Finding My Inner Frugal

I distinctly remember my Mom's coupon holders.  They were always in her purse and they embarrassed me to no end when I was young.  My parents have never been what you would call cheap.  My Mom is probably Bloomingdale's biggest customer and in the 80's she practically lived in Lord & Taylor.  She has an entire closet (as well as our closets after my sister and I moved out) devoted solely to shoes and her Burberry collection.  She has more Tory shoes than Tory Burch herself I think.  When it came to grocery shopping though, my Mom was never one to pass up a bargain.  She used coupons during every trip and for some reason it irritated me as a kid.  I'm not sure if it was the waiting around while she leafed through her coupon files or the fear that someone from school would see the coupon stack and think we couldn't pay full price. 

As an adult, with my own income, I had learned to shop from the best-my Mom.  I even went so far as to work in Bloomingdale's 59 street more for the discount than anything else.  As much as I loved a sale at Nordstrom's, I still didn't bother to be frugal with most things.  My Tory collection had even begun to rival my Mom's and then it happened...I HAD TO RESIGN!  When I gave up my teaching position and started staying home, I also gave up my financial freedom.  I no longer had "my own" money.  I now had to justify my shopping to my husband who didn't think that the newest Vera Bradley pattern was a big enough reason to run to the mall. 

Enter my inner frugal...

It started as a coupon here and there.  I figured if I could show Murph that I was trying to save here and there it would put his mind at ease about only one income.  I loved it!  Looking at the grocery bill after a big grocery trip and seeing the total saved was exhilarating.  And I understood my Mom a it more.  I did run into problems though-I was a devoted organic shopper.  This made coupons tricky, there aren't many for organics, but I did manage to find some and sign up for sites that emailed me weekly. 

The frugal in me began to take over.  Before I knew it, I was saving everywhere.  I even bought 3 coupon files.  I did have to give up certain organics.  I still follow my dirty dozen list and buy those produce items as organic and our dairy is all organic, but I had to give up others.  I also began to make things and in finding my inner frugal ended up discovering that I was pretty good at it.  I started sewing, cooking from scratch (later this week I will be praising Nigella Lawson's pancake mix-we live on it)  and even making my own laundry detergent.  After reading everywhere about getting back to basics, I decided to try it myself.   And you know what, I love it!  My laundry detergent worked and when I had my helper stirring the mixture it became not only a money saver but a Mommy-Stina project.  Easy to make and best of all, super cheap!

1 1/2 bars Fels Naptha (grated)
2 cups Borax
2 cups Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (NOT BAKING SODA)
1 gallon water

Boil the grated soap with the water in a really big pot.  Stir the mixture until the soap melts.  Add the Borax and washing soda and stir to mix.  Once the mix starts to boil, add about 1 1/2 gallons more hot (tap hot) water and stir.  Let the mixture cool to room temperature.  Pour this into a 5 gallon pail, add another 1 1/2 gallons of hot water and leave overnight.  Next morning- stir it (or have Stina stir it for you).  I then put it into jugs (old juice containers and an old detergent container).  I used 2 parts detergent to 1 part water.  I adjusted it to this ratio this time around-I felt my last batch was too thin.  It doesn't smell as good as the tropical fresh ones, but I am pretty sure our clothes are clean.  There are no flies following us around and my kids don't have dust clouds like Pig Pen around them, so I guess it is good.  Best of all, it cost me around $8 and lasts 6 months. 

So my inner frugal wins again.  And I even have some money leftover, maybe a shopping trip downtown with my Mom is calling!  Thank you Mom for teaching me how to enjoy beautiful clothes, a good deal, shop frugally and still cook amazing dishes-using all my coupons for the ingredients :-).