Yankee 2.0 : simplify

One thing that's better store-bought than home-made

Anne Cross — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 12:52:00 GMT

For several months now, I've been using as many home-made cleaning products (for my person and my house) as I could. I've been making my own bath soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, face soap, laundry soap, and house cleaning stuff. Just as I'm about to finish a container of some existing product, I research how I can make a frugal and eco-friendly replacement.

I'm thrilled with almost everything I've made, and have shared my recipes here and with friends in the physical world. But on one front, I've had to concede to manufactured products. It's dishwashing in the machine.

I have about a three year's supply of hand dishwashing liquid (because I water it down in one of those foaming pumps, so it lasts for ever!). But a while ago, I finished off my powdered dish detergent and chemically store bought rinse/drying agent. I switched over to a recipe of borax + washing soda for the powder and straight white vinegar for the rinse/drying agent. Dishes weren't getting very clean and the glasses were covered in spots. I tried tweaking the recipe; I thought my machine was on the fritz; I thought it was the summer humidity -- nope, nope, and nope.

As an amateur scientist, I tried several experiments -- home-made powder plus store-bought Jet Dry stuff. Better, but not great. Store-bought powder with vinegar. Ditto. Finally, I had to admit that the combination of the store-bought powder (about $3.00 for nearly 6 months supply of Target brand eco-friendly stuff) plus the Jet Dry stuff (about $6.00 for about a three month supply of what I suspect is not very eco friendly at all) was what worked to get the dishes clean and spot-free.

I'm happily (and cleanly) staying with everything else, but this is one area where commercial science has prevailed over the domestic version.

De-tech, detox

Anne Cross — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:02:00 GMT

I realize the irony of writing a blog post about using less technology. But with that acknowledgement out of the way.... I think I've reached a tipping point with electronics. Everywhere I turn, people of all sorts are in physical contact with some sort of electronic gadget. Senior citizens in the grocery store chatting a cellphone, young kids texting as they walk down the street or ride a bike, commuters checking in with their GPS, parents watching their children's graduation through the lens of a video camera.... heck, the other day I saw a homeless guy talking on a cellphone while he was wheeling a shopping cart down the street!

So.... with a bit of a contrarian spirit mixed in with a dash of frugality and a philosophical yearning for "authenticity" (whatever that may be), I'm partially de-teching. For almost a year, I've had a blackberry-esque device: cellphone, camera, email, web surfer, texter, GPS tool. I'm getting rid of it. I told myself I had it for my business (which I'm "right-sizing" out of an office and into my basement), but I really got it because I thought it was cool. I'm going to replace it with a pay-as-you go cellphone to have on hand for emergencies in the car (not the "wow, I really want a pizza, let me order it on the way home" kind of emergency, but the "I have a flat tire" kind of emergency). Since I can, I'm going to port my business telephone number to the cellphone, so I'll have continuity of contact number.

I thought a lot about replacing the GPS function with a device. Although I lived 39.8 years without a GPS and got along just fine, it was kind of fun and it made getting places easier -- no thinking involved. But then I remembered that I like to discover new places. I like to get lost! I've found some neat places by losing my way in the car. So icksnay on the GPS. I am quite an accomplished map reader, anyway. One less screen in my life.

I noticed that with that handheld electronic thing, I would find myself surfing the web, checking my email, reading the news -- anxiously, hurridly, rushingly -- whenever I had a free moment. I thought I was going to miss something: an important email, a news update, a text from a friend....and on Friday, I reached a tipping point. It was -- it is -- too much. So I turned it off this past weekend. When I had a free moment, I played with my cat and dog. I sat outside and looked at the world around me. I cleaned my house. I did laundry. I read a magazine. I wrote (longhand) in my journal. And I feel great this morning.

So, I'm going to be keeping the computer and the Internet. I need it for work, and to keep in touch with some friends (although I do have one friend with whom I correspond by written letters, which is great). But everytime that I have a free minute and I think "oh, I'll just check my email" or "oh, I'll kill a few minutes reading Consumerist.com or the Dollar Stretcher or the New York Times" -- which turns into half an hour or more, I'm going to try to check in and see if that's what I really want to do, or if I can do something less virtual with my time. Although every now and then a little web surfing is a good fun escape like watching television. But having it in my pocket made it more of a compulsion.

This de-teching over the weekend gave me a bit of peace and serenity, and I haven't (yet) had any tech withdrawl (although here I am writing something on my computer to post on this blog, so maybe I'm in denial). But each time I saw someone attached to an electronic device over the past few days, I thought how glad I was not to be touching something plastic and electronic and ignoring the world around me. I'm going to try to spend more of my time touching people, pets, paper, and nature, rather than beeping, whirring, energy depleting devices.

And with that.... I'm signing off for now.

What I'm doing differently

Anne Cross — Tue, 19 May 2009 11:11:00 GMT

There have been so many stories in the news, on blogs -- everyhwere -- about what people are doing differently in the midst of this "economic downturn," and lots of speculation about what habits will last and what will disappear once the economy recovers.

I started living within my means over a year ago, and made many of the changes talked about in the news. I cancelled my cable, got rid of the Internet at home, went to cheap-o telephone service, cancelled my beloved artisan bottled water delivery, put all my electronics on power strips, and eventually paid off my credit cards (such a good feeling with all the news about increased fees for good customers). These are (I hope, I hope, I hope) life habits that I will always maintain.

But I'm still looking for ways to stretch my dollars. I'm going to greatly expand my vegetable garden this summer (we had frost last night, so I won't be planting until after Memorial Day, just like all the old Yankees advise) and do itas much by swapping as possible. I have set myself a $20 limit for plants this season. I'm sewing more to mend things that I might have turned into rags before (mostly pillowcases and socks).The home-made cleaning and health and beauty products are a huge savings, and I continue to research recipes for things I can make myself. I always look for free first, second hand next, and buying new as a last resort.

And I'm using coupons more. There aren't usually that many coupons I can use, but there are usually a few (some weeks go by with nothing in the Sunday paper for me), and when there's a coupon for batteries or toilet paper or some other common staple, I make sure to cut it out and file it in my little coupon file. The grocery stores around here have started putting triple coupon or $1.00 double coupon promotions on, so I make use of those and am building up a stock of those products. Plus, eggs and frozen pizzas sometimes appear in coupons. And I'm looking on manufacturers web sites for coupons for items I use. And I NEVER use a coupon for something I wouldn't have bought anyway unless it is free.

Lastly, I've started entering sweepstakes. I'm sure more and more people are joining me, so the odds are poor, but somebody's got to win, right? I always check my receipts for sweepstakes opportunities (CVS, Home Depot), and enter online. Parade magazine and Cooking Pleasures magazine also have ongoing sweepstakes, where you can log in every day and enter. It takes less than five minutes a day, and I could really put either a paring knife or $50,000 to good use.

I wonder what other frugalistas are doing differently in the "downturn"?

Frugal gardening tips

Anne Cross — Mon, 11 May 2009 10:35:00 GMT

Spring has sprung here in New England and the farmer's markets, farm stands, and greenhouses are displaying their wares. A friend just spent $200 in one day on plants -- all annuals! Yikes! Here are some tips to keep your garden costs low.

Plant swaps -- look in the newspaper or at the library or call your local gardener's association. This is a way to thin out unwanted or multiplied plants from your own garden and bring in some new ones. I have some lovely dead nettle that spreads like wildfire (or like dead nettle), ivy, hostas that multiply like crazy, and beautiful blue colombine. I thin out my patches of this and trade for veggie plants or whatever catches my fancy!

Charity plant sales -- if you can't get a plant for free, you can still get it for less than commercial nurseries want to charge.Look in the papers for fundraising plant sales -- especially from local gardening or botanical societies. You can usually buy the plant right from the grower and ask questions about care, etc. These plants always cost much less, are very healthy, and you're supporting a good cause.

All-perennials, all the time -- I used to find it so hard to remember that "annual" meant a plant only lived for one year. Maybe it's a slick marketing trick. :) Just get perennials for your garden. They are usually a one-time investment (although I do sometimes have perennials that fail to return over the winter), and they usually multiply, allowing you to cull your crop and bring the excess to plant swaps (see above). Non-food annuals seem like such a waste of time and effort to me. I guess i'm a lazy gardener, but I like to see my plants coming up each year without doing a whole lot of work, and without spending anything.

Go native -- Plants that are native to your location will do better than exotic non-native plants. You are less likely to have to replace native perennials than ones that have come from elsewhere. You can also likely find these on the side of the road, or in the woods (ferns, lilly of the valley, violets, etc.), where you can pick them if you know it won't harm the eco-system.

Plant food -- the only annuals I get are food-bearing plants: tomatoes, lettuce, squash, herbs, etc. Get these at swaps if you can (they're probably heirlooms, organic, etc.). If you're really frugal, or have a greenhouse (I live downtown and do all my gardening in containers), you can keep the seeds and grow your own heirlooms, too. The cost of one tomato plant at a charity sale is usually one or two dollars. So for an investment of less than $20.00, a person in New England can have a bountiful crop of veggies.

Craigslist -- Check the "Free" section on CL for plants. People often re-landscape and will give away plants to anyone who will come and dig them up. I've gotten (and swapped) great stuff here.

Free dirt -- If you need dirt (like I do in my container world), ask around of your friends with in-ground gardens. They will often share.

Containers -- I'm transitioning away from inexpensive and eco-friendly terra cotta pots, because they freeze, crack, and break over the winter. Even though I'm anti-plastic as a rule, I'm switching over to those lightweight styrene or plastic pots, because they last a long time. I have several that are ten+ years old. Also, be creative -- use old 5-gallon paint buckets (great for tomatoes), tin cans, or other non-breakable containers. Look for these at tag sales, too.

Compost -- our town gives away free compost, and one can certainly make one's own.

Happy gardening!

Homemade cleaning products -- laundry and dishes

Anne Cross — Sun, 10 May 2009 22:07:00 GMT

I've been making my own personal and household cleaning products for a while now. I've shared some of the personal care items (the famous salty toothpaste, vinegar hair rinse, shampoo and body wash), and thought I would share these household cleaners with the Dollar Stretcher Community.

Laundry detergent

1 cup grated castille soap (I buy it in bulk at www.soapsaloon.com)

1 cup borax (laundry aisle of grocery store)

1 cup washing powder (laundry aisle of grocery store, Arm & Hammer brand)

Mix it all together and use 1/4 to 1/2 cup per load. Easy, eh?

Laundry whitener

A few drops of bluing (found in the laundry aisle of my grocery store) added to water brightens your laundry without bleach. Adding a few drops of bluing to a mix of 1/2 cup bleach and 1/2 cup water super-brightens your whites.

Dishwashing detergent for dishwasher

1 cup borax

1/2 cup baking soda

1/2 cup washing soda

Dishwasher rinse

Use straight white vinegar (distilled) instead of that expensive Jet Dry stuff.

I really like making my own products for many reasons -- I know they aren't tested on animals, I'm not using tons of plastic (I put everything into re-usable glass containers), they're really really inexpensive, and they're not using tons of caustic chemicals.

If you don't like these recipes, there are lots of others out there! Happy washing!

"Status Anxiety" book highlights

Anne Cross — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 10:42:00 GMT

I've just finished reading "Status Anxiety," by Alain de Botton. In it, he discusses how societies construct status and why (and how) members of those societies can come to feel anxious about their place in the group.

De Botton is one of my favorite authors, and I'm making my way through all his books. His specialty is a type of philosophy/social observation that uses examples from literature and art to illustrate his points, and he writes in "plain English" rather than in overblown and hard to understand academic terminology. He uses a great deal of humor to get his ideas across, and never dumbs down his message. I think he's great, and recommend him to everyone I know.

There were several instances in reading "Status Anxiety" where I thought of the Dollar Stretcher community -- one was when the author considers the meaning of wealth, and describes what Rousseau said were the two ways to make a man richer, "give him more money or curb his desires" (p. 42). I think that what many of us frugalistas are doing is curbing our desires -- rather than wanting to go out to dinner all the time or wanting to buy new designer clothes (or whatever society at large might try to encourage us to want) and feeling bad about not being able to satisfy those wants, we are instead refusing to want them in the first place, and in that way we are richer; we have fewer unsatisfied wants.

A second passage that I thought Dollar Stretchers would appreciate is this one: "One's ability to maintain confidence in a way of life at odds with the mainstream culture will be greatly dependent on the... value system of one's immediate environment, on the kinds of people one mixes with socially and on what one reads and listens to." (p. 277). As long as we have a chance to be in touch with others out there (through things like the Dollar Stretcher community) who think as we do, it strenghtens our ability to curb wants, stay free of debt, and have faith in our own values.

De Botton's basic idea (and the final sentence of the book) is that "there is more than one way of succeeding at life" (p. 293).

There have been film versions made of a couple of de Botton's books, including this one. You can watch snippets of the videos on his web site, I saw them on my local PBS station (with my transponder box and antenna, not on cable ). Although I'm a big library user, I'm buying de Botton's complete works -- these are books that I refer back to a lot -- I was surprised that the hardcover copy of the 2004 version of "Status Anxiety" was remaindered at Barnes & Noble -- $5.95.... maybe escaping from this kind of anxiety isn't as popular with others as it is with us frugalisti.

Homemade toothpaste

Anne Cross — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 18:55:00 GMT

I looked into a lot of recipes and did some experimenting until I found one that I LOVE. It took a bit of getting used to, because it is salty, but now I really really love it. I don't like mint or cinamon flavored things, and never liked the taste of toothpaste. I make mine with cardamom, clove, and bergamot oils and I LOVE the way it tastes. Did I mention I love it?

Yet another store-bought item out of my life!

Here is the recipe:

6 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (for abrasion)

4 teaspoons glycerine

1/2 teaspoon hydrogen peroxide

15 drops of essential oils (for flavor, not an "essential" ingredient)

Mix everything together and dip your brush in!

One caveat -- be sure that the essential oils you use are safe forconsumption!

Unexpected benefit of home-made stuff

Anne Cross — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:19:00 GMT

I've been slowly transitioning from store-bought to home-made for my personal and house cleaning needs. When one thing runs out (shampoo, laundry soap, etc.), I find a recipe and make it myself. I have pretty good supplies in store of most things, so it really is a slow process.

I noticed a benefit today that I hadn't expected -- it's the calming presence of the absence of labels and brands. I was sitting in the tub (don't have a shower) and looking at the glass jars of shampoo, conditioner (the vinegar rinse), and body wash that I made. No labels -- no writing (well there's some chinese writing on the old soy sauce pourer I use for my vinegar rinse, but it's faint and I don't understand it) -- no brands! I'm in a marketing-free environment in my bath tub and it's really nice.

I make a point of not displaying any company logos on my clothing (if they want to pay me to advertise for them, they can), and it's really nice to be lessening the corporate advertising in my home. I'm looking forward to the day when all of my products are hand-made and I can be almost completely free of advertising within my home.

Home-made conditioner for hair

Anne Cross — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:59:00 GMT

Okay, this might sound weird, but it really works to keep your hair soft. It's vinegar... regular old vinegar (white, red wine, apple cider) diluted 1:4 with warm water. You just pour a bit of it over your head then rinse it out after shampooing and it leaves your hair really really really soft. And it's not a "my hair is coated with synthetic smelling polymers" kind of soft -- it's soft like petting a (soft) goat or cat kind of soft.

This is my first batch -- I used apple cider vinegar and added a few drops of lemon essential oil. It smells like vinegar when you put it on, but after rinsing it out, there's no smell. I'm going to try white vinegar next.

I'm working on some home-made shampoo, too, but the first batch came out too thick -- it works great, but it's a paste, not a liquid, so I'm going to change some proportions on my next batch before I post the recipe here.

(Free) birthday organizer

Anne Cross — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:07:00 GMT

I've been looking everywhere for a birthday book, aka perpetual calendar, which is a book where you write down people's birthdays by month. I'd seen one online that I was going to order (for $9.99 plus shipping), but their only shipping method was UPS, which doesn't work for me.

I found myself at CVS today and they had those free little Hallmark calendars at the register. I picked one up and realized -- aha! -- there's no need for the calendar to be undated! So I took one of these cute and slim little calendars and will write down all the birthdates of my friends, and their increasing numbers of offspring (very hard to keep track of), and can tuck it into my little day planner. What a nice solution -- especially because it was free to me.