May 02 2008
Too Much Work To Be Frugal? Two Words - Work Bee!
The barter system is one I have used on many occasions with great success. Barters tend to operate on a personal level with like exchanges. For those who want to be frugal but find that they don’t have enough time to make it happen, maybe it’s time to consider a…
Work Bee!
Work bees have been used for thousand of years to accomplish any size project in less time. Whether you’re building a barn, making a quilt or cooking dinners, work bees encourage groups of people to join together for the common good. This idea can be used in almost every facet of frugal life to help you get want you want faster - with the condition that you help your bee partners do the same.
What can you use work bees for? The sky’s the limit! Whether you need help building a patio, painting a room or just want to do dinner swaps, work bees can eliminate the biggest cost involved: labour.
I love to cook but there are some nights (more now since I’m working longer) where I would rather gouge my eyes out than spend 45 minutes prepping and cooking dinner. Clean up is another story entirely. I know that I could spend time on the weekend pre-cooking dinners for the week but I like variety. And planning, shopping, prepping and cooking 5 different dinners seems so labour intensive.
What if I found four like-minded friends and we each cooked something different but made 5 large servings of it? Then we get together, swap dinners and everyone has 5 meals for the week. Add some salad or soup and dinner is served! I freeze all the dinners, pop one in the fridge in the morning to thaw and then it’s a snap to reheat.
If everyone cooks a generous portion, there might even be enough for leftover lunches. The biggest bonus is the saving of time. Pretty much regardless of what you cook, if you quadruple the recipe, it really won’t take much longer. By trading, there’s all the variety and freshly-prepared meals you could want but with less time invested.
I love to garden and a good deal of garden space is reserved for fresh fruits and vegetables. Again, there is the possibility of doing garden work bees where every participant gives a few hours each Saturday to weed all the gardens. Ditto with harvesting, canning or anything else that needs to be done.
Critics might say that work bees are flawed because they depend on the participants to voluntarily do a good job. To me, that’s why they have the greatest chance for success. Now that’s not to say that everyone won’t need to relax and allow people to work the way they work best. In a work bee environment, the day needs to be structured to keep things on track but Bossy Bessies (or Bobs) need not apply. Find your friends that are frugal from necessity or choice - or even those that just love to help - and create some work bees to move your dreams from the future to the present.
I used to spend a lot of time saying “if only”. I’ve learned that the biggest barrier stopping me is me. The best part of being frugal is learning how many people are willing to lend a hand. So start talking and work with others to get more time to do the things that you love. Work bees work!
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