What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[gtaus]

How about using a wingnut instead of a nut?

I had some errands to run in town today, so I stopped at the local Fleet store to check out a wingnut for my repair tool case. Turns out, a single wingnut sells for $1.19 each! Yeah, I'm not going to do that.

Here I was thinking a wingnut might cost me 5 cents, or 10 cents at the most. It was a real shocker to see they wanted $1.19 for just one wingnut. Just goes to show how long it has been since I actually needed a wingnut and/or paid for one.

Back at home, I looked up some assortment kits for wingnuts at Amazon and found one kit that looks promising...

That comes out to under 7 cents per wingnut. Of course, I would be buying a lot more wingnuts than I currently need, but I like the mix of both standard and metric wingnuts in that assortment set in a plastic storage case. Probably the last wingnut kit I would ever have to buy. I decided to put that item on my Amazon wish list.

I still want to look around at other options, like maybe Harbor Freight. I have purchased a number of assortment kits from them on other stuff, usually when they have a good sale or coupons.

Might even find a wingnut laying around the garage now that I am cleaning up stuff and getting things more organized. I never throw stuff like that away, but it's like going on a treasure hunt with nothing much organized. Just jars full of miscellaneous hardware to look through.

It might be a good frugal habit to save all those small bits and pieces for use at a later date. But if you don't have any system to find something when you need it, then you miss out the value of keeping all those small parts.

 

[Smokerbill]

I had some errands to run in town today, so I stopped at the local Fleet store to check out a wingnut for my repair tool case. Turns out, a single wingnut sells for $1.19 each! Yeah, I'm not going to do that.

Here I was thinking a wingnut might cost me 5 cents, or 10 cents at the most. It was a real shocker to see they wanted $1.19 for just one wingnut. Just goes to show how long it has been since I actually needed a wingnut and/or paid for one.

Back at home, I looked up some assortment kits for wingnuts at Amazon and found one kit that looks promising...

View attachment 3908616

That comes out to under 7 cents per wingnut. Of course, I would be buying a lot more wingnuts than I currently need, but I like the mix of both standard and metric wingnuts in that assortment set in a plastic storage case. Probably the last wingnut kit I would ever have to buy. I decided to put that item on my Amazon wish list.

I still want to look around at other options, like maybe Harbor Freight. I have purchased a number of assortment kits from them on other stuff, usually when they have a good sale or coupons.

Might even find a wingnut laying around the garage now that I am cleaning up stuff and getting things more organized. I never throw stuff like that away, but it's like going on a treasure hunt with nothing much organized. Just jars full of miscellaneous hardware to look through.

It might be a good frugal habit to save all those small bits and pieces for use at a later date. But if you don't have any system to find something when you need it, then you miss out the value of keeping all those small parts.

Could you epoxy something onto the top of the nut that would give you a better grip?

 

[fuzzi]

I had some errands to run in town today, so I stopped at the local Fleet store to check out a wingnut for my repair tool case. Turns out, a single wingnut sells for $1.19 each! Yeah, I'm not going to do that.

Here I was thinking a wingnut might cost me 5 cents, or 10 cents at the most. It was a real shocker to see they wanted $1.19 for just one wingnut. Just goes to show how long it has been since I actually needed a wingnut and/or paid for one.

Back at home, I looked up some assortment kits for wingnuts at Amazon and found one kit that looks promising...

View attachment 3908616

That comes out to under 7 cents per wingnut. Of course, I would be buying a lot more wingnuts than I currently need, but I like the mix of both standard and metric wingnuts in that assortment set in a plastic storage case. Probably the last wingnut kit I would ever have to buy. I decided to put that item on my Amazon wish list.

I still want to look around at other options, like maybe Harbor Freight. I have purchased a number of assortment kits from them on other stuff, usually when they have a good sale or coupons.

Might even find a wingnut laying around the garage now that I am cleaning up stuff and getting things more organized. I never throw stuff like that away, but it's like going on a treasure hunt with nothing much organized. Just jars full of miscellaneous hardware to look through.

It might be a good frugal habit to save all those small bits and pieces for use at a later date. But if you don't have any system to find something when you need it, then you miss out the value of keeping all those small parts.

I have picked up most of my storage units at yard sales and thrift stores. I have a metal case with clear plastic drawers that someone was selling at a yard sale, super cheap. It had tiny beads and thread in some of the drawers but I designated it for my primary hardware storage. I spent more than a couple hours going through boxes and bags and cans in which my dh kept nuts, bolts, screws, nails, etc., and organizing them. I now can put my hand on hardware pretty quickly. I even gave assorted loose drill bits their own compartment!

It looks kind of like this:

I picked up a plastic storage unit at Aldi's, which I have in the shed. Each drawer is big enough for a box of screws, so my leftovers from the hoop coop build are stored there, as are washers, etc. It's not as sturdy as the metal one, but it does the job adequately.

I think this is the same model as mine, except this one has blue drawers:

I'm still recovering from this morning's outside work in the heat so I'm not going to the shed to take pictures, these will do.

 

[PDXJULES]

Yes, there are good reasons they is well on its way to being more of a monopoly. As they have gotten closer, they have already started using more the pricing and policy advantages of being a monopoly. Besides, we moved to house a third the size of our last one and our next house will probably not have a basement so identifying things I don't need has become much more important.

I joined our neighborhood BUY NOTHING Group on Fcbk/META a few years ago - and have had pretty good luck getting some items. Need to get better at finding replies to get rid of more stuff. Also we used MANY Pallets for a large double chicken Corral; and i order 2 big piles of wood chips a year from ChipDrop.com

 

[Sally PB]

I love the idea of a buy nothing group. If I joined one (I'm not on FB, so it won't happen), it would be more expensive for me to buy the gas to go somewhere for a swap/meeting/exchange/whatever they do than it would be worth, except for bigger ticket items. Or it would have to take place near where I go for the errands I run.

Maybe someone will have a white elephant un-sale near me.

 

[gtaus]

Could you epoxy something onto the top of the nut that would give you a better grip?

Nice suggestion, but in reality, I don't have any problem screwing/unscrewing the nut on the tool case. I just don't tighten it down very much. The suggestion to get the wingnut would be an improvement, but it's really not a must have. Well, not worth $1.19 for a wingnut compared to about 1 cent for a regular washer.

Your suggestion did spark some solutions that would be really easy. I could take a popsicle stick, break it into two smaller pieces, and then glue them on the nut. That would turn it into a wingnut-type with little effort and no additional cost.

Another thought is to cut a rectangular, or round, piece of scrap wood a bit larger than the nut, then chisel out recess for the nut, then glue the nut into the scrap wood. I have seen that approach used on very big bolts that needed to be turned by hand. Like a handle for a bench vise.

Well, considering this tool case would not need a lot of strength on the "wingnut", I could probably just glue on that piece with having to chisel it into the wood. Was that the intent of your suggestion?

Now you got me thinking about too many ways to modify that nut. I imagine I will be up half the night thinking of more ways to improve that nut!

 

[Smokerbill]

Nice suggestion, but in reality, I don't have any problem screwing/unscrewing the nut on the tool case. I just don't tighten it down very much. The suggestion to get the wingnut would be an improvement, but it's really not a must have. Well, not worth $1.19 for a wingnut compared to about 1 cent for a regular washer.

Your suggestion did spark some solutions that would be really easy. I could take a popsicle stick, break it into two smaller pieces, and then glue them on the nut. That would turn it into a wingnut-type with little effort and no additional cost.

Another thought is to cut a rectangular, or round, piece of scrap wood a bit larger than the nut, then chisel out recess for the nut, then glue the nut into the scrap wood. I have seen that approach used on very big bolts that needed to be turned by hand. Like a handle for a bench vise.

Well, considering this tool case would not need a lot of strength on the "wingnut", I could probably just glue on that piece with having to chisel it into the wood. Was that the intent of your suggestion?

Now you got me thinking about too many ways to modify that nut. I imagine I will be up half the night thinking of more ways to improve that nut!

Yep, that was my intent. I know it wouldn't even have to be snugged down to hold the latch in place so glue, I think, would be a strong enough attachment. Maybe glue a stack of progressively larger nuts on top??? LOL

Maybe you could figure out a way to use a pair of horseshoes.

For me, the older my fingers get the less fine control they have. I would have an easier time unscrewing something larger.

 

[gtaus]

I'm still recovering from this morning's outside work in the heat so I'm not going to the shed to take pictures, these will do.

Yeah, it's been really hot and humid here too. As to your first picture...

I have a couple of those storage units out in the garage on a workbench. I think my dad bought them about 50 years ago. They work great for lots of stuff as long as you don't have to carry or move the storage unit. I had to put little labels on the front of each bin, so I knew what was inside. Otherwise, I ended up pulling out each drawer until I found the right sized nut or bolt, for example.

I spent more than a couple hours going through boxes and bags and cans in which my dh kept nuts, bolts, screws, nails, etc., and organizing them. I now can put my hand on hardware pretty quickly.

That's why I mention the labeling of the bins. After you go through all the work to organize the bins, those labels on the front really help me find the item(s) I need.

As to the second picture...

I have something much like that, too. When I am working on a project that needs a lot of the same types of screws or bolt, then I load up those bins with the stuff I need for those projects. It's just so easy to reach in and grab the screw or bolt that is needed for that part of the project.

Good deal if you picked them up at a garage sale or thrift shop and did not have to pay a lot.

Like I have mentioned, my newest method of storing small items is using the storage cases like these I get from Harbor Freight...

They are better for items that I need on the go. For example, I have one case filled with drywall screws - which I use on most of my wood projects - and each bin is labeled with the size of the screw. Each bin in those cases can be removed from the case, and you can organize the bins in many ways. Recently, I built a rack to store the cases underneath one of my workbenches. That way I can stack them up on top of each other which maximize my storage space. But I can still pull out any one case I need without having to move the others in the rack.

All good options depending on your organization and portability needs. Buying them at a low price second hand can really be a money saver.

 

[gtaus]

For me, the older my fingers get the less fine control they have. I would have an easier time unscrewing something larger.

Yeah, I'm at that stage of life where I modify lots of my things to make it easier for me to work with. We had a big wind storm a few days ago, and I use a reacher/grabber to pick up all the sticks and branches out on the lawn. My old back cannot take all the bending over to pick up those sticks any more. And, as to fingers, I have a "trigger finger" that sometimes locks up on me. Nothing major, and no pain, but it slows me down in some ways. I also do better with larger things to grab on to and turn.

 

[Smokerbill]

I have a pair of these trash tongs that I use when I'm having a hard time reaching the ground. I like the wide opening and simple design.