Hello Dear Readers!
OOO Look! An actual Photo!
Now you cannot complain about my postings being too verbose. Ha!
... Mr. K points out that a picture is worth a thousand words, and thus one could say I've just added a thousand words to my little post... to which I say "shudup." :P
I wish a happy Labor Day to each and every one of you. It is nice to have a day off! Mr. K and I are planning on lounging in the pool with the rest of my crazy family.
Perhaps we can even talk my father into a good barbecue. *eyebrow wags*
TLDR: Oh come on, it's not that long.
Type atcha later,
~Mrs. K
Monday, September 7, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Freecycle
I have just discovered the world of Freecycle, the online swap meet. It is absolutely amazing. I have a box of things here that I don't need/use anymore, and I'd like to get {insert such here}. Somebody out there happens to have one of my wants sitting in their box-for-trade and one of my surplus items on their want list. Freecycle is just a nifty (free!) local-based service to get the two of us in touch. A trade-off is made, two happy people get what they wanted and got rid of something they didn't make use of anymore. What a wonderful website!
Freecycle has numerous nodes based in many US cities. All you need to do is pop over to www.freecycle.org, find the metropolis nearest you and join their group. Easy as pie.
I figure I'll take all the things left over from the Great Purge Craigslist sale and list them as "Items for trade" on Freecycle. Who knows, maybe we will end up with a bookcase?
I'll post more as I get further into this lovely system... I'm still waiting for my acceptance email at the moment. ^_^
TLDR: You + Google{freecycle}=win.
Type atcha later,
~Mrs. K
Freecycle has numerous nodes based in many US cities. All you need to do is pop over to www.freecycle.org, find the metropolis nearest you and join their group. Easy as pie.
I figure I'll take all the things left over from the Great Purge Craigslist sale and list them as "Items for trade" on Freecycle. Who knows, maybe we will end up with a bookcase?
I'll post more as I get further into this lovely system... I'm still waiting for my acceptance email at the moment. ^_^
TLDR: You + Google
Type atcha later,
~Mrs. K
Salivation Stew
Nothing like the smell of a tasty stew to warm up a house on a cool autumn evening.
I really should have taken a picture before showing Mr. K what we were having for dinner... I wasn't aware the man could eat so fast! I promise a photo for next time.
Tonight's fine dining experience was provided for us via the pallet of home-canned goods from my Mother-in-Law. She's a fine lady, bestowing upon us such delights!
We found within the preserves a jar of beef brisket... now, I don't eat beef very often, but this? Home cooked brisket? I can make an exception for such divinity on a plate. I shall consider it an endeavor to strengthen my intestinal fortitude.
One pint Beef Brisket + two pints of potato cubes + 2 carrots from the 'fridge + a teensy bit of pepper* and corn starch = BEEF STEW! I sliced up a loaf of Jimmy John's day old bread (50 cents per loaf!! Avaliable at a Jimmy John's near you.) Mr. K took one look at the tray and says "That's not going to be enough bread". If I had let him, we'd have gone through another loaf!
TLDR: I made beef stew for dinner. Scroll up a bit for the recipe if you're so inclined.
Ta ta for now!
~Mrs. K
PS: For those of you who are wondering, one pint = two cups. And yes, you can substitute fresh ingredients (just turn your Crock Pot/slow cooker/dutch oven over high heat!)
*Those who know me would most certainly expect a pepper-laden stew. I like Pepper.
I really should have taken a picture before showing Mr. K what we were having for dinner... I wasn't aware the man could eat so fast! I promise a photo for next time.
Tonight's fine dining experience was provided for us via the pallet of home-canned goods from my Mother-in-Law. She's a fine lady, bestowing upon us such delights!
We found within the preserves a jar of beef brisket... now, I don't eat beef very often, but this? Home cooked brisket? I can make an exception for such divinity on a plate. I shall consider it an endeavor to strengthen my intestinal fortitude.
One pint Beef Brisket + two pints of potato cubes + 2 carrots from the 'fridge + a teensy bit of pepper* and corn starch = BEEF STEW! I sliced up a loaf of Jimmy John's day old bread (50 cents per loaf!! Avaliable at a Jimmy John's near you.) Mr. K took one look at the tray and says "That's not going to be enough bread". If I had let him, we'd have gone through another loaf!
TLDR: I made beef stew for dinner. Scroll up a bit for the recipe if you're so inclined.
Ta ta for now!
~Mrs. K
PS: For those of you who are wondering, one pint = two cups. And yes, you can substitute fresh ingredients (just turn your Crock Pot/slow cooker/dutch oven over high heat!)
*Those who know me would most certainly expect a pepper-laden stew. I like Pepper.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Clutter-Buster 101
Greetings!
The less you buy, the less Stuff you have in your house and the more space you have to store the things you actually need. It's crazy. With three people and a cat living in a two-bedroom townhouse (complete with basement!) we had no room to store all our Stuff.
Realizing this, I went on a binge craze. I systematically categorized everything in our house, room by room, into five piles per room: Need to keep in this room, need to keep outside this room, infrequent use (store in high cabinets and/or basement), and Unused, which is divided further into "good enough to sell on Craigslist", and Donate.
After the Great Purge, I realized I had a lot of potential storage space that wasn't being used (underneath the couch skirt, a completely unused dresser! etc). After moving a few things from room to room and re-organizing, I made a list of what I wanted to organize better (baskets for the pantry/fridge/freezer/spice cabinet, a stable bookshelf). Taking the list from room to room (and to the Unused piles) I managed to find a few things. An ill-fitting counter top wine rack became the perfect towel holder in the linen cabinet. A completely forgotten wooden utility cart is now our kitchen chopping center. It's amazing, we have a whole new look without spending any money!
We also discovered a multitude of duplicates. Why do we have three power drills? Four vegetable peelers? Electronics we had already replaced, two chalkboards and FIVE badly stained whiteboards from our college days. There were things we didn't even know we had: we had even purchased some items because we didn't know we had one on hand!
All of this has led to a new creed: Buying only the needs lets us splurge on the big wants. A non-Depletable purchase is only valid if the item the purchase is replacing is broken beyond repair. (instead of a new computer, Mr. K got new RAM)
Do you know what I really want? I want to get us out of debt, to pay off the credit card and Mr. K's student loans completely. To not have to worry about money. And maybe we can even afford a vacation cruse with the money we're not spending to buy Stuff we already have a version of. Why spend beaucoup bucks on a new dress when there are beautiful ones on sale? Why buy something new when you can make it for half the cost (or even free!)
TLDR: Most everybody has the problem of too much Stuff and not enough room to fit it all. Most of it is duplicated elsewhere in the home. By paring down our stuff and one-use items, money is saved and space for needed items is gained.
Thank you for reading,
~Mrs. K
The less you buy, the less Stuff you have in your house and the more space you have to store the things you actually need. It's crazy. With three people and a cat living in a two-bedroom townhouse (complete with basement!) we had no room to store all our Stuff.
Realizing this, I went on a binge craze. I systematically categorized everything in our house, room by room, into five piles per room: Need to keep in this room, need to keep outside this room, infrequent use (store in high cabinets and/or basement), and Unused, which is divided further into "good enough to sell on Craigslist", and Donate.
After the Great Purge, I realized I had a lot of potential storage space that wasn't being used (underneath the couch skirt, a completely unused dresser! etc). After moving a few things from room to room and re-organizing, I made a list of what I wanted to organize better (baskets for the pantry/fridge/freezer/spice cabinet, a stable bookshelf). Taking the list from room to room (and to the Unused piles) I managed to find a few things. An ill-fitting counter top wine rack became the perfect towel holder in the linen cabinet. A completely forgotten wooden utility cart is now our kitchen chopping center. It's amazing, we have a whole new look without spending any money!
We also discovered a multitude of duplicates. Why do we have three power drills? Four vegetable peelers? Electronics we had already replaced, two chalkboards and FIVE badly stained whiteboards from our college days. There were things we didn't even know we had: we had even purchased some items because we didn't know we had one on hand!
All of this has led to a new creed: Buying only the needs lets us splurge on the big wants. A non-Depletable purchase is only valid if the item the purchase is replacing is broken beyond repair. (instead of a new computer, Mr. K got new RAM)
Do you know what I really want? I want to get us out of debt, to pay off the credit card and Mr. K's student loans completely. To not have to worry about money. And maybe we can even afford a vacation cruse with the money we're not spending to buy Stuff we already have a version of. Why spend beaucoup bucks on a new dress when there are beautiful ones on sale? Why buy something new when you can make it for half the cost (or even free!)
TLDR: Most everybody has the problem of too much Stuff and not enough room to fit it all. Most of it is duplicated elsewhere in the home. By paring down our stuff and one-use items, money is saved and space for needed items is gained.
Thank you for reading,
~Mrs. K
Terminology
Salutations!
I have had a request to further explain what/how I define Depletables, Eatables, and Stuff.
Eatables are the easiest to define; they're simply food. The secret is they go from your mouth into your body.
A Depletable is anything that is used up; shampoo, cleaning agents, toilet paper, etc. One-use items have been deleted from the Depletable list: any kind of wipe (sprays + microfiber are more cost efficent), anything individually packaged is admantly avoided.
Stuff? Well, that's everything else. Stereos, TVs, furnature... things we tend to replace before they've worn out because the shiny advertisements tell us the new ones are better.
TLDR: Oh please. :P
Type atcha later,
~Mrs. K
I have had a request to further explain what/how I define Depletables, Eatables, and Stuff.
Eatables are the easiest to define; they're simply food. The secret is they go from your mouth into your body.
A Depletable is anything that is used up; shampoo, cleaning agents, toilet paper, etc. One-use items have been deleted from the Depletable list: any kind of wipe (sprays + microfiber are more cost efficent), anything individually packaged is admantly avoided.
Stuff? Well, that's everything else. Stereos, TVs, furnature... things we tend to replace before they've worn out because the shiny advertisements tell us the new ones are better.
TLDR: Oh please. :P
Type atcha later,
~Mrs. K
Put Energy Hogs on Hold
Hello Dear Readers!
I return to you again with a few great saving tips to cut down your utility bills! But first: Tip Terminology. Proven Tips are the kind everyone can use, regardless of skill or monetary volume. Plausible Tips are a bit more specific, not everyone will be able to utilize them.
Proven Tip: put energy hogging appliances/electronics on power strips. Mr. K and I have been doing this for over a year now (ever since we've been married!). We have knocked our electricity bill down to <$20 a month. Our TV, Wii, PS2, and reading lamp are all on the living room power strip. Our kitchen power strip connects our microwave (A HUGE HOG!) and toaster oven (we have a gas range, and prefer French Pressed Coffee). All the computers have their own power strips. When the hogs aren't being used, the strip is switched of, saving us an absolute ton of money!
Plausible Tip: We've also found that turning off the AC and slapping a big box fan into the window cuts down on the utility bills quite a bit. I'll admit that this isn't feasible for everyone though... depending on your location, AC might be a necessity! If turning it off completely won't do, I would recommend turning it up a few degrees if possible. The billing difference between 74 and 76 degrees is immense: the living temperature? Not so much.
TLDR: Anything that glows anywhere when it's "off"? Stick that puppy on a power strip and swich off the strip when you're not actively using it. Turn off the AC when possible, or turn it up a couple of degrees.
Remember kids; say No to Hogs!
~Mrs. K
I return to you again with a few great saving tips to cut down your utility bills! But first: Tip Terminology. Proven Tips are the kind everyone can use, regardless of skill or monetary volume. Plausible Tips are a bit more specific, not everyone will be able to utilize them.
Proven Tip: put energy hogging appliances/electronics on power strips. Mr. K and I have been doing this for over a year now (ever since we've been married!). We have knocked our electricity bill down to <$20 a month. Our TV, Wii, PS2, and reading lamp are all on the living room power strip. Our kitchen power strip connects our microwave (A HUGE HOG!) and toaster oven (we have a gas range, and prefer French Pressed Coffee). All the computers have their own power strips. When the hogs aren't being used, the strip is switched of, saving us an absolute ton of money!
Plausible Tip: We've also found that turning off the AC and slapping a big box fan into the window cuts down on the utility bills quite a bit. I'll admit that this isn't feasible for everyone though... depending on your location, AC might be a necessity! If turning it off completely won't do, I would recommend turning it up a few degrees if possible. The billing difference between 74 and 76 degrees is immense: the living temperature? Not so much.
TLDR: Anything that glows anywhere when it's "off"? Stick that puppy on a power strip and swich off the strip when you're not actively using it. Turn off the AC when possible, or turn it up a couple of degrees.
Remember kids; say No to Hogs!
~Mrs. K
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
My first foray into Blogger
Hello World!
I am the fabulous Mrs. K, and I'm here to... well, to tell you of my wildly adventurous and frugal life. I suppose I should start off with a few tidbits about myself and why I have staked my claim on this little piece of the internet pie.
First off; a little info on my household. There are four of us living here; Me, my darling husband (we shall call him Mr. K) and we have recently added his brother TK to the mix. We also have teeny black cat KK. Our major breadwinner is Mr. K; working at GRCC. I do freelance work with a local computer repair shop, and TK serves up KFC with a spot of sports writing on the side. KK prefers bringing dangerous levels of cute to the house. We're just average folk with not a lot of money coming in (who does these days?) - which leads me to my next bit.
With our low income and the falling economy I have developed something of an anti-consumerism kick. It only fueled the fire when Mr. K's job came under threat. Slowly, over the past year and a half or so, I have stopped buying things that aren't... I suppose the phrase would be "used up repeatedly". A friend (the same who suggested I start this blog) suggested we call them "Depletables".
Recently in the quest to save more money I have been actively looking for ways to replace my Depletables with Reusables. Why bother with a repeated purchase when a single purchase can be made? The changes were simple enough to make: using microfiber cloths (or mitts) instead of toss-away dusters, favoring floursack cloths over paper towels, and replacing cloth napkins instead of using the paper ones. It really isn't as difficult as you would think.
TLDR: There are four of us in the house: Me, Mr. K, his brother TK, and our cat KK. We don't make a lot of money. I've started this blog as a documentary and commentary on how I manage to save us a few bucks here and there (they really add up over time!).
Type atcha later,
~Mrs. K
I am the fabulous Mrs. K, and I'm here to... well, to tell you of my wildly adventurous and frugal life. I suppose I should start off with a few tidbits about myself and why I have staked my claim on this little piece of the internet pie.
First off; a little info on my household. There are four of us living here; Me, my darling husband (we shall call him Mr. K) and we have recently added his brother TK to the mix. We also have teeny black cat KK. Our major breadwinner is Mr. K; working at GRCC. I do freelance work with a local computer repair shop, and TK serves up KFC with a spot of sports writing on the side. KK prefers bringing dangerous levels of cute to the house. We're just average folk with not a lot of money coming in (who does these days?) - which leads me to my next bit.
With our low income and the falling economy I have developed something of an anti-consumerism kick. It only fueled the fire when Mr. K's job came under threat. Slowly, over the past year and a half or so, I have stopped buying things that aren't... I suppose the phrase would be "used up repeatedly". A friend (the same who suggested I start this blog) suggested we call them "Depletables".
Recently in the quest to save more money I have been actively looking for ways to replace my Depletables with Reusables. Why bother with a repeated purchase when a single purchase can be made? The changes were simple enough to make: using microfiber cloths (or mitts) instead of toss-away dusters, favoring floursack cloths over paper towels, and replacing cloth napkins instead of using the paper ones. It really isn't as difficult as you would think.
TLDR: There are four of us in the house: Me, Mr. K, his brother TK, and our cat KK. We don't make a lot of money. I've started this blog as a documentary and commentary on how I manage to save us a few bucks here and there (they really add up over time!).
Type atcha later,
~Mrs. K
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