1. I reused a cereal box as a shipping container.
Zoe sold another Calico Critter item on eBay, and we didn’t have a box the right size.
I had a cereal box in the cabinet, though, so I gently took it apart, turned it inside out, taped it back up, and we were in business!
I’ve done this lots of times in the past with cracker boxes, cereal boxes, and other foodstuff boxes. They’re not thick cardboard, but as long as you cushion the contents properly, the boxes work out just fine.
Of course, we used saved local newspaper pages as cushioning. Because, free.
(It’s a free local paper that appears every now and again to all the houses in our town, and I always save them for packaging.)
2. I clamped and glued my piano bench.
When my piano tuner was here, he noticed that a side piece on my bench had almost cracked completely through.
Bummer.
I didn’t have clamps long enough, but my brother-in-law happened to run into my mom at the gas station as she was heading to my house for something else entirely, and he sent some with her.
So serendipitous!
My piano tuner lent a hand, and together we got it glued and clamped together.
The hinges were bent too, so I hammered those out and after 24 hours were up, I unclamped the bench and put it back together.
Hopefully it’ll stay in good working order now.
3. I used my reusable bag to store a half zucchini.
I’m still working through the four that Hungry Harvest gave me (down to 1.5 now!).
I can’t eat one of these big zucchinis in a sitting, but sometimes I slice up half a zucchini, cook it in some really hot bacon grease, and top it with salt, pepper, and oregano. Plus freshly grated Parmesan.
Pretty tolerable, even for someone who’s not way in love with zucchini. 😉
Anyway, I stored the extra half in my reusable bag from Grove. I love these things…super easy to use and clean, and I appreciate that you can easily see through the bag.
(Seeing food reminds me to use it up!)
4. I made chicken broth from my roasted chicken bones.
Exciting? No.
Innovative? No.
Kind of like making something out of nothing? YES.
It’s such a frugal standby, but I never quite get over the magic of making such a nutritious liquid out of what are essentially scraps.
(Here’s how I make my chicken broth.)
5. I…
made a teeny pot of rice pudding with a cup of leftover cooked rice, cut up a cucumber and left it out on the counter so it would get eaten (works every time!), put on slippers instead of turning on my office space heater, stored my one pair of black nylons in a plastic ziploc bag so they won’t get snagged, and cooked lunch and dinner yesterday instead of eating out.
(Sundays after church are tempting times to eat out!)
Katie
Tuesday 24th of April 2018
If you're ever in a pinch again, I've used ratchet straps as "clamps" for furniture projects in the past with great success! $2 Goodwill chair is still going strong 5+ years later!
Marybeth
Wednesday 11th of April 2018
1. Went to visit our daughter in Maryland. Stayed with her instead of staying at a hotel. Between her couch, extra twin bed and an air mattress we were fine. 2. Went to the aquarium that our daughter works at. She gas us some of her free passes. We also got a discount on the parking because she works there. 3. Did a CVS survey and got $5 ECB 4. Used a ham bone from the freezer and made ham and lentil soup in my crockpot. Used onion and celery from the freezer. Tomato sauce and chicken stock were homemade. 5. The kids and I got free ice cream from Ben& Jerry's because it was free cone day.
Kristen
Wednesday 11th of April 2018
If that's the Baltimore aquarium, then those free passes are an awesome frugal thing! Aquarium tickets are so expensive.
Diana
Tuesday 10th of April 2018
I’m a new FG reader and I just love these 5 Frugal Things posts! I’ve gotten some great ideas reading through the comments as well. So without further adieu, here goes my very first 5 Frugal Things:
1. Through managers specials I was able to buy 9 heads of organic romaine, 6 orange bell peppers and 12 Fuji apples for 6 dollars!
2. Resisted the urge to purchase store bought goodies and made a frugal batch of peanut butter cookies instead.
3. Needed to replace my purse and found a beautiful (new!) leather number on Poshmark for 20 dollars- retail price $100!
4. Resisted the stopping at ‘one more store’ and did some creative cooking with the food we already had in the pantry/freezer. Some of our favorite meals have been birthed this way!
5. Pulled out the hot glue gun to repair a few broken items instead of buying new.
I’m excited to continue finding frugal/creative ways to save!
Terri
Tuesday 10th of April 2018
That box picture is oddly satisfying! I'm going to try your chicken broth recipe next time I make chicken broth. Here are my frugal five:
1. I colored my hair myself at home using henna and indigo powder. 2. I planted about a dozen more scallion root ends (saved from cooking) in my garden. 3. I redeemed $7.79 in cash back rewards from our credit card. We never carry a balance, so this is free money for us. 4. I purchased something from Amazon and chose the slower shipping option in exchange for a $1 digital credit. 5. I made ricotta cheese from half a gallon of milk that had just started to turn.
Oceana
Tuesday 10th of April 2018
1. Used my homemade laundry detergent to do laundry.
2. Researched whether I can freeze creme fraiche and I can! Someone had given me some, so I divided it in small glass containers and froze it.
3. Used leftover partly-used paper for my grocery list
4. Started to put together a shopping list for Vitacost, a cost-saving website. When I shop online at Vitacost (or anywhere) I use the Ebates portal if I can, then pay with a cash-back credit card. Oh yeh....
5. Gave away some homemade gluten-free cupcakes to a neighbor. It creates good karma. Since he's the unofficial "super" in the building, and very gregarious, he often does work for me at low-to-no cost. As in REALLY LOW like $5.00/hour. Win-win.