Just curious who else is living super frugal

[MSDeb]

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I know they say "Never say never," but I really can't see SS checks being neglected - I personally think it's a scare tactic.

Ditto

 

[Rathbone]

I am really interested in making my own chicken feed - I want to save money but also don't exactly trust what is in that bag of crumble. I know that scratch alone isn't a complete diet. I have such a small chicken yard that I know my chickens couldn't possibly get enough bugs to get enough protien without supplementation. I am looking into vermiculture. Anyone here doing that?

 

[WishboneDawn]

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You can use any hand soap you like. I just use whatever's on hand. If it's some Ivory or store brand I got on sale then so be it. Chemically, it's all the same. The only line I'd draw would be a soap with lots of moisturizers. I really think you do need the soap though to handle body oils.

 

[WishboneDawn]

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Is this ONLY laundry soap or can it be used to wash hands and dishes too? Thx!

When I handwash dishes, I do it with just bar soap. I just hold it under the running water for a bit. It doesn't suds up much but then it's not the suds that do the work.

 

[Chick named Lola]

Count me in! Canning, coupons, homemade laundry detergent - kitchen spray and bathroom cleaner. We have a little garden that helps as well. Great idea's on this thread. There are a lot of smart folks here!

 

[Frost Homestead]

We're pretty frugal. I ONLY buy used clothes (except underwear and socks) and I really don't buy anything I don't need. There's no way anyone knows where I bought my clothes and at Salvation Army prices I could care less if they do. We got rid of the clothes dryer, with this Texas heat I can dry my clothes outside in minutes!

Now that's one less thing on my elect. bill.

We do something most might consider drastic, to cut down on the electric bill even more during these hot summer months when the temp. is averaging over 100 everyday. We close all the vents to all the rooms we aren't using, and put up a sheet/partition between the hall and the living room. As long as we aren't expecting any visitors it stays shut and we only pay to cool half the house. It's easy enough to remove it and open the living room vent if we have guests.

We also turned literally 80% of our total backyard space into an organic garden. We have rainwater collection tanks (although we haven't gotten much use out of them lately, TX is in a state of emergency due to drought) So between the eggs from the hens and the veggies from the garden I save money at the store. Plus I know it's all organic and FRESH.

 

[Rathbone]

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We do that too. I have doors between the living room and dining room that pull closed (old house). We just close off that front room and that way are cooling one less big room. It also happens to be the room that gets afternoon sun here so ... every little bit helps.

 

[Rathbone]

I have been looking into wormfarming for a way to supplement my chickens. I live in an area rich in...cockroaches. Not in the house mind you but you can go out at night and look on the lawn of any of our yards and those big sewer roaches are walking around. So...got me thinking. I took some old tupperware and oiled all the interior walls. I used some oil I had cooked onion in. They like the smell. I dug a small hole to fit the shape of the plastic container and placed it in flush with the ground. Worked like a charm ladies and gents. This morning it was full of roaches that climbed in and then couldn't get out. Interestingly - it was also full of geckos. Five geckos to be precise. I hadn't realized we had so many. I suppose they are surviving on ... roaches? Anyway, my chickens got a big protien rich treat this morning.

 

[Frost Homestead]

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We have those big roaches outside here too but thank goodness they seem to be worse where I work than at my house.

The geckos probably are feeding on the young roaches if there are a lot of them. I collected June Bugs for my chickens. Each night during 'swarming season' we would turn the porch light on and the beetles are attracted to it. We used an old jelly jar and popped a hole in the lid big enough to put them through and they casn't get back out. We catch em, and fill up the jar in no time. The next morning when they chickens are awake I go and dump the jar into the run and the chickens go WILD. It's actually really entertaining to watch em gobble em up!

 

[Rathbone]

June bugs sounds soooo much nicer than cockroaches -but I suppose the chickens don't care which snack they get.
I had one of those moments where you smile to yourself. I was imagining myself at my high school reunion. "So...what do you do for fun" they ask me. "Oh I like to set traps for cockroaches and then amuse myself watching the chickens eat them." OMGoodness if they could see me now!