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10 Things to Put in Your Vehicle(s) Today

Wildfire season definitely has begun in my area. Other regions have already begun seeing  the problems caused by tropical storms, prior to the “official” beginning of hurricane season. It’s got me thinking about the what-ifs yet again.

What if we had to get out of the house in the middle of the night due to wildfire, with only the items in our vehicle and on our backs? What if flood waters were rising and authorities told us we had enough time to grab purses, pets, and car keys? What if a tornado decimated the house, but the cars were miraculously okay just feet away? What if a localized power outage struck at work or school, and you needed to use what was available for an hour or two while the professionals reset something?

Time to review what’s in the rigs, and to get folks thinking about what they might want to add to their cars. To wit, here’s my list of the top ten things to put in your vehicles – not counting a car emergency kit, which is an entity unto itself. Continue reading →

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How Do YOU Prepare for Drought and Heat?

A dear friend asked me a while back how to prepare for drought and heat. After all, she remarked, it seems so much simpler to prepare for cold weather and how to keep warm if the power goes out. But what do we do if water rations take effect or for a summer power outage?

These are things I’ll be addressing soon – I’ve got two different articles in the works for you on the matter. In the meantime, I’d love to know how YOUR family adapts during hot weather and deals with drought. (And no, hiding in the air conditioning at the mall or library doesn’t technically count – it’s already on the list and what most folks automatically do!)

Thoughts?

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Frugal Accomplishments ~ Week Ending 3 June 2018

Happy Monday, everyone! It’s time for another frugal accomplishments check-in with The Prudent Homemaker. Be sure to pop by and visit Brandy and the other frugalites when you get a chance.

As for me, I’ve got some basic things to share and some exciting (well, to ME) news. As some of you know, I’ve got some irons in the fire for longer works. I figured it was about time to get an author page going on Facebook to prepare for when they are ready to be released. In the meantime, it will give us a place to visit and share thoughts in between blog posts, since I keep those fairly sparse. So come on by for a chat and if you like, “Like” the page. I’d sure love to hear from you there. (And hey, the Facebook page is free, so that’s frugal, right?)

Here’s the rest of my frugal doings Continue reading →

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Frugal Accomplishments ~ Week Ending 27 May 2018

The past week has been another quiet one for us, especially with taking the holiday weekend off of a lot of things. I had big plans to go do fun things, then ended up with a tweaked spot in my back and a lot of hobbling when I made it off the couch. Ah well – the upside is that we didn’t end up at the zoo, firing range, or any place else that would have cost an entry fee. Silver linings, right? Here’s my wee list of frugal accomplishments, to go along with Brandy’s post for the week. (Be sure to pop through to her blog if you’ve been waiting for her baby name announcement!)

  • Opened/closed windows/blinds/curtains to keep house cooler
  • Purchased food to take with us to the airport and air museum vs buying at there. My daughter’s flight for visitation was around lunchtime, so she had lunch and some snacks with her. I was going to take my son to the air museum (we have an annual membership) after she flew out, so he and I ate in the truck before going to wander the displays, and had snacks for the road home afterward.
  • Used drying racks and wool dryer balls as needed (only my husband’s laundry was run in the electric dryer).
  • Ate from the pantry most meals and snacks.
  • Used cloth handkerchiefs and personal wipes.
  • Purchased more LED bulbs for the house – I originally only needed one for a table lamp, but spotted a large package of the candelabra-base bulbs for putting in the rest of our ceiling fixtures. We also took advantage of a sale on charcoal: double-bagged charcoal was half price, so we got two bags for $9.99 vs $20.
  • Used the Sun Oven to bake a lemon pound cake and to reheat a large stromboli (purchased at the farmers market) for our Friday meal while husband and son were swimming at the base pool (free entry).
  • Used naproxen and essential oils already on hand to treat my sore back.
  • Read multiple books borrowed on Kindle Unlimited and Overdrive.
  • Downloaded and read a free cookbook on Kindle.
  • Received a free food preservation e-book as a subscriber to a “cheapskate” e-newsletter; downloaded that to read later.
  • Received two free e-books for signing up to the e-newsletter of an author whose work I enjoy; they are prequels to two of her series I have already read, so I downloaded those to read later as well.
  • Used ceiling fans instead of air conditioning as much as possible.
  • Drove the truck as little as possible, outside of our trip to the airport. Since my daughter will be gone for a month, I will have much less driving to do for a while, which saves diesel. Her fall GED classes won’t begin for a couple of weeks after she gets back, so that will save some as well.
  • Saw a DVD set of all six discs of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies for $20 at Walmart; picked those up and we had a family movie marathon over the long weekend. Snacks from the pantry too!
  • Son played various free space and flight apps on my phone and worked on his Spanish and German lessons using the free Duolingo app.
  • Used homemade cleaning supplies around the house.
  • Reused plastic shopping bags as bathroom trash liners. (I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that lately – but I don’t buy trash can liners for the little cans, and haven’t for about 20 years! I use my reusable shopping bags as much as possible, and save any plastic shopping bags we do accrue as trash bags.)
  • Read blogs online and chatted with friends via text (free entertainment and fellowshipping, right?)
  • Entered Swagbucks and InboxDollars codes whenever I found them and did the daily SB survey.
  • Son had a dental exam and cleaning; he received a free toothbrush and sample sizes of floss and toothpaste, as well as a token for a small toy.