My fridge is old, probably as old as I am. It was a hand me down from my grandma. It’s large and snazy looking. It fits our needs, being that it stays cold and was free. And it has a control that says “power miser”. That is the coolest thing ever. That is now my new super hero name. Chanel: The power miser. My kids would probably latch onto that. I’m constantly telling them to turn lots off and unplug things. “What? Do we own stock in pg&e? Do you see any solar cells on our roof?”.
With the whole economy taking a nose dive off of a very long scary cliff and our stocks looking like they can’t go any lower my alarmist tendencies are getting the better of me.
My pantry is brimming because what if this ends up like depression era Germany. My freezer is full of meat. I’m training my family to eat more meatless meals. I’m thinking about taking some pointers from the Mormons and storing a years worth of flour, beans, and rice just in case we end up poor.
I’ve also started reading the Tightwad Gazette to get some new pointers. I’m constantly trying to broaden my horizons and education. I’m not sure though if I can hop on board with some of the author’s tightwaddery. Things like reusing aluminum foil for more than a year and all the bags that all food comes in. She takes the reduce, reuse, recycle to the next level. Though I do recycle like crazy, I don’t reuse as much as I should. I’m not quite at the miser level of the tightwads but I can hop on board with being an energy miser.
Overactiveovaries 
Grandpa is good at reusing bags that bread and such came in! And his left overs are always stored in recycled glass jars. Maybe he’s been reading the Tightwad Gazette too!
The power miser is sooooo the new name I am giving my hubby. I like the lights on, bright and cheery, he is always turning them off. Poop. Our energy bill is outrageous due to the climate here and our pool, last month $770.00, ouch.
As the economy gets worse, I find myself fearing and trying to adjust to an unknown future….and there are many ways to cut costs, some more “creative” than others. Including meatless meals in your menu planning is definitely a great way to save $$ – not to mention the added health and environmental benefits. I work for a public health campaign called Meatless Monday and we have a great recipe archive and weekly newsletter that might give you some ideas. (www.meatlessmonday.com – http://www.eatersdigestnews.com) You might also be interested in reading this article: four dietitians were challenged by USAToday to come up with healthy meals for under $10: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2008-10-22-meals-under-10-bucks_N.htm
Hope you find this useful!
Great post, I especially like to eat local as much as possible. Here I intern with the Eat Well Guide, and we’ve teamed up with Consumers Union (publisher of Consumer Reports) to issue the Local, Organic Thanksgiving Challenge this year. Will you join us? And share a recipe? Read more on the Green Fork http://www.blog.eatwellguide.org/2008/11/take-the-local-organic-thanksgiving-challenge
[…] by overactiveovaries I’m amazing, really rather amazing. Not to brag or anything. My power miser capabilities really are quite […]