Living the Frugal Life

Since I just posted the first frugal challenge about not going out to eat for a month, I thought I would post a tip that has helped me tremendously. The first time I did this, I thought it was the best thing ever. Now that I do it on a regular basis, there is no way I can go back.

It’s called once-a-month cooking. You take one day (Saturday for me) and spend a few hours cooking several meals (enough for the entire month) and then freezing them. I have two cookbooks that help me: Once-a-Month cooking and Dinner’s in the Freezer. Both are good books that tell you step-by-step what to cook, when to freeze, and serving day directions.

It is a commitment to spend most of a weekend day cooking, but it is worth it. Typically, I will plan out the meals and go to the grocery store on Friday. Then, bright and early on Saturday I will start cooking. It goes by incredibly fast, and when you are finished you are filled with a sense of accomplishment, especially knowing you won’t have to cook for some time.

My husband and I both work full time. When I come home from work, I will take something out of the freezer (or refrigerator depending on if the dish had to be thawed or not) and throw it in the oven, grill or on the stove. The dishes don’t always have to be casseroles, you can really make anything and freeze it. Hamburger patties, fajitas, wings, etc - there may be some of the ingredients that you wait until serving day to use.

I definitely recommend once-a-month cooking. As part of the frugal challenge of not going out to eat for a month, this will give you no excuses. You will always have a home-cooked meal waiting on you!

I was sitting in church last weekend, thinking about how I would probably go home and throw my dress in the laundry pile. But, I had only worn it a few hours. What a waste of time doing laundry, ironing, electricity, water, etc.! So, I started doing some research on exactly how often we should do our laundry. Here is what I found:

Most of us don’t need to wash our clothes after every wearing.

You should start a habit of inspecting your clothes after every wear. Underwear and socks, please, wash after every wear! Other items may only need a quick iron or to be hung in the bathroom while you are taking a shower to get the wrinkles out. If there are any kind of stains, you should absolutely pretreat and wash.

The benefits:

• Washing and drying less often keeps your clothes looking newer, longer.
• With less laundry to do, you’ll have more time and money for the activities you actually enjoy!

Simple guide to how often to wash clothes:

Underwear and socks - every wear!
Bras - depends on you - smell test!
Towels - after 2-3 uses
Jeans - after 2-3 wears
Dress shirts - probably 2 wears - smell test!
Jeans/Trousers - at least 2 wears
Skirts/Dresses - at least 2 wears
Jackets/Coats/Blazers - several wears
Workout clothes - depends on you - smell test!
Sweaters - at least 2 wears

Always be sure to check for stains and hang clothes out/Iron between wears!

*Always wash new clothes and clothes from thrift stores before you wear

More laundry tips from idealbite.com, WikiHow, and US Dept of energy:

• Put away “clean-enough” clothes right after wearing to keep them from rumpling and mixing with the truly un-wearable stuff.
• Hang already-worn items outside or near a window to air out, or in the bathroom while you shower to steam out light wrinkles.
• The recommended detergent amounts are about twice what you need. Use half of what they recommend & your clothes will be just as clean and your detergent will last twice as long.
• Blue Jeans should be inside out to retain their dark color.
• About 90% of the energy used for washing clothes is for heating the water. There are two ways to reduce the amount of energy used for washing clothes—use less water and use cooler water. Unless you’re dealing with oily stains, the warm or cold water setting on your machine will generally do a good job of cleaning your clothes. Switching your temperature setting from hot to warm can cut a load’s energy use in half.
• Wash your clothes in cold water using cold-water detergents whenever possible.
• Wash and dry full loads. If you are washing a small load, use the appropriate water-level setting.
• Dry towels and heavier cottons in a separate load from lighter-weight clothes.
• Don’t over-dry your clothes. If your machine has a moisture sensor, use it.
• Clean the lint filter in the dryer after every load to improve air circulation.
• Use the cool-down cycle to allow the clothes to finish drying with the residual heat in the dryer.
• Periodically inspect your dryer vent to ensure it is not blocked. This will save energy and may prevent a fire. Manufacturers recommend using rigid venting material, not plastic vents that may collapse and cause blockages.
• When you have several loads to wash, do them back-to-back so you can use the residual heat in the dryer.
• To prevent static cling, add one cup white vinegar to the rinse cycle, using your washing machine’s dispenser. Static cling, by the way, is caused by using synthetic fabrics, so you could also switch to cotton. The vinegar also kills bacteria and prevents the buildup of detergent residue. Remove the laundry before it’s overdried.
• Air dry whenever possible using indoor racks or an outdoor line. This conserves energy—and your clothes. They will not wear out or fade as quickly. (You’ll also save about seven hundred pounds of carbon dioxide over six months of warm weather.)
• Remove clothing from the dryer before the cycle ends and line dry to finish. This conserves energy and increases the life span of the clothing.
• Avoid using dryer sheets to soften fabrics. They often contain harsh chemicals that can irritate sensitive skin. Soften fabric with baking soda in the wash cycle.

With the price of gas increasing daily, I have to find places in my budget to cut back. One of those places is the grocery store. So, I am constantly looking for ways to be more frugal at the grocery store. Also, I don’t really like going to the grocery store, so the less time I spend there, the happier I will be! Here are a few ways to save time and money at the grocery store:

• Only go once a week. This will save time and money. I like to sit down on the weekend and make a menu for the week. Then write down all the ingredients necessary for the menu items. This will save time by avoiding daily trips to pick up what you need for dinner that night. This saves money by not picking up extra items on the daily trips.
• Coupons.com. Check the website out before you go to the store. If they happen to have a coupon for something you need, print it out.
• P&G eSAVER. Although I rarely buy name brands at the grocery store, this service will load coupons available from Proctor &Gamble onto your loyalty card so you don’t have to print & clip them. I believe this service is only available to use at Kroger stores.
• Shortcuts.com. This is a free service from AOL. You choose the coupons online and load them on your store loyalty cards.  You can check out the website and see if there are any stores in your area that offers the service.

I will be doing plenty of research about this, so look for more posts on this subject! Let me know your ideas, too!

I love sleep. I sleep to the absolute last second before I have to get ready for work, sometimes a few minutes later. Sometimes 30 minutes or an hour later. Needless to say, my mornings can be pretty hectic! Here are some extremely simple things I have learned to do that save me at least 30 minutes in the mornings:

1. Pick out your outfit and accessories for the day the night before. If you work in the corporate world like I do, the dress code is business casual. Sometimes I wish we had a uniform or scrubs to wear, just to make mornings easier.  There have been too many mornings that I have stood in front of my closet, half awake, staring at my clothes, waiting for an outfit to appear. I have found it is much easier to have your clothes ready and ironed for you when you wake up.  For the ladies, be sure to switch to a purse that matches your outfit the night before- saves a couple of minutes the next morning!
2. Speaking of ironing, iron all your clothes before they go in the closet. Just in case that first outfit you picked out doesn’t work, your second choice will be ironed and ready to wear. It may sound a bit overwhelming, but once you start, it’s a pretty easy habit to maintain. You will also love having the wide selection of clothes ready for you in your closet.
3. Fix your lunch/snacks the night before. This is a good topic for another post, but if you don’t already bring your lunch to work, start looking at how much eating out every day is costing you. I snack a lot during the day, so I will have my lunch and snacks in the fridge ready for me to grab on my way out the door.

I hope these tips can help save you a few minutes in the mornings!

This article was featured in The Twelfth Edition of the Carnival of Improving Life.