99 Tips & Tricks To Make Life Easier

I've shared a condensed version of this, but this is the mother load of clever little tips & tricks.  Read it, bookmark it, & revisit.  I'm certain you'll find something new with every read.  Enjoy! 

Cute Kids Room Organizers

Any parent knows that kids stuff can become quite overwhelming rather quickly.  Here are some seriously awesome & functional ideas to help organize the rooms of the children in your life.

Check it out here!

A Guide to Eating Cheap

I just love Gail Vaz-Oxlaide.  She's a sort of Canadian Suze Orman, without all of the catch phrases.   She's got a show on CNBC called Til' Debt Do Us Part & I would say it's my favorite show, but much to my dismay, we don't get CNBC anymore so I cannot watch.

Because I'm a little Gail Vaz-Oxlade deprived these days,  I was thrilled to see this article on her blog about ways to eat cheap.  It's succinct & filled with brilliant ideas.  While some of the Canadian prices don't match prices in the U.S., the principles are universal.  If you're looking for ways to lower your grocery bill, definitely check it out. 

Save Thousands in 15 Minutes or Less

Kiplinger put together a list of ways to save thousands with minimal effort.  Aside from the usual Don't Pay Fees on Credit Cards, there are some clever little websites & tricks that I've never heard.  Check it out here & hopefully save yourself some sweet moolah.

The New Domesticity

I recently stumbled upon this article from the Washington Post.  As a person who never thought she'd be a homemaker, I find it super interesting.  I know that I, for one, wouldn't want to be anywhere else but at home living the domestic life. 

How Much Is a Homemaker Worth?

fiveaspects.com

I stumbled upon this article yesterday that gave a very precise breakdown of the value of a homemaker's daily work.  I found it extremely interesting & wanted to pass it along.  To all of you lovelies who stay at home, your work is valuable, & I give you a sincere, heartfelt thank you.  Keep up the good work!

Waste Management Inspiration in San Fran

We went to San Fransisco for Thanksgiving to visit family.  While we had a wonderful time, I couldn't help but be impressed by the many options for waste management I saw around the city.

At the Academy of Sciences they had these receptacles with recycle, compost, & landfill options.  Additionally the white labels have little pictures of what is appropriate to throw in each bin.  I also find the use of the word landfill far more effective than trash; it's a good reminder that everything thrown in that container will actually wind up in a landfill.   

The bins at the San Fransisco airport were less thorough. but they still offered the options of composting & recycling at EVERY container, in addition to trash.

If the city of San Fransisco is offering these options I certainly hope more cities will follow suit.  It also got me thinking about everything that I throw away, recycle, or could potentially compost & where it might actually end up.  Well done San Fran, well done. 

America's Cheapest Family

I always enjoy hearing about the Economides family, a.k.a. America's Cheapest Family.  Some frugal enthusiasts have thrown them on blast for not bringing any new ideas to the table, but I have to say that I find them to be a perfectly logical example of how to live frugally.  They do have ideas that are more for beginners, but I think it is ideal to encourage all & make frugal living accessible.  The thing I find most impressive is that they're raising their rather large family of 7 on one income, without going into debt.

Earlier in the year they were on The Talk & shared some of their favorite tips.

 

Here's part two...

Hope you find something useful!

Forever Frugal

I know that I mention the Tightwad Gazette rather frequently, but I find that book to be  a ceaseless source of information & inspiration.  Amy Dacyzyn retired from writing the Tightwad Gazette in the early 1990s, so when a journalist caught up with her years later it was fun to see she's still living frugally.  Check out the video to see how the Godmother of Tightwaddery is living forever frugal. 

Adjusting Expectations

It is frequent that we are bombarded with statistics that tell us that the average square footage for a home these days is greatly increasing In 2006 that statistic was inflated to 2,349 sq feet for 2.61 people.  We are also given a yearly figure as to home much raising children will be, $226,920 to be exact. We hear about the shrinking middle class & how people can no longer afford to live without dual incomes.  

Yet during these trying financial times I have personally seen a resurgance of a sort of old school way of living.  People are living off one income, they're buying used cars, they're shopping at thrift stores, & dare I say it, they're saving their money.  People are changing their entire lives, whether by personal choice or due to unforseen circumstances & finding HUGE benefits from it.  To me it comes down to one thing...expectations. 

Yes, it is difficult to live on one income IF YOU HAVE UNREALISTIC EXPECATIONS.  If straight out of college you expect to live in the same size home you lived in growing up, or drive the same quality cars your parents do, you probably can't live on one salary.  It seems that much of Generation X doesn't understand that our parents worked their whole adult lives to afford their home & theircars & we have to too if we don't want to be swimming in debt. It is ludicrous to expect to  afford the same as people 30+ years into the work force.   By simply accepting a more humble, but equally charming home, you can afford more & stay out of debt. Same thing with cars, or clothes, or furniture, or gadgets.

In the 1950s  the average square footage of a home was 983 square feeet for 3.87 people!   Most families paid cash for all of their possessions; if they didn't have cash, they didn't buy the item.  A large number of families lived with only one vehicle, either didn't have a television, & only had one.  Washing machines were considered a luxury. A washing machine! How, in 60+ years have we gotten so skewed?  Why do we now need so much stuff?


I'm certainly not saying that women need to be stay at home mothers, quite the opposite in fact. My point, whatever your goal maybe be--whether you want to stay at home, start your own business, become a freelance artist, or retire, is that it is attainable. You can most certainly live, rather comfortably, if you adjust your expectations, value the PEOPLE in your life ABOVE things, & if you save the money you have.

There is no way I would have survived the ticky-tacky-box life of the 1950s, but there are certainly lessons to be learned some of the lifestyle choices of that era.  And I think that the it all comes down to a matter of perspective & expectations.

I'll get down from my soap box now...

Possum Living

Tonight I was perusing around Savvy Housekeeping & found a linkabout a woman named Dolly Freed.  In the seventies, at the ripe age of 17, Freed published a book about living self sufficently called Possum Living:  How to Live Well Without a Job & Very Little Money.   

Freed's whole philosophy revolved around raising your own food & not spending money, rather than working & living in debt.  Freed lived without a job, yet didn't need welfare or handouts; rather, she worked at growing/forraging/hunting  her own.  It's actually a rather beautiful way of life, & is quite similar to the way our grandparents & great grandparents probably lived.  I found the documentary to be extremely inspiring & I can't wait to buy the book (when I have enough Swagbucks saved...haha).  

Possum Living Documentary Part 1

Possum Living Part 2

Possum Living Part 3

For those interested, writer Paige Williams tracked Dolly Freed down last year & interviewed her.  Sounds like she is still an amazing & inspiring woman.  I can't wait to eventually get that book!  :)