Baby Steps to Frugal Living

Posted by Tricia Hodges | 0 comments

Creak. Creak. Stick. Stick. That’s the sound my sandals made as I walked across the kitchen floor. It was yucky. I couldn’t avoid it any more. Time to get the mop out.

When I reached under the kitchen sink, I found no floor cleaner. Sigh. But I spied the baking soda on the counter. There was just enough left from eldest boy’s latest science experiment. I did an internet search for “homemade floor cleaner.” Up came a basic, two-ingredient recipe for a cleaner made with white vinegar and warm water. Just to please eldest boy, I added the baking soda for foaming effect.

Feeling like a commercial, I wondered. Would my homemade floor cleaner handle the job? Would white vinegar match the power of ten children’s feet? Yes! The dirty water plus the clean floor prove it. And my sandals no longer creak.

That’s how it started. Yes, I’d made other steps in the frugal living direction prior to the afternoon of the sticky floor. It’s the floor cleaner that started a snowball effect. Next I started making my own laundry detergent. I got a $132 per year pay raise with that. Really! I shared my cost comparison at Savings Cents with Sense.

Then, I created a Frugal Living category on Hodgepodge. Recipes, habits, strategies. My desire is to be diligent, accountable and get others to join in the frugality of it all!

Did I mention we’ve grown to love beans and rice?

Maybe food is more your category. When we started back to school last fall, out of total avoidance of cooking, I put together a month long slow cooker celebration.

Now, there are likely lots of you out there more frugal-minded than me. I’m here to raise my hand as one who was buying floor cleaner and laundry detergent just a year ago. If you are like I was last May, I’m encouraging you to step out in one, maybe two areas. Cut costs where it’s easy. Start with a simple, frugal floor cleaner. I think you’ll like the results.

That’s how it started, friends. My feet sticking to the floor.

Here are a few more resources I click over to often:

• Homemade Cleansers
• Kim’s Favorite Cleaners
• Homemade Household Cleaners

Start small. Focus on one area. You’ll be giving yourself a raise in no time. Maybe, you’ll even earn the money for that curriculum you’ve been eying.

Now, it’s your turn! Homeschoolers are frugal by nature. Please share one of your easy, cost-cutting tips.

Tricia gave up life in the drive thru lane for the joy-filled road home. She homeschools five children from preschool to middle school. You can find her facing that daily dose of chaos at Hodgepodge. There she writes about practical schooling strategies and shares how she is saving bucks and her sanity with the frugal recipes of her Southern roots. Tricia is also known as Hodgepodgemom.