Frugal Friday

[ecosophia]

Welcome back to Frugal Friday!  This is a weekly forum post to encourage people to share tips on saving money, especially but not only by doing stuff yourself. A new post will be going up every Friday, and will remain active until the next one goes up. Contributions will be moderated, of course, and I have some simple rules to offer, which may change as we proceed.

Rule #1:  this is a place for polite, friendly conversations about how to save money in difficult times. It's not a place to post news, views, rants, or emotional outbursts about the reasons why the times are difficult and saving money is necessary. Nor is it a place to use a money saving tip to smuggle in news, views, etc.  I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #2:  this is not a place for you to sell goods or services, period. Here again, I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #3:  please keep it to one tip per person per week. Data dumps are tedious for me to moderate and also for readers to use. If you have lots of tips, great -- post one per week. This is an ongoing project. If you want to comment on someone else's tip, that's welcome, but again, don't use that as an excuse to post a second, unrelated tip of your own.

Rule #4:  please keep your contributions reasonably short -- say, 500 words or less. If you have something longer to say, please post it elsewhere -- a free Dreamwidth account is one option -- and simply put a link here. Teal deer comments won't be put through.

Rule #5:  please give your tip a heading that explains briefly what it's about.  Homemade Chicken Soup, Garden Containers, Cheap Attic Insulation, and Vinegar Cleans Windows are good examples of headings. That way people can find the things that are relevant for them. If you don't put a heading on your tip it will be deleted.

Rule #6: don't post anything that would amount to advocating criminal activity. Any such suggestions will not be put through.

With that said, have at it!

Comments

DIY Pillar & Taper Candles

[(Anonymous)]

Hi all,

Have been collecting candle stumps for some time, much of them of beeswax,
in the hopes of crafting pillar and/or taper candles from them.

Does anyone have instructions on how to achieve this?

Am thinking classic candles, free-standing pillars & the 'trimmer' cylindrical or taper kind for candelabra (not interested in votive or tealight)

Online searches only led to a plethora of instructions & kits for 'in-glass' & 'novel' shaped candles (trust me, you don't want to know the details)

Thanks for any leads, books, tips!

Re: DIY Pillar & Taper Candles

[jprussell]

Here's an article I found on making taper candles via the dipping method:
https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/how-to-make-beeswax-taper-candles

Cheers,
Jeff

Re: DIY Pillar & Taper Candles

[claire_58]

You can dip tapers. Get a tall narrow container for melting the wax. Take a long piece of wick a little more than twice the depth of the container and hold it in the middle using your thumb and three fingers so the two strands don't touch. With the melted wax on low heat dip your wicks into the container and draw them out. You may want to let them soak in the wax the first time so they are saturated. After that you want to dip them quickly and draw them up to let the wax cool for a moment or two before you dip again. It helps to have something to hang the paired candles on between dips. That way you can dip more than on pair at a time and have less downtime waiting for the wax to cool between dips. Stop dipping when you have achieved the diameter you want.

The upside of this method is that it takes very little equipment, although, finding the a tall enough container may be a challenge. The downside it that you must keep your container close to full so you may need to add wax as you go and you can't ever really use up all your wax.

Re: DIY Pillar & Taper Candles

[prayergardens]

I don't know anything about candles but I typed "recycle used candles" into Pinterest and got a lot of results of bloggers promoting their content. Things like this: https://oneshetwoshe.com/recycling-used-candles-she-kristin/

Re: DIY Pillar & Taper Candles

[(Anonymous)]

Tapers can be easily done by dipping, you heat up the candle stumps in an old can inside a pot of water, so always use double boiler like this , or you can use a dedicated crockpot for the outerpot/heat source with the tall can of wax in that. You will get wax in the water.

To dip one candle at a time, you just hold the end of a piece of wick, after the first dip or few, you straighten the wick after it cools for a few seconds. You let the work in progress cool off between each subsequent dip. You need the can with melted wax to be a fair amount deeper than the candles height you will want as the wax level with lower while you are working due to application on the candle, but also due to evaporation. Keep the heat just hot enough to keep the wax liquid for safety and for lessening evaporation. It is also pretty standard, if your can of hot wax is wide enough, to dip 2 tapers at once with the wick draped over a wide thin piece of wood. Then that can be set aside to cool while you dip another pair in.

They also sell molds for both pillars and tapers, seems realy easy to find on a search engine, lots of sources.

The width of the wick does matter, you need to size it for the diameter of candle you are aiming for for best burning.

Re: DIY Pillar & Taper Candles

[randomactsofkarmasc]

My husband does candle making. He's done dip candles before. They are pretty, but he has found pillar candles much faster and easier to make. For molds, you can use things like frozen orange juice containers. You have to tape around the bottom edges, so wax doesn't leak out. Paper cups can work as molds, too. (And if you have access to a bunch of empty single-serving milk cartons, like they use for school lunches, you can make square pillars.) The trick to doing pillars is to make sure you have the right size wick. Too small and the wick ends up drowning in melted wax. Too large and it burns too fast and the wick gets too long and smoky.

Re: DIY Pillar & Taper Candles

[methylethyl]

If you sew, be sure to save a stub for waxing threads with.

When a Pedicure is Frugal

[prayergardens]

I had a relative who had an ingrown toenail get away from them. They went to the GP to get a referral to a podiatrist. The GP wrote a referral but, sensibly, said to check out a nail salon and see if an experienced nail technician could help before they went the full in-house surgery route.

Relative found a salon that was not phased at all by the toenail and successfully fixed the situation. He declined nail polish and the full treatment but they agreed to charge him $60 as it took some time and effort.

The internet currently puts the cost of a podiatrist doing the same (without nail polish and exfoliation!) at between $300-$1000+. With a high deductible plan, that would have been 100% out of pocket for him.

An unexpected case where a luxury pedicure was a good frugal solution! Of course, none of this is medical advice, just a story.

Re: When a Pedicure is Frugal

[thinking_turtle]

That's a great tip! Some toenail carers have lots of experience with ingrown nails. The tooling they have is amazing, they cut through thick calcified nails without effort, and insert some sort of softening sheet between the nail and the flesh. They also give great advice on how to avoid the problem in the future.

Re: When a Pedicure is Frugal

[(Anonymous)]

I second this 100%.

But did you know nail technicians often have skills that go beyond foot care?

Korean-owned nail salons often offer reflexology treatment for all kinds of conditions. Family members have gotten chronic sinus infections treated with reflexology from 'nail technicians', for ex. It's extraordinarily affordable compared to an equivalent doctor's visit and antibiotics.

The Korean nail techs I've had tell me the education they get on health and wellness in esthetician school in Korea is extensive, and I believe it.

--Ms. Krieger

Free Fridge in Summer

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG, you once said that you assume that there will be some kind of refrigerator technology in the post-industrial future, because there is hardly anything better than a cold beer in summer.

I can present you one possibility here. The good news is that it is quite low-tech and does not require electricity. The bad news is that it only works in regions with cold winters.

I got this trick from a friend whose grandfather is from East Prussia. Here's how it works: blocks of ice are cut out of a frozen lake with a saw. These are then buried deep in the ground. According to my friends grandfather, this is supposed to lower the temperature until well into the summer so that you can keep fish fresh and basically have a freezer for nothing. To be honest, I can't say whether this actually works. Unfortunately, I don't know any more technical details about how much ice you need, how deep it has to be buried and so on. I could imagine that additional insulation, like a wooden box made of straw, could certainly help the whole thing, but I don't know for sure.

ExecutedByGandhi

Re: Free Fridge in Summer

[robertmathiesen]

Icehouses and springhouses were in use all throughout rural New England up to the advent of household refrigerators.

An icehouse is heavy-walled and partly (or even largely) sunken below the surface level of the surrounfing soil. In the winter all the deeper ponds would freeze a foot or more thick; men would go out to them with icesaws and cut blocks out of the surface ice, then cart the ice blocks back to their icehouses and store them up there against the summer heat. Come summer, you can out perishable food in there to keep, just as we now do with refrigerators.

A springhouse is similarly built with heavy walls, but it contains either a spring or a spring-fed creek. (In either cased, there is a outlet to the outside of the house for the run-off.) The running water keeps things cool, though not as close tom frozen as an ice-house.

In the cities kitchens had ice-boxes, with blocks of ice delivered on a regular schedule. There were two heavily insulated compartments in an ice-box, the upper one for the ice-block and the lower one for food. The compartments were vented so air could circulate between them. There was also a run-off pan under the ice-block, which neeed to be emptied regularly.

Out on the West Coast, where the weather was milder, kitchens often had built-in coolers. These were tall thin closets against an outside wall, with two vents to the outside, one at the top and the other at the bottom; hers, too, the shelves were slatted, to allow air to circulate. Hot air went out the top vent, drawing cooler air in through the lower vent, so the summer's heat never collected as much as it would in a unvented cupboard. MY great-grandmother's house in Berkeley, California, had such a cooler built into its kitchen; she also still used an old-fashioned icebox in the 1940s, when I was a boy. So I have seen both of these devices in operation. They worked well.

Wikipedia has good entries on all these things inder the headings "ice house (buiilding)," "spring house," "icebox" and "California cooler (cabinet)."

Food storage

[michele7]

Wendy Dewitt has a blogpost and video on YouTube explaining how to put together a year's worth of food and how to cook it. She explains that this is a worse case scenario thing like a natural disaster, but also good for job loss back up. A year may seem extreme, but she has some really good advice.

You can download a PDF on her website detailing her method.

http://everythingunderthesunblog.blogspot.com

An old video from a lecture she gave.

https://youtu.be/4CBrMBnZy5o?si=vLRHCU7164tKgfUF

Re: Food storage

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you, Michelle, Ms. DeWitt is very interesting.

She mentioned using gelatin as an egg substitute in baking. Here is a recipe that I found on the internet:

Recipe Created By: Amy Hugon
Ingredients
1 cup water
2 tsp gelatin
Directions
Boil water and mix in gelatin. 3 1/2 Tbsp of THAT mixture equals one egg.

I have also used the juice from canned beans or cooked beans in baking. It works, in that my non-scientific evaluation was that the bean juice emulsifies baked goods very nicely. I just eyeballed using enough bean juice to equal an egg in volume.

Ms. DeWitt was using the gelatin to make jar breads and cakes. Her recipe is to use a straight sided glass jar, such as a wide mouth canning pint or half liter. Put the batter in the jar and out it in a preheated oven. Bake until done, and then put the metal lid on the hot jar. The heat melts the adhesive and the jar seals as it cools. The bread is then shelf stable for up to a year. Eggs cause the bread to mold.

We used to do something similar with Boston Brown Bread, which is a whole wheat batter bread sweetened with molasses and raisins. We filled clean, empty, buttered tin cans half full with the batter, baked until set, and then covered the cans with wax paper secured by rubber bands. It the bread rises past the top of the can, just cut it off flush.

Raphanus

Embrace the Pareto Principle

[dr_coyote]

This is an overriding principle, good to reflect on here at the start of the year. Stated in short, roughly 80% of results come from the first 20% of effort. In place of “effort” in this, you can just as well substitute money. For a trivial example that everyone here is probably already doing, one might spend $1000 a week for the family to eat out, or $200 at the grocery store for much the same food. Think of how to apply this to big purchases, especially ones that’ll only be used occasionally. Is the inexpensive solution, often involving buying used or needing some DIY, good enough?

What’s more, the Pareto Principle can be applied in powers: 80% of 80% = 64% of results come from the first 20% of 20% = 4% of effort. For example, my 25-yo pickup truck that I paid $2k for is at least 64% as good for my purposes as a new one costing $50k. I mean, I wouldn’t drive it across country, but it’s good enough to haul things around town. Yes it has its quirks, and no it doesn’t have AC, but at 4% of the price I really don’t care. I suppose Pareto-cubed could be applied here as well, in the form of a $400 bicycle with a cargo rack being about 51% as useful as a new truck.

There are some things where you can’t scrape by on 20%, but where you can, Pareto can be a real money saver. Happy New – and Frugal – Year!

[(Anonymous)]

Hello JMG and all. For two years I've been unsuccessful in getting candles to burn down all the way for me. This has prevented me from being able to let candles burn unsupervised never knowing when the wick will submerge in the melted wax. Super thin glass containers have not been able to solve this problem (I make my own candles because of my location). The problem here is that the wick thread doesn't stay erect when I pour the melted wax. I need a strong, rigid wick or I need to give up on candles entirely.

candle wicks

[ritaer]

Some commercial candle wicking has a very thin wire woven in to keep wick upright. Not sure what metal it is. Should be able to locate in craft store or online. There are also formulas for thickness of wick for various sized candles.

Rita

[jprussell]

Forgive me if this is too obvious to be worth mentioning, as when I've done it, I still get wicks all over the place, but are you using any kind of wick-holder? If you're pouring into glass, they make little metal strips with slots in them that you can set on top, or if you want to go frugal, you can put a piece of masking tape with a slit cut through for the wick. I've only tried the masking tape, and when I've tried it with prayer candle tubes the wick may be centered at the top and bottom, but it bends all over in between, which gets some uneven burning. Still, maybe with some practice this could go better?

The other tip I have is in the burning. I try to make a point of leaving a candle burning until the whole top surface is liquid wax, to avoid craters/tunneling. Once I get to where the metal thingy on the end of the wick is visible, I know I'm within one or two burns where I may just have to leave it burning longer than I'd otherwise prefer to get the last of the wax.

Cheers,
Jeff

Avoid selling remakes

[(Anonymous)]

This is a piece of hard won experience when making a side income by selling household goods. If you are selling DVDs, do not sell any remake of a classic movie or series from within the last 30 years. It will inevitably be purchased by someone who did not read the listing and was expecting the original movie. Contemporary remakes are all woke garbage, so their disappointment will be real. Refunds and chargebacks ensue. It is not worth the trouble. Donate or bin them.

Greetings, Thanks, Seed

[(Anonymous)]

Hi,

My name is Randal Mullein Son, currently stewarding a small parcel at 46N -118W. I'm the son of a U.S. military officer. Thank you for sharing your writings, and supporting the online platforms that you do.

It seems you must have heard of Panarchy, which immediately came to mind when I read the Catabolic Collapse post. Just a thought seed.

Brewing

[(Anonymous)]

In case no one has posted Won't make money directly but brewing beer is half price or less than buying. Order only discounted, sale, or unpopular beer kits from either of two big brewing supply companies, and you are making seventy five cent beers, dollar at most. That's decent beer for last centurys prices. Initially buying carboys may set you back a bit but that's about it, along w boiling kettle and bottler. I recommend it highly as I've found saving your money is, in these times, equivalent to earning it. Brewed beer often tastes better, although less carbonated. Celadon

seed potatoes

[(Anonymous)]

In spring the farmer market vendors are discounting the price of their organic potatoes. For good reason as said taters usually are becoming soft and sprinkled. I buy and plant them and get fairly decent harvests, mind I am only feeding myself. IDK about buying regular grocery store taters. I worry about what chemicals they might still have lingering on their skins.

Mary Bennett

Re: seed potatoes

[methylethyl]

You can also do this with onions and garlic that have gone too mushy or sprouty to eat. I have several onions growing in the garden in an old compost pit, after a disastrous bag of yellow onions that turned into slime on the kitchen counter. I'm not sure if they will ever make bulbs, but they keep me perpetually supplied with "green onions" for dishes that want them. I just go out and pluck a few leaves off and chop them.

[(Anonymous)]

We all need to take part in some activities, for our overall wellbeing in terms of connection, with others, personal growth, etc.

This field is so vast though, often I find people are swept up in such expensive and flashy hobbies, or feel the need to buy the best equipment before they learn the basics.

The past few years I joined a speaking group, writing group, and group for a language I am learning and founded a book club. These groups are so incredibly fulfilling and attract diverse groups of people interested in improving or just engaging in an activity they love. Including materials these 4 groups cost maybe $300 per year, honestly less. I also play a sport which is pricier and rely on used equipment, I know that any flashy new thing will not make me any better than exercising more!

Raising Rabbits

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Everyone,
Back in the Second World War, both sides, or rather all sides, in Europe used to raise rabbits to supplement their pathetic meat rations. Older British people who were kids during the war are very enthusiastic if you mention a baked rabbit. The younger people think eating rabbits is a sin. Well, let's see how they feel when they haven't had any meat for a few months.

I have raised rabbits for about 14 years and they provide at least half of all the meat we eat. A small family can get by well with two does and a buck. Besides providing excellent meat, they also provide heaps of excellent manure for the garden. We have our rabbit cages in a barn which is screened off to allow good ventilation and to prevent rats or mink from getting into the barn.

The cages are suspended from metal frames that bolt into the wall. The floor is concrete and covered in bark mulch to soak up all the urine and manure. I turn this mixture several times a week and wet it with the leftover water in their water bottles when I change those in the morning. The result is a good smelling rabbit barn and some excellent compost.

We let the weaned rabbits go free on the floor of the barn to have more exercise and a bit of fun. A lot of people slaughter rabbits at 8 weeks but I like them to have more time and slaughter at 5 months for a larger rabbit and more manure.

Rabbits are very quiet so you can raise them right in town without anyone knowing. Rabbits skin very easily. The hides and the offal go into the compost too as I am allergic to fur. They make great strong compost. The livers are very delicate tasting and make excellent pate and excellent liver and onions. Rabbit bones make a rich, golden stock.

I do all my own slaughter work and learned how to do that and to cut up rabbits into portions on YouTube which is really the farmer's friend.

Maxine

Re: Raising Rabbits

[(Anonymous)]

Yes Maxine, back in the '60s when I was not yet a teen, I raised many a New Zealand white. In winter I would have to thaw the water bowls every morning. My Dad would sell them to Bunnyview Rabbitery and we made a tidy profit. Several times a year now we make a brazed rabbit with red wine and rosemary on polenta (my home grown flint corn). The bizarre thing is before the hateful lock-downs a local bunny would cost about $30; now it's over $70. I think Dad and I be making a killing now, no pun intended.

Summa Domestica

[(Anonymous)]

Data point: my place of work is buying more and more religious books, more books aimed at the religious homeschool environment, and, for the purpose of this thread, more books about housekeeping and home economics, often from a religious, and dare I might add, "Trad Wife" point of view.

Case in point: we picked up several copies of the Catholic author Leila Marie Lawler's The Summa Domestica, a three volume boxed set subtitled "order and wonder in family life" with volumes on: Home Culture, Education, and Housekeeping.

Among all these types of books I am also happy to report I am seeing more Christian titles about keeping the calendar year in a traditional way, such as the following "Living the Seasons" by Erica Campbell.

I thought people here might be interested in this trend I've been seeing over the past year or two, but it seems to have picked up within the last six months. A lot of these purchases are driven by library user requests.

Best,

JPM