I think she was the matriarch of Sadness in a past life, because she is my ideal of someone who lives frugally, is largely content with her kitchen garden and flock of chickens, and is clever with what’s available.
Now that I live in the mountains, I take that archetype to heart and find ways to incorporate it into my frugal lifestyle. I have vintage cookbooks from the depression and World War II century, I have a few chickens; We have a very large kitchen garden with enough for some great home cooked meals plus extra for canning. Over the past few months in particular, I have moved away from comfort food and find myself in the kitchen more and more, baking bread. and we work for several days making large pots of soup and share it with my mother-in-law, who lives next door to us on the same land.
This is how our ancestors lived, even as recently as the 1940s – how quickly we forget! For all of human existence, until the last 60 years, we have always cooked our own food, known how to sew and sew clothes, make our basic repairs, and so on. It is late that only these basic skills skills”> needy people are left today, the simple inability to cook a meal or a salad in I attribute this in part to classes in high school and the benefit of modern conveniences that Home economics do for us.
With this new incapacity comes the cost of time. If you don’t know how to cook or sew buttons, you should pay someone else to do it for you. A loaf of bread in a plastic bag from grocery costs about $3.50 – all the ingredients to make the bread yourself cost less than 50 cents . And don’t even get me started on clothes that require dry cleaning!
Doing it for us is one way to save a lot of money on the farm. When you live far from any forces or offices like us (12 miles to the nearest city with a post office), you learn to fix your own sink, cook your own food and be creative with what you have on hand. Is the site hardware-store closed on Sunday, but need some heavy wire to fix the fence? This is what wire jackets are for!
Another way to save a lot of money is to grow your car. During World War II there was a huge impact that the “Victory Gardens” in which there were lots. people planted vegetables to account for their grocery accounts and shared with others so they could send more food to the troops fighting the war. It’s really not very difficult to grow a few basic herbs, especially if you have decent soil and a source of water. Studies have shown that the biggest source of waste in the family food is to produce their own food, and new results. one of the most expensive parts of the budget.
Bunch tomatoes on the vine are usually between $2.50 and $3.50 a pound here in California depending on the season, and they are not organic. Tomatoes are almost growing by themselves, and several wild ones were growing near the building where I work, that is to say, rejecting them. seeds from someone’s lunchtime sandwich. Corn is another easy crop – it is a native-american-crafts”>native American plant that, while planting suitable enough to pollinate, it will give you sweet corn for the table, popcorn for a gift or durum corn for grinding into flour depending on the variety you grow.Many varieties of vegetables that any home gardener can grow with minimal effort, you will reap rich rewards, especially if The local agricultural extension cooperative will share more information about the basic horticultural techniques which varieties do best in your area and how to preserve your harvest.
Since we’re so far from town, you’d think we’d drive a lot, right? Well, we used to double before gas prices doubled… now we do a lot less driving than ever before. It’s easy and cheap for a suburbanite to jump in the car and grab a gallon of milk (if not very energy efficient). Since it is so time-consuming and expensive for us to do the same thing, when things are for sale, I don’t, and I do things myself. Today, we go into town once a week instead of every day, especially now that my son goes to a closer school that is only four miles away instead of 12. And when we go, we fit all our needs into one trip. go grocery shopping, visit the library, drop off some homespun yarn at the delivery shop and mail some packages to the post office.
It is very difficult to think about all the things that have changed. If you lived on a farm or village all your life, this will not be much. everyone If you’re a city slicker who’s moved to live the “good life,” you need to do a whole lot of thinking about how to make everyday things work in a frugal life.
Food: Cook yourself, grow yourself, save yourself. And here’s an extra frugal tip – some foods come in reusable containers, like canning jars, fabric bags (just like grandmother used in her 1930s paintings) and drinking glasses.
Shelter: We live in a 1960 mobile home that we got for free (in a six park the owner wanted to get rid of quickly) we only heat with wood, and we have a cooler swamp in the hot months. McMansions make you feel like royalty, but the price in high mortgage credit and heating/cooling expenses comes at the price of not seeing your family much, the cost of the day, and having almost no time to do your money-saving tasks like repairs; Gardening or cooking. It’s a big, counterproductive treadmill.
Clothing: A large part of our family’s clothing is from thrift stores and yard sales. I will buy a few new things, such as specs (this reasoning should be clear), shoes and work pants; because I must survive these two things as long as possible. I try to buy well-made shoes and pants that I can afford to last and be repaired. or brought to wear longer.
Entertainment: When we can afford it, I get addicted to cheap movies for evening shows, ripped DVDs, Watch games for half of what they cost. For kids, there are many good websites where they can play games and watch things for free. We also enjoy playing board games, playing cards and gambling, and also doing outside activities together like berry reading in the summer or sledding in the winter. Often, after our son has gone to bed, my husband will read to me while I am doing some needlework or knitting.
Hobbies: If you are looking for a hobby, take something that will be useful for the house. they can enjoy collecting things, but do all these things contribute to anything other than clutter? Sewing, fiber arts, carpentry, gluing, gardening, car repair, beekeeping, foodie cooking... All these are fun activities, but they all directly contribute to a good frugal family, and in some cases. can bring in extra income or use it to exchange with neighbors.
Doing it all yourself not only saves you a lot of money, it helps you feel much more empowered. and truly fulfilling. Instead of wasting time watching other people do things on TV, turn off the box and do it for yourself. It’s not all that hard, especially if you’re a little patient. I always tell myself, if that person can do it, then I can do it. Well, of course within limits – I’m not going to be an Olympic athlete soon, but I can. make skin, build a hut, raise chickens, wood, goat milk, my son’s hair, a hairy needle, grow skin and save food, go from sheep to a crocheted blanket, and cook a delicious and cheap soup for my family. I can also get used to the missing ball if the puppy doesn’t beat it under the bed so I can’t find it.
