fun3MD/flickr.

I just paid $24 dollars for 12 quart-sized cardboard containers of water. WHAT??? The Bargain Queens paid that? WHY?

I paid $24 dollars for those 12 containers because I was in San Diego a couple of weeks ago when the south western section of the country lost all power. I was lucky enough to be in a hotel that was prepared for emergencies. They had a back up diesel generator that kept lights on in the hallways and a flashlight for each room.

I was with a group of some of the calmest and “go with the flow” people in the world – unschoolers. The kids had a major pool party until the sun went down and then had get-togethers in the hallways until the staff told us we had to go into our rooms. There WERE some people who were trying to sleep.

Even though there was a laid back attitude toward to the power outage; there was an underlying concern about what would happen if the lights didn’t come on in a timely fashion.

This is not a doom and gloom piece, it is just a “hey, are you prepared to handle a couple days of power outage?” I learned that my answer was “no.” And my major downfall was my lack of water.

It’s not like I haven’t thought of this. I have. Come on, I live in the land of yearly fires and feared earthquakes. We all have emergency bags. Bargain Babe put her emergency kit together for $22. I am always on the look out for items for my emergency kit and have found items at a yard sale, a flint fire starter at the Army Navy store, 99 Cents Only Store, and an estate sale.

A few years ago, I purchased eight 5-gallon plastic water containers and stacked them in my garage. Later I discovered a pool of water forming on my concrete floor. I was soooo glad that I had stored these in the garage and not somewhere that would have received water damage. Asking around, I discovered that many people have made this same mistake. Plastic water containers start to leak within a year. Plus the plastic starts to leach into the water.

The human body can last for quite some time without food, but will start to feel the effects of no water within a day. Water is an essential part of anyone’s survival kit.

Knowing that water is an essential survival kit item and then having my recent experience with a power outage, I realized that I was going to have to bite the bullet and spend some money on water that is packaged in a way that it will store to a long period of time. So, when I saw these quart sized containers, I grabbed them.

Did I pay too much? Comparison shopping online has proved that what I paid is even or cheaper than most places. Will it be worth it if I ever need them? Absolutely!

LauraFries.com / Flickr

This is a post by BaraginBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.

Buying potions and lotions to take care of your skin can add up fast. Here are four simple, yet frugal ways to keep your skin looking radiant.

1. Take shield – Avoid going outside without your SPF, even on cloudy days. Pay attention to the weather forecast, they usually tell you the time when the UVA and UVB rays will be the strongest. Try to stay indoors or if you must be outside, invest in a hat that protects your face. If you hate the feel or smell of sunblock know that there many makeup products that have an SPF. Head to a makeup counter or store and ask for

makeup samples to make sure you like the product.

2. Drink up – You’ve heard it before, but keeping your skin hydrated is a must. Trade in your soda for water, which is not only less expensive, but it will help keep your skin from looking parched and patchy. Instead of buying bottled water, invest in a BPA-free bottle water that you can carry around and refill when needed.

3. Go au naturel – Removing your makeup at night gives your skin time to breath. Make your own makeup remover to clean up. To save money, try homemade beauty recipes instead of purchasing expensive organic beauty products.

4. Be gentle – Keep in mind that your skin is the biggest organ in your body, so don’t be rough with it. Harsh chemicals are not to go on your skin especially the thin and delicate skin on your face. Love coffee? Check out this homemade tip for younger looking skin.

EPCOR

Thanks, Dan!

This past summer, my friend took her water-saving methods to the next level because she had plans to install a vegetable garden, which would use more water. Her goal was to maintain her current water usage. So far, she’s been successful!

Here are some of the big and small things she does to save H2O.

• Collects water runoff from her garage gutters and angles them into a trash bin. That water feeds her vegetable garden, which feeds her.
• Installed a tankless water heater, which heats water as you use it. (More of an electricity savings.)
• Replaced her clothes washer with a super low-flow, front-loading washer.
• Stopped watering her back lawn for six months until the grass died, then covered it with gravel and pavers, except for a boxed in vegetable garden. Now it has a zen rock-garden feel to it.
• Her main shade trees produce fruit, including oranges and limes.
• She planted herbs like mint, basil, thyme, oregano and rosemary instead of decorative plants. This shaves a few bucks off her grocery bill.
• While the shower heats up she collects the cold water in a bucket and uses it to feed her vegetable garden.
• In the front yard she has rocks, paver stones, and drought resistant plants instead of grass.

Resources for saving water and living sustainably:

PathToFreedom.com – a site written by a family in Pasadena, CA that has turned their property into a working micro-farm. The site is loaded with helpful info and inspirational stories.

Gardeners.com provides a long list of drought-resistant perennials from their readers, including oriental yew, evergreen boxwood, tachys byzantina (lamb’s ear), ornamental grasses, Mexican sage, eucalyptus, lavender, blue catmint, and jacaranda.

Lighterfootstep.com, a site devoted to reducing one’s carbon footprint. I’m digging this story on 30 things you should never compost or recycle.

Related:

A greener way to flush the toilet

Water-wise: bucket, sink or dishwasher?

UPDATE: Reader Janet says she has experimented with drastically reducing her water bill, too!