ecosophia | Frugal Friday

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 further 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 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 #4: 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!

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: Mark Isham, "On the Threshold of Liberty"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

michele7

When I lived in Japan, summer meant stores put out their supply of uchiwa and sensu. Sensu are the folded accordion type fans that you can fit in a purse or pocket for on the go cooling. Uchiwa are the round fans that sushi masters use when fanning sushi rice. I have both types but my uchiwa gets the most use at home. Last week our electricity went out for 3 hours. My uchiwa created enough of a breeze that I was not too uncomfortable. I also use an uchiwa to cool down hot food for my grandchildren and when I make sushi rice. You can find both types online or in Asian markets.

From:

baconrolypoly

Traditional fans are lovely things, aren't they, and so good for cooling. I have two of the sensu type that I keep in different rooms and use them a lot in summer.

From:

teresa_from_hershey

I was reminded this morning again to always scrape the container clean.
You paid for that stuff after all.

Did you know that a lip balm has more usable product in it than can be easily used? When you can no longer twist up the lip balm, take a nail file (you need the narrow, pointy tip) and scrape all the remaining lip balm into another container. You apply it with your finger to your lips. There's days of usage left.

This is true of virtually every product.
Rinse those ketchup and barbecue sauce bottles.
Get that rubber scraper and scrape those bottles clean.
Add water to shampoo or conditioner and use every drop.
Press the toothpaste tube ($16 a tube for my prescription toothpaste) flat with the back of a comb, pressing up the toothpaste. When you can't get any more out, cut the tube open and get the last smidgeon.

I will never forget watching a dear friend throw away a mostly empty jar of applesauce because she didn't want to bother scraping out the last 1/4 cup of applesauce she paid for.

Thoroughly emptying containers is so minor but it reminds you to be mindful about bigger ways to save.

From: (Anonymous)

Better yet, a shampoo bar lasts far longer than a few or several bottles of shampoo. Homemade versions make great gifts as well, with substantially less plastic waste. Inviting a group over to make, then share a batch, works for socializing with skill building included.

DIY toothpaste powder lacks the additives typically included in ultra-processed foods, though finding reliable recipes and ingredients (and the science backing up effectiveness) is harder than for soaps.

From: (Anonymous)

Would like to add a caveat for all types of bar soap:

It only lasts longer if you keep it out of range of the shower spray! We have found that your standard middle-of-the-shower soap holder is often right where water runs down the shower wall, and if we leave our bar soap there, it will basically just wash down the drain, as it sits in running water any time the shower is used. It lasts a whole lot longer if it goes on the back corner of the tub!

From:

prayergardens

I think both of you have expressed valid and helpful opinions.

It's challenging (and scary) to post on the internet for some people (me, maybe just me) because sometimes it's implied that if you aren't perfect or have thought through every possible angle, the contribution is 'less'. I disagree with that. As a non-perfect person, I appreciate where other people are in their journey and learn a lot even if I'm in a different place of experience/scale/resources/available time. There are so many variables!

I would like to hear more opinions and ideas, not just 'better' ones

The woods would be a very quiet place if only the 'best' birds sang.

I wish you all the best and hope you keep sharing about what works for *you* and I hope we all keep sharing imperfect ideas that work for us. The work ahead of is significant and perfection won't be possible. (Cue the references for Muddling Through discussions from the main blog!)

From:

teresa_from_hershey

You start where you are and do what works for you.

I've seen far too many people not do anything because it's not "perfect enough."

"Perfect" is most definitely the enemy of "doing anything" if you're afraid "anything" isn't good enough or doesn't fit the standard criteria or your disapproving relative will sneer at you.

Asking for perfection is asking people to sit on their hands and do nothing.

From: (Anonymous)

You are absolutely right. I see "perfection" as the "fear of making a mistake".

It took until my mid to late thirties for me to comprehend this concept. I was apprenticing as a cook at the time (second career), afraid of making a mistake and trying so hard to get it done perfectly. My Executive Chef noticed and told me that it was okay to screw up -- that this was how we learn. "We learn from our mistakes, not from our successes." I have never forgotten those words or the lesson behind them.

By the way, accepting that lesson greatly reduces your stress levels.

Caldathras

From: (Anonymous)

For me, very can or jar gets rinsed/shook and the liquid goes into the soil or compost pile

From:

teresa_from_hershey

My father grew up drinking "applesauce water" and "jelly water."

That's where you half-fill the scraped out jam jar with water, cap the jar tightly, shake vigorously, and then drink the resulting flavored water.

From:

methylethyl

My kids' version of this is the "honey drink" from rinsing the dregs out of the honey jar ;)

From: (Anonymous)

This is a really cool idea! I will use a spatula to scrape out as much of the goodness as I can, but it never occurred to me to drink the rinse water.

I often thin out the ketchup (or teriyaki sauce) and just add that to whatever appropriate dish I am cooking. Thinned ketchup works well with anything that uses tomato sauce or paste. Come to think of it, I usually rinse the sauces/pastes out of the cans and add that to whatever sauce, stew or casserole I am making.

Of course, on the other hand, mustard water doesn't sound all that appealing ...

From:

teresa_from_hershey

Mustard water goes in the soup!

Or, you can keep a big, lidded container in the freezer. Add rinse liquids (remembering that you use the minimum amount of water to rinse a jar clean) until you've got a jarful. Then make soup.

The water's already flavored so be careful how much salt or other seasonings you add.

From:

baconrolypoly

I did this once with some garlic I was mincing to freeze into cubes, mixed the last dregs with water and drank it. I hadn't realised just how strong that garlic was and it had a dramatic effect and felt like my intestines were on fire. I dropped to my knees and groaned for a minute or so while the burn subsided and never did it again.

From:

michele7

Investing in a variety of sizes of curved flexible scrapers/spatulas is key. Don't forget to scrape the leftovers of whatever delicious dish you just made into your container. That pot of spaghetti sauce with a bit clinging to the sides doesn't look like much, but when you scrape the sides it can be a 1/4 cup or more of sauce!

From:

slclaire

I give my husband the cooking pots that need to be scraped out. He scrapes out all the remaining food and eats it right there and then. No waste, and he's happy!

From: (Anonymous)

Found this site years ago contains around 400GB of info. If I had to look for all of the books would not know were to begin. You can download them or buy a hard drive with all the books. Will try my luck at posting a link Blueberry https://www.survivorlibrary.com/

From: (Anonymous)

A good source of small thin pieces of timber, about 60cm/2ft long by about 25-30mm/2inches wide and about 5-10mm/inch or so thick (pardon if I've got the conversion wrong, but you get the idea) is from a timber supplies retailer or hardware store.
At least here in OZ, they are used as spacers between large piles of pre cut timber.

I just recently got an armful for free and have done so in the past as well.

They are handy to use for small lightweight garden projects.

Regards,
Helen in Oz

From:

mistyfriday

I'm once again in a living situation where my options are the laundromat or a 5 gallon bucket in the bathtub. The 5 gallon bucket option has won this time because the bucket can get my work clothes cleaner and the low relative humidity is able to dry my double front jeans in less than three days without wringing.

How does the bucket outperform a commercial speed queen washing machine? Through the magic of soaking! I just put two tablespoons of liquid detergent in the bucket, add water, then the clothes and use my arm to plunge the clothes until everything is soapy. Then I come back every hour or so and repeat the plunging for about 10 seconds, and after a couple hours I dump out the water and rinse the clothes in the bucket until nothing is soapy.

Then I hand wring out everything but the jeans simply because I'm not strong enough to do much to a pair of double front work pants and then hang everything up to dry. I estimate that the time savings is negligible, but I'm saving about $12 a week and since my active laundry time is spread throughout the week I don't have to spend two hours of my weekend at the laundromat. The significantly reduced wear and tear on the clothes is nice bonus too.

From: (Anonymous)

I read an interview in which a famous sewist (Marcy Tilton, for those in the know about sewing) said she hand washes her hand sewn creations and I thought if she can I can. I soak, like you do, hand wring where I can and dry. I did invest in an Amish made drying rack from Lehman's, which has already after two years paid for itself. I do also, mea culpa, buy the virtue-signaling 7th Generation fancy stuff because I got tired of chemical odors from cheapo detergents.

From: (Anonymous)

Re: smelly cheapo detergent.

Well over a year ago,somebody here suggested using "laundry soda" instead of the usual American laundry detergent. I bought a can of the stuff (brand name "Nellie's") and have never looked back. I use what looks to be about a teaspoon per full load of laundry, and one can does a hundred loads. This stuff saves me money, and eliminates God only knows what scents and other additives. There may be other brands of the same stuff, but I have not bothered to check since it's so reasonably priced per load.

*Ochre Harebrained Curmudgeon*

From: (Anonymous)

Funny you should mention that. My employer is a Nellie's reseller.

Washing Soda or Laundry Soda is just sodium bicarbonate (not always pure, mind you). Arm & Hammer is another brand name. It isn't easy to find but I've found in certain hardware stores.

Sodium bicarbonate is amazingly versatile stuff. You can use it for baking, for washing, for cleaning, as toothpaste, as shampoo ... the list just goes on and on.

Caldathras

From: (Anonymous)

I agree that sodium bicarbonate is amazingly versatile stuff. But Nellie's laundry soda is clearly something different-- its texture is slightly coarser, and it has a much more slippery feel to it if I ever touch some with a wet hand.

Their website lists just four ingredients for their laundry soda:
Sodium Carbonate,
Linear Alcohol Ethoxylate,
Sodium Chloride,
Sodium Metasilicate.

Still substantially less of a toxic stew than the name brands. (If the S really hits the fan, I know I can always make soap from animal fat and ashes,then plunge in a bucket).

Till then, though, I'm a Nellie's convert!

*Ochre Harebrained Curmudgeon*

From: (Anonymous)

Nellie's seems to be quite well liked. We have customers that came to the store for the first time because they found out we carried Nellie's products.

Caldathras

From: (Anonymous)

Laundry soda is sodium carbonate ; baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. They are not interchangeable but you can convert bicarbonate to carbonate by hearing to 300C or thereabouts in a pinch.

From: (Anonymous)

Good point. I missed that detail. I assumed that washing soda and baking soda were one on the same. Thanks for pointing that out.

Caldathras

From: (Anonymous)

Irish Soda bread flour buttermilk sodium bicarbonate(baking soda) an salt. Some folks add sugar. Blueberry

From: (Anonymous)

Sodium Carbonate. You can use bicarb but you will have to use more of it. Sodium Carbonate is also a bit caustic.

From:

methylethyl

Did laundry this way for the better part of a year, overseas. Can vouch for it: and if you don't want to get your arms all soapy, a plain old sink plunger does the job beautifully.

From: (Anonymous)

What I want to know is,where do you even get double front work jeans? Real denim jeans? For women? Even Tractor supply only has thin stretch denim.

From:

mistyfriday

Carhartt. Sometimes they have denim versions of the duck cloth pants they usually sell. Though it seems like every time I notice they are making them Carhartt discontinues them shortly after. I bought the ones I'm using now during their clearance sale.

From:

baconrolypoly

Is duck cloth the same as twill? I live in Carhartt double front trousers and they're as tough as old boots and great for work. They have a slight stretch in the fabric which makes them very comfortable.

From: (Anonymous)

Twill is a weave and can be made in about any fabric. Silk twill is lovely stuff. Canvass usually refers to a thick, tightly woven fabric, most often but not always cotton. I think the term may originally have referred to the cloth for sails, which was hemp. American farmers in the Age of Sail were required to grow hemp, along with their other crops, to supply the navy with cloth and cordage. Denim is a twill weave. That is what gives it its stretchy quality. Mary Bennett

From:

jenniferkobernik

https://www.floretflowers.com/workwear-for-women

Reviews of various brands of workwear for women from a farmer in the Pacific NW

From:

baconrolypoly

Thanks for that link. There's some really good looking work wear on that page and I'll have to see if any of it is available in the UK. Finding sturdy working clothes for women is a real trial as so much is such flimsy stuff, thin and badly made, that if I find anything decent I'll buy three at a time because the company will probably stop making them.

From:

jenniferkobernik

You’re most welcome! It’s truly a pain in the neck, isn’t it?

From: (Anonymous)

This is a useful thing for hand washing clothes.

https://laundry-alternative.com/collections/regular-spin-dryer

I have owned a Ninja spin dryer for almost 10 years, and these days mostly use it for spinning water out of hand washed woolen clothing, or skeins of hand spun yarn that I full after spinning.

Used it a lot when I lived off grid to extract water from bucket washed/rinsed clothes before hanging outside on clothesline.

La Petite

From:

scotlyn

When I was younger, and living in flats, I often used the bathtub itself for washing clothes. I'd put them under water just enough water to cover the lot, add soap, and walk up and down on them with my bare feet now and again, and eventually... rinse.

The thing that I want to add here is that I found the bath taps (faucetts) useful for wringing the jeans. The tap fixture was a solid lump that I could sling the two legs of my jeans around, and it was strong enough to hold while I twisted the legs together. The upper part was trickier, but any bit of wringing made the drying time shorter.

From:

linden_matryoshka

Hello JMG and Everybody,
I have a question. I'm not sure where it belongs, here or on MM.
So... I typed "Besos' wedding", clicked on images, picked a picture with the headline "$55 million wedding", printed it, and taped it to my desktop. The reminder that I'm chipping in for his wedding is supposed to stop me dead in my tracks when the easiest thing to do is to fish something out of his Filthy River. Is it the right thing to do? Or is it "what you contemplate, you imitate"? Any other strategies to abstain? The ease is addictive.
Inna

From: (Anonymous)

Start a local chapter of AA Amazon Anonymous. Lots of times you can find items at other places or 3rd party sellers have there own web site. Think of the river as a search engine then look for the same item online. Hope this helps Blueberry

From: (Anonymous)

I do use Amazon , still, as a search engine, price estimator, and also as a sort of continuous shopping list.

I'm working on converting that to a pencil-and-notebook list, because just clicking into the site, and seeing the list there, makes it FAR too easy to also buy stuff there.

From: (Anonymous)

Just thinking and another way to stop yourself do not park a card if you buy something delete the card info the next day payment will work but next time you want to buy something you have to go another step to buy. Blueberry

From:

methylethyl

Contemplating the negative does seem like asking for trouble. Seems easy enough to frame it as a positive:

Could you maybe write it out as something like... "My money supports honest craftsmen". If it were me, I'd make it a prayer: "God, help spend wisely and bless others with my choices" and stick it in my wallet.

From:

linden_matryoshka

Thank you all for your comments. Yes, everything is better stated as positive; you are right. Took the picture off.

From:

annette2

Dandelions, a member of the endive family, are a nutritional powerhouse. They contain over 70 different nutrients including vitamins A, most of the Bs, and C, as well as calcium and iron.
Important: before picking ensure the plant is clean, i.e. not sprayed or used as a dog's potty.
All parts of a dandelion are edible: flowers, leaves, and root.

Flowers:
1. Dandelion flower syrup--pick 2 big handsfull of flowers, rinse and place in jar with about 1 litre of water (about 4 cups). Let soak for about 24 hours, then drain, squeezing the water out of the flowers. Discard flowers. Put water into a pan with about 1/4 cup of sugar and simmer until thick. Cool and store in glass jar.
Full disclosure. I made this once, about 25 yrs ago, and didn't like it, so tossed the recipe. It may have been a 1/2 cup of sugar, which seems like a lot.
My favourite way to eat the flowers was to sprinkle them on a salad or put into a sauce or soup. The flower syrup, without the sugar, could be used as a soup stock or other cooking liquid.
My youngest granddaughter, when she was quite young, loved eating the flowers--whenever she saw one, she picked it and popped it in her mouth. My daughter did not have a dandelion in her yard because her daughter ate them all.
Leaves
Young leaves are tender and can be put into a salad like lettuce. Older, bigger leaves are tougher and need to be cooked like spinach. I used to saute chopped onions in olive oil and then add chopped dandelion leaves. They're also good in soups, sauces, and I even put them, finely chopped, into a meatloaf. I have a mild wheat allergy, so I use spaghetti squash instead. The sauce would be chopped onions, chopped dandelion leaves, chopped fresh garden tomatoes and basil, sage and thyme, cooked and then topped with cheese.
Note: dandelion leaves are bitter, so if you are new to eating them, take a bite and decide if you like them.

Roots:
Dandelion coffee: Dig up as many plants as you like, cut off the roots and wash them very thoroughly. Make certain all of the dirt is off, but DO NOT peel. Most of the flavour is in the peel. Chop the roots into pea-sized pieces, place on a cookie sheet and roast in a slow oven, 250F. Shake the pan several times during the roasting. The time will depend on how dark a roast you like your coffee--probably 30 min. to 1 hr. (Sorry, again no longer have the recipe). When the roots are roasted to your liking, let cool and store in a glass jar. To prepare, put in coffee grinder, and prepare however you usually fix coffee (French press, coffee machine, percolator)
I made this once. My soil was clay and it took a long time to dig up the roots and get them clean. I made 2 or 3 cups. It was good but a lot of work. Besides, I'm a tea drinker.

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Page Summary

michele7 - Hand fans for a hot summer
teresa_from_hershey - Always scrape the container clean
(Anonymous) - BOOKS
(Anonymous) - Scrap timber
mistyfriday - The Magic of Soaking Clothes
linden_matryoshka - (no subject)
annette2 - Dandelion Recipes

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