What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[Theurbanhomestead]

I don't have cast iron pans, but I have watched some YouTube videos where a person takes an old rusty cast iron pan from the garbage, cleans it up, reconditions it with a new surface, and it looks like new! Amazing how some things were made to last a lifetime and not tossed out after only a few years. You just need to know how to treat them and keep them in good shape.

I love my cast iron cook ware. I got a set of frying pans that are at least as old as my grandfather since he got them from his mother and they are still going strong after probably 100 years. We just switched from gas to induction stove top and one of my conditions for switching was that it would still work with cast iron. Also if you have not tried it yet induction cook tops are pretty great, I only worry that since they are newish we don't know how long they will last.

 

[gtaus]

I use those sheets for making lists. I cut them in half so that they fit better in the scrap paper spot.

Yes. I will cut some of those papers (blank on one side) into about 6 squares which fits into my desktop holder for a notepad paper. IIRC, it used to have a pad of note paper with a sticky edge on the top. That pad is long gone, but I just refill the holder with my homemade (non-sticky) scratch paper.

My 4th Grade teacher, way back in the 1970's, would encourage us to use the blank backside of our schoolwork papers to submit new class work, or homework. I don't know if she was "Green" before her time, or if she knew lots of our students came from modest families with limited resources, but in any case, that idea stuck with me throughout life.

So now I use both sides of most paper, if possible, and then I shred it to use as coop litter, then compost it, then put it into my gardens. That's being about as frugal and sustainable at the same time as you can get!

 

[gtaus]

Also if you have not tried it yet induction cook tops are pretty great, I only worry that since they are newish we don't know how long they will last.

My brother had to get a new stove, and he got one of those induction cook tops. He really likes it. If we ever have to replace our stove, I think that is what we would choose. Having said that, I hope we don't have to buy another stove in our lifetime.

 

[Molpet]

Resurrected my old inkjet printer!

A few days ago, I mentioned that I cleaned up my Samsung laser printer's rubber uptake roller with a bit of belt conditioner spray on a Q-tip. That is working great.

Fixing the laser printer encouraged me to try to fix my old Brother MFC-J430W all-in-one inkjet printer/scanner/copier/fax. I had not used that printer for a long time and the printhead jets were dried up and clogged. I mainly have been using it as a scanner for the past ~4 years. It still worked great for that.

View attachment 4236103

Well, I did a test print page, and it came out blank. I tried the printer's cleaning cycles, but nothing worked. Completely blank sheets of paper came out. I thought it was dead as a printer.

I was looking online for a new color inkjet or color laser printer and they cost hundreds of dollars. For as little as I print out these days, that was not something I wanted to invest in. So, I decided to watch some YouTube videos on how to clean out the dried ink in my printhead. I found a couple showing how to hook up a syringe to the ink jet ports where the cartridges go into the bay, and to force some cleaning fluid through the lines. I mixed up some Isopropyl Alcohol and water as my cleaning solution. I had a syringe and some tubing to hook up to the ink port. I flushed out the lines and hoped for the best.

I put in the ink cartridges and the test print page was perfect! Here is a sample of my color test page....

View attachment 4236100

Well, I don't know why this uploaded picture is not as good as the scanned .jpg image, but let me say that in real life, you can see all the colors down to 20% on the printout. Bottom line, the printer is working as good as new thanks to YouTube University and a few supplies I already had on hand.

Did you know that many of the new printers have chips in the ink cartridges so that you can only use that printer's OEM ink cartridges? If you try to put in a third-party ink cartridge, your printer could shut itself down! What a rip off. In any case, my old inkjet printer does not have that problem. I can buy third party color ink cartridges for my printer.

The savings in ink alone was well worth attempting to clean out my old printer. A set of OEM Brother 4 ink cartridges is about $50.00 for a set - or almost $12.50 per ink cartridge. I can get new ink cartridges from Amazon from a third party in a 15-cartridge set for $23.00 - or about $1.60 per ink cartridge. I don't print much anymore these days, but if you did print a lot, that ink cost would add up fast if you had to buy only OEM ink.

In my case, I need to remember to print out at least one page per week to keep the printhead from drying up again. Better to keep it running right than having to hope you can fix it later. Anyways, I got my color printer back in action after about 3 or 4 years of not being able to use it as a printer.

Someone gave me their old printer scanner because the hinge was broken. It worked great. I got ink for it a couple times online. The ink cartridges tripled in price and would have been $50 . They were drying out before I used them up. I didn't use it much and went without for a couple years.
Then I had to snail mail tax stuff to IRS and bought a new printer/scanner for $20. Ink has been about 20 for this printer.... for now anyway. Crazy how much replacement parts are. I had to get a new TV a few weeks ago. I bought a insignia 32 inch for 69.99. I was going to get an extra remote since it has no buttons... until I seen it was 29.99 for a remote

 

[Smokerbill]

I was going to get an extra remote since it has no buttons... until I seen it was 29.99 for a remote

I've had good luck with cheap knockoff remotes from Amazon.

 

[Molpet]

I've had good luck with cheap knockoff remotes from Amazon.
View attachment 4236333

The ones I looked at didn't have my TV model listed.
NS-32F201NA26

 

[gtaus]

Then I had to snail mail tax stuff to IRS and bought a new printer/scanner for $20.

$20.00 for a new printer/scanner! What's the catch? The printers I was looking at were either starting at a couple hundred dollars, or you could get a less expensive inkjet printer that required you to buy their OEM brand (expensive) ink. FWIW, printer companies basically gave away their printers if you got hooked into their ink cartridges. That's where they made the money. Selling ink, and now, adding a chip in the ink cartridge to shut down the printer if you don't buy their ink.

How expensive is ink compared to something like $3.00 per gallon for gasoline?

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Inkjet printer ink can cost between $1,500 and $9,600 per gallon—making it hundreds of times more expensive than gasoline at $3.00 per gallon.
Here’s a breakdown of how the numbers stack up:

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Cost Comparison: Ink vs. Gasoline​

Item	Approximate Cost per Gallon	Notes
Gasoline	$3.00	Based on current U.S. average
Inkjet Color Ink	$1,500–$9,600	Based on cartridge pricing Inkjets.com Toner Buzz
Bulk Refill Ink	$20–$100	Much cheaper, but not OEM quality Amazon

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Why Is Ink So Expensive?​

• Tiny quantities: A standard cartridge contains just 0.1–0.2 ounces of ink.
• OEM pricing: Brand-name cartridges are priced high to subsidize low-cost printers.
• R&D and tech costs: Ink formulas are engineered for fast drying, vibrant color, and longevity.
• The razor-blade model: Companies sell printers cheap and make profits on ink.

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Real-World Example​

• A single color cartridge might cost $20–$40 and contain 0.1 oz of ink.
• That’s $200–$400 per ounce, or $25,600–$51,200 per gallon if extrapolated.
• Even conservative estimates put ink at $1,500–$9,600 per gallon, depending on brand and cartridge size Toner Buzz.

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Tips to Save on Ink​

• Use ink tank printers (like Epson EcoTank or Canon MegaTank) with refillable bottles.
• Print in draft mode for non-essential documents.
• Consider third-party ink (with caution for compatibility).
• Use grayscale printing when color isn’t needed.

Ink is one of the most expensive liquids you’ll ever buy—by volume, it rivals luxury perfumes and designer champagne. If you’re printing often, switching to a tank-based printer could save you hundreds annually.
Sources: Inkjets.com Amazon Toner Buzz