed a weekend at Surfside Beach on the Texas coast with several family members. What a special time! And RancherMan really loved the beach fishing too. (Always wearing his cooling UV-Protective Shirt of course)
by Texas Homesteader ~
Money’s tight for many – us included! In our day-to-day activities RancherMan & I are always looking for ways to do what we do without spending unnecessary money. I’ve always been pleasantly surprised at how easy it is. But it’s true, you do have to keep your eyes open to be aware of options. But once you get into that mindset it’s quite natural to do things in a way that makes the best use of the cash you have available to you.
I thought it would be fun to share 5 Frugal Things we did this week that shaved a little cash off our budget.
by Texas Homesteader ~
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my low-waste/no-waste journey. I’ve been on this path for quite a few years. I was environmentally sensitive since way, way, way before it was the ‘in’ thing to do.
I started off by reducing my trash and redirecting appropriate materials into the recycling bin instead of the landfill. Then I started eliminating plastic shopping bags by taking reusable bags to the grocery store. Let me tell ya, that baffled many a cashier back then! That was followed by learning to compost, cook from scratch and repurpose things.
Over the years I’ve worked into the stage I’m at now, purposely refusing single-use items when possible and pushing for PRE-cycling before recycling. I realize my journey may not be everyone else’s journey. Still, several friends & family members sometimes bristle with discomfort when they’re doing their own thing. They often apologize for using plastic or disposable items when I’m around. What? Do they think I’m judging them? Hopefully not!
by Texas Homesteader ~
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As anyone who is self-employed can attest, being self employed requires a special money-management mindset. Since leaving the corporate workplace, our work hours are longer and our pay is substantially smaller and not near as systematic. Make no mistake, money is tight at the Taylor Homestead! But there’s no place I’d rather be and the benefits FAR outweigh any financial drawbacks.
Plus it’s easy to make adjustments. We just look for tiny ways to save throughout our typical week. Maybe you’re looking for easy, painless ways to save a few bucks too? As an added bonus, many times those money-saving measures are good for the environment too. Come see 5 frugal things we did this week to save money.
by Texas Homesteader ~
I’ve always used cloth napkins. I mean, why not? They can even make a meager meal feel decadent! It’s a smart financial as well as environmental move for me. There’s no disposable plastic-wrapped paper napkins for me to buy over & over again & throw away! I’ve got cloth napkins that are over 20 years old. They still look great & are serving their purpose quite nicely.
Recently I wanted some red/white gingham napkins. But y’all know how much I hate to get rid of this whatsit to buy that whatsit. It just seems like an environmental waste to me. But I REALLY wanted those cheery red & white napkins!
by Texas Homesteader ~
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I don’t typically use plastic produce bags. I mean, my veggies can usually play nice without being separated from each other by plastic. 🙂 But sometimes with bulk buying it’s just easier for the cashier to have like items all bundled together. So if I buy 16 roma tomatoes to make Pico de Gallo for a family dinner, bundling them all together for the cashier just makes sense.
But oh how I hated to use that plastic bag. I mean, yeah, I’ll make sure it gets reused somehow when I get home, but I’m trying to SHUN plastic aren’t I?
by Texas Homesteader ~
‘Plastic-Free July’ is where folks around the world see how far they can go in shunning plastic in their day-to-day lives. Y’all know me, I’m all over that action!
I don’t plan to be able to achieve a 100% plastic free life. But I do plan to use this month to take special notice of the plastic that comes into our home & refuse it for better options when possible. It’s more about the awareness than attaining perfection anyway.
So c’mon – join the pledge with me and see what you can do to shun plastic for the month of July, ya wanna?? You might (like me) be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is & what other options you have. To celebrate plastic-Free July I’m sharing the 5 zero-waste products I love most that help me eliminate plastic from my life and from our environment.
by Texas Homesteader ~
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I love my solar oven. I’ve said it time & time again, I hate to fire up my electric oven during the heat & humidity of our Texas summers. Not only does it cost fuel for the stove to operate, but boiling eggs adds even more heat inside our home. That requires our air conditioning to work overtime cooling it back down, therefore costing even more money.
Several years ago I bought a solar oven and I absolutely love it! What a great item in your Emergency Preparedness toolbox! Then at a Mother Earth News Fair I attended a few years ago, a solar-cooking seminar presenter told us how easy it was to cook ‘hard-boiled’ whole eggs in the solar oven without even using water. Color me intrigued!
