I’m always trying to do some things to save money…appreciate what I have and reduce waste. Â In that effort today I’ll share with five frugal things I’ve done in the last week.
When Bonnie Hunter was at our retreat in July she used this JAM Rewind Wireless Speaker.  I bought one and had loved it until I dropped it.  UGH.  The sound started coming out distorted.  I was so frustrated.  Although it’s not TERRIBLY expensive, I didn’t want to spend another $35.  I ended taking a pin, pushing it so it catches under the “lip” of the speaker.  It works perfect now.  For the most part the speaker stays in the sewing room in the same spot so I’m not worried about the pin falling out and stepping on it.
I had made homemade buns. Â Three days out, they were dry. Â Rather than toss them out, I sliced them up and made French Toast. Â Homemade bread makes the best French Toast.
I alsopatched the rug in the kitchen. Â YEARS ago got the rug off of Freecycle. Â I’ve loved the rug. Â It’s old and VERY used. Â It’s the perfect size for under our kitchen table. Â Every so often it need patching. Â It was quick and easy work and beat buying a new rug. Â For how long I’ve been patching on it, I’m always surprised when a new spot needs patching. Â I keep thinking I’ve done the whole rug!!
I also patched a shirt and pants of Hubby’s work clothes….and one of Craig’s. Â I know…I know. Â I need to make Kalissa patch them.
I’ve also tried to get back on a kick of drinking water rather Powerade. Â This is something I continue to struggle with. Â I like a little flavor in my drink….what can I say? Â I do think next time I’m at the grocery store I’m going to give lemons a try again.
That’s my five frugal things for now….are you doing anything frugal? Â I’d love some new ideas.
When I do laundry, I put the clothes in the dryer for only 10 minutes, then take them out, still damp, and hang them on plastic coathangers. I hang them on a shower rod to finish drying. Not only does this save electricity, but the clothes are less wrinkled than if I dried them all the way.
Canned 13 pints of Sweet and sour sauce to use up some marked down bell peppers. Took leftover ham from Easter dinner + some leftover deviled eggs & a little home-canned pickle relish and chopped it together in food processor to make a delightful ham salad sandwich spread! Added chunks of leftover ham to some leftover scalloped potatoes, picked some chives from garden and made some extra sauce and cheese and Voila!!- brand new dinner for our family!!
But, best of all, hubby and I are going to replace fencing across side yard in front and back and saw a fence in the neighborhood that we loved. We drove over after dinner to take some photos of it so we could “deconstruct” it on paper at home. Went up to front door so neighbors wouldn’t think we were creepy and they took us into the yard and gave us specific details on how they built and installed it! That was terrific by itself, but then they mentioned that they were planning on selling the previous cedar fencing and posts if we were interested. This wasn’t “cedar-like” or “cedar-tone” fencing! It was solid cedar! We asked them to come up with a price and tonight they told us that for the 9 six foot high panels (8 foot wide) + the 18 posts (that would completely do our job front and back with about 8 foot left over, they would like $200! Sold!!!!!! The same fencing at Home Depot would have cost $1300+!!!!! We are over the moon!!!
I put a splash of lemon juice straight from a bottle into my ice water for flavor — natural and cheap. Since you saved all that loot, you should reward yourself. I just posted about an absolutely great deal to be had at Connecting Threads — no affiliation whatsoever – it’s just too good not to tip people off. It’s clearance, so check it out quick if interested. Love your blog and admitting to ‘inventive fixes’ to keep from spending $$. “Use it up, wear it out ….” actually builds character, imho. Blessings.
I do have a few frugal things but instead of typing those out I want to jump on the powerade issue. I had to give up soda and since I’m not a huge fan of water, although getter better, I want to recommend Sparkling Ice brand flavored water. They have a nice variety of flavors, carbonation and does not taste like seltzer.
Have you tried the flavorings they sell for water? I think they’re pretty good, and less expensive than name-brand bottled water.
I purchased the water drops after a friend recommended them. My husband would never drink water but consumed way too much soda. He tried the water drops and now has a cabinet with several flavors. He loves them and never drinks soda.
Try a slice of fresh oranges in your water. Also cucumber slices (peeled). Both are less expensive than flavored drinks.
We drink fruit water in place of most other flavored beverages (although it hasn’t replaced coffee!). I make it in wide mouth quart mason jars, but we don’t go through it fast, if you’d drink a lot, use a bigger jar. Fresh tap water in the jar and then I put 2-4 pieces of cut fruit (and sometimes a slice of cucumber or some mint) in it when I fill it. A few hours later you have a lightly flavored, essentially calorie free beverage. One of our favorite combos is 2-3 strawberries (I poke them with the tip of a knife for more flavor) and a single slice of lemon. But there are tons of ideas on the web, or just whatever you think sounds good to you.
I drank Crystal Light Lemonade (powder) for a long time. One day I tried Walmart’s Great Value brand . . . It comes 6 tubes to a pkg. & costs less than $2.00 – Each tube of powder makes 2 qts of lemonade. I usually make it by the glass and just sprinkle a bit in each glass. You can make it less strong and 1 tube will last a long time.
Oh, I forgot – the Walmart lemonade powder is sugar free and low calorie. It also comes in several other flavors.
Try cutting up a fresh strawberry and putting it in your water — so good!
Here is a link to some recipes from Gundersen Health System. They have a section on beverages, and some recipes for fruit water.
http://www.gundersenhealth.org/nutrition/recipes
thank you for posting all your frugal ideas…I force myself to have a glass of water as soon as I wake up helps start the day out….but add any fresh fruit please wash the skins before adding to your drinks though
I had to giggle at your talking about drinking more water than Power-Aid my saying is I don’t like the taste of water (which is none) lol. So I always have a bottle of Liptons Diet Green Tea near me. I love the stuff! My fingernails are so healthy now and unfortunately my hair is growing faster than ever. Best of luck with drinking more water, you are by & far stronger than I will ever be!
Jeri