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Free Wood Pallets

Wood pallets are a great resource that can be had for free and yet used for some many practical applications. Here are some ideas about where you can get free wood pallets and what you can do with them. Wood pallets are used at retail stores and places of businesses to hold goods, usually during shipment. It isn’t cost effective for the owners of the good to send the pallets back to their suppliers, so usually they are just thrown away. This is such a shame, because they can be valuable and save you money. Ask your local home improvement … Continue reading →

Clever Reuse Ideas

Reusing what you already have around the house can go a long way to saving your money and your resources. if you can reuse just five thing a month into something wanted or needed, well then you can save quite a bit of money. Reusing items can come in all shapes and forms. The practice just requires a little bit of creativity or the sharing of an interesting idea. Here are some clever ideas that I have come across for reusing common items. Parents Magazine featured a reader tip with a very interesting idea. Kim Neu of Philadelphia, Pa, not … Continue reading →

Things to Do with Tennis Balls

Used tennis balls are like pennies. They were once valued but are usually discarded. Once tennis balls go flat then they can’t really be used for tennis anymore. They can, however, be used for many other things. So whether you have tennis balls of your own or want to rescue some free tennis balls and put them to good use, you should be able to benefit from the following ideas. You can reuse tennis balls: In the dryer to prevent washed pillows from becoming lumpy and to fluffy up towels, comforters and down coats. In your home to move heavy … Continue reading →

Fall and Holiday Decorating with Nature

Have you ever considered using a cut log as a decorative element? This is just one of the many ideas I have for fall and holiday decorating with nature. Fall is a wonderful time for gathering the bounty around you and using it to decorate. And for the holidays, there is often nothing quite as homey and bringing a bit of the outdoors in. It gives a sense of that old fashioned Christmas we all dream about. I talked a little bit about using nature in yesterday’s post about centerpieces and decorative items, but let’s expand to cover little touches … Continue reading →

What to Do with Vending Machine Bubbles

You know that you are really frugal when you can look at anything at all and find a way to reuse it. one such items that came up recently for me is the plastic vending machine bubble. These are the little plastic cases that hold rings, tattoos, erasers, cheap jewelry, bouncy balls and other little toys that can be had from a vending machine. Now, what am I doing talking about buying little overpriced things that cost 50 cents or more these days? Well, I am not actually talking about purchasing these bubble-filled toys, but actually just reusing the bubbles. … Continue reading →

What to Do with Old Windows

Reusing what you have is usually a sure bet to save money. Some things have obvious reuses, such as paper bags from the grocery store, while others may be a bit obscure, such as what to do with a bunch of leftover allen wrenches. One item that keeps coming up in reuse questions is the old window. This may be the year that we replace our old drafty single pane windows with insulating double pane ones. Just throwing the windows away could cost us two times. The first is the cost to dispose of the windows, either through the window … Continue reading →

Frugal Living Week in Review: March 3rd Through March 9th

Do you know why it is so much easier to spend today than it was a few years ago? If not, you’ll want to read through last week’s articles. We have also covered a lot of new ideas, from reusing items to creating frugal meals for your family. March 3rd Whole Turkey Versus Turkey Breasts: Cost Comparison In an article from last week, I talked about the great value of a whole turkey. One question that came up was about buying turkey breasts instead, for a family that won’t eat the dark meat. So, I thought I would do a … Continue reading →

Tightwad Gazette: “What to Do with…”

After dinner, I decided to browse through my copy of the Tightwad Gazette II, the real handbook for frugal living. In one section, there was a round up of reuse ideas. Many of the materials used in these ideas are quite unusual. So, I thought I would share some of those ideas with you, and add a few comments of my own. Burned Cookies The Tightwad Gazette recommends that you shave off the bottoms of the cookies with a coarse kitchen grater. They don’t mention anything about using the resulting crumbs, though. In our family, a cookie doesn’t ever get … Continue reading →

New Uses for Bread Bags

Thanks to the great deals at the bakery thrift store, we have been buying a lot of bread for sandwiches and toast. I have been saving the bread maker usage time for rolls, quick breads and pizza dough. As a result, we are quickly accumulating a lot of bread bags. I thought it might be a good idea to share some ideas for reusing bread bags. Some of these ideas we use in our own home, some ideas I researched, and some ideas were given to me by friends and readers. Do you have an idea that doesn’t appear here? … Continue reading →

4 Questions to Ask Yourself that Will Save You Money

As you go about your daily life, you might want to ask yourself the following questions. These questions (and the answers) may just save you a lot of money. Being frugal doesn’t have to be hard. It does take some commitment, or at least a committed mindset. Practice and creativity always helps, too. As you live the frugal lifestyle, you’ll find yourself almost automatically making frugal choices, especially when you are used to asking yourself the following questions. 1. How can we get this cheaper? When you are looking to make a purchase for a good or service, could you … Continue reading →