Things that have happened since the last time I posted...

Yeah..., haven't posted for a while so I need to get caught up.

First of all, I'm still working on running a frugal home. I guess that when things fit, you keep wearing them. I really feel comfortable with this type of lifestyle. I made a few modifications, however, and added some things and dropped some. For one thing, we just had to get into a larger home. While I love the idea of having a small place, when you are trying to make some extra money by making things to sell, you need room for supplies. So my son and I moved into a larger place. It was on the same lot as the smaller place so I was able to keep my garden. I also adopted the neighbor's (the guy that lived in the house I now live in) garden when he moved out.

These are actually taken a while ago, just before we moved. The tomatoes have taken over the entire yard now and I have some pumpkins that are almost ripe to pick and one that was already picked and is now pumpkin bread

I went paperless and made a bunch of towels and napkins to replace paper towels, made a new apron from some old jeans, and another rug from rags (this one is enormous and is now in my bedroom).
Just a couple things that were done since we moved.
My next plans include a compost. I ordered the composter after I realized that if I waited until I could inherit the materials and build it, it probably wouldn't happen. I also ordered a new pressure cooker/canner so I can start canning. I had so much pumpkin puree from just that one pumpkin that I realized I needed to figure out a way to preserve the pumpkins that are still growing. My freezer was getting packed.
I realize that I won't be able to go totally green, but I can definitely get some of it done. The steps I'm making will help to lessen my footprint and save me money at the same time.

Homemade Oxiclean

So, after looking online for Oxy-clean to soak some cloths I have that got stained, and gasping at the price, I looked up how to make my own. Its simply 2 tablespoons washing soda to one cup hydrogen peroxide. Both of which are fairly inexpensive. http://www.ehow.com/how_5426015_make-oxi-clean-save-money.html  .  I ordered the peroxide, but had a hard time finding washing soda. None of the stores in my town sell it and it was pricey to order online and pay shipping for...so I looked up how to make washing soda (go Google!).
To make washing soda, you simply dump some baking soda into a flat pan and then bake it at 400 degrees until it turns grainy in texture.
So now I don't have to purchase another container of stain remover ever again! hehe
I'm also looking into patterns for making my own underclothing. I decided I will never buy clothing (at least new clothing) in a store again (I'm on a mission here!!) and found several patterns that I can try out. I'll update you on that, but, no, I won't be modeling and posting photos. Sorry.

Not Much is Happening...

I haven't posted, but since I haven't had any earth shattering events going on, and that's a good thing, its probably just as good that I haven't bored everyone. I didn't go long with the budget idea, but I started it again this month. I found a $2 app for my Nook that is just for budgeting and another free app for keeping a ongoing list of expenses. It seems to be working good for me so hopefully this time I'll follow through with it. I really want to see where my money is going so I can make a budget I can live with.
I decided to try going back to work, but first I thought it would be wise to do some volunteer work just to see if I was physically ready for a job. I wasn't. In 2 months time I was so exhausted I felt like I was sleep deprived all day long. It only makes my resolve to be wise with my money and make it stretch all that much more important. I still do some volunteering, but only two days a week for a total of 6 hours a week. I volunteer at a thrift shop that gives its proceeds to low income military families. It goes right along with my attempts to be frugal because I can scope out things that I need and get them used for a fraction of the cost of buying them in a store for full price.
Here's my plan: I don't plan to buy any more clothing new. If I get something new, it'll be from my sewing machine. Everything else I'll get from yard sales and thrift shops. I can even get fabric there for sewing. I also plan to keep reducing and simplifying by getting rid of high priced items around the house. As they wear out, I find less expensive options to replace them. We have really hard water so I find a water filter is needed. Randy had installed one on the faucet, but the filters were outrageously priced. I found a water filter pitcher that has filters that are half the price and bought it. The belt on the vacuum cleaner broke once again and the filter needs to be replaced again. Both items are way more expensive then they are worth. They are more costly to replace than the vacuum is worth since its an older model and obsolete. I chucked the vacuum and bought an inexpensive carpet sweeper that doesn't use electricity and has no parts that need replacing (it helps that I have area rugs and no carpeting). I have a throw rug that I made out of fabric scraps at my front door and in front of my sink now and refuse to buy any more rugs from the store. I found some used plastic chairs that were going to be trashed, cleaned them up, added cushions made from fabric scraps at the thrift shop and made a table cloth to match and now I have a cute table set in the house. I made a budget and plan to stick to it so I know where my money is going and can live within my means. I used some old stained t-shirts from the thrift shop to make rags to replace paper towels. I can wash them, soak them, and use them over and over. I also used some of the old shirts to make tote bags for grocery shopping. My intention is to eventually get to a point where I don't spend any money except on rare occasions and for rent, utilities, bus fare, and food, and that will be sparingly since I grow my own veggies in my garden.
I highly recommend the book, "The Scavenger's Manifesto" It gives some great ideas on how to live comfortably without spending money.

 Rag rug made from old clothing

 Table cloth from scrap fabric found at a thrift shop

 shopping bag made from an old t-shirt

I haven't posted in quite a while. I'm reading a couple books on frugal and simple living and getting some great ideas from them. I also started a budget and a price diary for when I go grocery shopping. The books are: "Simplicity Lessons a 12-step guide to living simply" and "Frugal Living for Dummies." I'm getting some good ideas from both. Sometimes it still pays to get a library card! LOL

I'm still working at getting a garden started (I know it's getting late in the season, especially here in the desert where you have to plant soon enough so the sun doesn't outright wither anything that sprouts), just need to get our finances a little more stable so I can get the things I need to make a garden successful (like a hose!).

Here are the before mentioned pictures of my laundry set up:

Yes, fellow non-consumers, that is commercial laundry soap next to the drying rack. I'm using up what my late husband had in the house before I start using my home made stuff (I may be all about non-comsumer as much as possible, but I'm even more cheap.LOL) The rack and the tub with the built in washboard both came from Sears.com. The tub fits nicely into my sink. (it looks like a bed pan, but it really isn't!! Honest!!)

Laundry day!

So...I decided to stop taking a bag of laundry over to the laundry mat a couple times a week and feeding money to someone else so I can clean my cloths. I don't have a car, so doing laundry required hauling a bag across the highway (no cross walks) to the laundry mat that was always dirty and stinky and the machines were broken and I would waste quarters on dryers that were set on a low heat. I have a tiny house with no room for a washer or dryer (and I really don't want the cost of the gas and elecricity to run them anyways) so I bought a wash tub with a wash board attached and a wooden drying rack. I would love to have an outdoor clothes line, but my yard is all sand (live in the desert) and the sand would get in my clean clothes whenever the wind blew so I decided on an indoor one. 

You might think I'm crazy, I certainly raised a few eyebrows at church when I mentioned it, but I actually don't mind doing them by hand. Granted, my hands get sore when I wring the cothes out, it really plays havoc on my arthritis, but when I priced wringers, it was obvious I would have to tough it out. I need to make up a batch of my homemade fabric softener to see if that will work with hand washed or not, John mentioned that the clothes were a bit stiff. They smell nice, though and I can still use my handmade laundry soap with them. The only thing I do that is not earth friendly for laundry is that I use latex gloves to do the wash to help save my hands from getting too rough. I will post a picture of my new laundry tub and drying rack when I get a chance.

Living a Dream

I feel like I'm living the good life right now. I'm less stressed and more happy than I've been in a while. I live on a very limited budget, in a tiny home, yet I'm doing the things I love every day and enjoying my life. Its a good place to be in.

How to make a rag rug and repurpose fabric

So, I had bags of clothing that I didn't need and that were too worn to donate and I thought I needed to do something with it that didn't involve filling the local land fill, so I started making rag rugs.

What I did, was I took the rags (in the picture above, I used an old queen sized sheet) and I cut the seams so I could lay it flat. Then I started on one end and measured up an inch and cut all the way to about an inch from the end, then measured an inch up from that cut and started cutting the next strip. It made the rag into one long strip. Then, using a size "P" crochet hook, I made a chain of about 10 stitches. then doubled back and crocheted each chain to the end, added about 3 extra sttiches on the end to turn around, then crocheted in the back of each stitch, forming an oval. I just continued crocheting, adding a couple extra stitches at each end to make the rug lie flat and used up the rags. At the end of the work, I wove in the tail and then added a couple stitches with a needle and thread to give it a little more strength. I'm working on a rectangle shaped rug now.

Lots of Changes!!

I was starting to look at things online about simplifying your life and came across an interesting website or two about people who choose to live in tiny houses. I was fascinated, but knew it wouldn't be something I could do. 

I'm a 50+ woman who is disabled and has to make ends meet on what the Government gives me in my social security check each month. Not an easy task, just ask anyone that has to do it. I mistakenly thought that it meant that I could never live on my own, but would have to always have room mates to get by. It was a disaster. I found that even though my daughter and I were able to survive with less, most people that moved in with us were still under the belief that in order to be happy they had to be super consumers. They would nod and agree with us that most of the "things" that we as a society surround ourselves with are unnecessary and often complicate our lives, they couldn't quite bring themselves to make the changes. 

I started by making my own cleaning supplies and by knitting my own socks and I just kept adding to the list of things I learned to live without. Things started leaving our home. No more televisions, the land line phone left and we kept only our cell phones and those we got with the cheapest plan we could find. Then we got rid of the car (along with the insurance payments and the registration, not to mention the gas). At that time, my estranged husband called and told us he was dying of cancer and needed my help while he was in hospice. So, because I was the one person he felt comfortable with, I moved into his little converted garage. 

At first I kept thinking about the space I missed and the appliances that I was used to in the apartment I shared with my daughter, but as time passed, I realized that I was living the "small house" dream. In a house with two small rooms (one of which has a tiny kitchen) and a small bathroom, I realized my error. Small meant less complicated. As it became apparent that my husband wouldn't survive his cancer, I gradually got used to "small" and decided to stay here. After he passed away and would no longer stress about his "collections" I started decluttering. I removed all the excess clothing, boxes, papers, and broken furniture. I Cleaned the place up and added curtains and other trim to make it look less like a converted garage and more like a cute little cottage.

Last night I tossed the old microwave and stepped back into the 1960's when people didn't have microwaves, garbage disposals, or Mr. Coffee machines. I got rid of the toaster and I'm gradually discarding the plastic dishes. My kitchen doesn't have space for dishwashers, and has limited cupboards. The floors are tile, no polyester carpets and carpet liners here, just rag rugs I made from clothes that I re-purposed. I started making my home made cleaners and laundry products again and will gradually get rid of the chemicals that are here.

So...yeah...this is my little revolution. I'm going to gradually scale down to a more simple way of life. Instead of living the "Big Life", I'm living the small one and smiling a whole lot more. I'm not a big celebrity, don't have a college education with a high paying job, and don't go on talk circuits around the country. I'm just Peg, a 54 year old widow, living in a small city named Barstow in the middle of no where, and surviving on a tiny disability check. But if I can make changes to my life at my age, so can you...