Squeezing maximum benefit from Home Depot gift cards!

[puglogic]

I always ask for Home Depot or other home improvement gift cards for Xmas, and this year I got a few.

If you were trying to parlay them into a more frugal lifestyle, what would you consider buying? My initial thoughts are things like pipe insulation, thermal drapes (it gets VERY cold here), materials to build a hoop house or other protection for an earlier veggie garden....but I'm sure I'm missing something.

What would YOU buy, if you were trying to turn this "free money" into a gift to yourself that would keep on giving (in lower energy bills, etc) ?

[rosarugosa]

Compact Fluorescent light bulbs.

[kib]

a simple water cachement system / rain barrel for the garden
power strips so you can turn everything off easily and have no electrical "vampires"
a drying rack or retractable clothesline for indoor winter drying
a solar oven or stuff to make one
extra insulation for attic or even crawl space
window plastic
weather stripping for doors
simple system to use laundry water for gardening
reel mower, or better yet, no-mow (ideally edible) landscaping
a fruit or nut tree or shrub
a chicken coop
ceiling fans

[frugal-one]

Home Depot gives a discount to veterans!

[Rosemary]

drip irrigation for a vegetable garden. Installed it on my raised beds and it makes my garden more productive and my life a lot easier.
hot water heater blanket.
undersink water filter for the kitchen, if you are buying bottled beverages, to drink more water and less of everything else.
alternative to thermal drapes: dual-cell honeycomb blinds
water-saving showerhead. Now available in 1.5 GPM models.
houseplants to clean your indoor air.

[Gina]

Veggie Seeds.

When I get a nice gift card, I'll walk around the store with notepad in hand and write down the things that I am considering, including the price. Then I'll read over the list, do some thinking, cross some things off, add up the various costs, etc. till I get it 'just right'. Then get a cart, and put into the basket the items that made the cut. Once I came within 5 cents of the total. :D

Have fun. :)

As an aside, years ago I got a $100 gift card for a local shopping mall. Even though it was a gift, I did not want to spend that much in a mall that mainly sold clothing etc. It basically was a Visa card and really I could use it anywhere. (I called and asked) So I used it to pay the ultility bills, and then put $100 cash into my pocket and headed off to my favorite thirft store. It took several trips to spend it there, but it was great fun, and I got far more good stuff than I would have in the mall. :~)

[puglogic]

Wow, I hadn't even thought of some of this stuff. Thank you SO much. And rosemary, I love those dual-cell blinds. I did that with LAST year's Home Depot cards, and it has made a big difference in our heating bill (a room that's mostly glass....)

[frugal-one]

Wow... I never even heard of dual-cell honeycomb blinds. Two century old trees were just cut down in the front of the house. These may help with the heat/sun. THANKS!