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By Penny, April 12, 2010 5:44 pm

Last year, before the house burned down, my husband and I decided that having the front yard fenced in would be immensly helpful for our suburban homestead.  The front yard is mostly shady, so it is not conducive to vegetable growth. As such, we wanted to move the ducks and dogs into the front yard, using the entire backyard for vegetable and fruit gardening.

With this goal in mind, we had a representative from a local fence company do an estimate.  It came to a shocking $3,000!  Bearing in mind that our front yard is roughly 75ftX50ftX40ft, I nearly had a heart attack.  Obviously, we put the notion of having professionals do it quickly out of mind.

Scouring the classifieds, I found 150ft of chainlink with all the poles, ties, etc, for $150.  We brought it home and were waiting for spring break to put it up.  With the help of our friend, we managed to get the fencing we had bought up.  Unfortunately, it was not enough, so we had to buy more. However, that was only an extra $156.  As far as aggravation, it took two afternoons and two minor arguements. The process was a simple one, the most difficult part being the stretching, which had to be done by tying the fencing to a truck and pulling.

By doing it ourselves, we saved an astounding 90% off the professional price.  Does it look all shiny and new? Nope. It does keep the ducks and dogs in the yard, which is all I need it to do.  Plus, I don’t the the extra $2,700 to have the professionals do it was worth it.  If you look at the hourly wage for putting up the fence, we paid ourselves $337 an hour to put up fencing.  I surely can’t make that while sitting in my house on my tushie.

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By Penny, February 4, 2010 6:27 am

This is a repost of an article I wrote not too long after our housefire last year.

It probably sounds like a cheesy self-help title, but it isn’t any less true. While the fire was stressful and the ensuing fallout even more so, it’s interesting to see the effect of owning less. Right now, my husband and I are staying in a living room at my mother’s house. Since many of our things were destroyed or packed up by the salvage company, we don’t have much. All of our clothes fit in one singular bureau. I have three pairs of shoes, while my husband only has two pairs. I stack them neatly next to the door. It’s so easy to keep everything tidy, when I have a limited number of things to tend. I never realized it, but the over abundance of things made it difficult at our old house.

In January of last year, my grandfather had a stroke, so his house had to be sold in order to pay for his care. Because we liked the house, my husband and I purchased it in the spring. Unfortunately, all of my grandfather’s things were still in the house when we moved in. As you can imagine, we had double, sometimes triple, of everything. My mother insisted that we put the things we didn’t want in the garage so she could go through them later. Later, as it were, never came. There were plenty of things still in the house that we didn’t need but couldn’t get rid of.

When the fire ripped through the upstairs, many things were burned, but more things were destroyed by water damage. In the following week, most of our things have been packed into boxes by the cleaning crew. I’ve found that there are few things I “need.” I would suggest that you get this freedom for yourself, but without the fire, of course.

1. Limit the number of “repeat” items you need. How many different novelty mugs do you need?

2. Weed out your wardrobe. Choose a reasonable number of blouses, shirts, pants, etc. Then, go through all of your clothes. Figure out which pieces you really love, limiting yourself to your reasonable number. Get rid of the rest.

3. Ask yourself about everything you own. Do you love it? If not, are you keeping it for actual sentimental reasons or because you feel that you should? Don’t let things take space in your life out of obligation or guilt.

4. Once you’ve decided what to get rid of, take it immediately to your car. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Take it to a local charity as soon as is feasible. If you’ve opted to have a yard sale, be warned that the stock pile is wily and may take over quickly. I find that I benefit more from the tax deduction and the mental relief.

Once the house is rebuilt and we can move back in, I have a new plan. I will go through every box and evaluate whether we really need what is in the box. Nothing will be allowed back in that is useless or unloved. Owning things means have more responsibilities to “stuff.” The less things means more freedom: the power of less.

Do you have any experience in the power of less? Do you have any purging suggestions?

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By Penny, January 13, 2010 5:13 am

Time is money. The cliché has some truth to it. Generally, a sizeable chunk of our days are spent waiting for something to happen. These wasted moments add up to a considerable amount of time, time which could be spent saving you money. I often find myself waiting for something to happen, just staring into space. If I were to channel that time, I’m sure I could accomplish much more in a day. Some tips to help you manage your minutes:
1. Carry a notebook and pen with you. When does your brain chose to remind you of the different things you need to do? If you’re anything like me, it will shout reminders at a moment when you can’t do a darned thing about it. For instance, when standing in line at the bank, I will remember that I need to call the oil company. If I have my notebook, I can just write it down and forget about it until I am able to call.
2. Keep phone numbers for businesses in your cell phone. This hint actually relates to the first one. Important phone numbers might be your pharmacy, doctor’s office, natural gas company or cable provider. If the numbers are in your cell phone, you would be able to quickly make a phone call while on your lunch break or waiting in the car. If you don’t have a cell phone, just keep a list handy.
3. Take work with you. In many professions, some duties are portable, meaning that you can carry your work. While waiting for a meeting to start, you may be able to tie up loose ends. As a teacher, I always carry work that needs grading, so I can work on it anywhere.
4. Don’t stand idly if you can help it. In the kitchen, I am notorious for staring off into space while waiting for the microwave to beep or for water to boil. Try to wipe down counters or put away dishes while you’re waiting. You can actually accomplish quite a bit in the few minutes it takes to make popcorn.
5. Multitask…within reason. Multitasking can squander time, causing you to spend more time doing a few tasks at once than you would have, had you just done them one at a time. However, if you are careful, you can get plenty done without sacrificing quality. For instance, when I’m waiting for a sauce to thicken or biscuits to bake, I’m tied to the kitchen, but the task at hand doesn’t really require my full attention. During that time, I can wash dishes or wipe down the microwave and refrigerator.
6. Take up a portable hobby. Learn to knit, crochet, sew or anything that is portable. While you’re waiting for the doctor, you could be working on Christmas or birthday presents.
You can’t create more hours in the day, but you can make more of the time you do have. By using your time wisely, you would free up more time to work on all the money saving ideas