You already live somewhere. Whether it's a studio apartment or an expansive house, chances are you have spaces designated for paying bills, surfing the net, cooking meals, and all the other activities we do in our homes day-to-day. You're already paying to heat, cool, furnish, and maintain your home. So make the most of the space you have; use your house to its fullest potential!

Cooking At Home

With a little advance planning, you can cut daily meal preparation to a minimum. Preparing your own meals does not have to be drudgery! Make meal preparation enjoyable by using fresh, local ingredients in creative dishes; check out our Eat Your Yard section for ideas on incorporating homegrown produce into your landscape. Or visit Farmer's Pal to find local growers and retailers of a huge variety of organic products. A hidden bonus in using quality ingredients is that you don't have to labor through complicated recipes to make them delicious. You don't have to add much to garden-fresh produce to make it shine! And don't be afraid to experiment with something new. This helps keep cooking interesting! Sites like AllRecipes.com offer user-reviewed meal ideas for every imaginable taste.

Food Preservation

Canning, drying, and freezing are ideal ways to preserve a summer harvest. In the dead of winter, you will still be able to bypass the produce section if your freezer and pantry are stocked with fruits and vegetables stored from your own garden or the local farmer's market. The taste and quality of home-preserved foods are miles away from that of the shipped-thousands-of-miles stock you'll find at the grocery store in the off-season. You'll be helping the environment and your tastebuds, as well!

Sewing and Crafts

Find an outlet for your artistic side. While sewing your own clothes might not seem practical with a Walmart in town, sewing can really save you money if you want custom results. Making your own curtains is much cheaper than paying for a decorating service, and

most types are quite simple to create. You can even use coordinating sheets to make curtains for a bedroom, or hang tea towels in your kitchen as cafe curtains using rings with simple clips.

Hopefully, you're inspired to find ways to live a little better and a lot more frugally using the resources you already have close at hand. Big or small, make the most of all that your home offers.