It's The Little Things

This week I have been really inspired to try to save more money at home. In our home, we are really noticing the effects of the gas prices as well as the increasing cost of food. We feel like we are not buying any more than usual, yet we are spending so much more. It is really frustrating. So, for the past two days, I decided to not use our dryer and actually hang out our loads of laundry to dry. "WHAT?!" You are probably asking yourself! :) Yes, I have decided to go back to the Little House on the Prairie days :) Really, the motivation was more about not making my house any hotter than it already was, but I also felt like maybe we could save just a few dollars by line-drying our clothes. It's actually been pretty fun! I don't know how much we are saving, and hope to try to figure that out, but every little bit helps.

Singing the Praises of Freecycle!!

I have written about Freecycle once or twice before, but I just have to stop and write about how great this Yahoo Group is. Last week Martin's cell phone broke, and we did not want to spend $200 on a new one. I went on Freecycle and asked if anyone had an old cell phone that took a SIM card, and immediately 3 people replied. One even offered us a Blackberry, but we ended up receiving a phone that was in perfect working condition and was BETTER than my husband's old model! He just put his own SIM card in and it rang immediately because someone was calling him.

In the past few months we've also received:
-A brand new umbrella base for our patio umbrella
-2 Redwood benches for our back yard
-A brand new bottle of Shaklee cleaner (safe for children) that is concentrated and makes over 100 bottles from the one!
-A perfect looking bassinette for my friend who is having a baby

I also might receive this week a kid's soccer net and a kid's patio set for outside.

If you haven't joined this group yet, there are Freecycles for each area. Just go to www.freecycle.org. You have to have a Yahoo user name and password, then every day just go to your "yahoo groups" when you log in, and see what people have posted. You have to act quick to get things you really want, but it's worth it! They also require you to post something for free first, before you get something for free (you only have to do that once).

I have given away a lot of great items on there as well, and it is really a great feeling knowing you are giving something to someone who really needs it, versus donating to a thrift shop where someone will eventually have to pay for your item. It is very rewarding!