My Reply To Emily's ~~"How Low Can I Go?"

Hi! I believe Emily has a very good ideas of what she wants for her family. Her ideas are unconventional from most Americans, but not unrealistic. She wants to do more with less and live for Christ in everything she does. I understand her ideas. Mine are similar, but not quite so frugal.
Her idea to live in 500 square feet for a large family is unusual। Their is a family who teaches homesteading in New York state that raised their 12 children in a cabin that they built themselves that measured 20x24। They raised all their own food , lived without electric and made their own clothes। They had 2-3 outfits apiece। There are many places to live :tepees,trailers,yurts,hand-built cabins among others।
Just because Emily & her husband use no birth control, doesn't mean thy will have lots of children। They will only have as many as God gives , for God opens & closes the womb। My husband & I have been married 20 years & have 1 child। We have used no birth control at all। Our friends have been married just a few days more & have 12 living children & 3 in Heaven। So it all just depends on how many God wants to bless us with।
I think unless you grow all your food Emily, that your grocery bill will be bigger than $600 a month। The Duggers spend $3,000 a month on groceries।I know several families on the internet though that spend less than that। One family spends $300 a month for 8 people। She gives her menus on her yahoo group. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RadicalDebtElimination/
Clothes can be bought at Goodwill , yard sales or thrift shops.Clothes can also be made. I don't see clothes being a problem. We even have around 6 free clothing closets at churches that people give them.These are excellent shape clothes, some even new. There are even name brand clothes like Gap, Arizona ,Levi's, Eagle , etc.
I feel that the Tumbleweed houses are just high priced, rich people's toy houses.They are very expensive. I mean you can buy a storage shed from Lowe's and insulate it & have a nice home for $3,500-$5,000. Another great resource for solar & home building is http://www.freewebs.com/simplesolarhomesteading/ and his homesteading newsletter at http://www.homesteadernews.com/ . Tumbleweed does have some good plans though.
Someone mentioned, where are people going to eat , the floor? Well, in Japan people do sit on the floor to eat & they sleep on pallets too, instead of beds. I think it's really a very sensible way to do things.
Some comments I've commented on: 1)Treva-mattresses on floor are waste of space- true use sleeping bags & a foam pad apiece
2)Winter time not hanging clothes outside- people still do it all the time, it's called freeze drying the clothes& it works just fine
3) AnnMarie-- "tiny Kitchen" - New York Times column writer Mark Bittman says a large kitchen isn't an important thing , read this http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/weekinreview/14bittman.html?ref=weekinreview , a famous writer of cookbooks & his kitchen is 6x7 and here is another of his posts which looks delicious & shows a picture of the kitchen http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/anatomy-of-a-minimalist-column/
4) Meg-setting up to butcher is a pricey task in & of itself-we butchered every year ourselves when growing up & I'm trying to figure out what you mean by pricey?- good sharp knives, large pans, foil, bags & or canning supplies , which can be had by finding people who no longer can ,I put up 500 quarts in 1998 & I got all my jars free except for around 2 dozen we bought
Well, I hope I've not made this too long for folks to want to read, but this is my take on her post. I welcome comments!~~

Dream of a Lifetime

I would love to win this contest for a $5,000 vacation. My husband & I have been married 20 years this coming June 1, 2009 . Our honeymoon consisted of us attending his nephews graduation, so really we never had a honeymoon & have never been able to afford a vacation other than staying at a friend's for 1 week in Pennsylvania about 10 years ago. We would love to have a fantasy vacation for our family before our son leaves home , as he is now 18. This is a dream that will be remembered forever. We are a working family , who don't make all that much & live frugally. We live on about $16,500 bring home a year, so we don't overspend. I have always wanted to travel the whole world. I'd love to see the tropical islands, smell the salty breezes, taste fresh coconut. The jungle with it's humid steam rising makes a beautiful sight to behold. The jungle snakes slithering , poison toads croaking & the Amazon in all it's magnificence flowing on as it has from it's beginning. India with it's land mass of people all living on the edge of the ancient Silk road to modern architecture . The scent of curry flowing into my nostrils like the perfume of flowers . China with it's Panda bears& bamboo bring the exotic to mind. The United States with majestic trees like the Sequoia, the Grand Canyon glowing red in the sunset, the Smoky mountains mist rising to cover the valleys of beauty below.Europe has the stunning Alps, thetulips of Holland. So much beauty , so little time , so little money. I want the adventure of a lifetime. Can you help me live my dream? Please help me hear , taste, feel & see all the Earth has for me to experience ! Here's a dream coming true~~http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p190205 Make this my HOMEAWAY ~~~GETAWAY for one week!

Kroger More Deals

Hello! I hope you all are doing good. Here are a few deals I have found at Kroger this week:1)As I posted before the Kashi cereal in 2 packs is a great deal. I ended up buying 16 boxes of Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal for $2.50 for every 2 boxes and a FREE 1/2 gallon of Silk Soy Milk any flavor.I figured up the savings . Each box of Kashi cereal is $5 per box which =$80 plus the soy milk at 8 x $3.19=$25.52, for a total of $105.52 regular price. The total savings then is $85.52. I think that is a real good bargain.I paid a total of $20 for the 16 boxes and the 4 gallons of soy milk.

2)Wishbone Salad Spritzers 7.5 oz.-I bought 5 for $1.45. The regular price on them is $3.79 . The sale price is $1.79. I used a coupon for $.75 , which doubled to $1.50 , so only paid $.29 each.

3)Western Sweet & Sour Dressing-16 oz.-I paid $.50 for it. The regular price is $3.59. It was on sale for $1.70. I had a coupon for $.60 , which doubled to $1.20 for a total of $.50 .

This is what I've found so far. Please keep checking back , as I plan to post bargains I find and hope it will save you money too.

KROGER DEAL:Kashi Cereal And Silk Soy Milk

I found Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal at my Kroger's in the Organic section of store with an orange manager's special discount tag on it. It was two boxes 15 oz. each packaged together with clear shrink wrap with a price of $2.50. The package also has a coupon for a half gallon of Silk Soy milk , any flavor FREE. I got 3 packages of cereal , which is 6 boxes and 3 half gallons of Silk Soy milk for$7.50. The milk alone would have been$9.57. I think I got a pretty good deal and am going back later to check if , they have any more left. I hope some of you can find this deal too.

Walgreen's Buys Today

Hello! I did pretty good at Walgreen's tonight. Here are the items I got:1 Contac Cold/Flu 16 day caplets and 12 night caplets, 2 Benefiber 20 servings each,Gas-X 18 tablets, 3 cans pineapple, 4 cans Madarin oranges, Right Guard anti-prespirant for a total of $36.30 before coupons with a reduction to $13.17 in the end.

Feedback Wanted Desperately, Even If Not Positive

Hey, there again! I'm wanting to know why people look at site , but don't come back.I want your ideas of what you want to read about here ,pertaining to gardening , finances, baking , farm life, etc. I have canned , raised beautiful veggies and flowers , raised chickens, worked in a nursing home- STNA , housekeeping both, worked in factories assembly , loading and unloading trucks, been a nanny. I love the homesteading thing the best though. If anyone has anything about these subjects, they want answers to ; I love to do research also and if I feel it's something i can't do ,I 'll tell you. If you just come to this site,even for a second , can you please leave me an idea of why you like it or why you hate it. Thank you!!

Scott Toilet Paper Deal

Hi everyone!There is a great deal going on at our local IGA and Carnival stores this week. They both have the Scott Extra soft toilet paper for $1 per 4 pack. I have 10 coupons for $.75 each, so can get them for $.25 for a 4 pack.That will give me, 40 rolls of T.P. for $2.50. Check out your Carnival and IGA , they may be having the same deal. They were out when I went , but they gladly gave me a rain check .