What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[gtaus]

Initial Review of Menards Power Cutter

Well, I did buy one of those power cutters that are currently on sale at Menards through 11/17/2024...

I charged it up and tested it out in comparison to my previous power cutter that I bought from Harbor Freight ($40.00). It's almost the exact same power cutter. Both are 4 volts, the blades are the same size, the $10.00 Menards power cutter works the same as my HF model.

I will end up keeping this Menards power cutter out in my garage. The new power cutter from Menards comes with a newer USB-C electric plug for charging, so I will now have a USB-C charger for my cell phone and newer devices out in the garage as well.

I use my power cutter(s) primarily for cutting up cardboard boxes that I shred up to make coop litter. But they are great for other things. Here is the features list...

Features

• Cut through paper, plastic, cardboard, leather, canvas, carpet, wallpaper, wire netting, flower stems and more
• Cuts a variety of materials up to 1/4" thick
• Self sharpening blade
• Comfortable soft grip handle

My old hands used to cramp up when I cut cardboard with my manual heavy-duty scissors. So, I needed a better option if I wanted to process my cardboard boxes at home instead of hauling them off to the recycle center. It's just so nice for me to process all our shipping boxes, cutting them into strips, shredding them in my paper shredder and using the shreds as coop litter. All that cardboard is now 100% recycled at home, used as coop litter, and then turned into compost for my gardens!

 

[gtaus]

Better/Faster Way to Clean Out Nestboxes and Coop

On my elevated coop, I have a drop-down panel on the outside of the coop to access my nestboxes which are mounted inside the coop. Over time, small bits of nesting material will start to build up in the space between the panel and the frame on the coop, causing it to get harder to close the panel.

Previously, I just used a knife to dig out any of those bits around the hinges and the edge of the panel. Today, I want to clean out that hinged edge and the nest boxes themselves. I got the idea that I could use my blower that I use to clean off my benchtops, saws, etc...

I bought one of those when they went on Clearance for less than $8.00 each. The regular price had been $40.00. I liked this small blower so much, that I bought a second blower keeping each one at different stations in my shop/garage for quick cleaning.

Today I used that small blower to clean out my nestboxes and the bottom edge of the drop-down panel. Did a great job, much faster than how I cleaned out the nestboxes and that edge before with a knife.

Those small blowers are made by just about all the different tool brands. I don't think I would have bought one for $40.00 or $50.00 at regular prices, but the Clearance price was too good to pass up. One thing I am always doing is cleaning up in my shop/garage. This blower just makes it easier to blow off the saws, benches, etc...

Yes, I have much bigger leaf blowers, but that is really overkill for small area cleaning where you only need a directed blast of air. I use my leaf blower when I do my semi-annual coop litter cleanout. After I shovel/sweep out the old coop litter, I hit the floor with the leaf blower and it cleans everything down to the linoleum. Works even better/faster than the brooms I used in the past.

Just want to add that when I clean out the coop, I always wear a mask. No good to let all those nasty particles get into your lungs. Although the leaf blower pushes a lot of stuff into the air, in my setup, I open the back wall of the coop and just shoot the air out. The leaf blower actually reduces the amount of dust that I get exposed to because it blows everything out the back of the coop, in front of me, whereas the broom method was much more dusty because it did not blow the particles away from me.

I already had those blowers in my garage. It did not cost me anything to use them for coop cleaning. Just wanted to mention how well they work in case other people had not thought of this method of cleaning. I have yet to see any YouTube videos of anyone using blowers for coop cleanout, but if you have these tools, it can make the job a lot easier.

 

[saysfaa]

...

Just wondering what others are using for inexpensive work gloves, as I will be looking for other options. ...

I had the same thing happen with brown jersey gloves a few years ago. Since then, I've found ones with good quality again. None that are cotton (good quality or not) but I still look.

I use the kind of split leather palm gloves that look like that. I think the quality depends on which company made them since many companies copied the look. I'm surprised they got past Menard's quality control, though.

The last ones I bought were the good quality I expected. That was about four or five years ago from either Home Depot or Sutherlands (a lumber company but with a store similar to an Ace hardware attached). I vaguely remember there may have been choices of that style by different brands at different price points. Mostly, I remember I got them at the beginning of a humdinger of a snowstorm. I went in at the first few flakes and came out thinking WOW and that I'd spent too much time looking at gloves. And I didn't spend "that" much time looking at gloves.

 

[gtaus]

I use the kind of split leather palm gloves that look like that. I think the quality depends on which company made them since many companies copied the look. I'm surprised they got past Menard's quality control, though.

Yeah, I have considered that I just got a bad lot. Like I said, the split leather gloves have been my favorite general purpose work glove for a number of years.

 

[gtaus]

Store Return Policies and Practice

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a turkey fryer at Menards. This week they went on sale for even less. So, I brought my purchase receipt to the store on my weekly run into town and asked the lady at the returns desk if I could get a price adjustment for my prior purchase because it went on sale this week.

The lady looked at the receipt, and told me that would not be possible because I had purchased the item 19 days ago, and they only do price adjustments for 14 days. Well, that was disappointing, but I was not done yet.

I told her that if I was unable to get a price adjustment today, that was OK. I would just buy another Turkey Fryer at the current sale price today, and return the original purchase from 19 days ago because they have a 90 day return policy. It would make no difference to me. Somewhere in the conversation, she realized that forcing me to return a previous purchased item would mean more work for her, and possible a loss for the store. I don't know what they really do with returns, but I imagine they cannot sell them as new if the item was unboxed.

She went over and talked to another representative, who probably had more experience then her, and came back and told me that they would just do the return and repurchase on the paper receipt I brought them.

I saved a total of $5.49 on the repurchased sale price. I know that is maybe not a lot of money, but it will help to pay for some chicken feed for the girls. It cost me nothing to ask. Little savings like that add up throughout the year.

It worked out in the end for me. My backup plan was to buy another Turkey Fryer at the sale price, take it out to the car, and turn around and return it with my 19 day old receipt. I buy lots of things from Menards, and rarely return anything. But I was determined to get the better sale price on that item.

 

[fuzzi]

I use my smart phone camera when I shop. If I can't read the fine print on the price tag I snap a photo and then enlarge.

Last week I was at Aldi's and saw they had a freezer full of small, all organic turkeys at 77¢ per pound. The tag on the turkey showed $1.69 per pound but I didn't worry about it because Aldi's adjusts at the register.

I got the turkey home and realized I was charged the higher price. I took a photo of the tag showing the weight and price. The next day I went back to Aldi's. The freezer was almost empty but the 77¢ tag was still there. I took a photo of it, then stopped a manager and explained that I had purchased a turkey but was overcharged. After he scanned the picture of the price tag on my phone he explained that the price was actually $1.69, that the turkeys were mislabeled, wrong price on the freezer. BUT he refunded me the difference due to THEIR error!

So I got an organic/no antibiotic turkey for $8 instead of $18, and all I had to do was ask and show proof.

 

[gtaus]

So I got an organic/no antibiotic turkey for $8 instead of $18, and all I had to do was ask and show proof.

That's great. It really pays to keep track of your purchases and it costs you nothing to ask for a price adjustment that you were entitled to get. I'm glad they honored the sticker price.

Dear Wife does almost all our grocery shopping. She almost never looks at the price of anything. If she needs it, it's in the shopping cart. Period. She only buys what she needs for the moment.

I'm the opposite. If I buy groceries, I buy when on sale and stock up in the pantry. If I need something and it's too expensive at regular price, I'll find something else instead. That saves us money over both the short and long term. However, Dear Wife does not agree with my shopping system, which is why she does almost all our grocery shopping.

 

[Sally PB]

I have a system -- sort of -- in the way I make my shopping list.

I add things to the list as I think of them.

Hubby adds things, sometimes, and if so, we're probably out of it, or very low. But he also doesn't look in all the usual places, so maybe he emptied a bag/jar/box, and thought that was the last one. I check it out before I go.

If the item is "must buy the next shopping trip," I underline it.

If it's not urgent, but I'd stock up if it were on sale, I write IOS (If On Sale) next to it. Like hubby's antacids.

Sometimes I want to check out something someone recommended or that I've never bought before, so I write CO (Check Out) after them.

 

[fuzzi]

I have a system -- sort of -- in the way I make my shopping list.

I add things to the list as I think of them.

Hubby adds things, sometimes, and if so, we're probably out of it, or very low. But he also doesn't look in all the usual places, so maybe he emptied a bag/jar/box, and thought that was the last one. I check it out before I go.

If the item is "must buy the next shopping trip," I underline it.

If it's not urgent, but I'd stock up if it were on sale, I write IOS (If On Sale) next to it. Like hubby's antacids.

Sometimes I want to check out something someone recommended or that I've never bought before, so I write CO (Check Out) after them.

I trained my children to write down when they opened the last of something. I have a Dry Erase board that I utilize to jot down grocery store items. Never could train the dh to do that...

 

[ChicNmom]

Hubby adds things, sometimes, and if so, we're probably out of it, or very low. But he also doesn't look in all the usual places, so maybe he emptied a bag/jar/box, and thought that was the last one. I check it out before I go.

That's a good system.

I stopped leaving my list out. My husband sees the list and turns into a 10 year old boy and writes items like "boogers" on it.