Hidden Magnolias

  I love reading frugal blogs. Lately, most of the blogs seem to have articles about how to save money on things that really aren’t that important – wreaths for doors, outdoor decorations for holidays, buying containers and boxes and things for organizing, fancy containers for meal prep, patio ideas, and on it goes. I found myself scratching my head.    While I am reading, I am thinking, if this is a frugal blog, then why are they promoting spending money? Even if it is in the dollar store? They should be talking about how to decorate things spending $0 money. And once you have made a door wreath – why not reuse it the next season and the season after that, and so on? Who cares? No one will remember or even looks that closely and if they do, why care? Storage and organization ideas. Why buy when you can reuse for free? My family has many, many iPhone boxes and we have not thrown away any of them at all.  Phone boxes are great for small items – makeup, Q-Tips, h...

While searching for information about saving money, I ran into this fun to read site outlining some of the creative things people did during WWII.  https://learnincolor.com/frugality-how-to-from-the-greatest-generation.html Samantha outlines 10 areas on"how to use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." Save Paper With my parents and grandparents being part of the Greatest Generation , this peaked my interest. I remember fondly some of the things my grandparents di that at the time in the 60's, I thought very old fashioned.  For one thing, on my grandfather's roll top desk, he kept a stack of envelopes he used as note paper. He would carefully open all mail with a sharp letter opener, turn the written side over and stack it with the back side and viola -- a scratch pad.  I do this now because of the huge amount of waste paper in my life. I noticed one day that most of my trash was paper -- used computer paper, envelopes and the like. Yeah, it could go into the...

  https://uncomplicatedspaces.com/how-im-working-towards-a-slower-wardrobe-this-year/ I was reading this blog and Instagram account and this just popped out at me.  This is the key.  In trying to live a more sustainable life, focusing on my wardrobe first, this really hit home. Just recently a friend sent me pics of purses she purchased second hand. There were 5 of them. My envy kicked in immediately -- they were all great scores and gorgeous. But 5? Who really needs 5 new purses?  It felt excessive. Especially knowing her current purse wardrobe.  Yeah, I know -- some are into shoes, some are into coats, some are into purses.  But how many do we really need? I think I need to ask myself that about everything.  But...how do I change a mindset of "I want, I want, I want" to "I don't want"?  Tricky. Particularly hard for those of us that like stuff.  I like stuff -- pretty stuff.      So, it hard to think "I have en...

  In doing my research (surfing web) on sustainability, I ran into the blog of a teacher who wore the same dress for 100 days to drive home the point that we really do not need the amount of clothes most of us own.  https://www.treehugger.com/teacher-wore-same-dress-days-4857511 Katherine Martinko I was fascinated and happy she was driving the point home to children who are so susceptible to peer pressure when it comes to clothes. Doing some more digging (clicking links) I found a Instagram hashtag #oneoutfit100day s. Seems like others are doing the same thing. They are very creative in adding various accessories to spice things up and to accommodate weather changes.  Katherine also proposes that we stand up to excessive waste and damage caused by fast fashion with the concept of being an "Outfit Repeater." https://www.treehugger.com/why-you-should-be-proud-outfit-repeater-4852164 Then my guilty mind drifted back to the 1980's while I was working in one of my favorite job...

We are staying at home. We are social distancing. We are masked. We have a pandemic. So many people have lost jobs, small businesses, and income. As a result, I have seen a resurgence online of younger people discovering some of “grandma’s” or “great grand ma’s” frugal tips, ways to cost costs and save money. So, I just had to join in. Some of web sites focus more on saving the environment. Some on sustainable living. Some on reducing waste. Here are my favorites. https://www.gracefullittlehoneybee.com/30-old-fashioned-frugal-tips-from-grandma/ https://retrohousewifegoesgreen.com/vintage-frugal-tips/ https://www.shoestringcottage.com/favourite-frugal-recipes/ https://www.shoestringcottage.com/favourite-frugal-recipes/ https://nanaisfrugal.wordpress.com/ https://www.frugalwoods.com/2020/05/27/reader-suggestions-what-to-cook-during-a-pandemic/ Hope you learn as much I have and enjoy these interes...

During our quarantine time, I have been reading various sustainability sites and blogs. And I am profoundly disappointed. I am not going to name the sites because I don't like to publicly humiliate people -- there is enough of that in the news. But here is one. Shopping with a picnic or other basket A particularly delightful blogger uses a picnic basket when she goes to the farmer's market. It looks cute and does reduce the waste of putting things in plastic bags or paper sacks. And is a great idea. So what is my beef? She directs people to an Etsy store, where they are some beautiful hand made baskets you can buy. BUY???? Why buy? Yard sales, garage sales, jumble sales, and thrift stores are full of these things. The baskets on Etsy don't say anything about being made from recycling materials or anything, in fact they look brand new. Yes, it is reusable. Yes, it does cut down on waste. Yes, it is cute and trendy. Yes, it is handy. But a trul...

I am constantly bewildered by the enormous amount of things out there for me to buy to help with sustainable living. It has almost become a huge Industry by itself -- t he prices are outrageous!  Let's look. One website offers an on-the-go reusables kit for $114.99. Now I like all this stuff, it looks good and is very cool. BUT..... https://www.netzerocompany.com/collections/bundles/products/on-the-go-reusables-kit?variant=30683874164834 Why not use what you have instead of buying this kit? Start with the utensils. Just pull out of set of stainless steel you already have in your kitchen drawer. OR buy a set from a thrift store or yard sale if you don't want to use what you have at home? Pennies on the Dollar. You can make or have a chum make you the carrying case with left over fabric from a shirt/top/skirt/pants that you are throwing away or from a scrap of cute fabric you can find at yard sales. Another things that had me scratching my head is the silico...

I just thought I would check in and let you know how some of my "projects" are going. First - the Buy No New Clothes I have really been pleased with this one. It is now May and I haven't spent money on clothes at all this year and that is really good for me. I am usually buying something at least once a month. However, when I examined my Spring/Summer clothes, I noticed 2 pairs of  dress pants for work that really cannot go another year; thus I will be replacing them. Also, for full disclosure, my hubby gave me a little money to spend as I want. He often does that and I faithfully squirrel it away but this weekend I visited my favorite boutique and bought a few blouses -- again for work. Even though I didn't hit the mark 100%, I feel good about the progress made. Second - Spend No $$$ Weeks This one I have done surprisingly well. I have had several weeks since the new year where I spent no money at all --None, Zero, Natch, Nada -- with the exceptio...

As someone facing retirement in the not too far future, I am saddened and dismayed by some of the blogs I read. One senior blogger tells of how many food banks and senior food services near her are closed, moved, or redistributed. She depends on a bus service to get her to the food banks and now it is a long walk for her to get any food at all.   She received grocery gift cards for Christmas but is too afraid to use because she might need later since food prices in her area are going up and up. This made me very sad for her and fearful for me and mine. This is a country where people are spending $300,000 on a car and this woman’s grocery budget is $30. Ouch. Don't get me wrong, I AM NOT ADVOCATING SOCIALISM. But I cannot help but feel we have the least prepared group of people fixin' to retire. I don't want to be one of ill-prepared people. What am I going to do about it?  Pull in the reins.  I have always been...

I just got back from my trip to Savannah. It was wonderful! I could bore you with tons of pictures, but I think I will just add my favorite for now. Of course, I spent a ton of $$$ but I had saved up for the trip so it really didn't hurt. But once I got home, I begin to feel a touch of guilt and decided with the holidays coming up to pinch some pennies. I have always been pretty frugal by some standards: I rarely buy Starbucks or other fancy coffees. I always bring my own coffee to work. I never buy bottled water. Our water in our town is really good and if I run it through my fridge filter, it beats anything in a plastic bottle. I take my lunch more often than I don't. And I use small soap slivers until they die. ( see post here ) But can I do better? So, I turned off the radio during my morning commute -- they were just going on and on about the usual -- so I missed nothing. And I pondered. What could I do? With Christmas coming up, I know we will s...

I have been reading lots of frugal blogs lately and have found some really good ideas about where to cut the budget. Being frugal in this day and age is really hard, especially if you are a working woman and you need work clothes. One of the themes I have seen in all the frugal websites is: “ MAKE DO WITH WHAT YOU HAVE. ” If you are like me, your closet probably burps when you open the door. So, I pulled everything out – and I mean everything . I sorted through. Made the three piles: Keep, Repair/Clean, Give.  And then put it all back. After all this, I made list using Notes on my iPhone. I listed various combinations, and even found some combinations I hadn't thought of before. Then as I wore them, checked them off. I used various icons to make it more fun. The list helped me realize that there are clothes I hardly ever wear. There are combinations that I wore often and some I only wore once or twice. This was a surprise!!...

"You sure are frugal" These were the words a recent visitor to my house said after using my bathroom. "What makes you say that?" I asked. "All those soap slivers in your soap dish." Hummm, she was right. I do have soap slivers in my soap dish. Silvers that are too small for using in shower or bath but a perfect for hand washing. While getting dressed this morning, I glanced at the soap dish and though, yes, I am frugal. I am frugal. But not a fanatic about it. I have just learned over the years that saving pennies -- saves dollars. I begin to notice other little things that prove this. For one thing, I use a lipstick brush to get all the lipstick out of the tube -- especially if it is a favorite, discounted color. I just don't throw it out when it is flat. There are many more applications left in that tube, you just gotta work for it. I do take my own coffee to work avoiding the daily stop at Starbucks. Since their regular size, ...