Curbside Recycling....

Here in the land of Frugal, there has been a multi-decade debate on curbside recycling. Either you can feel good about your efforts by putting/sorting your recyclables at the curb in a separate container, a separately prepared sanitation truck comes and takes the recyclables away and all is good.

The truth is to have that type of program, just doubles your fuel and equipment costs to maintain and the amount of $$ earned from the program is absorbed by the costs. We are capitalists, so the bottom line is what it is about, not just an offset or a ROI for the program being neutral.

The alternative we like to use is the recycling stations. Those that recycle go to the places to recycle. In our county there are several stations within 5 miles of the haus and one was even created as an Eagle Scout project for a local boy. Congratulations!

Anyhoo...the debate of curbside recycling is now part of the mayoral debates of the City of St. Petersburg. Here is the story or "Truth O Meter" for your consideration:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/local/kathleen-ford-hits-both-ends-of-truth-o-meter-with-recycling-claims/1039231

Contamination of the bins is serious, but the bins are manually sorted, but it is frustrating to see in the bins, no glass or Styrofoam and there are plenty of those materials 'dumped'; additional time and money are needed all at an expense, while some greeny is feeling good, that they at 'least' recycled it. What they have done, is recycled the problem to someone else, which is also stereotypical of a segment of the 'green' movement.

In the meantime, we Frugals continue to recycle, sort and correctly place our recyclables in neighborhood containers weekly and encourage you to do the same. Enjoy your week!

Been a while...

It's been a while I know.

I have a new position with my employer, something that is a product of a lot of hard work, increased focus and renewed energy found within myself.

For a long time, I was very unhappy with myself. That unhappiness created many waves and ripples.

Self confidence, self esteem and power of thought are very important and vital elements of a person's pyche. I am convinced I secured this position through the application of those three items. Having 23 years of experience and significant tenure in my position at work is a good thing, but also one of those, why 23 years? Where has the growth occurred? It has occurred and the recent promotion is the result.

There were others that were stronger technically than I and others that were more well versed than I, however I brought a package to the interview team.....talk about an experience. 7 interviews in three days!

Anywhooo, I was offered the position, got a nice salary bump and another rise in my step.

The new position will not change our outlook on Frugality.

For example, our power bill only went up $10 from July to August's usage. Although the A/C probably ran longer than the prior month, we maintained the thermostat at 77 degrees. Made sure all fans and lights were off, if no one was in the room and unplugged any chargers that were capable of vampire charges.

More to come as we are starting to dry some of our clothes on a clothesline, cutting out one dryer cycle for every two laundry loads!

Good times.

New Housing Trend?

Came across and article on potential new housing trends....people are starting to want a smaller home, not the "McMansions" that were so popular in the 90's and beyond.

Check it out....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20090729/ts_usnews/thehomeofthefuture8innovationsinstore

The trend may be contained as this, "coming years, however, will give way to an increasingly intimate, personalized approach to home construction, with consumers viewing residential real estate as more of an instrument of self-expression."

Less to build, but more amenities than before. Think about it....do you really need a family room and a living room? The Frugals have decided to eliminate the living room with its uncomfortable and stuffy furniture and turn it into a place we can use....a library for the us to use on a daily basis.

Better yet, this will probably turn into an Ikea commercial as we are doing it all through them. Stay tuned!

Let me know what you think of the trend.....next time we will be talking about some conspiracy theories that are afoot and how you can avoid them.

Disneyland versus Disneyworld

Back from vacation fellow frugals!

One adventure we saved up for was to go to see Disneyland and its neighbor, California Adventureland. Two different, but very similar parks to what we have on the east coast of North America.

Here are some of our impressions:

• Sleeping Beauty's castle is pretty neat, you can walk through it and relive the childrens fairytale. Smaller than Cinderella's but neat. We were there 54 years and 51 weeks after the park opened. To think Uncle Walt walked through these same halls!


• It's a Small World; Hands down, Disneyland's is better. Outside, a huge glockenspiel and it is the first time we saw the new additions in the building


• Autopia.....way cooler and better than Disneyworld's
• Two words for the ultimate what started it all.......'The Matterhorn'. Disney's first and then replicated it at Animal Kingdom.


• Haunted Mansion....the same
• Pirate's of the Carribean...why call it that when it starts in New Orleans?
• Space Mountain....it feels like it is the same

Too many to describe, but we are certainly glad we shelled out the $$$ to go experience the parks. A few tips that apply here as well. It was not that crowded, don't know if it was the days we went (Monday/Tuesday) or the economy in Southern California, but:

• Use Fast Pass, we did not wait any longer than 30 minutes without it.
• Left or right? Always choose left. Shorter lines
• Look for the ala carte items to eat lunch. Cannot go wrong with Mexican cuisine
• Break the lands up and explore. We found if we did it leisurely, we lasted longer and saw everything multiple times

Anyhoo....hope you find this helpful, if your in Anaheim....go do it and compare!

Sightseeing on the cheap......

For the price of a tank of a gas, the Frugal's took part in a number of sightseeing activities in Southern California.....visiting roadside icons in the area.

Checkout these oddities in your own hometown, you'll be amazed at what you will find.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/

Included in this trip:

• The Dinosaurs of Cabazon. If you've seen "Pee-Wee's Great Adventure", you've seen these beauties
• The Dinosaurs of the Jurupa Cultural Center in Riverside
• The Giant hand-carved Indian Head by Peter Toth at the Cabot Museum in Desert Springs. There is at least one of these in every state. 3 in Florida!
• Giant VW Spider
• World's Largest Paper Cup (ok, it's really concrete)
• a huge windmill farm
• Tram at Palm Springs

So check out your area, you will never know what you may find for those fun and family moments!

Let's Play Ball....

The Frugals are on vacation. We have scrimped, saved and planned the vacation to maximize family and exploration time.

We took in a ball game, we follow the Rays closely and tried to match up a Rays game with a game on the West Coast, but it didn't happen, instead we took in an Angels game. The last time we were at this stadium, we watched the Rams play. What a difference! Angels Stadium is a fan's stadium. Cool breezes, covered seating and an exciting game to watch over our Nation's holiday.

On the agenda this week, a tour of Southern California Roadside wonders, Disneyland using Rewards points, tidepools, Legoland, desert hikes and most important, family time.

Stay tuned

3....2....1...Staycation!

Been a while since the Frugal's posted, we have been busy with vacation plans and summer.

A lot has been said about taking a staycation during these economical times. We decided to take part in an event that will no longer be around after 2010. We attended a shuttle launch a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, the shuttled did not take off like the picture due to a hydrogen leak, however it still was a great vacation at a bargain price.

We stayed at the Jetty Park campground which is adjacent to Port Canaveral. Here is a link for the details:

http://www.jettypark.org/

A very reasonable and clean/open campground.

Set up was easy at the campground, there is a nearby grocery store for supplies. Fishing on the pier is a 24 hour event. Manatee sightings along with sea turtle sightings made the trip a nature outing as well.

Outside of gas to bring the camper over there, this was easily a <$200 weekend with food and extra's. Check out the world famous Ron Jon surfshop....it's an experience.

Well the shuttle is now supposed to go July 11th. We won't be there this time, but there will be the opportunity for a few more launches to go see and feel the thunder. After that, we will welcome the Constellation series of NASA.

We had a great time, weathered an incredible intense thunderstorm and even stayed dry. More to come on our real vacation!

Just heard about some soap solution you can use to combat mosquito's and using peanut butter to get dried gum out of clothes