This is a fun theme! As a frugal person, I would like to be able to accept new ideas and begin implementing them to help with our family budget. One idea that HAS NEVER worked for me is outside line-drying clothes. I have allergies (ok, major allergies) and line-drying outside just deposits all of the "crud" into the laundry which just intensifies my allergic reaction (or "which almost brings me to death's door" according to my husband). :)
The second idea (ok, I would like to implement this but haven't yet) is to use cloth napkins and kitchen towels instead of paper napkins and paper towels.
7 comments:
agreed. i don't even have allergies, but if i ever hang stuff outside, i can guarantee it will rain that day and I will forget I have clothes out...gaaah
and I use hand towels to dry my hands, but paper towels just seem more sanitary for spills and such. and laundry is not my best friend!
I will admit it too -- I just can't make myself do cloth napkins and kitchen towels either. I really, really love paper towel. LOL
When I moved into my house the previous owner had not only an outdoors clothesline but lines running all along the basement ceiling. So useful! Especially in the winter when the air is so dry, it actually helps put moisture back into the air. AS long as indoor humidity isn't a huge problem, you could try one of those collapsible racks in your laundry room.
We use cloth napkins, it took a little getting used to. We like it. Everyne has their own color and we reuse unless they're pretty dirty. I'm really suprised at how much less I'm purchasing napkins.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting on my car seat rant. Tom came home from work for lunch and said, "why don't we remove the bucket seat for the trip?" and I said, "that's just what the last comment was!" So thanks for your inspiration...we will definitely do that. I also used the infant carrier for shopping with my first two, since they outgrew before they were able to sit up, but Tom put it away in the garage already, so Konrad used the floppy seat yesterday (it has a strap around the chest) and we were fine.
We used cloth napkins until my second child was a couple months old, and I said, "I can't launder and fold napkins anymore, with all these kids' clothes!" I hope to go back to cloth napkins, but I don't think there is anything to apologize for in using paper products while the kids are young and messy and not doing their own laundry.
I just started using my clothes line last summer and I love it, but it took four years to figure out that it was great.
We do the cloth napkins and I think once you start doing them, you won't go back. It is easier than you think, it is just the issue of getting started that is such a struggle :) Kind of like laundry and housework :)
I agree with not hanging the clothes outside to dry - especially towels and jeans. However, I'm one of the only women in my neighborhood who uses a dryer. Line drying is part of the culture here. Even when it is 0*F outside, I'll drive through town and see clothes outside on the line. I have no idea how they actually get dry. It isn't a frugal thing either, because the people around here spend a lot of money on cigarettes and alcohol.
Post a Comment