A Thrifty Tip from Across the Water

Hi guys! We have another inspiring guest poster here today to share a money saving tip with us! If you missed the first posts of the series here's where you can find them:

My Monthly Budget--A Love Letter To Myself

Budgeting on a Budget

 Today we are excited to introduce Amelia! She is awesome, and we know you will love her, so without further ado...

 (This is me, sporting my pink lipstick and side pony, I’m pretty sure it helps me get things done around my house.)

I’m delighted to be guest posting for Pretty Providence.  The Pretty Jessica is my cousin, and we share a thrifty family connection.  I think my dad and his brothers (one of whom is Jessica’s dad!) and sisters share a very thrifty family heritage, for which I’m very grateful.  I wish dearly I had a picture that hangs in our Grandma’s home.  It is of her in the 1950’s with a beautiful scarf on her head, hanging up her washing on the washing line in her backyard.  I’ll bet she never realized that she would have a granddaughter who would do the same! 

I should explain: my thrifty tip is a simple one I’ve learned from living in Scotland for the last 10 years.  These Scot’s have a great reputation for being thrifty, and I’ve found it to be very true.  If someone is very thrifty you call them canny, and so I’m going to share a canny tip with you. In Scotland I’d say about half of the people don’t have dryers to dry their clothes.  That’s right.  No dryers or as they might call it, “tumble dryers.” From living here I’ve learned that running a dryer is one of the most expensive appliances you can run in your house!  

In fact many people have in their homes now electricity monitors.  It gauges how much electricity you are using in your home at any one time.  You can switch off appliances one by one and see which ones use the biggest amount of electricity.  (You can see an example, here! ) We all know that units of electricity cost money, and in all reality it is very likely that your energy bills will be rising with the crunch on natural resources growing all around the world.   Being in control of how you use electricity in your home can help you live a provident life. So I do what my grandma did before me, I hang my washing out to dry on a washing line!  

Scotland is a very wet country, but it is also very windy.  Even on a very dull day, the wind will help blow my clothes dry!  But I have other tips too, I always hang my husband’s  shirts for work and church on hangers  and then hang them up on the shower rail  in my bathroom which happens to be a very warm and dry room. I also have a variety of airing racks that help me get things dry in the winter. 

I have one of these which pulls out accordion style from the wall:

My absolute favorite is a triangle shape and sits over the bathtub.  It uses up a space that isn’t used most of the day.  (Yes I realize I just said I have a favorite piece of equipment to do laundry with, I know I am a nerd.)

I have three kids and a husband and we produce our fair share of dirty laundry, but I manage to survive without  a tumble dryer just fine.  For those of you who live in warmer climates, (I’m thinking about you Jessica!) I challenge you to try using the natural elements to dry your laundry, you might find that you like how your laundry feels and smells after hanging it out to dry!  Drop by and say hello and let me know how you got on!

About the author: Amelia describes herself as a "mom of three, wife of one Scotsman, editor, reader, chef and friend." She was born and raised in the U.S.A. but has spent the last ten years residing in the beautiful country of Scotland. She has a personal blog, Hands Across The Water, where she shares anecdotes of daily life. She is sweet and witty and you will love reading her posts!

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