What is this crazy lady doing?

Hello all.
At the beginning of this whole blog thing (way back when in January), I told you that I was doing this to share my attempts at living more frugally. That I'd talk about ways to save money, tips to stretch what you have, or use things you already have around the house in new and creative ways. And now, here I come, talking about wacky things like honey-as-face-wash, grr-US-school-lunches-food-culture, and "I have long hair." You are probably wondering what I'm doing right about now.

Couple of things:
1) Turns out, there is a lot I don't know about saving money, stretching a dollar, and multi-purposing common household items. So, I am trying to learn. But, I don't want to go around preaching what I haven't at least tried. I *know* that you can use baking soda as a household cleaner, to replace shampoo, and even as deodorant. The things is, I haven't actually tried these things out, and don't want to just be a link-fest. Resources are great, wonderful, and helpful, but I want this blog to be more. I want to also provide (yet another) personal story of triumph or frustration, so that someone else can learn from my experiments, and feel a little less scared about trying it.

2) I do feel that living frugally and sustainably or thoughtfully go hand-in-hand. I know that some of the organic (or advertised-sustainable) products have a higher up-front price, but I do feel that they can be worth it, if they are truly free of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals. The way I see it, the more I can reduce my own and my family's exposure and risk, the more peace of mind I'll have, the healthier we'll be, the more potential time we'll have together, and the lower our lifetime health bill will be.

Also, with a lot of things, quality products can last longer. Good, whole wheat bread is more filling than the super cheap, fluffy, over-processed stuff. So you don't need to eat as much at a meal with the former to nourish yourself and be full. A good quality lotion will actually alleviate my dry skin (thanks, Mom) in one go, so I don't have to constantly re-apply or slather on ridiculous amounts. Lesser lotions, even though the same sized bottle may be cheaper, end up costing me more in the end, because my skin just doesn't get hydrated, and I have to keep on re-applying. And, while this example is not from my own experience, I think it illustrates my point well. My mom, and my step mom (as in my dad's second wife) have both noted to me that when they feed their dogs a higher quality (and more expensive) dog food, the dogs eat less, and poo less. In the good dog food, there are fewer fillers, so less is needed to keep the dog nourished and full, and less of what is consumed is unusable and therefore passed.

So, that may not have been the prettiest of images, but think about it. If you are thoughtful about what you actually need and consume, even if there is a higher initial price, you may end up consuming less, thereby saving money in the long run. Not to mention that the good stuff is often better for you. I also recognize that sometimes, in the moment, someone may want to purchase the more expensive, organic product, but simply doesn't have the resources to do so at that time. Been there. I understand. We can only do what we can.

All of this being said, I hope you can understand what I'm trying to do, and that I am only human, with constraints. I still have a lot of my own laziness to overcome, and waste in my life. I have a long way to go. I'd be honored if you'd stick around for the ride.

Hair today

Here's something you should know about me. I like my hair. I have long hair. (I believe it qualifies as iliac length, which means the ends reach the top of my pelvic bone in the back.) I like having long hair. I do not have any plans to cut it all off in the future. Also, aside from curling it (with overnight sponger rollers) for my wedding, and then again for a school project (that time with hot rollers), I haven't used a heat appliance on my hair since... December-ish of 2004.

I'm a bit obsessive about my hair and what products do or do not go on my head. There are ingredients I avoid, such as sodium laurel/laureth sulfate, and silicone and it's derivatives.

I even have my own pair of hair scissors that I use to dust, or snip off split ends when I see them. (Did you know that if you use the same scissors for paper and your hair, unless you sharpen the blades before using them on your hair, you are really just damaging your ends? It's like my mom having dedicated sewing scissors.)

Sounds like a lot of work, huh? Not really. I shower at night, and let it dry overnight. If it isn't dry in the morning, not a big deal, letting it down from the hair-turbin-towel (like this) helps. In the winter, a scarf can go over it to protect it from the cold.

I brush it with a wooden brush or comb. I wear it simply, often in a ponytail, braid or bun. If I want to fancy it up, I can do more elaborate buns, like a Chinese braided bun or an infinity bun.

I don't spend tons of time or money on frequent trims or styling sessions. I don't get it colored, highlighted or low-lighted. (I do like using henna to color my hair. I've only done it once so far, but liked the result.) I don't spend the time, money or effort to ensure a specific coif every morning.

For me, it is easier. When I had shorter hair (chin length-short), if I didn't wash it in the morning, then dry it, and curl the ends under, I ended up with weird-all-over-the-place hair that looked very unkempt.

I'm telling you all of this because I want to talk about various hair-related things later on in my blog, and I want you to know where I'm coming from on the issues. (yeah, hair-issues. With all the things going on in the world, there are more important things than hair, but here we are.)

I've mentioned quite a few things here without linking to more information. I hope to expound on my choices later on, and think that for a lot of these choices, I can ramble on at length. Quite frankly, I don't want to bore you.

What do you think about hair? Imagining me to be a crazy person right about now? Do you even care to learn about hair care and that you can't actually repair damaged hair?

Full Disclosure

In the interest of not falling into the same trap that frugal newspaper articles seem to, I'm going to outline what I have working for me and against me here. So you know where I am coming from, and can take my musings with a grain of salt if needed. That being said, let me know if I start to slip!


I have a Master's degree, and a husband. Two things which help contribute to our income. I work, actually using said-Master's degree [*whew!], at a state university, in administration. So, while my salary isn't huge, I do have some really nice benefits, including health insurance, and a uni-funded retirement plan, in addition to a self-funded one. I also have a large extended family, who love to host a visiting niece and nephew, including at least one aunt who loves to spoil said niece and nephew. Things could certainly be worse.


Point is, I know that my belt has some slack in it, too. However, it doesn't often feel that way, because we are aggressively paying down debt.


Yeah, nasty credit card buggers. Credit cards, in of themselves, are not bad and inherently evil. At least, the idea isn't. We just enjoyed life while I was a lowly grad student, not pulling in much income, and buying expensive books. We've had several half-way-across-the-country moves. And at least one snapped timing belt.


Credit cards + student loans + car payments = disposable income. Outside, looking in, we may appear to be livin' high on the hog. Inside looking out, reality smacks us around from time to time.


So, now you know a bit more about me. What about you?

What am I doing? And why...

Howdy!
Some of you out there already know me, and already know what prompted this blog. For those who don't, here goes:


Being on the slightly more strapped side of the economic spectrum, I avidly read all the money saving articles I can. Always, I start off excited by a headline, and hopeful that I'll learn some new advice, something that I can use. Inevitably, I feel let down and discouraged.


I already know that stopping for coffee house coffee, especially anything more than a regular old brewed cup, is more expensive then brewing at home. I already know that selling books, DVDs, and clothes can make you extra cash. However, I also know that if you're running late, buying coffee is sometimes the only option to keep you on time, employed, and functional. And, that selling these things will only make you money if you have the time to troll around, and find places whose commission and fees won't completely eat away whatever profit you may have.


Basically, I feel that a lot of these articles were written hastily, re-hashing the same advice over and over, and that they are geared towards comfortable middle class and higher households who do have several notches on their belt to spare. But what about the people who have already eliminated Starbucks runs, or have already peddled out their book and media troves? What about the people who are stamping new notches into their belts, sucking it in like Scarlett O'Hara putting on a corset?


My ramblings will be geared more towards those such people. With a twist. I will also keep an eye towards self-sufficiency and sustainability. By this, I mean, re-learning age-old crafts like sewing and preserving food.


Welcome all, and I hope it is a fun ride!