Our experiment, a recap

We experimented with Extreme Frugality for 6 days. We called it our Great Depression Week. We timed our showers and baked our own bread in the cookstove oven. I did all my cooking on the cookstove. We seriously monitored lights. We unplugged everything. We watched no TV. We seriously limited computer time. I dried my clothes on the line, something that I really don't like to do because I don't like to iron and I don't like the feel of line dried clothes. Neil went into the city twice on the bus.

Our motives were these:
Saving money
Appreciating what we have
Recognizing just where the money was going


What I learned.
cooking on a wood cookstove is a lot of work. Maintaining the fire is of chief concern.
Not using my drier is a lot of work.
Making your own bread is a lot of work.
Eileen and I thought that we would have a lot of time to do Spring cleaning, but it took all day just to get the regular housework done. We were exhausted!

Every night became Family Night. We read together, we played Rook together. We went to bed early!

We will continue to do this experiment one week out of every month, fine tuning the details as we live them out.

Do I want to live that way the rest of my life? No. Could I if I had to? Yes. I am thankful for all my blessings? You Betcha!

Our experiment, days 4 and 5

My alloted 10 minutes on the computer are way to short!

I can totally understand why people were so happy to get rid of their cookstoves and cook with gas! Both of my grandmothers cooked and still cook with electricity! i'll go into this more, but when this is over and I can type more.

Ronnie has adjusted to diminshed computer play time. For him, that has been the only real change. For Eileen and me, well, all our work has been multiplied. Neil had to go into the city twice.....on the bus. Going on the bus isn't bad at all, its just that once you get there, you're on foot for the rest of the day. Makes me appreciate our car, and the fact the we have the money for gas and tolls.

Today, Saturday is our last day. Amen! I want to use my stove again. Sunday I'll try to write a few closing thoughts.

Days 2, 3

I missed posting yesterday. I had no time.

We are becoming accustomed to shorter showers and less electricity. We have brought our electrical use from 9.5 kwh to 5.5 kwhs, which is less than we hoped for, but less all the same.


We finished off the lentils, and I made chicken and dumplings with whole wheat flour. They turned out pretty good. I am hoping that the kids will get used to whole wheat and multigrain as opposed to pure white.

We also discovered that its easier to have one light on than to use candles. Also less mess.

We'll be glad when this is over, but I know that we'll never be the same.

Day 1

Yesterday we all had computer withdrawal symptoms! We worked hard at keeping lights off and not buying anything. We have been reading the electricity meter. we figure that we use about 9.5 Kilowatt hours per day. We were hòping to get that down to 5 but we only got down about 3.5. We were dissapointed. Interestingly, our gas tanks have no gauges, so we don't know how much we are saving there. I have beem cooking on the cookstove, no gas and no microwave. Showers are timed at 3 minutes. We had lentil stew for dinner and will have leftover lentils tomorrow. The good thing is that we like lentils! I made 3 loaves of multigrain bread yesterday. They are delish.

We will do this until Saturday. I hope that we will make some good habits that will hold over for good. We'll see.

Got to go, times uo again!

An experiment

This week we are doing a family experiment. We are honoring those who went through the great Depression, and learning to appreciate what we have by going through an extremely frugal week. My internet time is limited to 10 minutes, so I won't be able to blod much about it until later.
We are limiting electricity, water, gas and food. I mean, we have plenty of food, but there will be no extras. All my cooking will be on the wood stove, and most of the clothes drying will be on a rack in front of the fire.

It will be interesting to see just how low we can go. We take so much for granted. I am hoping that will change.

Time's up!

Sacrifice on the altar of "Convenience"

I have been reading "Coffee Tea Books and Me " posts about frugality, and they have been a blessing. We are not hurting finacially, but we are not rolling in the dough either. I think it would seem that we had more if we were more frugal. Economy used to be one of the traits of a successful homemaker.

Anyway, there isn't much more to say that hasn't already been said by others. However, as an American living abroad, I can see more clearly a few things about our society. One of the things is the American love a convenience. We worship convenience. We would rather spend money than time and/or effort.

One of the areas where is this more noticeable is the area of food. Most women do not cook anymore, or consider making Hamburger Helper "cooking". (note, I love hamburgur Helper...i have very unsophisticated tastes!) We buy many things pre-made. Even if they do not taste as good as the real thing, we prize the convenience. Even if we know that it is not nutritious, we prize the convenience.
The price that has been paid for our convenience has been great. For one thing, overweight, as most over-processed foods are high in fat and sugar. Overweight has lead to other horrible consequences like diabetes. We sacrifice our health on the altar of Convenience.

Another consequence is not as noticeable, and maybe most people don't even care. But it is that fact that since we don't make things without mixes and such, we don't know how. We are trapped. Even cookbooks today start their recipes with "open a can of........." I love church cookbooks, but they are largely useless to me. Most of the recipes for cakes start with a boxed cake mix. Most of the savory recipes call for cans of cream of mushroom soup and velveeta cheese. Now, don't get me wrong, I love velveeta cheese! But, we sacrifice our skills on the altar of Convenience.
I have become empowered as I learn to cook great food from scratch. I spend time, money and effort, but it has been worth it! As I get more skillful, I will spend less money!

Does this make any sense to anyone? Hope so!

Cheesy lightbulb moment!

I have noticed that Americans cook with a lot of cheese. I love cheese, but its so expensive.
Anyway, I was watching Tammys tutorial about making pizza, and she put a ton of cheese on that pizza. I would have used half. I know Tammy is frugal as well, so I figured she must be paying a lot less than I do. Then I actually did the math. We pay over 4.5 dollars a pound for cheese. Can you believe that? Cheese is, pound for pound, more expensive than most meats here.

Anyway, I guess its just as well. Cheese is one of my weakness.

Do, you mind my asking, how much do you pay for cheese?

A frugal "lightbulb" moment

People here are so poor that they often buy things in small amounts as they can. This is, in my opinion, the most expensive way to buy things. However, it just occurred to me that, when I have a stash of something, I tend to be somewhat careless as to its use. If you only have a small amount of something, you'll use it sparingly. For example, if I have quart of dishwashing soap, I can use a large squirt. If I have a small bottle, you can bet I'll be as stingy as possible, in order to make that small amount last.

I say all this just to make it clear to me that, even though I will buy in larger amounts, I need to be more careful.

This became even clearer to me since DH bought a more-expensive liquid detergent. I thought he was nuts to do so. But I began carefully measuring instead of "eye-balling" the amount of detergent. The bottle now lasts us almost 3 month. I am thrilled.

Not exactly thrilling blogging, but it is what I've been thinking about lately, thank you Dave!