I need to decrease my overall utility usage; water, gas and electricity. I'm recycling bottles and cans, but I need to also recycle food packaging more.
Thanks for your insights. I agree that extremes are not good, especially in truly risky situations. Most people I know tend to let fear stop them but a little fear can temper poor decisions.
I am looking for work after raising my kids, so I need to learn Excel. Instead of going to a community college, I enrolled in a community park district excel class. What could have been over $200, is only $9.
Cheap can be boring, but boring shouldn't be mind sucking. Living her in AZ, hiking is a good, fun and cheap thing, so is tubing on the salt river! :)
You never know what people are going to bring -- some folks have a stand-by favorite and others like to experiment. But surprises are part of the fun of a potluck. Great idea to exchange recipes. Thanks for sharing!
I love the distinction between entertaining and hospitality, plus the practical advice to clean thoroughly the first time and relax more on a second visit. Thanks for sharing!
I would like to get back to composting. Our last place had one (courtesy the landlady) in the backyard! Our current apartment situation would have us driving our scraps somewhere regularly ... which we still should. But one day, in a place of our own: a compost operation for our full scale garden!!!
DH and I would like to evaluate our HVAC system to reduce the amount of time the AC unit runs. In Memphis it gets a bit warm during the summer so we want to block unused vents, look at ceiling fan rotation, replace filters, clean what ducts we can reach, hang reflective drapery, etc. We rent so we can't make major changes but want to do the best we can.
I think this is one of the biggest areas to save money. Getting rid of a car expense can save thousands.
Unfortunately for too many people (myself included), a car is necessary for major errands (for me, picking up my kid at school) and is used for much more than just commuting to work. I didn't get into car sharing in this article, but that can be a great way to have a car for a few hours without much expense. It's mostly offered in urban areas, so suburbia is missing out for now.
Good point. Driving in rural areas is an important skill for young drivers to learn as soon as they can, and can help families get much more done. But I think for most people, delaying a teen's driving for a year will help everyone involved and save everyone a lot of money. It's a good way to teach a teen about finances and how much money goes into a car beyond gas.
Jenny: I think that's a great idea. I don't know if I can delay such purchases a month, but I have been successful giving myself at least a few days and up to a week. Some things I end up forgetting I wanted.
Great tips! #9 surprised me: I live in (from what I've found since reading this!) the only state that allows 14 year olds to drive... didn't realize SoDak was alone on that one.
I have an 8th grader taking drivers ed in May, and going for his license in July. He actually has classmates (8th grade!) who have been driving to school all year... I'm pretty sure we won't be delaying his driving - it's actually an important skill out here in the farmland where he hopes find work driving tractor/truck for a farmer by 16...
Some of my green goals are to bike or walk to work as much as possible this spring/summer/fall, to unplug all appliances when not in use, to stop using paper towels and use cloth, to hang dry more clothes, and to try to re-use and recycle as much as possible.
To get my hugelkultur beds up and going so my garden can start producing!
I need to decrease my overall utility usage; water, gas and electricity. I'm recycling bottles and cans, but I need to also recycle food packaging more.
Talking on air is an amazing feat! Glad to hear about conquering that fear, and you can definitely use that success to try and master new things.
To me, those new perspectives are nearly as valuable (or sometimes more) than actually trying or mastering something new.
Thanks for your insights. I agree that extremes are not good, especially in truly risky situations. Most people I know tend to let fear stop them but a little fear can temper poor decisions.
I am looking for work after raising my kids, so I need to learn Excel. Instead of going to a community college, I enrolled in a community park district excel class. What could have been over $200, is only $9.
Cheap can be boring, but boring shouldn't be mind sucking. Living her in AZ, hiking is a good, fun and cheap thing, so is tubing on the salt river! :)
You never know what people are going to bring -- some folks have a stand-by favorite and others like to experiment. But surprises are part of the fun of a potluck. Great idea to exchange recipes. Thanks for sharing!
I want to start an organic garden & composting this year.
Glad to meet a fellow cook. Thanks for reading!
Outside is definitely the way to go with cub scouts (or any large gathering that involves children). Thanks for sharing!
I love the distinction between entertaining and hospitality, plus the practical advice to clean thoroughly the first time and relax more on a second visit. Thanks for sharing!
My green goal is to grow more of our own food while composting our food waste to help them grow :)
I would like to get back to composting. Our last place had one (courtesy the landlady) in the backyard! Our current apartment situation would have us driving our scraps somewhere regularly ... which we still should. But one day, in a place of our own: a compost operation for our full scale garden!!!
This year we are planting a garden in the backyard and using rain water to water the veggies.
My green goal is to reuse and buy as much used stuff as possible. I also want to reduce waste in kitchen.
Trying to eat more organic food - especially meat!
DH and I would like to evaluate our HVAC system to reduce the amount of time the AC unit runs. In Memphis it gets a bit warm during the summer so we want to block unused vents, look at ceiling fan rotation, replace filters, clean what ducts we can reach, hang reflective drapery, etc. We rent so we can't make major changes but want to do the best we can.
I would love to switch vehicles to one that is more healthier for the environment and to eliminate paper products from out lifestyle
I would like to start my own compost pile, and use it to help fertilize my veggie garden I will be planting soon!
Agreed. For planning meals, I've written about a service that plans the meals for a family, saving a lot of time and expense in buying too much food. Here's the story: http://www.wisebread.com/avoid-dinner-stress-pay-someone-to-plan-your-meals
The service I use is soon starting food delivery, taking another step out of the process and leaving only the cooking and food prep.
I think this is one of the biggest areas to save money. Getting rid of a car expense can save thousands.
Unfortunately for too many people (myself included), a car is necessary for major errands (for me, picking up my kid at school) and is used for much more than just commuting to work. I didn't get into car sharing in this article, but that can be a great way to have a car for a few hours without much expense. It's mostly offered in urban areas, so suburbia is missing out for now.
Good point. Driving in rural areas is an important skill for young drivers to learn as soon as they can, and can help families get much more done. But I think for most people, delaying a teen's driving for a year will help everyone involved and save everyone a lot of money. It's a good way to teach a teen about finances and how much money goes into a car beyond gas.
Jenny: I think that's a great idea. I don't know if I can delay such purchases a month, but I have been successful giving myself at least a few days and up to a week. Some things I end up forgetting I wanted.
Great tips! #9 surprised me: I live in (from what I've found since reading this!) the only state that allows 14 year olds to drive... didn't realize SoDak was alone on that one.
I have an 8th grader taking drivers ed in May, and going for his license in July. He actually has classmates (8th grade!) who have been driving to school all year... I'm pretty sure we won't be delaying his driving - it's actually an important skill out here in the farmland where he hopes find work driving tractor/truck for a farmer by 16...
Some of my green goals are to bike or walk to work as much as possible this spring/summer/fall, to unplug all appliances when not in use, to stop using paper towels and use cloth, to hang dry more clothes, and to try to re-use and recycle as much as possible.