What did you do to save $ today?

[me&thegals]

Well, of course you will have to post that famous cabbage-free coleslaw recipe!!

 

[freemotion]

Here it is...... http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1832

Enjoy!

 

[me&thegals]

Thanks, free!

My extended family is celebrating Mother's Day this weekend. I'm making maple-walnut biscotti and orange truffles for my sisters and sis-in-laws and weaving a lidded feather basket for my mom. So nice gifts just at the cost of my materials.

 

[Okiemommy]

[quotePlanning meals two weeks in advance.....I can barely plan them a day in advance!quote]

I know what you mean!!! I felt that way for so long!! Years now in fact. DH and I have decided to get rid of all of our debt, so along with that comes trimming down our expenses, and taking a realistic look at what we are spending every month, including on groceries. The lightbulb came on a while back that I should try to plan my meals because everyone says that it saves money

Since I am easily overwhelmed by change, I decided to just get some 3x5 cards and list the day of the week at the upper left hand corner, the date next to that, and a little lower and on the right the name of the meal or dish. Then I just thought of all the meals that my family likes. I kept going until I had the first two weeks worth of meals! It was that easy! I wish I had tried this before

Then I went back to the cards and listed all of the ingredients needed to make the meal to make sure that I had them. The ones I didn't have, I added to the grocery list. This eliminated the guess work of trying to estimate how much of this or that food that I would need for the next two weeks. That had always been one of the things that stressed me out so much was estimation of what we would need for the week because we always either ran out, or had too much of one thing or another.

I'm sure that's still going to happen, but not on the scale that it did.

I think I'm going to start a thread about this

 

[freemotion]

I finished the day by making a batch of liquid dishwasher soap.....well, it is more of a paste. I put peels from 2.5 lemons that I'd saved along with a nasty but not moldy grapefruit in the blender with some water, then added borax and washing soda. Warning, it gets lumpy, stir fast or use a potato masher. There was some kind of chemical reaction, because my lovely lemon-grapefruit smell is gone and the mix is dark orange! I put some in the dishwasher, it is running now, and the rest went into two plastic containers (from the livers from today's catfood batch, the rest will be saved for transplanting seedlings into) and into the fridge.

Don't try this recipe at home! Although my dishes came out just as clean as with the "green bottle" stuff, without the chemical smell all over them, this morning I went to do another load of dishes and the mixture was solid as a rock in the plastic containers! It looked like it was frozen, with crystals and all, but it wasn't. The nice citrus smell was back, but it was a solid brick. Rats. It seemed like a good idea at the time!

The powdered version does not work in my dishwasher. When I put it in the little compartment with the door that pops open during the proper cycle, it is also solid and doesn't dissolve. It is a cheap dishwasher, though. It is about 7 years old and I actually want it to die so I can justify getting a better one.

 

[miss_thenorth]

I finished the day by making a batch of liquid dishwasher soap.....well, it is more of a paste. I put peels from 2.5 lemons that I'd saved along with a nasty but not moldy grapefruit in the blender with some water, then added borax and washing soda. Warning, it gets lumpy, stir fast or use a potato masher. There was some kind of chemical reaction, because my lovely lemon-grapefruit smell is gone and the mix is dark orange! I put some in the dishwasher, it is running now, and the rest went into two plastic containers (from the livers from today's catfood batch, the rest will be saved for transplanting seedlings into) and into the fridge.

Don't try this recipe at home! Although my dishes came out just as clean as with the "green bottle" stuff, without the chemical smell all over them, this morning I went to do another load of dishes and the mixture was solid as a rock in the plastic containers! It looked like it was frozen, with crystals and all, but it wasn't. The nice citrus smell was back, but it was a solid brick. Rats. It seemed like a good idea at the time!

The powdered version does not work in my dishwasher. When I put it in the little compartment with the door that pops open during the proper cycle, it is also solid and doesn't dissolve. It is a cheap dishwasher, though. It is about 7 years old and I actually want it to die so I can justify getting a better one.

Thanks for being the guinea pig! I don't use my dishwasher, so I didn't try it.

 

[FarmerDenise]

I mostly did little things to save money in the near future. I transplanted pepper plants into bigger pots, and replanted a bunch of herbs and greens that did not come up. I started pulling up my chard that is bolting and fed it to the chicks. Planted my beets and pulled the plants that SO is calling a weed and fed it to the chickens, before he pulls it and throws it out. I planted it (vetch) in order to improve the soil and to feed the chickens. I also harvested mustard seed from our field. So far I have about two cups of it. I want to try and make my own brown mustard.
I had to throw out my ACV experiment. I got moldy. So I tossed it in a spot where I might like an apple tree in the future, since there were a lot of seeds in it.
I might do some mending tonight, but I also want to finish my logs of all the new chicks we have. I took photos of each one of them yesterday.

 

[Okiemommy]

Speaking of mending, does anyone here darn socks? My grandma taught me how to do it when I was little, and I have been thinking about it lately, because we have several pairs of holey socks that we could just mend instead of throw away...would it be different with cotton socks? I only learned how to mend/saw her mend the dress socks.

 

[freemotion]

I admit that I rarely darn socks anymore. I am super-sensitive to the feeling of the darned spot, which is usually in the heel or toe. So I only darn a sock if it is brand-new, material still thick, and maybe the toe seam let go. Otherwise, they are re-purposed. I find it saves to buy a zillion socks at once, all the same, then when they start to go, I can toss them one at a time and they will find a mate again before too long.

Or wear mismatched socks around the house! As long as they are the same thickness and height, I don't mind. And I won't tell on you....

 

[Okiemommy]

Or wear mismatched socks around the house! As long as they are the same thickness and height, I don't mind. And I won't tell on you.... :wink

lol

I have sock sensitivities too...I was thinking it might be something that I would be able to handle either