Teach Your Children to Clean Their Rooms
If you can teach your children to clean their rooms you can definitely spend more time doing fun things with them and not spend your time cleaning up after them.
A Guide to Escaping Materialism and Finding Happiness
Leo over at ZenHabits.net has a good read about how to Escape Materialism and Find Happiness. He brings up many good points without telling you to throw away all your stuff and go live in the woods. Cutting down on purchases is an easy way to live on less money, it sounds so easy but it really does work!
Robeez for First Steps
The current take on shoes for kids who are just learning to walk is the best shoe is no shoe at all. Our pediatrician recommended that The Boy go barefoot as much as possible until he was around 2 years old. The old high-topped, stiff baby shoe is out. Soft, flexible soled shoes are in!
The authors of What To Expect The First Year say, “Shoes for infants should be lightweight, made of a breathable material (leather or cloth, but not plastic), with soles so flexible that you can feel baby’s toes through them (hard soles are absolutely out).”
We were lucky enough to receive a pair of Robeez for The Boy when he was born. He didn’t wear them until months later, but when he did wear them, he wore them almost every day. Robeez are soft, flexible and machine-washable (my favorite part)! These shoes are great for infants and toddlers who are just learning to walk. They allow the foot as much flexibility as a barefoot would, yet provide protection from sharp objects and inclement weather.
As a single-income family, our clothing budget is quite small. When The Boy finally outgrew the Robeez, I just couldn’t justify spending around $20 on another pair. We moved on to some other hand-me-down shoes (although they weren’t as awesome as the Robeez) and now, as he’s past two, I’m not as concerned about the flexibility of the soles. But if you are looking for a pair for your own infant or toddler, check out the gently-used children’s stores in your areas. Scour yard sales and talk to your friends who might give you hand-me-downs. Check eBay or Target (has a similar shoe - by Circo I think).
Eating Locally Grown Foods
Now that you have settled into your single income family routine and have your meals and grocery buying down, you should consider how to increase the health factor in your food.
One way to do this is to buy and eat locally grown foods. Although this will exclude strawberries in December, it can be a great plus for your family’s health and the environment.
So what exactly does it mean to eat locally, and what are the benefits? I mean, we’ve all seen farmer’s markets, perused their offerings and even occasionally indulged in some of their maple syrup candy and apple cider but what does eating locally really translate to?
Read more about Why You Should Eat Locally.
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