What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[Sally PB]

The styrofoam inserts are effective, even that thin?

I have some that are 2-3 inches thick. The ones that came with the wine bottles are 6-7 inches tall. I have a box with 15 full quart jars of tomatoes on it, and it holds up fine.

We're going to build a pantry in the basement, and then I'll have to get rid of the styrofoam. Unfortunately, our recycle center that took it is no longer operating, so I may have to throw it out.

 

[saysfaa]

I wonder if just a sheet of plastic would work. What do y'all think?

I have some left of the roll we were forced to buy to line the attic and crawl spaces when we sold a house a few moves ago.

I have some that are 2-3 inches thick. ...

Oh. I can get the 1/2" kind.

 

[gtaus]

Dh has little tolerance for pallets and less for deconstructing then. Unfortunately. And I used up most of it before I realized this.

Well, for a storage space that you don't care how it looks, pallets are made for that type of job and can hold a lot on top of them. I was suggesting just cutting a pallet in half, about 21 inches, and using that if you don't want to use a full pallet ~43 inches. You would not have to deconstruct the pallet, per se. Just cut it in half. But I have lots of pallets so that is what came to mind first.

I'm not sure a sheet of plastic would work because there is no way for air to circulate around it. You might end up with condensation on the top of the plastic which would get soaked up into the cardboard. That would be my concern. But I have never tried it.

 

[canne50]

I remember when a school-aged child all the trash on the roads and highways. Give a Hoot Don’t Pollute! Was the first anti littering slogan I remember. That was followed by the Chief in traditional dress with a tear rolling down his cheek as he viewed the mess we’ve made.
Motivation was not very strong, I think, until posting fines along travelled ways upon signs began. A few stories of others fined and gossiped about soon became real for the serial trash throwing.

When EV vehicles came out, my biggest argument was what’s so great about this? The same with people storing power on led acid, or whatever batteries. I loudly asked “What about the batteries?” Do they recycle ?

this week I saw a video on the recycling of lithium batteries. It was very helpful! The recyclers have a closed water system for the processing water. There are many rare and valuable metals which may be recovered in the process. They mentioned copper, gold, silver, lithium, lead, etc.
The fact that 95% of the materials may be used again for mor batteries, or whatever. That is a game and mind changer for me!
My next vehicle may be a hybrid or 100% EV if the charging and batteries become more interchangeable with standardization. I’m also retired and have little need to travel now.

 

[Sally PB]

Hubby pulled this out of the dumpster at work. Looks like a wood-or-something hauler to me!

 

[gtaus]

The fact that 95% of the materials may be used again for mor batteries, or whatever. That is a game and mind changer for me!

I have seen some videos on people using old EV car batteries, maybe 10 years old with still 80% of life in them, as batteries in solar banks. I would think that it makes good sense to buy used, cheap, but still good batteries, and put them in a battery bank for your solar setup.

I remember buying into the Ryobi 18v One+ line of tools almost 20 years ago because they promised to stay with their stem battery platform format. At the time, Ni-Cad batteries were the state of the art, but not very good. They lasted maybe 2-3 years. I thought to myself, if Ryobi stays true to their promise on keeping the battery format compatible, no doubt a new battery technology will come along that will be better than Ni-Cad's. Sure enough, the Li-ion batteries are now the standard. They are more powerful, last many years longer, and are less expensive the original Ni-Cad batteries I got with my first Ryobi tool kit. My 20 year old Ryobi Ni-Cad era tools work even better, and longer, with my new Li-ion batteries that cost less than I paid 20 years ago for the Ni-Cad batteries. That's being frugal!

I don't know if I will ever get into an EV in my lifetime, but I have replaced almost all my gas yard equipment with batteries. No more fouled up carburetors than won't run right or even start. Just slap a charged battery in them and I'm good to go. I used to buy gas push lawn mowers and grass trimmers every 2-3 years because the carbs died on me. I am happy to report that my battery grass trimmers are now about 10 years old, and my battery mower is 8 years old, and they all work as good as new. I have saved lots of money by going to battery power instead of gas in those tools.

Also, for my homeowner needs, my ~5 year old Ryobi battery chainsaws have never let me down whereas my gas Stihl chainsaw might not start the one or two times per year I actually needed it. Over the years, I have purchased a number of batteries for my Ryobi tools and run time on batteries is no longer the limiting factor for most of my jobs. I just slap in a fresh battery when I exhaust one.

The only trend I don't like seeing is that battery platforms seem to be going up in price at a much faster rate than older gas-powered equipment. When I purchased my battery lawnmower, it was just a little more expensive than a similar gas-powered mower, But now, it seems like a battery tool is 2X-3X more expensive.

 

[canne50]

I have seen some videos on people using old EV car batteries, maybe 10 years old with still 80% of life in them, as batteries in solar banks. I would think that it makes good sense to buy used, cheap, but still good batteries, and put them in a battery bank for your solar setup.

I remember buying into the Ryobi 18v One+ line of tools almost 20 years ago because they promised to stay with their stem battery platform format. At the time, Ni-Cad batteries were the state of the art, but not very good. They lasted maybe 2-3 years. I thought to myself, if Ryobi stays true to their promise on keeping the battery format compatible, no doubt a new battery technology will come along that will be better than Ni-Cad's. Sure enough, the Li-ion batteries are now the standard. They are more powerful, last many years longer, and are less expensive the original Ni-Cad batteries I got with my first Ryobi tool kit. My 20 year old Ryobi Ni-Cad era tools work even better, and longer, with my new Li-ion batteries that cost less than I paid 20 years ago for the Ni-Cad batteries. That's being frugal!

I don't know if I will ever get into an EV in my lifetime, but I have replaced almost all my gas yard equipment with batteries. No more fouled up carburetors than won't run right or even start. Just slap a charged battery in them and I'm good to go. I used to buy gas push lawn mowers and grass trimmers every 2-3 years because the carbs died on me. I am happy to report that my battery grass trimmers are now about 10 years old, and my battery mower is 8 years old, and they all work as good as new. I have saved lots of money by going to battery power instead of gas in those tools.

Also, for my homeowner needs, my ~5 year old Ryobi battery chainsaws have never let me down whereas my gas Stihl chainsaw might not start the one or two times per year I actually needed it. Over the years, I have purchased a number of batteries for my Ryobi tools and run time on batteries is no longer the limiting factor for most of my jobs. I just slap in a fresh battery when I exhaust one.

The only trend I don't like seeing is that battery platforms seem to be going up in price at a much faster rate than older gas-powered equipment. When I purchased my battery lawnmower, it was just a little more expensive than a similar gas-powered mower, But now, it seems like a battery tool is 2X-3X more expensive.

I’m in my late 60s. I was raised in SE Arkansas to poor farmers. These sweet folks were my great aunt and great uncle. My great grandma & pa lived with us for some time. After a meal and clearing the table, I remember my g-grandma circling around the table saying, “Here. Eat this it’s just a bite and not worth trying to save it. You are so skinny! Eat!” I laugh at the memory and wish I could still have her following me around with the loaded tablespoon!
.These people had lived through the post civil war reconstruction, WWI, The Depression, Dust Bowl, and WWII. They knew first hand the deprivations of the poor plus the rationing of the most basic of necessities.
My aunt told a story as a young newly wed, my Navy uncle away on the USS BANDERA, her heavily pregnant & riding with great grands going to town to get their rationed flour, salt, and coal oil. The wagon was an old buckboard with no shocks bouncing and rattling them to and from town. On the return trip grandpa must have been surprised when the wagon bucked hard. The coal oil broke open and soaked the flour and sugar. They did what they could do to save the food and oil. She said she still can taste coal oil whenever she thought of the meals made with the flour and sugar flavored with coal oil. They could not afford to even throw away what we’d consider ruined food.
Everything was used until it wore out and the patches were no longer holding. Then the cloth would become a food siev or cleaning rag. When my great grand pa passed away, in his pockets he still carried the nub of a pencil with a slightly worn eraser. I have it now. He had not worked for several years, but tenaciously held onto his anchors.
we would have conversations about just about everything that needed repurposed. My first bicycle was an second hand bike my uncle had refurbished and painted sky blue. I felt so rich!
Not much was ever thrown away in our households! We canned everything we could. Our freezers were stuffed with wild game, fish, fruits and vegetables. We bought automobile gas at 29 cents a gallon. My aunt spent about $30 every week for groceries to stretch whatever was in season or in the pantry.
Thanks for the opportunity to share!
I probably won’t have an EV before I leave this world. I wouldn’t mind a flying car, though!

 

[Sally PB]

@canne50, thanks for sharing your memories.

 

[NanaK]

@canne50 Loved hearing your story. Made me think of things my grandmother told me. I have a box of old photos that belonged to her. One of the things she put in there long ago was a few of those WW2 rationing stamps. Funny the things that get saved over time.

 

[canne50]

We are all time capsules. It is a great loss if it all becomes lost with us. Wisdom earned through living, vocabulary, how-tos, joy!
I wish I cold back up on a hard drive for the children!
maybe I’ll start writing these things.