Any tips for a soon to be housewife?

Lol, Yes I saw the humor in this. I know it's better to relax. Hopefully I'll be working for a company and be able to take care of my great grandmother in law during the day. That will be a little extra money and won't be as stressful and hectic as some jobs. I may continue to do this for awhile while I go to school... etc... but yes it's imperative to keep everyone happy and the house looking good! I once saw a 50's magazine ad that had guidelines very close to what you had put ... well I appreciate your response! Thank you very much, and I hope you have a wonderful day. God Bless you.

SEE...I told you...ironing sucks! LOL! Non Ironers Unite!!!!

Damp Cloth: I think I've heard of that, though that's a really great idea. This is whilst the clothes are damp? I'm a bit confused there though!
Half The Detergent:Somewhere I've heard that as much as the manufacturer says is needed can be bad for the clothes. I haven't seen it myself, but this may be for the liquid detergent vs the powder, that my fiance's mom uses. My family uses powder and liquid. I'll definitely be using less, if for nothing else then to save money.
Frugal Dishes: We'll see what we can do! My fiance is very picky on what he eats, but I'm sure I can find something he'll be willing to try! lol!
Shopping Smart: Another suggested meal planning, so stocking up on on sale meat is a good idea. I've also read an article on how a group of women got together and prepared a week's worth of meals (or maybe a month?) and froze them to be defrosted and heated later.
Electricity: I already go a long and turn off lights, and I've been known to unplug a few things as well! I'm also thinking about getting a washer that doesn't require electicity. I forget what it's called though, but it's one that requires wash basin tubs. I was just searching for it today! Ah, The Wringer Washer!

Hi Irish, I have not ironed in years. I do not even know where my iron is. I was taught to iron. collars and sleeves first and then the shoulders. YUCKY! Not me. what a waste of time. Don't buy anything that needs ironing. My mother would make us sew in the pleats of our school uniform skirts before seam pressing them with a cloth. This was done every week! Irons should be made obsolete.

Whoop! whoop! No ironing!

That seems like a lot of work, but really I think our society's getting lazier... lol.

Hi irishfriendly,
Some just or almost like me. Well almost anyway. I HATE ironing so every time it starts to grow more than three things a day I quickly get them ironed and out of the way bit like zapping flies lol.
I make almost a ritual the basic cleaning floors, bathroom, bedrooms, I open all the windows for a while and them close them so that when the heat goes down and I open the windows and the shutters again in comes the cool air saving in air conditioners. Same thing in winter I let all the sunlight I can during the day and wham close windows and shutters tight save on heating. Thats my basic house keeping and cleaning and I have to be inspired to do dusting lol.
Also lazy when it comes to washing and peeling greens and stuff so I tend to do enough for two days or maybe three and in the fridge goes the rest of the food. We don´t have second hand shops here they did´nt catch on so I can´t do that here.
But I don´t want to be a slave to any house. You have a right to your own time to. Good luck.

Oh...and the old faithful I gave you a long time ago.
www.stretcher.com

Basically, be on top of the game? right? I am the world's worst with procrastinating over dishes. When I lived with my mom and had to do the dishes, I'd wait until the last minute. I guess though, that was because I had to wash by hand. We're getting a dishwasher if the place we get doesn't have one, though I feel sure it will. Even so, cleaning the spills AND putting dishes in the dishwasher, still some work if your lazy liek me! HAHAHA! Never buy that fabric again, afraid I'm a walmart shopper, I'm sure the stuff will wrinkle. My family hardly ever ironed, so I guess we're just not in that habit... though I'll be ironing. I've heard you mention that book before, I'm also going to be investing in a nice set of recipes (whether it be cookbook or not) and getting lots of coupons! We have a wedding registry at Wally World, but we may get money from a few people, so that will always work! On top of that, Wal Mart is paying us to have a registry there, that is to say, my fiance works there now! lol, naw they ain't paying him for that, but it's almost like that, oh and for shopping there...

Lai21- Hope you don't mind the abbreviation. Let's see... Dusting, lol, though I'm not one to like it either, is a must. We're all allergic to dust here! So we've got to keep everything straight. Opening windows etc, is a great idea, and using natural resources to heat, AND COOL! Great!

Hiya thea09,

Second you about getting a separate account that is a must if you can otherwise you can find it difficult to buy your own things as you want.

If your economic situation does not permit you to have a bank account of your own well keep the money for yourself in other places but I´m not going to write that on here. You know where you can hide or stash your cash away. One has to be clever and knowing. I have also become more wise over these past few years you need to think of yourself a bit more instead of everyone else otherwise you might find yourself in a dead end so to speak.
When I can buy cheap I buy and save that money for me if I can. Of course every so often you get to feeling soft hearted have almost been tempted this very morning to let my savings go again and then inside of me said a big NO lol just wait and see if they come up with some other way to get the money themselves. Here I am talking about your kids lol if you have any. They will try all ways to wangle the money out of you.

Hi, there was actually a serious point to it as well as just squirreling away money for oneself. Look how many women are left alone and are clueless how to balance a cheque book or know how a mortgage is dealt with, or look at those debts she knew nothing about. I'm not talking about me here but it happens and it shouldn't because one should never let such a serious matter out of ones own hands. Women are much better organised than men anyway, there's just no denying it, but men can be very handy about things like getting up on roofs.

Hey Ya'll, well I appreciate all you've had to say. thea09, I think I may have confused you again. By an iron, I mean a steam iron to take care of clothes. My fiance and I take care of our finances ourselves, that is to say while he balances the checkbook, I know what's going on in our accounts as well. He's very wise with money, he doesn't like to spend what he doesn't have to, though just like anyone else, he likes to get things for himself from time to time. I think our finances will be safe as ours. Saving in a different account or different way is a great idea. We'll most definitely be saving money back for a rainy day. Just seeing from my in laws perspectives, we'll need any saved money we have. Which is where mylot comes in handy, am I right?

Hi again, did you think I meant a golfing iron? No, I meant a steam iron, but, it's men who have those shirts with huge shoulders to do and ironing really is a terrible bore

I had a GF who only did ironing when she had brandy in the house. She would iron something and then take a sip of brandy. she said that this was so boring that she needed the lift the brandy gave her!

What I meant was if you take something from your closet that is wrinkled then don't iron it. Fling it in the dryer with a damp tea towel or something and give it a 3 or 4 minutes and th wrinkles will come out. enough time for you to hope on the shower and get ready for work whilst the wrinkles are coming out.

Husband and wife should each have their own=mad' money for spending and not accounting to the other person what they spent it on. After all - he may be saving for your Christmas present!

Save those pennies too - every women needs a secret account in case things get bad and you have to leave quickly. Life can change and we can be knocked sideways. Something can happen whereby you need the money. This is apart freom regular savings.

Above all - make frugal fun. Also double up on meals when you cook and freeze them - even triple up if you can. It is so good to take something out of he freezer and put it in the fridge to re heat or microwave int h evening. enlist his help too. Just explain that id you both help with the household chores then you will not be exhaust4d and have more time for him!!!!

Okay I have it straight on the ironing for all. Instead of having a separate account, I guess when it comes to things that are a surprise gift, I will take the money out when needed. Just gradually so I wouldn't alert him. He doesn't like surprises, and neither do I... so saying it's a surprise would be bad! lol!

Whatever you do don't pretend you like suprise gifts or he'll be doing it for evermore, make sure he knows what you want before you end up with something really ghastly like a meat hammer.

You know reading your response reminded me of something. An old friend's sister got a steam cleaner thing for her birthday, but it advertised that you could steam garments... So that might work better or easier then an iron, and it'd be multifunctional atleast when it comes to cleaning curtains... Oh the lunch is for both of us, but I guess I was more asking how to save on lunch, sorry didn't clarify. Oh yea and the coupon thing is a MUST, so what if you have coupons? it saves more if their stuff you use and know you'll use.Cheaper doesn't mean your saving if it's an impulse buy. lol.

A steam cleaner would probably work great. I like my rotten way of doing thing though!

Why change what works, right? I don't know that I'll even get a steam cleaner like I said. If we get an iron for a wedding present, and an ironing board, I'm not going to waste my money on something else, ya know? lol.

And never go to bed angry - stay up late and plan your revenge!!!!!! Only kidding!

Lol, I have heard of that one! Very funny, but very wrong too! Hope no one ever takes that advice seriously!

All of those tips sound great. I appreciate them! My fiance only likes left overs for the next day, sometimes two but it depends on what it is. Spaghetti, taco's, and pizza he'll eat for three days... of course we don't leave food for longer then that, unless we're going to freeze it! We both clean now, but I think I'm more lazy about it. That's soon going to change though, I'm sure. I guess the fact that we don't have our own house yet makes me not want to clean as much, but if it's my stuff, I'll clean. Kinda sounds selfish a bit, I know. In any case, For cooking, I'm sure we'll both have dishes we want to cook, and some we don't. We'll work that out when we plan our meals! Which is a good idea. We'll have to see if that actually happens though, all depends on the scheduling, rigt? . As for dates? Popcorn and a movie does it for us. We're not very social people, so just staying home and reading, watching t.v., or playing a videogame is entertainment enough!

Again, I appreciate all you've wrote!

Turning Negatives into positives. Like that. I know it's much easier said then done, but I also know it can be done. Keeping Patience is good too, though I need to learn on that.

It's just my perception about things If things seem to be negative I turn it into positive I analyze why this negative things are happening. I'm a positive thinker that's why I didn't see problem as a problem, If there is something wrong find ways to make it right. Always remember the individual differences.

You sound to lead a very good life! Never taking things too seriously but only taking them in stride. Am I Right? Are you married?

Yah if I take things too serious I will die early. I'm married I have a 2 yrs old daughter.

The transition from woman to wife and then to mother shouldn't be a hard one at all. My fiance and I are both homebodies, are dates consist of going to wal*mart to pick up groceries with his mom, or going out to eat with his parents. We don't care to go out any place and when we do it's just as good to have others with us then to be by ourselves. Of course from time to time I like to go out with just him, but even that could be a simple ride up the road and back.

Communication is very much key! I agree with you there. Learning to adjust to everything and take everything in stride is also a good idea! Very nice! I appreciate the response!

That is some good advice! It reminds me of a joke I once heard, and a country song I can't remember the name of, nor most of the words to! lol! The joke goes as such: An elderly dying woman asks her husband to finally get down a box that he had never asked about and she never divulged him with. She told him that her own mother told her years before that whenever she was angry she should crochet a doll... In the box was only one doll and some money. The husband teared up so happy to have never angered her but once only... then he thought to ask about the money "Oh, that's the money I got for selling all the other dolls"... While the latter part isn't funny and the fact that the woman is dying is not funny either... there is a good idea in the story... Busy yourself before getting any more angrier... I try to do that now.

The song was talking about a man and woman, the man being abusive but the woman loving him through it all... I believe the man called himself lucky to have such a woman by his side.

I hope you have a great anniversary coming up! I hope in fifty years I will be as happy as this woman in your story was!