It seems like everything is going up, but dh wages are the same. yk
This morning I covered the kitchen windows with tissue paper. Going to do a few more later. I wanted to buy tint, but thats not in the budget.
I'm hoping it will help keep the house cooler. We are on budget billing though, so it will be awhile before I see any differance.
I'm considering buying throw away dishes.... plates and forks. I'm wondering if it would help with the water bill any.... not washing as many dishes. Or would the extra cost, make it not worth it. ykwim
Our water bill is always $57-$60.
It just seems like I have everything as low as I can right now.
I can't really say I'm doing anything new, but I'm trying to be more consistent with the stuff I've been doing.
~keeping lights off
~keep the A/C temp at 78. If it's cooler outside than that, open windows and let the breeze in
~leave curtains closed on east side of house in the mornings
~stay home more
~combine trips to save gas
~carpool for activities
~use coupons and be on the lookout for coupons for items I use
~wash full loads of dishes and laundry
~go grocery shopping every other Friday vs. every Friday. I've been saving money doing this
well I recently started adding beans to a lot of our main dishes, and using way less meat. Groceries is something I won't compromise,because if I try to go for cheaper, then I compromise our health. We chose not to turn on our 30 yo central air unit & we have 2 window units that we turn on at night when needed to sleep. But we always have them on energy save and keep the temp @75...well I do , my dh however turns it to 70 often
We're doing more trips to the grocery store. Every couple of days and buying just what we need for those couple of days. it's saving us a LOT of money on food - because we are actually eating what we buy. But, the grocery is only a few blocks away, not miles.
I have always lived thrifty to the max and it is hard to squeeze a turnip, IYKWIM?!
You are my kind of girl.
I'm trying to be consistent with everything and limiting our weekend trips. So far so good.
As for washing dishes ,when I was a teen living in Puerto Rico we always washed our dishes this way.
We had two large bowls(lord I forget the names in English-but those plastic square ones will do) One with soapy water and one with clear water. And we washed our dishes that way for many years. We NEVER ran the water then. Dishes were washed in sequence too, glassware,dishes,cutlery, pots last. If clear water got grungy then you empty that basin(hey I was looking for that word before)and make that the clear one. Not too much soap either just enough(it's an art really)
Oh and if you want to know , at least in my family, they've stopped that. They let the water run now and say they can't do otherwise.
Just remembered I started using mamapads and I have made my own laundry detergent and have used the dryer once in two weeks.
I don't think paper dishes are going to solve anything. Most of your water bill would be laundry if you don't have an HE machine.
My grandma could wash dishes in about 2-3 gallons of water. I don't see why our generation can't manage that if we try: 1 -2 gallons hot and soapy in the dishpan and, on the other side, a couple of inches deep of cold water for rinsing. Or pretend you're English, and skip the rinse entirely.
Having said all that, I've done nothing thrifty all month. Feel free to ignore me and my gas guzzler.
Yeah I always wash my dishes that way. You know, my parents had mini cutting boards when I was growing up. They were about 8" long and 4" wide (approx) and were thin wooden boards. We used them for "plates" when we had sandwiches. Then you just brushed the crumbs into the dog dish and stacked them up for next time. We all had our own coloured mug (like a camping mug) and drank out of the same mug all day. We never had juice, and not much milk (most of us are allergic to dairy) so we drank water all day long. We never had cereal etc for breakfast. We had soft boiled eggs, fresh bread from the bakery (or, more often than not, hard German rye bread) with homemade jam or local honey, and tea. If it was a special occasion my Mom would have made cake and we'd have that for breakfast. We never had snack food. If you were hungry, you'd eat something out of the garden or some fruit from the trees (or winter time, popcorn, or applesauce etc) and dinner was always meat (often time obtained via trapping or hunting), potatoes (home grown) and salad (also home grown). We went to town once per week (sometimes once every two weeks) to get whatever groceries they needed, more propane for our mini fridge and BBQ, gas for the generator, do laundry (which we then hung up outside), go to the library, and if I was VERY lucky, we'd go swimming and have an ince cream cone. I had VERY few toys (lego, a dollhouse, and two dolls) but spent most of my time helping work the land or playing in the forests. It was a VERY special way to spend many years. We homesteaded for ten years. Prior to that we lived on a sailboat for years and sailed around until they were bored of that. Even homesteading, in the thick of winter, we'd escape to the south for a few months or so. People thought we were rich, but we were NOT. My parents built and grew everything they could themselves, bartered for much of the rest, and picked up part time jobs here and there if they were short. We wore used clothes and never had a lot of anything but always enough. I was homeschooled, for the most part, and never felt deprived. We travelled most of the world. My mother felt that the easiest way to not live the consumerist lifestyle was to ignore it existed. And we met TONS of people living the same way.
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Jeni - wife to a great guy and mama to 3 at home plus one adult child who is expecting Feb -09!
Madison, Jeni, and Mickey in Temagami on the Dream Catcher Express
Well right now I do one load of dishes a day in the dishwasher, not sure how much water it uses.
But looking at my bill closer, the water part is only $20 a month.... trash is $8, and sewer is $26. Trash is a flat fee I can't get rid of, they charge it even if you don't use the service. Sewer is based on a water use.
So with everything we use water for, I'm not sure it could get less than that....well enough it would be notice able. ykwim
I was also curious how many gallons a dishwasher uses. We do a load every few days or so, we do like was mentioned in a pp. We use the same glasses for each person, eat off the same plates if it's just sandwiches, etc. We do have to do laundry a lot because of diapers. We have no where to hang them because we live in a small apartment, which is money saving in itself. Our power bill was bad last month because we used the AC tho, and it's only going to get worse, bleah. But we also don't want it to be too hot because of the baby. I guess we could hang our laundry in the house
__________________ Rachel ~ WOHM, Married to lovely SAHD since 12/29/07, Mom to beautiful daughter Margali born 02/19/08
You know, my parents had mini cutting boards when I was growing up. They were about 8" long and 4" wide (approx) and were thin wooden boards. We used them for "plates" when we had sandwiches. Then you just brushed the crumbs into the dog dish and stacked them up for next time.
I love this idea.
While living "in the bush" for a whole week (lol), my friend taught me how to wash with about 2 gallons of water. Wash with soapy water, stack in the drain rack, then pour one tea kettle of boiling water over the top.
I am trying to figure out how to cut the electric bill.... it has been a steady $130-145 for the past few months. I keep lights turned off, the ac is set of 74, no TV on if not in the room, optional rooms are closed off.... I keep the blinds closed most of the time... well the living room is half way up just so I can see if anyone pulls up... I don't know what else to do.... would putting tint on the windows really help??
I don't think paper dishes are going to solve anything. Most of your water bill would be laundry if you don't have an HE machine.
My grandma could wash dishes in about 2-3 gallons of water. I don't see why our generation can't manage that if we try: 1 -2 gallons hot and soapy in the dishpan and, on the other side, a couple of inches deep of cold water for rinsing. Or pretend you're English, and skip the rinse entirely.
Having said all that, I've done nothing thrifty all month. Feel free to ignore me and my gas guzzler.
I'm not English but I assume you mean British?! We don't rinse our dishes, just wipe them dry straight away Oh & our sink only holdsabout a gallon of water.
I heard that a certain culture doesn't use soap to wash their dishes, just plain hot water. I'd do that if DH wouldn't freak out
We're driving A LOT less. We're turning the AC off during the evenings and mornings...I don't turn it on until we're really warming up. I'm using a lot of homemade cleaners now. Line drying more clothes. Maxing my coupons to their fullest potential (ie - going where they are doubled/tripled - going in with a set list - only buyign the things we need and making sure I get the best price on those things)...I'm also learning to stockpile and how to make our foods last longer.
I created a website about living frugally and in adding the content and forum resources, I did A TON of research and have learned so much! It's become a topic of passion for me...especially as I face a hugely difficult time financially with upcoming medical bills.
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Becky
I am the Proud Mama of Three Beautiful Blessings
(1/02, 2/04, 8/05)
Military wife of a deployed soldier. 
You are my kind of girl. 
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