Frugal Ideas and Household Hints

[thefadedone]

This site has a great list of ideas on how to make your food last longer without spoiling. http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/27-ways-to-make-your-groceries-last-as-long-as-pos?s=mobile

Very informative. I already do some of those things but others I had never heard of. Thanks for the link.

 

[ledboots]

I had never heard of plastic wrap on the ends of bananas, I did that right away, , we will see if they last longer.

 

[VeggieLady]

I love to fill up my crock pot with beans. I buy them in a large bag for relatively cheap, dump the entire bag in my crock pot, cover with two inches (above the beans) water and leave it until they are soft and the water is mostly gone. If there's some water it's not a big deal, just use a slotted spoon. Then I scoop the beans into freezer bags. It makes three to four times as many beans as I got in the bag, for the same price as two or three cans. Also, I save the left over liquid to make gravy.

I like to do batches of mixed bean types for Chili. Sometimes I also make huge batches of chili and can it, like I do with Chutney and Orange-Cranberry Relish.

**NOTE** Kidney beans still need to be BOILED for at least 10 minutes!

 

[Limes]

Lately I've started showering at the gym. Free water and body wash/shampoo with the membership I'm already paying for.
I've also started utilizing the kitchen space at my work. I stocked up a drawer with enough ingredients to always be able to make a sandwich or salad, and have fresh fruit and tea. I had a terrible habbit of getting fast food for every lunch simply because I'm living in a basement suite with a shared kitchen I'd rather not have to use.
I also get a lot of questions about tofurkey when I start putting it all together .

 

[AeryFairy]

boyfriend and I are keeping up some of the christmas LED fairy lights around the windows, to turn on instead of turning on the lamps/main lights. A lot of the lights in our flat aren't energy-saving (because they can't be converted), and the LED bulbs in the fairy lights use next to no electricity.

 

[ledboots]

boyfriend and I are keeping up some of the christmas LED fairy lights around the windows, to turn on instead of turning on the lamps/main lights. A lot of the lights in our flat aren't energy-saving (because they can't be converted), and the LED bulbs in the fairy lights use next to no electricity.

I have these in my screened porch, and they look adorable as well as being cheap lighting!

 

[Limes]

I've always thought that christmas lights were expensive to run, thats why I never bought any!

 

[AeryFairy]

I've always thought that christmas lights were expensive to run, thats why I never bought any!

Traditional bulb ones are, but LEDs hardly use any electricity our tv is LED, and it uses £5 of electricity a year if you use it for four hours a day. The lights have cost us basically nothing to run and we've had them on every evening

 

[CrazyCatLady]

Does anyone make their own cleaning products? I've heard vinegar can be used as a 50:50 mix with water as an all purpose cleaner, and can be used to unblock drains...with baking soda or powder or something like that? xxx

 

[ledboots]

Does anyone make their own cleaning products? I've heard vinegar can be used as a 50:50 mix with water as an all purpose cleaner, and can be used to unblock drains...with baking soda or powder or something like that? xxx

Vinegar works for a million things! I keep a spray bottle with very diluted vinegar to clean the mirrors and glass, and a stronger mixture for the counters, etc. For slow drains, pour some baking soda in the drain, then pour in vinegar and cover it up really fast and hold with a plastic lid or whatever fits tightly. The baking soda and vinegar foam up like crazy when mixed, and when you cover the drain, it foams down into the clog, hopefully blasting it away.

 

[CrazyCatLady]

Vinegar works for a million things! I keep a spray bottle with very diluted vinegar to clean the mirrors and glass, and a stronger mixture for the counters, etc. For slow drains, pour some baking soda in the drain, then pour in vinegar and cover it up really fast and hold with a plastic lid or whatever fits tightly. The baking soda and vinegar foam up like crazy when mixed, and when you cover the drain, it foams down into the clog, hopefully blasting it away.

Excellent. I have a spare spray bottle so il use that for my new general purpose cleaner :-D ...does it leave it smelling like vinegar though?

Il give the drain cleaner a go. Sounds exciting lol. Stupid question, but is baking soda the same as baking powder :-S having a moment lol xxx

 

[ledboots]

Excellent. I have a spare spray bottle so il use that for my new general purpose cleaner :-D ...does it leave it smelling like vinegar though?

Il give the drain cleaner a go. Sounds exciting lol. Stupid question, but is baking soda the same as baking powder :-S having a moment lol xxx

Yes, my bathroom smells of salad dressing when I clean, lol but it doesn't linger. Ants are reportedly repelled by vinegar on surfaces, too. Probably the smell.

In the US we call it baking soda, and baking powder is something different. I remember a discussion about this before; I feel like it is called something different in other places.

 

[Limes]

I buy produce, tofu and soy milk at the Asian market. It comes to as little as half the price of a regular grocety chain. I also shop at Safeway (not sure if these are Canada only) on the first Tuesday of the month they give 10% off your whole purchase if its over a certain amount! I can't remember if its $30 or $50 but either way I've never had trouble reaching the minimum. and they always have awesome sales too.

 

[thefadedone]

I've always thought that christmas lights were expensive to run, thats why I never bought any!

Traditional bulb ones are, but LEDs hardly use any electricity our tv is LED, and it uses £5 of electricity a year if you use it for four hours a day. The lights have cost us basically nothing to run and we've had them on every evening

I had no idea about the non LED traditional Christmas lights. I keep a string of them up in my bedroom all year long.

 

[CrazyCatLady]

For those who use vinegar for cleaning, where do you buy it from and how much does it cost (UK)? As I can't imagine il save much money if I use my vinegar that goes on my chips lol xxx

 

[ledboots]

For those who use vinegar for cleaning, where do you buy it from and how much does it cost (UK)? As I can't imagine il save much money if I use my vinegar that goes on my chips lol xxx

In the US, I use white vinegar like this (but store brand.) It's cheap, maybe $4 a gallon.

 

[shyvas]

For those who use vinegar for cleaning, where do you buy it from and how much does it cost (UK)? As I can't imagine il save much money if I use my vinegar that goes on my chips lol xxx

Distilled vinegar can be purchased at Tesco's or Sainsbury's. I pay 35 cts for a litre bottle overhere.
Don't use if for your chips as it tastes awful.

 

[mary1]

Lately I've started showering at the gym. Free water and body wash/shampoo with the membership I'm already paying for.
.

I used to do that too!! Then I got lazy and stopped going to the gym. I have an annual pass that doesn't expire until this April though. I should start going to the gym again if only to use the shampoo!!

 

[CrazyCatLady]

My £4.50 hair wash, cut and style. Done at the local college :-D xxx

 

[shyvas]

My £4.50 hair wash, cut and style. Done at the local college :-D xxx

View attachment 1548

Wow ! Fabulous.
I have contacted a few hairdressers that come to your home. However none of them agree if you don't spend a minimum of €60 !