What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[fuzzi]

Just a DIY, using what I had on hand.

Shed #2 has a door that slowly opens all the way, either hitting the side of the shed or my new rain barrel. It's not good for the hinges, either.

So, using two hooks and an old stretched out bungee cord I created a temporary but working solution:

I think a chain would work better, but I didn't have any on hand, nor did I want to waste gas going to the store to purchase one item. Eventually I will upgrade it.

 

[alwaystj9]

I go to the next step....after the covered elastic rots,I drill out the hooks. I use these all over my farm. As a hose or cord wrap & hanger, holding gates open, temporary latches. They are weatherproof & adjustable (tie more knots).
Do I get extra points for the BYC mousepad?)

 

[fuzzi]

I go to the next step....after the covered elastic rots,I drill out the hooks. I use these all over my farm. As a hose or cord wrap & hanger, holding gates open, temporary latches. They are weatherproof & adjustable (tie more knots).
Do I get extra points for the BYC mousepad?)
View attachment 3934745

Looks like straw bale string, too.


The bungee cord I am using has plastic hooks but I will try to use it until everything disintegrates.

 

[gtaus]

I go to the next step....after the covered elastic rots,I drill out the hooks. I use these all over my farm. As a hose or cord wrap & hanger, holding gates open, temporary latches. They are weatherproof & adjustable (tie more knots).

I have lots of bungee cords that sun rot and fall apart over the summer. I always keep the metal hook ends. I was going to make new bungee cords by buying the bungee rope and reusing the old hooks. But when I did the math on the bungee rope, it was actually cheaper to just buy new packs of bungee cords when they go on sale.

I still keep the hooks with the idea of like what you did - use the hooks with twine. In my case, every once in a while, I will stop at the load out and tie down lane at Menards and help myself to some free tie down twine. That white twine is good for lots of stuff...

You can use that twine for drop down lines for your tomatoes. When I had an in-ground garden, I would stretch a 20 or 30 foot length of twine to make my rows straight for planting.

When I started building raised beds, I used that twine to lay out the straight lines to keep my beds on the mark. In my pallet wood raised beds, I use the twine to mark off my Square Foot Garden 1X1 foot sections.

I always keep one or two balls of that free twine in all my cars and pickup. If I have to haul something with the trailer, it makes a nice temporary tie down to prevent things from flying out.

I used some of that twine to make lanyards for hanging up my yard tools in the shed. It makes a great temporary lanyard, but in the past few years I have started using zip ties as lanyards. I have packs and packs of zip ties that I got for free from Harbor Freight. Zip ties are great, but they are nowhere as useful if you need a long stretch of cord.

Menards is one of my main stops when I go to town, so getting some free twine on my way out is just a bonus.

 

[Smokerbill]

My son and I replace the awning fabric on my trailer Saturday. I'm going to reuse the old awning fabric as a windblock to cover the seven foot tall hardware cloth wall on the north side of the chicken run when it gets cold.

I used scrap pieces of OSB (oriented strand board) last winter. It worked but made things dark inside the run. Some light will be able to pass through the old awning, so better for the chickens.

 

[Sally PB]

so getting some free twine on my way out is just a bonus.

Well, I'm going to get some of that twine next time we go to Menard's! I sure have lots of uses for it too.

 

[gtaus]

Food Compost Shredder Options!

Or...

 

[BDutch]

. I just got a new Samsung Tracfone smart phone with 1 year service,

What was the release year? How many years do they update security?

My aunt bought a refurbished Samsung last year. She didn’t get security updates anymore and had to buy a new one bc it was not safe to use. Sometime buying cheap is more expensive than buying expensive. A new iPhone release has 5 years software updates and another 5 years security updates.

 

[gtaus]

What was the release year [of the Tracfone]? How many years do they update security?

My aunt bought a refurbished Samsung last year. She didn’t get security updates anymore and had to buy a new one bc it was not safe to use. Sometime buying cheap is more expensive than buying expensive. A new iPhone release has 5 years software updates and another 5 years security updates.

I usually buy the cheapest Tracfone on QVC. From what I can tell, the phone itself is probably last year's model but it has the current Android version release software.

But it comes with one year of phone service, in my case, for only $65.00 which includes 1,500 mins of talk, 1,500 text messages, and 1.5 GB of data. That's more mins of talk and text then I would ever use. I could burn through more data, but I use my home Wi-Fi almost exclusively.

I buy a new TracFone every year from QVC because it's cheaper than just buying additional 1 year service plans from TracFone. QVC has some special with TracFone and sell stuff cheaper than TracFone will itself.

Basically, I get a new phone every year for about $65.00 with enough talk and text that I would ever use. It's not a plan for everybody. In comparison, I know a guy that pays $200 per month for 5 phones but they have unlimited talk, text, and data. I just don't have that need for unlimited talk or text and the data I use can be accessed on my home Wi-Fi. So, the QVC TracFones work for me.

In reality, I mainly use my Android phone as an MP3 player and a camera to take pictures to post here on BYC forums. I am forced to use my smartphone for some banking needs, like scanning in deposits. I also have apps for stores that I shop and use the My List features to save items I want to buy. But I don't live my life centered around a smartphone like it appears so many kids today do.

 

[BDutch]

I am forced to use my smartphone for some banking needs, like scanning in deposits. I also have apps for stores that I shop and use the My Lis…

This is the reason why you need a secure (security updated) phone.
Also important : do not use a public WIFI logging in, automatic or using passwords.