Aaaaaaaaaaah The Simple Life...

We have tried very hard to simplify our lives. Some people look at us and shake their heads in wonder (wondering if we have lost our minds.... SMILE). That is OK. This is where God has led us, and we will follow as He leads. Living the simple life does not always look simple to everyone. Many times it takes more work to accomplish something, like making your food from scratch instead of opening cans and boxes. We are not saying there is anything wrong with people making their meals that way, we just like to do it the other way. It is very satisfying. Also, in living simply, we want to save as much money as we can. That puts our goal of bringing Michael home and earning our living off the farm a bit closer. Anyway, this page is going to outline some ways to live simply and also to save some money along the way. If you have other ideas, e-mail them to us or leave them in the guest book and we will get them up here. We are always open to learn.

One of the first things you can do to start simplifying is to take stock of where you are at, and then to figure out where you want to be, or better yet, where God wants you to be. Do you know all of your monthly bills? Do you have extra services on your phone.... call waiting, etc.? Do you have cable, do you get the newspaper, etc. How many days a week do you run around doing errands and things? How many sets of clothing do you have in your closets and drawers? Do they all fit you? Or, do you have a whole separate wardrobe that you are going to one day get into? SMILE! How many vehicles do you have? What is there worth, what are the payments? All of these things come into play. There are many more. Then look around your house.... do you have lots of knick knacks and clutter? Do you have sporting equipment that you no longer use, or is now the wrong size? Once you take stock of everything, then you need to decide what is absolutely essential. Food, clothing, shelter, etc. Then figure out what are the other things that you can truly not live without... Your grandmother's vase, the collection of angels your mother gave you on each birthday, etc. Then truly look at the other stuff.... Can you REALLY LIVE WITHOUT IT? How long has it been since it was used? Make a pile (or a room, or the garage) of things that you can live without. Have a garage sale, donate to the Goodwill or throw it away if no one else would want it. What things can you live without? Do you really use the cable on the TV? Do you really have to get a newspaper every day? Do you even have time to read it? Do you really have to have call waiting? When you decide what you can live without, then do away with it. Get rid of all the things you are going to and do away with the services you can live without...RIGHT AWAY!!! Other wise you will start second guessing yourself. There were so many things that I agonized over putting in my garage sale. I can't even tell you what most of them were at this point. I don't miss them. This is step one!!

Now let's look at another catagory you can save money on. How many paper products do you buy? Toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, wipes, the new swipe cloths with either a dusting or cleaning product already built in? Let's start with the toilet paper. I believe this is a MUST buy. *SMILE* I quit buying paper towels and used rags. I cut up old t-shirts, towels, and other items and keep a rag bag. When something is spilled or you need a paper towel, try using a rag. You can hang it up to dry and many times use it again. Ok, paper napkins. I quit buying them (I do buy them for some occasions, like if we are having a large group here, etc.). I use cloth napkins. I have made some which is very easy to do. Check out the cotton and/or homespun on the $1.00 table at your fabric store. Cut a slightly larger square than you want, and then turn the edges under and sew or use a serger if you have one. I have found cloth napkins at thrift stores that look unused. Put them on your list when people ask you what you would like or need. Ask friends and family if they have some they don't use. It is not hard to come up with a good supply of napkins for little to no money. Then to save even more, we use our napkin and as long as it is not really dirty, we fold it up and put it back beside our place at the table. Many meals are messy enough that you only get one use out of it. However, there are other times when ours last 2 days. I keep a little plastic basket handy that I put in all used napkins and rags. As you go to do laundry, just grab it or grab the napkins and rags out of it and throw in the wash. I have a basket on my table. I fold up the napkins and put them in the basket on their end. It is very colorful. I had another friend who folded hers up and had a rainbow of colors in a basket on her table. As far as wipes go, why not just use a wet washrag. I have another friend who used cloth diapers for her baby. She kept wet washrags in a baggy in her diaper bag. They worked great and she just threw them in the diaper pail with the diapers. On the little swipe cloths, they are just a money robber so that you think you are saving yourself time. How long can it really take to put some dusting spray on your cloth? I don't even use that. I dampen my dusting rag and put a bit of rosemary essential oil on it and it smells SO good when I dust. The oil must remain in the wood for awhile, because you can still smell it faintly days later. I have had comments on the good smell.

Another BIG area to save money in is in cleaning products. Most cleaning products are based on a few essentials that you can keep on hand. Things like bleach, vinegar, baking soda, ammonia, etc. Here are a few ideas. If you like to keep counters germ free, you can use a mixture of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. It also helps remove smells that stick to things. I would probably use a half and half solution of this. If things really get germy, I would make it stronger even using just the vinegar if I had to. Get a supply of spray bottles at the store or thrift store, label them and keep them where you normally kept the cleaning products. You can also use a solution of bleach and water. Use one part bleach to eight parts water. Be careful that you do not use this on wood surfaces and do NOT use anywhere you use ammonia as the two together cause toxic harmful fumes. For an all purpose cleaner take one cup of ammonia, one cup of washing soda (this is found near the detergents in the store. Mine is made by Arm & Hammer and comes in a yellow box), and 14 cups of warm water. Put the ammonia, the washing soda and part of the water into a gallon jug. Shake well to mix in the washing soda. Then add the rest of the water. Label your jug and then pour part of it in a labeled spray bottle. If you have larger jobs, then use 1/2 cup of the solution per gallon of water. To make a glass cleaner use one cup of white vinegar, one cup of ammonia, one tablespoon of a mild detergent and thirteen cups of warm water. Also, newspapers are one of the best things to clean glass with. For a drain cleaner use two cups of baking soda, two cups of salt and 1/2 cup cream of tartar. Mix these together and store in an airtight jar. To use this, have some boiling water on hand. Pour 1/4 cup of the cleaner down the drain. I sometimes have to help mine go down with a spoon. Immediatly pour two cups of boiling water down after it. Wait 30 mins. and then repeat the steps. After waiting the 30 mins. the second time, flush the drain with cold water. These are just a few of the recipes for cleaners. Search the web, there are lots more I am sure. However, these are so much cheaper than the already mixed store bought ones and they work just as well. Just start making them as you run out of your store bought cleaners.

Processed foods are more expensive than making it homemade and usually contain all sorts of preservatives that are not good for you. Homemade takes a bit more time, but tastes so much better and is better for your family. We eat Mexican food once a week at least. We LOVE it. We eat a lot of chili in the fall and winter as well. Check out our kitchen and recipe pages for some homemade taco and chili seasonings. As well as a recipe for canning your own chili beans. Keep a supply of dried beans, rice and a well stocked herb and spice cabinet. I buy my herbs and spices bulk and then sell part of them. Find a friend to split them with or something. You can buy bulk herbs by the pound often times cheaper than the little bottle you buy in the store. We grind wheat to make our flour. This is "REAL" flour that still has life in it. It is so healthy for your family, tastes so much better to and is so much cheaper as well. Making bread is not that hard. If you don't like to knead or feel you do not do a good job at it, there are fairly inexpensive dough buckets you can buy that you knead the dough in. They work great. You family will LOVE having that warm piece of bread from the oven and think you are spoiling them. Teach your daughters to make bread and have them help you. Making granola is very easy as well. Store bought cereals are VERY expensive and don't stick with you. It will take some more time, but how about making oatmeal, or pancakes or eggs. We roll our own oats, so it is cheaper, fresher and healthier for you. Pancakes made with freshly ground flour stick with you for a long time. Can you keep a few chickens where you are? We usually sell enough eggs from our chickens that they pay for their own feed and we get free, fresh, free-range healthy eggs. Look in your papers or call a local feed store and find someone near you who raises beef. To buy a whole, half or quarter of a cow is a big outlay up front, but usually in the long run it is much cheaper. There is usually one cost per pound of hanging weight. You may pay a bit more than you are used to for hamburger, but you get steaks, roasts and all the good cuts for that same price as well. Also on meat, make it a side dish, not the main thing.

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