Cheerful Frugality & Information Overload?

I think we all have our certain strengths when it comes to showing what we can do to maintain a frugal lifestyle and save money. I think the current state of economy is really helping to drive the influx of bloggers and readers on this subject.

I love finding out of the box ideas and there have been some great ideas on the blogs on the blogroll.

Personally what I see missing is more blog posts about frugal bulk cooking, canning and growing your own. I also would love to see more people blogging about recycling, specifically re-using. What is more frugal than repurposing something you already have. Think outside the box, I’m sure there are some great ideas. With the collective talent of this many great thinkers, I’m sure some people can come up with some great ideas to not only help save money, but help the environment.

I personally love bulk cooking not only for the money saving aspect but also the convenience. I have tried playing around with canning but had little luck. Having never even seen it done myself, it would be really cool to see someone walk us newbies though it.

Cheers!

I think that probably everything we might be interested is being covered or has been (I have done several posts on bulk cooking, for instance)- but my trouble is FINDING what I need.
I can spend so much time looking for stuff that I never have time to actually DO it.

The Deputy Headmistress is right. Probably everything you could ever want to learn about frugality is on the net somewhere. Somebdoy just needs to put it all under one roof.

[...] MerchantShips posted at Frugal Hacks, referencing an older article about finding your blogging niche. I must confess that I’ve [...]

I would like to learn more about what things are fixable and how to fix them. It’s so hard to get out of my habit of thinking that because something I like just broke, I need to get another one. (I know about sewing buttons back on and can sometimes remember that duct tape can repair my clothes basket, but I feel really bad at this compared to people in pretty much any other country in the world.)

I’d like to learn more about maintaining things. Not only what to do, but also how to do it. (How in the heck do I get to my refrigerator coils to clean them? That thing is heavy! And I think I’ve only read one single blog entry about the benefits of polishing shoes.)

I would also like to learn about different ways to do things. So many times one idea is obvious, but there are lots of options. Yes, instead of going to the movies on Friday night, we can go during a matinee or rent movies or borrow them from the library or our friends. But there are more options, too. If we’re in the mood for a good story, we can read. If we want to socialize, we can play board games. If we want an adrenaline rush, we can ride our bikes on the public streets. If we’re in the mood for beautiful scenery, we can garden or clean the house. So often the only options I see or think of are “buy something” and “buy something cheap.” I’d like more about using things you already have or otherwise worming your way to achieving what you really want from life.

For example, I’d like to learn ways to do without. I love that there have been some trends in this area lately (such as No Impact Man learning to create no impact on the environment, the lady who wore only the same two dresses for a year I think, a book about someone trying to do virtually no shopping, and Wardrobe Refashion about people not buying new clothes). Reading about people trying to do without something is very fun, and trying it yourself can also lead you to discoveries you’d never have had otherwise. I think we can do without a lot more things than we realize, but we never try it until we are forced (like no TV in the dorm) or desperate, and sometimes not even then.

I agree with madsow, I’d enjoy reading more about re-using what you have to solve a problem. Amy Dycyzyn did this so beautifully, with examples from her readers.

I’d also be encouraged to read success stories of how people have set up and run cooperative ownership of big-ticket, low-use items like snowblowers, hedge trimmers, lawn mowers, and the like. It just gets ridiculous to see each family on the block using a monstrous, expensive snowblower for an hour and a half, then return it to take up space in the garage.

Stuff requires maintenance, and that’s a cost too. I might dream about co-ownership, but I’d be too shy to figure out how to begin the process with my neighbors without a ‘roadmap.’

Thanks for the interesting question.
Sharon H.

I was the same way. I read and reread my Tightwad Gazette books to the point of memorization! I was so hungry for more. When we first got a computer I would spend far too much time searching for frugal information. I also checked out every book from the library that remotely had any useful info. I love the internet! My family and friends are amazed that I can find answers to recipes, home remedies, how to fix something, compare prices, so quickly. I’m amazed that they don’t use this resource more themselves! All the information is out there, it’s just knowing what to look for. For me, that’s where blogs come in handy. I’ll read about something and then research it. Asking questions, researching, and finding what works best for my family is probably one of the most useful things Amy Dacyzyn taught me!