Posted by: Trina January 3, 2012

This article was written by Maureen at Homemade Mothering

A couple years ago my dear friend Kevin forwarded a quote on frugality that has really stuck with me: “Common strategies of frugality include the reduction of waste, curbing costly habits, suppressing instant gratification by means of fiscal self-restraint, seeking efficiency, avoiding traps, defying expensive social norms, embracing cost-free options, using barter, and staying well-informed about local circumstances and both market and product/service realities.”

In our celebrity-obsessed, wealth-entitled culture, the thought of living frugally is both frightening and embarrassing to many people. We have been raised to consume and discard, consume and discard. In an effort to make life “easier”.

No one knows how to do anything anymore. I think a lot of people are hesitant to make changes — like getting rid of paper towels, for example — because they don’t know any different. They don’t even realize that regular cotton towels are just as effective and significantly cheaper. I’ve been using cloth diapers for nearly four years. You may think of this as extra work, but really its just a different way of doing the same task.

I strive to make my life easier by making as much as possible by myself. There is great pride to be had in a batch of homemade laundry detergent. I can’t help but smile as I prepare homemade dinners for my family every night. And I love opening up the refrigerator to find neatly stacked jars of homemade yogurt waiting for me every morning.

I encourage you to invest in items of quality that will last. Buy only what you need. Make what you can. Strive to reduce your consumption while increasing your happiness! You can also find some useful "foodie" ideas from MINT that will give you more ways to a simpler life and save you a bit of money too.

Do you have routine tasks in your daily life that can be done differently to make your life healthier?

Maureen Smithe Brusznicki is a wife, mother and friend to Mother Nature.  When she's not playing with her kids, experimenting with homemade cleaning products or coo k ing in the kitchen she likes to blog about living a healthy and simple life at Homemade Mothering.  Follow her on twitter and join her on Facebook