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What Did You Accomplish This Week To Promote a Frugal Lifestyle? - Page 3  

post #41 of 57
9/9/06 at 7:09pm
We have done so well at our house this month-only groceries for us, with one exception! I did buy soap yesterday for my face, I didn't need it right then, but we were at the store and I'm getting low. Planning ahead is better than a frantic, last minute trip when I've run out.

We are long overdue for a night out, so tonight we're going to a local wine and tapas place for dinner. It's really nice and kind of expensive, but we were given a gift certificate from friends. We will probably use most or all of it, but it will still be free! (Or very cheap.) I LOVE gifts like that!
post #42 of 57
9/9/06 at 8:50pm
I think I've come home! I'm getting great ideas from you all!!!!

We cloth diaper (got most as hand me downs so very small starting cost)
use cut up T shirts as wipes.

For those of you stewing tomatoes, what exactly are you doing? I have a ton of wonderful tomatoes I want to freeze.

Any tips for freezing zucchini?

I think I'll be on this board a lot!

Laura
post #43 of 57
9/9/06 at 10:08pm
I'd love to make my own yogurt! Is it dfifficult?
post #44 of 57
9/10/06 at 12:17am
A co-worker gave me a #20 bag of "deer carrots". I washed em, peeled em, shredded em, and froze em (in 2 cup portions) in zip lock baggies.

Tonight, I made carrot, raisin and walnut muffins. Ummmmmm!

I alsp canned another dozen qts of tomatoes. So far this season: 38 qts and 2 pints! Also frozen zucchini, bread n' butter pickles, and frozen peaches off of the tree.

Good Eats!
post #45 of 57
9/10/06 at 12:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BugMacGee
I think I've come home! I'm getting great ideas from you all!!!!

We cloth diaper (got most as hand me downs so very small starting cost)
use cut up T shirts as wipes.

For those of you stewing tomatoes, what exactly are you doing? I have a ton of wonderful tomatoes I want to freeze.

Any tips for freezing zucchini?

I think I'll be on this board a lot!

Laura

I shred my zuchinni and put in zip lock bags; enough for one batch of bread. My stewed tomotes are canned in qiarts and pints. Not only are they delicious; the jars are beautiful!
post #46 of 57
9/10/06 at 12:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by IamPink
So, I have all of these shower curtain rods in the closet. (I use them instead of curtain rods... and they're in really pretty colors) I washed my towels and then put up 4 of the rods in the shower and hung the towels on those. Next problem is that I could only fit 2 towels and 1 kitchen towel on each rod. What else can I use?
I use one of these got mine for about $9 at WM
post #47 of 57
9/10/06 at 2:06pm
gret the great- how about homemade playdoough? (google it for lots of recipes!) you probably have everything in your cupboard to make it! salt,flour,oil,food coloring.

this week we..

-used cloth (in the kitchen and diapering) btw I haven't bought paper towels in nearly 7 years!
-cooked meals to freeze. this saves me time & $$$ when I am just too lazy to cook and keeps us from eating out.
-baked our own junk food (well not so junky as processed stuff but you know what I mean-cookies and other items I would normally splurge on)
-went through some of DS clothes to see what I can pass on to DD (need to get rid of the rest, I have clothes coming out of my ears!)
-had a freind come fix the hot water heater instead of a Plumber=free.
-starting to brainstorm on xmas gifts. I want to make a bunch of gifts and need to get started on them!
-bought DD Halloween costume for $4 off ebay.hoping to score DS too before the rush to buy costumes starts!
post #48 of 57
9/10/06 at 2:54pm
* We are planning to buy some items with coupons at Costco, but are waiting for another week. Maybe we'll decide we won't need them.

* Shopped the sales at the grocery store. For the first time I saw frozen 'stew mix' - chopped up carrots, celery, onions, etc. It seemed like a bargain to me because I never have celery and I only use a rib or 2 for whatever recipe I am using. But next time I'll make my own stew mix for the freezer.
I did pass up some good meat sales because I know we have plenty of meat in the freezer. I want to clear off a whole shelf (out of 4) before getting anything new.

* Speaking of freezers, I make sure to lock ours. It seals better that way.

* We have been eating out of the freezer. And I put some leftovers I was tired of in lunch-size portions.

* Ordered more books from Paperbackswap.com; sold another book from the thrift store on half.com.

DH has been good too - he's been canning and refurbishing some metal lawn chairs (sanding and painting).
post #49 of 57
9/10/06 at 3:07pm
1
post #50 of 57
9/10/06 at 3:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gret the great
I'd love to make my own yogurt! Is it dfifficult?
Not at all. And a gallon of milk costs about the same as a quart of yogurt, so it's like getting 4 containers for the price of one.

Bring a quart of milk to the boiling point for one minute. Cool to baby bottle temperature (or 115F). Mix in 2 Tablespoons of yogurt. Pour into containers (I use glass ones with a rubber lid). Cover and keep warm (an oven with a pilot light is perfect. I use an electric oven, just put it barely on. The ideal temperature is 110F). The yogurt will have "yugged" in 5-8 hours. If it stays warm for a longer time after yugging, it will be more sour and have more liquid (whey) on top.
post #51 of 57
9/10/06 at 4:11pm
Thanks foer the yogurt tip! Gotta try that- we eat SOOOO much yogurt & it ain't cheap!

Gonna make some playdough too! Great idea! One of the 5 year olds is a Wizard of oz freak, so I refashioned an old black shirt I never wear into a wicked with costume (not fancy - but the kid LOVED it), and got a witch hat for her at the dollar store. The other 5 yo is getting playdoh for sure!

A frugal thing I do- My mom gave me her foam soap dispensers (after all the brand-name chemicalish stuff was gone) & I have them at all of our sinks with a teeny bit of dr bronners soap with a ton of water- voila -foamy soap, super cheap & minus all of the anti-bacterial junk. My kids love foamy soap, so their hands are very clean this week! Any liquid soap works - I am thinking I might decorate bottles & put some good smelling oils in or something for x-mas gifts.
post #52 of 57
9/10/06 at 4:38pm
I found over 330 pieces of a toy and reboxed them so I can return it! I had wanted to get ds an awesome present for his birthday and bought this expensive thing (techno gears extreme marble mania) that seemed great. It was advertised in the 4-6 years section of the website and the ad said it was for 6+. It turns out it is actually for 8+ and was a struggle for ME to put together and completely inappropriate for ds. It's hard to pick things out online! But I'll get my money back, except for shipping .
post #53 of 57
9/10/06 at 4:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gret the great
Thanks foer the yogurt tip! Gotta try that- we eat SOOOO much yogurt & it ain't cheap!
Glad to be of help
post #54 of 57
9/10/06 at 8:05pm
Okay, my thing for today was a big one for me. My glasses broke. Well, I take them to Wal-Mart where I got them and she said that the frames costs $74. Urgh. Or, she could see if she has an ear piece around and fix them, but they might not match color or brand or even style.
Now, the old me (meaning me 2 months ago before I got serious with this money situation : )would have instantly bought a new pair and gone with that.

NOT NOW!!!! I said fine, cause if she repairs them, it's free! Woohoo!! And, I think that God was happy that I was using my brain today! When I got back from looking around, she said that she actually found an earpiece that is from my exact brand and color of glasses! But, they won't be ready until tomorrow. :

Now, the bad part is, I am trying to finish up on my Christmas. So, instead of buying all of the things that I saw today at WM, I came home and ordered from ABC instead. I am going to do a little at a time for the kids. And I got $23 worth ordered today (instead of the $110 that I wanted to get!).
It sucks cause the boys' birthdays are in Aug and Sept then you turn around and it's Christmas! :
post #55 of 57
9/10/06 at 10:00pm
Today instead of going to the fabric store to make some upcoming presents I put out a call on Freecycle and got 2 large bags with lots of good stuff. And although I had to pick up on the otherside of town I managed to make it on the way to afternoon coffee with my friend who I don't see too often.

I really need to experiment with that yogurt thing too!
post #56 of 57
9/10/06 at 10:57pm
I actually have a yogurt maker I got for my bday last year...still need to try that! thanks for reminding me! my kiddos just yogurt!
post #57 of 57
9/22/06 at 4:33pm
I got some majorly good deals at the store today. I was shopping the 10/$10 sales, but then I spotted the clearance bin. They had 1-lb tubs of organic brown rice for 50 cents, big containers of spices for 25 cents, and kids' toothbrushes - a 5 pack for 50 cents. I spent about $35 at the two stores, and came away with 6 or 7 full bags of food. Not too shabby!

I also sold two more books on half.com this week. That's only $15 after postage, but at least it's something.

And tomorrow I have to work overtime. Not real excited about that, but it will be good money.
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