The fans in the kids' rooms! Idiot. We switched those out for the noise machines we use when we travel. I figure between naps and nighttimes, that's $.26/day. I'll have to look at the actual wattage on them later, but I'm guessing a fan on high draws 100W, and the noise machines draw 2W each. Yippee!
I'm never going to make it to 100, am I?
Friday, November 26, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Hair
I'm saving my hair to make pillows.
HAH! Just kidding. There are some things I will never do for the sake of a few dollars. That's one of them.
No, I've noticed since I started showering every day that my hair just doesn't get clean enough when I wash it. It gets all gunky in back, just below the crown of my head. I have three different kinds of shampoo that I use, I use very little conditioner (maybe a pea-sized amount), and I make sure I get shampoo down into my roots all over my head. And still, with all that, there's this spot on the back of my head that is just gross unless I shampoo twice, which kind of defeats the purpose of showering every other day. More time spent in the shower, using hot water and lights, AND extra money spent on shampoo.
So I decided to try something else today. I grabbed a bit of baking soda (maybe a couple of teaspoons) and plonked it on top of my wet hair, then I rubbed it in with my shampoo. And what do you know, my hair came out beautifully clean (but not stripped and dry, like it can when I shampoo twice).
I also used the extra baking soda left on my hands to scrub my face a little bit (I'd already washed it). I don't really need to exfoliate with the oil cleansing method (I know I sound like an infomercial with my OIL CLEANSING METHOD! evangelism, but I am telling you, it's that good) and haven't in ages. But lately my face has been feeling a little papery and oily, all at the same time. Probably the dry winter air.
Wow! What a difference! My skin feels extremely soft today, and it's practically glowing. I don't know exactly what the baking soda did, but my skin looks amazing right now.
Now I just need to figure out a way to keep some baking soda in the shower without getting it all wet and clumpy and gross.
HAH! Just kidding. There are some things I will never do for the sake of a few dollars. That's one of them.
No, I've noticed since I started showering every day that my hair just doesn't get clean enough when I wash it. It gets all gunky in back, just below the crown of my head. I have three different kinds of shampoo that I use, I use very little conditioner (maybe a pea-sized amount), and I make sure I get shampoo down into my roots all over my head. And still, with all that, there's this spot on the back of my head that is just gross unless I shampoo twice, which kind of defeats the purpose of showering every other day. More time spent in the shower, using hot water and lights, AND extra money spent on shampoo.
So I decided to try something else today. I grabbed a bit of baking soda (maybe a couple of teaspoons) and plonked it on top of my wet hair, then I rubbed it in with my shampoo. And what do you know, my hair came out beautifully clean (but not stripped and dry, like it can when I shampoo twice).
I also used the extra baking soda left on my hands to scrub my face a little bit (I'd already washed it). I don't really need to exfoliate with the oil cleansing method (I know I sound like an infomercial with my OIL CLEANSING METHOD! evangelism, but I am telling you, it's that good) and haven't in ages. But lately my face has been feeling a little papery and oily, all at the same time. Probably the dry winter air.
Wow! What a difference! My skin feels extremely soft today, and it's practically glowing. I don't know exactly what the baking soda did, but my skin looks amazing right now.
Now I just need to figure out a way to keep some baking soda in the shower without getting it all wet and clumpy and gross.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Toilet
I know this is totally gross. Which is why I will only do it when it's just me at home. I'm going to flush less.
I've always though this was something only weirdo crunchy types did. So I guess I'm turning into a weirdo crunchy type. But it's hard to argue with 1.6 gallons of water per flush. That's $.38/flush each day (can that possibly be right? maybe I'm reading this wrong). And, to be honest, I do a lot of toilet-flushing that isn't... elimination-related. Things like kleenex and whatnot go down, too. So let's say I flush ten times a day now. Just halving that means $1.92/day (no, seriously; is that right?).
Update: Hah! I knew this was all wrong. It's $1.87 per one hundred cubic feet. Idiot. I guess this just means a lot more water conservation, right. I will have to think a little harder, though, and I'm a little fried at the moment.
I've always though this was something only weirdo crunchy types did. So I guess I'm turning into a weirdo crunchy type. But it's hard to argue with 1.6 gallons of water per flush. That's $.38/flush each day (can that possibly be right? maybe I'm reading this wrong). And, to be honest, I do a lot of toilet-flushing that isn't... elimination-related. Things like kleenex and whatnot go down, too. So let's say I flush ten times a day now. Just halving that means $1.92/day (no, seriously; is that right?).
Update: Hah! I knew this was all wrong. It's $1.87 per one hundred cubic feet. Idiot. I guess this just means a lot more water conservation, right. I will have to think a little harder, though, and I'm a little fried at the moment.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Cable
I have calmed down since my last entry. Cloth diapering is pretty easy now. I do have to be very careful about diaper rashes. Both kids are prone to them, and flannel does not wick moisture away from the skin. I hope we've saved enough soon to buy some fancy schmancy ones. Instead of 18-odd disposables per day, we're going through three (naps and nighttimes; the toddler uses a special overnight diaper at night, so it's not figured in). That's quite a bit of money, even after the cost of washing them.
Did you know that we've had basic cable for over a year, and I had no idea? Yes. We got it in spring of 2009. We got it so I'd have something to do while nursing the baby. I've never been able to read books while nursing, and I was out of shows to watch on Hulu.
Well, what do you know? The only thing on basic cable during the day is lousy soap operas. I hate soap operas. I can't even put it into words. It's odd to feel this strongly about TV shows, but something about them makes me so crazy I could spit. I would rather watch Dragon Tales all day. While sitting on nails. And eating spiders.
So, anyway, I thought we'd canceled it. I don't really know why. I don't remember ever saying anything to The Guy about it. Sometimes it's like I assume he downloads information direct from my head. He should just know these things, right?
(Oh heavens. If he had a direct link to my brain, he'd be completely neurotic by now.)
Well, come to find out we hadn't canceled it. We were paying $25/month for a service we didn't even use. Idiots. So we canceled that. This is a good thing because The Baby had to switch to formula a couple of months ago, and that stuff is expensive. It's like powdered gold. Even the cheap stuff. I look forward to her turning one year. We will be swimming in money once we don't have to buy formula.
Right?
I calculated all the savings (not including buying less meat and cutting the cable) since I started this blog. A conservative estimate puts us at $85. This is not a ton of money if you just look at the number. But $85 is a week's groceries. $85 is three baby or wedding gifts. $85 is formula for a month.
These small bits of money make a difference. Most of them don't even require extra work. We make more money by doing less. I like this.
Since some of these things I didn't start until halfway through the month, the monthly savings is more like $120.
If you add to that $120 the $25/month for cable and the $15/week eating less meat, our savings are up to $205/month.
The next item on my 100 Things list is more air drying. I don't much care for it. It creates more work for me, and we don't have the space for a drying rack or a clothesline. I won't even consider hanging clothes outside. In the winter, it's too cold, and in the summer there are spiders. I will never be a crazy enough tightwad to brave either of those. But it's still a quarter a day. Not much by itself, but it's one of (hopefully) one hundred.
I tumble dry only the things that really need it: pants, my husband's work shirts, towels. I would air dry the pants and towels, but they mildew long before they get dry. Instead of drying eight loads per week, I'm drying just two. I let the laundry pile up for a few days (not the cloth diapers; I wash those nightly, but I don't put them in the dryer). We'll live. We have plenty of clothes. Then I wash four loads and only toss a few items from each into the dryer. When all the washing is done, I dry the combined load in the dryer.
Yes, this means we have damp clothing draped all over the place for a day. It's more than a little annoying. But hey! It's $.24/day! Not too shabby. Add to this the extended life of our clothes, and it's probably more.
I prefer conservative estimates. The worst that will happen is we save more money than we thought we would. I like surprises.
Did you know that we've had basic cable for over a year, and I had no idea? Yes. We got it in spring of 2009. We got it so I'd have something to do while nursing the baby. I've never been able to read books while nursing, and I was out of shows to watch on Hulu.
Well, what do you know? The only thing on basic cable during the day is lousy soap operas. I hate soap operas. I can't even put it into words. It's odd to feel this strongly about TV shows, but something about them makes me so crazy I could spit. I would rather watch Dragon Tales all day. While sitting on nails. And eating spiders.
So, anyway, I thought we'd canceled it. I don't really know why. I don't remember ever saying anything to The Guy about it. Sometimes it's like I assume he downloads information direct from my head. He should just know these things, right?
(Oh heavens. If he had a direct link to my brain, he'd be completely neurotic by now.)
Well, come to find out we hadn't canceled it. We were paying $25/month for a service we didn't even use. Idiots. So we canceled that. This is a good thing because The Baby had to switch to formula a couple of months ago, and that stuff is expensive. It's like powdered gold. Even the cheap stuff. I look forward to her turning one year. We will be swimming in money once we don't have to buy formula.
Right?
I calculated all the savings (not including buying less meat and cutting the cable) since I started this blog. A conservative estimate puts us at $85. This is not a ton of money if you just look at the number. But $85 is a week's groceries. $85 is three baby or wedding gifts. $85 is formula for a month.
These small bits of money make a difference. Most of them don't even require extra work. We make more money by doing less. I like this.
Since some of these things I didn't start until halfway through the month, the monthly savings is more like $120.
If you add to that $120 the $25/month for cable and the $15/week eating less meat, our savings are up to $205/month.
The next item on my 100 Things list is more air drying. I don't much care for it. It creates more work for me, and we don't have the space for a drying rack or a clothesline. I won't even consider hanging clothes outside. In the winter, it's too cold, and in the summer there are spiders. I will never be a crazy enough tightwad to brave either of those. But it's still a quarter a day. Not much by itself, but it's one of (hopefully) one hundred.
I tumble dry only the things that really need it: pants, my husband's work shirts, towels. I would air dry the pants and towels, but they mildew long before they get dry. Instead of drying eight loads per week, I'm drying just two. I let the laundry pile up for a few days (not the cloth diapers; I wash those nightly, but I don't put them in the dryer). We'll live. We have plenty of clothes. Then I wash four loads and only toss a few items from each into the dryer. When all the washing is done, I dry the combined load in the dryer.
Yes, this means we have damp clothing draped all over the place for a day. It's more than a little annoying. But hey! It's $.24/day! Not too shabby. Add to this the extended life of our clothes, and it's probably more.
I prefer conservative estimates. The worst that will happen is we save more money than we thought we would. I like surprises.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Things I hate +UPDATE
Sorry, Gerber. That baby is real cute and all, and you have some of the most affordable baby items in existence, but I really hate you right now. These plastic pants have microscopic leg holes and are baggy everywhere else. Your cloth diapers are tiny, stupid, and non-absorbent.
I also hate me and my clumsiness. I have spent all morning trying to figure out how to properly fold and pin a diaper, and nothing is working. Also, 2.0 does not appreciate being a guinea pig, which means diaper changes just got WAY MORE FUN. I have compared her to a coked-up octopus before. The comparison still holds.
And YOU, Internet! You are no help! Tutorials, diagrams, instructions, videos, they all assume the baby will just lie there, docile and content, perfectly still. Where are they giving out babies like this? I want one! Even The Child, who is one of the most docile children I've ever known, was not that still for any diaper change ever until about the age of 18 months.
Oh, yes, I know all about Snappis. I want some. I covet them. Which brings me to the next thing I hate: Babies R Us. You are stupid and you have a stupid face. One tiny aisle dedicated to the lousiest cloth diapering supplies ever made, and all you have are pins. Given the not-so-recent trend toward cloth diapering, I think it's high time you got with the program.
And YOU. You people who say old-school cloth diapering it so EASY and SIMPLE and LA DE DA. You lie. You lie, and do you know what happens every time you lie? A baby cat dies. That's what. Think on it.
I still hate Gerber, but I'm no longer so stymied by pinning. I got some bars of soap out, stuck them in old socks, and use them for pincushions. The pins go in much easier now.
I also decided to ditch the prefolds. They make me too crazy. Instead, I'm just using flat fabric and using the origami fold. I fold them ahead of time and keep them in the drawer under the changing table. I think I will try the kite fold next. It will better contain 2.0's more enthusiastic output.
Those diaper covers, though... Tomorrow I get a vacation from kids. The Guy, may his name be praised, is kicking me out of the house for most of tomorrow and all of Saturday. I will be childfree until Sunday morning. Did you hear those angels singing? No? That's because they weren't angels. They were me. And I sometimes sing off key. I love my kids, and I want a million more, but it has been more than two years without a real break. I've had evenings out, but that's it.
Anyway, I am going to go to a real diaper store, not Babies R Us (which I also still hate), and I am going to find some Snappis and some diaper covers that are easier to work with. With the kids wearing at least two layers at all times, it really stinks (hah! pun!) to have to remove two pairs of pants just to get the diaper cover off. Meanwhile, the wet diaper is soaking into either the new diaper or the changing pad. Not a good system.
(Please note that I am not actually this angry and full of hate. This post is mostly tongue-in cheek. Normally I don't make note of such things, but this blog is still just a baby blog, and it's probably not yet obvious that I'm fond of hyperbole and dramatics.)
I also hate me and my clumsiness. I have spent all morning trying to figure out how to properly fold and pin a diaper, and nothing is working. Also, 2.0 does not appreciate being a guinea pig, which means diaper changes just got WAY MORE FUN. I have compared her to a coked-up octopus before. The comparison still holds.
And YOU, Internet! You are no help! Tutorials, diagrams, instructions, videos, they all assume the baby will just lie there, docile and content, perfectly still. Where are they giving out babies like this? I want one! Even The Child, who is one of the most docile children I've ever known, was not that still for any diaper change ever until about the age of 18 months.
Oh, yes, I know all about Snappis. I want some. I covet them. Which brings me to the next thing I hate: Babies R Us. You are stupid and you have a stupid face. One tiny aisle dedicated to the lousiest cloth diapering supplies ever made, and all you have are pins. Given the not-so-recent trend toward cloth diapering, I think it's high time you got with the program.
And YOU. You people who say old-school cloth diapering it so EASY and SIMPLE and LA DE DA. You lie. You lie, and do you know what happens every time you lie? A baby cat dies. That's what. Think on it.
I still hate Gerber, but I'm no longer so stymied by pinning. I got some bars of soap out, stuck them in old socks, and use them for pincushions. The pins go in much easier now.
I also decided to ditch the prefolds. They make me too crazy. Instead, I'm just using flat fabric and using the origami fold. I fold them ahead of time and keep them in the drawer under the changing table. I think I will try the kite fold next. It will better contain 2.0's more enthusiastic output.
Those diaper covers, though... Tomorrow I get a vacation from kids. The Guy, may his name be praised, is kicking me out of the house for most of tomorrow and all of Saturday. I will be childfree until Sunday morning. Did you hear those angels singing? No? That's because they weren't angels. They were me. And I sometimes sing off key. I love my kids, and I want a million more, but it has been more than two years without a real break. I've had evenings out, but that's it.
Anyway, I am going to go to a real diaper store, not Babies R Us (which I also still hate), and I am going to find some Snappis and some diaper covers that are easier to work with. With the kids wearing at least two layers at all times, it really stinks (hah! pun!) to have to remove two pairs of pants just to get the diaper cover off. Meanwhile, the wet diaper is soaking into either the new diaper or the changing pad. Not a good system.
(Please note that I am not actually this angry and full of hate. This post is mostly tongue-in cheek. Normally I don't make note of such things, but this blog is still just a baby blog, and it's probably not yet obvious that I'm fond of hyperbole and dramatics.)
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Cloth diapering
I've decided to take the plunge. With the baby (2.0), at least. I found a really good deal on some well-priced and easy-to-use diapers, but The Guy vetoed it. So I decided, "Well, why can't I do it the hard way for a few weeks?" We spend a minimum of $10/week diapering 2.0. Probably more. If I wash a load of diapers every day and line dry, that's about $1.40/week (less if I switch from Charlie's Soap to homemade detergent).
We already have some plastic pants. We already have a million flannel receiving blankets lying around that I can make into prefolds. All I'd have to buy are the Snappis, which are about $9/pack. We need to buy some diapers soon anyway, so why not?
The reason I'm not putting The Child into cloth right away is that her skin is ridiculously sensitive, and she goes through far fewer diapers. She also freaks out if there's anything wet touching her skin, and I don't have the emotional stamina for that if I'm also learning to deal with cloth diapers.
I've decided to start tomorrow. I'm heading into town this evening for a hair appointment (you can have my fancy haircuts when you pry them from my cold, dead hands), so I might as well make it worth more than just my vanity.
So, switching 2.0 to cloth diapers: $1.22/day.
I'm toying with the idea of making my own detergent. I love Charlie's Soap so very, very much, though. A friend gave me what looks like a good recipe for detergent. I don't know how clean-rinsing it is, though. Maybe I'll test it out on one load and see how 2.0 reacts.
We already have some plastic pants. We already have a million flannel receiving blankets lying around that I can make into prefolds. All I'd have to buy are the Snappis, which are about $9/pack. We need to buy some diapers soon anyway, so why not?
The reason I'm not putting The Child into cloth right away is that her skin is ridiculously sensitive, and she goes through far fewer diapers. She also freaks out if there's anything wet touching her skin, and I don't have the emotional stamina for that if I'm also learning to deal with cloth diapers.
I've decided to start tomorrow. I'm heading into town this evening for a hair appointment (you can have my fancy haircuts when you pry them from my cold, dead hands), so I might as well make it worth more than just my vanity.
So, switching 2.0 to cloth diapers: $1.22/day.
I'm toying with the idea of making my own detergent. I love Charlie's Soap so very, very much, though. A friend gave me what looks like a good recipe for detergent. I don't know how clean-rinsing it is, though. Maybe I'll test it out on one load and see how 2.0 reacts.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Gas mileage
I finished the lining to the kitchen curtain. My goodness, it makes a difference. This is a good thing, because it is a very ugly curtain, and its powers of insulation are the only thing keeping it there. It doesn't make much of a difference during the day with the crock pot running, but at night, there's at least five degrees difference between the kitchen and the rest of the downstairs. If I had a safe place to put the crock pot elsewhere in the downstairs, I would. It doesn't kick up as much heat as the oven, but it makes a difference. Maybe I could put it on top of our dryer.
Today I had to drive out to my husband's work for a wellness check. It's a royal pain in the butt, but it gets us a major discount on our insurance.
I decided to try a couple of hypermiling techniques on the way there and back. On the way there, I started at 19.1 mpg. By the time I arrived, it was up to 19.5, and by the time I got home it was up to 19.9. And I hardly did a thing. Mostly, I just attempted to drive a little more smoothly than usual and look ahead a little more. I get nervous about holding up people behind me, so I'll never be a true hypermiler, but it was gratifying to see that just a few small changes can make a difference ($.06/10 miles, if I'm calculating correctly, which I'm often not). What do I do?
(Am I calculating this right? That sounds really high.)
Any other safe and reasonable tips for getting great gas mileage? Avoiding headwinds and taking different routes is not possible. He has to go to work when he has to go to work, and the route he takes is the best possible. The interstate would probably give him better mpg, but he'd be driving a few miles farther.
I won't update my list unless he agrees to do this, but I think this should definitely qualify as one of my 100 Things.
Today I had to drive out to my husband's work for a wellness check. It's a royal pain in the butt, but it gets us a major discount on our insurance.
I decided to try a couple of hypermiling techniques on the way there and back. On the way there, I started at 19.1 mpg. By the time I arrived, it was up to 19.5, and by the time I got home it was up to 19.9. And I hardly did a thing. Mostly, I just attempted to drive a little more smoothly than usual and look ahead a little more. I get nervous about holding up people behind me, so I'll never be a true hypermiler, but it was gratifying to see that just a few small changes can make a difference ($.06/10 miles, if I'm calculating correctly, which I'm often not). What do I do?
- Pop the car in neutral going downhill and while decelerating; I don't do this with cars nearby, however.
- Take corners as fast as is safe.
- Instead of keeping up to speed all the way to stoplights, and then stopping, I coast toward the light from a good distance away; by the time the light turns green and the cars ahead are moving, I'm still moving at a decent clip and don't have to use the brakes or accelerate very much.
- I keep the tank less than 1/2 full. I don't know how much of a difference this makes, but I imagine it's not insignificant with a van's gas tank; half a tank weighs about 86.6 lbs. If we didn't have to keep so much stuff in the back (it's stuff we use regularly, like the double stroller, but have no place to store inside, since it clutters the house for showings), I could probably eliminate another 30 lbs.
(Am I calculating this right? That sounds really high.)
Any other safe and reasonable tips for getting great gas mileage? Avoiding headwinds and taking different routes is not possible. He has to go to work when he has to go to work, and the route he takes is the best possible. The interstate would probably give him better mpg, but he'd be driving a few miles farther.
I won't update my list unless he agrees to do this, but I think this should definitely qualify as one of my 100 Things.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)