What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[gtaus]

Hubby and I were contemplating getting a fiberglass trailer and doing the travel life once we both retired. It's not going to happen now, so I am investing in what will help me live where I am.

I had an aunt and uncle who talked for years and years about doing the RV life when they retired. But, life happens, they needed money for their grown kids, retirement got pushed out, and by the time they retired my uncle's health was so bad that he was unable to travel. I think he died less than a year after he retired. That was really sad.

Although I am all for living within my means, I hope to enjoy my last years in good health doing things I enjoy. It does not make any sense to me to save all your money for your last years when your health is so bad that you cannot enjoy anything and lots of people lose everything they have to medical expenses. Well, that's what happened to my aunt and uncle.

 

[ChicNmom]

We survived the COVID toilet paper panic buying period, our stock is getting back down to pre-COVID levels, and Dear Wife has forgotten everything. I am back to saying let's stock up on those items when they go on sale, and she is back to saying we don't need any now, so we don't have to buy anything yet. Life is just strange that way.

There have been times that power has been out in our area 3 weeks or more. We always have supplies and buy when things are on sale. That just makes sense to me.

But I have the opposite here. DH is constantly stocking and not rotating or using what he buys. So some of the savings goes out the window if we have to throw out really old food or cook freezer burned meats and feed them to the chickens.

 

[gtaus]

But I have the opposite here. DH is constantly stocking and not rotating or using what he buys. So some of the savings goes out the window if we have to throw out really old food or cook freezer burned meats and feed them to the chickens.

Yeah, for non-perishables, no need to worry about stock rotation. But for food, you have to stay on top of your supply, or it will go bad.

I am not a big fan of buying fresh food in bulk, even if you can freeze it. Dear Wife insisted that we needed a bigger no-frost freezer about a year ago. She is not so good at food rotation, so I was more than happy with the smaller freezer that I had to defrost twice a year. Of course, we got a new upright frost-free freezer almost twice the capacity of the old one, but Dear Wife has not improved much in food rotation.

I help where I can, but that freezer is really her domain. My involvement pretty much ended after I paid for it. Every once in a while, I ask her if there is anything in the freezer that needs to be cooked up before it goes bad - or turns into expensive chicken feed. So, that seems to help her check out the freezer and pull out some of the older stuff and use it up before it goes bad.

It's a great thing to have a backyard flock of chickens. Dear Wife and I have agreed that if we leave food or leftovers too long in the refrigerator, that we can give it to the chickens guilt free. That has been good for us because every so often, something gets shoved into the back of the refrigerator on the bottom shelf and just is lost and forgotten. It may be beyond our human "use before date," but the chickens don't seem to mind, and they consider it a treat. Chickens are great!

 

[gtaus]

I posted yesterday that Harbor Freight is giving away free buckets with a minimum purchase this weekend. I picked up a free bucket yesterday and got another one today. You can never have too many 5-gallon buckets in the garage!

I mentioned that one use for these buckets is that I fill them with chicken feed and put a lid on the bucket to keep out rodents. Each bucket holds 25# of feed. What I forgot to mention is that not only does it keep out the rodents, but for me, the buckets are just so much easier to move around in the garage with a handle - as compared to trying to move 50# bags of feed without any handles. When you get to a certain age, or have any physical challenges, then you begin to appreciate breaking down larger bulk bags of feed into lighter smaller, easier to handle and stack, 5-gallon containers.

Tip for saving money on chicken feed...

Our local Fleet store has chicken feed on sale this week, so I picked up three 50# bags. Not only did I save money by purchasing those bags of chicken feed on sale, but I used some of my store Gift Cards that I purchased, for myself, at 10% off discount. It all adds up, and I saved maybe $3.00 per bag on the purchase today when you add up the various sales and discounts on the Gift Cards.

I don't normally buy any store Gift Cards, but the one exception is our Fleet store because I know I will be buying $$$ of chicken feed throughout the year. So, it just makes sense for me to purchase the Gift Cards at that initial 10% off and then use them later when I buy my chicken feed.

All that feed will be transferred to my free 5-gallon buckets and stacked up in the garage until I need it.

 

[Sally PB]

Although I am all for living within my means, I hope to enjoy my last years in good health doing things I enjoy. It does not make any sense to me to save all your money for your last years when your health is so bad that you cannot enjoy anything and lots of people lose everything they have to medical expenses. Well, that's what happened to my aunt and uncle.

One of my coworkers was making plans for Act II, what he'd do after he retired. He got very sick and died before he retired, and never got to do Act II. That was a wake up call for us.

Hubby and I plan to enjoy our retirement. We don't have children to leave our savings to, so while we won't do anything rash, neither do we want to leave a sizeable amount of money sitting there when we pass on.

The two things keeping us on a straight and narrow are taxes and the threat of needing a bunch of $$$$ medical care.

 

[TooCheep]

I mentioned that one use for these buckets is that I fill them with chicken feed and put a lid on the bucket to keep out rodents. Each bucket holds 25# of feed. What I forgot to mention is that not only does it keep out the rodents, but for me, the buckets are just so much easier to move around in the garage with a handle - as compared to trying to move 50# bags of feed without any handles. When you get to a certain age, or have any physical challenges, then you begin to appreciate breaking down larger bulk bags of feed into lighter smaller, easier to handle and stack, 5-gallon containers.

Tip for saving money on chicken feed...

Our local Fleet store has chicken feed on sale this week, so I picked up three 50# bags.
....
All that feed will be transferred to my free 5-gallon buckets and stacked up in the garage until I need it.

I do this. The buckets are not only good for protecting from rodents, but when properly sealed, will preserve the feed from oxidation better.

Be sure to label the buckets so you know what is in them and the manufacture dates, so you can use them in order.

 

[fuzzi]

I do this. The buckets are not only good for protecting from rodents, but when properly sealed, will preserve the feed from oxidation better.

Be sure to label the buckets so you know what is in them and the manufacture dates, so you can use them in order.

I keep my open bag of feed in the shed, in an aluminum trash can. BUT I fill a 5 gallon bucket with feed as it's easier to distribute without bending way over into the large can.

And I keep some feed in a plastic coffee "can" in the coop/run. It also has a tight lid.

 

[gtaus]

I keep my open bag of feed in the shed, in an aluminum trash can. BUT I fill a 5 gallon bucket with feed as it's easier to distribute without bending way over into the large can.

I used to keep my open feed bags in trash cans as well. I had some extra trash cans so it was a ready solution to keep the rodents out. However, like you mentioned, you have to do a lot of bending over as the feed is removed from the bag to get down to the bottom. Over the years, this has become less tolerable for me.

Also, the trash cans just took up a lot of space in the garage because I had the big round trash cans.

Over a period of time, I have collected a number of free 5-gallon buckets from Harbor Freight. Each bucket holds 25# of feed, or half of a normal feed bag. I stack one bucket on top of the other, so no more bending over to reach the feed. When the top bucket is empty, I move it to the bottom and place the other bucket on top that is full of feed.

I know it's not a big thing, but it just reduces the effort I need to dish out my daily ration of feed for the chickens. Anything I do to reduce bending, at my age, is a benefit. And, if for some reason I need to move my feed around in the garage, picking up a 5-gallon bucket full of feed only weighs 25#. The 5-gallon buckets are much smaller than the trash cans I used before, so I have more free space in my garage for other projects.

If you need to buy some lids for your buckets, then I have found the best deal for the easy off lids at WalMart...

I use those easy off lids for the buckets that I am currently using for feed access. For longer term storage, I use some of my regular lids, but they are pain in the butt to take off.

Unfortunately, I have yet to find any source for free lids for the 5-gallon buckets. But I have enough lids in my collection that I get by. Most uses of my 5-gallon buckets don't need a lid. Mainly, I only use the lids on my chicken feed buckets.

If anyone knows of a place where you can get 5-gallon bucket lids for free, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[TooCheep]

Unfortunately, I have yet to find any source for free lids for the 5-gallon buckets. But I have enough lids in my collection that I get by. Most uses of my 5-gallon buckets don't need a lid. Mainly, I only use the lids on my chicken feed buckets.

If anyone knows of a place where you can get 5-gallon bucket lids for free, please let me know. Thanks.

I switched to resealable Gamma lids. They cost more up front, but easily open/close and can be used pretty much forever. $7 at Menards. I have a total of 6- 4 for storing 2 bags of feed and 2 for other supplies I want to get into periodically.

https://www.menards.com/main/grocer...seal-reg-lid/4122p/p-1527143413204-c-7113.htm

 

[fuzzi]

I used to keep my open feed bags in trash cans as well. I had some extra trash cans so it was a ready solution to keep the rodents out. However, like you mentioned, you have to do a lot of bending over as the feed is removed from the bag to get down to the bottom. Over the years, this has become less tolerable for me.

Also, the trash cans just took up a lot of space in the garage because I had the big round trash cans.

Over a period of time, I have collected a number of free 5-gallon buckets from Harbor Freight. Each bucket holds 25# of feed, or half of a normal feed bag. I stack one bucket on top of the other, so no more bending over to reach the feed. When the top bucket is empty, I move it to the bottom and place the other bucket on top that is full of feed.

I know it's not a big thing, but it just reduces the effort I need to dish out my daily ration of feed for the chickens. Anything I do to reduce bending, at my age, is a benefit. And, if for some reason I need to move my feed around in the garage, picking up a 5-gallon bucket full of feed only weighs 25#. The 5-gallon buckets are much smaller than the trash cans I used before, so I have more free space in my garage for other projects.

If you need to buy some lids for your buckets, then I have found the best deal for the easy off lids at WalMart...

View attachment 3896922

I use those easy off lids for the buckets that I am currently using for feed access. For longer term storage, I use some of my regular lids, but they are pain in the butt to take off.

Unfortunately, I have yet to find any source for free lids for the 5-gallon buckets. But I have enough lids in my collection that I get by. Most uses of my 5-gallon buckets don't need a lid. Mainly, I only use the lids on my chicken feed buckets.

If anyone knows of a place where you can get 5-gallon bucket lids for free, please let me know. Thanks.

The buckets are full price here, $6-$7 plus lid is another $2-$3. Nope.