Monday Message

“A cardinal principle of the gospel is to prepare for the day of scarcity. Work, industry, frugality are part of the royal order of life. Remember these words from Paul: "If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” (Keith B. McMullin, April 2007)

We go through times our income is tighter than others. Personally when things are better I make sure to purchase for the less money times we have. This way we can get through the harder times.

I find the more you know how to do or make for your family the better things will be, whether your income is higher or lower.

I find your mindset is as important because if you are angry that you have hard times or feel you deserve or are owed this, that, or the other thing then you will be very unhappy, but, if you prepare, you will be more at peace. And if you have an “I can do this” attitude and you have worked on your skills, you know you can fix or make do with what things should come up.

Bad things happen to good people, it does not make them bad. It is just how things happen. We should not judge and we should not blame each other. Work together. Another time may go well. If it does, remember to make ready for when things go bad next time. If they don’t, great, but be prepared anyway.

Keep those skills up and learn more. I need to replace my dishcloths. I cannot ever remember buying them from the store and if you have ever been gifted homemade dishcloths you would never want to buy them at the store. Knowing how to make them yourself is a great skill. 

When you are first learning to knit making these are a great place to start. I am using my own take on the popular Grandma's Favorite on Ravelry.

Use cotton yarn. I am using up scraps I have as well as what I already had in my stash of which I picked many up at yardsales and clearance sales, lots from others clearing out their stash too.

Here is my version of Grandma's Favorite dishcloth found on Ravelry. I am doing the no holes version.

My version (pictured above).

I use cotton yarn
Size 9 short needles

Cast on 3 stitches
Knit all three stitches
Next row = Knit 2 stitches in the third stitch by knitting in the front and back of the loop and then knit the rest of the stitches. 

(Here is a video on how to knit in the front and the back of a stitch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILcTB5hc0XM)

You continue to repeat that last row until you get 35 stitches on your needle then you…

Knit 2 stitches then knit the next two stitches together and then knit all the rest of the stitches. Do this over and over each row until you have five stitches left. 

(Here's a video on how to knit two stitches together - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBpbLmgwHFA)

Knit 2 stitches then knit the next two together, then knit the rest.

Knit one then knit two together then knit last one.

You now have three stitches left.

Bind off and weave in ends.

I tug it into a square.

This is smaller than the one on Ravelry.  I like smaller ones.

I am replacing my old ones which will go to my husband as paint cloths. He paints pictures. If you would like to see his work you can go onto his site www.dickshook.com. So he will use my old dishcloths.

So this is very frugal all the way around.

Would it take less time buying some dishcloths? Yes, but have you tried these?? Again, they last way way way longer. And knowing how to do my own with what I already have on hand is a skill that I can do. It saved me running into town and spending money on gas and buying something that would not last. I also find knitting them to be relaxing.

What skills are you working on? What frugal things are you doing?

It is a good feeling to know I have skills that help with filling in the gaps we may have in our income. But that doesn’t stop me from learning more skills that could help us.

https://www.littlehouseliving.com/easy-homemade-pizza-sauce-recipe.html - here is a pizza sauce you can make rather than running out for pizza.

Do you ever say, "oh well, I will just get this or that," when if you did it yourself it would have taken less time and money? 

When we are frugal it might not seem like it saves a lot but when you do it many times it adds up. If you don’t have to spend you can live on less.

If you need to live on less, do it. If you don’t need to live on less, do it anyway.

When I first started working on this Monday Message we had ice overnight and everything is coated in ice.

Having storage is such a good thing. It means we are not out on the ice and it means that I also had ice melt ready for the walk way.

It is hard to think of everything, but do the best you can.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_O8g6TaapQ&t=60s - this was so funny yet will help you understand about toilet paper.

So for years I have wanted this book and last week I got it for less than four dollars. It was written in 1978. I am enjoying reading it. She has a mix section where you can make your own mixes and lots of money saving info. I always look for information on saving money ideas.

See if you can get it library loan. If not I did buy my copy used on amazon.

Keep working on your storage. Keep finding ways to be frugal. Do the best you can.