Laundry, and saving

As I mentioned previously, supporting our family on one income has become increasingly difficult over the last year or so. One of my goals for this space is for it to be a place where discussion about "life on the ground" as a homemaker and/or as a pagan can take place, so I will attempt to be as open (and probably boring) as possible. Chris got a promotion last April, and while it's more money, it included moving to a different building about 40 miles away. Between the cost of gas and buying himself lunch, instead of coming home on his lunch hour as he did for years when work was five minutes away, in real terms we're taking in less now than we were before. To this end, now that our wedding is over, my main focus is to do everything I can to get our budget under control. Tonight I bought and put together a drying rack and hung up a load of laundry for the first time since...well, ever, honestly. I have also been researching ways to weatherize our house that don't require a significant outlay. I found a couple awesome websites for this: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_improvement.hm_improvement_index and http://www.alliantenergy.com/UtilityServices/ForYourHome/EasyEnergySavers/index.htm. My first purchases were Duck Foam Socket Sealers and Duck Double Draft Seal. The door seal was super easy, but I haven't tried the socket seals yet - will report back on them when I do. I'm also looking into things like insulating our water heater and hot water pipes, having an energy audit done (our power company does them for free - so awesome!!), and finding something Chris told me exists but I have yet to see: apparently, they make power strips that come with a remote control, so we can just push a button and actually cut power to our TV, PS3, satellite receiver, computer, and stereo system, thus avoiding phantom power loss. I am extremely excited about this possibility, and heading to Home Depot tomorrow to investigate it. We also purchased a new microwave the other day with some of our wedding money, as a couple buttons on our old one had stopped working, and the new one has a button you can push to turn the thing off totally, again avoiding teh evil phantom power!!! It makes me way happier than a microwave has any right to, in all honesty.

On a spiritual level, my new goal for myself is to at all times expect abundance. As pagans, we know better than anyone the power that thought, will and intent have, and that belief and expectation can make all the difference - for example, in whether a ritual succeeds or fails. As someone who has struggled all her life with sometimes-crippling anxiety disorders, fear and worry are among the things I do best - but I am working on making myself believe that abundance will come; and more importantly, to remember that, even when situations seemed impossible, the Gods have always provided and seen us through, and always will. If I can just shut my stupid, worrying head up and trust in Them, there is nothing we cannot do together.

So now tell me: what are your little ways of saving money, or of helping Mother Earth?

Brightest blessings,
Alicia