What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[LizzzyJo]

Not that I’m aware of. There was an agreement many moons ago about how water would be distributed, but it’s outdated. California uses the most water from the river, but they didn’t agree that they should make the most cuts. They pointed to the agriculture in the other states as the reason, but there’s plenty in California too. I know California is further along in their water restrictions in many parts of the state, but it’s rare to find a green lawn here for the most part whereas it’s quite prevalent in California. And people can water those lawns which is insane. Communities in AZ pay residents to switch to xeriscape options if they do have a lawn. Still, the UAE has a farm here that grows hay for their horses, and there are golf courses and such that could go as far as I’m concerned. Have that stuff in southeast where there’s naturally more rain ya know?

Regardless, it’s a scary thing to think about!

Very interesting. Thanks for the info. It does seem odd that huge resorts with fountains keep popping up in the desert where the locals already struggle.

 

[igorsMistress]

Are you talking about "free" buckets, or buckets you have to pay for? Where I live, we pay about $5.00 for a 5-gallon bucket and another $2.50 for a lid.

I have not found a source to get free buckets. That would be the best, of course.

My frugal alternative to paying full price for a bucket is to wait for the bucket sales at Harbor Freight and our local Fleet store. Usually HF gives you a "free" bucket with a minimum purchase, but if you are a Harbor Freight Inside Track Club Member, sometimes you get a free bucket just for visiting the store. Our Fleet store has bucket sales where you buy a bucket for 1/2 off, but then you get maybe a 10% or 15% discount for anything you can fit into the bucket.

The trick to taking advantage of those "free" bucket sales is to have a list of items that you will need now, or in the future, and have that list ready to buy some items when those bucket sales come around. If you end up buying $15 of stuff you don't need just to get a "free" bucket, then I would say that is not too frugal.

In the past 6 months, I think I managed to get about seven 5-gallon buckets for "free" just buying things I use all the time. There are many uses for those 5-gallon buckets, but lately I have been using them to hold my chicken feed, scratch, and cracked corn. Each 5-gallon bucket holds just over half a 50# bag of feed. With a good lid on top, the buckets are basically water and mouse proof. Plus, it's easier to handle a 25# 5-gallon bucket than trying to lift or move a 50# bag of feed. Another advantage is that the 5-gallon buckets can easily be stacked one on top of another, thereby saving me lots of room in my garage.

BTW, the buckets I have been getting for "free" on those bucket sales are stamped with food grade safe recycle markings. IIRC, you can use #2, #4, and #5 recycle marking codes for food grade safe storage.

Bakeries and other food type places may give them to you, or sell them really cheap. Our Walmart carries food grade white buckets, I think they’re three or four bucks each, lids are $1.57 or something like that.

Unfortunately I can’t use white buckets, they let light in and will allow algae to grow.

 

[gtaus]

You can sometimes get free buckets from bakeries or delis. Just ask. They often get frosting or pickles in those buckets and don't have any good use for them afterwards. You just have to clean them out.

I don't live in town, but it would be nice to find out if a person could pick up some free food safe buckets.

The #2/etc. is necessary, but not sufficient to be "food grade". It is important that it not just be an acceptable material, but that it has never had nasty chemicals in there before.

Quite right. I was talking about new 5-gallon buckets that I have been picking up at those bucket sales. They have never been used for anything, so they should be food safe.

 

[gtaus]

Very interesting. Thanks for the info. It does seem odd that huge resorts with fountains keep popping up in the desert where the locals already struggle.

I live on a lake in northern Minnesota. So, water conservation is not a big concern of mine. Plus, whatever water I "waste" just goes into my fully approved septic tanks, out to the drainage field for filtration, and back into the ground/lake water.

But I did live in California years ago. For people that have such water concerns, I have a hard time thinking about how much water is diverted to growing things, like almond nuts, which take 1.1 gallons per single nut. A cup full of almonds would take about 100 gallons of water to grow. Walnuts and pistachios take about the same amount of water. Seems like a big use of limited water.

It takes about 84 gallons of water to produce a single gallon of soy-milk. To me, that's a lot of water. What I did not realize is that it takes up to 880 gallons of water to produce a single gallon of dairy milk! I guess it's best not to have dairy cows out in the desert.

I don't have the answers to those questions, but I did find an interesting article on water and sustainable agriculture at Are Almonds Sustainable?

Essentially, you could think of humans as walking water bags because we are about 60% water overall, with vital organs, like the brain, is as much as 85% water. Something to ponder, I guess.

 

[gtaus]

Bakeries and other food type places may give them to you, or sell them really cheap. Our Walmart carries food grade white buckets, I think they’re three or four bucks each, lids are $1.57 or something like that.

I would gladly take free buckets from bakeries, etc... but I would not pay for them given that I can get brand new "free" buckets from Harbor Freight or the Fleet store when they have their bucket day sales. Those plastic buckets can last forever, so I really don't need that many. Our WalMart sells the 5-gallon buckets and lids a little cheaper than the tool stores, at full price, but WalMart never has those bucket day sales where they give them out for free. I have purchased a few bucket lids from Walmart and they work good.

 

[igorsMistress]

Very interesting. Thanks for the info. It does seem odd that huge resorts with fountains keep popping up in the desert where the locals already struggle.

There were a few fountains around our community when we moved here, but they’ve been shut down at this point, and they’re not really a thing these days.

However, there’s a chip plant or something being built here that will use a LOT of water and people are upset about it.

 

[igorsMistress]

I would gladly take free buckets from bakeries, etc... but I would not pay for them given that I can get brand new "free" buckets from Harbor Freight or the Fleet store when they have their bucket day sales. Those plastic buckets can last forever, so I really don't need that many. Our WalMart sells the 5-gallon buckets and lids a little cheaper than the tool stores, at full price, but WalMart never has those bucket day sales where they give them out for free. I have purchased a few bucket lids from Walmart and they work good.

There is a difference between food grade and not, primarily the ingredients used to make them. I would be concerned about growing my food in a bucket that wasn’t food grade. What chemicals would the plants absorb from non food grade and then pass to my family? While we are older, my grandkids are still young and have their whole lives ahead of them. My daughter is only in her thirties. I’ll pay for the buckets for that reason. Frugality is good, but not at the expense of safety.

 

[Sally PB]

I have not found a source to get free buckets. That would be the best, of course.

Not sure if I posted it here. I get food grade buckets with lids for $1.50 each at a donut/ice cream store. The owner saves them for a while, and if nobody buys them, they go into their recycle. The buckets held donut filling, and they are even washed out, spic and span clean.

I'm happy to pay $1.50 for a clean food grade bucket with a lid. This is a little mom-and-pop store, and I want them to stick around.

 

[gtaus]

There is a difference between food grade and not, primarily the ingredients used to make them. I would be concerned about growing my food in a bucket that wasn’t food grade. What chemicals would the plants absorb from non food grade and then pass to my family? While we are older, my grandkids are still young and have their whole lives ahead of them. My daughter is only in her thirties. I’ll pay for the buckets for that reason. Frugality is good, but not at the expense of safety.

I think we are in agreement. My point is that I am getting brand new food grade 5-gallon buckets for "free" at the bucket sales and, to me, that is even better than paying a small fee for getting food grade buckets from a bakery that need to be washed out and cleaned. In either case, you end up with a food grade plastic bucket.

Or, are you saying that the stamped brand-new food grade buckets from the tool stores are not food safe?

In any case, I 100% agree the frugality is good, but not at the expense of safety. Nothing (potentially) costs more money than unsafe practices. I don't start working on a project unless I have proper safety gear first. And I don't want to expose myself or put anything into my body that could have negative effects.

 

[gtaus]

Not sure if I posted it here. I get food grade buckets with lids for $1.50 each at a donut/ice cream store. The owner saves them for a while, and if nobody buys them, they go into their recycle. The buckets held donut filling, and they are even washed out, spic and span clean.

I'm happy to pay $1.50 for a clean food grade bucket with a lid. This is a little mom-and-pop store, and I want them to stick around.

Sounds like a wonderful arrangement. I pay more than that just for the bucket lids. It's nice to support small businesses that you want to keep in your community. And good for the mom-and-pop store for not just trashing their buckets. Adds value to the community and reduces the amount of plastics going to the landfill/recycling. I'm all for that.