Controllable costs

I think it's time for me to get a new insurance quote for my Explorer. I'm 58 years old with a pristine driving record, so there's really no reason for me to be paying the same rate as someone 30 years younger than myself, is there?

I'm going to be doing some real shopping around. In the meantime, I'll be letting my insurance company know that I'm seriously considering switching to another provider. I doubt telling them will make any difference, but it will make me feel better anyway.

Part of being able to stay home and work from home is cutting unnecessary expenses, sometimes to the bare bones. I'm skilled at frugal living, and it seems to me that this is a controllable cost.

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Unearthed treasures

The past couple of weeks have found me moving a lot of stuff out of the rented storage facility and into my home. I have come across quite a few things that I'll distribute to other family members. I really don't need all of it.

For instance, I found some things that belonged to younger daughter when she was a child. Her Barbie dolls, some jewelry, and other miscellaneous items. For son, I found some batteries that were still in the package, some DVDs and CDs, and a few other things. If they don't want to keep these things, I at least want them to take them. They can toss them out, put them in a yard sale, or give them away. I really don't care as long as I don't have to store them in my small home any longer.

I also don't want to pay for storage rental anymore, which means I'll be getting rid of a lot of my own things as well. I'm trying to trim back my belongings and get them down to a more manageable amount.

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Off-grid water

I'm still pretty committed to living a more simple, organic life. I'm making plans for my raised bed gardens, which are always organically grown. I'm also still looking for barrels or stainless steel drums to use for water reclamation.

When it rains, a lot of water runs off the roof of my house, even as small as it is. A gutter front and back pointing to a drum or barrel would work great. I figure, using a system like that would collect enough water for me to water the outside dog plus water my gardens. Rainwater works for plants so much better than watering with a hose out of my well. It's much better than using chlorinated city water!

So, I'm still on the search for the parts to build myself a nice, clean water reclamation system. Then, I'll move on to developing a source of at least supplemental power for my house.

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Seeing spots

I have noticed that my hands are really getting a lot of age spots. Now, I have plenty of freckles anyway, but these are bigger and uglier than your ordinary freckles.

I suppose it's to be expected at my age, though. And, considering the fact that I've spent a lot of my life outside gardening and in other outdoor pursuits, it's not really surprising. However, I really would like to fade the spots at least somewhat.

I've heard that lemon juice will help fade them, or I can get some commercial preparations to fade them. Sigh. Maybe I should just leave them be. After all, I'm no spring chicken.

Technorati Tags: health

Growing older

I live in a mostly adult world now. What I mean by that is, I don't have children at home anymore and almost all my contacts are adults. It's not a bad thing, though. I've reached an age where I'm ok with not having a lot of children in my life.

I actually feel pretty blessed, considering. I am fairly healthy. I earn my own money and pay my own bills. I don't have to deal with adult acne or other skin problems. The worst thing is that I do get tired more easily than I did when I was younger. I could do with a little more energy so I guess I'll need to take more vitamins, right?

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Leaving your garden

As I posted before, it's gardening time. There are already some things that can be started even now, though it's pretty early. Onions, lettuce, peas, and other cool weather crops can be planted new. They will be grown and harvested generally before you need the space for hot weather crops.

You might not be able to leave for an extended vacation in Toronto hotels if you grow a garden, but you would be able to take off for a few days. I've done it. If you think something will be ready to pick before you get back home, just advise a neighbor or relative and they are usually more than happy to do some picking from a garden!

However, if you're like me, staying away from the garden is really hard to do. It's therapeutic to work in the dirt and feel the warm soil in your hands. It's comforting to get down to the basics of gardening.

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Gardening time

It's getting to be really beautiful weather most days. What's on my mind? Of course, gardening.

I don't make a big garden anymore. I don't need it since it's just me at home. But I do love fresh tomatoes, peppers, and herbs, and maybe some cucumbers. All I really need is to have a couple of small, raised beds fixed out in the sunniest part of my yard to have sufficient garden space for all my needs.

The plain truth is, freshly grown veggies in the summer can save you some grocery money. Plus, eating "close to the earth" is a good way to stay healthy.

I garden organically so I don't have to be concerned about chemicals in my food. I've gardened this way for years and it's very satisfying. It's also very easy to do, as long as you know that you will lose some of your organically grown produce to pests. The solution? Plant more!

Technorati Tags: gardening,organic gardening

Digging up the bargain treasures

Everybody loves a bargain, right? It doesn't really matter if you're shopping for urban clothing, furniture, or a car. And, bargains are out there to be had for the shopper who is diligent and who doesn't settle for the first thing that comes along.

• It's perfectly ok to haggle, even in a department store. Say you've found something you like - on sale or not - but there's a small defect. Talk to the sales person or a manager to see if you can get the price reduced. Retailers often do have some damaged goods that they can't move otherwise.
• Shop clearance first. No, you don't want something that's so ugly you'll never wear it or use it. However, you might find some real treasures lurking around - things that other shoppers have overlooked.
• Be nice. Nobody's going to give you the deal you want if you're insulting and rude about their product.
• Take no for an answer. It may be out of the person's control whether they can cut the price on an item. You still want them to welcome you back to their business later, so decline the item nicely.

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Seasonal clearance prices

I'm sure you're all aware of the Black Friday sales after Thanksgiving. However, this is also a good time of year to save some money. Many stores now have clearance racks with cool weather clothing items at drastic reductions in price.

Some of the reductions are so low, the prices rival yard sale prices. I know because I've been shopping in the past few days and came across some great deals. See, I hardly ever buy my clothes for the current season. I generally pick up end-of-the-season items for very low prices, then I can use them when I need them next year.

Fashions don't change so drastically from season to season that it makes much of a difference. Plus, if you buy more classic cuts you can flow from one year to the next without looking outdated.

Technorati Tags: sales,shopping

More de-stressing

No, not "distressing" - de-stressing.

Sunday I wasn't feeling too well. Fortunately, my boss let me go home from work instead of working my full shift. Stress and illness really are connected, and working a stressful job while ill can only lead to not healing in an appropriate amount of time. Don't be noble or some kind of job hero by working when you're not well. One day missed to recover is much better than missing a week of work because you just got worse.

Anyway, when I got home I prepared some hot tea for myself. You can read how I prepared it in my Sunday Sick blog post over at Zoo Talk. After I'd enjoyed a cup of the tea, I lit an incense stick in the Sandlewood aroma. It's a very soothing aroma. Lavender or eucalyptus would also work.

I relaxed on the sofa for awhile, then headed into the bathroom to take a de-stress bath. I used scented candles around the edge of the tub and turned off the light. I put a mix of sea salt, crushed lavender leaves, and olive oil in the tub to help me relax further. Then, I just soaked for awhile. I finished by washing my hair and wrapping it in a towel, using a cocoa butter scrub on my feet, and wrapping up in warm night clothes. (I put on warm socks to help the coconut oil I rubbed on my tired feet soak in better.)

I'll share the sea salt bath soak recipe in a future post.

Technorati Tags: stress