Top Ten Posts for 2011

I don’t think I’ve ever done this before! I’ve seen a lot of other bloggers rounding up their most popular posts from the last year, though, and I thought I’d give it a try.

The thing is, I’m not quite sure how to get my stats program to sort out only posts I’ve written in the last year, so this list is a combo of new and old posts (which means it’s not a strict top ten list, but hopefully it’ll suffice).

1. How to Paint Wooden Furniture

This is always the top post every year and almost every day.

Somehow, even though I know very little about SEO, this post has become the number one search result if you type “How to paint wooden furniture” into Google. Probably a number of you reading this post today found my blog because of this particular post.

If you’re wanting to rehab some old furniture, this post is the place to start! I talk about my method and the tools and products I use. Plus, there are links to some fun before and after posts, showing old furniture I painted.

2. How to Make Homemade Yogurt

Another oldie but goodie. If you eat a lot of yogurt at your house, making your own could save you tons of money. A gallon of milk makes a gallon of yogurt and you simply can’t buy a gallon of yogurt for the price of a gallon of milk!

3. Reuse, Refresh, Repurpose

This was my announcement post about my ebook. Thank you all so much for supporting this effort of mine!

4.What to buy (and not buy) at Aldi

If you’re a new Aldi shopper, this post (and the comments) should be really helpful to you.

(those are some of the super delicious grapefruit my Aldi sells in the winter)

5. Some Bottled Water Thoughts (and maybe some rants)

I wrote this post after watching the Tapped documentary, and it was a hot topic. I’m usually pretty “live and let live” but our culture’s obsession with bottled water drives me crazy, so I was more firm in this post than I typically am.

6. How to avoid the “My homemade food must be fat-free, sugar-free, salt-free, and 100% whole grain!” mindset

In this post I discuss a common problem new from-scratch cooks encounter when they realize just how much fat/sugar/salt some common foods call for (when really, the commercial versions call for just as much or more).

7. By Popular Request…my new schedule/routine

Last March, I went away for 24 hours all by myself and I used the time to draw up a time budget and schedule. Of course, now that Mr. FG’s work schedule is upside-down, I really need to make a new plan!

8. Dear World,

This one’s pretty recent. I wrote it on a day when I was feeling really frustrated and discouraged over some negative feedback I’d been getting, and you, dear readers, left me such encouraging comments. I’m so grateful for you!

9. What I think of extreme couponing

I’m not anti-couponing per se, but coupons aren’t an integral part of my grocery-shopping strategy. As a follow-up to this post, I wrote about How to Save Money on Groceries Without Coupons.

10. Wednesday Not-Baking | Energy Balls

Gotta have at least one recipe in the list. 😉 If you like cookie dough, you’ll love these. They’re super easy to make and don’t even require an oven.

Well, that was a fun post to write! I should do this every year. It’s so interesting to see which of my posts end up having popularity staying power.

If I hand-picked my favorite posts from the last year, though, the list would probably be a little bit different…I have a soft spot for things like my photo essays.

If you feel so inspired, tell me your favorite type of Frugal Girl post (or if you have one, share your favorite). I’m curious if your favorites match up with this top ten list.

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Today’s 365 post: Organized.

Joshua’s 365 post: Loneliness