Five Frugal Things | Because normal feels good
For a bit of normalcy around here: a usual mid-week five frugal things post!
1. I ordered a lidded 8x8 Pyrex pan
Zoe baked brownies (using this not-from-a-box recipe that she loves), I was reminded that whenever I need to store something in my lidless Pyrex 8x8 pan, I have to use foil or plastic wrap.
Neither option is particularly frugal or eco-friendly, so I ordered a pan with a lid.
(I tried to order just a lid, but reviews said the stand-alone 8x8 lid does not fit my particular Pyrex 8x8 pan. Boo!)
This is more expensive up front, to be sure, but now I will not have to use any throw-away coverings for 8x8 dishes ever again.
I love my other Pyrex lidded dishes, especially for fridge storage because you can stack other things on top of them.
So, I know this is going to be so much nicer to use!
2. I sold two more books
I haven't sold much from my stash of books lately, but two orders came in recently. Maybe people are reading more because they're stuck at home!
Of course, I shipped them in packages I've saved from our own online orders.
3. I used a cereal bag to cover chicken for pounding
You can pound chicken with no covering, of course, but that gets a little messy.
Cook's Illustrated recommends covering the chicken with plastic wrap, but I don't love using plastic wrap.
So, I sliced open an empty cereal bag and used it instead.
4. I used saved oil to fry chicken
Last time I needed a fair amount of oil to fry something, I strained it and put it in the fridge.
So this time around, I just poured the ½ cup I needed from my saved oil.
(In case you've never done this before, you should know this works fine as long as you haven't used the oil for some kind of seafood. That tends to make the oil taste rather fishy.)
5. I ordered 6 coffee bags
Lisey and I both like the Starbucks mocha flavor the best, and not every store has it, even when everything is at usual stock levels.
Hazelnut, Cinnamon Dolce, Caramel, yes.
Mocha, no.
So, I ordered six bags online.
Which means if nothing else, we will at least have coffee for the foreseeable future.
Your turn! Share your five frugal things in the comments.
1. Just about everything is frugal these days. We were low on meat and some produce so I arrived at Lidl when they opened. I grabbed some produce, cheese slices, GF pasta and chicken breasts. They were almost out of meat but did have some organic chicken. That is something I'm willing to pay more for. I grabbed enough to be able to use a save $10 on a $50 purchase coupon.
2. To try and stay healthy we're walking the neighborhood, I'm taking live stream yoga classes (it helps to support my local studio where I have a monthly membership), and I'm avoiding most sugar.
3. I'm decluttering by using Freecycle. I figure now more than ever people may be able to use items we no longer need/want.
4. I'm keeping in touch with friends and family members via texts, phone calls, and occasional walks (keeping our social distance).
5. We're doing very little driving and mostly eating what we have. There are a lot fewer opportunities to spend money. When restrictions are lifted we'll do what we can to support local businesses.
Still eating leftover corn beef and cabbage, and sharing it with hubbie's Dad. Bought AP flour at Sam's club, no bread flour anywhere. Hubbie found a conversion recipe to make it into bread flour--waiting on the vital wheat gluten to arrive. Made a batch of bread, and a batch of hamburger rolls. Using hamburgers frozen several months ago on those buns. Trying to eat the whole box of veggies from Hungry Harvest. Gave some to daughter. Cooking for the most part from my freezer. But we have supported some local restaurants a couple times. Weird to walk into an empty restaurant to pick up an order. Exercising with a video. No class of real live people for a couple weeks. Way more enjoyable in person. Still packing hubbie's lunches while he is working.
1. New peacock
Glad bulbs and dahlia root black/purple dinner plate kind...all on sale at asian market. 2. Russian easter egg dyes and pretty flower stickers for eggs at asian market. 3. Not going to market for duration. Stocked up. One of four neighbors goes once a week for necessities for all. 4. Starting art challenge soon. Art with stuff in your house. 5. Got lettuce seed and cut and come again zinnia seeds ...that should do it for summer...also picked dandelion greens today and violet flowers and leaves for salad LOVE YOUR COLUMN
As we are staying home, we can’t spend much. Additionally, we are working from home so that I still don‘t have too much free time.
1) I cook more and also don‘t want to go to the supermarket often. So I made a plan what we can cook and which leftovers we should eat. So there is less food waste.
2) As only delivery is allowed for restaurants and as our favorite restaurants don‘t deliver, we do not order food.
3) I‘m using Youtoube for yoga lessons as the studio I normally go to is closed. Cheeper, but I dearly hope the studio will open again after corona. I already booked the next half year in advance so that the owner has hopefully a little financial help.
4) Using free communication channels for talking to friends and family.
5) Instead of ordering new books, I shopped my shelfs and found some that I haven‘t read yet.
I am feeling somewhat similar to you in that not a whole lot of work has been taken off of my plate. Most of my work was at home before the virus, and the same continues to be true. The main thing that's changed is that I don't need to take Sonia and Zoe to most of their regular appointments and activities.
Jenny,
I was craving chinese food and wanted to splurge on lunch since I have not left the house in 2 weeks. I also want to support small businesses when I can. The restaurant was willing to bring the food to my car for minimal interaction. You might see if this is an option for you in these strange times. Be safe.
Kristin, thank you for continuing your blog posts during this difficult time. Your posts have been timely and helpful as many of us face food shortages, potential illness and loneliness. It is helpful to know we are in this together and experiencing the same challenges.
Aww, I'm so glad that my posts have helped you feel less lonely!
1. We ate all meals at home (or packed lunches)this week-typically we eat breakfast out on Sat/Sun-not this week.
2. No trips to the cafeteria for coffee this week (yes, we are blessed to be working).
3. We -ok the husband- finally finished mending the items in our sewing pile.
4. My daughter and I tried out two meatless dinners-(vegetarian chilli and curry chickpea stir fri)-both big wins!
5. Our social activities have been free-hiking, running, gardening and bible study with the family. This is pretty typical for us regardless of quarentine. However, now that the kids are bored, they are more willing to participate in all the activities-lol!
Oh, chickpea curry is one of my favourite dishes. Thank you for the inspiration for one of our next meals!
1. Staying home. Saving money on gas!
2. Making food from scratch during corona quarantine in my state.
3. Reusing boxes to ship things.
4. Making tea and coffee drinks at home.
5. Watching a lot of free MUSICALS during this scary time.
Haha, I think we are all saving lots of money on gas right now!
1. My hair color was marked down a couple of weeks ago, and on top of that there was a “$2 off now” coupon on each box. I stocked up and bought three.
2. The cashier didn’t take the $2 coupons off as she rang them up, so I asked her if she could (kindly!).
3. My family hasn’t been spending nearly as much in gas or on eating out as we usually do. We're not taking advantage of the low gas prices so much, but that’s okay.
4. I’ve been walking in my neighborhood more lately. I think exercising is one of the best frugal things there is, in many respects. Also, my daughter pointed out that she’s seen more people out walking in our neighborhood in the past couple of weeks than she’s ever seen in all the years we’ve lived here.
5. Not so much frugal as just trying to do the best I can in the circumstances: counting my blessings, going through stacks of papers that I never seem to have time to get to, cleaning parts of my house that haven’t been cleaned in a long time, and just generally trying to appreciate having more free time. I generally feel happier and less anxious when I’m busier, so this is challenging.
I agree that exercise is very frugal. I've logged more miles since we started isolating ourselves 10 days ago than I did in the previous month, and it's making it so much easier to cope. I'm drinking more water and less coffee, being more mindful of my eating, and I'm pretty sure it's all from running more.
1. Stayed at home all week, and preemptively canceled everything through May. My car won't be using nearly as much fuel as normal, but I'll probably still take it for a drive periodically to make sure it's still working.
2. Being mindful of how much we are eating. We let our shelves and fridge/freezer get really low due to so much sickness early in the year and a planned trip that didn't materialize. By the time we realized our trip had to be cancelled, most of our stores were completley wiped out of most food, so we've been eating what we need without extra snacks and grazing. Good for our waists and our wallet. (We have enough food, but an unbalanced diet, and we're not sure when the grocery stores will be more reliable, so we're playing it safe)
3. Made my own bleach spray using the CDC's recommended ratio of bleach to water for cleaning purposes. My husband's job is considered essential, and he's with a bunch of people every day and we have a child with compromised lung function, so we are bleaching all the things.
4. Finding all sorts of entertainment for kids in things that we already have and resources being made available for free due to COVID-19. (Cleveland Inner City ballet does a livestreamed facebook class on wednesdays at 12.)
5. Have gone for lots of walks and runs since playgrounds and socializing are off limits. Yesterday we went looking for bears in people's windows because someone in our neighborhood encouraged everyone to participate.
My neighborhood did the same beat project. I live in Erie. Where are you from?
Oklahoma. I've seen that people are doing it all over, as far away as New Zealand.
I love cereal bags for wrapping sandwiches in too!
Thank you, Kristen! Doing FFT makes everything seem normal.
1. Like everyone, I'm inventorying and making sure I use every little thing to make our meals and substituting when I don't have something. This week it was chili when I figured my chili powder was tasteless. I threw in a few odds and ends spices and it turned out great.
2. My husband is cleaning, bleaching and painting our basement. It hasn't been done since we moved here three years ago. I texted him last summer when he was running errands to tell him to go to a garage sale that had several full gallons of paints in different grays for 6.00 a gallon. We mixed those plus a 10.00 mistint into a five gallon bucket to make all the paint we need. Looks great for 34.00 worth of paint!
3. I did up a pick up order from Krogers to avoid going in to stores and found the first three pickups are free. I received almost everything. This is such a great service for elderly or ill, people with small children or during busy times. Well worth the small cost!
4. While sharing info with others in our town via a facebook page, I discovered a small meat place I didn't know about. I'm picking up 20# of grass fed ground beef on Friday that will cost 85.00. If the meat is as good as reported, they will get my business from here on!
5. Staying home, taking walks, relishing the concerts, Bible studies and extra Facebook posts has been such a blessing during this tough time of isolation. It's not only free, it's good for the soul.
We will get through this, folks! Stay safe!
I love the suggestion about using cereal bags to pound chicken. That one I am going to use.
1.) Taking advantage of Amazon's $3 digital credit for slow shipping. I'm buying stuff I was going to get anyway but I'm delaying the shipping to not strain the systems further and to get that sweet, sweet digital credit.
2.) Repurposed an IKEA BEVKAM spice rack I bought for one of my hobbies and hung it on the inside of my pantry door to hold ... well, spices!
3.) Replaced my last major nonstick skillet with a carbon steel skillet. I am really enjoying seeing eggs slide around on it. I think I may have to get a smaller pan as well.
4.) I don't know if it's frugal but I am budgeting to not only buy from local restaurants but also to support American companies selling American made products.
5.) Bought a bunch of stocks on sale in my 401k. At least that's what I'm telling myself (and I'm thankful I'm not retiring for a few more decades.)
#5-yes, so are we. Ha. Our retirement contributions are set up to be a certain dollar amount every month, and right now, those dollars are definitely buying more shares than they were two months ago.
I have not even logged in to see what the balance is on those accounts. I am blissfully ignorant!
It's like my house. My house is actually worth a lot more than what we paid for it but what am I going to do? Sell the house and live in a box? Until you start drawing from the fund it's all just theoretical.
Could you say more about carbon steel pans? Is it a value to buy a set at Costco? Better to replace one pan at a time? What brand do you like?
I have a French made pan whose name escapes me. Lodge makes some good American made ones as well. America's Test Kitchen did some good videos on YouTube on the subject.
1. I roasted a turkey yesterday. My son was given it from his work for Christmas. Leftovers for at least 2 more meals!
2. We ate up all the other leftovers in the refrigerator.
3. I made a dump cake from some older stuff in the pantry.
4. I cut up a bunch of old dish towels to use for rags.
5. We haven't eaten any restaurant food in over 3 weeks!
Frugal is normal around here, so yes, this feels more normal to do the five frugals.
1. My office started working from home this week, so I'm saving a lot on gas. My daily commute was over 100 miles.
2. I'm mixing up another batch of homemade laundry detergent today.
3. I have certainly cut down on trips to the store. We are making do as much as possible.
4. We had a dying tree removed, and the guy removing it kindly hung my bat box on an existing pole for me while here with a bucket truck, no extra charge. I had thought I was going to have to hire someone to do it, since they must be hung so high. I will pay that forward by recommending him!
5. We had one meal from a local shop, in order to support them, but the rest of our meals are home cooked. Also, although I have more time to do it, I am not baking extra treats or anything. We don't need them, and it will just use up some of my supplies in less healthy food choices.
I am in Los Angeles so we are completely isolated because of the Corona Virus. i have a transplant so we are trying to be very careful. In the last 3 weeks, I have only gone outdoors once a week to go the grocery store (wearing a mask & using hand sanitizer.). So, for the first time in my entire life, I am cooking for every single meal. That’s a new one for this take out and restaurant Mom. Last night was baked Teriyaki chicken with rice and green beans with berries for dessert. My brain hurts trying to come up with something new to eat each night when I don’t have all the ingredients. Every time I come up with a meal like chicken marsala, I realize that I don’t have any heavy cream for the recipe. I do have sour cream, will that work? I am super bad with substitutions. Stay safe!
Saving and gas AND you have more time not commuting! You can type ingredients into a search and look for recipes that use those ingredients. You can also ask for or substitutions.
OOps commuting comment is for JD
You can definitely search online, both for cooking substitutions and for "what I can cook with these ingredients." Or list them here and I'll be glad to see what I can think of.
You can use sour cream, preferably thinned with some milk. Your dish will be tangy rather than purely creamy. Or use the equal volume of evaporated milk.
I wish I could run to the store for you, but I’ve never heard of chicken Marsala having cream in it!
Honestly, everything should have cream in it. 😉
Great idea to save empty cereal bags. Would you share where you sell your books? Can bake the brownies because I have all the ingredients at home. Thanks!
I mostly sell mine on eBay. It's pretty fast and easy with the app, and I think I tend to earn more selling there than I do an Amazon.
5 Frugal Things:
1. My two college kids are now home for the duration. We are getting prorated room+board refunds for both. Not how I would have chosen to save some $$, but this is a bright side.
2. Took inventory of fridge/freezer and made meal plan to maximize use of those fresh items that were on their last legs.
3. My daughter home from college had been rigging up a way to make a panini for lunch everyday that was time consuming and created extra dirty dishes and mess in the kitchen. I used credit card points to order a free-to-me panini press from amazon that got delivered Monday. She's so excited, and she will take it with her to her first apartment in the fall.
4. My working from home is saving me $15 per day on my train ride not to mention the coffee/lunches I am making at home.
5. Supporting my local economy which is not frugal for me at the moment, but will yield a better state of affairs in the interim: paid my cleaning lady despite her not coming to clean, ordered a $100 gift card from a favorite restaurant for $75, donated $ to a virtual food drive at the local food bank. Otherwise, I am not ordering things online and avoiding takeout food except 1x per week.
Hi Kristen, did you have to go to the post office to mail the books? I also have some books I would like to mail, but want to avoid going to the post office now.
1. To declutter my bathroom, I'm making a conscious decision to use up all those little jars and tubes of creams and soaps that just multiply mysteriously. I'm also planning on using some for a home "spa night". Need to buy some more soaps eventually, but want to delay it as much as possible. Plus, our grocery was depleted.
2. Having more time, I accepted a freelance project with a quick turnaround that I might have normally declined.
3. We had some cream cheese frosting left over from my birthday, so I made carrot muffins to use it up. The recipe for the muffins was super healthy otherwise, so zero regrets over eating all that frosting 🙂
4. As so many others, we are using hardly any gas, trying to be mindful about shopping, using less resources for washing, makeup, clothes, anything! Still sent a check to my regular massage therapist although I skipped our appointment. She lives on a fixed income and disability.
5. We are very lazy gardeners and haven't planted any seeds yet, but have been able to harvest new growth arugula and herbs already. Some crops just pay for themselves! My husband also inventoried all the seeds we had buried in a drawer, to there is a planting plan....
Nope! I printed out labels here and home and put the packages in my mailbox. They were both fairly small, so they fit.
Nice! I need to look into it. Did you get media shipping price as well?
Yes, if you print the label through eBay, then you can do media mail. So much cheaper than any other shipping option!
Thank you, Kristen! I sometimes sell books in a FB group in a specific topic, I need to look if I can get media postage for them as well.
1. With schools and daycares being closed, we are saving $320 weekly while working from home
2. Savings in gas while working from home, which doesn't equate to much, but it's something
3. We had to cancel our trip to Great Wolf Lodge due to the pandemic, which saved us $200
4. I made a gallon of applesauce, from a $4 bag of apples, I got from the market. The kids love to snack on it. I also made a half gallon of sundried tomatoes from a $5 box of grape tomatoes.
5. We got 2 lbs of ground beef, potatoes, and cucumbers from someone on Buy Nothing Group and a brand new Vera Bradley laptop bag from another person. We found a stool in someone's garbage that we needed for my husband's work bench.
I ordered a few round Pyrex lids a couple months ago because mine cracked due to years of use. It's so much less frustrating than having to use foil or plastic wrap. I'm curious if you will continue to use the old 8x8 pan, repurpose it, donate, recycle it?
I'll definitely keep using it!
I love cinnamon in my coffee too. Have you just tried to put a cinnamon stick in your grounds as you make your coffee? I have a huge bag of cinnamon bark pieces from our local Indian food store and I use one or two small bits per couple of cups. Lasting forever and really tasty!
1. Using up stuff we brought home from our cut-short trip to the US -- I had stocked for 2+ more weeks when the Canadian government issued its travel shutdown. Our travel medical insurance would have run out on Mar 23rd.
2. Eating from the freezer, home preserves, and pantry big time. We are in quarantine so my son picked us up some fresh veg, mozzarella, potatoes, and flour. Only things we'll probably need before we're out of the 14 day quarantine is milk and eggs.
3. I've got lettuce in a planter and green perennial onions coming up in the garden.
4. Planning to do some craft things for Christmas gifts over the next few weeks from supplies on hand.
5. I got a cold frame from Lidl when we were in the US; will be transplanting some lettuce to it and planting other greens.
I also try to avoid plastic wrap use.. I purchased my current roll in 2015. I know I'm being nit-picky but I can't classify your Pyrex purchase as a FRUGAL thing. Environmentally Friendly, yes. Convenient, yes. I did a little math and figure you will have to make 2400 batches of brownies before it is a cost effective choice.
I guess it's time for us to hurry up and eat some brownies, then. 🙂
I can send you my address...
After melting various plastic things in various ways in my kitchen, I try to avoid them! I do really like some of my vintage things- metal square or 13 x 9 pans with metal lids are great, as are glass or Pyrex with their own lids. Otherwise I mostly use foil, which can be washed and reused or recycled- with acidic or sticky things, waxed paper and a rubber band!
I will be baking this week, I think! Have you all heard of the “covid 19”, meaning the 19 pounds we will each gain from increased baking?
Linda, that's assuming that the price of plastic wrap accurately captures all the costs of plastic wrap. Since the dollar amount we pay, doesn't take into account the disposal or environmental costs, I maintain that the real cost is higher.
Maybe FG needs to make only 1200 batches of brownies.
That IS a more manageable number.
I used the square pan with the lid for part of Lisey's birthday cinnamon rolls, so I'm down to 1199 uses. Not all of the uses will have to be brownies! Heh.
Love my Pyrex Brownie Pan!
It seems easier to be de7ugal when you cant leave your house..my 5 are: Ordered Soapnuts( always wanted to try them instead of buying laundry soap) from Ebay using money i had made selling other items. Ebay sales seem to be really slow lately !
2. Yesterday was my birthday so instead of going out for a fancy dinner we supported our favorite local pizza place who is still open for take out. Spent $20 on 2 small pizzas and will get 3 meals out of them for 2 of us.
3. Been looking for a lamp that matches my other lamps and found a perfect high quality glass bubble lamp with a silver shade on the Nextdoor app for $20 vs the $50+ lines on line.
4. Found 3 Ninebark bushes for free on Nextdoor app to plant along my fence to block out the neighbors new hot tub on their back deck. They grow to 10 ft and are already over 6 ft when we brought them home.
5. Managed to find an elusive 10 lb bag of Golds unbleached flour at the store the other day for a friend who bakes delicious cookies as a side hustle and trading it for 2 dozen peanut butter chocolate chip cookies! Stay healthy everone.
I'm not sure I'm saving much money by having to work at home. My commute is short and I rarely buy anything at work. Since my city is not under a shelter-in-place order, I'm still going to the grocery store and running small errands.
Also not saving money: I didn't realize how expensive wood can be. My roommate offered to make me wood compost bins to replace the ugly old repurposed Rubbermaid bins I had been using. The new bins are going to look much nicer but I didn't expect to spend $200 on wood. (Don't offer my any suggestions about how to save money on wood; the deed is done. I'm just going to bask in their tidy glory.)
One thing I am doing is getting more exercise. The daily FA&S is 30-45 min walk with the dog, and I'm doing bodyweight lifting + aerobics at home.
So far, so good.
There is nothing more frustrating than getting money-saving advice AFTER you have already made a one-time purchase.
Mr. FG is definitely saving money by working at home, mainly because he has a pretty long commute. And there's no pressure to go out to lunch with co workers here at home either. Ha.
I appreciate the normalcy of FFT. Thanks for continuing to blog through all of this!
1. My husband cut my hair at home last night and I cut my daughter's hair. (Side note: I got the hair cutting kit out, checked on my 3yo, and in the 30 seconds I was gone my 6yo grabbed the scissors and had them open and was about to cut her own hair! Ach! I let her know that we don't cut our own hair... Not even Mommy does.)
2. We ate leftovers for lunch today.
3. I had a pair of jeans bite the dust a couple of weeks ago and I noticed that one of my other pairs is wearing out faster, but I'm holding off on buying jeans for now. I'm intentionally wearing sweatpants and pajama pants more often since we're home, which allows my jeans to last longer. (Nice spin on the situation, right?) I really need them to last until the stores open back up anyways.
4. I shopped for 2 weeks' worth of groceries at the start of the week. While I wanted to throw up when the Aldi cashier gave me my total of $175, it's really not bad if it truly lasts 2 weeks. I mapped everything out so we should be able to make it. Wanting to stay out of the stores for another week and a half is also good motivation to be intentional about how much I'm eating and not stress-eat.
5. I'm taking advantage of the free Beachbody workouts that some of my friends are offering right now. Oh! And the Adventures in Odyssey Club offered a free month and we are enjoying that. My 6yo really loves Adventures in Odyssey and it counts as reading minutes, so we're loving it!!!
6. My church is closed, but they put all of their kids books in tubs outside the door in case people wanted to check out books. We were anticipating the "Stay home" order on Monday at 11, so the kids and I loaded up at 10:50 and drove to the church to get some books. Books and TP are two things that I'm nervous about running out of before I have a chance to get more!
Commenting here for the first time, since Katy at the Non-Consumer Advocate has gone quiet lately. (Hope everything's as OK as it can be under current circumstances at her end.) And thank you, Kristen. I often lurk here and thought it was high time I commented.
Now, FFT, "The New Abnormal" Edition:
(1) Our housecleaning service has jumped ship for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis (and here in Upstate NY, this may be a while). I'm 64.5 years old with a bum knee, and DH is almost 71 with moderate Alzheimer's, so I make no apologies for either having the service in the first place or being bummed out about the cancellation. Fortunately, DH's home care aide (who is still allowed to come in on Wednesday mornings) is able to help out with the lighter work--dusting, vacuuming, and so on. In fact, DH and the aide seem to be bonding a little better over this while I go out and run batched errands. Win win.
(2) Went out and ran batched errands this morning. First, I bought two cases of my favorite cheap white wine, which was on special this week at my favorite liquor store. (No apologies for this either. As I commented on Twitter a few days ago, "Anyone who thinks I'm getting through this in Upstate NY without an adequate supply of plonk has another think coming.")
(3) I then hit my two preferred grocery stores, and was able to find all but two or three things on my list. Given the recent problems with shortages, another win win.
(4) Was able to offer some TP from my adequate stash to an elderly friend in distress. Happy to do it.
(5) And as a quarantine project, I've chosen "using up dribs and drabs." I seem to have multiple open containers of various things all over the house, and I'm making it my business to use up same.
Welcome, welcome! I'm glad you joined us over here!
That's so nice of you to share your toilet paper with a friend.
And yes, using up odds and ends is a great quarantine project. Lots of Frugal Girl readers are doing a freezer/pantry challenge together right now. https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/freezer-challenge-anyone/
Hi A. Marie,
What is your Twitter handle? I would love to follow you on Twitter.
Hi! I recognize your name from the other blog! Good to see you here, too!
I noticed Katy wasn't posting as well. She's a nurse - I imagine she's working. A lot.
Katy has been posting on Instagram. She isn't working from the looks of it. Just staying home with her husband and kids.
Hey, A. Marie! Re your #2: as the saying goes, any port in a storm --- but cabernet is good too! 🙂
Thanks to all for the responses. I don't really comment a lot on Twitter (I use it mostly as a listening post and a way to follow real-life friends), but my handle there is Lady Mary WM (close up the spaces and add the @). And, sea, the NYT columnist Gail Collins is in your camp: She said earlier this week, "Some people are hoarding TP. I'm hoarding cabernet."
Hi! Here goes...
1) I reuse glass jars from everything - pesto, salsa, sunflower seed butter. They freeze well, microwave well, and go right in the dishwasher. Note: wash the lids by hand, lest they rust!
2) my wax pencil labels everything so no more "what the heck IS this?" especially 'cuz things start to look alike once frozen
3) buying bone-in chicken thighs yields juicier dishes and the bones make a nice stock
4) I use a pitcher to measure water for tea because the water boiler is metal & not see-through
5) I reuse bread bags to collect rabbit deposits 🙂 Debating composting his output since he's an herbivore...
We had a rabbit and used "Yesterdays News" litter (recycled newsprint) so all of it went right into the compost. My daughter liked how we grew kale for the rabbit to eat, then composted his poop, used the compost in the garden to grow kale....
You can totally compost rabbit droppings!
Lots of time to practice frugal habits while sheltering in place. I am retired, but was used to being busy outside our home.
1. Stopped going to thrift stores, which I dearly love, because well, they are closed. So saving money there.
2. Organized my cupboards and put down new shelf paper I'd bought when I retired two years ago. I found a jar of fig jam and made some fig bars.
3. I inventoried the freezer by category and made a meal plan. I have enough proteins to last over a month. I've grocery shopped once at senior times but just zip in and out for essentials like coffee, milk, fresh veg, and wine.
4. My library was having curbside pick up of hold books. However when we went to whole state shelter the libraries closed entirely. I was able to load my kindle online with ten books. And the books I already had have a new return date of April 30.
5. I am sending free ecards to my friends and family that I can't visit with right now. Looking mostly for the humorous ones. We all need a few chuckles these days.
Does your library have a reciprocal library card agreement? Poor timing now, but something to consider when you can walk into a library again or someone is answering phones.
1. Dug out those books I set aside with a plan to read them sometime...and started reading them. No library, no online ordering, just using what we have.
2. Your pancake post spurred me to make one of our favorites for dinner: sourdough pancakes. I used up a half cup of buckwheat flour that had been lingering in the freezer (thanks to your freezer challenge I unearthed tiny quantities of buckwheat and almond flours.)
3. Found some material in a box I was finally clearing out and made 8 new table napkins; 8 of our oldest napkins have now been demoted to rags. They were made of cotton, so after years of use and washing, they are nice and soft and perfect for their new lives. I am a terrible seamstress, my husband is very nimble with needle/thread/sewing machine but he is tackling a bathroom painting job so I took over the task. His would look better but mine are good enough.
4. Listed a few books on Amazon. I used to have an eBay account but it was hacked and $1000 charged on it, and eBay was very uncooperative in sorting out the problem. They finally did, but I am done with them.
5. Husband trimmed my hair. My hair usually looks like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's on a bad day, short and sticking out all over. He tamed it pretty well.
Kristen, have you tried non-dairy options for the butter in the brownies?
I replace butter with coconut oil in my brownies. Works great and tastes better, according to our friends and family. My brownies are requested for every summer get together.
What is the ratio ?
Use the same amount of solid (not fractionated,) or liquid coconut oil as you do butter.
Sorry, the bracket meant to include the "liquid coconut oil" part of that sentence.
Gave myself a manicure last night...hands looking rough after all the washing and sanitizing!
My sister, Mum and I are trading around books we own as the library is closed.
I have started the vegetable garden now that the frost is a thing of the past.
I had a coupon for a free bag of 12 razors...I want to switch to a reusable one, but this bag of freebies was too good to pass up.
I ate leftovers for dinner last night, and leftover leftovers for lunch today.
I reuse cereal bags all the time- especially for wrapping sandwiches for lunch!
Wow, I never thought of that!!! I will start doing this!
I use cereal bags between burgers in the freezer or leftover pizza slices.
1) We butchered a sheep today. Not because we are running out of food; just because we wanted to do it before it got too warm out.
2) My son and I made a candle from some of the sheep tallow. This is not an efficient means of lighting our home, obviously, but I was actually just thinking I should buy some emergency candles for power outages or whatever, and now I don't have to.
3) I was about to buy some new running shoes, as mine have holes in them, but I'm going to wait on that. I'm trying not to spend money or increase the pressure on shipping companies. I'm not actually running right now, and it doesn't matter if my kids see my toes peeking out when I wear them around the house.
4) Our school did this awesome thing where they offered a limited number of items for community members to order through their Sysco delivery. They're trying to give people an option rather than driving 180 miles to a store that may or may not have things in stock. It's all in bulk, but as we have six people to feed, and a large extra freezer, I can do things like get 36 pounds of butter at $2.50 a pound. Yay!
5) Still baking all our (sourdough) bread and making yogurt. An excellent time to be doing that. 🙂 Also an excellent time to have the large quantity of flour I laid in about a month ago, little knowing what a prescient move that would be. Luck of the Irish. 🙂
That’s a pretty good butter deal!! I don’t have kids but I would buy that much butter because I use butter...and I bake
My neighbor is moving and they posted a sign in their yard that said, "Free." I spoke with the owner and helped myself to a Crock-Pot and a package of unopened Christmas napkins. I made a meal in the pot last night with the super cheap marked down, post St. Paddy's Day corn beef and veggies. Combined the meal with the Christmas napkins, and I had a funny, festive dinner.
With all this free time, I cleaned the inside of my car and found a bunch of coins under the seat.
I found some wild daffodils in the woods. I only picked a few, yet made a huge difference in cheering up the kitchen table.
I have an expensive professional certification renewal due soon with a hefty fee attached. I saw they award particle scholarships. I wrote an essay and applied for the grant. They have to give the money to someone, right?
I cut baby wipes in half get twice,as much use.
What a great idea - I do this with xlarge tissues which are too big for me- that was the size that was left - I just tear off the top half that sticks out of the box
Doing the normal things does feel quite good. I don't usually appreciate them in the rush of everyday life.
1) Just about everything about quarantine is frugal for us. Our house is paid off, we don't have car payments or anything like that..so our main expenses are utilities, food and then all kinds of restaurant/entertainment/travel expenses. Our budget is hilarious this month. Mostly zeros.
2) We are obviously cooking at home for every meal. I have been using leftovers for breakfast and lunch.
3) Plenty of spare time, so I have mended a blanket, a pair of joggers and turned two holey towels into multiple hemmed dish towels.
4) Our kids are having Zoom and Xbox online hangouts with their friends every day. They are having a great time, laughing and carrying on and my potato chip, juice box and brownie budget are in great shape.
5) Stocks are on sale this month. Just saying. Lol
Thanks for continuing to do your blog posts and these FFT! While we are anxiously awaiting to see if we can get a refund from the $6400 we already paid for a trip we had planned to Spain (tickets were on Norwegian Airlines and hotel was a local Spanish hotel so while we’ve filled out cancellation requests, we are just waiting with crossed fingers to see if they go through!).
In the meantime I’ve created a list on my phone of ways that we are saving money to help me feel a little more at ease while we wait.
1. We’ve saved $240 we would have paid in kennel costs and $113 we would have paid in airport parking in Chicago. $40 in co-pays from appointments I’ve had to cancel. My gym is letting me pay only $8 a month to “hold” the membership for my daughter and myself through May instead of the $121 a month it normally is for our memberships. Got a refund of $36 for the rest of season 3 for my son's indoor soccer league.
2. We did get more groceries than we normally do and stocked the freezer as well since we have two teenagers, my husband and myself now eating three meals a day at home. We haven't eaten out at all. And we've been pretty good at eating leftovers. Pulled out the frozen bag of spritzer cookies tonight that my husband made at Christmas.
3. I’ve been working out a lot more than normal. There’s so many gyms, etc offering free online classes. I’ve done spin classes, yoga classes, barre classes, HIIT classes, and also gone running and walking in the neighborhood, walking the dog and hiking at my favorite trail. My husband, daughter and son have all been using the treadmill and my son has been using weights too. So still getting good exercise, all for free.
4. We’ve been making good use of our premium channels by watching lots of movies at night. Strangely, I’m watching less tv during the day than I normally do when I’m alone in the house. And I have lots and lots of books to get through!
5. Used a Lowe’s gift card to get paint for my daughter's room. She’s been wanting to repaint her room for a while and since we had nothing but time, plus a gift card, my husband took her to pick out paint (before the stay-at-home order went into effect). They both worked on it and it came out looking great and gave her something else to focus on other than missing school, her friends, her boyfriend and her newly found love for tennis!
Which gyms do you use for the free classes?
My day to day activities haven’t changed much yet. Work - home - repeat. No church unfortunately. But who knew the McDonald’s drive-through was an essential service?
1) eating out of freezer and pantry
2) my husband is doing some maintenance on our son’s car so a) he doesn’t go out and b) saves him a ton of money
3) started seeds
4) the hens are laying more so I shared eggs with the people at work (one of those items that seem to be in short supply)
5) reading more to ease our internet use. Not necessary a frugal item but my son is here with us now and he works remotely. We aren’t tied to a data limit on our internet but towards the end of the month they do seem to throttle our transmission rate.
I think we pretty much have what we need to hang out for a while. If I could convince my 86 year old mother to stop going out I would be totally ok.
Kristen, from where do you buy your mail order Starbucks coffee?
This is the first time I've ever ordered it online, and this particular order came from an Amazon seller. I know Amazon is pushing back all deliveries of non-essentials right now, and I don't know if coffee is considered to be an essentail (though I know many would debate that point! Ha.)
I just placed a non-essential Amazon order (for a particular light bulb for a fixture) and they gave an estimated date in late April, which of course was fine. But FYI, I just got an email that it will in fact be delivered this week, so even though the original date was a month out, that would make it delivered within a week. Just throwing that out there; don't despair if coffee (or whatever) has a late suggested date; it may be much sooner!
Ah- we followed your lead and bought a bunch today!
Thank you
We are WFH right now, but previously had free breakfast, drinks, snacks & lunch at work, so our grocery bill is much higher than normal. I will say that my appreciation for this work perk will be significantly higher, whenever we do go back to work.
1) Driving almost zero, saving on gas. We have an electric car, so we are using hat for any errands.
2) Working on things around the house - decluttering, organizing, etc.
3) Making the absolute most of all of our ingredients, pantry stores, etc. Facing reality that you ma not be able to buy everything you want, at any time, has been a good lesson for us in reducing waste & making the most of what we have.
4) Picked & juiced fallen oranges for smoothies. Picked a citrus fruit that grows on a corner of our property & is hard to access. No idea what it is, and it's not super tasty. We ran out of lemon & limes, so we've been juicing that over our salads. Works fine, in a pinch.
5) Supporting local small businesses. Not necessarily frugal for us, but helping others is a big priority right now. Also, donated all of our N95 masks to a local hospital
What does that “not tasty citrus fruit” look like? I love all citrus & I would love to live but lots of citrus trees 🙂 when we have fresh grapefruit & oranges from FL coming to MS I buy as many as I can from the farm stand to juice 🙂
Well lets see...
1. We got a refund on the first set of broadway tickets we were supposed to use
2. We are awaiting a refund on the second set of tickets we were supposed to use
3. We are waiting on a refund for my son's 8th grade field trip that he doesn't get to go on
4. We should get a refund on the airfare for the trip that we were supposed to take to see both of the broadway shows
5. Just waiting for the nearly inevitable "need to cancel our summer vacation" decision.
6. We are suddenly not paying for tutoring, dance lessons, or music lessons.
We could be frustrated or disappointed but overall I'm enjoying our sudden newfound endless family time. At least for now lol. Ask me again in a month...
Side note: what is the red splatter guard looking thing you have in your frying pan?!?!? Might need one of those!
It's a fry wall! https://amzn.to/33PFUz2
I really love it because I so often saute things in a little bit of hot oil, and that makes such a mess on the stovetop. The fry wall works great, and it allows you full access to the pan.
So good to see a FFT post:)
1. Will be using a Lowes gift card to paint a room soon, so we took inventory of what we had/what we need to buy for that project.
2. Lots of walks/parks/chalk art.
3. Making soups & quiches with what veggies we have on hand.
The only "fail" so far was substituting baby carrots vs. whole carrots in a soup--those were just awful.
4. Our fun buy this week was 3 small succulents for $10 from the flower shop in our neighborhood.
5. We had a lot of flour/g-free mixes on hand, so there has been a lot of baking happening here:)
Love the cereal packet tip! I've used bread bags for crushing biscuits but cereal packets are a little tougher.
Also hadn't thought of storing excess oil in fridge. Now I no longer have to avoid recipes that require a lot of oil because of the waste! Thank you
That's what I thought too! I look wistfully at some recipes that will use lots of oil for deep frying & now I might give some of them a go - thanks 🙂
1. It was time to buy some more toilet paper and I could only find huge packages. I used the outer plastic packaging as a trash can liner, saving me a garbage bag.
2. I have been saving bread and chip bags to dispose of cat litter instead of buying the special bags for this purpose.
3. I am an essential employee and have picked up extra shifts to fill my free time.
4. I haven't went out to eat or gone thrift shopping in the past month to keep others safer. Which has saved me a lot of money.
5. Not frugal for me, but I cleaned out my pantry and brought a couple of bags of food to the little free pantry.
1. I made an eBay sale this week and was unsure of how to post it. I sought advice on what was the cheapest postage option from the post office worker.
2. I’m trying to avoid the supermarket as much as possible and I’m moving soon so am eating down the freezer and using up vegetables.
3. My friend offered us his moving boxes from his move.
4. I filled my gas tank up a week and a half ago and still at half a tank left.
5. Staying home during this time and slowly Spring cleaning, watching Netflix and working on my never ending To Do list.
1. Braised a 5 pound pork shoulder and so far have had shredded pork with rice and beans, shredded pork tacos, and made udon soup with pork and bok choy. We froze some for the coming weeks.
2. Am actually counting out sheets of toilet paper as we use them to see how much we really need to use. Not trying to be funny here, but we are really paying attention to the many things we use now and seeing how we can be more frugal going forward without sacrificing needs. The TP is one of many products we are minding our use of.
3. Am reading the books I still haven't read yet instead of buying more which I was tempted to do.
4. Found some old coloring books bought and stashed away during the adult coloring book craze from a few years ago. They are helping to keep me occupied and calm me.
5. Making my own iced tea.
1. I opted for green eggs from a farm friend so I got them for free (because they break more easily & are usually smaller). But I was also given18 instead of the usual 12!
2. At church this week I got to take home soup leftovers which will feed me for next 2-3 weeks (they made a LOT of soup).
3. Found a recipe box at local thrift store for $1 - I have been looking for one for my cards for over 4 years.
4. Now that TP is getting scarce it’s convenient that I only use 3 squares at a time...
5. Was very excited that my husband’s deer meat came in last week (it is affordable for me at the rate I eat it, as this year 140lbs of meat is going between 2 people).
1. I'm going to lead my five things with the topic of... urine! Yup, as in conserving toilet paper. I was hanging onto old flannel pajamas to see what I could use some of the fabric for, and it took a pandemic to come up with cutting flannel into toilet paper-size squares. I use these for #1 wiping only, rinse them after use, and throw them in the washer with other items. I was surprised how absorbent flannel is, doubly surprised at how little urine there actually is to wipe, and triple surprised that I'm actually telling you all of this!
2. After peeling a bunch of potatoes for soup, I dried out the peels, tossed them with oil, butter, salt and pepper and roasted them at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Crunchy and delicious!
3. Limiting daily intake of caffeine to one (albeit large) cup of coffee in the morning. After watching the evening news, I then try to calm myself down with a cup of peppermint tea.
4. Using my extra time in positive ways - e.g., supporting local businesses and others experiencing hardship; and contacting the administration to encourage the behavior I wish to see.
5. Saving money by using many of the tips I've learned on this blog and sending virtual elbow bumps to my friends here. Am so grateful for you all.
Haha, fist bump on your number one. You go, girl!
I used leftover fabric from pillow covers I made last spring to recover my dining room chairs. Four chairs=2 solid color 2 patterned. I think it works. Used chicken broth from a boiled chicken to boost taco flavor last night and for potato soup over this past weekend. When planting flowers, I opted for organic plant fertilizer to recondition last year's soil (used a big metal bucket to mix and sift through the soil). Saved over $14 this way. The organic soil I bought last spring was pricey. This seems to be doing well, as my flowers are already looking hardy after just a few days in their potted abodes. Didn't have anymore Mop pads for my swiffer. Used a microfiber rag and sprayed the floors with some Mrs. MEYERS everyday cleaner. I bought the refill bottle in January last year. It requires such a small amount to refill a bottle, so it lasts a good while. I have vinyl flooring everywhere but bedrooms (carpet). Walked to the grocery store when I realized I needed a crate of eggs ( it's about a 2.5 mile walk round trip. No need to burn gas for that. Plus, it counted toward exercise. I really had to get clever to come up with 5 frugal things. Blessings to you and your family!