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.

Rule #5: don't post LLM ("AI") generated content, and don't bring up the subject unless you're running a homemade LLM program on your own homebuilt, steam-powered server farm.

With that said, have at it!

Current Mood: morose
Current Music: W.A. Mozart, "De profundis clamavi"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

teresa_from_hershey

So must of us probably have several weeks of groceries, toilet paper, pet food, and other stuff tucked away in our pantry.

But do you KNOW what you've got hidden away in your closets, cupboards, freezer, toolshed, workshop, garage, sewing room, linen closets, and so forth?

If you can't locate that tool when you need it, you don't have it.

Now is the time to inventory your property and see what you do have, waiting to be used.

Open every cabinet, closet, storage unit, freezer, those toiletries bags you only use when you travel, Rubber Maid tote box, the far back reaches of attics, basements, garages.

If you find stuff you can use, great! You can use them and save some money.
If you discover that you're missing supplies that when you need them, you need them RIGHT NOW (auto supplies like antifreeze or Other The Counter medications come to mind), you can add them to your shopping list.

If you can't find it, when you need it, you don't have it.

Inventory your house and learn what you do own.

From: (Anonymous)

It sounds like a slog, but you are certainly correct!

Annette S

From:

mistyfriday

I've done this multiple times over the years. It is a good time to check expiration dates and make sure that materials such as paint, caulking, and other such things are still in usable condition. Arrange foodstuffs so that oldest is in front, newest in back so nothing becomes unusable because it was hiding in the back of cabinets.

With paint especially I've found that transferring extra into canning jars immediately after use will keep it usable for long after the buckets they come in will have dried out.

From:

randomactsofkarmasc

I've also started writing the expiration dates with a big Sharpie marker on labels, so I can see them without my glasses. Makes organizing much faster and easier.

From:

teresa_from_hershey

We do this too. Without the date in big letters, how can you tell?
It also makes First In/First Out much easier.

We also, for that vast stash of nearly identical vitamin bottles (bought during BOGOF sales) write the NAME of the vitamin on the white lid in grease pencil.

It's the only way to tell -- at a glance -- what you've got.

From: (Anonymous)

And remember to organize your stuff once you find it. I have a rule where if I don't know where its going to live, then I don't need to buy it or I need to sell or donate something less important to make room for the new thing. Keep the sewing kit or the home repair kit, or what have you together in a durable, clearly labeled, easily searched, and easily moved container. And don't multiply the containers needlessly - keep them trimmed down to what you use and neatly organized.

From:

eldriwolf

Make an inventory sheet, of what is in those storage containers. You need to know what all is in them. Easily Searched, or not, Knowing what is in there, is a Big help.
You can even make the list from the bottom up, so you know how deep you have to go!

From: (Anonymous)

Having everything in labelled boxes is an organizing goal of mine but I sometimes fall short when life gets busy and I run out of time.

Two things that have helped

1-I have an "inbox" which is just a very large cardboard box in the garage and if I see something and buy it but it doesn't have a dedicated home, I put it there for future figuring out where it goes. I am disciplined about buying un-needed sale items but sometimes you really do find deals in the world and can't file things away immediately. Also, people give us things, like bags full of kids clothes, they go in the inbox to be sorted before being put away. This helps me not create unlabelled piles in my organized pantry, closets or basement.

2 - I have an "outbox" - also in the garage - which is where I put things destined for Goodwill. Out of sight, out of mind. Because the goodwill trip is only a few times a year, it also gives us time to pull anything out if I have second thoughts. In the last 10 years, I can't recall pulling anything out of the box. Sometimes, I'll let it sit an extra cycle but ultimately it all goes away. In my whole adult life, I can only think of one thing I regret giving away but even then, only half regret and it caused no problems. It was a sentimental item from a deceased relative and I have plenty of other sentimental items from them.

From: (Anonymous)

I'd like to especially warmly second the suggestion to keep a Goodwill box in the garage (or similar). Having a designated place to put the things that need to go is so helpful! Once the box is filled, time to go to the donation station. I've been doing this for years now. Simply having that designated box, that was the game changer for me.

From:

jenniferkobernik

My husband and I are about to start a DIY house build of a small but fully functional cabin of about 600 square feet. We will be mostly (but not strictly) using natural materials, although not of the more romantic strawbale and cob sort; it will be primarily stick framed with dimensional lumber, probably with a concrete footer or piers, probably rock wool insulation, wood siding, natural paints and oil finishes, maybe an earthen floor, metal roofing. Pretty basic stuff. Is there interest from people here about seeing this sort of thing documented? If anyone needs to gain these sorts of skills, we could potentially document the process, but it does make everything harder and slower to incorporate videography into the process, so we wouldn't do it on a lark. If any of y'all are inspiring but intimidated homebuilders who want to see it done by someone with more experience (though we are by no means professional builders, my husband has been employed as a carpenter and we do have nonnegligible conventional and natural building skills), let me know and I'll see what we can do.

Alas, this project is prompted by the fact that the house we've been living in (which we moved into to care for my dad and inherited after he died) is infested with mold, and some of the moldy bits contain asbestos (most structures built before the 1980s have asbestos wallboard, texture, joint compound, etc; good to know before you demolish). So it can't be demolished while we are living in the house. So we have to build a house to live in while we gut and remodel our current house. Sigh.

From: (Anonymous)

Thank you for the thought. At least for me, no need for videography, but a short write-up on design choices would be great!!!

By the way I have seen an earthen floor build and I love it. If I ever build a new living space it will be my choice. It is gorgeous, soft yet hard, easy to clean, and easy to repair, like one large clay tile with a glow of beeswax.
conciousness aggregate

From:

fringewood

Sigh,indeed. I would be interested, but I wouldn't want it to be onerous for you to do that. We put together a 30 foot diameter yurt on a platform with concrete footers 16 years ago and are still living in it. It might be an option for you and your family, since you will only live in it until the renovations are done on your current house. Just an idea.:^)

From: (Anonymous)

Good luck on the build. Please have a set of plans before starting makes life easier. Try and have the kitchen and bathroom near each other. Most states allow home builders to due the plumbing and electric but the inspector will check everything. If you are going to have nat gas or propane some one approved by the state will have to do the work. I would enjoy updates on the build. Blueberry

From:

mistyfriday

I would be interested in a write-up with photos. No need to add video to it. I'm most interested in seeing the stages of a build from site selection, tools used, and methods used for construction with an explanation on why each was chosen.

Many videos that show builds don't talk about the planning that goes into the project everything from site drainage to building orientation considerations for wind or sun or even why rock wool is preferable to the other options. This has the additional benefit of being a reference for you later with future projects.

From:

kylec

While I'm very unlikely to attempt this myself, I would be interested in the process out of sheer curiosity. No need to take video or bog it down, though.

From: (Anonymous)

I would LOVE to see the plans if you have, or will have, any!

It is on my dream list to someday build a small house.

I expect many of us would really enjoy being able to look over your shoulder a bit as this develops! Maybe mostly document it in time-lapse picture fashion? A still picture or three from time to time? Video would be fine, also, of course, but only if you enjoyed doing that!

What size house and what kind of environmental constraints do you have? Is it going to off grid or anything unusual like that? -gnat

From:

jenniferkobernik

Has anyone in the USA (or even better, Texas) found reasonable health insurance not through an employer or the ACA? I loathe the ACA but every time I try to find something else, I just get jillions of spam calls or websites that give me the runaround, or Christian cost sharing plans (I am not Christian or willing to lie about my faith in order to participate in such a plan). I used to have what now seems a remarkably good and cheap private PPO but all that went away with Obamacare. We generally pay out of pocket for what healthcare we do use (most recently midwifery), but if I could find something reasonable I would like to have health insurance for the family for catastrophic occurrences.

From: (Anonymous)

I did this research a few years ago and unfortunately did not come up with an answer. I also had catastrophic when younger and we like to pay out-of pocket as well.

I did end up going with one of the Christian Health sharing (CHM) even though I am technically Christian but more of an occasional church goer. There are non-Christian ones out there that you can google and compare. They all seemed based on that model, which I still think is a good model but it would be good if there were more options for people with different perspectives. Like dog owners could band together and have dog-owner health sharing or whatever. I haven't had to turn in an expense (good for me) but constantly seeing the programs and benefits they come out with, the sharing model can be good if you can find a non-religious one you like.

From: (Anonymous)

Check out https://www.joincrowdhealth.com/. I cannot speak from personal experience, but it is highly recommended by, and used by, Bret and Heather Weinstein, brilliant evolutionary biologists and hosts of the Darkhorse Podcast. They, and their two children, have been using this alternative to traditional health "insurance" for a number of years now. If you listen to the podcast you will find out it is now one of their show sponsors. But they say they have used it for years, long before it became a show sponsor.

And, if you know (or research) anything about the pair I believe you will conclude they are HIGHLY ethical and are not just hawking a product because the provider is now one of the sponsors of their show. -gnat

That is where I would turn if I were currently in need of health *insurance*. Again, I can't speak about Crowd Health from personal experience, but I do recommend the Weinsteins and think they are both extremely ethical and extremely smart. They have needed to use the Crowd Health product to cover MAJOR medical bills on several occasions over the last few years. And the monthly cost is a very small fraction of what traditional health "insurance" (what a scam) would cost.

From: (Anonymous)

What are some good ways to store food without the use of a refrigerator or a freezer?

From:

fringewood

We have done without a refrigerator or freezer for 16 years now. We pickle, can and store our harvests (fruit, vegetable and meat) in a root cellar built into the ground and insulated under the kitchen area in our yurt. It is accessible through a door in the floor. We store butter there in a small cooler. It has never gone bad on us.

We keep excess eggs in jars filled with lime water for the two or three months that our chickens aren't laying in the winter. We dry herbs for tea and medicine.We use drying racks that hang and can be used indoors or out.

We live in a place that has winter weather five months out of the year, so we can freeze things if we want during that time.

We haven't missed a refrigerator or freezer. My husband grew up with a spring-house and root cellar, so is quite used to living this way.

I would imagine it might be more difficult in a hot, humid climate, but we prefer 4 seasons, so that has not been an issue for us. Your mileage may vary.:^)

From: (Anonymous)

My father built my mother a root cellar in our unfinished basement when I was a teenager - a large one (we were a big family). The key to a root cellar in the basement is that you insulate the inside walls, not the outside ones. My father also chose the north side of the basement for the root cellar's location. The only thing I don't recall was if he put in appropriate ventilation.

A root cellar is the one thing I long to have but I don't have a basement and I haven't had the time or energy to dig out an independent one yet.

Caldathras

From: (Anonymous)

Well, let's see. There's ...

Fermenting (this is a very broad category, which includes winemaking, lacto-fermentation and cheesemaking)

Pickling (in alcohol or vinegar; sometimes overlaps with fermenting)

Salting

Smoking

Dehydrating/Drying

Canning (water-bath or pressure)

Preservation in sugar (usually paired with canning these days)

Preservation in oil (i.e., confit)

Waxing (to a limited degree, often combined with other methods)

And, finally, the two that are often overlooked in the age of modern refrigeration:

Root cellars and Springhouses

I am sure that this list is not comprehensive. I may have missed something.

Caldathras

From: (Anonymous)

I live in a Mediterranean climate, hot summers.

Canning - water bath canned tomatoes, fruits, pickles, fruits for pie filling, jams and spreads; pressure canned homemade soups and broths

drying - diced green onions, carrot diced, fruits ( apple slices, persimmons, raisons, prunes), celery slices, dried herbs especially parsley, dried greens ( kale, chard, magenta spreen lambsquarters), dry cabbage too

Butter -Buy canned butter, red feather is a brand made in New Zealand, one can is about 3 sticks of butter ( 3/4pound) this is shelf stable for years, but it does cost more; Put leftover butter in what we call a french butter keeper, the one with the upside down butter holder in a larger cylinder of water.

Milk- Buy dried milk and make up enough for the day; You can also buy that shelf stable bricks of liquid milk, but that is super processed, more so than dried milk.

Cheese - Hard cheese can be coated with cheese wax and will keep for a very long time in the pantry if it is not too hot. I have aged cheese like this, and then stored like this, I do not have a cellar. Make Halloumi cheese and store it in a jar of brine on the shelf. This gets thru hot months better than the waxed rounds. It will soak up more of the brine and get saltier the longer it is stored, you can rinse it off or soak it or just not add more salt when you use it in a stir fry or other use.

Cabbage will store just fine in my pantry for a while, less mold issues than the refrigerator, potatoes and onions of course, hard fruit for a while. I have not stored unrefrigerated carrots, but other people may have tips on that. I am going to make a pressure canned carrot soup to store some carrots

Leftovers: If it is a soup or stew, you bring the soup or stew to a boil with a lid on, and turn off the heat and do not lift the lid. you can leave this out and then reheat and eat the next day. YOu can keep a continuous pot going like this. The key is daily boiling, and putting a lid on and not lifint the lid between uses. I know this is fine with bean based stews, I have heard that our ancestors did this with meat added too, ymmv.

Atmospheric River

From: (Anonymous)

obviously, buying alot of shelf stable commercial products helps too. Crackers, canned meats ( I see canned chicken and canned fish like sardines and salmon are very popular at the stores here) everything you see at the grocery store on the shelves. Nuts, nut butters.

But, there are also items in larger #10 cans that is dehydrated and sold to preparedness customers, these you need to buy at a Latter Day Saints cannery or from various online vendors, although I know that Winco also carries a selection. The dried carrots pieces are very good, rehydrate just like fresh, dried onion dices, black bean burger mix, dehydrated refried bean flakes - I did experiment cooking with those one winter, the dried vegetables store in their can all winter, and the bean items too. tons of other dehydrated fruits and vegetables and vegetable mixes are available. These and home made dehydrated produce products store in conditions were you dont have a root cellar to store fresh, and they last longer too. Beans you can buy canned in the grocery store, the unique items to get are the produce items you need to cook in between of having fresh, so dehydrated carrot, onion, garlic, celery, parsley, dried apple slices.

I believe that the Latter Day Saints locations still carry the most basic/essential of these, dried carrots, dried onion, dry milk, dried apple slices.

Atmospheric River

From: (Anonymous)

Leftovers: If it is a soup or stew, you bring the soup or stew to a boil with a lid on, and turn off the heat and do not lift the lid. you can leave this out and then reheat and eat the next day.

An inspector from a government health & food safety department would probably go insane after reading this. They would insist that you cool it down as rapidly as possible and get it in a refrigerator. After it has spent more than 4 hours cumulative in the unsafe temperature range, they would also insist that it should be discarded. Professional cooks (like me) are indoctrinated to follow their line of thinking during our education/apprenticeship.

Caldathras

From: (Anonymous)

"peas porridge in the pot 9 days old.."

I am simply relaying what our ancestors did before refrigeration to keep their food safe.

From: (Anonymous)

I have done the all leftover soup brought to a a rolling boil many times.

I think the concern is botulism, but according to Wikipedia: all types of botulinum toxin are rapidly destroyed by heating to 100 °C for 15 minutes (900 seconds). 80 °C for 30 minutes also destroys BoNT.

From: (Anonymous)

They wouldn't like hunter's stew, either. That's the strategy of letting the leftover stew go cold, leaving it at the back of the stove and then adding more food the next day to re-cook. Fans say it gives a meal a more complex flavour.

I think quite a few of these hints come from Northern Europe, where the air temperature doesn't get very high for very long. Those of us in the tropics or Mediterranean climates may need to adjust for local conditions.

From: (Anonymous)

File under things people say on the internet but I read up at one point and concluded that the divergence between N. European and N. American preserving for inst jam making is because there doesn't seem to be a reservoir of the botulism bacterium in the wild in N Europe. Whereas there is botulism in the wild in N America. The only cases of botulism I know of in the last fifty years in the UK have been related to imported foods, despite widespread jam amd chutney making without water bath canning. Fwiw.

From: (Anonymous)

we canned jams without water bath canning too --- you can still do it, you just need more sugar. Jam cannot grow botulism ! Nothing you can safely water bath can will grow botulism, water bathcanning cannot kill botulism spores. To can jam without water bath canning you need to have more scrupulous cleanliness of the jars, to not introduce molds. We would traditionally turn the jars upside down for a bit then right side up and hte caning lids would seal, or when I was young, we would cover the top of the jelly glasses with hot parafin wax. This all works better if the jams have a fair amount of sugar

SO, I usually water bath can jams and jellies because I want to can with extremly low sugar and I like to gift jams and they could get mold. It is just easier to sterilized int eh water bath canner than beforehand boiling of everything.

American givernment recommendations are extremely careful, they give recomandations to get no mold or anything, because as I say, you cannot grow botulism in the jam and water bath canning does not kill botulism. I had an Irish friend here who canned non waterbath canned, and if she opened a jam and it had a spot of mold on top, she would take that bit off with a spoon and use the jam. That is the difference between the 2 canning cultures. SHe was right, It would not hurt her to do so, but culturally alot of AMericans these days would just throw it out.

Atmospheric RIver

From: (Anonymous)

You're absolutely right regarding botulism. Pressure canning is needed to deal with that.

My mother used to make home preserves extensively when I was a child (back in the 70s & 80s). Almost all her jams and jellies were sealed with hot parafin wax. They sold jars specifically designed for that purpose. She was astonished when I told her that the USDA no longer recommends - and, in fact, actively discourages - that method of jam & jelly preservation. Why? Because of the small chance of mold developing. My mother's response? Scrape it off. If it is really bad, dispose of it entirely. It's just common sense!

The nanny-state attitude of modern governments is very frustrating. In fact, I might go so far as to say it is insulting.

Caldathras

From: (Anonymous)

Currently, I do can some juices without waterbath canning if I use the swedish steam juicer I bought at a thrift store. You put the juice in a bottle via a hose straight from the juicer, and then cap. I even have some european rubber caps you can put over the top of a recycled beer bottle or some such. I have had juice on the shelf like this for years, no molds or issues. I still have one bottle left. I didnt have time to juice plums this year. I must sterilize the caps first, cant remember. I do not like apples juice done this way, too weak, but plums or other berries, soft fruit, is easy to juice. Then, in summer I put some juice in a glass and add a half sppon of sugar and water and have a refereshing drink

Atmpsheric River

From: (Anonymous)

I love dehydrated vegetables and fruit from our garden. I put the entire peach harvest from two trees into two large zip lock bags. We also dehydrate onions, peppers, pears, apples, figs, plums and culinary herbs. Great way to save space and have shelf-stable food that can last years.
Maxine

From:

jenniferkobernik

Off the top of my head...
Canning/Pressure canning
Dehydration (solar or electric)
Fermentation (relatively short term)
Smoking
Salt curing
Root cellaring
Preserving in oil or honey (not recommended, especially for fresh foods; danger of botulism)
Freeze drying (prohibitively expensive but very long shelf life)
Makeshift refrigeration (cold water box in the creek, for instance)
Leaving in-ground until needed (certain tubers such as sunchokes; depends on climate and species)
Preserving in alcohol

Water-bath canning, fermentation, and dehydration with an electric food dryer are IMO the most accessible.

Edited Date: 2025-09-13 05:03 pm (UTC)

From: (Anonymous)

There is a new poetry site you might like to peruse, openpoet.org I know the person who has done this, as he loves poetry, felt the other offerings were lacking, and he knows how. You can use the website without an account. I think right now there are right under 40,000 poems, it has not been broadly advertised yet, but I have been told I can now tell you about it, it was out since January actually, so not buggy or anything. From word of mouth, some people in Japan recently found out it has a very large collection of haikus, so there were alot of hits in that category recently. Other poems will be added, by hand as time allows. SO, it is fine to let people know who you think might be interested, but do not put it out yet to very large audiences on your web page or such ( if you have a large following) so he can keep up with... with whatever it is called, the capacity to have alot of people access at once, it is easier so I am told for it to ramp up in a way he can increase that ( bandwidth maybe ? ) and he is tied up the next month or so.

This is also an example of just do it. Offer something you love out to the world.

So, check it out, read a poem of the day, or find that poem you cant quite remember

Atmospheric River

From: (Anonymous)

I had an overflowing bag of bread ends in the freezer, so decided to try making bread pudding, I have actually never made it and I dont think have eaten it before.

I am sure others here can give tips and recipes to do it properly, please post them as mine left alot to be desired. FIrst, my bread was 9 grain and so had alot of harder bits, and I think I cut the chunks a bit large. I did soak the bread chunks in the custard mix ( milk/eggs/sugar/spices), this would have been more consistent though if the bread cubes were smaller and more consistent. It was too sweet for me, or rather part was were the custard was at the bottom. I still am eating it, and it is better now that it has been in the refrigerator so that it is more evenly moist. And, today, I put some milk on top when I served it to myself. This was vgood at this point, cold and milk cut the sweetness and more uniform texture after a few days.

I am willing to try again some day. In the meantime, I love a savory stuffing, which I make with eggs as part of the liquid measure, sometimes dried fruit and chopped nuts ( try dried cherries and roasted chopped hazelnuts)

Atmospheric River

From:

teresa_from_hershey

I save bread ends, buns, and stray bread bits in my freezer.

I use some for home-made garlic bread as the bread heel doesn't get soft and crisps up well in the oven.

For bread pudding, savory or sweet, make your recipe the night before and let it sit in the fridge overnight to soften up all those hard, multigrain or rye or pumpernickel crusts.

I use a guideline, based on my round 2 1/2 quart glass Pyrex baking dish, for a mildly sweet bread pudding we eat for winter breakfast.

You'll need a four-cup measuring cup for this.

Butter the baking dish really well, top to bottom.

Fill the dish with cut-up bread heels, buns, ends, whatever you've got. Add raisins (or other chopped dried fruit) and chopped nuts.
Pour 1 stick of melted butter over it, mixing it into the bread ends.

In the four-cup measuring cup, beat 8 eggs until frothy. Stir in cinnamon, a few spoons of sugar (not much!) and enough milk to make 4 cups of liquid.

Pour the egg/milk mixture over the bread cube mixture and stir well.

Refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Stir the bread pudding. If it seems dry, add more milk.

Bake about an hour and 15 minutes, or until it's nicely browned.
It will be soft in the middle! Stir the softer parts into the drier parts and serve with applesauce for breakfast.

The bread pudding has everything in one: bread, fats, protein, nuts, and fruit.
As you get familiar with it, you'll get a feel for how much milk you need and how long you want to bake it.

From: (Anonymous)

soaking overnight sound like a very good tip. A cube of butter ! Well that would help I am sure. I did not have much fat I think, just 2 eggs and 2 % milk and 1/2 cup sugar. The recipe had called for half and half. SO, sounds like adding more fat is needed. ANd, I like that you only ued a few spoons of sugar. I will try your ratios next time, although being single I will reduce everything.

Thanks !

Atmospheric RIver

From: (Anonymous)

Sounds good!

I used to make a free form savory bread pudding as a fridge cleaner dish.

Put all the leftovers and ends in big bowl and add just enough chicken broth (not too much - more liquid to come) so you can tear them apart into edible sizes. May require a little soaking time.

Take a mix of italian hot and sweet sausage crumble and brown in a frying pan. The sausage adds all your spices. Of course, you can sub in another meat and whatever spice profile you like. I like italian for this.

Remove from pan. Fry whatever veggies you have in the fat - onion, zucchini, carrots, chopped greens. If you don't have enough fat, add butter or olive oil. Mix all this into your moist bread. At this point, if you need more liquid to make it mushy, add more chicken broth or a little more butter to make it rich.

Put in buttered baking dish. I'd go for 400F for 25 minutes to start and bake covered. Since meat is already cooked, you're just checking the bread consistency. At the end you can broil to crisp the top, maybe with a little parmesan.

Though I haven't done this since I just started putting the heels and stale bits in a covered frying pan with a little water and then frying some eggs next to it, makes an easy, quick breakfast casserole of sorts that has reduced my freezer bag of leftover bread.

From: (Anonymous)

Greetings!

I am down to my last puck of Mitchell’s shave soap and it turns out that Mitchell’s went out of business.

Does anyone have any shave soap suggestions?

Thanks!

From: (Anonymous)

Try Van Der Hagen, https://vanderhagen.com/product/deluxe-shave-soap/ (Available in Northern New York at Kenney Drugs), or Sallye Ander (I think I originally found it at a farmer’s market) https://sallyeander.com/collections/soap?filter.p.m.custom.purpose=Shave&sort_by=best-selling .

AntonyFromWatertown