Kindly pretend you do not see the tape there. It was part of a project I was working on and I forgot to remove it for the picture.

What I initially planned was just to remove the strings, and give him the wooden animals as toys.

But his mother had recently expressed an interest in a chore chart that he would enjoy and understand.  The chore charts we looked at were either too pricey (his parents are on an incredibly tight budget), or they required too much work to put together and were of limted use with a non-reading 2 year old.   So,  together we worked out a plan to make this 2.00 toy I had in my hand his new chore chart.

The Dread Pirate Grasshopper's mummy took pictures of him doing his chores, or otherwise performing his routine tasks. These include such things as brushing his teeth, feeding the dog, putting away the silverware, tidying away his toys, and setting the table. She had them printed in wallet sized copies.

I laminated them. My husband hole punched them because I couldn't.  My contact paper, btw, came from the thrift shop.  Whenever I am at the thrift shop, I check for clear contact paper in the craft section because you never know.

As you can see in the picture, each pair of animals is attached by a long bit of twine which is knotted in the middle so as to make a loop for hanging the pair of animals on a peg. I untied the knot, then slipped the middle of the twine through the hole in the laminated picture and knotted it again, so there is still a loop which the DPG can use to hang up the pair of animals when he has completed the task pictured on the card with them.

Now, if we were more artistic, we could have drawn a picture of the chore on the back of the animal, but we aren't artistic at all. What we are is creative in the way that non-artistic people full of ideas they cannot implement need to be. Necessity is the M. of I. and all that, as Bertie Wooster would have said if he'd thought of it.

So, to recap, a picture of the toddler performing part of his daily routine is attached to a pair of animals. There is a small basket where the animals are stored, it also hangs on the Noah's Ark pegboard. He can either pull an animal pair out of the basket and then hang them up when he completes a task, or his mother could hang up all the animals each night and he can gradually take them down during the day. Or they can simply alternate- on Mondays the DPG takes animals off the chart as he does his tasks, puts them in the basket. On Tuesdays, he takes them out of the basket and hangs them up.

We did not have a picture for every animal, because he doesn't have that many 'chores' yet, so there is room for the 'chart' to expand.

Incidentally, he loves it. He was sitting in my lap as I wrote part of this post (trying to wait patiently for me to finish so he could watch another Old McDonald youtube video), and when he saw the picture he got excited and bounced up and down, telling me, "CHORE CHART!"

Now, the way to apply this frugal hack is not to go out and look for an identical wooden ornament.  The heart of frugality is flexibility. Other possibilities:

Magnets on the back of laminated pictures, and the fridge.

Laminated pictures and an ornament tree

Use your computer - put pictures on your desk top or remove them from the desk top as tasks are completed

Laminated or drawn pictures, a flannel board and an envelope.

Attach pictures to the outside of a decorated box or oatmeal carton, using clothespins.  Pull them off and drop them in the box when completed (along with the clothesepins).

You may also want to read more on kids and chores:

Don't be a Martyr Mother- if you love your kids selflessly, you will help them develop initiative and a good work ethic.

The Common Room: Chores and Children- Why? We believe in children doing chores. In fact, we believe in children working hard and contributing to the family's wellbeing. ...

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But last year I found such an awesome deal at a thrift shop that I couldn't resist, and I bought it for my husband for his birthday (which is just a few days before Christmas). It is a stand up tool chest on wheels, the nice shiny red kind. It was still in the box. It was at a thrift shop price on half off day. My son in particular was delighted over it.

One of my sons-in-law kindly picked it up for us in his truck, and carefully hid it, well wrapped, in an outbuilding on the property where he lives.

And all of us promptly forgot all about it. My husband had his usual smaller celebration and nobody thought once of the missing package, still secretly stashed away in a locked corner of the outbuilding.

Yesterday my son was over there for some reason, and he had an errand to that outbuilding, to that locked corner.

He came home smirking, and whispered his secret to me.

Since it's already mid-September, we're saving it for his birthday or Christmas present this year.

This isn't the first time I've forgotten a present that I stashed away earlier in the year, but it is definitely the largest gift I've ever forgotten.

How about you- any frugal funnies to share?
Oh, and if you have any tips on making an easy but cute chore chart for a two year old, share them here.

P.S. I am sure there are some misguided souls who would like to chastise me for being cheap and not giving him his present immediately and then buying him a whole new present this year. If that is what *your* beloved would find most satisfying, then by all means, that is what you should do. But I am married to my beloved, and right now, he is wanting to cut every possible penny, so right now, he would be appalled at the idea of my giving him this present now and then going out and buying a new one three months later just because I was forgetful last year.

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Yet, I must confess that the dashboard cracks and faded spots and torn up seats are not my favorite. Seat covers do help the front seats and I have decided a blanket placed over top of the crumbling leather in the back helps my eye to rest, but at times it seems to me a bit discouraging.

As I continue to reflect while I drive, I remember what these cracks and tears symbolize. Two weddings we have been financially connected to in less than nine months and a heart to do this debt free has had consequences. I could be driving a newer, nicer car if we wanted car payments or we could have had a nice used car debt free if we had chosen to put the wedding expenses on a credit card. Neither were options for us.

My musings always seem to return to perspective. That word and the frugal life are so often intertwined. As I again looked at the cracks before me, I smiled. For now, they will symbolize the fruit of the choices made. These days when I get into this car and my gaze falls upon the aging areas of my car, images of Firstborn Son as he watched New Daughter walk down the aisle come to mind. I think of Daughter, beautiful in her wedding dress and of heartfelt tears and joy filled laughter and perspective helps me to see what is most important.

For those that are praying people, keep our family in mind. This Saturday is Daughter’s wedding day. Keep this mother’s heart in your prayers as I will miss this dear daughter. May God make this special day a delight for all and as always, being our deepest of desires, bring glory and honor to His name.

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So for the next two months my life story could be called, “How To Have A Frugal Wedding For Five Hundred”  (A true challenge for any frugalite.)  We are off and running as Daughter has already found her gown and wonder of all wonders, we believe a church has been found that can seat all our guests at a reasonable cost.  Our church is too small for all that will be invited.

Details are floating through my mind at all hours of the day and night.  Fortunately, Daughter and New Son-to-Be are overseeing many of the decisions to be made and friends and family are graciously offering their help.  What a blessing to be part of a church community that seeks to bless each other!

We have our budget and know exactly what our costs need to be.  Now the fun begins.  How to best allocate our funds is our goal.  Food and decorations are the next items on our list of things to do.  The reception will be held in the church fellowship hall and we need to be creative.  Our plan is to provide a simple meal and so will need to provide seating for our guests.  The tables are a mixture of round and rectangle with three different styles of seating.  One group of chairs are of a bright orange color, not exactly Daughter’s favorite.

I know of no better place to come for advice than to you, fellow frugal hackers.  Any past experience or creative thoughts will be appreciated.  Recommendations regarding food, decorations or otherwise will be greatly appreciated.

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Along with memories of a beautiful wedding, blossoming friendships and new grandbaby on the way, I also gave thanks for the frugal life.  Certainly I have learned to have a deeper appreciation for all that I enjoy because I have often had to count the cost of the choices I make.  Seeking to steward well my funds has taught me to find joy in the “little things” that might otherwise be overlooked.  Not in any way minimizing the necessity of finances and the many reasons to produce income, still I have found that it is relationships which gratifies.  And, as the years go forth, I have realized memories are sweet when hearts are shared, more than when pocketbooks are opened.

Yes, the frugal life is often one of sacrifice.  Learning to budget for things desired or having to say “no” to self or loved ones can be hard.  Yet, the rewards of being willing to live within your means are many and the sacrifices seem less difficult as the years go on.

For my family, the ultimate sacrifice makes all of our life worthwhile, frugal or otherwise.

For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be made rich.

II Corinthians 8:9

May your Thanksgiving Day be blessed.

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"That’s how your are going to celebrate your anniversary?" she said incredulously.

Husband had not even gotten to the part where the hotel would cost us nothing due to a promotional he had won.  I quickly reminded myself that not all people have my frugal perspective on celebrations and realized that I needed to toughen up my frugal skin and not let my emotions be impacted if others think we are being “cheap.”

For this dear family member, Husband was not showing the appreciation that 29 years of marriage warranted.  For her, the celebration of this event should include a decent monetary expenditure.  I, on the other hand, was so looking forward to 24 hours with Husband to walk, talk, relax in a nice hotel room, and perhaps play a game of Scrabble, all for the cost of a lunch!  Just thinking of this makes my frugal heart sing!

This conversation made me think about our materialistic society and how we so often equate “love” and appreciation with money.  Thinking back over our 29 anniversaries, my memories are quite diverse.  Sometimes a nice dinner out, a few overnight hotel stays, and many evenings spent at home celebrating with our precious children over tuna fish casserole, come to mind.  In each memory it was the relationships remembered that was the best part.

This family member continued to find some of my frugal life a bit mystifying.  She could not understand putting off the repair of my dryer.  To her, the time taken to hang up my clothes (and the stiff towels she had to use) seemed too high a cost to pay for the amount of money saved.  She didn’t see the value of saving vegetable peelings to later make a broth in the crockpot or put out in the compost pile.  The time expended seemed to be more a waste than the few dollars purchased broth or compost would cost.

It wasn’t that this family member had lots of extra funds.  Just that the frugal life did not appeal to her idea of how to use her time.  (I will say that she did seem to think the five shirts I found at Walmart for $1.00 a piece was a good deal.)  Choosing to not feel discouraged by her evaluation of my choices, I used this opportunity to graciously listen to her comments and then be even more grateful for my frugal life.

Perhaps she started to understand before she left to go home.  Wanting to give me a thank-you gift for the time spent with us, she left money for us to purchase a new toaster oven.  Ours had broken some time ago and a new one had not yet made the priority list.  We had made our family member’s morning toast in our oven.  As she gave me the money for the new toaster oven, she was sure to tell me that this would save electricity!

How about you?  Do you feel gifts and celebrations are more meaningful based on how much they cost?

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Being faithful to live out today and be cooking and cleaning for tomorrow can be challenging, especially if seeking to keep a contented spirit and a purse from being emptied.  I will confess there are times I just do not “feel” like paying the cost of living within my means.  I will admit the thought of being able to hire a landscaper or bring in some cleaning help do drift in to my mind. (For those who are able to do this, I think it is great!)  However, these are not my options and so I must rejoice in health and fortitude.

How easy it is for me to put too much emphasis on the “how” and to forget the “why.” To focus on the cost and to forget the reward. The frugal life is not to be a weight but a tool to live out life with the dignity of living within my means.  Some days are harder than others, but all days are a gift to savor and use well.

The gears were starting to click, and the joy of the frugal life began to return.  Plans began to formulate and a menu started to take shape in my mind.  The heart began to yearn for the visit of some guests coming over and the changing perspective got my body moving again.  Yes, I would be weary by the end of the day, but a weariness with rich reward.  There can be a cost to living within my means, but I’m willing to pay!

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The Senior Citizen discount has been a topic of conversation in our house from time to time.  Last year, Husband took on this eligibility, although not with the same enthusiasm as I!  Actually, Husband was rather adamant that he was not about to take such a discount.  Hale and hearty with a heart to work for many years to come, he does not see himself as a senior by any stretch of the imagination. (His almost white hair just offers “distinction.”)  Husband sees this discount as a benefit to those retired and perhaps facing decreased incomes.

I, on the other hand, see this Senior Citizen discount as a marketing tool and a way to encourage more shopping. A discount is a discount and if my graying hair and advancing years make me more  marketable, I’ll bite!  Of course being the frugal mother that I am, and perhaps to the disappointment to store owners, I will do so within my budget parameters.

Although a subject of  disagreement, Husband has no problem with my choosing to wear the title of Senior Citizen at the checkout counter.  So, if you see a smiling, somewhat frosted with gray hair woman shopping on Tuesdays, it just might be me!

Any fellow Senior Citizens out there?  What and where are your favorite Senior Citizen discounts?

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Early morning light previously enjoyed, now seemed to accentuate all that needed to be accomplished. Little did I know four years ago when moving in, my plans for this area still would not have found success.

Walls could use fresh paint, carpet now even more worn, dressers in need of some repair. My enthusiasm for this day was waning. Mind began to race as I contemplated a myriad of decorating ideas. Reality soon surfaced, however, as I remembered no budget for these projects and other priorities reigned.

Choosing to recall how grateful I had been that old quilt had matched curtains already here, rugs made to cover carpet spots still worked well and lovely pictures of precious family graced my walls, I made no allowance for this temptation. Having a budget helps to keep my emotions in check. No longer being ruled by feelings that so easily change from day to day, living with a plan keeps me from being ruled by momentary desires. Some day this room would get a chance to sparkle anew, but it was not to be for now.

Smiling, I chose to delight in fresh air blowing curtains with gusto. Reminding myself this room had comfortably housed many a guest and served my family well, I found victory! No more temptation for me. (At least for today!)

How do you wrestle with such temptations?

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No pressure or expectations, just a day to be lived out well.  Ordinary days are perfect for the frugal woman.  What better way to practice using what is in your hand than on an ordinary day!  No traditions or commitments seeming to take more than can be found, ordinary days can make for simple fun.

Popcorn and peanut buttered apples for lunch, leftover soup made special with croutons or with shredded cheese on top.  Music playing with some candle ends burning.  Pretty napkins or just a special story at lunch.  A picnic on the floor with quilt or blanket.  Wildflowers from the yard in canning jar or an hour to sit close and talk.

Oh, the freedom of an ordinary day!  Finding joy in the rhythm of tasks accomplished and savoring the opportunities to bless my family with a simple meal and clothes fresh washed, I relish precious moments of ordinary.  How easy it is to lose sight of the significant realities when life is consumed with the pressures of hectic schedules and expectations seem to be everywhere.  That is why we must capture moments and savor the hours we find to be, well, just ordinary!

How do you celebrate ordinary days?

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