What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[fuzzi]

Today, I came across the Ryobi 40v 14 inch brushless chainsaw that was on Clearance, originally $229,00. marked down now to $115.00.

OK, I already have one Ryobi 40v 14 inch chainsaw, but this clearance price on this new chainsaw was too loud for me to ignore. My old chainsaw is still working just fine, but it is no longer under warranty. If it dies, I would have to replace it with a new chainsaw, probably at the current price at that time. So, does it make frugal sense to buy a new chainsaw that I don't need right now?

I should mention that I am a veteran, so I got another 10% off the Clearance price of $115.00, making the cost to me at $103.50, plus tax. Every little bit of discount helps. I also used one of my credit cards that gives me 1.5% cash back on purchases, so I saved more money there, too.

This new chainsaw comes with a 5-year warranty. So, I know I've covered for that period. That has value to me. Essentially, I have a chainsaw under warranty for about $20 per year.

If I were you I would start using the new chainsaw to take advantage of the warranty.

 

[fuzzi]

I bought several solar/motion detection lights for around the yard and the coop. They were on sale at such a great price I got more than I needed. I took one into the shed, where it sits on a shelf. If I go inside at night, or the door closes while I am inside during the day the solar light goes on. About once a month I take the light outside to recharge in the sun.

The light fell off the shelf, so I decided to mount it, but in a way that it's easy to remove when I want to recharge it.

Ta Da!

 

[gtaus]

Better, cheaper alternative to the standard 10X20 trays for seed starting...

I went into town to day to buy some more 27-gallon industrial totes that were on sale on Menards. Unfortunately, they were all sold out. However, there was a stack of lids left over sitting on the floor. I asked a manager there if I could get some because they had no more totes for sale and whoever paid for their totes did not take a lid. So, she wrote me up a ticket for 4 lids for 50 cents for the lot.

This past spring, I ended up using the tote lids for my seed starting. I used 4-inch net cups, and the standard 10X20 trays I had were not strong enough to hold all the pots when I moved them around on the shelves. These tote lids are much stronger and hold many more pots.

At the time, the standard 10X20 trays were selling for about $3.00 a tray. Well, I just paid 12.5 cents per tote lid today. That's a much better tray at a much better price for my 4 inch net cup seed starting. The heavier plastic used on the tote lid will last much longer than the 10X20 trays I have which seem to crack after one season of use. I imagine these tote lids will last many years.

 

[gtaus]

The light fell off the shelf, so I decided to mount it, but in a way that it's easy to remove when I want to recharge it.

I have started using zip ties for more and more things. They are cheap, yet almost a permanent mount in function. If you want to remove them, you just cut the plastic and it's free to move. I buy my zip ties on sale in large packs which brings the cost down to only 1 or 2 cents per zip tie. That's a great deal for what they can do for you.

Instead of using cutting and twisting wire to secure my chicken run fencing to the T-Posts, I just used some good UV rated zip ties. Fast, cheap, and effective. Job done in no time and they have held fast for 4 years now. Again, if I have to move that wire, all I need to do is snip off the plastic zip tie and the wire is free.

 

[TooCheep]

@gtaus - If you want to be more frugal, then reuse the zip ties. They are designed to be re-used. I just use a small flat-head screw driver as in this short video (mute before playing due to loud music):

 

[gimmie birdies]

I needed a brooder for baby chicks and found this cabinet by the side of the road for free.

 

[gtaus]

@gtaus - If you want to be more frugal, then reuse the zip ties. They are designed to be re-used. I just use a small flat-head screw driver as in this short video (mute before playing due to loud music):

That's a great tip. I know there are zip ties that are made to be reusable, and they usually cost more than the "normal" zip ties like I buy. I did not think it was possible to reuse all zip ties. I will have to look at mine and see if a small flat-head screw driver can be stuck into the head buckle to release the plastic strip. That would be a nice hack to an already inexpensive item.

 

[TooCheep]

Yup. Any with that "blocky" head should be reusable. You can also use a knife tip (be careful!) or sometimes your nail, but a small screw driver works best.

 

[gtaus]

I don't know if I have mentioned this before in this thread, but I use free paper shreds I make at home from old newspapers, junk mail., office printer paper, and light cardboard from food boxes (e.g. cereal boxes).

For my setup, I have found free paper shreds work better than any of the other types of litter I have used - sand, dried grass, wood chips, straw, leaves, etc..

If that is of any interest to you, I have a whole thread dedicated to my experimental use of free paper shreds in my chicken coop at Using Shredded Paper for Coop Litter - As Good As Wood Chips? Paper shreds has been my preferred method of coop litter for just over two years now. So, it's no longer an experiment for me. But you might want to check out the discussions and learn of some of the advantages of using free paper shreds.

 

[gtaus]

View attachment 3628287
I needed a brooder for baby chicks and found this cabinet by the side of the road for free.
View attachment 3628288

That's a great find. Just about anything can work as a brooder. I use one of my steel dump carts as a brooder. Here is a picture of the type of cart I have...

My cart bed measures 48 inch long X 32 inches wide X 12 inch high. All I did was make a 2X4 frame with hardware cloth to put on top of the cart. That 2X4 frame with hardware cloth doubles as a compost sifter later in the summer. The advantage is that I can use that cart as a brooder for about 10 weeks for 10 chicks. I just use paper shreds as litter in the cart brooder and don't have to clean it out until the end of 8 or 10 weeks. I just add a fresh layer of shreds maybe once or twice a week, depending on the condition of the litter. All those paper shreds get composted later when I clean the cart out. Since the cart is metal, I just give it a good hosing down with water and it's clean enough to start hauling whatever stuff I want to haul.

The only disadvantage to my setup is that it takes up enough room in my car stall that I have to leave a car outside during the brooding period. Usually not a problem because I cannot get my chicks until the end of March or early April. Where I live in northern Minnesota, we still have snow outside that time of year, but not for too much longer.

Anyways, the cart was already paid for and never gets used that time of year. Might as well put it to use as a temporary brooder. Cost to me was free in the sense I already paid for it for other uses.