What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[Birdinhand]

We don't have Lowe's. So, I don't know much about that store. But most of what I was talking about with the small battery chainsaws would apply to just about any brand.

I grew up with big gas chainsaws. But when I became a homeowner and did not need to cut wood for the furnace or fireplace, I really never used the gas chainsaw much. The gas carbs would clog up from non-use and it costs a good $100.00 just for the shop to look at it and clean it up. I talked to the manager of our local Fleet store, and they are selling more battery chainsaws than gas chainsaws for the average homeowner. Unless you burn wood to keep warm in the winter, most people can get by with the battery chainsaws which are pretty much maintenance free.

Same for most small engine yard tools. It costs more money in shop time than the tool itself. Manager told me that they sell small gas grass trimmers for around $80.00, but if anything goes wrong with it, the minimum shop service charge is $100.00. Nobody wants to fall for that scam and most people are moving to battery outdoor tools for home use.

I second this! Wireless/battery technology has officially surpassed the economics and convenience of gas power tools. I grew up on a farm with big gas chain saws and I have to admit, the new electric ones, the larger professional grade, can fell large trees and buck up logs pretty darn well, without all the hassle of maintaining a gas motor! And the energy source, electricity, is already plumbed right to the house at wholesale prices, so it’s convenient and cheap and you don’t have that stinky, volatile fire hazard of a gas can kicking around the garage. I have a bunch of batteries for my Makita tools, so on the occasion I have to cut a lot of wood, I just charge them all up and go to town. The damn thing just works, no matter how many months it’s sat unused… that’s was not the case with my gas chainsaws… they were commonly a pain in the but to maintain.

 

[gtaus]

I’ve taken to starting my seeds in cake pans - I got four big ones, with the plastic lids, from the dollar store for about $5.

I did something similar for a while. But a few years ago, I switched over to using a clear plastic tote where the lid acts as a seed starting tray and the tote becomes a mini-greenhouse...

The tote lid is much stronger than a standard 10X20 seed starting tray, plus you get the option of using the tote as a mini-greenhouse which I use in the early springtime.

I used toilet paper rolls to make ‘cells,’ those are free with paid purchase of toilet paper, and squeezed in 35 per tray.

I did not have luck with using toilet paper rolls for seed starting. Well, actually, the seeds started OK but you have to transplant and/or up pot them fairly soon. If not, the plant will grow too large and become root bound. Also, I had a problem with the paper rolls staying too wet and I got mold growing on my paper roll pots. I lost most of them due to the mold.

I am not the best gardener. You may have better results.

What did work for me was buying 3-inch net cups that can be reused year after year...

I was able to start and grow my pepper and tomatoes in those net cups for 8 weeks with no problems. The net cups are bigger than a toilet paper roll pot, but you don't have to worry about up potting the plant before transplanting. They do take more potting soil initially, but in the end, I think you would have to up pot from the smaller toilet roll pots anyway. Well, if you grow the plants for 8 weeks like I do.

Also, because of the slits, the soil drys out in the air and did grow mold. I bottom water the net cups sitting in the tote lid and let the potting soil soak up the water. If I overwater the plants, all I have to do is lift the cups out of the water and let them drain out for a few hours.

And I’m not dealing with the stupid plastic netting on the coco fiber pellets choking off my seedlings’ roots!

One of the best aspects of using those net cups is that they have slits all around the cup. That will air prune the roots when they reach the air, they grow additional new roots, instead of circling around the pot and causing the plant to get root bound. When you transplant it, it is much healthier, and the roots are ready to branch out.

I'm not saying the net cups are the best system for seed starting, but for me, I only had to make the initial purchase of supplies and can reuse them year after year. I have had much better results with the net cups than other methods I have tried. All things considered, I believe I am saving money, time and labor, by using the net cups and the clear plastic totes as my seed starting trays and mini greenhouses.

 

[saysfaa]

I looked into getting a tankless heater a few years ago, thinking it would save money heating up only the water as we needed it. I was told, because we have hard well water, that the tankless system would clog up in short time and the maintenance of the tankless system would cost more than just having a conventional large water tank.
...

Looks like a conventional tank then because of the hard water even if the installation, ect, wouldn't be problems.

Thanks all.

 

[gtaus]

I make a lot of raised beds and planters out of free pallet wood. Growing your own food can be fun and save lots of money, as well as becoming just a bit more sustainable. Anytime I work with wood, I use good leather gloves to protect my fingers from splinters. Here is a post I just uploaded to the Show Me Your Pallet Projects thread which talks about saving money on work gloves. Well, my approach to saving money on work gloves.

*****

Using Leather Gloves To Prevent Getting Pallet Wood Splinters

It's important to wear good gloves when working with pallets and pallet wood. They are full of potential splinters. Here is a picture of my old leather gloves which I retired this morning alongside my new (same brand) gloves. I got about 2 years out of those old gloves...

Check out the blown-out second finger rip on that left-handed glove. Guess which finger I got a pallet wood splinter in last night?

I bought the new gloves in a 5-pack, which saves some money up front on the cost per glove pair. Since they are all the same, I hope to maybe save some more money by keeping that old right-hand glove, which is still in good condition, and using it to replace a right-hand glove from another pair that might rip in the future. Dear Wife says I am cheap that way, but I don't mind if I reuse one good glove from each pair. All I care about is protecting my digits from those nasty splinters.

 

[Iluveggers]

Anyone have a good recommendation for a solar powered generator? Enough to run a deep freezer off of in a power outage would be enough.

This year, I am trying cardboard egg cartons for some of my started seeds. I put them right in one of the trays from last year. Will up pot them jnto my 3 in plastic pots that I save every year (will be year 3 with them.) I am also reusing the plastic cells for the other half of seeds I started. Will compare results to decide which is better for me next year.

 

[gtaus]

Anyone have a good recommendation for a solar powered generator? Enough to run a deep freezer off of in a power outage would be enough.

I gather you are on grid power right now. You might want to consider a battery backup system which would run the house for a couple of days of no grid power, and then have a gas generator if the power remains out for longer periods of time. That combination would cover most outages and cost you $1000's less than a complete solar system. Here is a 19-minute YouTube video on that subject which I found informative...

Solar powered generators seem to be improving every year and the cost per watt is slowly coming down. Here is a link to some other YouTube solar powered generators videos.

One thing I learned about both refrigerators and freezers is that there is a big surge when the compressor first kicks in, but then the draw is not that much. So, you would want a solar powered generator with a high peak value to cover that initial demand hit. And, no matter what the specs say, I would give it a test run before you actually needed it to make sure the generator does not trip when the compressor first kicks in. Believe it or not, some companies might have products that really don't live up to their hype.

 

[Iluveggers]

I gather you are on grid power right now. You might want to consider a battery backup system which would run the house for a couple of days of no grid power, and then have a gas generator if the power remains out for longer periods of time. That combination would cover most outages and cost you $1000's less than a complete solar system. Here is a 19-minute YouTube video on that subject which I found informative...

Solar powered generators seem to be improving every year and the cost per watt is slowly coming down. Here is a link to some other YouTube solar powered generators videos.

One thing I learned about both refrigerators and freezers is that there is a big surge when the compressor first kicks in, but then the draw is not that much. So, you would want a solar powered generator with a high peak value to cover that initial demand hit. And, no matter what the specs say, I would give it a test run before you actually needed it to make sure the generator does not trip when the compressor first kicks in. Believe it or not, some companies might have products that really don't live up to their hype.

Thanks!

 

[fuzzi]

I gather you are on grid power right now. You might want to consider a battery backup system which would run the house for a couple of days of no grid power, and then have a gas generator if the power remains out for longer periods of time. That combination would cover most outages and cost you $1000's less than a complete solar system. Here is a 19-minute YouTube video on that subject which I found informative...

Solar powered generators seem to be improving every year and the cost per watt is slowly coming down. Here is a link to some other YouTube solar powered generators videos.

One thing I learned about both refrigerators and freezers is that there is a big surge when the compressor first kicks in, but then the draw is not that much. So, you would want a solar powered generator with a high peak value to cover that initial demand hit. And, no matter what the specs say, I would give it a test run before you actually needed it to make sure the generator does not trip when the compressor first kicks in. Believe it or not, some companies might have products that really don't live up to their hype.

I picked up a Bluetti battery generator with solar capabilities for power outages. It was on sale, and a friend whose advice I trust recommended it. It's charged up and in the shed, covered and waiting for a power outage. I plan to use it to keep both my refrigerator and freezer running if we lose electricity.

 

[Sally PB]

Eyeballing it, I’m only saving a few dollars

But you have the cake pans now, so you won't be spending the $$ on them again.

I looked into getting a tankless heater a few years ago, thinking it would save money heating up only the water as we needed it. I was told, because we have hard well water, that the tankless system would clog up in short time and the maintenance of the tankless system would cost more than just having a conventional large water tank.

I forgot to mention the hard water/iron issue with a tankless water heater. Thanks for bringing this up.

Also, I had a problem with the paper rolls staying too wet and I got mold growing on my paper roll pots. I lost most of them due to the mold

Mold on my TP rolls is the reason I'm not doing those anymore.

I bought the new gloves in a 5-pack, which saves some money up front on the cost per glove pair. Since they are all the same, I hope to maybe save some more money by keeping that old right-hand glove, which is still in good condition, and using it to replace a right-hand glove from another pair that might rip in the future.

Every late summer/early fall, there is a festival near me that has a flea market. I buy a package of 5 pair of garden gloves (and lots of "diabetic" socks with super stretchy cuffs) for $6. They're cotton, and the palms are rubberized. They work well as garden gloves (though my hands do get wet and dirty anyway, but oh well) and for doing chicken chores, and hauling/stacking wood. I think I've been buying these for 5? 6? years, ever since I found them at this sale. I have no qualms about throwing them out when the rubber on the palm is cracking and not a good barrier anymore. What I pay for 5 pair of garden gloves is what I could pay for 1 pair in the grocery store, and they wouldn't last as long. Forget about gloves from the garden store.

 

[gtaus]

I picked up a Bluetti battery generator with solar capabilities for power outages. It was on sale, and a friend whose advice I trust recommended it. It's charged up and in the shed, covered and waiting for a power outage. I plan to use it to keep both my refrigerator and freezer running if we lose electricity.

Well, I am sure that is a good unit. What I still recommend is that you test it out before you lose power to make sure it can run your refrigerator and freezer in a power outage. The problem is that when the compressor initially kicks in, you get a microburst of very high energy demand and that will trip many battery generators. I have watched a number of YouTube videos where they test these battery devices and many fail that compressor draw test.

Consider this...

Source: What Size Generator To Run Refrigerator And Freezer

Did you catch that statement that starting watts could be anywhere from 200W to 6,000W depending on your appliances? Your Bluetti generator is rated for 2,700W surge capacity. I am just suggesting that you test it out now before you actually need it and make sure it can power both your refrigerator and freezer in power outage. Those initial surge values will trip many systems.