Five Frugal Things | robot cleaning
1. I cleaned the hair out of my robot vacuum
Long hair can easily get wrapped around the rollers of any vacuum, and robot versions are no exception.
I've heard and read that this is a common culprit when a vacuum malfunctions, so I try to regularly flip mine over and remove the hair.
Luckily, my model has a great design that makes the roller simple to remove!
2. I returned some cottage cheese to Aldi
I am normally a very big fan of their cottage cheese; I even like it better than Daisy, a revered brand.
But when I opened my last container, I found sloshy, liquid contents! That has never happened to me before.
So, I brought it back to the store the next time, and I got a non-sloshy container.
3. I froze my bananas
I had some that were going spotty in the midst of a string of work shifts. I did not have time to deal with the bananas then, so I put them in the fridge to extend their life.
And once I was off, I sliced and froze them.
This is more work than throwing the whole banana into the freezer, but I tell ya, the slices are so much easier to blend up into "ice cream" or into a smoothie.
4. I got some free Comet powder
Someone else claimed this first on my Buy Nothing group, but I threw my name in the hat, just in case pickup fell through.
And I did indeed end up getting the powder. SWEET.
5. I bought some bruised peaches
The farm stand didn't have a big box of them (that's the best deal!) but I bought the ones they did have. š
So, I am currently rich in peaches.
There are so many good fruits (and vegetables) to choose from in this season, I love it!
FFT:
- I made Sun tea (thanks Frug-gal Lisa for the recipe!) and it is a great beverage and fun to prepare. This method makes for a tea that is softer and less bitter than hot brew. I had it with ice cubes and lemon juice.
- We did laundry on solar power.
- We closed blinds and sunscreens to keep the sun out and reduce AC use.
- We ate down our fridge/pantry so we would not have to go to the shops. No food waste.
- On Saturday night we had rain and thunder and that filled up our water containers. also on Sunday I did not have to get up early to water the plants.
Not frugal, but life happens: our tv and a switch broke down during the thunder, but as this was all I consider ourselves most fortunate.
We had that storm here too - the thunder and lightning was very impressive!
Glad you liked the sun tea! It is much less bitter than the regular brew. Happy to share!
Make sure you stay hydrated during the heat wave.
Another hot weather trick: tape aluminum foil on your window panes to keep out the sun.
Stay cool!
Living in Florida, Sun Tea is a big thing - my family always made it since I was young!
1. The heatwave has mostly broken, but during the very hot weather last week I spent a lot of time at the beach!
2. I did the local park run this weekend which is free (and was also unspeakably hot - I was glad to swim afterwards!).
3. I cancelled some subscriptions and watched a film on Netflix before my subscription ends.
4. I got some ice packs a couple of years ago when I had my wisdom teeth removed, and used them this week to keep cool (I put them in towels and rested them at my feet).
5. I will be looking after my friend's cat for a few days and can stay in her apartment.
Otherwise I made food at home, used up leftovers, line dried my laundry and made numerous smoothies!
I loved when I lived by a loop of apple orchards because I greatly benefited from the ugly apple bin. Most of them would get frozen to go into pies or canned anyway.
My frugal:
ā¢ Buy 1, get 1 free was used for shampoo and conditioner. I did have to go into the store as online ordering said they were out, but I was in the area anyway, so no wasted gas.
ā¢ Shopped during strategic times to take advantage of mark downs and special coupons. I got a bakery loaf of sourdough for a great price and froze half of it!
ā¢ I got an email alert that the currency exchange was in my favor (hurray!), so transferred funds accordingly.
ā¢ Went to the store I know has full stalks of celery. I don't need to pay a premium for them to cut off the ends! Years ago, my mother-in-law taught me the secret ingredient to her fried rice- celery leaves. Fried rice just doesn't taste the same without it.
ā¢ The half melons I buy are always wrapped in plastic wrap. I reuse it to cover the bowl of cut pieces. I don't have storage containers (except for large yogurt and peanut butter jars- too small for melon!) and have gotten rather good and figuring out alternatives.
Shelly, thanks for the tip on the celery leaves! Will add those the next time I make fried rice.
--The only Prime Day deal we hit was a new tablet for my husband. The $226 price was $125 less than usual, so we replaced his dead tablet (which in fairness survived 6 years of constant use). He's borrowed my laptop since April while we hunted for a deal.
--We hosted a dear friend who, owing to distance and work commitments, hadn't been to our house yet. I made crockpot chicken tikka massala, and we had a wonderful day of conversation and multiple hugs.
--Said friend brought a beautiful piece of papyrus art (we're history lovers) as a housewarming gift. The 12 X 24" dimensions potentially made it a framing challenge, but I lucked into disassembled, clearance framing parts at Michael's. For $10 in parts (nice heavy wood pieces painted gold) and $5 in custom-cut glass at the hardware store, our gift now hangs handsomely just inside our most-used entrance so we can see it coming and going. The papyrus portrays Ma'at, Egyptian goddess of cosmic balance/order, justice, and truth.
--The thrifting gods have been kind lately. I came across three like new Bath and Bodyworks 100% cotton bath towels for $2 each. My husband and I are still debating what color to dye them (white and gray are banned from our jewel-toned castle), but we're enjoying their fluffiness in the meanwhile. Another $2 scored a set of handmade curtains that fit perfectly around the stained glass windows I recently hung.
--Garden goodness is rounding out all our meals. Last night's dinner featured kohlrabi and pesto made from our basil; tonight, I'll mix chard into our favorite mushroom and lentil dinner. Snap peas never make it that far, as I can eat my weight in them! I munch on them while prepping everything else.
What a lovely housewarming gift!
Awesome housewarming gift! Iām currently reading Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict.
I am a fan of snap peas as well. Have you checked out their nutritional profile? They're powerhouses.
That just happened to me with ALDI cottage cheese too! I do prefer Daisy so I rarely buy ALDI's, but did last week - when I opened it I was surprised by how...uncurdy it was. But it smelled fine and I only wanted it as an ingredient in baked items and thankfully, it worked fine for that.
I think that was also the week we bought an ALDI bag of kale salad mix that somehow had no bag of fixings (dressing etc.) in it - also funny. It's good they have an easy return policy!
1. We clean off our griddle with napkins saved from restaurant and takeout meals. I have a whole stack that come in handy for this and other oily cleanups. Then they go in the compost bin. It's been decades since we've bought paper towels.
2. Used a rolling pin to crush a sleeve of stale saltine crackers. Added them to melted butter and used them as a topping in place of breadcrumbs. I also enjoyed a spoonful or three for taste-testing purposes.
3. Received three acrylic drawer organizers from my friend's mom's estate. They still had the original price stickers on - $20 each! They fit our bathroom vanity drawer perfectly.
4. Went out to lunch with the friend mentioned above. I paid since she drove me to errands, brought me several restaurant and homemade meals during my recuperation, and gave me many things from her mom's estate. It felt good to be the giver this time as I've been the recipient of so much goodness from so many people over the last two+ months.
5. Received a Sudoku book and spiral notebooks from Buy Nothing. The Sudoku book has 1,000 puzzles. I normally do one per day so this just may last my lifetime.
I save paper napkins too and squirreled away a pile (actually an empty pasta box full), which my husband just came across the other day and the look on his face was like he hit the mother lode. We switched to cloth napkins many years ago but it's still hard for him to get them dirty!
( & re your #5 - hopefully not - I hope you receive and fill out many more 1000-puzzle Sudoku books : )
1. I went to an out of town wedding and wasn't enrolled in their loyalty program, now I am and have another hotel chain option when I'm on the road.
2. A Ren faire vendor made and gave me a sign clip for my belt from an upcycled spoon. I paid her back with an improvised comedy story (my trade.)
3. I hiked the Blue Ridge Mountains on my days off from the show. Free, pretty, and I definitely felt the burn!
4. I took the free primitive camping option instead a paid full hookup, filled a 5 gallon jug with water from home, used my discontinued clearance solar panels to charge my power station, and meal prepped all my lunches on show days.
5. After closing day, the faire had a pot luck of sorts - basically all of the leftover faire food that hadn't sold. It was also an opportunity to network for future jobs and talk shop. If you are looking for a "wild ren faire party" this isn't it (we're too tired at the end of the day and like to keep our jobs thankyouverymuch.) The rumored wild parties are patrons doing their thing elsewhere
- Our garden continues to provide a bounty of cherry tomatoes and cucumbers that I've been incorporating into our meals. Made refrigerated pickles to use up some of the harvest.
- Hubby is returning items to Amazon at Staples for me today while he is out running errands.
- Made banana bread using overripe bananas and sourdough discard
- Got a FedEx label from our new financial advising company to ship the check transferring funds from work 401k to new accounts. Wanted to get the money back in the market as quickly as possible but I didn't want to pay the FedEx fee.
- Did not make any purchases during Amazon Prime days.
- The usual stuff: I made meals at home, used up leftovers, baked bread, and brought my lunch to work.
I had a big one this week...and a fail one...balance is the key, I guess.
I broke the motor on the driver seat adjustment in my jeep (something was under the seat while I was adjusting it and it snapped a metal rod). Got a quote of $2k to replace it. It's an older vehicle that DH wants me to trade in so I couldn't see putting $2k into it. BUT, I found a new motor and frame on Ebay for $183. DH spent about 2 hours pulling the old one out and putting the new one in. So, good amount saved!
Unfortunately, my phone quit working for calls. Kept disconnecting me constantly so I had to replace it. I purchased an older Iphone13 which was a step up from my Iphone 11. All works again.
I used up leftovers, hung some laundry to dry, have all the curtains in the house closed this week because of the heat. As much as I love natural sunlight in the house, it keeps it easily 10 degrees cooler and saves my AC if I keep the curtains pulled.
I used the last two big apples in the produce drawer of the fridge to make 18 apple-walnut-raisin muffins for breakfast. This recipe also utilized raisins and walnuts from Ollie's Outlet and oatmeal from Dollar Tree.
Made a stir-fry lunch for DH that used up the last bits in frozen bags of green peas, diced carrots, green beans, and two bottles of Asian sauces that got rinsed out with a little water.
Our local grocery store has unadvertised weekend flash sales on various items that are marked by a copier paper sign taped to the shelf. I usually avoid shopping on the weekend but have started doing a walk-through of the store with list in hand, and bought toilet paper for $2 off by doing that.
Also made a jug of iced tea by putting the bags in a pitcher overnight in the fridge. Tidied up the dry goods cupboards in the kitchen with some recycled glass jars that used to hold marinara sauce. Labels for them were made with squares of ConTac paper from Dollar Tree.
I find it so satsifying to use up the last bits of things. Good job!
Didn't Aldi also refund your money? Mine always does. (Twice as Nice guarantee)
You know what, I don't know for sure! I should look at my receipt if I still have it.
Yesterday my husband cleaned a bunch of hair out of our robot vacuum, also!
I had a head of broccoli that got lost in the refrigerator and was turning pretty yellow. So I added it to a batch of homemade macaroni and cheese. We had it with supper last night and I'll eat the rest for lunch today.
A friend visited and on the way to pick him up from the airport we stopped at Target so I could claim my free iced coffee from the in-store Starbucks. When we took him back to the airport at the end of the week, we stopped at Maverick for gas and I claimed my free fountain drink. And my husband got a free birthday cookie.
We're enjoying lettuce, green onions and fresh carrots from the garden.
I cashed out Capital One Rewards points for a $300 Home Depot gift card, which we're going to use today for some supplies for several house projects.
A robo vacuum! I have never had one but I am looking forward to having a few for the dark wood floors in 3,000 square foot renovation. I assume they do wood floors?
Anybody suggest a make and model?
Again, little is frugal: We move tomorrow and I have given myself permission to eat out and buy what I need if it expedites this stressful process. I have done a few things to help OTHERS be frugal :
I bought nice boxes from Uhaul because a few will be acting as storage containers in my house o' massive storage. I know. I know. "I have too much storage" - nobody said ever. But it is not a joke. I do.
I have and will put all leftover boxes in the Free Box receptacle at the Uhaul store.
Since I have adjustable shelves, I have been able to give away ALL my organization devices. In the home I am leaving there, was not one shelve that accommodated a cereal box or was at eye level. I kid you not. I am in shelf heaven.
I donated all extra food to St. Vincent de Paul food bank. I was super realistic. If I haven't opened it in a year, I am not going to ( tea, etc. . .)
Whenever I have cleaned out a closet, the universe seems to have provided the ratio: a third to the new place, a third to Goodwill, a third to trash. I know many people rely on Goodwill, so I released a lot of good stuff for them.
I will fill this new home with only things that serve me well.
Having a lot of storage can be a mixed blessing. In my old place we had a huge attic *and* were good at storage-Tetris. It was great ... and then we moved.
Hello!
1. I listed three items that no longer fit me on Poshmark and sold two within the first 24 hours.
2. I made a fantastic black bean salad with leftover corn on the cob and Sun Gold tomatoes from my container garden.
3. I bought nothing during Prime days (full disclosure, my husband did). I didn't even look.
4. Our 3:1 printer died and we replaced it with an inexpensive printer. We don't need a scanner or photocopier anymore and our printing needs at home are really minimal now.
5. I have really shifted my meal mentality lately. I am serving less "family style" dishes and more leftovers and odds/ends (even when there's not enough for all four of us). For example your side can be leftover salad, sliced tomatoes, or grilled peaches. This results in less food bought and less food wasted.
1. Ollie's Outlet has a 4th of July sale going on so I stocked up on their big basted dog bones. They are always the cheapest in town and 15% off is an even better deal. When asked to comment, Mr. Snuggly Wuggly Dog was too busy chomping on a bone to reply.
2. Free BBQ meal, free Dr Pepper (soda pop)
and free swim in the pool at the neighborhood block party Sunday afternoon. Not to mention getting to visit with everyone!
3. Snugs could not attend, no pets allowed, but he got some of my leftover BBQ brisket scraps on his dry kibble for his Sunday night supper. He ate it in record time!
4. Made sun tea.
5. Air dried the laundry.
Had to set up the racks indoors due to Sahara Dust Storm blowing into our area. It never cease to amaze me how we can get dust from Africa way over here in Texas!
Oh, and I almost forgot: having lost a 2nd Spectrum cell phone, I called and cancelled Spectrum Mobile. Savings of $18/month. My prepaid TracFone serves me well; I'm using it right now to type this.
Good morning!
I bought plants on super sale - herbs and kale. The kale is a test, along with the other plants in my bitty garden at our new house. I want to see what likes to grow here and what pests we have to deal with. I'm actually loving gardening in sand again.
We got a bunch of freebies from our library summer reading program. Tangible benefits for being a family of bookworms!
I went garage saleing with boy #2 while his brothers were at camp - he found Christmas presents for them and I found a nice rolling office chair for him.
We stopped at our favorite farm stand and got veggies for reasonable prices including a monster zucchini for a dollar which will be grated for the freezer today.
My basil is coming up! We eat a lot of homemade pesto and I was afraid we wouldn't get any this year because of my late start. It seems to love the heat wave we're in.
It's going to be a good stone fruit season here in the PNW, our trees are loaded.
Picked a gallon of blueberries this morning. Sharing half of them with my cousin.
Picked the raspberries. Yesterday a flock of Cedar wax wings landed on the fence next to the raspberry plants and one bird was in the bush, would pick a berry, pass it to the next and that bird would pass the berry on down the line. It was fun to watch, even though they were eating delicious berries!
Picked up 5 gallons of coffee grounds from the coffee shop to add to my raised beds. I store them in my 50 gallon barrel tumbler composter in the garden.
Everyone in the path of the awful no good heat dome, please be mindful of rehydration. Heat exhaustion happens in temps lower than you can imagine. Getting off my former E.R. nurse soap box.
I returned new clothes to two stores, because they weren't the right choices after all.
The usual such as avoiding food waste and watering plants with the water that runs till the shower gets hot.
Here's a funny one: as I was booking a flight I noticed that 1st class is cheaper than business class!
Let's see...This week:
-went to see Disclosure Day on cheap $5 movie night.
-booked a stay for upcoming NY trip through the CC portal to use points and get the annual hotel credit.
-went to Neighborhood for their weekly "Dollar Deals". The store is closed Tuesday so they discount a lot of the produce if it likely won't be in sellable condition when they re-open Wed.
-got an audiobook from the library for my walks.
-Bulk bought some potatoes and peaches. More money spent up front but cheaper per pound and will last quite a while.
1. I took advantage of Prime Day to stock up on some essentials ā I made sure to check past purchases to ensure these were actually deals.
2. We had window tinting installed on our front windows. The sunrise burns a perfect line on our front lawn each summer and the tinting should discourage that. The added benefits are that it is shading the inside of the house too while giving a little more privacy.
3. Iāve been keeping all our blinds closed (on a rotation so that my plants get some sunlight) to keep the house cool and give our AC a break. Weāve also allowed our AC to run a little warmer and opted to spend more time in our basement where it is naturally cooler.
4. Before going to the grocery store I listed all the ingredients in my fridge into ChatGPT and asked it to come up with a menu. I needed a break from menu planning but wanted to use what we had on hand ā I used a couple of ideas!
5. My husband and I enjoyed one of our favorite Sunday activities ā completing the Sunday NYT Crossword together over Bloody Marys. I cast the crossword to our TV from my computer and we spend a little less than an hour working on it together. Itās my favorite way to use our NYT subscription.
FFT, End of June Edition:
Late to the party as usual. (I wanted to get in a visit to NDN1 before the predicted T-storms, which thus far aren't happening.) But here's what I have:
(1) My June "underground economy" (as I call them) totals were $27.55 in NY State container returns and 86 cents in found change. And I'll be keeping an eye peeled for dropped bills in my larger neighborhood this weekend. 'Tis the season for hasty sales of fireworks (illegal in my state, but a lot of local entrepreneurs buy in bulk in PA and sell them on the streets here).
(2) NDN1's CF and I had another long and productive conference on Monday--this time with an estate sale/cleanout guy recommended by C's realtor friend. Very pleasant and knowledgeable chap. Instead of either trying to have a public sale at the house (which we all agreed wasn't feasible) or removing stuff himself (he doesn't have a warehouse to store it in), he's going to operate on a "by appointment only" basis--contacting people he knows who specialize in various things (mid-century modern furniture, etc.) and having them meet him at the house. He will also handle the general cleanout--and instead of just pitching everything into dumpsters, he's going to have separate trailers for charitable donations, recycling, and the landfill. Finally, he's going to start work on or about July 13, so my single-handed cleanout efforts at NDN1's will be coming to an end. I can't tell you how relieved I am at all this.
(3) My gardens are approaching peak beauty. The majority of my flowers start blooming at about this time of year. And every time I walk past my wildflower garden on the south side of the house--which, after four years, is really coming into its own--I smile. Martha Stewart, eat your heart out.
(4) To fill in the bed where I grew my garlic (which I dug around Midsummer Day; see an earlier comment), I took advantage of the "Dollar Day" specials that several growers were having at the Regional Market on Saturday. I bought two six-packs of marigolds and a four-pack of artichokes, for a total of $3. Whether or not I get any actual artichokes, the plants look like something out of Day of the Triffids, and thus will meet my requirement of having at least one planting per year that makes the neighbors say, "What the heck is that??" š
(5) Finally, I've been making and enjoying sun tea, along with many of the rest of you. I prefer to put a bag of flavored tea--currently, either mint tea or Constant Comment--in with two bags of regular tea in a half-gallon Ball jar. And in this hot weather, I prefer a mug of cold sun tea to a mug of coffee in the mornings.