Apr. 28, 2009 - Water bill, hand sanitizer, high school curriculum
I have several tips to share today:
1. Find a shower head that puts out 3 gallons less per minute than your current shower head. It will save hundreds of gallons of water over a year's time. Also, if you contact your electric company, they may give you one for free. We got a large box that had several items to help cut our expenses, all for free.
2. A faucet aerator can cut water usage in half. You can find aerators for the kitchen and bathroom faucets at a hardware store for between $3 and $10. Simply screw them into your faucet nozzle and start saving money!
3. I saw this article last week on the dangers of young children ingesting hand sanitizer: http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/sanitizer.asp This tip may end up saving your child's life!
4. For those of you who are interested, I posted all of the curriculum I plan to use during the high school years. Where possible, I even added links to the cheapest places to find the items. It can be found here:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proverbsmama/680505/
6. I didn't go to many garage sales last year due to the high price of gasoline. Since it has dropped quite a bit, I went to a few sales which were all within a mile of each other. One was at a church. You can often find great deals at churches because they are looking to get rid of all of the donated items. We were needing to find a few things for dd since she has grown so much taller this year. Here is what we found today:
- 3 pairs of jeans for $3.00
- 1 pair of capris at a garage sale for $2.00. Bought three more pairs at Goodwill for $17. (One pair at Walmart was more than $17.)
- 3 books for $1.25. One was a 3-in-one Nancy Drew hardback.
- I found 2 tote bags that were clearly from Israel. They had "Jerusalem" on them, as well as a scene from Jerusalem with a camel. They were $1 each. (Once we get our computer running better, I will post a picture of the tote bag.)
- Pillow cases that were like new for .25 each. (On last Tuesday's tips, I shared that for allergies, you should frequently change the pillow cases, so I was praying I'd find some that were really cheap, but in nice condition.)
- 3 videos from the Moody Institute of Science: Human Life, Animal Kingdom, and Planet Earth. Cost: $1
- Once we were done at the garage sales and Goodwill, my mom bought dd a new dress at Kohl's and a pair of shoes to go with the dress. Dress was $48 and she paid $21. Shoes were $19.99 and she paid $10.
7. You know how at the beginning of every season it is nice to have a few new articles of clothing? I learned something from my mom on this: Pay more but buy less. It will last longer. I have some tops I bought at Walmart last year. I also have a few from Kohl's. The Walmart tops are very worn and stretched out because the quality just isn't as nice as what Kohl's has. It is better to have a few really-nice tops that hold their shape, as opposed a whole closet of cheaply made shirts that look awful after wearing them for one season. Plus, by having less items of clothing, it cuts down on the stress of trying to find space to store them. 
Fourteen years ago today, my first baby went from my womb to the arms of Jesus. I cannot believe that much time has passed! God was so faithful and so gentle to me during that time. For those who have not read the devotions I wrote about that experience, they can be found here: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proverbs31devotions/Miscarriage/
Comments
Apr. 28, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by solidrock
We use both the water savers in our house. Easy to do and easy to find at the store. I am all for thrift shopping. I don't do yard sales unless they are in my neighborhood and I can walk to them. The thrift stores we go to are enroute to someplace we have to drive anyway so we are not spending gas just to go to the thrift stores. I guess living with such high gas prices taught us that one! My gals love new to them clothes in the spring. I am so thankful for good thrift stores and our church clothes closet.
Apr. 28, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Pam
THose are great tips, I am going to call our electric company and see if they offer free goodies.
So sorry for your loss.
Pam
