Frugal and Healthy!

Healthy and frugal?! Can the two go together? Lol! I am on a journey to do just that! I have made a couple of changes in our household.
Change #1: I have started making my own laundry detergent. It is all natural and CHEAP!!! Love it!!! It is easy to make too!
Change #2: I am cutting down on my cleaning products and trying out natural non-toxic ones. Borax, baking soda and vinegar has become my new best friends!! They are also CHEAP!! I have started cleaning my counter tops, toilets, tubs, stove top and microwave with them.
Change #3: I have changed our soap to Ivory (99.44/100 pure) and it's also CHEAP!
Change #4: I have changed my facial cleanser to an all natural oatmeal soap that is about the same price as what I was using.
Change #5: I have slowed way down on my coffee intake. Yep, you heard right. I went from 8 to 10 cups a day down to 3 cups a day. I am now drinking green tea (chocolate mint flavor) and drinking a detox tea.

Other small changes have been that I am cutting back on meat (even chicken and ground turkey) and started plugging in fresh veggies. The cost is around the same. I have cut waaaaayyyyy back on sweets!! I used to have some sweet things around for the kids and hubby to snack on. Now it's fruit, pretzels, granola bars, cheese, and popcorn. Not saying that with the holidays coming up that I won't make a batch of cookies or make some homemade candy...but, for the most part we have very little sweets.

This may totally sound weird, but for a while I have been wanting to make things "simpler". Sometimes, it may mean a little extra work for me...like making my own detergent. But, really I have become quite spoiled. I started thinking about my grandmother (who was debt-free!) and what she used to do. She was very creative and did not waste a thing. She lived through the depression and knew how to stretch things out and how to make do. If only I would have paid attention more!! Ugh!
And completely and totally off the subject....BUT, I was speaking with a lady at a local charity trying to figure out how I could help and she was telling me that people were calling and actually complaining and asking for help to buy Christmas because they were not able to spend $500 a child like they did last year...they could ONLY spend $200! Are you kidding me?!? My two kids will be lucky if they get that much spent together!!!! How spoiled have we become as a society!!! We are all about the material things!! As a recovering materialistic girl...I am so thankful that I'm not there anymore. Yes, I still want...desire...whine...and even complain that I don't have, but praise God that I am slowly finding the true value of life. It's not about the brand names that you wear, or the size of your TV or having the latest greatest cell phone...but it's about God, family, health, spending those precious moments with those that you love!!! Those things truly matter!! Those things will make you happy!!

Okay, off my soap box....I am going to continue to post about things that I am changing to be more frugal and hopefully more healthy in the process!! I look forward to the journey!!!

Something more.....

Have you ever looked at your life and thought...there must be something more? That is where I'm at. I enjoy being a wife and mother. But, there has to be something more. What am I missing? And how can I fit that something more into my life as a wife and mother?
I know that God wants me to take care of my family and to do it well. I strive to be that Proverbs 31 woman. But, somehow, I feel like I should be doing more...
This feeling won't leave! I feel so frustrated!
What's even more frustrating is that when I try to plug in and become more...I get shot down by others. You know the ones...they want your creativity and input but then don't use it or pass it off as their own. Or they take advantage of your desire to become more and abuse that willingness to serve by you becoming their own personal "servant". And heaven forbid that you stand up for your self, because then you get completely cut off and the cold shoulder and treated even worse! Taking a deep breath! Whew! What's a girl to do?!
It seems like I'm fighting the same old battles over and over again...just add a different person or a different situation to it...but it's the same feelings, the same insecurities, the same distrust of people, the same let down of thinking that this time it will be different. Where do I fit in God's plan? Am I trying to make myself fit where I don't belong? Am I doing what God wants me to do and just letting myself feel doubt and frustration? So many questions rolling around in my head!
I do wish that God would give me a huge bright neon sign telling me exactly what He wants me to do!! I know my gifting, but where do I plug in? I know what my passion is, but where do I use it?
I guess I will keep praying for wisdom and discernment. And keep praising God for allowing me to see situations and people for what they are...something a couple of years ago I wasn't able to do. At least the blinders have been removed in that area, now to know how to deal with the truth that I see. I know that every situation and every trial only perfects me to be the person that my Lord wants me to be. So, I'm trying to seek His wisdom in all of this and instead of wishing others to change, I am focusing on how I need to change. I am searching for His peace, His wisdom and His plan in all of this...now only if I could find that blasted neon sign!!!