When a neighbor discarded some household belongings on the curb, my daughter-in-love and I decided to take a peek. Trash picking is the ultimate frugal practice. Not only is all the stuff free, but it helps keep good stuff out of landfills. We snagged a brand new dog crate, which is now Willie’s bed. We […]
Misfits Market Review (and a coupon code)
Are you a fan of grocery delivery services? I’ve been using InstaCart for years and love it. I’ve also experimented with another: Misfits. Here’s my Misfits market review, along with a coupon code for you to use if you’d like to try it. What is Misfits market? Misfits Market offers seasonal, organic produce and claims […]
Lowering food costs (for a family of 9)
Groceries are my family’s biggest expense. Even higher than our mortgage. Interestingly, we spend roughly what the government says is reasonable for a family of 9. So I guess it’s not terribly bad. Still, it’s a huge figure and I know I can do better. What I Won’t Do to Lower Food Costs In the […]
I KonMari’d my home (again!)
I first talked about Marie Kondo and the KonMari method (as explained in her best-selling book, The Life Changing Art of Tidying Up) back in 2015. At that time, I decluttered my entire house using her methods. And it stayed that way for the most part! I did, however, do the process again this week. […]
Favorite Cleaning Tools: 4 Homemaking Tools I Can’t Live Without
Since we’re talking about spring cleaning and avoiding “tool-shaped objects” syndrome, I thought it would be a perfect time to talk about favorite cleaning tools I can’t live without. For years, I cleaned with sub-par products, wasting time, energy and money on homemade cleaning products and homemade laundry detergent that didn’t work (and that left my […]
Spring cleaning: skip it and do this instead
Everyone’s talking about spring cleaning right now. I’m going to take a slightly contrarian position and encourage you to skip it entirely. Here’s why, and what you might do instead that’s a more profitable use of your time. Where did spring cleaning come from? “When homes were heated with wood, coal or coal oil […]
Simple Healthy Cookbooks: 3 favorites for food on the table in record time
If you’re like me, you want three things. One, to feed your family healthy and delicious meals. Two, to not spend all day slaving over a hot stove accomplishing number one. And three… self-cleaning kitchens. Well, I can’t help you with the third thing. But I CAN recommend my 3 favorite simple healthy cookbooks to […]
Foca Laundry Detergent: 5 Frugal Uses Outside the Washing Machine
Last summer during my no spend challenge, I looked for the cheapest laundry detergent that still had positive reviews. That turned out to be Foca. Foca laundry detergent comes in huge bags and is dirt cheap. Like, 4 pounds for $3.42 cheap. I liked the convenience of a large bag of detergent. It meant I […]
Things I’m Enjoying Lately
Every once in a while I post things I am enjoying. It’s a sort of product review meets gratitude list. This list is for stuff I liked in February. I moved this month, so a lot of stuff will revolve around that (I’m talking to you chocolate, comfy shoes and Epsom salts!). Lily’s chocolate – […]
Drugstore game: why I don’t play
The drugstore game is a method of stacking store sales (especially BOGO deals) with coupons in order to obtain drugstore items for pennies on the dollar, or even for free. I learned how to do the drugstore game back when I was a single mom getting out of debt, and I did it for a […]