New frugal mamas thread?

[girlndocs]

Anybody up for it?

Actually I just needed an excuse to brag about my find o'the freaking decade: an opera-length strand of vintage faux pearls. They're glass, so heavy! and the luster is just gorgeous. I keep running them through my fingers to watch the light play on them :D Guess how much I paid? A DOLLAR. I am so jazzed! Now I just need an excuse to wear them! They'd look gorgeous with the black velvet dress from Goodwill I've never worn either ... :LOL

But we found more practical things this weekend too: a glass pitcher (to replace the plastic one we kept our OJ in), some good cheap CDs, a Rodale Press Encyclopedia of Natural Remedies, lots of textured, cream-colored fabric to cover my nursing chair with, a pair of comfy boots that should fit ds just right by cold weather. Our friend Jim took home a wooden filing cabinet the seller said *he* bought from the Milwaukee Railroad Co. Total wad blown, about $20. :thumb

Anybody else finding good stuff this weekend?

[ja mama]

Last weekend I found some Lodge brand cast iron skillets, an 8" and a 10" for 5$ at a garage sale. I am totally excited by that. And a nightstand for ds's room for three dollars. We sanded and painted it and dh made a drawer for it, and it looks great!!!

[root*children]

Thanks for starting a new one. I was thinking of doing the same for the new season :)
We had kinda a dissappointing yardsaling day. A couple neat kids books, a kid bike that needs some elbow grease, blah, blah. I just get so bummed when I drive the stinkin 45 min. just to get into town (which means getting the kids dressed and fed at very early hours) and there's nothing great. One YS did have lots of great HC Waldorf-ish kid's books but she wanted too much for YS books, so after trying to talk her down for a few minutes, I just scowled and left. darn! Hopefully I can find what thrift she donates them to!

Well, I'm trying to stay motivated today to can pears. I've done 6 jars, and sorted out all the other ripe ones that can be put up today. OT: I just went to the bitty-wee grocery near us to buy vinegar to help the pears not darken, and the didn't have it! WTH? What kind of farm-town country grocery store doesn't carry vinegar! :irked:

BTW~ I'll go plug this thread on the older Frugal mamas thread :)

[Indigo73]

No yard saling today, but through freecycle this weekend, I have a twin bed for my ds, (just need to find a twin futon mattress and sheets), a microwave for my dh's job so he can bring warm ups to work and not spend 5-7 bucks a day on mall food and my best "find" - 3 awesome kitchen chairs that I am so in love with. My next kitchen table needs to work with them not the other way around. LOL.

I am in the middle of an afgan I am crocheting for a wedding present. Most of the yarn is from yard sales and the orphan bin at the local yarn shop. This wool and mohair jobby could have cost me me more than $200 bucks in materials, is costing less than $50. Now I just need to keep at it despite the heat and hopefully not break my heart when I give it up. It's just gorgeous. It needs to be done on the 11th so back to work.

[welove2farm]

Well, I'm trying to stay motivated today to can pears. I've done 6 jars, and sorted out all the other ripe ones that can be put up today. OT: I just went to the bitty-wee grocery near us to buy vinegar to help the pears not darken, and the didn't have it! WTH? What kind of farm-town country grocery store doesn't carry vinegar! :irked:

BTW~ I'll go plug this thread on the older Frugal mamas thread :) I learned this trick from my mom. To prevent fruit from darkening crush 6 tablets of 500mg. of vit. C per gallon of water or, of course, you can use fresh lemon or lemon juice concentrate.

[root*children]

yeah, I went ahead and bought the little bottle of ascorbic acid to prevent darkening (this at the store that doesn't carry vinegar! - can you tell I'm having issues with this?). When I brought it home, I also realized that I could have probably just crushed up some vitamin C's! Oh well, maybe next time.

Does anyone know what to do when you've processed something and one or two of the lids don't seal? Is there a fix-it or should I just stick it in the fridge and use it up?

[welove2farm]

Does anyone know what to do when you've processed something and one or two of the lids don't seal? Is there a fix-it or should I just stick it in the fridge and use it up?

If you're cold-packing then you can try processing again. Might want to take off the lid and wipe clean and then tighten or even replace the sealed lid. I've had good luck with this. If you're hot packing then it's recommended that you take everything out of the jar, reheat jar, lid and contents and process again. That's not worth it to me so I pop it in the fridge and save for next little mouth that's hungry.

Enjoy!

[Throkmorton]

No vinegar? Whaaaa? Maybe vinegar is more common here, but even 7-11 carries it.
My frugal move of the week is a literal one. We are moving back home where houses are cheaper, rent is cheaper and the people are nice. Yay!

[mom2tig99Nroo03]

no ys here this past weekend :(

[hipumpkins]

Ooooo!! I love this thread!!
Over the weekend I got a safety first booster chair for free. It is actually the 2nd free one I now own b/c I guess they don't sell at garage sales and people put them out for trash the next morning. Both are in good condition.

[meowee]

hi frugal mamas

I can't remember if I joined the last thread, but I try to spend as little money as possible. One thing I have been working on this summer is cutting down on the AC use. We have an old one that is less energy efficient than newer modles. In fact I'm going to go turn it off now :LOL

My most recent cheapskate discovery is bathing the kids like this: have them stand up in the tub (with no water), fill the sink with water, and use that to bathe them buy pouring it over them. I was able to wash my 2 year old with two (small) sink fulls of water and my 5 year old with 3 sink fulls, and my baby with 1 sinkful. Together this is less water than I used to use on a single bath for one of them.

[Alkenny]

Thanks for pointing me here, Dreadymama. :thumb
My latest "good deal" was the living room suit my mom got at an estate sale/auction over the weekend for $35. (It's grown more and more on me for those who know my woes over the color!) I have my eyes open for some different throw pillows now is all.

[root*children]

Glad you found us!
Meowee~ Good thoughts for the bathing! Although my kids are so into water right now, they absolutely adore tons of water in the bath. But what we've started doing recently is for me to take a shower with the boys in there, too. I point the shower head nearly straight down, put the pressure on minimal, so it's just kind of dribbling out, and put the stopper in. It helps me take much shorter showers, and the boys are cleaner than ever (not that I'm proud of it, but before we started doing this, they were only getting bathed - at most - once a week). And it solves my 1yo screaming every time I take a shower b/c he wants to always be with me.

Alright, he's a question for everyone to ponder. What kind of (frugal, of course) gift do you give a 21yo college girl? This is my SIL. Last year we sent her a box with homemade cupcakes, a store-bought (on sale, of course ;)) tub of frosting, a plastic knife, a little baggie of sprinkles, and a candle; for a do-it-yourself b-day cake sort of thing. She seemed to get a kick out of it. But this year, I don't know. We made a card, and now I just have to figure out the present part! HELP! :D

[Indigo73]

As a college student, I always looked forward to my folks' monthly-ish care packages. They used real popcorn in baggies to pack stuff. My floor-mates would swarm on my room for the popcorn, cookies, twinkies and whatever else my parents saw while grocery shopping. I bet something along the line of the cupcakes would be great...

[Kleine Hexe]

Ha! Dready Mama, I need the same thing for my sis who turns 21 next week.

My mom's neighbor moved and my mom bought a bunch of kid stuff from her for my DS. We got

a little tykes pinic table

a child table with 2 chairs from IKEA

2 more little plastic garden chairs

a wooden bead toy from IKEA

a twin mattress from IKEA

three storage dressers for toys

a scooter

a kiddie pool

I also got some hand me down clothes from my new SIL for my DS. It was a good weekend :thumb

On the bad side I did something dumb and not so frugal. I bought The Tightwad Gazette twice! I bought it from buy.com and later the same day I won it on ebay. :eyesroll Well, my friend said she'd buy a copy from me. That's good, but annoying that I did that. I still loose the money I pay for shipping. :irked:

[mermommy]

I haven't been to a yard sale in a while - we should really have one of our own . . .
I did get a free little tikes climber for my DD from Craigslist. Every time I check the local freecycles it's all spam or wanted postings :(

Oh yeah and I got a great deal on some Mother ease cloth diapers on ebay.

[srain]

Hey now- why are y'all talking about buying things?

In The Circle of Simplicity, Cecile Andrews recommends that we ask ourselves a series of questions before making a purchase. Here is a Universal Shopping List, drawn in large part from Dr. Andrews’ work, to help consider purchasing decisions:
Do I really need this? Is there anything I can use instead?
Will this item bring enjoyment and beauty into my life?
Will it benefit others?
Will this item help me to engage in life more fully?
Is the cost of the item worth the time it takes to earn the money to buy it?
Could I buy it used? Borrow it? Rent it? Share the purchase with someone else?
How will this purchase affect the environment?

I'm sure many of your new possessions meet these criteria, but remember- buying stuff for cheaper is still buying stuff!

[root*children]

I think most all of our purchases meet those criteria. We're talking about buying things b/c this thread is set up to help mamas make the most of their money. Alot of these things are free or practicly free, so I don't see any problem with acquiring them. I like to live comfortably and not be in want, kwim?

Mermommy~ What's craigslist?

[mermommy]

I think most all of our purchases meet those criteria. We're talking about buying things b/c this thread is set up to help mamas make the most of their money. Alot of these things are free or practicly free, so I don't see any problem with acquiring them. I like to live comfortably and not be in want, kwim?

Mermommy~ What's craigslist?

I agree with your response to the previous poster. While I'm sure we can all aspire to be non-consumers I didn't think that was what this thread was about. Many of the listings are about people reusing items that others are throwing away - this helps just about everybody in the equation.
The list could be handy for limiting purchases and may in fact be used by some of the others posting here but it seems that it was meant to be more of an admonishment then a helpful idea and honestly that was uncalled for.

Craigslist is a free classifieds list - it's set up for various large cities so it isn't available everywhere. craigslist.org is the main site ( for san francisco) the other cities are linked on the right.
( just a note - I have no affiliation with the site I just read the local posts.)

[Kleine Hexe]

I don't think srain was trying to be rude in any way. I can see what she is trying to say. With risk of making someone mad I will say that when I started reading this list I was a bit confused and disappointed. It seemed to be the only thing posted was how everybody went to YS every weekend and bought stuff for really cheap. I thought great you can find stuff for cheap but it's still shopping and spending money. I read it to be kind of like a contest of who could get the most for cheapest. Now that can be a pretty cool contest and we all love getting deals, but I felt a bit out of place because I don't even have the money to spend at YS. I can't go YSing every weekend, heck I can't even find the money to go YSing once in six months. I know someone who will buy something just because it's on sale or a great deal but they don't need it or have use for it. Until I lurked on the list longer did I see that posting about great deals is a part of the list but not the whole list and that the mamas here are resourceful and not wasteful.

I just posted about all the cool stuff I got from my mom this past weekend because I didn't spend a dime and I wanted to express my joy with everybody. Now I know that's why people post about their good finds. It's just about sharing our excitment.

I love to hear about others frugal ideas and I see those posted as well. I guess when I first found this list it was mostly about YS because and that just happened to work out that way. Now I know that's not all this thread is about and I love coming here for cool ideas.

[root*children]

I agree that srain's post was probably not meant to be rude, but srain's post seems to be strange b/c this is the frugal mamas thread, not the diapering or such thread (sheesh, they make me nauseaus over there :eyesroll ). I mean, what's been talked about here, so far? A couple yardsale finds, home canning, bathing children with less water, freecycling, homemade gift-giving, cloth diapering, etc. Hardly anything seems wasteful.
Kleine~ I'm sorry you got a neg. vibe from first coming over here. It is truly an excitement, not a contest. It's the same thing IRL for me, how my frugal-living friends will purposely call/email to let someone else know when something (essential) goes on sale, if a thrift is having a blow-out sale, if they know a good fruit tree with ripe fruits, if they saw something we might use in the Free section of the paper, free/cheap activities for the family, etc. I :love my friends! It's been so helpful to me to have almost all frugal living or frugal-aspiring friends.
OTOH~ Admittedly, I do buy more than a lot of mamas, b/c I resell a good portion of it.

Alright, moving on... WeLove2Farm emailed me this morning letting me know that Walmart matches any other store's weekly sales. Did anyone else know that? Do you do it? I've never heard of it. Although when I was in the Omaha WM, I was confused as to why they had the other stores' sale fliers up!

More to write, but this post is quite long already, so I'll write later :)

[srain]

I'm sorry; I didn't mean to rain on your parade! This is a support thread, and I in no way want to challenge/ debate you. I briefly ran a "help people save money/ get out of debt" business and found that a lot of people, especially those just beginning to realize that they needed to/ wanted to spend less money, started out by jumping on sales/ used stuff/ free stuff. In the long run, this made it harder for them to de-attach themselves from "consumer mode," which was a goal most of them had. [It may or may not be any of yours.] After six months or so, they realized that they had usually spent about the same amount of money, but acquired many more "things" than they would have in their "old" lifestyle. So they were definitely learning to use their dollars more efficiently, but had a lot of things they didn't really need. Some of them were happy with this, and continued to use their newfound skills to get the things they saw on TV for much less; more power to them. More of them, however, wanted to make more dramatic changes in their lives, and eventually lost the need to buy virtually anything other than consumables. (And that's when they started to REALLY save money!)

So, I'm sorry if I pissed you off, but I do think the questions I posted are good ones- even if what you're getting is free!

[mom2tig99Nroo03]

making your own :lurk: popcorn

[SpiralChrissy]

Hi, y'all. I'm joining. I posted to the previous thread this morning. I really need help cutting back since DH will be laid off in 2 weeks time. I'm getting my first freecycle today when I go pick up some clothes for myself. And tomorrow I'm getting a free bag of clothes for my DS. I'm also trying to limit spending all together. I hope I can draw some great tips from y'all.
Thanks! :thumb

[rowantree]

Just adding myself in here. Im very bad at frugal, so Im on babysteps. I made my own coffe for the 3rd day in a row, no more $2 lattes for me. yeah

[SpiralChrissy]

I think that's great!! Coffee is one of my greatest weaknesses. I'm forever running out for more. So, I can totally relate. You can do it!! :)

[Rhonwyn]

[QUOTE=srainMore of them, however, wanted to make more dramatic changes in their lives, and eventually lost the need to buy virtually anything other than consumables. (And that's when they started to REALLY save money!)[/QUOTE]

I joined this thread because of this. We have too much stuff and I want to tread more lightly upon the earth. How do you lose the consumerism addiction? I have a really hard time passing up sales. I am also a terrible pack rat. Some is buying in bulk to save money but I do find myself buying a lot of stuff I really don't need.

[girlndocs]

they realized that they had usually spent about the same amount of money, but acquired many more "things" than they would have in their "old" lifestyle. So they were definitely learning to use their dollars more efficiently, but had a lot of things they didn't really need.

:nod

DH & I definitely went through that stage. We kinda thought, it was cheap, so why not pick it up even if it wasn't that needed/wanted/great? Until we realized how full our house was of crap that no-one was really appreciating or using (and how fast those small sums of money added up!

Now I ask myself questions like srain's before I buy something and as soon as I started that, the number of items coming home with me :innocent dropped dramatically. It used to be that I felt obligated to buy something, for example, if I stopped at a ys. Now DH & I can go to 4 or 5 and only buy at maybe 1.

For the most part, we only bring home things we've consciously decided to go out & look for (like the cds in my first post, ones I've been looking for for literally months!) Impulse purchases like the pearls are things that a) delight me utterly and b) don't represent a big financial splurge, damage the environment or otherwise spend my $ on something I don't want to support.

Of course sometimes I'm better at it than other times. Sometimes I get home & say "What was I thinking?!" :duh Good thing I can keep my husband in tow so we can help balance each other out!

[mermommy]

I'm sorry; I didn't mean to rain on your parade! This is a support thread, and I in no way want to challenge/ debate you. I briefly ran a "help people save money/ get out of debt" business and found that a lot of people, especially those just beginning to realize that they needed to/ wanted to spend less money, started out by jumping on sales/ used stuff/ free stuff. In the long run, this made it harder for them to de-attach themselves from "consumer mode," which was a goal most of them had. [It may or may not be any of yours.] After six months or so, they realized that they had usually spent about the same amount of money, but acquired many more "things" than they would have in their "old" lifestyle. So they were definitely learning to use their dollars more efficiently, but had a lot of things they didn't really need. Some of them were happy with this, and continued to use their newfound skills to get the things they saw on TV for much less; more power to them. More of them, however, wanted to make more dramatic changes in their lives, and eventually lost the need to buy virtually anything other than consumables. (And that's when they started to REALLY save money!)

So, I'm sorry if I pissed you off, but I do think the questions I posted are good ones- even if what you're getting is free!


I appreciate that you are trying to help I think what got to me is the way it was worded. - The hey why are you all buying bit - I agree that your list is helpful and can be applied even to free items. It sounded , to me , like you were jumping on everyone who posted that they aquired something - and that's not fair. Unless you know the circumstances of every post you can't imply that they are wrong. I do tend to take things personally so I know it might have bothered me more than others - I'm not " pissed off" just annoyed that it seemed everyone was being looked down on.

I'm not trying to put words or feelings into your post just trying to explain how it got to me.

[girlndocs]

Oh, and in light of srain's questions, I think it would be interesting to discuss what people have NOT had to buy recently. What did you find a nonconsumer substitute for? I used to keep a "Things I Did Not Buy This Week" journal, when I was first trying to simplify, & it was really motivating!

I'll go first:

We haven't bought any pears this whole winter/spring/summer, because we canned the ones from our tree. :yum Ditto for jam; I made wild-blackberry jam. We still have to use up the last of what we have before it's time to can more!

We didn't buy the set of hair clippers from last week's church rummage sale because we've decided everyone in the family will grow their hair out.

(I feel pathetic now. I used to be able to list what I did not buy on a weekly basis and that's all I can come up with now? :irked: I need to get my butt in gear.)

[rowantree]

i dint buy new tigts for the winter, I will have to eventually, but Im going to wait til the 1st snow.
I didnt buy any perishables at the grocery because we are going away on sat and need to empty our fridge.
I didnt buy a Diva Cup cause they're $25 and I have pads left over from last month.
I didnt buy.. ok I bought hair dye and tiger balm and rescue remedy, but hey a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!

[SpiralChrissy]

I did not buy a bunch of Halloween decorations even though I LOVE Halloween and I've just started seeing things in the store.

I did not go out for coffee this morning.

I did not schedule a massage even though I'm so tense I could burst! ;)

[CindyC]

Joining the thread...we are in a definite less-consumerism mode because we are living on one income. Also, DH prefers a more minimalistic environment and we are decluttering. I signed up for freecycle, but I have yet to use it. I did try to give away a desk, though.

As for saving money, I want to bring my lunch to work everyday. I'm just not in the habit and most mornings, I just plain forget.

Oh and one of my money-saving techniques...I don't run to Target cuz I *need* something. I determine if we can live without it for a week. If so, I wait to make the shopping trip. The less often I'm *in* the store, the less I will spend.

The same for sales and coupons. I don't follow them. I only buy what I need. If I happen to find a coupon great, if not, no big deal. When I was younger, I tried using coupons. I swear I spent more!

This may sound funny, but online grocery shopping has helped cut down our food bill. The delivery charge is $10 (for under $150), but if you do one delivery and wait 10 days to do your next, they will send you a coupon for 3 free deliveries.

It is so helpful to me to see the running tab on my grocery "cart". Also, I tend to just consider price when I'm choosing products, not the packaging or whatever.

I don't do any of the price matching things. I don't have time. Time is money, too, you know. :)

I don't do yard sales. I know I would always find something that I "need".

I never thought of reselling good deals. Hmmm...maybe DH can do that from home.

We will be doing homemade gifts for Christmas.

[rowantree]

we're on one income now too, I know Ill spend my extra time buying stuff if Im not careful. I wish we had online grocery shopping. Im a sucker for stuff I see, and forget it when the kids are there, Ill spend 2xs as much. We're going away for 10 days, we have $100 per day spending limit. Can you come up with helpful cheap ways to vacation. we're going to denver and south dakota. the flight, car, and hotels are all already paid for. We definatley plan on going grocery shopping for cereal and sandwhich stuff to cut the cost of eating down allot. Anyone have any good ideas?

[CindyC]

I don't know if this is helpful, but when we are on vacation, I notice that if we eat a big breakfast, we can usually go until dinner with a snack inbetween. I gather you will be in hotel room, not a home or condo? I've also noticed that it's worth the extra money for the micro/frig in the room. You're more likely to eat leftovers.

[root*children]

We're also going to Denver in about a week. I saw you already had booked a hotel, but for next time, a thought would be to stay in a Homestead Suite. Sometimes the price is cheaper on their website and sometimes cheaper on those discount websites. It's comparable in price to any other regular motel. The upsides are that they are REALLY clean (at least in my experience) and have a kitchenette in every room (fridge, micro, freezer, stovetop, dishwasher, dishes, pots, pans, utensils). Saves us so much money, b/c we never have to look for somewhere to eat, and end up spending tons on eating out. They are only in big cities, though. www.homesteadhotels.com

Another idea for cheap travelling is to go to the city's website and find out what free events are scheduled for the same time you'll be there. They also have good ideas on hikes around the area, etc.

[hipumpkins]

Went to church playgroup today and another mom gave my DD a doll house wiht the some accessories. Her DD got a new one for her bday so she gave us the other one which her DD never even played b/c of her age. DD LOVES it and didn't even want to stop playing to eat. (that saves food money, right ;) )

[rowantree]

thats great about the doll house!!!! we got a 3 story hand me down Barbie house afew years ago that we are going to re-paint soon.

hows this for frugal, we got rooms at the double tree in denver for FREE! My dads highschool pal is a big wig in hilton! good idea about a big breakfast!

[SpiralChrissy]

I saved $150 today!! :bgbounce :bgbounce :clap
Since I will soon be out of insurace, I called my OB about birth control. She agreed to give me 3 free samples to tide me over while we're looking for work! I love her! :heartbeat It never hurts to ask :)

[juliewol]

Hi everyone! :D

We also live a frugal lifestyle.

Our family had a wonderful evening out on Thursday, for almost free. There's an outdoor symphony concert here every year that always ends with the 1812 Overture, with cannons and fireworks. I packed a picnic dinner, instead of buying the outrageously expensive (and not very good) food sold there.
The only thing we had to pay for was parking - discounted to $2 after 6pm.

I also have had limited luck with Freecycle. I have gotten a few cool things - tiki torches and books. Does anyone else have problems with people responding to an "offered" post, and then not showing up? :irked: That makes me crazy - it seems I never give things to the first reply - I have to go down the list to find someone who will actually show up. I mean, what is with these people? (Sorry, just had to vent!)

[2BMamaof3]

Hi all. I think a frugal lifestyle is a GOOD idea, and I am making lots of progress. Mostly I'm making progress because I don't have a choice, there is just no money!! But I've learned so much over the last 4 years (when my lifestyle changed dramatically...I quit work and moved to Canada to be with my husband and he is our sole provider).

This week I did not have to buy a birthday present for my daughter. Well, I spent 20 dollars on the birthday party AND presents...normally this would have been 200 in all. So that is a HUGE change. I made her gifts out of items I already had or recycled, and the major activity for her party is a homemade pig pinata. I'm quite pleased with my first foray into frugal birthday parties.

OH, and we're having a big family/friends get together party tonight, but we're doing it POT LUCK style instead of me shelling out the dough I don't have to feed a bunch o people. I'm excited!!

Abby

[root*children]

Good for you! I love frugal parties! All our b-day parties have cost next-to-nothing - homemade streamers, scratch cakes, homemade/YSed gifts, etc.

Another frugal thought on travelling I had wanted to mention earlier is ride-sharing. Our local college radio station does this, but if your's doesn't, it would be easy enough to put a note up on a bulliten board at your local college. My ads always say something like..."Mama with kids has room in the min-van for passengers to ___. Non-smokers only. Need to share gas cost, and possibly driving. Females or couples preferred. Must be patient, b/c it'll be slow ride (gotta let the youngins out to run around every once in a while!)"
Usually works well for females who don't necessarily want to drive 8 hours with some crazy guy!

Well, no yardsales here today on account of the rain. But I did go to consignment store and bought a Baby Bjorn for 8 bucks.. (eBay!)


Nak!

[Mama Faery]

Just subscribing to the thread. :)
We didn't do any yardsaling this weekend (but the season for it is going to be gone soon, New England's weather is so temperamental!) but today there's a %50 off sale at our local Savers thrift store...so I think we may be going later today! DH needs some casual clothes and maybe we'll find some good stuff for Rowan too.
Anyway, hope you all had a great weekend! I need to learn more about being frugal from you all...money is so hard for us to deal with right now...
Take care!

[juliewol]

Did anyone here ever dumpster dive?

This past week, we checked out the dumpster of our local middle school, I this is what I found:
Primo 3 hole paper punch (I'd been wanting one of these)
French, Spanish & German books
French tapes
many science books
unopened set of math & science CD-ROMS
and a few other things.

[root*children]

Our subdivision dumpster has the best stuff ever! We've found so much stuff there, I can't even remember it all. Umm.. record player with two speakers, boxes of clothes, DS's bed, set of dining room chairs, loads of yarn & homeschooling supplies that we sold on eBay, loads of other things I've freecycled or sold at our subdivision yardsales (hey, I figure if these are the kind of people to throw perfectly good things in a dumpster, they're probably not the same people to go yardsaling!). It really drives me nuts how wasteful people are. I've become friends with the man who tends the dump, as he will sometimes help me load heavy items into my van :D

ETA: oh yeah, and right after Christmas last year, I found a Talking Barbie Townhouse, with a gazillion little annoying pieces, and sold it on eBay for over 60 bucks! (sheesh!)

[Mama Faery]

I have a question about dumpster diving...I'm totally interested in it, but, how do I find a good dumpster to dive in? ;) I don't really want to slog through yucky trash, but is that sort of par for the course? I'm just wondering. As young high school/college students, my friends and I would go through college dumpsters and find good stuff...is that what I should do? Look for upscale sorts of places or college dumpsters?
I'd love to check it out...
Oh, on the Savers front; we were there for a while, and Rowan did great with the huge crowds and bright store...I found a ton of clothes for him including some soft quilted winter one-pieces, plus four skirts and two tops for me, and DH got a shirt and a wooden marble game...we spent about $25. :D Score.

[SpiralChrissy]

We went to the Greek Festival today. Instead of going earlier in the weekend, we waited til the last minute when admission was free. So, we saved $6 and I usually lug home something that I "have to have" but this time I didn't do it! We only spent $6.50 on food and came home :)

[Meli65]

Just signing on and looking for ideas ... we are more or less scraping by on dh's income and having trouble paying for
doctor bills :irked:

Question -- who has had luck with Ebay for things like kids' clothes? I do well with garage sales and Goodwill when I can get there although neither of these work very well with ds in tow. I haven't had the patience for Ebay so far but if there are true bargains to be had .....

[wenat]

Ebay is great for some bargains, but once you factor shipping in, it's not so wonderful. You can get brand-name clothes for $5, but then there's another $5 in shipping ... double the cost.

[juliewol]

[QUOTE=renae][COLOR=Indigo]I have a question about dumpster diving...I'm totally interested in it, but, how do I find a good dumpster to dive in? ;) I don't really want to slog through yucky trash, but is that sort of par for the course? I'm just wondering. As young high school/college students, my friends and I would go through college dumpsters and find good stuff...is that what I should do? Look for upscale sorts of places or college dumpsters?


I usually go to certain dumpsters.
Like now, with the school year beginning, I look in school dumpsters. They throw away a lot of perfectly good materials, that I fish through and share with other homeschoolers. There's also not any yucky stuff, since they haven't started serving food there yet. In June, after the year ends is another good time to hit school dumpsters. We get lots of hardly used markers, art supplies, etc.

Every few months, one of the expensive dept. stores has a dumpster, where they throw out perfectly good clothes, with the label still attached. I've gotten some nice things from there, also.

And, since we're renovating, I keep an eye out for dumpsters
at construction sites. I've gotten old (but nice) doors, wood scraps I've needed, and pieces of rebar from them.

I don't usually go through dumpsters that would have regular garbage - unless there's something sticking out that I just have to have :)

[beaner&tiegs]

I haven't tried out dumpster diving, but I do find wandering through allies to be a great source of free stuff- we've gotten a great dresser, some old wooden doors, a window, cabinet, pavers for our garden, etc. It's often how I put my baby to sleep on a nice evening, and then after she's asleep I leave her at home and drive back to pick up what I've spotted!

[dawnk]

Hi!
I am just joining on, but frugal nonetheless. I would love to hear more about saving for birthday parties. My son is turning 2 on Saturday and we are having it at the local park. I am planning on making the cake from scratch and DH is making salsa with our abundance of tomatoes, however I still cringe when I think about everything else I will have to buy. I need balloons, paper products (can I get away with using something else as I HATE paper waste but have nothing suitable for a picnic for a ton of people?) and I also need some kind of table cloth, beverages...the list goes on. DH won't ask for it to be potluck since we are throwing the party so that is out. Any advice would be much appreciated!
I also wanted to throw in that I went to a yard sale this past weekend, and it was getting really hot and this one house wanted to close up and go swimming so they said to take a bag and fill it with clothes for $1. I got so many clothes for my 2 year old, mostly Kitestrings. I was so geeked! and then at another one, they had a box of free new in the package Christmas/birthday bows. :D

[weebitty2]

The BEST dumpsters I've EVER found were college ones at the end of the school year. :D Textbooks, clothes, random odd things (we got a couple gorgeous vases, and a box of about 30 pewter statuettes - wizards and dragons) .. and our entire living room set. :D Also got DD's dresser, a large area rug, and end tables .. because most college kids get 'em cheap during the year, then don't want to lug them home for the summer.

[root*children]

I was going to suggest college dumpsters, too. Of course, I always miss the time that the year ends, and haven't gotten to em in time! :eyesroll

Birthday parties: well, if alot of people are coming we do it away from meal times, say 1:30 or 2:00, so that everyone's (hopefully) eaten lunch, then we can just put out snacks. We do have a big stash of reusable table ware just for parties, that doesn't match at all, and is all from thrift stores, but looks fun that way! And it's super cheap, b/c it's all the plastic stuff, not the nice china! For drinks, we just have jugs of water, and maybe one of those big jugs of apple juice... what kid needs soda anyhow? ;) We had our last party at a park, and I had come prepared with balloons, homemade & yardsaled streamers, etc. But we got there and realized there was nowhere to put them! So maybe that won't even be an issue for you. For tablecloths, we also find fun colorful ones at the thrift, and then I don't really care if it ends up getting stained or something. Have fun! parties at parks are so easy, so don't sweat it, the kids don't need any entertaining!

[CindyC]

Well, we did dumpster diving when I was in high school, but that was to collect cardboard for recycling. I was trying to pay for a trip to Mexico.

I guess the key for lowering the cost for parties is to limit the guest list. In our family, no matter the time of day, they expect to eat. We usually do a modified potluck where my mom and a couple of aunts will contribute side dishes. We don't ask, they just offer. :)

I have heard complaints on freecycle about offered items not being picked up.

Another idea is to *hold* a yardsale. Can make some money that way. :)

[tboroson]

Hi, new here! I'm *trying* to learn to be more frugal. I know lots of stuff in theory, I just have to get into the swing of practicing it ;) It's mostly, for me, a matter of thinking ahead - like, baking a loaf of bread *before* I run out and have no time in the next two days and know I'll need some before I have enough time...

Anyway, as for dumpster diving - I used to. Haven't done much lately, mostly because my husband is averse to the idea and hates collecting things just because they might be useful some day... But, I ditto the college dumpster idea. I knew exchange students who would throw away whole computers that were only 9 months old, because they were too difficult to take back home on the plane. Carpet remnants, sofas, you name it.

And, for birthday parties, I have a few suggestions. I don't have a whole frugal birthday plan yet ;) but here are a few things that come to mind. This time of year, you can find plastic picnic ware at hell-mart or Target really cheap. Like, $0.10 or $0.25 each. Of course, if you're buying for a big party, this could really add up; But, over the course of only a few parties, it will really pay off if you can afford it now. The big disadvantage is that you'll have to lug all those dirty plates home from the park... Also, you can pick up a piece of fabric off a $1 or $2 rack to use for tablecloths, and use it later to make something. Or just keep reusing it it for tablecloths in the future. Of course, you don't need the fancy decorated napkins and plates that cost way too much money - or, if you do want them, you can buy just one pack and put them on top of a pile of plain ones. As for balloons and streamers, personally I don't worry about their price - it's like $0.89 for a pack of streamers and something like $1-2 for a pack of balloons (depending on if you go to a dollar store or a party store). You can do a nice decorating job for under $5. I agree with the dh who says no potluck, it's not very polite to say "Hey, come celebrate my child's birthday - you bring the food!" But, in my experience, most of my friends and family will offer to bring something and I have no qualms about taking them up on the offer. If this is the case in your crowd, invite early enough that there is time for these offers to roll in. Then you'll be able to take them into account when it comes time to plan/buy the rest of the food.

Ok, here's a question. Do any of you keep a price book? What method do you use? I tried using a Pocket-PC (got it for free when my dh's work was upgrading and throwing away quite nice but older model ones.) But, the batteries didn't last very long, and since I didn't turn it on often to see that the batteries were low and recharge it, every time I turned it on to enter something I'd find it was dead. Then I'd have to reconfigure it and reload my spreadsheet from my computer... it became a big pain in the tuchus. I tried a handwritten one, but I don't carry a large enough bag to keep the notebook with me all the time and frequently forgot it. Plus, I never found a method of organizing a handwritten one that I liked. (I'm too computer-perfect anal retentive, I want it alphabetized, and no cross-outs allowed!) So, currently my price book is a spreadsheet in the computer that could theoretically be loaded onto my Pocket-PC, but I'm bad about sitting down with my receipts. Plus, I'd like to list prices for things that I didn't buy at a particular store, but know I'd like to keep track of (i.e. if I'm at a new store and see things I regularly buy but don't need that trip, I'd like to note their prices.) Can't do that without a portable method.

[root*children]

We do keep a handwritten price book. Once a page gets several cross-outs, I just re-write the page. Mine measures probably about 5"x7". My mom and a friend of mine have theirs on index cards, which fit into most purses. Since we don't go grocery shopping all that often, I usually remember to bring it. I really only must have it when going over the weekly sales fliers, which I do at home anyhow; or when I go down into New Mexico to Sam's Club, Big Lots, etc.

[juliewol]

Wow, college dumpsters .....
I hope I remember this around June!

I usually just give stuff I don't need away. Many years ago I had a yard sale, with tons of baby stuff I thought would sell. I was there all weekend, & made about $50 max. Just wasn't worth it.

The hard part of going to yard sales is self control. I've gotten better at just buying what I need or really, really want, instead of buying junk I'm tired of in 2 weeks.

[girlndocs]

Wow, college dumpsters .....
I hope I remember this around June!


Start peeking in May :wink

[tboroson]

Index cards - perfect idea! Thank you! And, at 46 cents for a pack of a hundred, they're a frugal choice even if bought new ;)

[SpiralChrissy]

I'm going to start my index cards this week :)

My frugal find of the week was GOOD wine for $3.39 at Trader Joe's! :champagne :carrot :carrot

[CurlyTop]

Hi Mamas!

Hope you won't mind me jumping into your thread. I have recently been granted my heart's desire and am a full time SAHM! This gift comes with the necessity to cut *all* unnecessary expenses. I got a huge severance package from my old job, which I think could last us 2 years if we really cut back on our expenses. This is in addition to DH's modest-to-moderate salary. I am up for the challenge and adventure of being frugal in return for being home with my DDs. Here's the big issue for me, though: I really want to be able to give people presents on special occasions. For example, our friends have a 3 month old DS and are hosting a Red Egg & Ginger party for him. It's a Chinese tradition and is similar to a baby shower. I got them a Hotsling. It cost $41 including shipping. When I was a WOHM, that would have been no problem but it hit me... If I continue to buy gifts for every occasion for my dear friends and family, it has the potential to cut into my ability to stay home with my DDs.

So what ideas do you creative women have? Do you give gifts, and if so, how do you balance your generosity with frugality? Ugh, and here comes Christmas!!

Help me put this into perspective...

Yours,
CurlyTop

[CurlyTop]

We will be doing homemade gifts for Christmas.

Like what? Please, tell me :)

[Indigo73]

I make 99.9% of all our gifts. I am always scouting yard sales for fabric, mason jars and yarn. Then I quilt, recreate clothing (i.e. patchwork ds' old overalls for a little girl), put together various recipes in a jar and crochet.

For example for a recent wedding, I crocheted an art afgan, using various colors of similar weight yarns found at yard sales or from my stash (I love picking through yarn store orphans) at the end of seasons. While at the craft store, I found a small wooden trunk for less than $6. I would have spent more than that on a new bigger sized gift bag. The whole wool and mohair afgan, including card and wrapping cost less than $50 for a $300 - $500 piece (I sell at the occasion faire, so I know). That is the most I have paid on a gift in a couple of years.

[Kleine Hexe]

Fine for people who know how to sew, knit, crochet, etc. I don't do any of those things. The holidays are too close for someone to learn these skills. I just start shopping early to find good deals before the holiday rush.

[Throkmorton]

Hi guys, I am catching up here.
The earlier poster who had trouble finding someone to pick up their freecycle stuff has my sympathy. Of the 5 lots I have freecycled, 3 didn't show and 1 took almost 3 weeks. Now, we are moving in 3 weeks, so I am thinking that I may have to donate all of my junk to the MCC thrift store.

My Sally Ann put all of the summer kids clothes on clearance at 10c-25c each! Ok, I have no idea how the perfectly fitting corduroy overalls for DS qualified as summer, but for 15c, I am not complaining. I also picked up a Mountain Equipment Co-Op jacket for him for the winter for $5 at the store. Even Zellers (CDN Target) sells their winter coats for $55 for a size 5-6.

I wandered down to my neighbor's garage sale yesterday, and for a Little Tikes cube with a slide for $15! Yaaay me! Our new house can't have any fixed playground equipment and we can easily set this up in the basement for the winter. I know, not necessary, but we had been planning to get DS something similar for Christmas.

Well, I didn't do so good finding frugal housing for us, now that we are moving back home. We drove around and looked at all of the cheaper places to live and, well, there is a reason they are so cheap. So, given the option of a townhouse at $675 plus utilities, or a larger townhouse with a pool at $860 including utilities, we opted for the larger one. I am such a snob when it comes to housing anyways. I am home all.the.time so I need somewhere decent to live.

As for non-crafty gift-giving, I relaize that not everyone on my gift list appreciates hand-knit socks, Dr Who scarves or needle rolls. For those naysayers :) I go shopping in the best frugal tradition. My SIL loves stripey socks, which will run about $5-15 per pair at Christmas time. But, in March when the winter stuff is being cleared out, they go on clearance for $1-3 each pair. This year, i bought her 7 pairs of striped socks, a matching toque and gloves too, and the total cost was $12.
This is just one example. now, it may be too late for Christmas for a lot of you this year, but look around! Sometimes you will find the perfect bargain. I keep a list of who I have purchased a gift for, who is still in need of one, and what I got.
Also, for Christmas my mom and I are trying to convince the boys that we should have a gift exchange, with a spending limit of $50 or $75. See, my family is huge, and at $20 per person (not including DS, I am such a sucker for toys) I spent just over $400 last year on gifts.
Curly Top, do you sew at all? Chinese traditions deserve traditional chinese stuff (so i say, anyways.) My cousin just had her second, who's paternal family is a very traditional chinese one. I made her one of these: http://webpages.charter.net/dshiel0742/FrankenKozy.htm out of a gorgeous brocade that was on sale, and some twill I had bought for $2/meter for some forgotten purpose. Total cost? $8. She thought it was pretty cool, her MIL just adored it, ad was so excited someone would give her a traditional carrier.
Gift baskets are good too. $5 worth of specialty coffee, a couple fancy tea bags (or loose tea, depending on recipient), home made shortbread cookies all arranged on tissue paper in a thrift shop basket look surprisingly similar to the $30 baskets in Starbucks. I also use my air miles to get Starbucks gift cards to tuck in there. I doubt I will be doing that this year though, ebcause I *will* get my mixer. Oh yes, i will.

[SpiralChrissy]

Last year we asked some of our best friends to forgo the gift giving. Instead, we made sure we spent some time at the holidays doing something festive together--going ice skating, seeing a Xmas movie, dinner at home with Xmas carols, etc. People really seemed to appreciate that idea and I got to see more of my friends ;). Also, I'm in couple of groups. One group exchanges Xmas ornaments which are pretty reasonable. For the other group, we decided to skip all birthday and Xmas gifts. Instead we pulled our $ and stayed a night at a bed and breakfast. It was great!! And I'm sure I saved a lot of $$!
Good luck!!

Welcome Curly!
Chrissy

[juliewol]

[QUOTE=SpiralChrissy]Last year we asked some of our best friends to forgo the gift giving. Instead, we made sure we spent some time at the holidays doing something festive together--going ice skating, seeing a Xmas movie, dinner at home with Xmas carols, etc. People really seemed to appreciate that idea and I got to see more of my friends ;).

What great ideas! I admit I get a little nuts around Xmas, (solstice) but I concentrate on "doing" instead of "getting". There are tons of holiday related activities here that are free.

Most people have way too much stuff anyway...

[wenat]

We were broke last Christmas, so all our friends got a jar of vanilla sugar. Get a nice airtight jar from the dollar store. Fill with sugar. Put one vanilla bean into it. Leave for a month, and giftwrap. The expensive part was the vanilla beans, but the jars all smelled so nice when they got opened.

[beaner&tiegs]

I too love gift-giving, and am always trying to find cheaper ways to be generous! A couple of ideas I use are:
TIME over stuff - so "dates" somewhere, or I have a friend with a 7-year-old so I'm going to have a sewing date with her, and show her how to sew a shirt for herself, etc.

Little gifts all year long - so when someone finds out they're pregnant, I send some loose-leaf tea and bake some triple ginger cookies. When someone starts solids, I write out recipes we like, and homemake food. Someone is sick, I drop off a pot of homemade soup. Then for birthdays and Christmas I don't feel bad just giving a little, and I think the other gift giving all year long stands out more - when you're opening a million gifts at one time, its hard for one to stand out!!! Someone gave me a homemade card and a packet of seeds to grow a butterfly garden for my birthday, and I loved it!

Tap into your imagination and imagine stuff you loved as a kid - a couple of kids gifts I've given is a small bag with rocks that I painted with symbols on them, a funky pine cone and a jar of sand, and then sewed on a dragon on the bag - and went with a wizard theme for the kid. Or a necklace made out of beach finds, and wrote about searching for mermaids, etc.

I've given scrapbook calendars, camping recipes in a laminated cookbook, canned foods with recipes, burned CD's of the music we love, etc. I just find that it takes a lot more time and sometimes I'd rather just buy something as I don't have enough time!!!

[SpiralChrissy]

Great Ideas!! :hug2

[2BMamaof3]

Here is my question.

There are awesome deals at the various (and plentiful) thrift stores around...but with a 3 month old and a 3 year old (and a 10 year old at school) HOW can I find the time to actually check them out regularly AND stay on top of everything else? SHOOT!! I just can't do it. Am I doing something wrong? Suggestions?? When exactly are you mamas finding the time to thrift?

[Throkmorton]

I set aside time every Thursday, and I go do my errands out the way of the good thrift stores. The Salvation Army here has a play gym thing, which my 2 year old plays on while I scour the clearance racks right beside it.

[SpiralChrissy]

I shop when my DH has my DS. :)

I have a question. We LOVE to eat out. Now that today was DH"s last day at work, we're going to have to seriously cut our dining expenses. Anyone have a good resource for finding restaurant discounts or freebies?? I hate to give up my little obsession completely! Help! :)

[root*children]

Mamaof3~ I have a 4yo and 1yo and we've always gone with pretty much no problems. Just have the sling and make sure they're child-friendly.. you know, not going to jump on you if your child touches something. We just came back from Boulder and did some major thrifting there, and there were some thrift employees who didn't want my kids playing with the toys, but I just made sure to let them see me picking up all the toys after them, and hear me telling them to also help pick up when they're done playing.

SpiralChrissy~ Have you thought about being a Secret Shopper? On the WAHM boards (I think that's the one) you could make a post or do a search for it, b/c I know I've seen good recommendations for reputable companies. Alot won't pay you, but will reimburse you.

A thought about gift-giving~ Did someone mention food, and I didn't see it? I do have sewing & some crafting skills, but don't find many uses for those beyond children's things. We have made LOTS of food gifts, though. From just plain ole' sweets, to canned jams & fruits, to roasted nuts. There are lots of options along these lines, and lots of books at the library with ideas. Also the Tightwad Gazette has excellent ideas for food gifts (and other cheap/homemade gifts).

[Kleine Hexe]

I just got a copy of the Complete Tightwad and I'm loving it. Some things I can't picture myself doing though...like "refrigerator stew" I don't think I could eat that. LOL

I'm giving my accidently bought second copy to my MIL for her bday. I've got three bdays in Dec on top of Christmas. UGH!

Hubby and I don't get each other gifts for the holidays unless it's something we need for the house. For example he's getting a power washer for our anniversary cause we need one to clean our house.

I forgot to add that I went to a rumage sale and bought 1 pound bags of crushed walnuts for 50 cents a bag. I was pumped!

[meowee]

Are there any frugal mamas here who live in cold climates, who need to insulate their homes/ save on heating expenses?

We have a couple broken windows and many broken storm windows. Replacing them all before winter isn't an option. Any ideas about cheap insulation?

Last year I stuffed garbage bags in the cracks around the sills.

I have seen some people pile bags of leaves around the base of the house.

Has anyone tried the plastic window shrink wrap stuff?

We are also thinking of using a space heater in one or two rooms instead of cranking the thermstat up-- in our house either the heat is on in every room, or not on at all.

I know space heaters can be dangerous, so we would take every precaution.

[Throkmorton]

Welive in Canada, and have survived some awfully chilly places (cinderblock walls w/o insulation etc)
Over said walls, and the single-paned windows, we hung insulated curtains and quilts. The insulated curtains were the absolute ugliest things I have ever seen in my life, being gold velour from the thrift shop, but they did the trick. Plus, for $5 i got enough of them to cover that whole wall. The quilts werte just scavenged quilts from around, and I sewed ties on one end so that I could hang them from curtain rods. During the day, I opened them up and let a little light into my dark apartment.
Obviously, replacing as many broken windows as posssible before the cold hits is the best option, though.
Vanessa, refrigerator stew isn't as ad as it sounds, especially if you do it like I do. Meat goes in one bucket, veggies (rinsed) in the other. So, when I am mkaking some stew, i will add the frozen and pre-cooked carrots, peas and corn to whatever else I am cooking. It also helps if you stick to a few basic spices for most of your cooking. I mean, if I make 4 dishes that are spices with basil, lemon, garlic and pepper, then when they are mixerd together it doesn't seem like such dog food.
Of course, usually leftovers get eaten as lunches around here anyways,

[Meli65]

I used the plastic window shrink-wrap stuff in college -- I picked the biggest bedroom in our group house only to learn there was no heat register in it! it does work pretty well but it can be hard to put up, and I'm not sure how it would do with broken windows. Worth a try though -- good luck. I hate to be cold, too.

[fayking]

the plastic shrink wrap stuff can be ok...but i am far too clumsy to use it! i have used a variety of methods to deal with drafty/broken windows...but the best has been to make a frame out of thin wood (like a picture frame) and staple on see thru plastic of some kind...fasten on to or around window using hooks/nails/whatever...like a screen..this can them be removed when it warms up. if very poor i just put cardboard up at the window. in my last place my window in my bedroom had cardboard in it for the whole time i lived there...its cold all year round here in england!

[Indigo73]

Our house is over 120 years old and has never been insulated properly. We do a combo of shrink wrapping the windows and hanging quilts over doors and outside walls where needed. It works pretty good for us. You can definitely tell the difference.

Course our dream is to insulate the walls when we replace the crumbling plaster with sheet rock. Unless we win the lottery and can afford to do plaster, LOL.

[Throkmorton]

Oh, I had one more thought for you. Do you have a salvage yard nearby? Habitat for Humanity runs a used building materials shop here, and they sell used single-pane windows for $5 and up. Even if you can't find one in the appropritate size, maybe you could replace the glass in the broken windows with glass from a larger window?

[CindyC]

Like what? Please, tell me :)

I'm thinking of doing candy, cookies, things like that. I might put together those cookies-in-a-jar mixes. Our family always makes tamales every year to give away at Christmas time. I never thought of them as gifts before, but now I will. :)

[umefey]

09-07-2004, 05:22 AM #53
weebitty2
Member


Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Lakes Region New Hampshire
Posts: 988
The BEST dumpsters I've EVER found were college ones at the end of the school year. Textbooks, clothes, random odd things (we got a couple gorgeous vases, and a box of about 30 pewter statuettes - wizards and dragons) .. and our entire living room set. Also got DD's dresser, a large area rug, and end tables .. because most college kids get 'em cheap during the year, then don't want to lug them home for the summer.
__________________________




Hehe D&D miniatures!!!! woooooooow! those are so expensive. hehe
My husband and i agree .. that is the BEST dumpster find EVER!

[girlndocs]

Our house is rundown & uninsulated, and the property owner refuses to do anything about it even though actual *breezes* coming out from under the kitchen sink is obviously NOT "reasonably weatherproof" :angry

One of the first things we did was hang blankets. Find the most reasonably attractive twin blankets you can at the thrift, or rummage sales or whatever. Then you can either nail them directly in place, or sew loops along one edge and hang them on a curtain rod. Put one over every door & doorway in the house. If you can, put *two* over each external door. You'll be shocked at how much this cuts down on drafts & chills.

Also hardware stores sell "draft stoppers" that screw onto the bottoms of doors; they have a rubber flap that "sweeps" the floor & seals any gap down there. People used to use long narrow sandbags laid up against the bottoms of doors. that gets inconvenient fast, though, as every time you go through a door it gets displaced.

This winter I might hang blankets over the windows too, or heavy fabric, if I can find decent looking stuff for cheap. I'm thinking I'd fasten them at each upper corner with a loop over a hook and during the day unhook one corner so it just swings down & hangs along one side of the window. Wait, DD will be pulling up by then. Hmmmmm ...

I second the suggestion about salvage yards. If you can't do that, then layers of cardboard & duct tape might work? Ugly tho.

We cruise our port district in autumn for free broken pallets and chunks of wood. They're fuel for our fireplace, which cuts down on the amount of electricity we use. We never get anywhere near enough for *all* winter, of course, but enough for quite a few cozy evenings with the heaters turned off.

Oh, and buy everyone several pairs of thick, sturdy socks and a cozy bathrobe! And plan on cooking a lot of meals in the oven!

[mmgarda]

Hi all!

Per my sig, I'm a newly minted WAHM consultant. I'm on comissions, so it looks like I'm going to be income-less for about a month or two, right as the holidays hit. For our families, holidays also include several immediate family member b'days, so it's particularly hard.

Fortunately, we've been impoverished for several years now, as DH was a SAHD, then I was in grad school. Our friends and families are accustomed to home-made, cheap gifts. I wanted to share a great holiday gift we made one year, though - fruit cordials. All the ingredients cost us about $15 and we made enough to give a TON.

1 qt. vodka
4 c. sugar
1 lb. dried peaches chopped OR 1 lb. dried cranberries OR 1 lb. dried sweet cherries
1/2 c. chopped crystallized ginger (ONLY FOR PEACHES)

In a 3-4 qt. saucpan,combine vodka and sugar. Stir over med. heat until 125-130 degrees (5 min.). Watch it carefully so fumes don't ignite.

Place dried fruit (and ginger if using) in a widemouth glass jar (at least 2 qt.). Pour in hot vodka mixture. Seal airtight. (If seal is rubber or synthetic rubber, cover glass top w/ platic wrap to protect seal.) Let stand at least 1 week, up to 2 months.

Line a strainer w/ 4 layers of damp cheesecloth and set over an 8 c. glass bowl or measuring cup w/ spout. Pour liqueur and fruit into strainer a bit at a time. When fruit is no longer dripping, save for other uses; wrap airtight and refrigerate up to 3 months (divine over vanilla ice cream or angel food cake!).

Pour liqueur into small bottles, seal airtight and give away! The cranberry cordial is a beautiful red color and wonderful for Xmas!

Enjoy!

[mmgarda]

Oh, I just have to share my great scavenge! I found a little red trike on Freecycle and DS has been begging for a tricycle lately! His b'day is coming up, so now we're set - for FREE!!!

Yay!

[root*children]

hey everyone! We drove through the entire town today and only found 6 yardsales. I guess it's winding down. But we found a juicer NIB for $4. :)
Does anyone here have a soy milk maker? I am looking to get one, but want to talk to someone who has one. I checked out yahoo groups for this sort of thing and there were only groups dedicated to specific brands that were moderated, so you couldn't say anything negative. Or if anyone knows of a good site for quality reviews, etc for this type of thing. thanks!

[xela&theboys]

I was thrilled by my find last week!! Found great table clothes (for dining room tables) at less than $5 each. Great designs...they will make wonderful X-mas presents for my in-laws and some of my cousins. I live overseas though so I found them locally :)

I'm half done with my X mas shopping this year thanks to the table clothes (got 8 of them!!).

Xela

[AuntRayRay]

Hi everyone!
Love all the ideas :love
mmgarda-definetly going to try the cranberry cordial recipe-sounds wonderful!
I do the freecycling thing as well-sometimes its hard to get to a post in time. But I got a Queen size mattress and boxspring from a lady that said they only used it for their spare bedroom! Also I got some formula for the baby and a winter jacket!
Definetly don't have $ for presents and such so making things will be my route this year. Keep all those great ideas coming mama's :)

RayRay-

[Divina]

Thanks for all the gift ideas! I'm a "crafty" mom, but lately I don't have time to complete knit or sew projects (Mr. B is almost 8 months now, and Mr. R just turned 3), but I like to do craft-style gifts. I'll be trying the cordial and the vanilla sugar, f'sure. One year, I made a spiced cocoa mix (if I find the recipe, I'll post it), and gave that with tiny liqueur bottles to go with it. Amaretto and Frangelico are very nice, and the tiny bottles don't cost much. The cocoa mix was cocoa, sugar, ginger, and cinnamon, basically, but I can't remember the proportions off the top of my head. There may have been a pinch of red pepper powder, too.

RE dumpsters--the college ones are, indeed, terrific at the end of the school year. Also the dumpsters at the expensive apartment complexes, although it may be more difficult to get to those. A friend of mine found a working TV in one, nothing wrong with it at all.

We've used the window shrink-wrap stuff. It works pretty well, but sometimes our cats would shred the bottom part on a few windows. It's pretty much the only thing we use a blow-dryer for, anymore.

[cassiemommy]

just wanted to say that when I was still living at home, my father would tape this huge clear plastic over my bedroom window in the winter--he didn't know about the shrink wrap stuff--and it still made a big difference!

[mmgarda]

When I lived in a really old house in Portland, OR we tried the shrink wrap and it would never stick to the frame. Too damp and the wood was too warped.

We finally went to HOme Depot and got some Visquene and just stapled it over the windows. It worked really well.

[hipumpkins]

Ah free rocks doesn't it????
Today was "junk" day in aneighborung town and hubby came home with a 3foot slide and an adjustable basketball hoop. It goes from 3 foot to about 6. :)

[mmgarda]

Ok, so this isn't exactly frugal in it's best sense, but I've done some great things and made some great deals lately, I just have to share.

We built a desk and installed it into our closet (after getting rid of a bunch of junk) so that I can have my very own private, albeit liliputian in scale, office! I designed it, bought the supplies and tools, and built the damn thing MYSELF. Grrrrrrl power!!!

THEN I found a stackable W/D in GREAT shape for about 1/2 the price of new and once it's installed it will net us SO much storage and kitchen space! I can push the portable dishwasher into the space where the drier is now and we'll have room to actually eat in the kitchen! No more spills on the carpet!

FINALLY, I got a guy to drop his price $150 for an absolutely GORGEOUS super stain treated, excellent condition, couch and oversized chair for our living room. We can finally start to move out of the whole dorm-room chic era of our lives!!!!!

SO, yes we are spending money, but I've been searching and saving for months now and if I have to spend all my time in the house, I want to be comfortable, darnit!!

Now we're going to have to sell a used, used W/D; a couch; two bed/chairs; and a desk. I may also be able to convice my DH to sell some of the things in the garage! I hear garage sale coming on. Anyone live in LA - I'll cut you a deal!! :D

[LinzluvsGJ]

One good way to get presents for everyone for Christmas is to host a home show of something like Tupperware, Partylite, etc. if you have friends who do have money. :lol: Even a reasonably small party retail wise often comes with good perks like discounted products, free items, etc. I usually hold a few a year (on top of being a consultant) and get things I know my family will like after I've gotten whatever item I just "had to have" for myself. :) I had a hostess last year host a party and she ended up getting over $200 in products for free... between the party she had with me and two others she held w/ a different company, she had her Christmas set at no cost to her.

[root*children]

C'mon over the Oct. thread y'all!!
Here we are:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?p=2180132#post2180132