What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[gtaus]

Speaking of rain barrels, I do have a couple of 55-gallon barrels connected together on a stand down by my lakeside garden. I don't have any electricity there, but I have been using a 12v bilge pump to fill my barrels with water from the lake.

Last winter, I got a good deal on an inverter that uses my Ryboi 18v tool batteries...

That's the current price of new 1000-Watt max inverter. I bought last year's 800-Watt max model on clearance for about $75.00. I have used my inverter a number of times and I really like it.

I had also been looking at a number of portable power stations options, like the popular Jackery unit...

But notice that their max watt output is 200 watts, far less than the Ryobi inverter I bought that puts out 800 watts if hooked directly to an automotive battery, or even 300 watts running off one of my 18v tool batteries. Of course, the value of my Ryobi inverter is that it uses all my existing Ryobi tool batteries, giving me lots of run time because I have about 50 tool batteries. I imagine other tool brand lines probably have similar inverters for their batteries.

Having said that, it's those darn tool batteries that cost so much. If you are not in a tool brand line of batteries, the Jackery unit, or one like it, is probably a more viable option.

Because of the conversation on rain barrels today, I went out with my Ryobi inverter and a couple of tool batteries to see how much water I could pump with my little 12v bilge pump. I got a draw rate of 10 watts for the pump. It pumped about 75 gallons of water and then I had to shut it off because my barrels were full. It only used half a 3Ah tool battery! I was surprised at how well that worked out.

Now I am looking at maybe getting a stronger 12v pump that I could drop into the lake and have it run a sprinkler system for that garden. The 12v bilge pump I am using to refill the rain barrels is not strong enough to run a sprinkler system.

OK, the reason I don't have electricity down there by the lake anymore is because the electric company charges a minimum of $60 per month service charge, 1-year minimum contract, to provide power at our locations. I was not willing to spend $600 per year for the luxury of having running water for 3 or 4 months in the summer to water that garden. At any rate, I am pretty happy with using 12v pumps and my little inverters. Saves me a lot of money and still I get water to the that garden.

 

[alwaystj9]

The city sells rain barrels & compost bins several times a year at a fairly good price. I like my compost barrel b t I could have built a bigger one much cheaper. I tried the water barrel a couple of ways & places but it was mostly a mosquito factory so I quit. My problem in South Louisiana is usually a surplus of water...

 

[gtaus]

I like my compost barrel b t I could have built a bigger one much cheaper.

I went through a number of composting setups over the years. The best system I have ever used is converting my chicken run into a chicken run composting system where the chickens are constantly scratching and pecking the run litter turning it into black gold compost. Not only did it not cost me anything extra to convert my run into a composting system, but it actually saves me money as the chickens are constantly finding tasty bugs and juicy worms to eat in the chicken run compost. My commercial feed bill in summer is half of my winter cost. I think a lot of that difference is in all the free food they find in that chicken run compost.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Love this thread!

I cook most of our meals, sticker shock still gets me when I grab meals out, 40 bucks for lunch for two people is insane. We go out like once or twice a year .

Does anyone here make their own cleaning products? I've made my own degreaser with orange peels and vinegar. I'm interested in a mold cleaner, or a cleaner that uses rubbing alcohol?

 

[igorsMistress]

Love this thread!

I cook most of our meals, sticker shock still gets me when I grab meals out, 40 bucks for lunch for two people is insane. We go out like once or twice a year .

Does anyone here make their own cleaning products? I've made my own degreaser with orange peels and vinegar. I'm interested in a mold cleaner, or a cleaner that uses rubbing alcohol?

I do but I don’t use alcohol. Tea tree oil has been shown to kill mold on surfaces.

 

[gtaus]

Does anyone here make their own cleaning products? I've made my own degreaser with orange peels and vinegar. I'm interested in a mold cleaner, or a cleaner that uses rubbing alcohol?

Good for you or anyone else that can make effective cleaning products. If you want to consider inexpensive store-bought options, I recommend checking out the product from Dollar Tree called "Awesome"...

I use it as my general-purpose cleaner for lots of stuff. Usually, I dilute it down for most of my needs. There are instructions on the bottle how much water to mix with the Awesome cleaner depending on your cleaning use. For example, you would dilute the solution with water 5-to-1 for degreasing applications.

If you are not familiar with Dollar Tree's "Awesome" cleaner, here is a short review of the product, Putting the Dollar Tree Cleaner ‘LA’s Totally Awesome’ to the Test!, on the Clark.com website.

Awesome has been my main general-purpose cleaner for a couple of years. It just gets the job done for most applications. And, of course, it's only $1.25 per bottle at the Dollar Tree. You can get it in a 20 oz spray bottle, or a 32 oz refill bottle. I got the 32 oz refill bottle and mix a portion of Awesome with water, to my needs for that application, and use a repurposed spray bottle that I saved from being sent to the landfill.

 

[fuzzi]

Love this thread!

I cook most of our meals, sticker shock still gets me when I grab meals out, 40 bucks for lunch for two people is insane. We go out like once or twice a year .

Does anyone here make their own cleaning products? I've made my own degreaser with orange peels and vinegar. I'm interested in a mold cleaner, or a cleaner that uses rubbing alcohol?

We use vinegar and baking soda for most cleaning jobs, but not generally at the same time. My walk in shower pan (floor) is white, but was getting dingy. I sprayed white vinegar on the surface, then sprinkled baking soda on top. A gentle scrub with an old backbrush made everything look new.

 

[gtaus]

A gentle scrub with an old backbrush made everything look new.

If you need a more aggressive scrub, you can simply get a Dollar Tree brush, cut off handle, and stick it into a powered drill....

If you have a brush type without a handle, you can make it work on a drill by using a bolt, washer, and nut...

I have one brush that had a long handle on it. You can leave most of the handle on the brush for extended reach applications...

I like that option as I can still use it as a manual brush with the long handle when not used on the drill.

You really can save some money by not getting a dedicated drill brush kit and just modifying some Dollar Tree brushes to do the same thing.

 

[Grannys Backyard Chicks]

I like vinegar!
When my kids were home I made laundry soap. I'll look for the recipe. With hubby's retirement in December I should start making it again.

 

[Sally PB]

I've made powdered laundry soap, but it didn't work well in my machine. Not that it didn't clean, the powder didn't travel from the dispenser cup into the drum. Liquid works much better for me. I haven't made liquid detergent. Maybe if I just put the powder in with the clothes...

I remember a blog from 15+ years ago and the woman listed the 5 things she'd stock up on for cleaning in a SHTF crisis scenario. I know baking soda and white (distilled) vinegar were on the list. I can't remember the other three for certain... borax? washing soda? They might have been on the list.

She said her #6 item would have been vodka. Being alcohol, it would have anti-icky properties. It would also be handy as an item for barter!