Food: In general the best thing you can do for your wallet AND your body is to cook at home, from scratch. Not to mention, sitting down to eat a meal together with your family can sometimes be the one time you will all be intentionally together. Family closeness is a great thing to happen upon if you're not used to it! I see the result of lacking this in too many families around me.
Bread-I make our own 100% whole grain bread, typically 2 three-loaf batches each month (although we have already run out this month-time to make more!)
Vegetables and Fruit-Our local farmer's market was just initiated this year, and I was blessed to find a wonderful lady selling her all-organic produce for less than the "standard" equivalents at the grocery store. My goal for next year is to grow atleast half our fresh produce for the summer, and preserve enough to be able to cook a few meals each week throughout the winter strictly using our homegrown veggies/fruits. We have only been in our current home for a little over a year, so we are starting from scratch with our garden.
Meat: Or better, perhaps I should say protein. My husband is a huge "meat and potatoes" fan. He has gotten used to having those type meals less often though, in exchange for healthier and much more frugal bean/rice/grain based meals. This is not to say that we are vegetarian, but that I try to use meat as a flavoring, thereby making it stretch greatly. I will shop only the sale shelves at my grocery store, often finding great deals, and then stretch it over many meals. We also eat alot of eggs- another item I was blessed to find at our local farmer's market. These were not cheaper than the industry standard but their taste was worth more than any washed-out, yellow, flat-yolked egg in the grocery store.
Some of our favorite meals to get out of a one pound package of ground chicken or turkey- meat sauce for spaghetti and chicken burgers. I can easily get a meal's worth of hearty sauce and about 7 or 8 burgers with this much meat. The chicken is typically very lean, so it does not cook down the way most beef will, and the burgers are delicious (recipe next time!).
Cleaning: I use just a few basic products to clean most everything.
Baking Soda-a great deodorizer, and scouring product-too many uses to list right now.
Distilled White Vinegar-disinfectant (when used in series with hydrogen peroxide, it's more effective than chlorine bleach, and much MUCH safer); great for washing windows; for use in furniture polish; great for soaking sponges between uses-deodorizes/disinfects; use in your Downy ball for a residue-free fabric softener.
Castile soap- I have not explored this product a whole lot outside of use in the bathroom, but as I use up my other single use products, I will be expanding this a bit more!
Health and Beauty: I make almost all our products from all natural ingredients
Deodorant-recipe
Toothpaste-recipe I use the homemade toothsoap recipe on here. Using unscented castile soap without any essential oil provides a nice basic toothpaste that everyone in my house likes. Also, next time I make it, I'm going to add a bit of baking soda to add a bit of scrubbing action.
Shampoo- "no-poo" or my version coming soon
Body Wash-simply castile soap on a shower poof-very little needed, use scent of choice, although peppermint can tend to be a bit strong for those "unmentionable" parts. It feels great however for a face wash.
Clothing: The biggest suggestion I can make here is to make a constant habit to remove items of clothing that you don't feel great in, and then create a wardrobe with many options from just a few pieces. Lindsay, at Passionate Homemaking has a wonderful series on this called "Simplifying the Wardrobe." I am still accomplishing this as I am losing weight, and very few things look "great." To solve this problem partially I will be making some of my clothes as well as some for my girls. My sewing skills are not amazing, but some simple skirts and pants for the girls are definitely within my reach. Also, they will help me bridge the gap between my larger clothes and my goal weight which is still a ways away. Some great deals are also to be had at thrift stores and yard sales. If you feel a stigma about shopping at these places, keep in mind that often the profits go to benefit those less fortunate, and you might also bring your not so great (for you) pieces back to them to help benefit even more!
Just as a closing thought. The most significant change for me lately in being frugal has been my attitude about life. I've been praying for guidance and encouragement about coming closer to a sustainable and simple life. With plans to stay home to raise our children (currently 2 girls, hopefully more to come), to homeschool, and to achieve as much of a mini-farm as our town will allow on our lot, my vision has been changed from someone "surviving" staying at home, to someone growing to do my best at all the jobs I claim by staying home. Most importantly, I strive to glorify God by living out the life he created for me. Secondly, I honor my husband, by (hopefully) creating a haven for him to come home to, supporting him in his work, and his God-given call of Music Education and Ministry. Thirdly, I am raising my children up in the way they should go, to know their Lord and Savior, and to live a life glorifying Him. In all these things, we are called to be good stewards of the resources God has given us. Finances tend to be one of the most substantial of those resources, because in today's world they interconnect everything. God has given us so much more than we need, and yet, if we let the influence of society make our decisions, we will very quickly desire more money, more stylish clothes, a newer car, a bigger house, that better job, etc.
To be frugal isn't just to pinch pennies; it is to thank God for his blessings, and to not squander them. Oh, to make our lives more reflective of Christ!
