I put quilted roman curtains on my north window and have a piece of stryrfoam that fits exactly my laundry room window. Use them summer and winter - when it is too cold and when it is too hot. Really makes a difference.

 

Great tips! I've been using those 'space or emergency' blankets, just kind of large pieces of plastic with foil covering, on my west windows and it really cuts the temperature from the afternoon sun. Read about it years ago on the old Countryside forum, I think. If you get them at the dollar store, they don't cost much. I unfolded, and taped one end around spring type curtain rods I got from freecycle, and put one in each window. Easy to take down and fold, then put away til next year.

I received three large bottles of liquid soap from a freecycler today, and no one else wanted them because she posted that you needed to buy a special dispenser for them. Nope, I know from experience you can open and dump them into old pump type dispensers, which is what I will do.

Jan in Co

 

If you look, you will see that this thread had almost 10,000 hits last month. I know that more people have tips they aren't sharing--hope some lurkers add to our list!
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I posted a homesteaders list that folks can add on to. It's not my list, just one to start a conversation. You may wish to look at it because homesteading IS frugal:

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?p=3175293#post3175293

Hope it helps someone.
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I found that if my home looks clean and uncluttered I think better. To that end, I'm tackling my closets and drawers because they are full!

You may find you don't need a bigger home--just a way to organize it better.

I've always felt that we didn't need bigger rooms, just more space in the garage and attics.

I'm working on setting up hooks and shelves in the attic and basement so I can organize our stuff. But that gets expensive, so I look for this stuff at yardsales.Any frugal tips and ideas here?

When stores go out of business, it's a good idea to look around back and see what shelving is thrown out! I've gotten some racks this way. I'm looking for some neat garden trellises this way now.
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I try to buy solid colored pants and skirts that I can wear any matching print with (usually these I get at thrift, resale and yardsales). I keep a pair of white/cream, black and brown shoes at all times. I stay away from shoes that only match one or two outfits.

This minimalism saves me money and space in the closet.
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I'm trying to make a tote that has my mending in it. I want to grab it and take it when I have time in the car to mend.
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Good score Jan! I keep refilling those foam dispensers with my melted down soap. I save the slivers in a recycled peanut butter jar under the sink. When it's full, I add more water and microwave until everything is melted. Then pour into the dispensers or make laundry soap with it.
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I've trained myself to drink water to reduce the junk calories from soda. We don't keep soda at home. I limit myself to carbonated drinks if we are out for Chinese or mexican food (I really crave it with those). Saves money, saves teeth, saves calories...

Here is a good link on forming the water drinking habit:
http://www.dumblittleman.com/2007/07/9-great-reasons-to-drink-water-and-how.html

I'm going to keep some tap water in the frig so it's super cold and also the chlorine will dissipate from it.
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I keep a mismatched sock sack in the laundry room. Every so often, our family will watch a movie and match all the socks. The ones that are left often go in the rag box.
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Because I hang many or our clothes outside on hangars, I always look for plastic hangers at yardsales. They have been given to me often. Hanging the clothes to dry on hangers helps with wrinkles and saves me the step of folding.
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From my electric company about water heater maintenance:

"high water temperature speeds up corrosion in the tank...reducing water temperature to 120 degrees (mine is less) will reduce buildup and protects you from getting burned."

Removing sediment from the bottom of your water heater will also help to extend it's life....Sediment...wastes energy by insulating the tanks bottom from the burner. Sediment also will cause overheating...and reduce the lifespan of the heater.

There is something called a "sacrificial anode, made of a magnesium alloy, in the heater. When this corrodes, the tank is then attacked by the water. "A tank will normally corrode and fail within two or three years after the anode fails." So inspect this sacrificial anode....I guess--how do you find it?Anyone know?

This, BTW, is supposed to extend the life of a ten year water heater another ten years.
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Our old water heaters are sliced lengthways and put under the dripline of our barn for livestock waterers.
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Note to self, insulate the water heater and pipes this summer!
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A good use for a single sock - dampen it and put it over the handle end of a broom. Use it to collect spiderwebs.

 

If any of your dependents are turning 17 in 2008, you will not get the $300 rebate for him/her as the child tax credit is no longer available in the tax year in which said dependent turns 17. Which brings me to the Bullwinkle question: when is a child not a child and when is a child a child? (I am being facetious so no need to respond to my question).

 

Our granddaughter DID turn 17 this June and we got the rebate for her, so maybe another of the IRS errors, eh? Glad we got it, in any case. I'm just hoping that next year after she turns 18 she will be able to be enrolled in college full time, although with her problems that is doubtful. Will have to find some way to get supplemental insurance for her, or see if the drug companies will give us a cut rate on her meds, as they are REALLY expensive. Neither she nor we, will be able to afford them! Jan in Co

 

It was based on their age in 2007, so as long as they had not turned 17 yet, they should have been eligible.

 

hooks and shelves in the attic and basement [/B]so I can organize our stuff. But that gets expensive, so I look for this stuff at yardsales.Any frugal tips and ideas here?

When stores go out of business, it's a good idea to look around back and see what shelving is thrown out! I've gotten some racks this way. I'm looking for some neat garden trellises this way now.
-----------------------QUOTE]


A friend of ours gets free shelving by picking up broken bookcases and such that people set on the curb as trash.
He takes them apart, saws them into usable shelves and builds his own bookcases, or uses them for storage.
They also get free doors for the cabinets he builds this way and free hardware, such as knobs, drawer pulls and such.

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I hang sweaters upside down from hangers on the line, to dry - secured with clothespins, if I don't have a padded hanger - in order to save them from the "hanger shoulder syndrome" - or whatever it's called.

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Here's a free internet site that you can build your own radio station from. It's free to save the songs you like and rate them. I love to listen on my computer at work and I have my own "favorites" station:
www.jango.com

 

I just got this tip from rose_2005, so she gets the big-time credit for it!

Monthly grocery shopping - I have read here that so many folks do this, but couldn't quite grasp it. Until rose mentioned keeping track of food,etc. use monthly. So, I put together a spreadsheet with all of the regular stuff, and left empty boxes to check off as we go through July. I hung it in the pantry with a pen. This is the first time I've done this, so it should be cool. Also, the impact of spending so much at once I'm sure will surely help us cut back ! (And save $)

DH cut me drink coasters from downed tree limbs. They're an inch thick and five inches across, and did the job with the miter saw. I've left them unfinished, and they soak up the moisture like crazy!

Short on time to spend at the library? Check and see if yours has online ordering... (Our local branch is associated with around 50 others!) Request your book, and pick it up when it arrives. A great cheater tool I use to find books is amazon.com. I search the book section, browse titles, reviews, and other suggestions. Then I see if my library can order the particular book. I have yet to find a title I can't get from them for free!

 

I am usually looking on here for stuff I don't do. I am usually doing most of what all ya'll are doing. (somebody post something new!)
Along the lines of the internet radio stations, you can also try www.pandora.com and slacker.com Those are the two I use most frequently.
I shop monthly, and only buy fresh fruit or veggies in between.
Have our own milk and eggs and almost all the meat we need. I have been going more and more meatless to avoid the high prices of meat.
I am trying to supplement my animals feed with what I can i.e. fresh limbs/cuttings for the rabbits, browse for the goats, chickens are still eating a lot of scratch, but they get lots of scraps, scraps etc for the dogs/cats. I am not buying cat food anymore, with only 2 cats they are getting meat scraps, eggs, milk that has soured. One large dog will be moving to a new home on Sunday, saving even more on dog food. I have at least one more I want to relocate, 2 if possible.
A dear friend found a deal on 25# cans of wheat at an estate sale, we picked those up for $1.50 a can, that is a huge savings on my wheat!
I will be picking up the Walton order next week, and that will re-supply staples and save $$ on the monthly shopping.
I too use the clothesline (although I do cheat sometimes and use the dryer!)
We harvest as much rain water as possible (that is mainly what I use for laundry), and are in the process of pumping our spring creek water uphill for garden/animal use. (not an easy task!)

Soon we will be looking into electrical reductions... I already have a solar light in the goat shed which I love and intend to expand that to other out buildings.

 

Mama Johnson, I, too am using solar lights for the animals. I bought four sets that have three spotlights and a charger to them on sale. One is set up outside our front door where we don't have good lighting, one in the main barn, and I hope the other two will get put up in the outbuildings soon. One for the chickens, and one in the sheep barn/shed. They aren't terribly bright, but do give enough light to manage with. Jan in CO

 

Forgot to say - I have been repurposing skirts for DD.
I take skirts that are like a XXL, cut in half, hem and put in elastic and DD has a skirt. I was given a huge bag of oversized ladies clothes (don't know why I got picked, I have been loosing weight! lol!)
so I went through and let DD pick the materials she liked, she now has 3 skirts out of them, one I used a tiered cotton skirt, cut the top off and sewed it onto a top off a pair of jeans (cut just below the pockets)
This and making and altering my clothes as I loose weight has saved a ton of money.
Took all the kids thrift shopping for clothes before camp. Made a great haul for 4 kids on $100.

 

Now that I'm starting to process things from the garden, I'm thinking ahead to winter time chicken feed supplements.

I save and dehydrate cucumber peels, sliced buggy cucumbers, sliced buggy tomatoes, overgrown or buggy beans, apple and peach peelings, apple cores, etc. On a cold winter night, I'll throw a handful of each into a pot of water, set it on the woodstove, and VOILA! Greens & veggies for the chickens the next morning. When they haven't seen anything green for a few months, they really gobble down these goodies.

NeHi

 

We always save the veggie trimmings,potato peels, etc and cook/feed at suppertime....a warm feed seems to promote a bonanza of eggs in the am. Also, try putting some wheat on a tray,keep damp and in a couple of days you'll have sprouts that your chickens will love.

We have been busy freezing eggs for the winter as our chickens are showing signs of going to molt. Use the little Dixie cups at the dollar store, break two eggs in each and gently stir(don't beat air in them),then freeze. A dip in warm water and the egg cubes pop right out and I put them in the deep freeze. Doesn't work to put them in your frig freezer as well as they defrost and they'll melt together. They defrost quickly and perhaps, will cure this winters sticker shock at the egg cooler! DEE

 

Sometimes you he to spend money to save money.

I bought an LED spotlight to replace the incandescent that burned out in my carport. Its supposed to use 2 watts a month or so. I am also on the backorder list at C Crane for the Geobulb LED 60 watt equivalent. Expensive but they WILL bring down our electric bills.

I am still cutting down gallon size containers and planting yardlong beans in them. (container gardening works best in Zone 10 FL)

I signed up for SHARE again. We did this for years when Grandfatherbear was out of work before. Its the same idea as Angelfood Ministries, just less food, cheaper, and you have to put in 2 hours of volunteer service somewhere. At the time I was racking up thousands of hours each year with Boy Scouts-a meeting each week, a committee meeting each month, a camping trip each month, planning for summer camp and then driving the van and supervising at summer camp-now we are assisting at the SHARE host site for our volunteer hours. www.shareflorida.com , www.angelfoodministries.com
Just in case someone who didn't know about making their own laundry detergent peeks in- I bought a bar of fels naptha soap for 99 cents, chopped up 1/3 of it, melted it in hot water, poured it into a bucket, stirred in 2 cups each of borax and washing soda and added 3 more gallons of hot water and stirred till all diddolved. I now have soap jelly that makes my clothes smell wonderful!
I have to check and see if ED-Foods in Canada is still giving away free soup for shipping and handling. They used to do this. I ordered my free soup years ago and it was delicious! Much tastier than store bought.

 

Went shoe shopping at a buy one, get one half price sale. The sale included all shoes, even the ones already on sale. I bought 6 pair of shoes, including 2 pair on sale for $10 and $6. The other 4 pair were from 16.99 to 23.99 each. If I had them all rung up together, the discount would have been taken on one of the 16.99 pairs and the 2 pair already on sale, for a total price of 74.50 plus tax. Instead, I had the 2 pair on sale rung up separately. The total of both sales was 71. plus tax. Saved $3.50 just by taking a few minutes to buy them separately. Also, a couple pairs are tax deductible because I will use them solely for work. Anyway, my tip is to do the math and see which way will save you more money.

 

Computer won't pull up my post to edit. Thought of another tip. S FL has a LONG hot summer. I am still chopping about a foot off the sweet potato vines when they get 2 feet or longer and sticking it in the garden soil to root. I think that the beauregarde and georgia jets are both 90 days to maturity- figure I'll have some ripening by August.

 

Mailed off 2 rebates last week, one for an RX, the other for a paintgun Lowes had on sale. I've got two more for past RXs, gotta find the receipts this weekend.
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I decided not to renew my Staff parking permit at work for the next year. I can park at the sports arena for free (I commute from the country) and walk to work from there, when the weather's nice, or catch the shuttle provided by the University when it rains and such. That will save me $222 this year. Plus, I get the added bonus of exercise!

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I'm checking all of our insurance policies and plan to eliminate high cost by getting cheaper estimates and taking the lowest premium possible for the best value.

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I'm using the hypermile practice of taking a slower route to work - one without many stop signs - and coasting down hills, instead of always having my foot on the gas. It's working!
DH is getting his motorcycle fixed this week so he can ride that during nice weather and we'll share a ride during bad weather since my Toyota gets better gas mileage than his truck. I can arrange my hours to fit his on those days.
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I'm going to talk with my mechanic about the using the baking soda & water retrofit on my car to save gas. If he thinks it will work and can install it, I'll have him put one on. I'd rather save more gas than hand it over to the Oil companies.

 

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I hang sweaters upside down from hangers on the line, to dry - secured with clothespins, if I don't have a padded hanger - in order to save them from the "hanger shoulder syndrome" - or whatever it's called.

----
QUOTE]

I use a old pair of pantyhose to hang up my sweaters.
put the waist through the neck hole and the legs through the sleeves..
secure the waist and feet of the pantyhose to the clothes line with your clothespins and no more "hanger shoulder syndrome" or clothespin dents

 

What exactly are you talking about retrofit? Never heard of it.

 

OUvickie: Wow! 222$? What are your plans for snowball savings?

We are also going through all kinds of hoops to combine driving. Recently I had to wait 30-40 minutes for my DH trade the car with me after a meeting. As I was reading, at least four co workers (we were at some training) offered to take me back to our workplace (we were essentially off the rest of the day but could work if we wanted to). I wanted to wait because I needed to make some stops after I worked a little. People just couldn't believe that I actually enjoyed reading my book and waiting. You would have thought it was the worst thing in the world to these folks.
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Here are links to past tightwad tips:

June 2008:
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=254392&highlight=tightwad+tips

May 2008:
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=248486&highlight=tightwad+tips

April 2008:

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=242376&highlight=tightwad+tips
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Does anyone know how much cheaper pool bleach is than regular kind I buy?

"This term usually refers to liquid chlorine (sodium hypochlorite 12% available chlorine). It is the same chemical used in laundry bleach but pool chlorine is 12% available chlorine while laundry bleach is about 5 to 6% available chlorine."
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Here is a link to trying to live on a $3/day or $21/mo food stamp budget. This one uses a lot of locally produced food and does not scrimp on using shortenings that are cheap:

http://www.bettertimesinfo.org/foodchallenge.htm

Before gas and food prices went up, I could say that I could have fed my family on this budget, but now I'm not so sure. What saved this budget has been growing and raising what we can. Preserving as much as we can.

I like this bible verse from Hillbilly Housewife:\

Remove far from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with food convenient for me--Proverbs 30:8

That term "convenient for me" really struck me. How often are we purchasing berries out of season, shipped from far away--it's neither fresh nor inexpensive. What a waste of energy! We find that eating in season and locally is much healthier on us and our budget.
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I'll repeat the tip about trimming your mums by half at July 4 (and memorial day) weekends. First I fill a pot with dirt, water that and take it around the yard trimming the mums. I strip off all leaves except two and shove in the dirt. I put the pot in the shade and WA LA FREE mums to plant all over the place or give to friends.
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Grandmother bear: Great idea. I'm still eating on the sw potatoes I planted last year by just adding a few more slips every week through the summer. Even if the last ones don't make potatoes, you can eat the vines. I like to plant in my worst soil--really breaks it up for me and they love it.
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You can freeze fruit for nice winter treats: think frozen watermelon and melon....
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MTM, Other fruits that are great to freeze and use in winter are rhubarb (not technically a fruit, I know), strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc. We like to take frozen berries, milk, sweetener of your choice, and a touch of vanilla and salt (omit if you wish), and throw them in the Vita-Mix (a garage sale find for $14 years ago) - they make up into a wonderful, vitamin and fiber filled smoothie or milkshake, depending on how thick you make them. They taste SO good - it's hard to put up enough berries to last all winter.

Chunked frozen peaches or nectarines, allowed to thaw in my lunch bag until they can be smooshed, but are still somewhat frozen, make a great dessert treat. Again, sweeten as desired, or omit. This does double duty by keeping my lunch chilled until it's time to eat.

Along the same lines, I like to freeze as much fruit as possible while harvest is on, then make my jams and jellies, pancake syrups, etc in the winter when the heat is welcome in the house, not something to be battled.

I didn't know sweet potato vines were edible! I only grow "Irish" potatoes here, and the foliage on them is definitely NOT safe to eat.

While I was playing in the garden yesterday, I rootled around under the potatoes and found new potatoes big enough for eating! I can steal some now and still have them produce more potatoes for winter eating.

Our community fair is only a few weeks away - I'm looking through the garden now for entries. Don't forget that entering the fair will earn you some nice ribbons and some premium money, not to mention bragging rights, lol! Just about anything you grow or make is a potential entry. For example, I cut catnip last week and put it in the unused pickup to solar dry. The crumbled leaves will be placed in a 1/2 pint canning jar and entered as a dehydrated item in the domestic arts dept. A sprig of fresh cut catnip will be entered in the garden dept, and more sprigs will be added to a bouquet of fresh herbs for another entry, and a potted catnip plant will be entered as a third garden dept entry. Do the same thing with oregano, lemon balm or mint, and you can see how the earnings can add up. As a plus, the dept superintendents are always thrilled to get your entries, as more entries translate to a better looking display for them. I am the garden dept super at our community fair, and I speak from experience. As the judges do not have any way of knowing who has entered what, I do enter in my own dept...some years, it's the only way I've had a full display! Please enter!

Not sure how to enter your goodies in the fair? Every fair has a premium book. They can usually be found at local feed stores and other stores around the area, or you can look in the phone book and contact the fair office to find out where to get one. The premium book is your bible for entering that particular fair. Read the rules and follow them to the T. If it says an entry is 6 onions, 1-3" in diameter, measure your onions to make sure they fit the category, try to match them as closely as possible to each other, make sure they have no disease or bug damage, and pay attention to whether they want roots and stems cut and if so, to what length. Make sure your produce is totally clean, too. Spray all the dirt off the roots of onions, etc. And, of course, make sure you have exactly 6 in your entry! Then show up at the time and place specified, fill out your entry form and hang tags, and turn it all in. The person or people taking entries can help you to fill out the paperwork and answer any questions. Unless you have a prize cabbage or something, do not expect to get the entry back - as produce wilts, it is removed from display and thrown away. If there is something you really want back, let the super know and we will do our best, depending on the fair's rules. However, that's just for produce.

If you enter canning, dehydrated foods, etc, you will get your items back. The canning is NOT opened, and is judged on appearance only. The same jar can be entered in multiple fairs as long as you remove any markings/stickers, etc that indicate it was entered in another fair. Go to 4 fairs and that jar of food can earn you some money at each one, and still provide you with winter food! At some fairs, you will even be given back half your loaf of bread after it is judged, and you can get your stale bread/cookies, etc back after the fair (good chicken feed, if nothing else). At other fairs, all baked items are tossed. You may be able to make arrangements with the super to collect all the discarded food for animal feed, if you are very lucky.

 

I use a old pair of pantyhose to hang up my sweaters.
put the waist through the neck hole and the legs through the sleeves..
secure the waist and feet of the pantyhose to the clothes line with your clothespins and no more "hanger shoulder syndrome" or clothespin dents

Hey that's a great idea - I'll have to try that.
I have lots of old pantyhose. I no longer wear them, so this will put them to good use. Thanks!

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What exactly are you talking about retrofit? Never heard of it.

Sandra - this comes from the "water4gas" invention I saw reported on our local TV news stations a few weeks back.
Here's the link: http://www.waterforfuelkits.com/water-for-fuel-kits-components/

(And for any naysayers out there - I trust my mechanic's opinion and I'm willing to try something in order to save money. So negative posts directed towards me, on this issue, won't sway me and will be a waste of time.)

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OUvickie: Wow! 222$? What are your plans for snowball savings?

We are also going through all kinds of hoops to combine driving. Recently I had to wait 30-40 minutes for my DH trade the car with me after a meeting. As I was reading, at least four co workers (we were at some training) offered to take me back to our workplace (we were essentially off the rest of the day but could work if we wanted to). I wanted to wait because I needed to make some stops after I worked a little. People just couldn't believe that I actually enjoyed reading my book and waiting. You would have thought it was the worst thing in the world to these folks.

MTM - I'm cutting costs to pay off debt, so the savings this year will be spent paying a bill.

DH and I have shared rides before. I've waited an hour or more on him before, especially when we only had one car. Like you, I love to read so I don't consider waiting a waste of time when I'm enjoying myself, or learning something new.

I also just eliminated two other subscriptions on things that were luxuries - I put my Blockbuster Total Access on hold - it will do away with that monthly cost for 3 months and then I can reassess whether I want to cancel, or reactivate at that time. It was only $12 a month, but we can do without it, especially since DH is griping about money.
I had, also, gotten my DGS a Game Pass at Hollywood Video a few years back, it allows him to have one game out at a time for $23 mo. - but my DD is doing better financially now, so if she wants to set one up for him herself, I'll let her pay for it instead.

I may also go back to dial-up, or free internet, instead of DSL - which is all that's available to me out here where we are. That would save about $40 mo. We've only had it about 3 months, but the cost savings would be worth doing without it and it's not a necessity.
We don't have DirectTV, or satellite service, so adding the internet that way isn't an option and I don't plan to spend the money on them in the near future either. No point in wasting money!
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I guess we'll soon see how much griping goes on once I nix all our options for entertainment.

 

More tips for winning at the fair. If you are entering bread, your best shot at winning a big ribbon and/or other prize is to bake your bread freeform, rather than in a bread pan. Braided breads, artisan breads baked as a round with a cross slashed in the top, etc. Even though they are actually easier to make that way, the judges seem to be more impressed by them. :shrug:

You can use the same bread dough to make both a loaf of bread and rolls - two different categories.

You have to include the recipe and directions with all food items.

 

Old, clean window screens can be used to dry sweaters flat - also eliminating that funky shoulder look and allowing you to block them into shape for drying.