When you don't have frugal friends or family in your real life community

russet apples are ready for harvest

I feel like I'm stranded on a deserted island with my little family sometimes. 

The Seattle area used to be a west coast oasis for fairly frugal folk. Many of my in-person friends' parents kept gardens, spent well below their means, drove one car, wore simple but enduring clothing styles for decades, etc. But in my own circle today, it's hard to find any of my contemporaries who continue in their parents' frugal lifestyles. In my extended family, neither of my siblings are frugal. They're both financially successful, so they can afford the luxuries in their lives. I think it's genuinely difficult for them to relate to my daily life. My stepmom was fairly careful with finances in her latter years, however. She grew up on a small farm in Iowa. When she first came into our family, I grilled her regularly on ways her mother stretched their small income.

come and sit with me for a bit

The internet has been a wonderful gathering place for people of various like-mindedness. Case in point, we're just a handful of friends, here, and we are scattered not only across this continent, but from other regions of the world. Could it be that truly frugal friends and family are few and far between for many of us here?

the begonias are still going strong

Do you have moments in each day where you just want to share your latest frugal accomplishment with a friend, neighbor, or sibling? Or a question when you need help/inspiration/encouragemnt DIY-ing or fixing something yourself? 

but the hydrangeas are about done for the year

Have you wondered where the cheapest local place would be to buy an X,Y or Z? Do you long to share your bounty of very imperfect-looking garden produce, but are certain most of your friends would shy away from a fruit or vegetable that didn't look as pristine as those found in the market?

the last of the blackberry foraging 
I'll freeze these for a winter smoothie or treat

I keep many of the details of my and my family's life from my siblings. They just wouldn't relate and would most likely suggest remedies that aren't feasible for us. I also fear they would turn up their noses at my homemaking routines. Many of my in-person friends don't get the frugal aspect of me either.

So, I turn to and share with you. You, friends, are always welcome into this little corner of my life.

Do you ever feel like a frugal loner in your real life community of family or friends?

 

Harvest Season Front Porch Planters

I finished the porch wall trough planters this week. I had mentioned going to Dollar Tree and spending $10 plus tax on some faux florals, pumpkins, and leaf sprays. I also said I'd try to go to another Dollar Tree and pick up a couple more sprays to fill out the planters.

To hold the faux decor in place, I used the lid to a styrofoam cooler, cut in half.

I had a can of spray paint in brown that I bought for another project. Styrofoam really soaks up the paint. A few coats later, and I had 2 brown flat sheets for the troughs.

Above are the additional pieces I bought at the other Dollar Tree. I spent $5 plus tax on 2 sprays of cattails and 2 sprays of yellow marigolds. I cut all of the sprays apart into single stems so I could divide some of the elements in each arrangement.

Laying this all out, I could see the troughs would look a bit sparse. So I dug through the box of free pile faux foliage and found fern, ivy, and leaf pieces.

I took some time over the weekend to lay it all out in a pleasing arrangement.

Again, I could see it would still look sparse and show too much of the brown styrofoam. I added a roll of boxwood garland to secure around the highly visible edges.

The styrofoam pieces needed a little trimming down to size with a serrated knife in order to fit inside the coir liners. Once I had them sized right, I placed some plain blocks of styrofoam under the brown ones as support.

Many of my florals had stems that would poke into the styrofoam nicely. For those pieces that didn't have any such stem, I added toothpicks. This is to prevent birds, squirrels, and wind from tossing these objects around. I secured lengths of the boxwood garland with regular U pin hairpins.

For the loose leaves, I made stems using hot glue and toothpicks. To make inserting the pieces easier, I used a wood skewer to pre-poke holes.

Ready to see the finished product? Drumroll, please.

And here's one of the finished planters.

My front porch is looking ready for harvest season, which will carry us through Thanksgiving. I'll switch out the planters with something wintry the first of December.

So, costs -- 

I spent $15 plus tax at Dollar Tree to create both arrangements. That's $7.50 each! I also spent $18.50 plus tax on the two coir trough liners.  The second expense is for reusable parts of the troughs that will be used 4 seasons of the year for a long time. I think my costs are pretty reasonable, and I created something very similar to an autumnal window box that I had seen online.