Howdy all. It is a damp morning here! We did get some rain overnight - but not much at all here. It is very cloudy and dark outside still, and we may get some more rain later today. South of here, got a nice amount of rain - here maybe 1/4". It is water from the sky - so we gladly take it but need so much more.
To understand me and my ways - know that I have lived in my home for 40 years now. It was paid off in 15 years; it is a small bungalow and built in the 40's. My vehicle was brand new when we bought it, 23 years ago! Only new car either of us had ever owned. It is still going, and not bad looking. My furniture is 23+ years old. I still have a flip phone (cell). Quality is important!
I talk about replacing the vehicle and furniture often, yet here it is! I have the funds to do it, I guess I just have to be in the mood. LOL
You know that old saying "if it aint broke don't fix it" - well even if it breaks - fix it! That's my advice.
- I can work wonders with stale bread - so many options
- I use leftovers, some as is, some in new ways. Love soups and casseroles - great ways to change up leftovers
- I water down just about everything. Dish soap, laundry soap, shampoo, juices, etc.
- Garden and eat it and preserve it in some way
- Cook from scratch and eat at home. I eat very well, yet very simply. Some of my favorite meals are the simplest.
- I make most of my cleaning products. Vinegar and water for windows, I keep a bottle of ammonia/water/Dawn mix for cleaning. I often make orange cleaner with citrus peels.
- Old t-shirts make hankies and rags for cleaning (no waste or trash)
- Scraps and old clothes - used to make projects.
- Get creative when crafting (espec. w/kiddos) - I will do a post on CREATIVE CRAFTS
- I wash zip lock baggies and reuse
- Keep glass jars and use for storage and pantry goods - helps get rid of plastic & glass is mouse proof!
- I make most gifts - jams, jellies, salsa, cookies, treats (in goody baskets), and even toys & such
- I very seldom turn on lights - I love the look of candles (or battery candles), even a small string of twinkle lights (they give a lot of light)
- Keep AC and furnace off until totally needed
- Use rain barrels - great for watering plants & water for animals
- I even use the dehumidifier water in laundry - no need to waste it
- Hang most of my laundry to dry (even indoors) and use dryer to only fluff
- I run errands at one time and in a circle pattern around the town - ending up back at home
- I do yardwork myself for exercise and I walk everyday! No gym needed here
- Fix things - YouTube can teach you about anything
- I compost - in my own way (I do things a bit different than most because of critters)
- I keep the candle scraps (bottom of jar) to use in my melt pots (still smells good)
- When I had a printer - I saved the scrap paper to cut into note pads. I use old envelopes to make lists, and keep the front of Christmas cards for tags for gifts next year and also for lists
- I always keep pretty bags and boxes and tissue paper to reuse - some have gone on for years!
- I shop thrift stores and yard sales FIRST
- I use black wash cloths in the kitchen to wash dishes and clean with - they show no stains and I know where they are for
- Dates on things mean very little to me
- I keep my favorite recipes written down in a little book together. They never get deleted!!!
- Buy ingredients and not specialty stuff - you can get so creative
- I drink mainly water, flavored water or iced tea (homemade)
Oh the list can go on and on. Yep, mom did most of these things as well - so I had a good teacher. But for me it is just common sense and a way to live and respect life. Not wasting things is so important. Not only does it save money, but it so good for the environment. Anything I can reuse, buy used, or fix - stays out of the landfill!! Heck - I have even rescued every animal I have ever had!!!!💖
It may sound like a lot of work to some to do many of these things, but once you get used to it - you will find it fun, and I bet you will look around and try to figure out other things you can.
I hope this gives a few ideas to some of the newbies here and even all our regulars. There is so much more - but it just seems normal to me.
Call me old fashioned - I find it a compliment!!!
I love living like this - I appreciate all things.
Have a super great day!
The little dab of moisture we got was welcomed as if an all day rain! Hopefully we will get more before the day is done. The ground is quite parched.
ReplyDeleteIt is very challenging to our little grey cells to make do, find another way to accomplish something, all the while appreciating what we do have. It's easy to buy instead of trying to repair, remake or make from scratch. What's the fun in that? Use the good sense the Good Lord gave us. We need to be good stewards of what He has given us. As all responsible adults should do, avoid the toxic ingredients, whether in food or cleaning goods. I think you will find that more and more people are becoming "old-fashioned".
It has been misting rain all day here - so glad.
DeleteExactly - being a good steward of what we have is sooooo important.
You know, I am kind seeing that. More people are interested, more Vlogs talking about it, and I see more of people I know changing some. I LOVE IT! It is just so important to maintaining!
Good morning! Stopping in to say hello . . . it's been awhile. We got about an inch of rain overnight and I expect we'll get a little more this afternoon. I've been "eating down" the pantry and freezer, and trying to use up bits and dribbles of condiments in the refrigerator. Recent grocery purchases have been primarily from the dairy / refrigerator and produce sections. It's amazing what you find in the depths of the freezer, refrigerator, and pantry that can be combined to make a great flavorful meal. Last night, or example, I made 1/2 recipe of lasagna -- with lots of vegetables added to the layers, chopped peppers, grated carrots, a spoonful of corn and some leftover green beans chopped, a cottage cheese mixture in lieu of ricotta, served with garlic bread made from leftover hamburger buns, and a salad with a mix of the last of ranch and italian dressings. Looking forward to the leftovers for lunch today.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you - hope all is well.
DeleteIt is amazing, isn't it? I love digging in both the pantry and freezer and seeing what is there. Gives me so many ideas using up things that have been long forgotten!
The lasagna sounds good to me - great using things up.
Glad you got some rain - so many sure need some.
Have a great one.
Yesterday I made my mother's vegetable soup. Loosely, A beef soup bone roasted for 20 minutes. Added to a crockpot with a quart of home canned tomatoes, a quart of water, 2 T beef stock powder and any frozen vegatable. Yesterday's soup bag and a cup of mixed frozen veggies. Salt and Pepper. Cooked for 4 hours on High. It was warm yesterday but no one cared. I also had half a packet of soy sauce flavored soup powder I threw in to get rid of it. Simple and basic.
ReplyDeleteSimple and basic make the best meals! That sounds yummy. I love soups of all kinds - and really just throw things together - no matter what type I fix. I doubt I have ever made it the same twice!
DeleteMy sister and I were talking about how many people have to have "new" or the latest and greatest all the time. I do have a new love seat in the den, but I bought it because my former one (which has just moved to the room downstairs) was too low to accommodate my wonky knee. Other than that I still have a garage sale chair I picked up for 5 bucks when TheHub and I had been married about 2 years. It has been recovered twice now, but it has great bones, so why would I replace it with a new one?
ReplyDeleteThe newest and fancy isn't always the best. I would love a new love seat couch for the living room and I will get one when the mood strikes. Mine is not as comfy as it used to be, but it still works! The chair sounds like a great piece of furniture. Quality always is in style!!!!!
DeleteI often joke that myself and my husband are time travellers from the first half of the twentieth century. We like the way we live. To us it feels like the right way and although we do make use of technology, we don't let it rule us. Nor do we do something just because 'everyone else does it'. We are not everyone else and they are not us.
ReplyDeleteA gal after my heart! I love that - time travelers.
DeleteYep, sounds like me too. I do me 100% of the time. If others don't like it, well they don't have too. They can do them!
We survived fine before technology took over our lives!
sisters? We bought our small retirement-ready home when we were 31yo. Paid off including a big project we hired on to remove walls/make larger guest room/sewing space for this quilter and add on a woodshop across the back of the garage for hubster. Debt free before 50! Bought my current car new almost 10y ago-wrote a check. Turned 45,000 miles on Saturday. It will outlast my 95th birthday and by then, perhaps the state will confiscate my DL? ;-)
ReplyDeleteWe do everything we can for ourselves and at this point, we will hire/pay for what we just flat don't feel like doing anymore 🤣🤣
And I'm growing less of our food and supporting a family business organic farm/CSA. We can afford it and with me retired I have the time. We really really want them to survive! They lost their grant d/t 47 (I know zero politics here but his executive order did it and I want to be honest). They are on the border of financial trouble. Land here is at a premium cost and for big corporate developers it's still cheap.
Like you, I do much of your list. The crazy thing? I stopped writing/saving recipes in Word. I switched to an online recipe storage website. Well dang if they didn't vanish without notice back in December. So many favorites GONE! And I had cleaned up my google folders and deleted all the links to anything I had saved there. I was crushed. Tech is far less than it's cracked up to be!!
HUBSTER UPDATE: He's doing very well. The only thing that has kept him here since Sunday is that too much fluid is still coming from his chest tube. It is best for his overall health to stay in the hospital and have it exit through the tube than to let it stay in his chest cavity and wait for his body to process it out. So God is teaching us patience as neither of us have than gene in our DNA. 🤣
We thank all our Prayer Warriors-you make a difference!
We headed back up over 70 for 3 days and then we plummet to fall at the mid 30s to mid 50s toward winter freeze/snow season.
Glad to read that your Hubs is doing ok. Yes, best to be in the right place for the drainage.
DeleteMy son's cellphone imploded and he lost *all* of his contacts and such, there was just nothing left to rescue. I was able to help with a great many phone numbers - I have a big box of 3x5 index cards with all that info on them. Of course in a flood or fire that would be gone too, but it is helpful to have more than one way special information is saved.
As my nephew says, "back up, back up, back up", just like Cheryl here with all those substitutions for ingredients. :)
It is amazing what can be combined to make a meal. :) Right now I'm working on using up a bottle of barbeque sauce that came to my son with a take-out order. His wife was going to toss it, so he brought it here as he knew I'd use it. :) Personally I don't care much for it, but it is easy to doctor with molasses!
MaryB
Elle - the sisters? LOL. I think many of us feel that way.
DeleteI like you, do all I can myself. If I need to, I can hire someone to do the other things. My 23 year old Blazer has 69,000 miles only! I don't go much!! LOL
I keep my favorite recipes written down in an actual recipe book on recipe cards. I don't want to lose them. I also have mom's cookbook with all her notes in it. Hand written can sometimes be the best.
So happy hubs is doing well. You are right, he is where he needs to be. God knows what He is doing and does it right and for His reasons.
We get cooler this week, but not that bad. Probably in a couple weeks.
Just listen to the doctors and have faith girly. You have our prayers.
Mary I agree - we need more than just technology. Sure there can be loss anywhere, but I do have all my favorite recipes 'written' on index cards in books.
DeleteI need to write down all the numbers in my cell phone. I have many of the home phone and in a small book - but not all.
It is amazing the good tasting food we can make with just whatever we have on hand. It only takes a little imagination. I like the challenge. BBQ sauce is easy doctor in many ways.
The funny thing is newer is not always better. It seems like everything from furniture to clothing to appliances is so expensive but very cheaply made and not made to last like things used to be.
ReplyDelete100% correct. Older things were just better quality - not manufactured in mass. We definitely live in a throw away society. I hate that. I want good quality and will pay more for it if I need to.
DeleteI read recently that dates on things were created by the manufacturers to get people to think their items are no good after that date passes, which will entice them to throw them it out and buy new. That made me mad! How many people fall for that?! Ugh!
ReplyDeleteI like twinkle lights too. We have them around a doorframe in the hallway and they make a great nightlight, so we don’t have to turn on the overhead lights in the middle of the night.
My car isn’t as vintage as yours, but it is 12 years old and I’ll drive it until the wheels fall off. 😂
I refused to buy glass cleaner the other day and came home and got a bucket of hot soapy water and did my car windows with that, so no money spent. I’m with you on the old ways, Cheryl, buy you probably already knew that. Great minds think alike.
That is exactly what the dates are for - rarely means anything as far as safety.
DeleteI love twinkle lights. In the winter I put a 20 pc set over a little stand I have, and it keeps the living room pretty darn lit.
I keep saying that about the Blazer - hope it doesn't push fate!!!
Hot soapy water works wonders on all kinds of things. Just a little elbow grease.
Yep, I think we have a real sisterhood of vintage thinking here!
Right Belinda? I buy organic milk and mostly for cooking pancakes and the occasional protein shake so a half gallon takes me about 5 weeks past the stamped exp date ;-) Same for cottage cheese, sour cream, large yogurt containers. Heck, 2 months ago I tossed a bottle of ketchup that expired in 2022🤣🤣 it was a small one and we don't use it much! likely used some the month before and we lived. It's like telling me my water bath canned stuff is only good for 2 years. Um, we just finished our 2020 salsa this summer🤣 lived through that as well.
DeleteHappy frugal everyone!
Right, Elle. My Mom used buttermilk way past its expiration date and I do the same thing here. We are survivors. 😂
DeleteNever stop spreading the word on simple living. As you say, you never know when you’ll have a new reader. I have an old flip phone and love it. No desire for a fancy, expensive one. I always enjoy your posts and especially your positivity. Lynn, Pecos, NM
ReplyDeleteThank you for the vote of confidence!!!! I like my phone because it is JUST a phone! None of the other stuff to distract me when I am out.
DeleteI hope someone somewhere learns something new. That is my goal. Thanks!
I dilute most detergents and cleaners also. I have kept my air conditioning costs under $85 a month in the Deep South all summer. Part of that is because of my work hours though because I do not run the air when I am not home. I use my box fan a lot. I think my biggest money saver though is taking my breakfast/lunch to work. My gift to my son’s girlfriend for passing the bar was a very cute soft sided lunch box. I believe in taking my lunch to work. It has saved me thousands. I also consider work conferences to be vacations bc I do get to eat seafood and walk on the beach and I don’t have to pay for my room. There is no way I am paying $300 a night for a room on the beach, or even $200 a night! I also cut my own hair, It is thin and straight. I used to dye it but quit that during the Pandemic.
ReplyDeleteI do pay to fly and see my family once or twice a year across country but I stay with them so no hotel bill. Also no eating out while there. My small work house is not the best location for retirement because 20 miles from a hospital and grocery store (although in a good location for work) but it sure was cheap when I bought it during the Great Recession and I am grateful to have it It is easy to walk in my neighborhood for exercise. I try to go grocery shopping in the town where I work ( Piggly Wiggly) or at Dollar General bc we have one in my small town where I live. I love their $5 off $25 coupons! There are zero restaurants in this very small town although the gas station has a food bar. So I don’t have a temptation to eat out at night either. I fix very simple food also. Cindy in the South
Taking lunches and breakfast is huge. You are right it is a tremendous savings. I like your thinking on the conferences being your vacations as well.
DeleteI forgot about hair - I do cut and color mine too. Just not ready to go totally white yet!!!
Being close to work is great - other things can be planned. A super good price is fantastic and good incentive. I understand. No temptation is good! I eat out with friends every couple months - but that is it. I am not a fast food person, and that is all that is close. I like home cooking the best.
You have good plans and good ideas.
Ahhh, hair. Now that is one thing I finally took care of. Back in the 1990s I decided I was tired of paying for trims, and since my hair is rather thin and straight trims were important to keep looking presentable. I was in a Low Income spot and resented spending all that money. So I struggled through the horrid "growing out" stage until I could pull it back into a ponytail. Kept on growing and learned how to put it up in a bun. Takes me about 2 minutes every morning to do that, and it's set for the day. No color, no setting, no salon visits... I cannot imagine what I have saved in 30 years of that! :)
DeleteMaryB
Mary you go girl! I wish I were that brave. I know I have saved a fortune on not going to the beauty shop - but when it starts growing out it drives me crazy.
DeleteAt least I spend no money on beauty shops!
I don’t actually live that close to
Deletethe current county where I am stationed ( I am an hour away on country roads) but I live in the middle of the five county area we cover so it is easier to get to all of them if I have to go to another county than if I lived closer to one of the further out counties we cover. Cindy in the South
Great idea using the black cloths for kitchen cleaning. You certainly life a life that is enjoyable, and well deserved as you clearly worked hard earlier in your life.
ReplyDeleteThanks - I like that they show no stains.
DeleteI did work hard early on - but didn't we all. I do enjoy my life. I still wish it were different (with G here), but it is what it is.
Hmmm, now if only I had black yarn for kitchen cloths.... Our home is perhaps as small as yours and was built in 1921 so we had some renovation work to do. We also paid ours off while the boys were young. Lucky us as we won some money and saved it with whatever else we could so as to get enough to pay the house off. I just started to make my first cleaner yesterday. Orange peels and vinegar in a jar.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
No stains to show for sure!
DeleteOlder smaller homes are nice. How much room does one need? They were affordable too. Nice win!
I think you will enjoy it. It smells good and I like how it cleans.
The black washrags for dishes is a great idea! When I was a kid, we washed any plastic bag that came in the house and hung it to dry and used t for freezing things.
ReplyDeleteI hate having stained dish cloths - so that solves the problem.
DeleteOh gosh we did the same. Mom kept every plastic bag and used it in the freezer. I keep many zip lock and some bread bags for things. Glad to see you stop by!
We are in the midst of the process of completely rewiring the house. It is costly but it will get rid of the chance of fire with the present aluminum wire. We are at the point where even small repairs of anything is beyond both of us. In some instances we could work together. It is hard now and leaves both of us in pain and in danger of falling.
ReplyDeleteWe never buy expensive food. BSCB bought for no more than $3lb is our expensive food.
We eat all of what we cook! We use those little take out samples to put in our meals.
That is a big job and best left to professionals. Right after we bought the house, we had it rewired. My brother in law was a professional electrician and he did the work for us. As we get older it is just smarter to have things done for us. A fall is too risky.
DeleteLeftovers are just as good if not better the second time around.
Sadly I don’t think I’ve ever been “in fashion” to become old fashioned. Being mostly raised by my grandparents meant I was never cool or trendy. However, it did teach me how to have common sense, a very under valued skill.
ReplyDeleteTake care, Louise
That is a good statement. I worried about it for a while when I was younger - but I still bought things second hand. Now it is jeans and a t-shirt!
DeleteYou were taught the good things!!!!!