Here's the glamour shot!
Frugal Girl is a favorite blogger who writes an occasional column entitled Five Frugal Things.
Here are my Five Frugs for today:
1. I made a pasta salad as I cleaned out the fridge. So tail ends of feta and mozzie cheeses, almost empty bottles of Italian dressing, lemon juice, a quarter of a bag of frozen mixed veggies, half a green pepper, black olives, a couple of ribs of celery, whole wheat elbows bought for under a dollar, some black olives, and leftover chicken all went in. I took a little taste and it is YUM-O. Easiest way to save on food? Use every bit of what you purchase.The Atlantic reports that 50% of all American produce is thrown away. Second easiest way? Cook and eat at home: cheaper, healthier, and more environmentally friendly.
2. A fellow church member is affiliated with a famous and rather expensive chain of restaurants which uses "clean" foods. This person brings in the bread that will be discarded. I used part of that bread for "Philly Cheese Steak" sandwiches with leftover cooked beef with grilled onions, green peppers, and a few mushrooms. I normally take home several loaves. It pleases me that my church reuses food that would be thrown away in a world with millions of hungry children.
3. I folded ten ziplock bags I had washed and hung in the laundry room on a multiple skirt hanger. Hence that beautiful pic above.
4. I took a military shower which is both frugal and good environmental practice. For the uninitiated, here's how: Turn the water on and get all wet. This time of year, I don't even use hot water, as it is coming up from the ground lukewarm. Once wet, turn off the water. Scrub yourself. Wash hair. Turn water back on. Rinse off. This practice saves amazing amounts of water. A regular shower uses 60 gallons; a military shower uses 3. You get just as clean.
5. I put a bucket in the bath to catch the running shower water and used for a few flushes. Why pay for something you let run down the drain?
To learn more:
The Atlantic - Food Waste
Washington Post Water Wasted
Huffington Post - Military Shower
Kristen, over at Frugal Girl and some other bloggers, run an occasional feature called "Five Frugal Things."
The Frugal Girl
Here are my five frugal things:
1. I save $2.50 per shirt because I launder and press my husband's shirts vs. taking them to the dry cleaners. The price is based on the lowest price around here. I save some more when I use an old spray bottle filled with water instead of spray starch, which I rarely use.
2. I wash zip locks and use them reuse them . I rinse and run them through the dishwasher. They dry on a multiple skirt hanger in the laundry room. I haven't purchased any zip locks for over a year and a half. Not only is this frugal, but it helps the environment.
3. Instead of using plastic wrap, foil, or bags, I try to use glass containers which do not add to landfills. This can difficult to do when packing lunches, but again, it is cheaper and more environmentally friendly.
4. I pack my husband's lunches and dinners (when he teaches at night). If he ate out instead, this would amount to a total of over $40 per week or $160 per month. I base the cost on an average of $5 per meal, which is low. I can provide a meal much more cheaply than that.
5. The cost of cable television in our area is ridiculous. We have no other options but to use Cox Cable or have no cable at all. We chose no cable at all about 2 months ago. We are thrilled that we did so. This decision saves over $100 per month. We have digital antennae now, a one-time $25 purchase. We can get about 20 channels this way, including ION, MeTV, the three networks, and PBS.
Netflix and Hulu give us access to wonderful programming at a low cost. Bruce and I watch the local news and the national morning TV shows and then turn the television off. The exception is during weather concerns, such as today as we await hurricane news.
Rather than vege through programming we are not especially interested in just because it is on, we watch programming we love (60 Minutes, Law and Order SVU, the new NBC drama "Timeless") and then keep the television off. I listen to the radio via the computer We find other things to do, in my case sewing and in Bruce's puttering around fixing and improving things, such as repairing a well-loved vintage necklace for me.
I do not want to stand before God and have Him show me many wasted, mindless hours watching television and be reminded that while basic needs of the poor went unmet, I chose to spend over $1,200 per year on television and wasted time that I could have redeemed for good. Ephesians 5:16.
Most evenings these days, we listen to classical music on XM via computer and read. Both of us find it very cozy to have our showers and then relax reading in bed with a certain angelic dog in between us.
The other night, GASP, we didn't even watch the vice presidential debate.
I asked Bruce what his thoughts were about cutting the electronic leash of cable and he told me that he feels more peaceful. I agree.
