What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

When we moved into our house 29 years ago, it had an oven and a dishwasher, original to the build in 1980. They're still going.

I have to fill the dishwasher for every cycle, so I know exactly how much water it uses: 4 gallons. We've replaced the burners and heating element on the stove. DH said the next time the burners go, it's time for a new stove, as the couplings (or whatever they are) are getting too brittle to handle.

We needed to buy a fridge, and also got a washer and dryer. (Ya gotta have a fridge nowadays, and the other two were a package deal.) Those three appliances, bought used for $500, delivered and installed. The fridge is still going strong, and so is the dryer. The washer lasted about 10 years, and I said when it went I wanted a front loader. It gets the clothes cleaner, and spins them much drier that the old machine did.

I gotta say, that fridge has to be 40 years old, or more. I bet it really sucks down the electricity, but I'm dreading the day it finally goes. It does not owe us anything. But I keep reading/hearing/seeing how the new models don't last.

I had an old fridge in the basement (came with the house) I only had a little fridge so one winter I thought I would save the hassle of frequent grocery runs by using the big fridge... it was plugged in for One winter, less than 6 months... That fridge cost me $400 of electricity.
I never plugged it in again.
I gave it to the company that recycles fridges in my area.

I use my little fridge and I have a cold room (a plastic bin in the mudroom off the backdoor)

I would buy a new fridge if I need one in the future, that old fridge just ate too much power for me to forgive it.

I suspect the fridges that don't last or have issues are the ones with too many bells and whistles... Don't get one with loads of tricks and you should be fine.

 

[gtaus]

Post some pics when you start working on it we are all voyeurs here you know.

There is an excellent YouTube video on making sub-irrigated planters. I took that concept of the sub-irrigated raised bed and redesigned it. I resized my project to a 2X4 bed raised up on legs. At the time, I was thinking would it be possible to build an elevated planter for people in wheelchairs, where they would not have to bend over to tend the plants. Also, the sub-irrigated concept was to make the planter more self-sustaining. I am happy to say that my elevated sub-irrigated planters are my best ever planter in terms of low maintenance and overall production harvest.

I built my planter out of wood so it would look nice on our decks. Also, I am fairly handy building wood projects, so it worked for me.

First of all, here is the video you requested....

So, I made my sub-irrigated planter up on legs. I lined the inside bottom up to about 6 inches high with pond liner to make the waterproof reservoir. Then I lined the bottom with these 4 inch perforated drain pipes, capping the ends with weed barrier cloth to keep the potting soil out of the drain pipes.

In order for this concept to work, the drain pipes are 4 inches round, so you have to drill an overflow hole at 3 inches. That gives you a 1 inch air gap barrier between the water reservoir full level and the top of the drain pipes. Without that air gap, your plants would drown. Potting soil is simply spread between the drain pipes and the water wicks up through the soil.

In a normal summer, with average rainfall, I only have to refill my sub-irrigated planter about once a month. Of course, that will depend on your local weather. I inserted a PVC pipe for refilling the planter with water. It goes all the way to the bottom. Then I just cut off a slice of water pool noodle and used it as a water level indicator. When the water indicator is flush with the top of the PVC fill tube, it's time to refill the planter. Again, for me, that is maybe only once a month.

My 2X4 foot planter with a 3 inch water reservoir in the bottom holds about 15 gallons of water. The plants drink up water as needed. All I do is check the indicator to check on the status. When I refill my planter, I stick a garden hose into the fill tube and let it run until water starts coming out of the overfill hole.

Here is a picture of my sub-irrigated planter full of bean plants. Because they always have access to water as needed, this 2X4 foot planter produces more beans than I ever got out of my in-ground garden planting 3X or 4X as much space. I'm not a great gardener, but with this system, you can't over water the plants because of the overflow hole. And I don't underwater the plants because I just have to look at the water indicator to see the status of the water reservoir. Nature maintains the correct water soil balance.

The only downside to this planter is that the drain pipes and pond liner add to the expense of the build. When I built my planters, I spent about $50 for the wood and maybe another $25.00 for the drain pipe and pond liner for each planter. For me, it was worth it.

However, in the spirit of this thread and being more frugal, I would suggest that you could make this same planter out of reclaimed lumber or pallet wood, line the wood with feed bags as discussed, and then a much less expensive liner option like a heavy plastic garbage bag. If you don't want to buy perforated drain pipe, you could fill the bottom 4 inches or so with plastic jugs and such with small holes drilled on all sides in them to fill up with water and drain out as needed for the plants.

If you go with a plastic jug option, just make sure you use a heavier plastic container like the thickness that your liquid laundry detergent comes in. The plastic jug has to be strong enough to support the top ~12 inches of potting soil when wet.

I estimate that I could build this type of sub-irrigated planter with free pallet wood, feed bag and garbage bag liner, reusable plastic jugs, and just a 2 foot section of PVC for less than $10.00 total including all the screws to hold everything together. Compare that to paying about $200.00 for a similar planter you might buy at the big box store.

BONUS IDEA: There is a guy on YouTube named Leon who has many videos on making wicking tubs out of different materials. I will link this next video on how he uses plastic tubs with empty plastic milk cartons for his wicking tubs. The advantage to his system is that you really don't need any wood working skills and you can put together one of his wicking tubs in practically no time.

If you like that concept, he has many, many video on his concept but built with slight variations in the materials. So, check out his channel and I'm sure you would find something that would work for you.

Bottom line, if you are willing to learn the concept, you can build your own sub-irrigated planter or wicking tub for pennies on the dollar compared to buying essentially the same thing at a big box store. FWIW, I know that my elevated sub-irrigated planter is a much better build than the kits I see at our local garden centers.

 

[gtaus]

Where I am the electrical company gives me access to an application that shows my consumption per hour of the day, so I can see how much it jumped when I use something.

I bought a Kill-A-Watt meter years ago. It was about $25.00. You just plug in any 110v appliance into the Kill-A-Watt device and you can immediately see how much electricity your appliance uses in real time. Another feature that I really like is that you can zero out the readings, leave your appliance plugged into the device for a day, week, or month and see how much electricity was used in that period. Lets me know if I will really save any money by buying a new appliance, or not. Yes, a new appliance is almost always more efficient, but, being frugal, is paying for a new appliance worth the cost compared to hanging on to the old refrigerator until it dies? The Kill-A-Watt meter helps me make those decisions.

When the time comes to change your water heater check out the ones that don't have a tank. You may have to install two one after the other if they are not very strong and you expect it to be responsive. There are two savings: the electricity it uses, and your house insurance. Tanks can break and flood so insurance costs more if you have a tank. Also, because of insurance contracts you are required to replace it every 10 yrs even if it works fine, but tankless don't have this requirement.

I like to concept of a tankless heater. However, when I checked into getting one, my plumber told me that with my well (hard) water that a tankless system would soon clog up and not work. So, I would have to also install a soft water conditioning system and buy salt by the bags to maintain it. I ended up just getting the conventional water tank but it uses the cheaper Off-Peak electric rate at about half the cost of normal rate. I don't have the additional expense of maintaining a soft water conditioner.

Frugal idea: Flush out that water tank annually like they suggest and your tank will last many years longer.

 

[gtaus]

I washed my spouse's work shirts today, they took less than an hour on hangers in the bathroom.

I am growing barley fodder for the chickens in our second bathroom. No room to hang clothes in there!

Picture of my fodder tower that is now sitting in the bathtub in the second bathroom....

I live in northern Minnesota, and the barley fodder is the only greens that my chickens get to eat for about 6 snow months. They really seem to enjoy the fodder and give me lots of eggs in appreciation. Winters are too long where I live. A little greenage is appreciated by the hens.

On the frugal note, 1 pound of dry barley seed turns into about 5 pounds of green barley fodder. Of course, most of that is water weight. But chickens can digest and absorb more of the fodder nutrients compared to eating dry grain. So it cuts into my winter feed costs while at the same time I think it provides more benefits to the hens. I only recommend it as a supplement to a well-balanced commercial feed diet which they absolutely need for good health and laying productivity.

 

[gtaus]

One winter, less than 6 months... That fridge cost me $400 of electricity.

Old fridges might take a lot of electricity to run and you probably made the right decision in tossing that energy sucker. Again, I recommend the Kill-A-Watt meter which will tell exactly how much that one appliance plugged into it is costing you. I say this because my winter electric bills are 2x-3X more than our summer electric bills, and sometimes other appliances might be contributing more to your winter costs than you think.

Here is another frugal idea.... Depending on where you live, you can use the garage as an auxiliary refrigerator. Some people where I live will have a big Coleman cooler outside in the winter to keep food frozen instead of buying a new freezer for the home.

Back in the day, grandma kept the leftover soup and hotdish casseroles out in the porch in the winter. Well, basically anything that did not have to be at hand in the fridge inside the house. And things that did not matter if they froze.

 

[gtaus]

Pallet are marked with what they have been treated with. Best to get the HT or heat treated ones and avoid the blue and .... one other color can't remember so again, refer to the stamp on pallet.

Colored/dyed/painted pallets are usually commercial rental type pallets that are used over and over again by a company. I don't know if they have toxic chemicals in them, but I don't bother to take them where I pick up my pallets. I only take the natural wood pallets marked HT - heat treated - which are chemical free by law.

 

[TropicalBabies]

https://www.falm.com/pallet-treatme...st be treated to,bugs from country to country.

Yes. With just a little bit more to it I believe.

 

[gtaus]

Speaking of dryers, our old dryer started squeaking something terrible a few months ago. I mean, it was really loud. Dear Wife was all over me to get a new dryer. However, I found some YouTube videos on the possible problem and discovered the bearing on the dryer had dried out and just needed to be replaced. Of course, no parts available locally for the old dryer, but Amazon had the Drum Bearing Kit I needed for my brand dryer for less than $18.00.

It took me just over to an hour to fix the old dryer, and much of that time was spent vacuuming the housing out and cleaning up the lint and dust from 15+ years of use. But the dryer no longer squeaks, and better yet, Dear Wife is silent.

When you know what the problem is, it's amazing how an $18.00 kit and one hour of your time can save you the expense of buying a new dryer for $500.00!

YouTube should be on everyone's frugal life list. I have saved so much money by making simple repairs myself with the help of YouTube videos that years ago I would have never thought of repairing myself.

 

[TropicalBabies]

Speaking of dryers, our old dryer started squeaking something terrible a few months ago. I mean, it was really loud. Dear Wife was all over me to get a new dryer. However, I found some YouTube videos on the possible problem and discovered the bearing on the dryer had dried out and just needed to be replaced. Of course, no parts available locally for the old dryer, but Amazon had the Drum Bearing Kit I needed for my brand dryer for less than $18.00.

It took me just over to an hour to fix the old dryer, and much of that time was spent vacuuming the housing out and cleaning up the lint and dust from 15+ years of use. But the dryer no longer squeaks, and better yet, Dear Wife is silent.

When you know what the problem is, it's amazing how an $18.00 kit and one hour of your time can save you the expense of buying a new dryer for $500.00!

YouTube should be on everyone's frugal life list. I have saved so much money by making simple repairs myself with the help of YouTube videos that years ago I would have never thought of repairing myself.

X2! We use it also for many auto etc repairs or affirmations. LoVE the dryer repair for $18

 

[gtaus]

View attachment 3370676https://www.falm.com/pallet-treatment/#:~:text=Pallets must be treated to,bugs from country to country.

Yes. With just a little bit more to it I believe.

Great visual. Thanks. I only take the natural wood pallets, and they are all marked HT - heat treated. Good thing I had no interest in those colored pallets which I might see from time to time, but not too many where I live and get my pallets.