Webster’s online dictionary defines “frugal” as:
- economical in the use or appropriation of resources
- not wasteful or lavish
- wise in the expenditure of force, materials, time, etc.
For me, living frugally is more than just saving money. It is using my money wisely. It is taking good care of what God has given me. I have not always been wise with money. That is why we are working our way out of debt. One day, we will be free, and when that day comes, I will still be a frugalista!
Being frugal is using all of our resources to get the maximum benefit with the least amount of “effort.”
One way we are living frugally is to line-dry our laundry. While this may sound extreme to some, it is working very well for our family. I still dry my towels and socks in the dryer, but everything else hangs on a retractable line inside our laundry room/kitchen, and from my makeshift “line” outside. This eliminates most of the electricity from our dryer.
We also turn off and unplug appliances while they are not being used. Televisions and computers are major power-suckers… even when they are off. To maximize your electrical savings, plug your appliances into power-strips and flip the switch. That makes for an easy way to cut out unnecessary electrical usage.
Our family relies on ceiling fans and room fans to cool our home in the summer. Now, we live in southern Oklahoma, and it gets really hot in the summertime! We do not do this to the extreme, and we certainly exercise caution, as we have very young children in our home. However, we see no reason to turn the air conditioner on early in the morning or late in the evening if the temperature is comfortable. When the air conditioner is on, it is set to come on at 79 or 80 degrees.
We use cloth napkins instead of paper towels. I do still use paper towels to clean up after cooking with grease, but most of our clean-up is done with dish cloths of some kind.
I re-use every kind of container from formula cans to animal cracker tubs from Sam’s.
Hubz rides his bicycle to work on nice days. We have this nifty bicycle trailer that hooks to the back of his bicycle, and he stashes his computer and backpack inside it.
I am attempting a {small} garden this year. I am really excited about it, and I hope it does well so I can add more veggies next year. There is just nothing like having fresh veggies from the garden!
I am an avid couponer. I have a motto that my girls are picking up on: “If it isn’t on sale and we don’t have a coupon for it… we don’t buy it!” Now, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but not far from the truth. My girls and my Hubz do NOT go without anything they need… with or without coupons. It is just a matter of smart shopping, and trying to get the most for my money.
Now, the part about not buying if it isn’t on sale is right on the {ahem} money. I see no reason to pay full price for something I can wait a bit longer on and find on sale later or somewhere else. I know couponing and sale-shopping is not something everyone can do. BUT, what I am saying is… use your money wisely to get the most out of it. You work hard for your money; you deserve to get the most out of it!
There are a few things our family needs to work on in our frugal living…
- I am embarrassed by this one: turning off lights when one leaves the room. I am sometimes guilty of this; however, my children and sweetie tend to leave lights on. I am working on this with my girls, and my husband has certainly gotten better in the last six months.
- Water conservation. My girls have this “thing” with flushing the toilet: they really like doing it. So, they flush. A lot. Also, we like having a nice, green lawn. Unfortunately, that can make for using gallons {and gallons, and gallons…} of water. We are working to find a “happy medium” in this.
There are so many more ways we could improve. We live in a small town, and are far from any type of recycling center. I have nowhere to stash recycled items, so they end up in the trash. I am really wanting to start a compost pile! It is just a matter of Hubz getting the time to partition an area off for it. Do you feel led to begin a frugal life however it may be? Do you need a place to start?
Photo by everydaylifemodern
