joshua tree workshop 2018

Monday, April 23, 2012

Gaby Sunheart's "How to Save THOUSANDS towards your cabin/tiny house" with domestic thrift

     Gaby Sunheart, one of the readers/contributors on our "Tiny Yellow House and Relaxshacks.com" facebook group/board, recently took up the offer to provide us with a guest post here on Relaxshacks, and one that I think you'll find beneficial, in a HUGE money saving way. SO MANY PEOPLE ask me, whether its by email, at the workshops I've hosted, or in our discussion groups "But Deek, how do we go about saving for our tiny house when we're stuck in a debt trap in the meantime?". Well....here's some of MANY approaches you might be able to employ....

  SAVE OVER $10,000 IN ONE YEAR!
ENOUGH TO BUILD YOURSELF A SWEET MICRO-CABIN! 



A dollar saved is a (tax-FREE) dollar earned! Want to build yourself a cabin but don't have the money saved to make it happen!? Here are some easy, environmentally friendly, ways to save over $10,000 in just one year!

SAVE $256 ON PAPER PRODUCTS!
Use cloth napkins and save $156 a year. PLUS save an additional $100 each year by using bar rags instead of paper towels (I save my paper towels for the really disgusting tasks!)- this is factoring in washing, etc.

SAVE $1,200 EACH YEAR ON LUNCH!
Bring leftovers to work for lunch and save a minimum of $1,200 a year. And that's assuming your buying a low end fast-food lunch.

SAVE $1,000 - $1,800 EACH YEAR ON SNACKS!
Replace junkie snacks bought out of desperation with cut up veggies and save up to $1,800 a year. Less junk, more fresh stuff!

SAVE $1000 A YEAR!
Drink filtered water and save $1,000 a year. Why drink water out of a one time use plastic bottle? The plastic breaks down … leaving you to ingest harmful chemicals. I boil my tap water and add a couple of slices of fresh ginger to it. Gives my water a fresh zing. You could also add lemon or lime to it! 
             (Deek: Also check out the book "Bottlemania"- which shows just how dishonest and unenvironmental most of these bottled water companies are. I try to never buy/drink bottled water- far too many negatives behind it).  

SAVE AT LEAST $120 EACH YEAR COURTESY OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY!
Make it a no-buy year. Books, magazines and CD's. Instead get them from your library for FREE! Even if you only buy 1 book a month at $10. That's another $120 dollars saved!

CABLE ROTS THE BRAIN AND YOUR WALLET! SAVE $840 EACH YEAR!
Let the cable company keep their commercials! Most of my favorite shows are now offered online for FREE and with less commercials! Save up to $70 a month! I shut mine off on New Years day. And I have already saved nearly $300! BONUS! I've spent hours upon hours of my life doing far more important things!

SIMPLY UNPLUG UNUSED APPLIANCES! SAVE $60-$120 EACH YEAR.
Save anywhere from 5%-10% off of your electrical bill each year simply by unplugging appliances while not in use! Consider unplugging your; desktop and laptop computers, TV, DVD player, stereo, radios, coffeemaker, lamps, toasters, phone charger when not in use, microwave. And whenever possible unplug your washer and dryer.

SAVE ANOTHER $50 A YEAR!
By simply shutting your closet doors, you will reduce the amount of heat/air conditioning your household uses.
  (Deek: Or simply air condition only one centrally used room during the day, and save even more!)

HANG DRY AND SAVE $104-$350 EACH YEAR!
It's starting to warm up! Why not let the sun do what it does best and dry your clothes! Or try this cool trick … I made hang drying easy on myself by installing a clothes rod hanger above my washing machine. I simply hang my clothes on the hangers and hang them up. Then I put them away when they are dry! No folding, no ironing (which saves a little additional electricity + your precious time!). Simply hang dry your clothes and save just over a $1 a load. You can multiply that $1 by how many loads you do a year and bank the savings!
BONUS: Hang up your towel in between uses. When you use a clean towel to dry your clean body off after showering...the towel is still clean. It's just damp. You can use it for a solid week before it needs to be washed! Don't hang it on a peg...that does not help it stay fresh. It needs to be completely aired out, over a towel bar. When possible hang it outside. You will save time, water and energy.

TAKE A RIDE! AND SAVE $6000 A YEAR!
Take the bus, ride your bike (most buses have easy to use bike racks). This may not always be practical depending on where you live. But most cities are set up with convenient mass-transportation. When my car broke down a couple of years ago, I started taking the bus, the train (I've made some great friends on the train, caught up on work etc.) and have saved myself at least $500 a month. When you account for gas, insurance, car payments, registration fees...in all likelihood it's far more than that.

IF YOUR A TEA DRINKER! SAVE $104-$730 EACH YEAR!
$104-(for tea out of the tin) or $730 if your buying cans/big gulps.
Instead of buying overly sweetened tea out of a can or a big gulp of overly sweetened tea at some fast food place … or even pricey cardboard boxes or tins with 20 or so tea-bags inside for $3-$5 ... You can easily grow your own tea herbs / and use fresh ginger to make tea. That is something I just started to do. And the quality is so much better. Get yourself a cool metal tea ball, stuff it with fresh mint and your good to go! BONUS: Save money on allergy medicine! Use a little of your savings to buy organic, locally sourced honey. It will help reduce any allergies you may have!

COFFEE DRINKERS - SAVE $700!
Brew your own coffee at home and save $700 per person a year.

SAVE ANOTHER $3000 EACH YEAR ON FOOD!
Buy or download a copy of one of my books! “Feed Your Family on $25 A Week! (no coupons)!” And/or “Gluten-Free on $5 A Day!” Both books are packed with easy-healthy recipes, menus, shopping lists and more. Everything you need to get healthy while saving money on food! Or just check out my website for free recipes and money saving tips! 

A little about me … I love to save money, cook for and feed the homeless and I really enjoy teaching my money saving workshops. But most of all; I love my child collection … they are my world :) For more about me, free recipes and my online bookshop go to; www.GabySunheart.com

-Gaby

For MANY thirft ideas on saving a heck of alot of money and time on building materials, check out my book "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks" as well...