Saving Money on Bumpkin Farm

One thing that I have noticed since moving to the farm is that we waste a lot!  We waste food, we waste time, we waste money, and we waste things. 

I am a throw it away kinda gal.  I do not feel a need to hang on to things so I usually throw it away.  Several years ago a friend pointed out that throwing so much away was not being a good steward with my money. 

At first I balked at her statement thinking that I was simplifying things by not keeping much, but then I began to see she was correct.  I was throwing away things that other could use, thus I began to donate.

Living out here has taught me another lesson in being a good steward with our money...I don't need that much to begin with!  And boy howdy do we waste a ton!

So what have we done to help? 

1.  Recycle:  Believe it or not, the trash service we use also offers recycling pickup.  So we have bins where we save our recyclables and have them picked up.  This not only cuts down on our contribution to the dump site, but it also saves money on trash bags!

2.  Ditch paper towels!:  We were spending almost $30 per month on paper towels.  Not only did we use them in the house, but we used several rolls a week when we milked the goats.  Now we have spend about $6 a month. 
 
     Instead of paper towels, I invested in a large quantity of dish towels and dish cloths.  Instead of drying our hands on paper, we use the cloth towels.  When I milk the goats we use dish cloths marked especially for that purpose. 

 

     We have also ditched paper napkins and instead have started using cloth napkins.  We never spent a ton on napkins, but every little bit helps!!

     The only con I have found is that I have to make sure each evening to put on a load of towels and cloths, but this has not been a huge deal.  Our washer does not use much water so there really is no con with extra water usage.

3.  Laundry Detergent:  Very simple solution here, we started making our own!  There are a gazillion recipes online for various detergents.  We have made liquid and powder.  I prefer the powder, but both worked well.  The cost for our detergent for 6 people is around $30 per year.

4.  Dish Detergent:  We make that too!  First we switched from using a store-bought rinse aid to using vinegar.  Let me tell you, that works wayyyy better on our dishes!!  Now we make our detergent too.  Easy-Peasy!!  We use 1 TB of Borax and 1 TB of baking soda.  This with the vinegar as the rinse aid work great!

5.  Freezing Pizza Dough!:  We eat pizza every Friday night and we used to order it out.  Come Friday evening, I am just ready to chill and spend time with the fam....not really in the mood to spank some dough!  But, if I make the dough earlier in the week and double or triple the recipe, let it rise the first time and spank it and freeze it, it is soooo easy!!  I just pull it out in the morning, it thaws during the day and wah-lah, we have yummy pizza that evening!

6.  Chicken:  I used to be a chicken breast only kinda gal.  Not really keen on sticking my hands inside a carcass to season it.  Best tip ever....throw it in the crockpot with some spices on top, cook it all day and that evening you have a perfectly cooked, tender chicken!  I always throw it in frozen even!

Then that night after you have pulled all of the meat off, add some spices, onion, and garlic, cook it all and you have wonderful chicken broth the next day!



Now I have gone and made myself hungry!!!

I have learned that though I might not have a job outside of the home that brings in money, I can make money for our family by saving money.  Added benefit....it's kinda fun too!!  :)