Frugal Farmhouse

Electricity is now considered a necessity. The first thing you are required to do upon moving in a new home or apartment is turn on the utilities. But does it really need to be a necessity? This is the question I have been pondering each month when I receive my electricity bill. The apartment we lived in one year ago was approx 1300 sq ft. Electric heaters, electric water heater, etc. Our power bill was $40/month. The apartment we live in now is approx 450 sq ft. Gas furnace, electric water heater. Our power bill here is $90/month. So each month I scratch my head, trying to figure out WHY? Our previous apartment was on, what we call “country power”, we are now on “city power”. The later is a few cents more per KWH, but not THAT much. We have an older (I use this word lightly, it is probably older than I am,) fridge. We replaced the oven to a “new” model, that we received on freecycle. So the only other option seems to be that we need to go without electricity a few days a week/month. E...

I have been trying to find a dry erase board to put on my fridge door for months. The little cheap ones don't have flat back so they slide off the fridge. So after some brainstorming I remembered dry erase markers work on glass the same way they do dry erase boards.. So this is what I came up with. Supplies: -picture frame ($1) -6 magnet strips (1) -fabric (on hand) -double sided tape (on hand) Open up your dollar store frame- whatever size you want. Flip it over and rip off the little holder. They come off very easy, just wiggle it back and forth. Unwrap your magnets. Break them apart. Evenly space the around the back edges of the frame. Now, take out the back of the frame and over with fabric. I used double sided tape and pulled the fabric tight on all sides. Put it all back together. And you get this little beauty... I'm really happy with how this turned out. I'm especially happy it only took about 10 minutes :) I'm linking to:

I have wanted to try these for a long time, but to be honest I was terrified. Not sure why, but its gotten to the point where we just can't afford a $2 package of tortillas. This is my second try at making them. They get easier each time, and better tasting according to DBF. I got my recipe over on Emily's blog . And while keeping to my #2 New years resolution this recipe cost me $.20 for 8 tortillas. Store boughten is $2 for twelve. So that is a $1.04 savings. Not a lot but it is worth it to me. These tast so much better and I know what is in them! Frugal Farmhouse

Before our recycling company crushes all the cars to be shipped out to be recycled, they let you salvage the parts off those cars that you need. You take the parts off the vehicle and pay by the pound per item. DBF found this out yesterday and saved us $123.14. He is putting together an old GMC truck and he needed filler neck for a gas tank and all his headlight bulbs. Instead of paying the $124.76 that we had price shopped last week for he found this frugal alternative. For everything it only cost $1.62! I’m so proud of his frugal find. You might check in your area to see if this is something your recycling company does. Frugal Farmhouse

I spend a good amount of my day browsing blogs, reading posts, and getting to know what other bloggers are chatting about. That being said, I rarely find a blog that catches my attention for more than one or two post but recently I came across this wonderful blog, It is about a family of 4 that live in Maine. Emily, the mom, stays home with her two small children, while her husband works and goes to school, which is such a common thing for people our age. She discusses their life, trials, triumphs and the way they live. I spent 4 hours reading her entire blog. It quickly became my favorite of all the blogs I have ever found. I noticed a lot of controversy in her comment section. Honestly, I didn’t pay much attention to it. A few days later I googled the title of her blog because I forgot to bookmark it, as I read through the google search I found some painful sites. Sites completely dedicated to trashing on Emily and her family. With some further clicking through sites I am completely ...