Frugal Frederick

Frugal Frederick

I have always been frugal out of necessity and for the love of the environment.  I don't like tossing something that is perfectly usable (hence the reason we waiting so long to buy a fridge to replace the 17-year-old almond colored appliance in our home).  Here are a some ways to save while living in Frederick County, Maryland.

·      Recycling Plant-Ryan went to the dump to toss broken and over used baby items and the told him that most could be discarded (for free) at the Recylcying plant next-door.  He had plastics, metal and car batteries and did not have to pay the dumping fee.  With all the plastic items that are made for kids this is a good way to dispose of these things.  

·      Make your own compost.  You can pick up a compost cylinder for $20.00 from the Solid Waste Facility.  I put everything from weeds and yard leaves, kitchen scraps such as eggshells, veggies leftovers and coffee grounds.  It fills up fast if you have a big yard. 

They also have compost/leaf mulch for a reasonable price if you don't have your own.

·      Plant your own garden.  Then you can use the homemade compost. 

·      Use newspaper not landscape fabric to keep out weeds.  Place a layer of about 5 sheets and then mulch.  It is better for the environment and your garden.

·      Shopping in downtown Frederick lends itself to some fun thrift stores on Patrick Street such as Chic to Chic Consignment Boutique and Venus on the Half Shell and Select Second Hospital Thrift is worth a look too.  Check out Lucy’s Quality Children’s Consignment and Sweet Pea Consignment for children’s items.  I love to shop at Plato’s Closet.  It really is geared towards teens, but it’s worth a look.  In addition to the numerous antique stores in Frederick a new consignment store in Buckeystown just opened called,  Addison's Attic.

·      Free stuff include summer children’s programs in Baker Park, Library Story-times, visit each Frederick County Public Library for a tour of the county and a new perspective of sharing reading materials.  My sons and I love to visit the Earth Science and Space Lab (ESSL) in downtown Frederick for evening and summer programs.  It's a great way to beat the heat while educating yourself as well.  Tickets for the planetarium shows are reasonable and worth it!

·      Take out a map and locate all the children’s playgrounds owned by Frederick County.

·      Water Fun: We don't have a pool in which we belong to so we have to be inventive.  The Potomac River which flows next to the C&O Canal, Monocacy River (very shallow at Buckeystown Park) and Cunningham Falls ($3.00 per car) are all great places to cool off in the summer.  At Cunningham Falls we visit the aviary and then play in the shallow stair-step waterfall, and tire park (1st entrance from the South).  There is also a beach area, which I have not tried in the summer, but looks great-just get there early!  We also love a nice dip a Loyes Covered Bridge.  It has a playground but skip that for the water!  I'll have another post on the fun to be had there.

·      MARC train is a cheap, stress-free ride into Downtown DC if you can visit Monday through Friday.  Early morning departures puts you there in time for a quick breakfast and museum opening hours.  Kids under five are free.  Depart from Point of Rocks, Brunswick and Frederick.

Feel free to send a comment with more ideas.

Mini Valentine's for your Child, Frederick County, MD Portrait Photographer

I have a wide variety of Valentine's to choose from, plus a cute mini accordion frame perfect to send to the Grandparents or keep in your purse.  Check out my updated website at Andrea's Point.

Dog Days in Point of Rocks

I had a good day today, for a lot of reasons, but one reason was that I realized I was not the only stay-at-home mother who felt this way. I took the kids to Story Time at the local library, our regular Tuesday morning routine. While holding my new daycare infant I chatted with two of the moms as the kids listened intently to the stories (such a relief as I used to have to sit in there with them). As we talked, one mom of three said this summer she is spending nearly each day out of the house, since they are more mobile now. She used to stay home, plan play dates, organize crafts and stories, just like what I used to do in my daycare. Now she is tired of it and instead they spend their days at the pool, nature center, playground and other activities. I kept saying that’s how I feel and I have spent the past year beating myself up over not running my daycare like the little preschool I used to envision. But looking at the dynamics of my current group, (my boys: 5 and 3 ½, a toddler some days and an infant) what’s the point? So I left with a huge weight lifted. All this time I thought there was something wrong with me, but instead it happens to other mothers. Sometimes we just need to shake things up without any pre-planned lesson and just let the children direct their own learning.

Then of course, as these things tend to happen, I typed in a few choice words in Google and up popped a job opening perfectly suited for me. So I’ll research and find out about it. Meanwhile, I need to continue stimulating my kids with daily outings when we can and otherwise they seem content to dig in the dirt, play in the sprinkler and draw their own pictures without following any preconceived set of rules. After all it is the dog days of summer.