Down Mulberry Lane

Needing Income...

Has anyone got any good ideas for a sahm to bring in some income?  I don't want to be on the computer or the phone all the day, so that limits my options.  I am curious if anyone has ideas of what works for them. 

I have some supplies for making soap, although I haven't made very many batches. 

I have done Farmer's Market.  But, I can't say it was a huge money maker. 

Are there other ways to bring in money at home that are not huge investments? 

I am praying for answers.  I need to be home with the kids.  I am doing what I can to be frugal.  But it isn't enough.  I'll look forward to any thoughts you all have. 

Warmly, ~Melissa

Score Cards...

Our Yahtzee cards were out in the camper and the girls wanted to play.  We found temporary score cards at this site for several different games.  They even had one for Phase 10, which will be nice to use as well. 

Enjoy!

Warmly, ~Melissa

Frugal Idea Number TWO...

Something I did for years, but stopped because it makes garbage duty a bit more costly with time is to not use garbage bags but rather use the plastic sacks you get from shopping. I have recently begun using bags again.  I have an abundance of plastic sacks, so figured I should use them up.... it would save space from storing all those sacks that only seem to get used for snow boot liners.  (Another use for plastic store sacks). 

This works well using smaller garbage cans or what I do is put two into my 13 gallon sized garbage can and I don't have to change them quite as often.  I use one of our larger 32 gallon cans to throw all the little bags into and then dh will take that out to the garbage trailer for a later dump run once the trailer is full. 

Another thing to save money on dump runs is to put as little trash as possible.  During the winter, I burn as much paper waste in the wood burner.  If I was much better with time, I might consider recycling the cans and jars for our once a month recycle visit.  But until I manage my time better, this isn't a good option for us, as dh says if we miss a month, then we have to store all those cans and jars another month. We tried it once and my garage was full of cans and jars as we would miss it by minutes running it down to the end of the lane or miss the day altogether as we misunderstood the pickup date schedule.  Running all those jars and cans down a 1/4 mile especially on windy days makes for a mess and alot of work if they don't show up or don't pick up.  So, dh says... don't worry about it.  I guess you have to figure what creates more stress on the family... is it trying to find a home for all the recyclables and washing them all and keeping the dogs out of them... ah, for us it is just too much work.  If we had a weekly pickup, it might be more worth it as you can try again the next week and the stock pile would not grow to enormous amounts. 

Anyways, that's my trash tip for saving money. 

Warmly, ~Melissa

Frugal Idea number ONE

In the last couple days, we've been looking over our finances and decided a plan, an effort needs to be put into place to reduce our debt.  There are alot of reasons that we've decided to make an effort... but simply enough, it has me focussing on where can I cut corners.  I am posting my ideas here to show myself that we are being frugal ... you know even when it seems that those bills will never get paid off... but we are making a difference.  I thought, too, that you all might be inspired as well to hear some of the things we do to live more frugally.

Learn to cut your family's hair. 

OK, I used to think you had to be a beautician or a barber to cut hair... my mom always cut our hair growing up, so it wasn't that weird... but she is a beautician!  I was leery about stepping out and cutting my girls' hair, but I finally did it.  Starting out with simple trimming at first... just trimming the ends and practicing on a straight cut.  If you've ever gotten your hair cut at a salon, there are little things that they do that will soften a cut and make it look nicer.  With girls, you can tip the head forward and trim the uneven ends... this will allow the hair to naturally somewhat curl under on it's own.  You can do it on the sides as well.  With bangs, I noticed my girls' bangs being somewhat boxy... so I started lifting them and softly layering them... easily done if you hold out the hair at a 45 degree angle from the face and cut the ends vertically.  Now I do not make large cuts... I am cutting maybe a half inch angle ... so it lightly layers the ends.  Once I was comfortable with that... I started playing with the girls hair... My oldest once wanted hers layered and I was really nervous about doing it, but I had watched my mom do my hair for years and I finally gave in to my daughter's desire and her long hair was layered and it flowed and layed quite nicely.  I was surprised at how easy that was... but my motto with cutting hair has been... little steps.  You can't fix a mistake too easily if you make a big cut in an unfamiliar way. 

My husband also was a frequent flyer at the hair salon, getting his quick buzz every two months.  Which that was $13 a pop usually, unless his mom found a coupon, which she often shared with us... but still $6.99 or $7.99 a time can add up.  Dh saw a hair trimming set at a store and asked me if I would do his hair... Now my girls... I figure if I mess up they have enough hair to get it fixed... Him... well, he's not got much for hair so if I mess up... how are we going to fix that?  I am pretty nervous, but the kit said it came with a DVD for teaching how to use the shavers, the guards, the trimmers, etc.  So I agreed to try... he said if I didn't get the hang of it within 3 hairdo's he could go back to the salon... but the three cuts I made would pay for the hair trimming kit with the trips he didn't make to the salon... He said he could live with 3 bad haircuts.  LOL. 

Well, the first cut was a bit... um nerve wracking for me.  I've never watched anyone shave a head, except on the DVD.  Dh is telling me how simple it is... the gal at the salon takes less than 5 minutes and here it's been 30 minutes and I'm still trying to even out the ledges and get the top of his hair to lay right. It was OK for a first hair cut, but I was leery and didn't cut as much off as he would have liked.  The second time... I buzzed up too far, but he lived with it without complaining.... sweet guy.  The third time... and he was reminding me... if you can't get it... I can go back to the salon.... well, it turned out much better.  And now, last night I cut his hair again and it was quite simple... took me about 10 minutes, I think.  I figured out for his hairdo... we use the number 8 guard on top and the number 2 guard on the sides.  I trim the edges and shave his neck and he's good to go.  I got the hang of it and we're saving money.  The trimmer still looks new and should last us if we take care of it. 

So, if your family is willing, take a try at it.  At first, I didn't get those fancy scissors, I just used the craft ones in the craft aisle at Walmart.  (they were like $2 each).  The trimming kit for dh came with a cape, which is optional... I do have a washing machine!  and it also came with a nicer scissors which I now use with the girls' hair.  No need to run out and cause more expense... use what you have and if it looks like it will work... perhaps do as we did and spend the money you would use on hair cuts to purchase a nice trimmer set or scissors.  Then follow through with the investment until it is paid off... then enjoy the savings that a little time learning a new skill like trimming hair can do for your family. 

Warmly, ~Melissa