With the economy being what it is right now, we’re hearing from lots of folks who are having a harder and harder time making ends meet. Money-saving is a big deal, and every little bit helps. And since we’re all about making the most of every opportunity, time-saving is important, too. When we get to do both, it’s a bonus. I thought I would share a few of the more unusual ways that we save both time and money in our home:

• Shower every other day, and wash up on alternate days. Some people may already be in this habit, so it’s nothing new–but we were always big on showering every day. It’s a great idea, to be sure, but maybe not absolutely necessary. Of course, if you’re going in to work every day, interact with lots of people, and feel like they might know that you haven’t showered, or if you work hard physically and sweat a lot, you can ignore this one. 🙂 However, showering (or bathing) every other day saves on hot water. When you have as many as we do in our family, that can be a significant savings. Saves time, too–getting all those kids in and out of the bathtub!
• Do laundry on an as-needed basis. This is a habit of many that I know in large families. If you wash and wear something new every day, you’ll do inordinate amounts of laundry! Save money on detergent & water use, and save time by re-wearing clothes if they’re not visibly dirty or smelly (this works a little better in winter than in summer). For the record, we do change our underclothes everyday–I hope that’s a given. 🙂 Pants, shorts, etc. tend to stay cleaner for longer than shirts, so don’t wash both if only one is dirty. However, you don’t have to wear the same thing multiple days in a row–just re-fold or hang to freshen them up (maybe even squirt with water from a spray bottle & pull out the minor wrinkles), then take them out again in a few days. Again, this may not work if you are out “in public” every day, but it’s good for Mom and kids at home!
• Clean on an as-needed basis. I have to admit, it was almost shocking for me, several years ago, to read Teri Maxwell’s suggestion in Managers of their Homes about only changing sheets when they “needed” to be changed (like when they are visibly dirty, wet or smelly) instead of automatically changing them every week just because your mother always did it that way. However, this simple advice has helped me save on cleaning solutions and time, because not only do I only wash sheets “as needed,” but we generally clean “as needed” as well. Granted, we “need” to clean pretty consistently, but instead of doing a whole-floor mop, sometimes we just sweep and then spot clean with a spray bottle and cloth. Rather than vacuum the floor, if it’s not too bad, I might just carpet sweep some of the obvious “junk” or even sweep it with a broom and dustpan. And, yes, the sheet-changing thing goes without saying at this point. This tip is probably more a time-saver than a money-saver, but time certainly has a great deal of value on its own.
• Shop simple. I have to be honest, I don’ t have the time or patience to coupon shop or go to multiple stores. I find that coupons are mainly for convenience or “luxury” items that we rarely purchase, anyway. Plus, I’ve got six kids in tow and we live about 20 miles from the nearest town–so once-a-month shopping (and to a limited number of stores) is my best advice for those of you in a similar situation. We don’t have to buy eggs because we have chickens, but if there’s no reason they won’t last for the whole month. We have goats, too, so fresh dairy is a non-issue as well. Before that, though, we either used powdered milk after the fresh gallons were gone, or I froze milk for use later in the month. We stock up on “staple” fresh fruits and vegetables and try to get things that won’t spoil quickly (like apples, oranges and melons in season. We do love bananas but have to eat those more quickly or mash & freeze for banana bread.) Greens will usually last 3 weeks if they are as fresh as possible from the store and I pick through them every few days to remove any wilting leaves that will spoil the rest. Think staple foods! Shopping simply can save both time and money.
• Cut down on those convenience foods by home-cooking. If you have limited time, you can always cook and freeze in advance. Or, when you do have time, make or pre-assemble some of the components of your upcoming days’ meals and leave them in the fridge to save time during daily meal preparation. For example, make and store a big batch of rice. You can spice it up with some butter, parmesan cheese, and parsley for a side dish at dinner, then put some in your soup for lunch the next day. You can even make a rice pudding for dessert on day three! Fry up a large batch of hamburger, using some for enchiladas on evening one (just add some refried beans and salsa for the filling), and then make an “easy beef stroganoff” on evening three, filling in evening two with something non-beef for a little variety. Hopefully you get the idea with these simple examples. We try to eat healthy, but simple.

These are just a few of my ideas. Do you have any (perhaps unusual) tips to share? Please leave a comment–we love comments. 🙂 And, I decided to post a “Sample Simple menu” on our main Web site; click here to go there and check it out!