How thrifty are you?

[Buff Hooligans]

Clothes are WAY TOO EXPENSIVE. Especially for something you can drip salad dressing on and ruin for good!

So I buy 95% of my clothing from local thrift stores, and if you ask me, I'm dressed pretty nicely. I actually have to dress nicely because I work in a law office and corporate aviation consulting firm. Yesterday I wore a little black dress that got me compliments everywhere I went, and I paid $3 for it the day before. (I'd rather be in jeans and t-shirt, but that's another story.)

So that's my idea of being thrifty.

 

[newnanchic]

Yard Sales are a girls best friend !!! I bought my neighbor a used fridge for $75.00 and it been used for 2 years now. What a deal !!! I also bought a chicken feeder and waterer (metal kind) not long ago for 1.00 each What a deal. I have been buying used pet carriers lately and making nest boxes out of them. If you take them apart you get 2 out of each one. and I only paid 1.50 for it.

 

[lovemychicks9]

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Sorry chickcreww but I get nothing when I click them except a message saying the session has expired and please login again. Even though I am logged into yahoo, I think they want you to log in. Can you give another link?

 

[Acre of Blessings]

Here is the laundry detergent recipe I use..........

Homemade laundry detergent. This fills a 200 ounce detergent bottle. Please read all instructions before making.

What you Need:
1/3 Bar ZOTE soap (you can get this on the spanish isle at Dollar General for $1 a bar and you get 3 helpings from it)
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax (you can get this at you local grocer for about $3 in the cleaners isle)
1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (this should be near the Borax for about $3)
3 Quarts of boiling water (you will also need 5 more quarts of boiling water)
Big "old" pot

Directions:
Put 3 quarts of water in the pot and bring to a boil. Grate soap into the water and stir until melted. Add Borax and stir until dissolved and then add the washing soda and stir until dissolved. Cook for about 1 hour until it begins to resemble honey (it will stay pink). Put 1 quart of boiling water in a 5 gallon bucket and then add the mixture and mix well. Add 4 more quarts of boiling water and mix well. Let stand for 12 hours before using. Let cool for a couple of hours and then you can use the top of a milk jug for a funnel and fill your detergent bottle. Pour slowly. When it is set it will resemble chicken fat, but don;t be concerned, you can put some in a small pot and heat it up slowly on the stove top and bring it back to a liquid. This is what I do because I have a front load washer and it works well for me. Use 1/2 to 3/4 cup per load.

If you would like to have a scent, just add about 10 drops of any essential oil that you may have.

This is a low sudsing detergent which is great because it helps lengthen the life of your washer.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

We make feeders and waterers out of almost anything we can. We have two out of old gallon milk jug containers. We also have some made out of 5 gallon pickle buckets my DH gets from work for free. I have cage feeders out of PVC and I'm working on cage waterers out of PVC.

I made my first roost out of bamboo that grows on my mother's property. I plan on making some more. I'm also thinking of trying to make lightweight chicken tractors out of bamboo. The stuff grows like crazy.

We also use 5 gallon buckets to raise maggots(yes, maggots). What you do is take a 5 gallon bucket and drill holes in the sides and bottom. Put a little bit of leaf material to cover the bottom. Then stick a dead rotting animal(roadkill, dead chicken predator, kitchen scraps, etc.). Flies fly in through the holes lay eggs, when the eggs hatch the larvae fall through the holes and the chickens below gobble them up. Great way for free protein and using up those rotting carcasses. I have a family of foxes I need to throw in them this week. Of course, I wouldn't suggest this if your coop was too near your house(or you neighbors. LOL)

I also raise mealworms out in the shed. They are a great way for cheap protein(not free) and a way to get rid of those old fruits and vegetables in the kitchen. I just dumped a bag of potato peels in mine.

I also have minnows in our horse water buckets and our ponds. Minnows are cheap(we caught ours in the pond) and they breed quite well especially in a predator free environment like a livestock waterer. They eat mosquito larvae(

) and whatever else falls into the waterers. When there gets to be to many, I scoop 'em out and throw them to the chickens. Who absolutely LOVE them!

We use our horses to mow them lawn and just scoop up any resulting piles of manure.

We fertilize our garden with free chicken poo.

We buy whole corn and whole oats from the local farmer who sells it in bigger bags(85-100lbs) for considerably cheaper than any feedstore.

I'm also working on getting scrap meat from the local butcher for the Fly Buckets and for the chickens and dogs to munch on. It usually comes all mixed up, so you have to be careful not to feed poultry bones to the pooches.

We collect old fence and wood. Our wood pile is not fire wood but leftover lumber from all over the place. We collect anything we deem usable. Unfortunately this makes one corner of the yard look just a tad trashy. LOL

If I remember anything else I'll be sure to post it later! I know we have done some more, just can't think of it right now.

-Kim

 

[Acre of Blessings]

Here is the fabric softner I use......Please Follow Directions Carefully


What you need:
1 cup baking soda
6 cup white distilled vinegar
8 cup warm water
10-15 drops of essential oil (optional) for scent
1 gallon empty container ( I use an old fabric softner jug)

Directions: FOLLOW CAREFULLY
1.) Put soda in container
2.) Add 1 cup warm water and swish
3.) Add 6 cups of vinegar A LITTLE AT A TIME because it will foam up quick (all I do is swish it around in the jug).
4.) Add 7 cups of warm water and swish some more. MAKE SURE TO VENT IT.
5.) Add essential oils (optional) for scent

Store and use as you would use store bought. Hope this helps you save some money. I just go ahead and stock up on the ingredients for both the detergent and softner.

 

[Beekissed]

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Here is the recipe for laundry detergent that my wife made. She got it off some website I can't remember, but it is posted on our family blog, it also has pics of the process (link in sig. post date april 6, 2008)

1-Buy laundry soap bar (regular ol' ivory soap works too---one guy even uses Lever 2000--any bar soap), washing soda (not baking soda) and borax. This involves a *slight* investment (about the same as one bottle of ready made laundry detergent), but the ingredients last you a LONG time.
2-If you have laundry soap, use 1/3 of the bar. If you use regular soap, use the whole bar. Grate the soap (just use a regular cheese grater). I missed a pic of this part because the camera batteries were recharging. Mix soap with 4 cups of water over medium high heat until soap *completely* dissolves
3-Mix in 3/4 c. of Borax and 3/4 c. of washing soda. It gets kinda thick at this point. Stir to dissolve completely
4-Put 4 cups hot water (just the hottest from the tap) in an appropriate sized bucket. Stir in your detergent mixture, then add another 1.5 gallons (6 quarts) of hot water. Stir and let sit. You're done!

It works great and is way cheap.

peace
josh

Now, I take it this recipe for a top loader washer....will the soap work the same and how much do you use for a front loader washer?

My laundry recipe is similar but makes more:

1/2 bar Felsnaptha soap, grated
1/2 c. Borax
1/2 c. A&H washing soda
6 qt. water

Place ingredients into water, heat until soap is melted, stirring occasionally. Simmer about 10 min.
Separate mixture into two 1 gal. containers (I use the SUN brand bottles of liquid laundry detergent as the pour spouts remove easily and you can fit your canning funnel in the opening). Fill to top with tap water, shake vigorously, let sit for 24 hours before using.

The soap will have a weird consistency, with gelatin-like clumps that break up if you shake the container. These dissolve readily in the wash water. The soap will not suds. I just use one capful (the handy measuring cup on the tops of the SUN detergent bottles!) to a large load. It smells heavenly while you are making it and using it but does not leave scent on the clothing.....just a very fresh smell. I have found this detergent leaves your clothing softer than others. I can line dry and the clothing does not get stiff.

I also use the blue dryer balls instead of fabric softener...they work wonderful, I don't have static, and I have used the same pair for over a year now and still going strong.

 

[newnanchic]

I can't find washing soda a round here !!! Went to wal-mart and to Kroger. Where are ya'll getting it at ???????

 

[roosters97]

A plastic box for nesting

 

[Backyard Buddies]

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And I blamed it on your uncle!!! Geez. I better get those cans over to you and get in line!