Ditter43

Recycle, repurpose, reuse!! My DH and I both try to reuse everything we can. I am always looking for ways to repurpose things. It becomes a habit. We both drive old vehicles and do our own repairs at home.
We buy used clothing and shop yard sales and thrift stores. Most of our furniture was used. I have reupholstered chairs and sofas, make my own curtains and drapes. I can paint and wallpaper, do home repairs, finish drywall and use power tools. I put skylights in our house and an exaust fan in the attic. I have never been afraid to tackle any job.
Now that I'm getting older, I've had to slow down on some things I used to do. I am happy to say we own our home and are debt free. It's a good feeling.
Our current project is building a large greenhouse and raised beds. We are planning to get chickens again when the weather warms up some. I can and make jams and jellies. I make my own biscuits and cornbread. We buy bread from the bread store. :D

MadQuilter

I grew up with "frugal" and have enough to last me a lifetime.

alderdweller

I love this thread. I coupon. I cook most of my own bread, buy 25 llb of flour at a time from Sams. Much cheaper that way. Make my own biscuits. Cook almost everything we eat.
I cut and color my own hair. Don't buy expensive clothes.
Reuse plastic storage bags, and use my soap until it's gone.
Drive a 10 year old Impala.
I'm sure I do lots more that I can't remember.
We also travel a fair amount and I do keep my house warm (73 degrees) because I absolutely freeze to death. So, I am not completely a miser, but saving money on some things allows us more money to enjoy on things we enjoy.

sherriequilts

i found out by accident that the Swiffer dusting sheets can be washed and reused when a couple turned up in the dryer with a load of wash!

DonnaJ

I also reuse and recyle. I stopped by paper plates several years ago, use less liquid detergent and wash laundry in (mainly)cold water. I shop with reusable shopping bags and try to combine any errands or shopping trips so I don't waste gas. All my lightbulbs in the house are energy saving bulbs and my heat is set at 63 degrees. I bought water saver shower head and that's made a big difference in the water bill. Thanks for sharing all of your frugal tips. I always feel so good when I know I'm saving $$ and/or recycling.

moonrise

Here's my recipe for homemade laundry soap, but mine's the dry version. There's also a liquid/gel version (can Google the recipe), but I haven't tried it since the recipe usually says to make it in a 5-gallon bucket. I don't have that much space! LOL! ;)

You'll need:

A bar of Fels Naptha laundry soap. I've used other brands in the past, such as Octogon bar soap and even regular Ivory soap (the kind you'd use to bathe in). They all seem to work well. Finely grate the bar of soap ... the finer, the better, so they'll dissolve faster.

2 cups of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. Not baking soda. It must be washing soda, and it's usually found in the laundry aisle. It can sometimes be hard to find, though. I ordered a bunch of it from Drugstore.com (no affiliation) when they had a free shipping deal going.

2 cups of 20 Mule Team borax powder, which is also found in the laundry aisle. Our Walmart carries it.

Mix it all together.

Use 1 tablespoon for a regular load, or 2 tablespoons for a heavily-soiled load.

A batch of it'll last a long, long time ... and you'll have extra washing soda and borax left for next time. I haven't actually measured it, but you can probably get 4-5 batches per box. :)

Ah-ha! I just looked. Drugstore.com still has their free-shipping-over-$25 deal going, and they still carry the washing soda. Link: http://www.drugstore.com/qxp194866/a...h=washing+soda

Ramona Byrd

As for buying things new, I go against most advice and get the best I can afford, and rely on Consumer's Reports for a lot of advice. Some things are far to expensive to buy cheaply!! But you have to know the difference.
I have a few nice things...but what I wear are well fitting jeans and pretty, heavy sweaters that I like. And the necessary heavy lace up cowboy lace up ropers that I must have for long term standing due to a long ago broken ankle. These must be bought new, no source of used ones for them!!
Cut my own hair and dye it...when did I get so much gray in it??
I can't be THAT old!!
Grow a lot of my dear, smart little hillbilly Grandma's "forever" plants in my back yard. Lots of veggies will come back forever
if you cut off the root end and replant it. Onions, leeks, chives, garlic, all the onion family will, and probably most of the other underground ones as well as lots others. I'm going to try carrots and other stuff this year. They can grow in with flowers and might keep lots of insects away at the same time. I train tomatoes and other sprawling plants up against the wood fence, they grow marvelously that way. I use strips of old panty hose to tie them, it won't strangle plants but will stretch as they grow.
I dig up wild lettuce, dandelion, purslane and other extremely valuable food plants like that and replant them in my back yard. My turtle loves them too..have to block him from the purslane especially. He'll even dig up and eat the roots!!

Ramona Byrd

And I store my flour in half gallon canning jars to keep it fresher.
I warm the jar briefly in the oven and also the lids, then cap immediately as if I was canning it. Smaller amounts I freeze but don't have a large freezer now or it all would be frozen, as I do small amounts of corn meal I get from health food stores. Since I make my own it pays to get good stuff that large families can't afford.
Buy large amounts of white terry cloths from CostCo cheaply and use them for dishes, cleaning, on the swifter copy I got somewhere, and bleach, bleach and wash till they are ready to toss in the stuffing box. The stuffing is used in doggy beds for friends with elderly and large pets. Old corduroy pants from yard sales works very well for this.

quilting cat

I roll up the aluminum foil off Hershey's kisses and drop it into a pop can to be recycled. May not be saving ME anything, but every litter bit helps save the planet!

Pam H

Wow, love this thread.
I don't use paper plates or paper napkins.....unless it is the handful of napkins the waitress brought to the table and I take home because I know they will get thrown out. We buy used cars. The thermostat is at 65. I use newspapers to keep the weeds down. All vegetable trimmings and egg shells go for compost. Do all errands in 1 trip to town. Try to run dishwasher and washing machine only with full loads. I used to hang all laundry on the clothesline but now we live in the woods. Turn off lights. I'm sure there are a lot more I'm not thinking of right now.