Linda,
I agree with you about the extra hours of light. The "working" side of the house-kitchen, dining, tv-all face south and west so we don't turn on lights this time of year until we absolutely have to.
eileenkny
PS-I went to your webshots. Your sewing room is great!

911kitchen wrote:
ROFL, Bless his heart . We finally had the last of the old stlye bulbs burn out and now have the new EF ones throughout the house. The only thing left is to replace the side lights on the garage to motion sensor lights. We re-sided the house last yr and decided not to put the motion light back on the house right next to the door because of bugs. The walk in doors for the garage are placed perfect to give us enough light when we need it. I just hate having to walk out and turn them on and off all the time. Today is my day to go to town and stock up for the next week, then back home to the farm to quilt by the light of the beautiful sunshine we are spose to be seeing this afternoon. I LUV this time of yr when we are blessed with additional hours of natural light to work by.

TTFN & Happy Quilting & Gardening,
Linda

We've switched to compact flourescent bulbs in many of our lights. They cost more up front but you save on electricity and they last forever!!! Depending on the wattage, they're just as bright as incandescents.

FW, thanks for the coupon links! I've already printed off a bunch for my food shopping this week.

eileenkny

retiredgrandma5 wrote: Marsha,
Try the ShopRite brand. I swear it's just as good and a few bucks cheaper!!
eileenkny

Just to throw this out there you should look at your windows. We are, my sister who has a newer home replaced hers last year. We all thought she was nuts. Her home is only about 10 years old. Anyway, her heating bills were cut in half. I was amazed. She told me that the windows were paying for themselves in less then a year. Also go around your home and change all light bulbs to 40 or 60 watts chances are you will not even notice the differences. On a side note DH did this to our chandelier which holds 8 bulbs he repalced them with 40 watt bulbs (I had 15 watt bulbs in it). I came in at the end and while he in the process of flipping the switch. BAM 320 WATTS OF LIGHT ALL AT ONCE it was the second coming :shock: I was laughing like crazy. We went back to the 15 watts. Rachel

Hello all, along with the recyling. I've been brown bagging it to work. Stopped using the drive thru as a meal option, and freecyling everything I have multiples of.

At the same rate we're in the middle of a kitchen reno and the cabinetry that is still in good order I gifted to various family members- those were installed in the laundry areas of their homes. The cabinets that didn't find a home I plan to expand my storage in my sewing room. When we were planning for the reno, we decided on a kitchen pakg that included energy star appliances- and were self installing the kitchen.

Regarding doing the laundry in cold water, Tide cold water has been a staple in my house for the last year and a half. We saved about $300 over the past year, and look forward to saving more.

for sure recycling, but not for money. Just for hopefully our grandchildren's worlds!

Glass, plastic, cardboard, newspapers. Don't do office paper yet....seems too complicated since it comes with so much throwaway mail these days. You know envelopes with plastic windows etc.

We don't use ANY aluminum cans. Don't do soft drinks. Use a PUR water filter pitcher inside the fridge. vs bottled water and all that plastic that needs re-cycling. Take the glass to the recycle place.

Batteries, will go to our big recycle place, but did you know the phone companies and/or Radio Shack also has a big bin behind their counter for phone, etc. batteries. I wonder if they would take my AA and AAA batteries? Idea!!!! I'll see.

I even Free-Cycled my small pots after planting my summer yard this year. Our native plant store will take them back so I was saving them to take in. A request on FreeCycle came up for 4" pots left over from gardening....seems this woman's mother raises Amarylisis and harvests all the little seeds and starts them in an individual pot! Can you imagine? Well, actually, yes, I can!
Lynn

Okay, I have to cut down the soda. But I had to admit to hubby today that I've been watering down the mouthwash! Oops!
Do you know how expensive listerine is?

I can see I've not been nearly as frugal I should be. These are great ideas-keep 'em coming!!
I think we're going to wean off soda, at least I am. DH drinks about 3 sodas per week, but I've gotten lazy and have been dringking at least one per day. Since we get money back on the recycling of soda cans, I've been justifying it. No more rationalization!!!
eileenkny

This is a great topic. We do a lot of recycling which helps in the long run of saving. I like the saying - use it up, wear it out or reuse it - . I realized that I am saving money just being a member of 'The Quilt Show'. I live about an hours drive away from any populated area. I do not need to drive as much to take classes on quilting!! I am also exposed to great ideas, sharing people and lots of other good things. This web site has been really good for me.
I also take painting classes on the internet sometimes.
Carolyn in Oreogn

What a good idea this topic is! I have gray hair, and stopped getting it cut about 4 years ago--I just wash it, put it up, and put on a hair clamp, and I'm good to go. We both quit smoking many years ago, which has saved a fortune over the years. We never buy soda pop, but drink tap water and an occasional glass of wine. I drink tea, which is very inexpensive, using one tea bag a day per pot of tea. DH teases me about drinking slightly colored water, LOL. We eat whatever is on sale that week. We don't buy any junk food--chips, dip, that sort of thing. For snacks, we have fresh fruit and veggies. I do keep Atkins sweets on hand to keep me out of things that are high-carb. We have been doing much better on planning car use to take care of lots of errands, instead of many trips with one errand each. We get some of our clothing at a local high-end thrift shop. When fabric shopping, I look first in the sale areas. I have taken classes so that I can do my own basic sewing machine maintenance and simple repairs. We are going to make a trip to Georgia to visit our daughter, and I'll go on from there to a gathering of sewing machine collectors in North Carolina, then back to daughter's place, then home, thus combining two trips into one.

I guess I would suggest that when you get to the checkout at the supermarket, you take a look through your cart and see if there's stuff in there that you want, rather than need, since we all spend a lot of our money there. Actually, that's a good thing to do in every shopping situation.

Pat in Rockport, TX

I buy large quantities of meats and poultry all summer long. When I know that I am going to cook out. I throw them onto the grill and cook them until they are nearly done. Then I debone them and put them into meal size packages into the freezer. This not only tastes great in the winter but it saves loads of time. Plus you can buy the meat when it is at it's cheapest. I also never throw away veggies. I put them into the freezer this way when the kids are ill I can quickly grab some of the meat some broth and just toss the veggies in. Instant soup! Oh and I quilt this way I am always warm in the winter because everyone else likes the house freezing cold and I like to be able to move Rachel

In our house, we USE UP before we buy another. We try not to be throw-away people, and are always looking for a way to use something that otherwise might be discarded. We also invert ketchup bottles, salad dressing bottles, mustard, lotions, etc. to get every last drop; then I take a small rubber spatula to it! My kids get annoyed with us but I bet we've gained several bottles over the years! I'm also a mender, and DH is a fixer. And if anyone is throwing something out that he knows about, he wants to bring it home for "parts" that may be needed down the road! (sigh)
I also tend to bake from scratch rather than buy ready-made, which is USUALLY cheaper, but not necessarily!

All great ideas. This thread is also a good idea!

One of my very best money saving tips is a question I always ask myself -- "Do I need it or do I just want it?"