Frugal Friday

[ecosophia]

Welcome back to Frugal Friday!  This is a weekly forum post to encourage people to share tips on saving money, especially but not only by doing stuff yourself. A new post will be going up every Friday, and will remain active until the next one goes up. Contributions will be moderated, of course, and I have some simple rules to offer, which may change as we proceed.

Rule #1:  this is a place for polite, friendly conversations about how to save money in difficult times. It's not a place to post news, views, rants, or emotional outbursts about the reasons why the times are difficult and saving money is necessary. Nor is it a place to use a money saving tip to smuggle in news, views, etc.  I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #2:  this is not a place for you to sell goods or services, period. Here again, I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #3:  please keep it to one tip per person per week. Data dumps are tedious for me to moderate and also for readers to use. If you have lots of tips, great -- post one per week. This is an ongoing project. If you want to comment on someone else's tip, that's welcome, but again, don't use that as an excuse to post a second, unrelated tip of your own.

Rule #4:  please keep your contributions reasonably short -- say, 500 words or less. If you have something longer to say, please post it elsewhere -- a free Dreamwidth account is one option -- and simply put a link here. Teal deer comments won't be put through.

Rule #5:  please give your tip a heading that explains briefly what it's about.  Homemade Chicken Soup, Garden Containers, Cheap Attic Insulation, and Vinegar Cleans Windows are good examples of headings. That way people can find the things that are relevant for them. If you don't put a heading on your tip it will be deleted.

Rule #6: don't post anything that would amount to advocating criminal activity. Any such suggestions will not be put through.

With that said, have at it!

Comments

Re: Very Appropriate (Tech)

[ecosophia]

I haven't heard anything about that project for a while now. I'll ask. In the meantime, a book of that sort would probably be publishable with a fairly big firm, especially if it's pitched at young people who have zero knowledge about housekeeping.

Re: Very Appropriate (Tech)

[michele7]

I perused a 1914 New York high school home ec book in this collection. Great fun! The best tip was to not have carpeting as the writer said it held in germs. I hate carpet, so this book felt like confirmation to me. Hmm, a book on housekeeping might put my General Home Economics degree to use...

Re: Very Appropriate (Tech)

[ecosophia]

Good heavens. You have a home ec degree? In that case, you have what publishers call a "platform" -- a reason why readers ought to pay attention to you -- and that makes a book from you very, very saleable. I'd encourage you to get to work writing it as soon as you can, and start looking around for small to midsized publishers that don't require agents and publish nonfiction for younger adults.

Re: Very Appropriate (Tech)

[methylethyl]

Do it!

It is not that hard to self-publish ebooks and print-on-demand books these days. My husband has done it, and he is no tech wizard.

We homeschool, and I would LOVE to have a good home ec book to use with my kids in a couple years-- with the *why* behind everything, as well as the how. Most of the ones I've seen recommended in my circle have either been very narrow single-subject (like, how to clean efficiently like a maid service), way too detailed for the purpose (Home Comforts: encyclopedic, but too much for kids!), or so zeroed in on the "godly womanhood" thing (argh!) that I wouldn't dare try to use them with boys. Need something more unisex!

Re: Very Appropriate (Tech)

[michele7]

jmg methylethyl You two have inspired me! I've started working on an outline.

Re: Very Appropriate (Tech)

[temporaryreality]

Yes please, michele7!

I have to admit that when I daydream about winning the lottery, one frequent part of that daydream is to start a home-ec school or something similar.

Re: Very Appropriate (Tech)

[kayr]

You might want to check out Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson. I have read it and it is very extensive. The detail she advocates is beyond my willingness to do, but others may revel in it. Much good information of what I thought of as Home Economics for the clueless.

I am with you in your opinion about carpeting, I think it is uncleanable. The author of the above book advocates that you vacuum daily. I prefer a broom or dust mop on tile or wood floors, much more quite. Carpets on the other hand can be hauled out to the driveway and hosed down and left to dry in the sun if they get really dirty. I have seen pictures of beautiful middle eastern carpets being cleaned out doors with water and sun.

Re: Very Appropriate (Tech)

[(Anonymous)]

Indeed it would! Just put the awful neologism "adulting" in the title and the pitch almost sells itself.

Re: Very Appropriate (Tech)

[michele7]

Too funny! I use the #adulting with my adult children whenever they complain about some tedious part of being a grown adult. Thanks for the suggestion!

Re: Very Appropriate (Tech)

[(Anonymous)]

You got that part right! Some of our adultlings are still adulting but they are getting better.