What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[Smokerbill]

I heard somewhere sometime ago that a good strategy is to just sell all the stuff you have that you think you might need someday. Then you'll have money to re-buy the things you need in the future.

 

[Molpet]

I heard somewhere sometime ago that a good strategy is to just sell all the stuff you have that you think you might need someday. Then you'll have money to re-buy the things you need in the future.

Sounds like a good thought, but No way will that encourage me.... New stuff is not made well and costs way more than what I paid even last year and costs are just going up

 

[Smokerbill]

Buy older used stuff, not new.

 

[Sally PB]

My nephew's fiancée is collecting mismatched mugs for her wedding reception - they are thinking of hanging them on a pegboard for guests to choose one to use at the reception and then take home afterwards. So, they are looking for a wide range of kinds so people have a better chance of finding one they want to take home. It is a reuse, and maybe two reuses.

What a fantastic idea!

 

[gtaus]

Save Money by Getting Organized

I mentioned that I am in the process of cleaning out my garage. It started a few days ago when I was looking for a bolt and nut to replace ones on my riding mower grass collection chute that fell off. Long story short, I eventually found the bolt and nuts I needed, but it took me some time. While looking for the bolt and nut I needed, I found lots of bins and jars with misc. bolts and nuts that were not marked. Obviously, I save all those items, which is good, but they were not organized in any meaningful way.

Being frugal and saving things for use later might be a good thing, but if you don't know what you have, you might have to work on that issue. In my case, I decided to get my all my unmarked nuts and bolts more organized.

My idea was to get a device that I could use to measure, or size, all my nuts and bolts and then I am going to put them in my parts cases. After looking at a number of options for sizing up nuts and bolts, I ordered a Thread Checker from Amazon...

It just came in the mail today and I really like it. You just screw in your bolt or nut into the gauge that it fits and then read off the size and pitch of the item. Very nice, very fast.

I posted a link to that specific Thread Checker because some of the first ones I looked at were $35.00. This $10.00 unit should serve me well. And, assuming that I get my nuts and bolts organized, it won't take long for it to pay for itself.

For parts storage cases, I purchased some from Harbor Freight when they were on sale. Here is their regular price...

IIRC, I got the medium cases for about $8.00 and the large cases for around $10.00. What I really like about them is that they have removable bins in the case. I have a large case filled with drywall screws, and I just take out the bin, or two, that I need for my project and leave the rest in the case on the shelf.

I have one of those P-Touch label makers that I bought about 15 years ago. I print out the labels and stick them inside the removeable bins. I also label the case itself on the handle so I can read what's in the case when it's on the storage shelf.

Well, the point of this post is that the real value in saving stuff is being able to find it when you need it. I'm always trying to up my game in that respect. If you look at the price of hardware these days, it will not take long to cover your costs for items that you might have to buy for organizing your stuff. In my case, I don't live in town, and it can cost me anywhere from $5.00 to $10.00 to make a trip to town and back depending on the vehicle I use. I saved a trip to town when I found the parts I needed to fix my riding mower grass chute, but I would have found the parts faster had I been more organized.

 

[gtaus]

New stuff is not made well and costs way more than what I paid even last year and costs are just going up

In general, I agree. However, this past year I have purchased brand new power tools (table saw, miter saw, band saw) that are both less expensive and have more features, than the power tools I bought 30 years ago. For some of the stuff I use, the newer stuff is both better and less expensive. However, the manual tools that grandpa passed on to my dad, and now to me, are better than what is in the stores today. The only problem I have is that some of the wooden handles have rotted out on those old shovels and pitch forks and it costs more for a new handle than buying a new shovel, for example.

As much as I would prefer to fix, repair, or renew some of my older tools, I have found that buying parts to bring something back to life often exceeds the value of the tool. We live in a disposable economy, and you have to pick and choose your battles if you want to save money.