What would you give up?

[Quail_Antwerp]

has your wife seen this list?

Of course not. I may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but I am definitely not suicidal!

I would venture to say, if she did see it, you may very well have to do without all these things whether you want to or not!

It would be Ramen noodles and living in a trailer park!!!

Yup, that's what I was thinking!

 

[cackle]

we did cloth diapers with 2 of our kids (not that long ago) and they were great. People think it is crazy to use them but you save a ton of money. just get a solid plastic garbage can with the flip up with the foot lid and throw them in there and when there is enough for a load just dump'em in and wash away. HUGE SAVINGS good luck and by the way they will potty train faster.

My goal is to get the fabric and make them myself. I have learned quite a bit of sewing in the last 8 months and I am thinking I could do it. The lady that is teaching me how to show said she would help me learn how to make them. So I am planning on ordering this:
http://diaperkit.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=36
to help me get started. I have been buying one Bum genius AIO at Target with every paycheck. I just need to buy some PUL fabric and then I can make them myself. This will be my first time using cloth diapers and cloth wipes....my wipes are already made and ready to go.
You can check out my blog if you would like to see the clothes I have made for my DD.
http://pamspride.blogspot.com/

When I had my first son 30 years ago I made all the diapers I used. I was able to get an hourglass pattern and used flannel for the outside and lined with old towels I cut for absorbancy. Then of course good old plastic pants. Nothing like the kit at the link. It was primative compared. But then I have never been much of a sewer. Good luck with the project and I hope to see the results on your site soon.

Using cloth diapers does make sense. Saving the earth one piece of trash at a time.

 

[punkin]

DH lost his job in August and took a huge paycut but thankfully has another job...so we started cutting back a while back so there is not to much left.
We would cut:
Either the Cell phones or land line
Fabric shopping...I make all of DD's clothes (I depend on blessings for stuff for the boys)
Can't cut our satelite internet because the boys need it for school...dial up is WAY to frustrating and incompatible with their school work. But, hopefully cable internet is coming and we will switch to that soon.
I am trying to can and freeze even more...so cutting back on the food bill.
With a baby on the way I have made my own homemade wipes and am going to try to make my own homemade diapers or get some cloth ones here and there...and I am hoping people give me gift cards when the baby comes.
I would cut out my once a week trip to town.
Boys piano and Tae Kwon Do...those are $88 a month.
Going to cull our own chickens next year rather than taking them to Sturgis' to be done. Hatch our own eggs rather than buying new chicks. Try to put extra garden produce in so we can give the chickens feed and cut back on some of their feed.

We already installed a timer on the hot water heater, no eating out, cut off satelite tv, made my own tissues, made laundry detergent....

A timer on the hot water heater? That sounds like what I need. DS takes way to long showers. Where did you get yours?

 

[lupinfarm]

We've already taken steps,

1. Make the house more appealing for sale should it come down to it, we got our bottom field fenced, the well at the barn hooked up with a freeze proof system, and did the chicken coop work.

2. A tank of gas MUST last a week, if it can last a week and a half, even better.

3. Down to one car, we had two ford focus', a hatchback and a stationwagon, we kept the wagon, and when the lease ended on the hatchback got rid of it, then dad trashed the wagon during our move to the farm, so we leased a pick up truck which oddly is the same on gas as our wagon was LOL, so we're down at the truck and it is NEEDED here.

4. Combine trips, don't go and get that chicken feed unless a)you absolutely have no choice, or b) you can get a few other errands done at the same time. Since my brother goes to school in Stirling right now, we can do any errands in Belleville when we pick him up as it's only 10 more minutes on the highway.

5. Some of the packages with our Bell Satellite, maybe get free to air

6. Sell the john deere and get a compact tractor that can do everything, we have a large lawn tractor, but if we can save some money and gas on getting people out to do work, then we'd trade it in and get ourselves a compact with bucket, backhoe, and bale speare.

 

[GardenSimply]

enjoy the ride, I'm the same way with borrowing and buying to 'pay' for help I don't know why I feel compelled to do that, but I've done it MORE than once. LOL

I've been working at doing so many of these things for so long and NOT getting them all done. I love coming to this board to keep me 'accountable' even if it is only in my own mind.

I want to continue toward

1) Growing more and putting up my own food.
2) Riding my bike (even in the winter)
3) Build my own wind generator
4) Learn to bake. (sad, I know)

I already keep the thermostat down to 55, off at night. Use a small space heater. (for the record, I have a son with issues can't keep a job, feels entitled, can't focus, Errrr. and my electric bill did the same thing!)

I grow a lot of my food, but haven't been successful at keeping it over the winter. I compost a LOT and have chickens (as someone said, we all know this benefit) I pickup and compost anyone and everyone leaves during the fall and grass clippings in the summer to aide the community. Trying to aide social consciousness is almost as important, eh?

 

[lupinfarm]

enjoy the ride, I'm the same way with borrowing and buying to 'pay' for help I don't know why I feel compelled to do that, but I've done it MORE than once. LOL

I've been working at doing so many of these things for so long and NOT getting them all done. I love coming to this board to keep me 'accountable' even if it is only in my own mind.

I want to continue toward

1) Growing more and putting up my own food.
2) Riding my bike (even in the winter)
3) Build my own wind generator
4) Learn to bake. (sad, I know)

I already keep the thermostat down to 55, off at night. Use a small space heater. (for the record, I have a son with issues can't keep a job, feels entitled, can't focus, Errrr. and my electric bill did the same thing!)

I grow a lot of my food, but haven't been successful at keeping it over the winter. I compost a LOT and have chickens (as someone said, we all know this benefit) I pickup and compost anyone and everyone leaves during the fall and grass clippings in the summer to aide the community. Trying to aide social consciousness is almost as important, eh?

Get yourself some snowshoes! We've bought some to walk around the farm and into town.

 

[cknmom]

DGD and I used our snowshoes to walk back and forth to the school bus stop last year. We use them around the ranch also. Last year we couldn't walk without them.

Monica

 

[captchris]

i would give up satalite tv but would still want news and nfl coverage but before giving up long distance if you mean phone look into skype it works on the internet and is very chaep about 3 dollars a month

 

[mrs.puff]

I haven't bothered to read EVERYTHING on this thread, but I read the first and last pages. So, it's funny that most of the things you guys are giving up, I don't have to begin with!!! I could not give up internet, cell phone, satellite TV, etc etc, since I don't have them.
I guess I would have to give up chicken feed. I suppose I could gather seeds and corn for them to eat. Also our dogs might need to eat the cheapo chow rather than the Kibbles n Bits. They get a lot of meat scraps from deer, squirrels, etc. We'd mostly have to cut back on gasoline usage, which we already try to do.
The only monthly bills we have are credit card (too bad I can't get rid of that one) and the phone. I have to have the phone for work.
We eat out about once a week, but it's rarely over $13. That's really our one luxury. We lived on about $9000 last year. This year MOH (man of the house) got a grant for his poetry, so we're very fortunate.

 

[lupinfarm]

I haven't bothered to read EVERYTHING on this thread, but I read the first and last pages. So, it's funny that most of the things you guys are giving up, I don't have to begin with!!! I could not give up internet, cell phone, satellite TV, etc etc, since I don't have them.
I guess I would have to give up chicken feed. I suppose I could gather seeds and corn for them to eat. Also our dogs might need to eat the cheapo chow rather than the Kibbles n Bits. They get a lot of meat scraps from deer, squirrels, etc. We'd mostly have to cut back on gasoline usage, which we already try to do.
The only monthly bills we have are credit card (too bad I can't get rid of that one) and the phone. I have to have the phone for work.
We eat out about once a week, but it's rarely over $13. That's really our one luxury. We lived on about $9000 last year. This year MOH (man of the house) got a grant for his poetry, so we're very fortunate.

Aww, I love the starving artist aspect, and 420sq. ft. ! And we thought our house was small, 1300 sq. ft. most of which you cannot stand in, as the square footage was calculated by floor size not standing room, and the house is 1.5 stories