We have had a small kitchen garden for the past several years, but this is our first year of really being aggressive with trying to raise our own food.  It is amazing how much practical knowledge in the life skills department have been lost over the past several generations, and though we both know a little, Storey’s Guide to Country Living has rapidly become indispensable.  Did you know that planting onions and carrots together prevents pests in both, or do you know which side of the garden is best for planting your corn?  Storey’s Guide has a little bit of everything from gardening to keeping livestock to canning and freezing.  It is a compilation of the things our grandmothers knew how to do that we don’t.  I have not read it cover to cover, but rather once section at a time, as needed.  This makes a great reference book.  I am thinking about getting a 2nd copy just to keep in the tool shed.  Enjoy!

While fixing a thermos of coffee for my husband to tote to work one morning, the seal snapped.  A thermos without a rubber seal isn’t much good, but there wasn’t time to run out and slap down $25 for another Stanley, much less order a new seal.  He needed the thermos now!   In desperation, I remembered the broccoli I had purchased the day before, snagged the thick rubber band from it, folded it over, and presto!  The improvised seal has now lasted longer that the original seal which came with the thermos, and when it does go, we will just have broccoli again. If we hadn’t been in such a hurry, I probably would have plunked down the cash for a new seal or thermos.  Since buying new wasn’t an option, I was forced to think outside the box, with frugal results.

How many times do we throw away items which aren’t so very difficult to fix?  Just by keeping a basic supply of glues (super glue, wood glue, epoxy, gorilla glue), stain removers, touch up paints, and approaching the problem from the standpoint of “I can’t buy a new one, so how do I make this work?” you might be surprised to find just how much creativity you posess.  Some of our favorite fixes include a 50 cent cabinet handle on a crockpot lid, vaseline to hide scratches in an LCD monitor (that solution was found in a Google search), WD 40 to remove melted crayon from clothes, and mini blind brackets screwed into a plastic toy rifle to hold the barrel on.

In my less frugal days, I once purchased a new coffee pot, then discovered that the old one only needed a more thorough cleaning.  What a waste of $45!  Are you ready to take the fix it challenge?  After all, if it’s already broken, what do you have to lose by doing a little experimentation?

When trying to cut back on household expenses, it only makes sense to start by cutting back or eliminating  items that end up in the trash anyway.  I wrote previously of the wonders of cloth diapering, but there are smaller, re-usable changes that just about everyone can make, without the uck factor.

Let’s start with paper goods.  How many paper towels do you grab to mop up that spill when an old t-shirt would work just as well?  The key is to have the re-usables handy, and already adapted to the task at hand.  You can achieve this by cutting cotton rags into washcloth-sized squares (or another size if it is better suited to your needs), and stowing them in a shoe box, wipes container, or other small box under sinks.  Now they are handy for spills, cleaning mirrors or windows, or wiping the counters.  Just be careful about throwing them in with regular laundry if you use cleaning agents which contain bleach!

For the truly brave, frugal environmentalist, there are also cloth baby wipes, cloth menstrual pads, and the good old-fashioned handkerchief (at least you can cut down on the Kleenex).

Rinsing out freezer bags and hanging them to dry probably seems extreme to most people, but even this little gesture only takes a minute when you’re doing dishes anyway, and it adds up.  Using a lot of plastic wrap to store leftovers?  Try saving those butter tubs, sour cream and cottage cheese containers with lids, and put leftovers in those instead.  Just don’t heat them in the microwave - move food back to a plate first.

Take a look around your home, see what you throw away every day, and try making old-fashioned substitutes!

When faced with the prospect of having two children in diapers again, suddenly the coupons and sales just weren’t cutting it anymore.  The thought of $80 per month going straight to city dump was downright depressing, so I began to investigate my options.  After all, disposable diapers are relatively new on the scene, so what have moms done for the past several millenia? (more…)

Saving electricity, gas, or water might not come immediately to mind when cutting back on expenses, but you might have more control over these ‘necessary’ bills than what you think. We all know the usual advice, like checking door and window seals, replacing filters, watching the thermostat, and unplugging unused appliances. Hopefully, you’ll find some more hints in this list which will help you see a difference in your usage! (more…)