Tag Archives: frugality

Our favorite articles about frugality, saving money & budgeting posted on TexasHomesteader.com

Easy Bedspread & Clothing Repairs, Sun Tea and More

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by Texas Homesteader ~
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Five is not a large number, and 5 frugal things aren’t difficult for most households to accomplish. I’m hoping this short list of easy frugal things we did at our own home one day might inspire you to look at your own tasks. Perhaps you’ll start tackling just 5 easy things to save money in your own home.

As an added bonus, almost always those money-saving tasks are environmentally friendly as well. So without doubling your effort you’re able to double your effect! Gotta love it, right?? See what today’s short list of 5 frugal things are in our home…

5 FRUGAL THINGS To Save Money. See our quick list of 5 for today. Easy to incorporate and the more you do the more it becomes part of life #TexasHomesteader

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Homestead Hack: Healthier Hot Instant Breakfast

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by Texas Homesteader ~

My mornings usually involve coffee and computer work when I first awake. Yeah, I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But I’m one of those people who really needs to wake up a bit before I can even THINK about eating something.

Most warmer months I like to enjoy a jar of my favorite Homemade Yogurt, sweetened with my homemade preserves – quick, easy & healthy. OR sometimes I’ll opt for a bowl of my crispy homemade granola.

But when the chill of winter hits I really want something hot to warm me up and I love the convenience of microwave oatmeal. Now I’m not picking on the Quaker Instant Oatmeal folks, their product is delicious. But those expensive packets tend to be too small a portion for me when prepared, taste way too sweet for my palate.

Plus I don’t recognize some of the ingredients on their little packets of instant oatmeal and that bothers me too.

Oh yeah, they’re convenient, and making oatmeal ain’t nothin’ new. But I wonder how easy, cheap & healthier it would be to experiment with plain oatmeal cooked & sweetened MY way instead of theirs??

HOMESTEAD HACK: HEALTHIER INSTANT HOT BREAKFAST. You can pronounce every ingredient in your hot breakfast for a mere fraction of the cost! #TexasHomesteader

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Recipe: Vanilla-Scented Shampoo Soap Bars

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by Texas Homesteader ~
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I recently shared with you the recipe for our Lavender / Rosemary cold process soap we made to include in our Christmas gift baskets. Today I’ll share the recipe we used to make a vanilla-scented shampoo bar.  Whaaaa???  A bar of soap you can use as shampoo?? Oh yeah!

As a matter of fact, I haven’t used commercial shampoo from a plastic bottle for several years. I love the creamy lather this bar makes. And you know I love that there’s no plastic bottle of shampoo for me to buy and then send the trash to the landfill. Plus these vanilla-scented shampoo bars were very well received by our gift recipients.

VANILLA SCENTED SHAMPOO SOAP BARS - See our cold-process soap recipe and procedures (including photos) for making your own shampoo bars. #TexasHomesteader

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5 Frugal Tasks Today To Save Money – Simple Dessert, Food Waste, Decluttering

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by Texas Homesteader ~

RancherMan & I are able to live & work here on our Homestead – a place that speaks to our hearts – because we are very careful with our finances. You know what they say, “small leaks sink great ships” or, you know, something like that…

Anyway, my point is that by paying attention to the smaller things, living frugally just becomes a way of life. There’s really no sacrifice, just a consciousness of frugal tasks that make sense in the flow of our days. In my case frugality is only part of the reason I’m paying attention – many times those same tasks are also environmentally friendly too. And that’s a two-fer win for me!

5 FRUGAL TASKS To Save Money: By paying attention, living frugally just becomes a way of life. Frugal tasks are natural in the flow of our days #TexasHomesteader

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Recipe: Homemade Cold-Process Lavender/Rosemary Soap

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by Texas Homesteader
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I’ve had many requests for me to share our soap recipe so I’m sharing with you today. We made several batches using different oils and also different dried botanicals from our homestead.  We’re using dried lavender blooms from the beautiful lavender in my flower beds. I also enjoy using crushed dried rosemary from the mammoth rosemary bush at our porch.

COLD PROCESS LAVENDER / ROSEMARY SOAP. Making homemade soap is easy and fun, and makes great gifts! See my recipe complete with photos. #TexasHomesteader

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Canning Jar Storage Solution: Milk Crates & Homemade Dividers

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by Texas Homesteader ~ 

I don’t want to store my empty canning jars in a way where the jars can clink together. That weakens the glass over time causing canning failures, etc.

I came up with a solution that protects the jars as well as simplify storage. See what we did! 

Canning jars are now sold in half-sized boxes with no protective dividers. Come see my sturdy empty canning Jar Storage Solution #TexasHomesteader

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How To Get Around HOA’s Rules For Voluntary Simplicity

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by Texas Homesteader ~ 

Yes, you can still live the simple life, even in a Homeowners Association neighborhood. I’m sharing simple ways you might go ahead & live the simple life within HOA restrictions and hoping others will share what’s worked for them. 

You want to live the simple country life, but you're living in an H.O.A.? There are still LOTS of ways to live simply, even in an HOA. Come see these tips. #TexasHomesteader

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Feed Wild Birds Cheaper Using Plain Chicken Scratch

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by Texas Homesteader ~  

We love feeding the beautiful wild birds. So we used to buy the large expensive bags of bird seed at the big-box store. But those wild birds can really go through a lot of feed!

We discovered there’s an oh-so-much-cheaper way to fill the feeder, y’all. Check out today’s Homestead Hack. 

HOMESTEAD HACK: CHEAPER BIRD SEED! I'm here to tell you there IS an easier (and oh-so-much CHEAPER) way! Check out today's Homestead Hack. #TexasHomesteader Continue reading →