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Top 5 Skills for Frugal Times

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the times that we’re in. I’ve been thinking about ecology and about frugality, and about how challenging economic and ecological times mean that we need to think hard about the skills that we develop. I’ve been considering the skills that are most useful in these times. Here’s what I’ve come up with: a list of the top five skills for frugal times. What would you add or subtract from this list? 1. Growing your own food and medicine This is something that I write about a lot. I love plants, I love being … Continue reading →

Frugal Gift Wrap Ideas

Any frugalista knows that you should purchase your gift wrap and holiday paper during post Christmas sales to stock up for the year. At many of the Hobby Stores and Pharmacy chain stores, you can easily find it for 75% to 90% off. This can easily save you $100 to $200 in gift wrap costs for the year. But what do you do when have run out of gift wrap or (gasp) didn’t make it to the post Christmas sales? You find free options around your home for wrapping gifts. Here are some things you can try. Use your origami … Continue reading →

Frugalista Fashions: Get Your Maxi Dress for Less

The maxi dress was the hottest clothing item for women last summer. This year it looks as if it is back with a vengeance. You can see it all over the red carpet, and even in grocery stores. This dress is elegant and comfortable. The maxi dress is basically long flowing dress with a tube top or typical halter top. You can also find it in more modest versions. This high waisted dress compliments every body type with minimal modifications. You can purchase a Just Cavalli maxi dress for $500.00 at shopstyle.com, or a Mossimo maxi dress from Target for … Continue reading →

How to Water Your Plants During a Drought

Water, water. Sometimes it’s not everywhere. Sometimes there is no rain to be found, not for days and weeks. This is scary for farmers and deeply frustrating for gardeners. In a drought, plants die, and if you rely on these plants for food and shade, this can be very difficult. How can you weather drought and plan for future dry times as well? Let some of your plants go dormant. Lawns and moss will go brown. This is fine. Keep your lawn a little longer before the dry season begins so that it will make as much shade and conserve … Continue reading →

Rethinking Stuff

As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been thinking a lot about ecology and frugality lately. When it comes to the stuff we buy, they intersect very neatly. Buying less stuff is good for nature, and it’s good when you’re trying to keep a minimalist home, too. Now, my home is nowhere near minimalist, but I do try to keep the clutter down. I don’t need stuff. I don’t want stuff. For my recent birthday, the only things I acquired were plants. Those I need (ok, want). I’ve developed a little checklist that I go through in my head … Continue reading →

Cooking with Kids from Baby through Toddler

One of my favorite things to do is to cook with my kids. When we cook together, we get to spend great quality time while being productive. Cooking together is also sharing in valuable life lessons, and introduces important life skills. You child will be introduced to new smells, new textures and even new vocabulary. There is also a lot of math and science involved with cooking. Although sometimes we all cook together, I find that spending that one-on-one time with each child separately while cooking can be a lot of fun and allow me to focus on the lessons … Continue reading →

Scrapbooking Your Favorite Recipe

Cookbooks fascinate me. Mostly the type that have beautiful full color photographs offsetting a delicious, mouth-watering recipe. I’ve discussed creating a cookbook with your scrapbooking supplies before. Did you listen? A couple of months back my mother’s art class decided to put together a cookbook using their beautiful painting techniques. My mother didn’t want to take the time to paint her page, and I have absolutely no painting skills. She asked me if I would scrapbook the recipe she wanted to do and hand over a page. She wanted two pages. One real clean and simple that she could add … Continue reading →

Calculators in the Classroom

While eating lunch one day last week, some sixth grade teachers were discussing how their students struggled with subtraction that required borrowing. After the topic circled the table a couple of times, the conclusion was made that students are being allowed to depend on calculators too much. Many state tests and curriculums now allow students to use calculators for their math calculations. When I was teaching eighth grade pre-algebra, I taught my students how to use a scientific and graphing calculator. However, they could not use them on every day work or on the state test. Now things have changed. … Continue reading →

Freezer Cooking – Marking Your Meals

Freezer cooking is a time and money saver, but you have to be organized in order to make it all work. Having a jumble of unmarked meals strewn all around your freezer, is not a very good idea, when you spend all that time trying to save yourself the hassle of constant meal preparation as well as the time and money it requires. A simple plan, a permanent marker and a small amount of organizing skills will help you maintain an organized and easy to use freezer. The first step when preparing meals is to keep things together that go … Continue reading →