Homemaking 101
There are houses and there are homes. A home doesn’t have to be huge,and it can be nice even though its small. Running a small household will entail a bit of effort, plenty of common sense, and a wise budgeting scheme. Here are some things I have learned through experience.
1. Potty train your kids early so that you stop being diaper dependent early. And use washable cloth diapers as much as possible. Your wallet will thank you, and there would be less trash in the dumpsites.
2. Vegetables are way better than baby food. No matter what the ads say, freshly cooked veggies are still better nutritionally than cerelac or baby food that comes in jars. Orrin thankfully likes tinola (fish, chicken or beef), so we just cook that everyday for lunch. We cook the sayote, carrots and potatoes a bit longer than usual till they tender enough to mash. Its also very convenient as we do not have to cook his food separately.
3. A mostly vegetarian diet is budget-friendly and also the best in the nutrition department. Fish is the best “meat” you can get, even though the good kind is more expensive than chicken. But even the less-than-P100-per-kilo fish can be really great, if you know how to cook it.
4. Buying in bulk saves you time and money when it comes to getting diapers (essential for a baby’s good night’s sleep) and toilet paper. This also applies to shampoos and conditioner. A big bottle will last you for months, and it can be reused when its empty. Best of all, no sachets to throw away everyday to add to the non-bioderadable garbage bin.
5. Who says good food has to be expensive? I make pizza with alugbati and/or kangkong (in leiu of the spinach which I can’t find locally) and my husband loves it very much. I make the dough myself, and use quickmelt cheese instead of mozarella. Two huge pizzas, and two bottles of softdrink cost us around P250–and that’s enough to fill the stomachs of 5 people. So much more cheaper than eating outside. I also learned to make sushi and sashimi at home. A half- kilo of “sushi-grade” fish will cost P130, and its more than enough for two people. In a restaurant, this would translate to almost P1000 (maybe more) in bills.
6.Knowing how to make your own bread and cakes, and cookies will save you plenty of money in the long run. Oh, and home-made ice cream costs 50% less than the ones you can get in store, and so much better (those interested in my easy cookies-and-cream recipe, just email me =) )
7. Eating out means eating in the garden. A P500 budget is more than enough for the whole family and will even last till the next meal. No fuel used, no more dressing up, and what’s better than dining al fresco under the chico tree? If everybody pitches in, its not too much work really. And best part of all is that we do not have to listen to crappy restaurant lounge music and listen to our favorite playlists instead 
8. A bit of skill with a hammer, a saw, a drill, brush and paint, and common sense will get you a long way. The only thing I will not touch is a leaking faucet or pipe; everything else is fair game. We have made and installed our own lamps, did the frames for our pictures, fixed lights, made our own fountain, repaired an old cabinet,and many more in the house. Cordless power tools and the dremmel are also great to have around.I recently did two huge frames (17″x23″ and 26″ x32″) and spent only P300, most of if on the glass for one frame.
9. Sarongs make great curtains. They are much cheaper than ready-made curtains, and are a great fashion statement for your room’s windows. You can jazz things up a bit with paper bead strings that will cost you next to nothing (I make the paper beads when I’m watching the news on TV)
10. Ukay-ukays are great places to find treasures. We have obtained books and stuff toys for Orrin, a car seat, a cooler, kitchen stuff, as well as wooden beads and some wall decorations from the ukay-ukay–all in great condition and for a fraction of what they would originally cost. All my houseclothes are also from the ukay-ukay, and they have lasted me for a long time.
If there’s one all important tip I can give to future housemakers, its this: Pay attention to Home Economics class. Cooking, sewing, decorating, basketry, carpentry, etc and whatever stuff they teach you will prove to be useful later on. Seriously. Pay more attention to it than algebra or history. A good knowledge of calculus is not really that useful, but a good hand at making things from scratch will carry you a long way in the journey of life. And do not underestimate the value of knowing how to cook. My husband says he loves me because I’m smart, but I don’t think its mostly book-smarts he means. A woman adept at using a food processor as well as power tools will forever be adored as the ultimate home goddess =)
