During the Great Depression, a popular aphorism was “Use it Up, Wear it Out. Make it Do, or Do Without.” If you have spoken to or spent time with someone who lived through the Great Depression, you will notice that many consider frugality a virtue. Our grandparents learned the hard way how to make things […]
Archive for the ‘Frugality’ Category
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How to Make DIY Shampoo & Conditioner
March 19th, 2014 
Jessica Some time ago I decided to see how long I could go without buying shampoo and conditioner. I had so many free samples on hand, and so many arriving in the mail each month that I just started going through them. I started in May 2012, and last week I finally caved and bought my […]
How to Save Time & Money Packing Lunches
March 17th, 2014 Jessica As a stay-at-home Mom to three children who are also still at home, it may surprise you that I’m talking about packing lunches today. Well, this month as I learned how to use Google Calendar for the first time, I again became aware of how so much time in my day is spent on meals. […]
30-Day House Cleaning Challenge: Days 1-30
November 18th, 2013 Jessica During the month of April 2013, I participated in a 30-Day Cleaning Challenge led by Money Saving Mom as she followed this Fresh & Organized Printable. If you’d like to try it too, you can find all of my posts (with lots of BEFORE and AFTER photos!) here. Project #1: Straighten the Kitchen & Living […]
A Painted Box for Kristy’s Birthday
August 29th, 2013 Jessica My sister’s birthday and anniversary are the same week, so this year I decided to do something special for her and her husband. I found a large unfinished box in our garage that had moved with us many times over the years. I penciled in the words using Calligraphy and a ruler. Then I carved […]
Organizing with Ice Cream Tubs
July 30th, 2013 Jessica I’ve been working on a lot of small home and car maintenance improvements lately, and one of those projects was to organize the kids’ art supplies. I had put them out of reach on top of the refrigerator because they were making so many messes with them. Keeping them out of reach allowed me to […]
What Frugal Things Do You NOT Do?
July 9th, 2013 Jessica Recently I was scanning down my Facebook news feed and saw the following question from Trent Hamm at The Simple Dollar: “What frugal things do you NOT do?” I had to laugh because there are a few frugal things that I do not do, or at least do not do very often: I don’t hang […]
A Painted Bus Stop Bench
June 18th, 2013 Jessica When we first moved into our house (which we rent) in September 2011, there was a bus stop in our backyard. I was not overly impressed with the concrete and broken wood structure, or the words “LSD”, “Coke”, and “Cocaine” carved into the Bireley’s Soda advertisement. However, with little other seating in our backyard, it […]
Cloth Diapering 101: Part 2
June 6th, 2013 Jessica Yesterday I shared our cloth diapering story. Click here to read Cloth Diapering 101: Part 1. Here are 17 tips for cloth diapering success! Getting Started: Cloth diapering is a team effort. I do not recommend using cloth diapers if your spouse is not on board. I can’t say that I would still be cloth […]
Cloth Diapering 101: Part 1
June 5th, 2013 Jessica When Brad and I found out we were pregnant with our first child in 2008, one of our first concerns was how we would afford to diaper her. Somewhere along the line, I heard about cloth diapering. So I sent out a Facebook status update, asking for information about cloth diapering. When a few friends […]
