When I tell people that we are participating in The Compact this year, I find that they mistake “not buying anything new” with “not spending money” and even equate it with a year of depravation. Both notions are completely false. And we are not trying to destroy the economy by not spending money. Instead, weRead More

I first broached the subject of joining The Compact and not buying anything new for an entire year with my family on December 26th. We were all excited for a day or two and then panic set in. On December 29th, I remembered that I was planning on redecorating the main bathroom. My husband observedRead More

When I first heard about The Compact, I was intrigued by the concept of not buying anything new for an entire year. However, I did not think that I could join on my own and did not think I could convince the rest of my family to join with me. I have since learned thatRead More

When you live in a winter wonderland it would be crazy to go on vacation elsewhere in December. Today we went spent the afternoon sledding on a hill near our house. I picked up the sleds for $1.00 each at a local thrift store a couple years back. Lots of frugal fun was had byRead More

Boxing Day is celebrated quite differently in my house than it is in the United Kingdom. December 26th is the day I inventory and organize the Christmas windfall: the boxes, ribbons, bags, and cards. I am a connoisseur of fine boxes. I was able to rescue the the prewrapped gold boxes from a slow deathRead More

We have already had several snow storms this year. I think the desert is so much prettier when covered by a layer of snow! Andrew’s first snow shoes. He is only two, but he is a natural. We finally got a snow that was wet enough to make a snowman. Rew convinced his big brother toRead More

Disney’s new campaign “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” program will provide certified volunteers with a one-day ticket to any park at Disneyland or Walt Disney World in 2010. The volunteer work must be certified through HandsOn Network, a clearinghouse for volunteer opportunities, which helps connect people with projects. You can read the entireRead More

I put fun in the title, but I am going to start off by telling you about a disaster. We lived in Virginia Beach when it was hit by hurricane Isabel. We did not suffer any damage in the storm, but rain had blown in under the door and soaked the carpet and we wereRead More

I challenged my daughter and her friend to see how much they could buy with $20.00 at our local thrift store. My daughter is naturally frugal, so I knew she would do well, but I was still surprised with all that she was able to purchase. My daughter came home with 2 pairs of pants,Read More

It is summer and in our house that means mildew. Somebody forgets a wet towel in a hot car or bunches it up in a pile in the laundry room or leaves it wadded up in the beach bag, etc… the possibilities for creating mildewed towels are limitless for my creative family. But I haveRead More

Painting tape! Some girls ask for pearls, I ask for painting tape. I asked my husband to buy me 2 inch blue paint tape the last time he went to Home Depot. I was waiting for the usual questions: What was I painting this time? Was it going to be a crazy color like taupe?Read More

Disclaimer: If you have looked at my profile picture you know that I should not be giving beauty tips (but if you want to leave some comment love saying that I don’t look old enough to be the mother of a 3rd year college student, feel free! :-). I wear very little makeup, but sinceRead More

There is a 14-year gap between my second youngest and my youngest child. During that gap we bought grown-up furniture, not knowing that we would be blessed with a bonus baby. I would be lying if I denied thinking about the fate of my furniture while expecting Rew. We now have a delightfully messy two-year-oldRead More

We forgot to explain that sidewalk chalk is to be used only on the sidewalk! I walked out on to the porch and was greeted with letters on the soap box where I keep my gardening tools. Side view of soap box. Can you find the word cat on the loveseat? Have you figured outRead More

Ten years ago, I walked into my friend’s kitchen and noticed that she was using an oil dispenser to hold her dish soap. I don’t remember where she got the idea, but I remember that she did it for aesthetic reasons. She wanted to be able to leave her dish soap out, but thought thatRead More

I am always looking for ways to organize and make the most of our limited storage space. We have accumulated quite a few DVD’s, though the pace has slowed down considerably since we joined netflix. The DVD’s were kept in a linen closet, along with games and art supplies, so there wasn’t much room forRead More