The True Queen Of Frugal: Tidbits From Butterberry Farm

I have to say, I’m having withdrawals from my new friend Mrs. Adelia. I haven’t gone to see her this week, and I’m just bursting at the seams with questions! It’s hard to find excuses for me to go to her house without just saying, “Uhh… can I come over?” But today I was going nuts wanting to get up with her again, so I called her and asked her if she was planning on going to the mill any time soon. I told her I’d really like to go sometime. She said she’d be happy to take me, so we’re planning on going some time next week (hopefully!).

Before I go on, I’d like to answer some questions from the last post. I would love to give out more info as to where the Amish stores are located, but I try really hard not to give too much information about where I live as a safety precaution, since I am posting pictures of myself and my children. We have had some really creepy people make disturbing comments before and the thought of them having some clue as to where I live really freaks me out! As far as sharing recipes goes, that’s something I’m considering. I’ve been holding out on them because I am pondering the possibility of turning this series into an e-book in the future… maybe. If Mrs. Adelia is interested in doing that with me, I would love to share her many recipes in the book. We will see!

Although I don’t have another meeting to share with you, I have remembered just a few things from my last visit that I forgot to share. So, here are a few tidbits on saving money from the Queen of Frugal herself:

As I mentioned in my first post, she makes her own bars of soap for her family and also sells them at the Farmer’s Market. Well, she showed me a frugal little trick she uses to make decorative soaps. Instead of buying a costly soap mold, she has used the plastic tray that chocolates came in to make small, decorative soaps. She also pours the soap into a PVC pipe, and once it’s hardened she just pushes it out and slices it however thick she wants it. Personally, she prefers the thicker, round soaps ’cause she says they are the perfect size for your palm. ( I think she said she also uses cookie cutters as molds. )

She buys her sugar from Walmart. She gets the huge bag, I think it’s like 25 lbs. It’s cheaper to buy it in bulk like that. She stores it under one of their beds in a big plastic bucket covered with a tight lid.

To save on gas, she plans to run all of her errands on one day. She rarely goes into town, but when she does, she goes everywhere she needs to while she’s there.

Instead of regular dishes, their family eats and drinks from camping Enamelware. When I asked her why, she told me because it doesn’t break if the kids drop it, and unlike plastic, it doesn’t melt in the microwave or dishwasher. She just prefers it’s durability. What a great idea!

Out of curiosity I asked her if she uses Ziploc bags. When she told me that she did, I asked if she washes and reuses them. She was a little chagrined as she nodded her head. Realizing she must think that I thought this was funny, I quickly said, “Oh yeah! I do that too!”.

As we talked during our last visit, she told me that often people will bring her stuff. She said that they feel bad for them, like “Oh, that poor family. They are so deprived!” She kinda laughs at that. I can see why. To me, they do not seem poor. They do not seem needy or deprived. To me, they are far richer than the world understands.

So, that’s all I have to share for now. Like I said, I’m planning on visiting with Mrs. Adelia again next week. Hopefully I’ll be able to share my first trip to the flour mill for next week’s Frugal Friday! So, keep an eye out for my next money saving adventure! (I’m so excited!!)