Packing tips

The Housewife here!

So, over the past few months, DH and I made the decision to separate. I am moving back to my home state and taking our son with me. I have been really busy trying to pack up a whole house (DH is moving into a smaller place, I'm helping him pack, he's also moving to my home state when he receives his tax return) while chasing my very mobile 1-year old. This whole thing has been a hell of an experience. I've learned many things about myself and have shown myself that my ability to simplify chaos is REALLY handy.

I am not rich by any means. DH and I often live pay check to pay check and are of the mindset that if our baby has what he needs, we can go without if necessary. This whole packing and moving thing is not cheap. Sure, I've moved but I was also lucky enough to have a very large, very local support network of friends and family and didn't have half of the things that I have now. Truthfully speaking, I have never moved as a real, live adult *GASP*! Now, as a 20 year old single mother of one with gray hair, I can safely say I am moving as an adult! We are doing this by ourselves. The only things coming with me to Texas are clothes and necessary baby items (and the baby, too of course!); basically, what will fit in the trunk of a Chevy Cobalt.

Needless to say, I do not have much time until I move. I do not have much space to store things (a small shed behind the house) and I do not have much space to haul things. I have discovered some thrifty investments that make packing a breeze. I am actually starting to ENJOY this grueling process and I think that my hard learned lessons will benefit someone out there!

Lesson one: Do not move clothes in plastic bags.
Sure, it seems cheap, fast and easy... but in the long run, packing and moving clothing in plastic bags takes more time and effort than you'd think. Plastic bags rip. Most people double-bag their clothing in order to prevent rips, but rips happen. The plastic bag almost always goes in the trash. You just spend money on something knowing you are going to destroy it and throw it in the trash. Trash bags are bulky and don't fit well in trunks of cars/back seats without taking up space and leaving awkward areas to place other items in. I wish I had taken a picture of the mess I made - I packed three closets full of clothing in trash bags (I spent $10 on "good bags" at Lowes), attempted to move them out to our shed and ended up with clothes all over my backyard! I packed efficiently, too!

Thrifty investment tip: Get yourself some of these (or something very similar). They're called "Space Bags." I'm sure all of you have seen them on TV, late at night when you're sitting on your couch eating a bowl of your kid's cereal because you can't sleep. Do not buy them from TV - they overcharge. Find yourself a deal online! They are super handy. I packed ALL of my clothes in 4 XL bags and vacuumed the air out of them. By doing this, I am now able to lay the 4 incredibly thin bags at the bottom of the trunk of the car and stack things on top of them. This literally cut the space the clothing would have taken up by over 60%.

Lesson two: Sometimes, it's okay to buy boxes.
Yeah,  I know you guys are saying "what!?" but the fact of the matter is, if you factor in gas for travel (to find the right sized box at a place that gives them away for free, often times you're chancing making a pointless trip) and the inconvenience of wasting time, it's often times cheaper to just hike yourself up to the U-HAUL store and purchase that one specific box you need so desperately.

Thrifty investment tip: Most of the time, moving stores have a deal where you can pay a small fee, use the box and bring it back, or you can buy used boxes for really cheap. I bought two really big boxes (think: big enough to fit a 90's style projector TV in) for $6. I could have picked up one from a lady who lived 20 minutes away (that's over $6 in gas) and another from a gentleman who lived 17 minutes away (also over $6 in gas, as this trip was longer mileage wise but shorter time wise). In the end, going to a moving store was the cheapest bet. I'm keeping my boxes and will reuse them again for something, I'm sure. I will definitely get my $6 out of them!
 Lesson number three: buy everything you need AFTER you move.
I know it's tempting to stock up on everything you need when you get the chance, but when you are moving, this is not a good idea. Think about it. Use every last drop of shampoo, conditioner, body product, cleaning product, etc. that you have in your house (this allows you to get rid of all of the extra bottles so you don't have to move them), move, THEN shop.  The same goes for groceries. If you are lucky enough to have a large grocery budget, now is the time to live like you can't. Eat PB&J sandwiches for lunch. Make tuna mac for dinner. Only buy ingredients that are necessary for completing a dish that contains mostly ingredients you found in your cabinets.


Thrifty investment tip: This is actually FREE! Check out this website; Allrecipes.com allows you to search for recipes that include ingredients you've already got! It's a really big help. You'd never think to use the ingredients you have in some of the ways listed on this site!


Lesson number four: now is not the time to be a pack-rat.
This was the hardest lesson for me to learn. I have sentimental attachments to inanimate objects. It's a bad habit of mine. I realized rather quickly in the beginning of this process that  I would have no choice but to get rid of some of the things we had accumulated over the past few years. It hurt my heart a little but it made no sense to hold onto a good majority of these items. By the end of week 3, I had donated 4 car loads (think: 90 model Cadillac sedan) of items ranging from dishes and cutlery to a bed frame. None of these items were neccessities and it felt really good to rid myself of them.

Thrifty investment tip: Get Goodwill/the thrift store of your choice to pick up your unwanted items AND get a tax write off for them.


That's all I've got for today, y'all - I've been working on this for a few days! Any more tips, etc. would be greatly welcomed!

HW

Pardon the unexpected hiatus!

Hey, it's the Housewife!

Pardon the unexpected hiatus. Sometimes, life comes at you full force and you have to use both hands to hang on and everything else just sort of falls by the wayside. I haven't forgotten about my little gem of a blog or my lovely readers, however few or many of you there are!

I have been downsizing lots and lots here recently so I would just like to remind you fine folks that what's trash to one is treasure to another.

Ideas for recycling unwanted items:

Donate to your local Habitat For Humanity ReStore
Donate to ANY thrift store
Donate to a helping hand organization (ex: an organization that feeds the homeless and uses a thrift store to fund their business, etc.)
Sell in a garage sale
Make it into something new
Give away on freecycle

If all else fails, leave it at the curb with a "FREE" sign stuck to it!

Hope everyone is enjoying their Independence Day weekend!

HW

Simple fixes

The Housewife here!

Today, as I was moving through WalMart in search of a zipper and a button, I realized that I was going on another D.I.Y. adventure. It was completely unintentional but happily welcomed! I fixed 2 pair of my husbands shorts for less than $2, instead of replacing each pair for $40 total.

I wanted to share this tidbit with you all because that was a ridiculous amount of savings. It seems that almost no one believes in simple fixes anymore, they'd rather spend extra money and get a quick replacement. I don't understand this logic, to be honest. Sure, it took me 20 minutes to sew my husband's zipper back on, and took me another 2 minutes to sew the button back on another pair of shorts but 22 minutes saved me $40. $40 is what my husband makes in 2 hours, give or take.

Little life lessons help a lot :).

HW

Bartering

HW here, and I am excited to say that this post is focusing on the awesome art of bartering!

I cannot express to you how much bartering has changed my life. Truth is, I don't always have cash. Heck, sometimes I don't have money, period. BUT, I almost always need something for my house - whether it's a gallon of milk, a stamp, gas or laundry soap.

I would like to encourage each of you to barter with friends and family before going out and purchasing items on your list. I barter on almost a daily basis and definitely several times a week.

Here is an example of how I barter:
 Every Thursday, I babysit for my good friends while they go out bowling. My friend puts gas in my car once a week in exchange for babysitting. This is so helpful. I would be spending the cash she pays me on gas anyway, AND she meets my husband at the gas station next to his work whenever we ask her to. Sometimes, I sit for her on the weekends or on another week night and she buys me whatever grocery and household items I need for the week in exchange for babysitting. Heck, I love getting free stuff for playing with other people's kids! They're cute, too!

Craigslist also has a bartering board. Never be afraid to ask around!

HW

Go-to list for simple, inexpensive meals

It's the Housewife here! This is going to be a very bare minimum entry. There are no recipes included on this post, it is just a list of quick, inexpensive meals. If you are interested in a particular recipe or all of them (I have them saved to my pc), I will gladly e-mail you what you are looking for! Also, if there are any meals you'd like to add to the list, feel free to let me know!

HW

*MT = mashed taters

Pizza pitas
Crock pot chicken parm
Beef lo-mein
Meatloaf, MT & gravy
Burgers & fries
Chicken fried steak, MT & gravy
Herb chicken & whole wheat penne
BBQ chicken quesadillas & fries
Breakfast steak & potato hash
Asian style eggs & rice
Chicken breasts & rice
Breakfast tacos/burritos
Cowboy casserole

Sometimes a little splurge doesn't hurt

Housewife here...

I just wanted to make a short post (a PSA, if you will) regarding splurging to treat yourself and your significant other. Sometimes, regardless of how poorly you are doing in the financial department, you need a little something. There is absolutely no shame in getting a $12 dinner at a restaurant, or going out for a drink on occasion. Saving money doesn't have to be painful and you don't have to deprive yourself of aesthetic pleasures.

My husband and I actually ate Quiznos tonight. We got an awesome deal through FFM (listed on my "helpful websites" post) - buy one get one free subs! We ate well and it was cheap. It felt good to enjoy the fruits of our labor, even though we only spent $10!

Have a great evening, y'all!

HW

Smart, easy ways to cut household expenses

HW here!

Tonight, just before my husband went to bed, he and I discussed the small changes we have made in our lives over the past few months that have really made a difference. I thought to myself, "what better place to share these tips than on the blog?", so, alas, here I am!
And, here are the tips from myself and my husband!:

1. For men: Let your spouse cut your hair or do it yourself. It's super easy. Sure, you might not look glamorous but if either of you are any good with a set of clippers, you can master a nice, clean cut looking 'do without losing all of your locks!
Note: My husband and I save $20 a MONTH by doing this! That's $240/year! 

2. For women: Trim your own dead-ends. Splurge and invest in a good set of trimming scissors from your local beauty supply store and get take care of those dead ends yourself!
Note: My husband trims my dead ends for me and has even cut my hair twice (successfully, too!). I have curly, thick, coarse hair. I need to get it trimmed and reshaped once a month in order to keep it looking nice. We save another $20/month by doing this!

3. Nix the paper towels. I know every one of you out there have at least 2 old t-shirts you would willingly donate to a thrift store. Why not cut it up (or just tear it!) and use the rags for cleaning your kitchen counters and wiping your hands after doing the dishes? Take old wash cloths, towels and socks (use like a glove) and use them to clean surfaces such as bath tubs, sinks and even tile.
 Note: My husband and I buy one-two rolls of paper towels a month, whereas before we were spending almost $10 a month on paper towels. I hardly have a load of rags to wash on a weekly basis!

4. Make your own facial wipes. This is painfully simple! For facial wipes (to remove make-up, dirt, etc. on older children and adults), add a teaspoon of facial wash to a cup of water, then add a teaspoon of your moisturizer to the water. Mix and pour over rags of your choice (I'd recommend cut up paper towels if you are going the disposable route, and cut up receiving blankets if you are going the reusable route - I use cloth!) and store them in an airtight container. You can use up to a roll of paper towels or 30-40 thin rags per cup of solution. Use within 10 days, or put solution into a spray/squirt bottle, apply to your cloth/paper towel and clean your face that way. I have an alternative solution "recipe" on a previous D.I.Y. post.
Note: I have had less break outs since beginning my D.I.Y. facial cloth adventure! I am happy to report that my skin looks wonderful!

5. Make your own body scrub. Most women I know spend tons of money on skin softening products. I don't! I refuse to. Instead, I bought a big bottle of extra virgin olive oil and a bag of RAW cane sugar. Voila! Body scrub that will last a year! You can either make it as needed or in several batches and store in air tight containers at room temperature for a month or two at a time.
Note: Let the scrub sit (hands/body/feet) for a bit before rinsing. Your skin will glow!

Enjoy!
HW