Ways to Save

Yep, its time to start cutting those household costs, down to the bare essentials. If the economy hasn't gotten you to reign in your spending, the up coming Holiday bills will most certainly make you rethink priorities.

Here's my Top Five for saving money all around your home.
1. Ditch everything that's Disposable.
This might sound absolutely crazy as disposables are convenient, and the initial investment is usually cheaper than buying something that's reusable. For paper towels, and napkins I use cloth. Most of my cloths have come from old clothes I have turn up to make rags with. I have TONS of rags, and they are single use only. I put those in the washer, and before you start wondering about your water bill..don't. These rags don't take up much space and don't need special care, just throw in the dirty ones with whatever you are washing.
I am sure you are wondering, well what about Diapers. I could write an entire blog on the merits of Cloth Diapering in the Modern Age. To put it simply, there's lots of options on the market, and plenty of information on the Net. Bum Genius
Feminine Hygiene. There's plenty of reusable items on the Market without resulting to Tampons and pads. There's the Diva Cup, Sea Sponges, and Mama Cloth. Personally I use Mama cloth, but also like my cup.
You and your family deserves to eat off of Non Toxic, environmentally friendly dishes..NOT PAPER or Foam.

2. Shop the Same store. I know the thrill of saving money is an addicting feeling. Yet, I also know that its not worth saving $5 on my groceries if I have spent an extra $10 in gas to make the savings. Find the Grocery store nearest to you and start shopping. If you are shopping at the same store you can learn about Sale cycles, base prices, and the "Close out" section. There's also unadvertised sales that only loyal customers know about, if you spend your day shopping from one store to another you might miss the loyalty deals.

3. No More harsh house hold Cleaners. I clean my house, with Vinegar, Baking Soda, and a few essential oils. That's IT! I do have a bottle of Windex I bought on the fly one evening because I needed to clean my windshield. A Gallon of Vinegar lasts me nearly 3 months, and at only $4/gallon that's considerably cheaper than buying Windex or other glass cleaner. Plus Vinegar is a multi surface cleaner and disinfectant. I can clean glass, dust, and scrub the tub using the same bottle of cleaner for a fraction of the price. I also use Vinegar in the rinse tray on my Dishwasher

4. MAKE FOOD AT HOME;
Every Dinner, should also be a Lunch. Many people working outside of the home can spend more than $30/week eating out for lunch. Every dinner should be able to double as a lunch the next day. Casseroles and Soups are the best option. However, if you should find a great deal on a cut of meat like Pork tender loin or Roast Beef, before serving it, separate enough to make sandwiches.
Pack the Snacks. We all have kids, and we all know they will get hungry as soon as they see a vending machine or snack bar. I have a small lunch box I pack fruit and crackers in every time I leave the house. I was getting a bit lazy about it and it was costing me several dollars each time I left the house. You may not think that the $4 or $5 in snacks at the gas station is a lot, but if you spend that several times a week, over a month you are looking at a real money loss.

5. Find out how much those "quick" Trips really cost you. I was surprised to find out every time I picked my step son up from school it costs one gallon of gas. When Gas prices were near 3/gallon that was more than $15/week just to make one round trip to school 5 times. We live roughly 20 minutes from the nearest town, so a quick trip could cost us as much as 5 gallons of gas and that can add up quickly. We only do things in combined trips to town. This saves loads of money but it also means a great sacrifice. For example, I don't go to playgroups if I have no other reason to go town. I don't do special nights out if we have no reason to go out.

I will elaborate in more detail on each of these top five. They work for me and have been very effective in the past.

Save Money: Find a Fruit Tree

A week or so ago I noticed that my neighbor had a rather loaded cherry tree. The fruit wasn't ripe just yet but I have kept my eye on it since then. This morning while I was running I noticed the fruit was wonderfully ripe. I made it a personal mission to ask my neighbor if I might have a few pounds of cherries for my family. I was even willing to pay a small price ( a $1/pound).
On the way to story time who should I see out side but my neighbor. He was outside picking cherries so I had to stop and ask him if I could have some. His deal, take as many as you want. As soon as I returned from story time my son and I headed down to the neighbors house and we picked half a basket of wonderful and delicious cherries...FOR FREE.
In this economy a Domestic Engineer needs to save as much money as possible. Now we can cut cost on toilet paper and cutting back on the junk food. However , it comes to the over all nutritional needs of our families we shouldn't skimp. We should seek out those long forgotten fruit trees hanging out in the neighbors yard. It may be the fruit tree you want is on a vacant property in that case its best to find out who the owner is and ask them if you can pick. Don't go about picking fruit that doesn't belong to you though. After you have established that you can pick fruit from someone else's tree find out what the limits are. Some people probably wouldn't mind if you are return several times, some might only allow you to pick a few basket worth. The main thing here is to have some class and grace about yourself and go by the limits.
Ask what the boundaries are. Some of these trees are old and probably haven't been pruned in years. It would be best to avoid climbing the trees for your own safety. If you have a step stool or ladder that might be best. Make sure though before using a ladder that its o'kay with the tree owner.
Finally once picking is underway be careful not to cause damage to the tree you are packing from. I was picking cherries this morning and over bent a tree limb. I plan on telling my neighbor what happened. I doubt the damage is permanent though. I do know that next time I will avoid pulling branches down for so long.
I have saved about $14 by asking my neighbor to pick from his trees. I have also found two apple trees in a ladies yard. I plan on asking her if I can pick a few apples from her trees as well. I plan on seeking out other neglected fruit trees and grape vines for the remainder of the summer.