What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[gtaus]

Using ChatGPT.com AI to save money!

I have an older Samsung laser printer. It has been having challenges feeding the paper into the machine. I checked out YouTube and found out that one common problem could be that the rubber uptake roller inside the machine is either dirty and/or old and cracked from age. One solution is to get some rubber rejuvenator spay to clean and revitalize the rubber on the roller.

Sounds easy enough. Unfortunately, nobody in town carries a can of that stuff. I found some on Amazon, but it's almost $20 for a can of cleaner which I know I would only need a few squirts of spray for this job...

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So, I got the idea to ask ChatGPT.com if there was any homemade, DIY, type of rubber cleaner solutions that I could try. IIRC, it gave me 3 options. The one idea that really caught my eye was that I could use automotive belt dressing spray which would both clean and rejuvenate my rubber roller inside the printer.

Just about all the local auto stores carry belt dressing spray, and it's a whole lot cheaper than that can of rubber roller cleaner spray on Amazon. Even better, I still have a half can of belt dressing out in the garage that has been sitting out there for maybe 10 years!

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This morning, I sprayed some belt dressing on a paper towel and cleaned off and revitalized my uptake rubber roller in the printer. So far, the printer is working like new! I don't know how often I might need to repeat this cleaning, but I still have a half a can of that belt dressing, and I might as well use it up, a few sprays at a time.

Point is, I would have probably never thought of using automotive belt dressing for a computer printer cleaning, but ChatGPT.com AI listed it as an option. In this case, it saved me about $20 and half a week in shipping time waiting for my Amazon order to arrive.

Truth be told, I was considering buying a new laser printer for around $300.00, or more, because I was getting so frustrated that my old printer was not working. That idea for a new printer is on hold as long as the belt dressing cleaning repair works on my old laser printer!

I really like using these new tools like the Artificial Intelligence program ChatGPT.com and YouTube "University" with videos showing me how to perform many of my household repairs. You can really save money by doing repairs yourself. ChatGPT might provide you with alternative money-saving ideas that you have not thought of. All I had to was ask!

Speaking of using my printer, my fix using automotive belt conditioner spray on my printer's rubber uptake rollers of two months ago is still holding up and the printer is still working great. It was a zero cost repair for me because I had an old can of belt conditioner out in the garage.

And to think that I was about to toss out that printer and get a new one! It's working as good as new now!

 

[Sally PB]

Do the folded sheets go through the printer ok? Most of the sheets I get have been folded in half or thirds.

I cut mine up for scrap paper to make lists. I make a lot of lists.

 

[gtaus]

Do the folded sheets go through the printer ok? Most of the sheets I get have been folded in half or thirds.

I cut mine up for scrap paper to make lists. I make a lot of lists.

Yes, the folded sheets go through my printer just fine. One thing I do is stack my junk paper in a drawer with the newest pages on the bottom. So, by the time I use that sheet, it is pretty much flattened out by the weight of the other sheets above it. I don't think that is necessary, but I think it helps.

Will those folded sheets work in all printers? I think they will. I have used those junk mail pages in a number of different printers without any problems.

I also cut some of my junk mail pages up for scrap paper and list paper. I put the paper lists in my pocket planer when I go into town shopping. I know it's old school, using paper and pen, but I have tried using my smart phone to make to-do and shopping lists and just find it too much effort. It's faster for me to write my shopping list on a scrap paper and stick it in my pocket planner.

It's been well over two years since I had to bring any paper products to the recycle center. Most of the paper and cardboard gets shredded for coop bedding, then composting out in the chicken run. But I am also able to reuse junk mail in the printer if the backside of a page is blank. So, it's just one more use in my home based recycling.

 

[Sally PB]

I also cut some of my junk mail pages up for scrap paper and list paper. I put the paper lists in my pocket planer when I go into town shopping. I know it's old school, using paper and pen, but I have tried using my smart phone to make to-do and shopping lists and just find it too much effort. It's faster for me to write my shopping list on a scrap paper and stick it in my pocket planner.

I'm old school too. I need my to do list sitting on the counter to remind me what I need/want to get done. I get satisfaction from crossing items off.

 

[fuzzi]

Yes, the folded sheets go through my printer just fine. One thing I do is stack my junk paper in a drawer with the newest pages on the bottom. So, by the time I use that sheet, it is pretty much flattened out by the weight of the other sheets above it. I don't think that is necessary, but I think it helps.

Will those folded sheets work in all printers? I think they will. I have used those junk mail pages in a number of different printers without any problems.

I also cut some of my junk mail pages up for scrap paper and list paper. I put the paper lists in my pocket planer when I go into town shopping. I know it's old school, using paper and pen, but I have tried using my smart phone to make to-do and shopping lists and just find it too much effort. It's faster for me to write my shopping list on a scrap paper and stick it in my pocket planner.

It's been well over two years since I had to bring any paper products to the recycle center. Most of the paper and cardboard gets shredded for coop bedding, then composting out in the chicken run. But I am also able to reuse junk mail in the printer if the backside of a page is blank. So, it's just one more use in my home based recycling.

I write shopping lists on the back of bill envelopes, and put coupons inside.

 

[gtaus]

I'm old school too. I need my to do list sitting on the counter to remind me what I need/want to get done. I get satisfaction from crossing items off.

I don't live in town. So, I also have a list on our kitchen counter of things to pick up in town when I make my normal once a week trip. It helps me to organize my trip so that I just make one stop at the stores and not going back and forth all over town. Saves me some money on not wasting gas, but more importantly saves me time not having to backtrack on my route.

I don't particularly like shopping, so a list of things I need helps me get in and out of the stores quickly. I don't go browsing in the stores. But that's just me.

 

[gtaus]

I write shopping lists on the back of bill envelopes, and put coupons inside.

That sounds like a great idea. We don't get coupons in the local papers anymore. Where do you get your coupons?

 

[Sally PB]

I don't particularly like shopping, so a list of things I need helps me get in and out of the stores quickly. I don't go browsing in the stores. But that's just me.

My long lost twin brother!

There are very few stores I like to browse. One is a book store, the other a yarn store. And it has to be a GOOD yarn store, not a craft store with an aisle of yarn.

 

[fuzzi]

That sounds like a great idea. We don't get coupons in the local papers anymore. Where do you get your coupons?

Mainly direct mail flyers.

 

[gtaus]

Mainly direct mail flyers.

I was going to say that I don't use coupons anymore. Many years ago I used to clip the coupons from the Sunday paper and save money on my groceries. But that was like ~40 years ago.

But then I thought about how I use the Harbor Freight digital coupons all the time. They are just not on paper. You can "clip" the HF coupons to your wish list on your smart phone app, and they can scan the barcode off your phone. So, it's coupons, but in a different form. Not paper.

Of course, the trick is to use the coupons for stuff you need and don't fall into an impulse buy at the checkout. Which goes back to me making a list before I go into the store, getting just those items on my list, and leaving.