*Thrifty Living * Homeschooling * Natural Living * Creating * Baking * Learning * Exploring * Subscription Boxes * Childhood Cancer* Death of a Child*



Sunday, August 8, 2010

K.I.S.S.

My total at the grocery store yesterday was $87.36. This is well above my weekly goal of $75 but I stocked up on several items that were on sale, one of them being 10 pounds of ground beef that was about $1 less per pound than I typically spend. I came home and divided it into smaller packages and now have several weeks worth of ground beef in the freezer, which will help me save money in the coming weeks by not spending so much on ground beef. Which takes our grand total left for the month to $529.72.

Now for the K.I.S.S. part of the post. Keep It Simple (Stupid) is one of the mottos of my life and ties into being a spendthrift quite nicely. I don't like paying someone or something (i.e. a machine) to do what I can do for free. Just a few examples are:

*I hang my laundry out on the line as much as possible because I don't like paying the electric company to power my dryer to do the same thing that the sun can do for free.

*We try not to go out to eat often because I don't like paying someone to cook when I can do it for free with inexpensive meal ingredients.

*I choose to keep the lights off during the day because I don't want to pay the electric company for something that can be had for free by opening the blinds and curtains.

*I choose not to have several appliances in the kitchen (mixer, food processor, etc.) because I can do it by hand, thus saving the money on the electricity and the appliance cost.

*I choose to have a garden and grow as much produce as possible so that I don't have to pay someone else to grow it for me.

I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Each of these cost saving measures are a choice that I make because I'm trying to keep it simple. There are times that I feel it is worth it to pay someone money to do something you yourself can do for free. We do use our dryer during the winter months and rainy weeks because I feel it is more convenient during those times to pay the electricity for that instead of hanging clothes up inside on a rack. During times of illness, business, or just plain tiredness I sometimes feel that it is worth it to pay someone to cook a meal for us. That, again, is a choice.

Sadly, it seems that the simple part of life is slipping away. We have so many time saving gadgets in our life but we seem to be busier than ever. Instead of spending all day boiling water, washing and wringing out clothes, hanging them out, and ironing them we can just throw the clothes in a machine that does the work for us. I'm not begrudging the advancement of technology because it does make life easier, but it doesn't make life simpler. We are now so dependant on the technology that our daily life revolves around it. I've heard the stories, that may or may not be urban myths, about how a key fob for a car wouldn't unlock the door so they fretted about how to get into their car, never once realizing that they could stick the key in the lock and unlock it that way. Or the grandmother who went to visit her granddaughter and remarked about all the dirty dishes that were in the sink and the granddaughter said her dishwasher was broken so she would have to wait for it to be fixed...never once realizing that she could do dishes by hand. Because they never had to do thing the simple way, the simple way to do them never even entered their mind.

Even though I like to keep it simple, I realize that I rely on a lot of the convenient products out there as well. Bread never used to be bought, it was always homemade. There wasn't such thing as laundry soap, dish washing soap, separate shampoos and body washes ages ago. Homemakers made their own household products and there was often a one cleaner fits all things that they made for their daily household and body cleaning needs.

One of my goals in life is to slowly become more and more self-sufficient. A major goal of ours is to homestead someday but that is further in our future. For now it is to start small and get back to the basics. I'll just keep reminding myself "Keep it simple, stupid."

6 comments:

  1. Great post. I'm with you on having a garden and using a clothesline in nice weather. I think that is why my dryers outlast my washers! Which brings up something I've never quite understood; why do you hear people say "my washer quit,so I have to get a new set". Why? Why buy both when your "old" dryer is perfectly fine? I've never understood that. Personally I buy what I need to replace, not just because I want them both to match. Who sees your washer and dryer anyway except you, usually! LOL. I don't know, I just always wonder what the logic is behind that. I guess some will say its easier to replace them both at the same time, but to me it sounds like an unecessary expense. We had to buy a new dryer about 6 years ago; then 3 years ago we needed a washer. I didn't run out and get a brand new set. I bought a good used washer at an estate sale and its still going strong. They aren't even the same brand, but they look like they match.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I completely agree with this post. We live in such a disposable 'gotta have it now' society. My son and I were watching a movie that took place in the early 1900's. He asked me "Mom, where do they get their food from?" I explained to him how there was not always such a thing as fast food, grocery stores everwhere, etc. and that people used to have to rely on themselves to raise/hunt meat and grow their own vegetables for food or they were out of luck. Although I do appreciate modern conveniences- especially my washing machine, I still can do everything that I need to by hand. It's very scary how society depends so much on technology.
    I would love to homestead, but at 46 it isn't going to happen. I do love http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/ and have been a member there for years. You can learn a ton of stuff there!
    Oh and Janice, I completely agree with you. When one goes out you replace it (used if possible) no need to buy a new matched set. Geez...

    ReplyDelete
  3. If you have never looked at The West ladies and their dvd's, go to their website http://www.homestead-blessings.com and take a look. I have all of their dvd's on soap making, sewing, quilting, gardening, cooking, baking and more. You would love them. A few of their dvd's are on netflix.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Janice- I agree! Buying a new "set" just because one machine isn't working is a waste of money and resources. As long as you buy the same color...it's going to match!

    Iamafrugalgirl- I need to check out homesteadingtoday! It sounds like something I would love and learn a lot from. I often wonder what people from the 1800's would think if they could see us today. Everything would be completely overwhelming for them. Imagine them walking into a Super Walmart! The few general stores back then were the size of a small garage, not even one aisle worth in Walmart and that supplied ALL their needs.

    Martha- I've never even heard of The West Ladies. I'll be visiting their blog as well. DVDs would be awesome...sometimes it is so much easier to learn by watching someone do it than by reading instructions.

    Thanks for all the suggestions! You guys are a goldmine of info!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have one for you that is not urban legend...and it made me sad. I was in the check out lane of our grocery store and the checker held up a bag of cucumbers I had and said, "What are these?" After a second she asked again, "Are they cucumbers?" but she was still hesitant and looking at them all over. And believe me, they were the big kind that grow this kind of year...couldn't possibly be mistaken for a zucchini or something. I somehow feel she wouldn't know what that was either. Another day at the store...I kid you not, a customer was asking a checker, "Is it true that they make pickles out of cucumbers???" I know it is silly, but those two instances made me SAD. I wanted to go hide in a "Little House" book and hope that it would somehow turn into a time machine. Sometimes living in 2010 is just depressing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh Aunt Jane...how sad that really is! I was watching a Jamie Oliver show once and he held up tomatoes and asked a 5 year old what they were and he didn't even know! They also didn't know that tomatoes grew on a plant! It is sad how far removed we are from the basics in the life.

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails