Things I am doing to save money..........

I want to clarify first that we are fine financially, however what worries me is that we don't know what is going to happen after this pandemic ends; or even when this pandemic will end.  So I feel for the moment it makes sense to tighten our belts on our outgoings and try and save where ever possible until we see how things pan out.

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The first thing we did was do up an excel spreadsheet of all our monthly outgoings.  When I did that I realized I could save some money if I did a couple of things.

1. Cancel our weekend newspaper.  It's a want not a need at the moment, and with watching so much news online and on the tv, we have no need for the newspaper as well.  Saving $20

2. Try to lower our internet/cable/telephone bill.  Did that and will end up saving $35+ a month.

Doing both of those things, which took me half an hour means a savings of $55 a month.

In Ontario we now have off peak hydro/electricity rates all day, seven days a week for the next 45 days.  I am hoping that will be extended, but meanwhile I will take what is offered.

The weather is starting to get better, so I am hanging out my laundry.  Some people can't/or are not allowed, but if you can, hang out your laundry and that will save you even more money.

Cooking from scratch. With all the restaurant closures due to the pandemic, other than ordering in, cooking from scratch is the way to go.  I am hoping to give you some easy ideas on homemade cheap meals as the weeks progress.

I cut/shaved my hubby's hair on Friday.  I do this regularly anyway.  With the hairdressers being closed now would be as good a time as any to try your hand at that.  We bought a one similar to this one and it works great. At $20 a haircut, we were saving money by the time I had cut/shaved his head twice.

What are you doing to save money during this trying time?  Looking forward to hearing about your great tips.

Nearly 5 years later......

and I am at a point where I can hang out my laundry again!

At our last home we were not allowed to hang out the laundry.  Here we have no rules that we have to follow.

I asked for money for my birthday, so I could purchase a "whirly gig," or as it's called in Canada an "Umbrella Dryer."

So on Sunday I was able to hang out two loads of laundry and as I always say there is nothing better than the smell of laundry that's been hung outside to dry.    Do you hang out your laundry?

What was hanging on my washing line on Thursday.......

Of course it's the bath mats and a couple of my handbags, is that not normal?  I am a huge fan of cloth handbags, especially Vera Bradley; I did also wash my Marie Osmond bag (red one) as well.  I hope to fine another Vera Bradley bag while we are in the States at a good price.

On Thursday I cut the rest of the grass, and it was downright nippy out there.  I had a fleece jacket on and my flaps down hat on all day.  I'm not complaining as I would rather have this type of weather, than stinking hot and humid, but it was cool out of the sun and in the wind.

The one thing that surprises me with this week's "House of the Week," is how light and airy it is.  From the outside you wonder why is it on sale for $1.85 million, but inside the finishes tell you why.  I like the inner courtyard idea, a bit like a secret garden, otherwise the place is too modern and too flipping clean for me.  Only the kids bedrooms looked lived in, once again I'll pass.

Not sure what to say about "The Cottage of the Week?"  Obviously at $4.35 million, it's not your typical cottage.  Take a look at the ninth photo and tell me if that picture beside the window/door should be the other way up?  I'm guessing not but that would annoy the heck out of me.  If I had that sort of money to spend it would be perfect but not as a cottage but as a permanent home.

This week's "Condo of the Week," has no kitchen and is currently being use as a photography studio, and for that you get to pay $850,000. As it is one of those lofts with the concrete walls, no ceiling and concrete floors I'll pass!!!

All about laundry.....

In the May/June issue of Hobby Farm's Home they have a infographic on line drying best practices.  If you click on this link, you can see if more easily and you can download and print it as it is a pdf file.

 

I finally got my first load of laundry line dried last Friday (Good Friday).  Hoping it will warm up and I can hang more laundry out.  Do you line dry you laundry?

The majority of my clothes pegs/pins are wooden like this:

I don't have any like this:

But do have some plastic ones similar to these:

I made my peg bag out of some material I had and a child's coat hanger.  I found a pattern here that uses a tea towel, that is similar.  Though the more hard wearing the material the longer it will last.

I still make my own fabric softener using this recipe (actually generally the third one, and I add drops of lemon essential oil as well).  I don't make my own laundry detergent as I try and buy it super cheap when on sale and with coupons, but have used home made laundry detergent in the past with great success, and there is a recipe here.

I tend to "do" around five to six loads of laundry a week.  Two loads of whites and three to four loads of darks.  There are two of us in the house, and sometimes it can be more sometimes less.  I rarely use the electric dryer.  It's either hung to dry on the clothes horse/airer, or hung outside to dry.  Dh complains about how crispy the towels get.  I just tell him it's a bonus as they exfoliate his skin at the same time and people pay thousands to have that done and he gets it done for free!!