Frugal Babe

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Frugal Friends and Straw Bale Houses

October 22, 2008 By Frugal Babe

Obviously I’m not on top of my feedreader and checking in on all the sites I enjoy, because I just came across this post from Dawn at Frugal For Life today, and it’s dated Sept 27.  After nearly four years of blogging about frugality, Dawn is calling it quits, although she’s leaving her website up (which is good, because it’s an amazingly complete resource for aspiring frugalites).  Thanks for all the tips and ideas Dawn, and good luck with whatever comes next!

But I also read this post from Frugal Trenches, and was cheered by her determination and spirit.  She’s living in London and spending a lot of money to be surrounded by concrete.  And her downshifted, environmentally-friendly, frugal lifestyle is calling her to a simpler place to live.  Keep checking back to see where she ends up.  I have a feeling it will be somewhere wonderful.

My husband and I have been batting around the idea of a place in the country someday.  Specifically a straw bale house in the country.  For now (and for many years to come), we love where we live.  We love that the elementary school is about 300 yards from our back door.  We love that we can bike to the grocery store, library, and post office.  We love all the conveniences of living in the suburbs (especially since we both work at home, so we don’t have to commute anywhere).  And our neighborhood is very quiet and secluded; especially our home, which backs up to open space.  We live on a horseshoe shaped street that doesn’t lead anywhere else – sometimes an hour will go by without a single car passing our house.  But who knows what we’ll be doing 20 years from now?  I love the idea of a straw bale house, and I’m fascinated by the pictures and descriptions of the building process that I find online.  Now I’m picturing Frugal Trenches building herself a straw bale house out in the English countryside, and it makes me smile.

Filed Under: other bloggers, the simple life 5 Comments

Comments

  1. Michelle says

    October 23, 2008 at 3:56 am

    I’ve always loved the idea of straw bale houses. How cool are they? You seem to be really good at persevering so I’m sure you’ll make this dream come true one day.

    Reply
  2. April says

    October 23, 2008 at 6:47 am

    We’re building a straw bale house! We’ve bought four acres of land, but we want to save 20 percent down first, so it’ll still be a year and a half or so before actual construction begins.

    People look at us like we’re nuts, asking about fire hazards (they perform better, actually, than standard houses built today) and such things. My dad first proposed the idea, and after a great deal of research, my husband and I decided it’s the way we’re going to go.

    Reply
  3. Gabriel says

    October 23, 2008 at 8:44 am

    Us, too! Us, too! Even the strawbale house. Periodically we drive around the nearby country looking for likely spots of land. But then right now, we’re a block-and-a-half from the elementary school my son will attend when he’s older. Also, it’s been more of a priority for us to save for retirement and college.

    Reply
  4. Frugal Trenches says

    October 25, 2008 at 9:47 am

    Thanks for such a lovely mention! I too often wonder about straw bale houses, I promise if I ever get one I’ll post loads of pictures!
    I put a picture of straw on the blog today, just for you!

    Reply
  5. Alline Anderson says

    October 31, 2008 at 9:44 am

    FrugalBabe and friends! My husband and I built a strawbale home eight years ago and absolutely love it. We are finishing up a strawbale, solar & wind powered B&B/Cafe/Store. Links to photos and more info on our website. We’d love to have you come visit! I’m also happy to answer any questions!

    Reply

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