First Day of Spring

This is what came the first day of spring, covering the pink blossoms on the trees.

The blue spruce looks great with a bit of white powder, and there are some willows bending over with the weight of the snow.

These are holly trees and a large old maple.

Here is a simple creative way of potting a flowering plant. I've taken some primroses from my garden and put them in these waterproof containers to make colorful favors for ladies Bible classes, or other occasions. If you have no cards you want to part with, use new ones that you buy in packages of 8 or 12 from dollar stores and craft stores.

The containers are any plastic boxes similar to the ones that contain unsweetened baking cocoa. There are quite a few grocery items pack in waterproof containers, as you might notice from looking in your pantry.

Remove the lable and trace the container on to the blank side of scrapbook paper, wrapping paper or a greeting card.

Deckle edged scissors can be used to trim the card to fit, and you can fill in the back with other scraps of cards or paper. Cards or paper sticks well with white glue or tacky glue. I prefer Elmer's white glue. (Dollar store white glue seems to be too wet for craft projects.) Paint white glue  or decoupage glue on the outside with a sponge brush to make the card or paper more durable. 

 Put a few rocks in the container for drainage, and add  a plant from your garden or purchased from a garden center. If you like, you can add a ribbon around the box, and set it on the lid. This makes a good accent piece for a small side table, a desk, your mantel or kitchen sill.

Here is another one done with a left over piece

of pre-pasted wall-border. Just dip it in water and it will

stick.

I will be giving this one away.

Not home made, but just as enjoyable, are these little water pitchers found at Dollar Tree for one dollar. They  come in light blue, green, yellow and coral.  

Put outdoor plants in them for front porch gifts, or a dining table centerpiece.

Here is another frugal idea. For many years I had spare "lefties" from my pair of rubber gloves, as the "rightie" always got a hole in it. I considered advertising for spare "rights" from left-handed dish washers, but finally got this idea. So far, it is working.  I buy two pairs of rubber gloves, one larger than the other. I put the lower quality, cheaper glove (yellow) inside the larger glove (purple or pink Playtex brand).  So far, it has been a month, and no holes. Not only that, but there is no feeling of heat through these gloves and I can use really hot water. I do have a dish washer, but end up washing many different kinds of dishes, such as tea cups, pots and pans with handles that are not dishwasher safe, or different kinds of bakeware.  I hope to update this with a report of the first leak in these gloves.  I enjoy not running to the store to get a new pair of gloves.

Making A Home Anywhere: Lessons for Young Ladies

The Homecoming by Jennie Brownscombe, American 1850-1936  Click on the picture for a larger view.

Art by Susan Rios
(This artist's  “favorite things” are wicker chairs,  pretty tablecloths, lace, vintage china and teapots, and bird
and butterfly objects.)

I have been lately stressing to young ladies who live at home with their parents how important it is to learn every aspect of home life, so that they can one day easily settle in to their own homes and confidently make a home for their families. 

Sometimes young girls do not realize that their parents may have begun their first home with nothing, or very little in the way of material things. They may need to learn how to make a home anywhere, and make home living important. Even if they expect to be well-off,  they should at least be prepared to live in reduced circumstances if they have to. I think it is important to prepare for a hard life, rather than an easy one, and to know how to be resourceful (finding resources from other things) and make many things from basic ingredients, and how to substitute when they do not have everything they want. 

Her Retreat by Susan Rios

 (I like how these artists put paintings inside their own paintings.)

Southern Hospitality

Liang, Kevin

When I was very young, my family, and others like us in those circumstances during homestead days, lived in tents while our houses were being built. In spite of that, our mothers rolled up the bedding each day (which we then used as seating), swept the floor, shook out all the towels and clothes and hung them on hooks, cooked meals, washed dishes, washed clothes, and in general made life happy and pleasant. While not everyone will have to do this in their lives, they should prepare for it in case they have to do it.  Not everyone will begin with a big, furnished house. Quite a lot of good information can be gleaned from homestead sites on the web, and of course, it depends upon the teachers and the kinds of things they wish to provide for their classes. Every homemaking class is different and people do things their own way, depending on their climate and their needs.



Some commenter's spoke of making a home in the most humble circumstances, and I have enjoyed looking at the little trailer that was fixed up here, http://rosevinecottagetwo.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-camper.html  as well as visiting her links which show creative ideas for fixing up old things, as well as using fabrics and natural resources to make the family feel rich while living within their incomes. Another camper can be seen here, which is called a Cottage on Wheels.

Household Necessities Do Not Mean Expense

There is absolutely no need to worry that staying home will make you poorer.  Most homemakers have beautiful homes with nice furniture. They serve delicious teas for their friends and families.  Without going out to work in a 9-5 job, they live very well and prosper.  One reason for this is that they learn to find what they want at a cheaper price, or free. 

 Everything in the photograph, above, can be obtained without spending money, as per the strategies in the previous post.  The rumour that you will be poor and unable to dress in nice clothes if you stay home, is spread so that you will be intimidated and frightened.  It simply is not true. 

 Some homemakers do not like modern clothes and others really dont care to heap up impressive posessions or drive new cars, so if they appear poorer, we cannot know for sure that they are. Some people have different ideas of what is important. Some women love antiques and prefer to find cost-free items for their homes in other ways.

Dining Room from Direct Buy

There are some people who will start out their housekeeping with nothing. By carefully guarding their income and by looking for ways to furnish the house without spending money, they accumulate quite a house full in just a few years. Other people may have higher incomes and can afford brand new things, and if they can, there is no harm in doing so. If they choose high quality things and teach their children to be careful with family posessions, they will not have to replace it often, and will be that further ahead. However, for those who wont be able to start out with new, expensive things, there are still plenty of  creative ways to have a nice home .

One way to overcome the lack of things is to see things in a different light. One woman was facing the cost of replacing a worn out vacuume cleaner. She began to sweep her floors and in doing so, found many missing items: puzzle and game pieces, and items dropped that were too small to find.  Sweep, and ye shall find. 

Another woman did not have enough of one kind of dinnerware to serve company on matching plates, so she interspersed an old set with a new. On the table, every other plate was from a matched set, and by adding flowers from her garden with coordinating colors of both sets of plates, she tied it all together.

Still others learn to re-cover chair pads and cushions, with old sheets, in matching colors. Women have for centuries, known how to dye things  to make coordinating table cloths, curtains, and rugs for their homes.  Such things as this are often the next popular item with designers, as they look for more creative things to present.  

Visitors to the homes of homemakers sometimes get the first impression that their husbands must make a lot of money and they must be very rich.  When one homemaker was asked if her husband made a lot of money, she said "No, but I know how to make it stretch."  She took her friend on a tour around her house, pointing out different things she had got for free, found at yard sales, or were greatly discounted.  To this day, her home looks like a million dollars, and her family uses it and lives in it. She shares it and when something wears out, it does not worry her, for she knows there are ways of replacing it without spending money.

Clothing is another issue that many people bring up, when it comes to staying home. I really believe you feel better, as a homemaker, if you'll not hang around in casual clothes, like pyjamas or sweats. There are so many alternatives to this, and if someone comes to the door, you will feel confident and well dressed.  The frugal homemakers have a system with clothing:  Save the really good clothes for church and formal wear, and as they get more worn, use them at home.  Some people do not sew, but are really good at finding nice things. Even the high-end stores have good sales, and when they do, they are better than the big-box stores or Goodwill.  A sweater at Goodwill can be six or seven dollars. At JC Penny with a coupon, you can get a similar item for five dollars.  These can all be worn at home. If you want to really do  good job at home, feel good about your work, and make others have a bit more respect, it is important to dress well. The home maker with the nice house had many famous brands in her home, and wore clothing with high-end labels However, it was not  expensive. The important thing is to look for what is useful in your home.

Happiness and The Domestic Scene

Together Tonight, by Dennis Patrick Lewan

Home is a place we should be drawn to; a place that we would not want to leave. There have been times when my house looked as though someone had taken every posession I had, from books to clothing to kitchen items to papers and home decorating accessories and thrown it all in a huge pile, taken a giant spoon, and stirred it up like a tossed salad. I learned ways of dealing with this that helped me keep my composure and inspired me at the same time. Because our homes are used and lived-in, there will always be times like this. No real home stays in perfect order.

If the tossed salad description defines your house, you might enjoy having a few tips that will alleviate the stress and help you have a pretty home.

Grace Cottage by Susan Rios

Your first thought may be to get some kind of professional help, but maid service is expensive. If you will do it yourself, the money can be used for some needed or luxury item for your home. When cleaning the bathroom, you might notice it is really time to get some new towels or soap. Take advantage of this hard work and reward yourself with something nice for the room, even if it is a pleasantly scented bar of hand made soap.

Go to Sleep Early

It is easier to look forward to a difficult task, if you are well rested. It is more difficult if you just can't get going because of a groggy, sleepy feeling. The next morning, get ready to put a plan in action by doing the following:

Get bathed and dressed, fix your face and hair, add a light scent and put on nice shoes.

This action gives you a feeling of being prepared and put-together. If someone comes to the door, even if your house is a wreck, at least you look like you are in control. If you have to go to a store or meet your husband somewhere, you will be ready. No one in the public will have a clue that your house is a mess. When you are dressed up, you look like you came from a beautiful home. Make sure your clothes are ironed if necessary, and that you don't look like you "had your clothes thrown on with a pitchfork."

Enlist the Help of the Children

Children should, from a very young age. Most children start trying to help, and even asking "can I help?" as young as 18 months. It makes it a little slower, but it is certainly worth it for mothers to at least let them think they are helping. Later on when there is a big burden of a disorderly home, these children's help can really make a difference. Some two year olds are very smart, and can take some item and put it in a particular room for you. They love to fold towels and washcloths at 3 and 4. Five-year-olds love to vacuum. Two year-olds can actually put their own clothes away. It takes time to teach them but that little bit of extra help, makes a big difference. Young children like to stand on a chair near the kitchen sink and help dry dishes. Older children and those in the teen years, are capable of cleaning and arranging an entire room themselves.

Clean the living room or front room, or room nearest the front door, first.

You may find that this is the best thing you will do. It is the place people will see first, and it is the place you will return to just to look at, when the rest of the rooms are still disrupted.

This is the room that will greet anyone that comes to the door. If you rarely have company, then just think of the scene that will greet your husband, when he comes home from work, and try to make it cheerful.

To clean this room, put everything in piles:

books

papers and any related items like pencils and pens

magazines

cloth items: clothing, blankets, towels

toys

accessories that do not belong

This is where your children will be the most help. They can take the piles to designated places, to be dealt with later. Send the books to be set near a bookshelf, the clothes to the laundry or to various bedrooms, but do not worry about putting them away. Just worry about the room you are working on.

Make sure the floor is bare and the furniture is bare, with the exception of decorative accessories such as pillows or rugs.

Vacuume this room.

Wipe dust off surfaces of tables and shelves.

Reward yourself.

There are two things you can do. Put something interesting in the room by either making a display on a shelf or corner, or hanging a picture, or lighting a candle. I use the battery operated tea lights. Put on some soothing music and get your nice tea set out and make some of your favorite tea and put it on a tray.

Do the rest of the rooms and spaces, in order of importance, this same way.

When you have done the labor of the room, give yourself a reward by doing something to the room that is appropriate: the kitchen can have something you like to smell, in the oven, such as a favorite muffin or soup. A laundry room, a bedroom, a dining room, can all have something in them that give the family pleasure and a feeling of home.

Take time out between long jobs to refresh yourself.

Checking your hair and brushing your teeth or grooming yourself in some manner, seems to give a little more significance to the jobs at hand.

Invite someone over, even if it is your sister or mother, and make it a week ahead. This is often a very motivating way to get your house clean. Serve tea and scones. If you do not like tea, but still want to use a tea set, I have a nice tea recipe:

Heat water in a kettle to a rolling boil. Put a few strawberries, blueberries, or any kind of fruit, into a sauce pan and mash it up. Add the boiling water and let it set a few minutes. Strain it through a strainer into your tea pot. When you serve this, the color will be beautiful and the scent will be soothing. Honey tastes great in this, but milk and cream will curdle. Another kind of tea you can make is with your favorite spices in your cabinet: put a fourth teaspoon of ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, etc. together in a tea pot and add boiling water. Just choose the flavors you like best, including things like vanilla. This type of tea tastes well with milk or cream or just plain.

Even when you have moved on to another room, you need to go back to rooms already cleaned, and check them.

When the children see you picking up any little thing: paper, a stray shoe, books, etc., they will eventually develop the same habits. After a room is done, if you are in the room, be alert to the clutter-crime and get after it immediately. I have explained before about a friend I know that, even while sitting in a chair and relaxing, will look around the room and reach over to a side table to straighten something or remove something. Once it becomes a habit, it will not be necessary to have a regular cleaning day.

Keep your mood on the upside.
Even if you feel aggravated about the whole thing, force yourself to disguise this, and make a happy atmosphere for everyone. If you really believe women should be home, then show yourself, your family and the world, the beautiful results of it.

I have discovered how powerful it is just to dress up and get the front room clean. It somehow gives me a starting place, and a place of reference for doing the rest of the house when things look like they got stirred up with a great big spoon.

Scrap Flags

This is a banner flag from Victorian Trading Co.

Gardeners just love the little garden flags that fly about on wrought iron flagpoles. I have had some for several years that were so faded and shredded, and sought to replace them. However, there were none available locally, and I could not find the special kind of fabric to make them with. The above flag was a frugal way of replacing the old banner, by using a scrap of fabric. It is a butterfly print that was glittery, made by tracing around the old flag and adding hem allowance and the fold over pocket for inserting on the hanger. Even if you don't sew, you could use something like fabri-tack, a fabric glue, to make one of these.

I dug into my fabric scraps and found enough to make my own flags. Click on for a larger view. The nylon flag material looks the same from both sides, and the cotton calico fabrics will only have one side that is worth viewing, but against the side of the house, it looks okay. Click on for a larger view.

Since the store-bought banners eventually fade out and wear out, it doesn't really matter that these cotton ones will probably only last a couple of seasons. The butterfly fabric is actually quite high quality and stiff. I put a bit of starch on the patchwork print fabric. I can imagine what an enjoyable time the crafters and quilters and scrap-artists could have in making these little flags. They could add ribbons and buttons and laces and all kinds of things.

The First Year At Home

The Rose Room, by Susan Rios, from Susan Rios Inc. and Pierside Galleries

There are several young ladies preparing for their first year of marriage. In all the advice they get, the people that encourage them to spend that first year out working, are the most vocal. I wanted to write something to show the wisdom of staying home, as did the women before us, who took the time to really invest in their marriage and establish a great spiritual foundation for the home, in the first year.

Here, we have an opportunity to show the importance of staying home that first year and getting used to a routine. I hope many people will post about this subject! Several young ladies say they want to be home the first year but they "feel guilty" because their husbands have to work everyday, while they, the wives, "are not contributing." It grieves me to hear this, because it is a quote straight from the mouth of Karl Marx, author of the Communist Manifesto. He claimed women at home were "not contributing," and did much harm to the home. You all know what a lazy bum he was, refusing to look after his own wife and children. They lived in squalor in London while he wrote long thesis about how the world ought to be run. His ideas were rebellious and unBiblical, yet they are ingrained in the minds of most young women today.

The words of the Bible, addressed to young women, are quite the opposite of those of Marx. The Holy Spirit said that women contribute the most by being helpmeets to their husbands, and it shows them how to do that by guiding and guarding the home. This was well-understood by generations before us. The apostle Paul warned Christians not to believe myths and old wives tales, yet there is a huge population of young ladies who believe in this myth. They actually think that in order to "contribute" they have to bring in money.

Money seems to be foremost on everyone's mind, but what about love? Sadly, the young connect the word "money" with "love," but money cannot keep a marriage together, make you a good cook or a good housekeeper, or hand down good values to your children. These are things that must be learned, whether or not you have money. In fact, getting out and earning money that first year might handicap you and prevent you from acquiring the skills you will need the rest of your life, in your marriage.

As Jesus said to Martha, "You are worried about many things," that is one of the main problems that exist in homes today. Young women are taught to worry from an early age. They worry about money. They worry about how they will survive. They worry about education. They worry about careers. They worry about poverty.

I listen often to young women in their conversations in Ladies Bible Classes, at tea parties, in church, and other places and one thing stands out supreme: they don't seem to be worrying about their spiritual condition or the spiritual condition of their children. They don't worry about whether or not their husbands are happy. They don't worry about their children's character development. They don't worry about whether or not they will be able to keep up with the housework and maintain the home. They don't worry about whether or not they will be able to have proper nutrition at home. They don't worry about their husband's health. They do not reveal any of this in their intimate conversations with other women, so if they are concerned about these things, it is a big, big secret.

I sat and listened, a few years ago, to a young married woman who said that her children were going to join clubs that would teach them to race cars, drive speed boats, and many other things. The child's soul was never mentioned. I've heard many women talk about all the "things" they want in their houses but rarely talk about the spiritual journey they hope to have, with their husbands and future family. Whereas years ago women would say, "I hope my son knows and follows the word of God," today the young women are saying, "I hope my son makes lots of money." I realize not everyone is like this, but this represents what I've been hearing in my corner of the world.

In keeping with my attempt to have shorter articles, I will now proceed with the things that can be done in the first year of marriage at home.

These future brides wonder what they will do all day at home, while their husbands are at work. I used to sympathise with this question, while I was raising my family, but when they all grew up and I was left with just my husband in the house, I was ASTONISHED at how much time it actually took to look after one man again! You have to keep his clothes ready for work, remind him of his schedule, check his mail, show him the bills that need to be paid, keep track of some of his paper work, remind him of upcoming events, and keep him from losing his mind. I know a couple in retirement, where the wife is always always busy.She quilts and she gardens and she fills up her days at home, even though there is just one man to take care of.

So you cannot say that I was married so long ago that I cannot remember what it was like as a newlywed at home. When children are grown, it is like being a newlywed again, and here are some things that have to be done, that take the entire day:

-If your husband is health conscious, you have to "get your food from afar" as did the Proverbs 31 woman, by seeking the best natural sources in the form of local farms and organic markets. This takes a lot of scrutiny and time.

-You will have to plan some menus so he won't get tired of having potatoes every night.

-You will have to pack his lunches. This in itself is a learned skill, that can be acquired that first year of marriage. You may need your mother's expert help for the first few days. Seasoned married women know how to make a packed lunch beautiful, nutritious, interesting, and sentimental.

-You will have to begin early in the day while he is gone, to get the evening meal ready. When he comes home, you need to have the major labor of it out of the way so you can relax with a cup of tea or a cool drink and visit with him. You need to have the table set. You need to have dinner on a back burner, warming. You need to have taken a shower and dressed in fresh clothing. You might not do this years later when you have children and live in a bigger house, but the first year of marriage is your honeymoon, and you will have more time to pay attention to yourself.

-You will need to have his clothes washed, pressed, mended, and ready for him to wear the next day. When he gets ready for work, you don't want him running around desperately looking for matching socks and shoes or trying to find his watch, his cellphone, his keys.

-In the morning you can make him a hot breakfast. When he leaves, you can clean up the kitchen and get out a project to do: maybe a new tablecloth and placemats, or framing a picture. You might need to go to a thrift store and find some things you need. While you are out, you can check on your mother and your new mother in law. Maybe you could take them a batch of cookies that you have baked. You have time to teach a younger girl something like sewing or crafting.

-The first year at home is a good time to send out thank you notes for the wedding and shower gifts. Many young married women neglect this.

-The first year at home is a great time to fix up your living quarters. It will give you the experience that you will need when you move to something else. I remember reading in an old magazine written in the 1800's called "The Dileanator" about a newly married girl, who had very little in the way of material possessions. From scraps of fabrics, she sewed together a table cloth, some napkins, curtains, and made coverings for the tops of boxes which she used as end tables and coffee tables. She did this by cutting the fabrics in strips and alternating them so that they matched. Smaller pieces were made into doilies by cutting them in circles (traced with a dinner plate) and stitching a border of lace around them. Her home, this article said, was the coziest of homes, and if I can find the article I will reprint it in full for you here.

In doing this, the young married woman shows an example to other young women just how it can be done. Learn to live on your husband's income that first year, and you will be well on your way to prosperity in the future. If you start out working, it will be almost impossible to quit, as your expenses will go up, and you will want to reward yourself by buying things, with your money.

In the story "When Queens Ride By," one of the theme articles on the side links, a woman tells her story about how her husband wanted her to go to work with him in his business when they first got married. She explained to him that a woman's place was in the home, and later he found out what an advantage it was to him to have one person to come home to who was calm, had a good day, and made life comfy for him. If he had a bad day at work, at least there was only one of them in a grumpy mood. This story was made into a movie on "The Loretta Young Show". It was one of the episodes, and I saw it myself when I was younger. It showed the difference it made when a woman cleaned up her house, took a bath and put on fresh clothing and put a hot dinner in the oven. It showed the difference it made in the men, who, instead of coming home to chaos, neglect and tension, came home to peace, beauty, order, happiness, smiles, cleanliness and good children. A woman cannot achieve all this without staying home and really concentrating on it during the day.

-The first year of marriage is a time to establish a routine. You will need this all of your life, and having that first year free, is crucial. If you wait, and do not come home until you have children, you'll feel huge pressures upon you. Learn to adjust to a homemaking routine when there is just you and your husband, and it will be much easier when additions come into the family.

I know there is so much more to this subject, but I've already gone beyond my self-imposed one page limit, so I'll let the others add their useful comments to this.

When a woman goes to work, she cuts herself off socially, from the home, the church, her parents. I have seen this many times, as a preacher's wife. Christian women know the importance of such spiritual qualities as accessibility, availability, and flexibility. Working away from home that first year cuts off your flexibilty and your accessibility. I remember when we were able to visit aunts and uncles and the aunts were home, so we visited with them until the husbands came home. Years later when so many women went to work, you couldn't make a trip to visit a relative because the women were not home anymore. You had to wait til they both got home, and when they did, they were in no mood to entertain. Homeakers are flexible with their time. Although we must get our houses in order, we know we can drop it all at a moment's notice and attend to something else when it comes up.

If you are bored, as a young married woman at home, then you are not discovering the work that must be done. You are not doing enough. Boredom does not exist in the mind of a thrifty, industrious, creative

And that ye study to be quiet....

...and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing." Ist Thessalonians 4:11-12

My mantel for June...the one place that no one lives in or touches or parks their wallets, eyeglasses, mail or keys! This is the new poster from Lovely Whatevers

More June Mantels and June House Tours:

http://www.enchantedtreasures.com/mantel-of-the-month/?month=6&year=2008

http://theoldpaintedcottage.wahmweb.com/store/WsPages.asp?ID=3

http://www.shabbysuite.com/articles.php?article=8




The verse I posted today reminds me that working with my own hands can prevent "want" or poverty. Money seems to go out as quickly as it comes in. Living on your income may require some imagination and some inspiration and some innovation. Resourcefulness is a great blessing. It means that we can make many things that we might have thought we could only buy. I've been to see a sight about the pioneer spirit, that shows how to make everything from your own potato chips to your own catsup (ketchup, tomato sauce) condiments, and cereal. There are a lot of things we do not have to buy, if we are trying to save money. If we buy everything, and make nothing, it is hard to keep up with the grocery bill. Even with a large income, the grocery bill comes in next highest to the rent or house payment. I am not saying women should feel obligated to do this, but that in a pinch, there are alternatives.

Studying is referred to in several places in the Bible, and it is always in reference to studying that which is good, lovely, pure, and builds the inner man.

The Plain House - The Entrance

"Impressions" by Susan Rios from Susan Rios, Inc. and Pierside Galleries

How does one create the impression of an entrance, in house with no foyer, no hall or entry way? In older homes, there always was a place to hang a coat and put an umbrella and place your keys and pocket book. I suggest putting a table by the front door for this purpose, and getting what is called a "coat tree" which usually includes an umbrella stand. A little desk or high table by the front door provides the feeling of an entrance area. I have seen short book shelves used to divide the area from the living room, making you feel as though there is a hall there.

Regarding bookshelves and small children: we have large pieces of furniture that might tip, hooked to the walls with the metal hooks and eyes from the hardware store. Children sometimes are tempted to climb on a book shelf. Put all the heavy books in the lowest shelf to anchor it, and the lighter ones at top, and it is less likely to tip. You can wedge a piece of wood on the front of the lowest shelf and make it lean back against the wall slightly, for safety. The ideal bookshelf is what is called the poet's shelf. It looks like a staircase, with the widest shelf on the lowest part.

There are many things of interest to place on an entrance table. On my own entry table area I have a little stand that holds out-going mail, as it is close to the door. A vase of wonderfully scented flowers is a great idea because when the door opens, it sends a breeze with that scent througout the house. Another nice touch is a guest book, which you can make, yourself.

Sackcloth and Ashes

It is often easy to jump to conclusions before searching out a matter. One such case concerns my frugality series. Sometimes people do not understand why people of the past, enduring hardship, did not play it up or parade it, flaunt it, claiming they were not "ashamed."

Sometimes people think that because we do not announce a failure or a hardship, we are somehow ashamed of it, but that is not the case. Playing down a low-income or a loss of income, is not the same as being ashamed. For example, we are not ashamed of our bodies but we cover them and dress modestly to protect them and to give us privacy. It is not every one's business. We may have one messy room in our house that we close off to visitors, in order to hide our privacy and protect them from something that may depress them.

Having not experienced an era of hard times and observed the people and their behavior, for example, during the Depression, it is easy to misunderstood their beliefs. For example, they would dress up. They would not beg. They would not reveal their economic status to just anyone. It is difficult, in a day an age where everything is reveal all and tell-all, loudly broadcast on television talk-shows, to understand that personal privacy that people in hard times protected.

Keeping frugal times to themselves was also for the benefit of other people. They didn't want to concern other people with their problems, and cause distress to others. They also didn't want to appear to be begging. I have known ladies who concerned themselves with other people's problems so much that they literally made themselves ill over them. When someone told them some problem, they tried to solve it, rushing around gathering up things to help, even going to employment agencies to find jobs for people. They worried themselves sick, and so people have learned to say "We are doing fine," when such people ask how they are doing. If you tell them too much, they will stay awake at night, worrying and generally distress themselves until they are upset. That is not the way most people react, but it is generally good not to add burdens to people who tend to take it upon themselves to make things better, while neglecting their own families or their own health.

Whether or not this was once of the reasons to remain dignified during economic depression, one vital principle remains to shed further light on keeping a stiff upper lip. Jesus was critical of the hypocrites of his time, who when they fasted, went about with a sad countenance, disfiguring their faces, in order to give the appearance of fasting. In those days, people walked around in sackcloth and ashes, when they were in mourning, fasting, or in a state of repentance. He told his followers that they were were to fast in secret. They were to wash their faces and dress in such a way that no one would be able to tell they were fasting. They weren't supposed to announce it. Doing without material goods and money is somewhat like fasting. (Matthew 6:16:18)

If we are trying to manage our money and pay off our debts, people can be awfully curious. Eventually it becomes bore to explain (who wants to repeat their sad story over and over?) and so it is really better, and more uplifting, to look on the bright side, and talk on the bright side. This was the main purpose for the frugality posts.

Again, I would point you to the story, "When Queens Ride By," on the side bar of the theme articles. It reminds me of someone I knew, who, when the family was having a difficult time, would put on the best dinner she could. She said she was was not going to impose fear and uncertainty on her family, but confidence, in difficult times.

The Bright Side of Frugality

Cotswold Hills by Peter Adams, from allposters.com

We have been concerned about conserving our resources at home, and have had some very interesting observations.

While some things might not seem to cost much, when you consider the cost next to the family income, it is really high. For example, something that costs a dollar at the dollar store is more expensive to a family with a limited income. It is equivalent to just a few cents to someone who has a lot of money coming in. That really needs to be taken into consideration! Just because something costs a dollar, does not mean you should spend a dollar on it. Have a good look at a bottle of shampoo, for example. It will cost a dollar at your local dollar store, but at a place like Wal-Mart or even the grocery store, it can go on sale at half the price.

You can also use less of the shampoo each time you wash your hair, and make it last longer. When the container is empty, add water and get one or two more shampoos out of it. I remember sort of laughing at my own parents who used up every bit of everything, including rinsing out tomato-sauce cans and adding it to the soup, but later I found that because they did not have to go out and replace everything as quickly, they were able to save money. Later, when young people began to feel that they could not afford anything, it was these people, these men and women who had saved things like rubber bands and old pencils, instead of buying new packages of things, that had enough savings to help their children with a down payment on a house.

The bright side of seemingly silly frugality, is less tension over money. If you have a dollar, you won't be persuaded to part with it easily, and then if you get another dollar you add it to that one, and soon you have some cash for something that is lasting.

We snickered a little to see our elderly grandmas wash and hang a plastic bag on the line and wondered why she didn't just throw it away, but she didn't buy a roll of plastic bags, even if they were only a dollar. I admit you can get a bit ridiculous about cutting costs, but there will be times when you realize that it is better to scrounge around and find something that will work in place of buying something. When you buy something, even if it is a dollar, it usually costs more than a dollar to go and get it. These people are in fact, the old folks who had money in the bank to care for themselves. Now, I do wonder at the elderly men and women who get reverse mortgages and take their pensions to the gambling casinos. Their children will find it a greater burden to care for them, especially if they have ruined their health with drugs, and alcohol and a poor diet.

The bright side of buying less manufactured food and more real food, will be good health. As poor as one gets, it is never wise to buy de-valued, de-vitamized food, which is what happens to it once it gets in a box or a can. An apple is still quite inexpensive for a snack, and if you have small children, it can be divided among several of them. The key to good health is to eat food as close to its original form as possible.

You might find that Little Debbie's or Hostess apple pies are cheaper than a bag of apples, but they do not have the health benefits of the fresh apples and can in fact, reduce your health. Just because something is cheaper, does not mean it is better. One of the advantages to watching your money more carefully is that you discover the difference between something real and something artificial; the difference between natural and processed. Natural food has not been through a process. The one exception might be cheese or butter, but that is still a ancient natural process, and is not as harmful as all the cheap concoctions that pass for cheese and butter. Natural food is the apple, and the processed food is the apple confections. If you get back to real food, you can make your own desserts with the real apples, and not have all the artificial ingredients in it that are in the processed foods. Lunch meat is also processed. You can make your own lunch meat by slicing home cooked meat and fish thin enough for a sandwich. The taste is beyond comparison.

If there is one thing I would never scrimp or cut down on, it is high quality food. I would not buy the cheap bread at the store: it has very little food value and takes tons of it to satisfy you and can give you heart burn to boot, plus cravings for more. You can make your own bread quite easily, even without a bread machine, and it is such a wonderful, loving treat for the family. The bright side of this kind of frugality is that a home starts to smell like a real home and the kitchens left unused when you were away, will get a real workout. Your family will be so much healthier and won't have to worry about the diseases that people are contacting, if you have good bread. To my plain bread recipe, I add flax seed meal, wheat germ, and various herbs and spices depending on the flavors I'm trying to produce. I never used bleached flour, but have found natural flours that are light. A friend of mine bought a grinder and has another friend who grows wheat. She buys the wheat, grinds it and makes wonderful bread. The family doesn't eat as many slices when one slice is hearty enough to satisfy the appetite.

Another bright spot in frugality is the cost of transportation and telephones. People will write letters to each other which are always such a thrill. The "progressives" who put more and more taxes, interest charges, socialized this or that, on us, will find society going back to basics. Those who hate the Victorian era will find that their own policies will drive us back into that family style of life, where people made their own clothes, women stayed home and guarded the house, and men provided and protected that home. The high cost of everything will make us go back to being enterprising, and trading with one another. High costs of housing will make families pull together and become closer, and help each other out more. The great fear that some of the powers-that-be have of going back to a Victorian lifestyle, will actually be forced on us by their high interest rates and high prices. Living with our families together, longer, we will be exercising more courtesy, which will then flow outward into society. We will expect people to be true to their promises. We will be more inventive, more innovative. We will be more distinguishing between good quality and poor quality. We will focus more on what is best for preserving our marriages, our families, our property. We will not be willing to go into debt for things that deteriorate with time. We will surely want what is important in life, which costs very little.

One bright side of frugality is that people will learn to accept each other for themselves, rather than the shoes they are wearing or the sunglasses they are wearing. I saw a ridiculous show about the newest bags. The commentator said, "Up next: it is time to buy one of the fabulous new bags." She showed some high priced, ridiculously designed bags that were nothing more than squares with handles on them, which were selling at the "terrific bargain" of $150.00! Sometimes the morning shows tell women that a skirt is a "must-have" at $49.00. Are they kidding us? It has about two dollars worth of fabric in it. And will any sincere person admire you more and think more of you because of the bag you are carrying? You can put two pieces of decorating fabric (the kind used for curtains or couch covering) together, sew up the sides and make a handle, and get the same results. We sold some of these years ago when my daughter was learning to sew, and brought in a little extra income. I saw a lady in the fabric store the other day who had a beautiful patchwork square bag. Another woman asked her where she could get one. The lady gave her a business card and told her to go to her website and order one from her. She then showed her the inside of the bag and the outside, explaining what kinds of fabrics they were--some antique, some ordered from England.

I have seen women go to garage sales, yard sales, and pay $80.00 for a dresser. They think they have a bargain because the ones in the new stores are $200.00. My limit for a used piece of furniture is twenty dollars, but even at that, I feel better if I only pay five. Every price should be considered relative to YOUR income. If you are on a higher income and trying to cut down, maybe $80.00 for a dresser would be a bargain for people who are used to paying more. To a poorer person, $80.00 is equivalent to $800.00. So, be careful of bargains, and make sure you are getting a good ratio with your income.

Another bright side to frugality is the absolute beauty you can make of everything. Instead of getting a new table, you can paint your old one. Learn to use the various wood glues to stabilize loose legs and arms on chairs. The old wood is better than new wood, which is often made up of various glues and chemicals, so you are better off with your older pieces anyway.

One of the brightest sides of frugal living is that family and friends will begin attending church again, reading the Bible again, and valuing things beyond the superficial, materialistic life of the busy world around them.

More Frugal Ideas

"Room to Breathe" by Susan Rios

As a follow-up to the previous article, here are a few more frugal tips that can really help you keep your money and keep it from going out the door.

The first thing to go when you are out of money, or trying not to spend money, are non-food items. The only paper product you must have is toilet paper. You can live without paper towels or even napkins. If you can get them for such a small price that it won't affect your income, do use them, but generally when times are tough, the first thing to eliminate is all the non-food products. In most places, the large trash bags are a necessary expense, but you can be careful to fill them more adequately and not let a bag go out to the curb unless you have emptied all the trash from the house into it. When you shop, look for foods that do not have a lot of packaging.

You can get containers with lids at the dollar store, or reject store, instead of spending money on plastic wraps and plastic bags, which you only throw away. If you have to pack lunches, containers contain the food much better and give you more use for the price.

Learn to look after all your belongings. Books that have been dropped or left on the floor will have broken bindings. Develop a sense of respect for everything from your chairs to your vacuum cleaner. Don't jerk things or bang them against things. Handle everything carefully and with grace. They will last much longer and you won't have to replace them. I have decided not to replace a lot of small appliances because it frees up space in my kitchen if I stir the batter with a wooden spoon and chop food myself with a chopping board, however, if I do have an appliance, I want to treat it carefully to get the most life out of it. Do not tug at bedding or pull clothing out of the closet. Pull out drawers and open cabinets more carefully. This is just good stewardship.

As in the previous article, eliminate complaining. Only build up and create ideas for living beautifully without spending.

For the most part, do not pay for things you cannot own. There are of course, some expenses you cannot "touch," which will be necessary, but many of the things we pay for are not real. There are high costs that give you very little in return, and in fact, will enslave you for a long time, trying to work to pay for them. I remember once being with some friends, who liked to drink. They were buying cases of beer and then laughing at one of the women with us because she bought a small coffee table she had always wanted. She looked straight at them and told them the cost of her table was exactly the cost of their combined cases of beer. "Where will your drinks be in 5 years?" she asked. They soon shut up. In 5 years, she still had the little table and had repainted it several times. People offerred to buy it from her at twice the price. I don't think you could do that with beer or cigarettes.

Sometimes newspaper subscriptions are a big drain on your budget but you do not see it right away. Where are those papers at the end of a year? Would you like to have a hundred dollars in your pocket instead of 365 days of newsprint sitting on your back porch? You can't re-sell them. The same goes for a lot of magazines. Just pick the ones you like and intend to keep in your library.

To some people, living with thrift is like challenging game. They enjoy it and are enriched by it. They gain more confidence in the future because they are securing their income and preventing it from flying away with the wind.

Another thing to eliminate is all junk food. Soda pop is not necessary, and neither are chips of any kind. Once you stop buying the cans and bottles of fizzy pop, you will have have more time, because you won't have to take those extra steps to recycle the containers. You will be in better health without the junk food, anyway.

You can get frames, trays, baskets, planters, and all kinds of hard-goods at your used stores, junk stores, Goodwills, etc. and paint them with ordinary craft paint. Make matching sets for your house and you will feel you are living rich. As long as things are clean and smell fresh, you do not need to appear to be in reduced circumstances. Read "The Wife" by Washington Irving, for inspiration, on the sidebar under "Theme Articles." The wife in this story, from the 1800's, is someone who found herself losing the lavish lifestyle she and her husband were accustomed to. Instead of finding her unresponsive and sullen, when the husband got home from work, she was happily making a cozy nest out of the run-down place they had removed to.

When things do get better, you'll have very good habits ingrained in you, and be able to use money to really help someone and to make your own future and the future of your loved ones secure.

Living Beautifully With the New Frugality

Morning by the Sea by Susan Rios from Allposters.com

There is a beautiful side to frugality going on all around us. Women who are coming home are discovering the beautiful life by what I call "creative resourcefulness."

Our basic needs are food and clothing, and even at that, we only really need enough to sustain us, not an abundance to indulge in or feel entertained by.

Here are some things that you do not need:

- You do not need to have your hair streaked and you don't need to pay for a tanning session. Even if you have your sister, friend or mother do it from a home-kit, that product is not a necessary expense. Instead, do as we did in the old days: if you are blond, rinse your hair in lemon juice and water, and if you are brunette, try vinegar, and go out in the sun and let the sun streak it naturally. Without all this trouble, it will streak in the sun and you will get your tan, especially if you are gardening and trying to grow some vegetables for your family table.

-You don't need posts in your skin. This costs money and is a health issue. Ask any dentist or doctor. The people who make money off naive young women who do this, ought to be locked up. Look at the photographs of the women of the 19Th century, shortly after the camera was invented. Without modern makeup, tattoos and skin-piercing posts, they had a fresh bloom in their faces and sweet smiles, highlighted by bright eyes. This kind of beauty is free. While cutting down on expenses, consider learning to cut your family's hair, and learning how to trim your own. You can now get videos and books that show you how. Doing your own hair at home will save you money, and the cost of driving to and from the hair clinics many times. I am not saying that everyone must do this, but if you are seriously trying to redeem your family finances so that you can stay home, this is one expense that is not necessary. Long-haired ladies do not have to have maintenance cuts as often, and can often get a friend to trim their locks.

-You don't need fizzy drinks, or coffee by the cup, which can add up to $45.00 a week. You do not need to eat out or buy prepared food. You can make the same things at home, and enjoy it with your own choice of company and music. Home made fries taste much better. The cost of food is considerably less when you only buy raw ingredients that have to be peeled, sliced, or cooked. It costs a lot more to get any kind of prepared food, because you are paying for the extra services of peeling and chopping, putting it into containers with a label, and shipping it somewhere.

-Women at home do not need to drink,smoke, gamble, or go to parties. The amount of money spent on these things could buy things of lasting value: a new couch, a new rug, or fresh paint for the house.

-You don't need to go to the movies or an expensive vacation. You can improvise and substitute things that are free. You do not need to buy seasons tickets or any tickets to ball games and concerts. They are pleasures but not necessarily needs. There may be nothing wrong with having any of the above-listed items, but if you are cutting down on expenses so that you can secure your position as full-time homemaker, they are not necessary. The Victorian women were entertained by reading, writing, doing puppet shows for their children with socks and handmade dolls, and they knew how to make up stories. In those days it was quite common for families, even those not rich, to have a piano in their house. The young people enjoyed exchanging sheet music and playing new tunes while others gathered around and sang. Even without instruments, families learned to sing in harmony and entertain themselves. The hub of life was the home, and to be invited to someones house for the evening would be a memorable event consisting of happiness and warmth. People used to make up their own jokes and invent their own games. Every family can do this today.

The Picket Fence, by Dwayne Warwick from Allposters.

You can plan day trips that are interesting vacation locations, and still be in your own bed at night. You can learn to relax at home, even while you are working. You can provide a place in your own back yard to have quiet moments. When your home is cared for and put in order the way you really like it, you won't want to leave it for long, anyway. With all the lovely corners you create in your house, being home will become a lot like a vacation, without the cost. Consider using the cost of a vacation for home improvement: a new stove (or even a new kitchen) new sheets and bedding, and new bath towels and things for your bathroom.

-Don't get in the car to go to the store for every little thing. Save up a list and make one trip, or ask your husband to get something on the way home from work.

-You, or your children, do not need 40 shirts and 20 pair of shoes. Try to wear out all your clothes and shoes before buying more, and when you buy more, think of ways to get them without spending a lot. If you sew, you do not have to buy expensive buttons or trims. Instead, clip them off the garments you are going to discard, and use them again. The 6-inch ruffle on Lillibeth's dress, was a cotton eyelet curtain valance we had kept in a drawer with laces because we had no use for it but thought it might be useful for some stitchery item some day. She did not have to do any cutting or unpicking or altering; she just sewed it around the hemline of her dress. Our grandmothers kept jars of buttons they clipped off old shirts before using the shirts to crochet into colorful rag-rugs. Sewers can use up their stashes of fabric, and scrapbookers can use up all their papers and embellishments.

When you are finished using up available materials in the home, challenge yourself to find a substitute before buying more. When you have a new attitude toward spending, you begin to look at things a little differently: an empty jar, a box, an old piece of furniture--even if broken, can take on new life when you look at it as a valuable raw material. Originally, materials do not come in labelled packages: you can make almost anything you are interested in. Before you go out and buy something, think of how the item came to be made in the first place, and you might possibly be able to make it yourself. I'm not suggesting that you waste a lot of valuable home-keeping time trying to make something like your own leather for shoes, but there are some things you really do not need to buy that can be substituted quite easily.

Many women are really good at decorating rich. When they do not have money for lavish furnishings, they manage to take something and make it look like the expensive item they want. It is a matter of style and taste, not money, that makes a home look beautiful, as many people are finding out.

When trying to be careful of extra expenses, entertainment and social life can be more enjoyable than ever. Just because you cannot afford to give an expensive dinner, does not mean you have to live in isolation. You can still have company and share some little thing. I used to know someone who would clean her house, bake some muffins, and then call us over for a cup of tea. That is all she had, but oh, did we enjoy sitting at her table and looking at her wonderful setting. Her hand made centerpiece was nothing more than a candle with some cranberries around the edge of it on a plate, but the atmosphere was complete joy. If you do not have flowers, you can always pick something from outside, put it in a vase, and tie with a colorful ribbon. An inexpensive meal prepared carefully and arranged beautifully on the platter is very elegant and hardly distinguishable from something expensive.

To live beautifully while being frugal, you can still be a good housekeeper. I have noticed some people who claim to be poor will also have smelly, musty, dirty houses with soil everywhere and the stench of dirty laundry. Children run around in diapers that have not been changed for two days, drinking out of cups that haven't been washed in a week. There is simply no excuse for this, as most poor women are still able-bodied enough to wash a dish. I know of single mothers who have a very low income that still manage to have a very beautiful home and clean children!

Painting by Consuelo Gamboa, from Allposters. (Enjoy a vacation in your own area, using simple things like picnics and tea parties.)

It does not take money to clean a dish and put things away. It does not take money to have some pride in your existence in the home. If you have no washing machine, some things can be washed by hand, and if you have no water, you can catch rain water with a bucket. People of the past could be poor, for sure, but many of them had a pride about them that required them to be clean, to have a tidy appearance, and to keep their houses neat, and they were resourceful enough to know how to wash their clothes and bathe themselves and their children. Other people who have a sense of dignity, will so live that you can't even guess that they are enduring hard times. Cleanliness and neatness, home cooking, and upright living, will go a long way to making life at home beautiful even if you do not have money to spend.

Here are some ideas for using less, so that the products you buy last longer.

-You can probably use less detergent. Too much detergent makes it harder to rinse off the clothes, which then can make people have quite itchy skin.

-Eat fruit instead of drinking fruit juice. The fruit has a lot more properties in it that are good for you. Buying juice means you are paying someone to squeeze it and bottle it.

-Buy fresh vegetables and cut them yourself, and learn to cook them so that they taste good, instead of buying frozen. If your electricity, for any reason, gets knocked out, the frozen things will spoil anyway. Cooking with fresh ingredients is like gourmet cooking, which is what a lot of the popular television shows feature. You can do this at home and experience the satisfaction of eating something that is very good for you in an atmosphere that is better than a fine restaurant.

-Read the ingredients on packages of your favorite foods and figure out how to make them yourself. Often a flavoring is only garlic and salt. Italian season consists of oregano, basil and a few other ingredients, all which you can use yourself to make your favorite salad dressing or sauce. Just about everything you buy can be made by using basic ingredients at home.

-Get out your stack of magazines that you have saved from years gone by. Pick the current month and display them on one of the tables. Read them when you need to sit down and rest. They are very refreshing! Sometimes when I tell people that I do that with old issues of Country Woman or Romantic Homes, they "feel sorry" for me, but now, I do not do it because of poverty. I enjoy it! I see things in a different way when I have not seen them for a year. It is like taking out a box of old letters and reading them again. After all, many magazines cost as much as a book these days. Why not get them out and make use of them, even if it is for clip art for scrapbooks.

-Consider growing a garden. It does not have to be an ordeal. Just put some seeds in some soil and water them. I knew of one woman who was not in good health one year, so she just pulled up some weeds and grass, and put seeds in the loose soil and covered them up. Her children watered them, and she had a harvest. She did not have a tiller or a shovel, but she still grew some tomatoes and cucumbers. If you only have a tomato plant, your yield will be good enough to save you some money at the grocery store. During the World Wars, Americans and British had "Victory Gardens." Each family was encouraged to plant seeds and make themselves independent. They would then share what they could, with others. I think whether there is a war or not, everyone can have a victory garden, even if it is a bean plant in a pot on the front porch. Declare it victory over financial burdens and poverty, victory over helplessness, or victory over going to the store for every bite you eat, and independence from having to spend your entire income on food.

Now here are some things you do need:

-You do need to pay your monthly house rent or payment. Therefore, it will be necessary to eliminate the above "do-not-needs" in order to protect the money for that payment.

- You do need your electricity. There are many ways of cutting back on it so that rooms are not left with lights or fans on, and things are not left running all day long.

- You do need your water. If you don't spend money on unnecessary things, you assure yourself of the availability of money to pay for your household water supply. Sometimes young women who have quit work to be homemakers, do not realize the cost of water and electricity. They have worked in places where it seemed to be all paid for, and did not realize how it could be conserved. If you can look at your electric meter and watch the numbers roll by, you can understand how the things you turn on or plug in can make your energy costs rise. The more you spend on things you "want," the more likely you are to lose the things you need: light, water, rent, fuel. Keep these at the top of your list as priorities, and you will be able to find many substitutes for other things.

-Learn the many uses of age-old, basic, natural ingredients like vinegar, olive oil, hydrogen peroxide, Epsom salts (I think I read somewhere that this was good for the garden)soda bicarbonate, corn starch and many other common kitchen items. You will not have to spend on expensive medicines and cleaners.

I can tell you from living both ways--both well off and poorer, that I enjoyed the creativity of the frugal times much better. I quite liked my fringed muslin curtains, and didn't miss the expensive drapery and the accompanying complicated hardware. I enjoyed stenciling the walls and didn't miss expensive wall paper that was hard to remove and couldn't be painted over. I liked doing without a car. It gave me hours and hours of freedom to complete jobs and to cook dinner early and have it ready by evening. I was not rushed.

Using a car in the daytime is nice, but it takes a huge chunk of time and can leave a nervous, anxious feeling similar to that of rushing to work and back home. When I didn't have fabric to sew, I enjoyed looking around for unused sheets, table cloths and other fabrics in the house that I could dye, cut and sew for other things. I liked framing scenic pictures from magazines and using them for pictures in the house. A smaller house was easier to take care of an cost less to paint and decorate. It was cheaper to heat. I could hear everything around me. There were many advantages to living a more frugal life.

Being frugal does not mean your house will be unlovely. With the same fabric you make your curtains, you can make a matching tablecloth and napkins and a few runners and doilies, edged in fringe, for other pieces of furniture. You can often coordinate everything much better than if if you were looking for something in a store. Being frugal means you won't have as much clutter and junk as you would if you went to the stores more often. Your house can actually look better. Being frugal means you can make gifts and give them from the heart. It means you will be less wasteful and more mindful of the hard earned money that could be saved.

Daughters at home need to learn how to make do without spending. Even if they are going to have money to spend, there is something sad about not having the inner resources to survive if needed. They need to be able to, if necessary, do without, make things do, or create something out of practically nothing. It uses the creative skills and gives them more interest in life.

I observed girls who had grown up in families where everything was provided for them. They never had a moment's concern about money or about making things do. When these girls got married, they were bored and unhappy. They seemed to have no challenges or goals. I believe frugality is something that the Proverbs 31 woman had in mind when she "looketh well to the ways of her household." She might have been watching for unnecessary waste. Frugality is actually quite fun, for you can start laughing at the world and its insistence that you need to buy everything. It isn't' true. We can get along with merely a shelter and food and adequate clothing to cover our bodies. If we get extremely poor, we can sell our out-grown, torn, faded, threadbare clothes at a high price to famous actresses and call them "Designer Threads."