May Frugals

[fidgiegirl]

Hi all,

I have a frugal I've been holding in my head for a while. It's funny how many of them are really just NOT buying stuff. We ordered a Waterhog rug for our heavy traffic back door area. It was pricey, and we almost bought one for the front door as well, but then we stopped, thought about how many people truly use the front door (very few) and scrubbed up a mat that had sat in the snow all winter. It dried up nicely and is providing the perfect protection inside the front door.

We got some fencing for our garden plot off CL. Not a huge savings, but a bit and we are reusing. Used a Menards rebate on some further items for the garden. DH bought an air compressor on sale at Northern Tool, but is considering returning it. It was a good price, but we think that packages when they go on sale at Lowe's or HD can be a better value ultimately because they come with an assortment of nailers. Still thinking about it.

[ApatheticNoMore]

I dried my clothes hanging inside this week rather than the dryer (no I wasn't doing that in the colder months because even in California winter - laugh all you want - the things dont' get dry, you just have soggy wet clothes hanging around for days). But summer is here. There is a laundry line outside, that would require I actually do my wash in the daytime though, but inside does work.

[rosarugosa]

Kelli: I need to work on that "just not buying stuff" part of frugality. I haven't been doing so well lately, I'm afraid! We do need to make some garden-related purchases, but I need to knock it off with the optional stuff.
Anyway, I do have one frugal to report. Last Saturday, I developed itching, redness, and discomfort in my left eye, which just got worse by Sunday. I was all set to go to the acute care clinic, which would have been costly (subject to my deductible). I did some online research and learned that conjunctivitis usually will go away in 5 - 7 days without medical intervention. So I applied what I have learned in the way of palliative self-care when I had a bad bout several years ago, and was successful in riding it out.
Self-care tips:
Don't rub - that makes the itching worse!
Hot compresses
Over the counter eye drops (for relief of itching/allergies)
Frequently wash eyes with baby shampoo & warm water on cotton balls throughout the day

[cdttmm]

Count me in as another person who needs to "just not buy stuff." If I could get my partner on board with this as well, then we'd really be making progress! I shouldn't complain, he is really quite frugal compared to many others, but sometimes...

My frugal for today is pretty basic. The local bank is having a free paperwork shredding day. You can bring up to 5 shoeboxes worth of documents to shred for free. I was planning to go, but have decided not to. First and foremost, I would have to devote at least an hour to organizing the paperwork and figuring out what I want to shred. Then I would have to spend the time and gas money to drive there to get everything shredded. We have a paper shredder. Granted, it's small and somewhat inefficient, but we have one -- why would I need to take time to do this today at the bank when I can do it at my leisure at home? Not to mention, driving into town will inevitably end up with me running other errands that involve spending money. None of which would be urgent needs. So instead, I am staying home and getting some things done around the house.

Not a very exciting frugal, but sometimes it's the unexciting stuff that is important. I feel like this is a good example of continuing to train myself to be less impulsive and more thoughtful about my actions.

Other frugals have been more of the same small things. I've been trying to get in the habit of making daily lists. I like to do this by hand rather than on the computer. So I dug out some pre-printed notepads we had from our old business and I'm using the backsides of the paper to make my daily lists. Since I tend to make a new list everyday and recycle the previous list this is a frugal way to do that, as opposed to buying a notepad of some sort just for this purpose.

Been doing a pretty good job of eating at home this week. Did have lunch out yesterday, but that was planned. Now if I can just keep up the eat-at-home ritual while my mom is visiting next week that will be great!

Starting my new job on Monday and I'm pretty excited about that. Although I've been tempted to buy a new outfit or two in preparation, I'm holding off until I've been there at least a few weeks. It sounds like the dress code during the summer is pretty informal so I'm hoping I can get by with what I already own.

[Tradd]

I try to go as long as I can in the fall/winter without turning the heat on. I love being cold. However, the very low gas bill is a great motivator. It's been warm this week. I've managed to not turn the central a/c on yet. In previous years, I would have turned the a/c on already! Today is my first weekend day at home with it being warm. How I've survived the nights: I don't open my BR window as it's right next to my bed due to my allergies (which are very bad this spring). I leave one of the LR windows cracked a couple of inches (with the little stops engaged, so it can't be opened further, for security since I have a ground floor apt). I have my BR ceiling fan going (it's right above bed), as well as one of those 9" air circulator fans on a chair 4' away, aimed at the bed. It keeps me pretty cool at night. When I get home from work, I turn on the fans in the BR and open the windows in the LR. It's been cooling off pretty quick. Now, we'll see how I am when the humidity hits, but I'll take any savings I can.

[Kat]

Thanks for the kind words, tussiemussies! I think we will be able to get the furniture at a later time. Unfortunately, I do not think there is a way to reconfigure the existing furniture. It is entryway furniture--a coat rack, a table, and a bench--and it just doesn't function well for the space. The sizing/storage capacity just isn't right; we've tried rearranging it and such but just can't seem to make it work. We can make do for awhile longer, though. New furniture would be nice, but it isn't a need by a long shot. I am just trying to be thankful for all that we do have. We are, after all, very blessed.

fidgie--I like the way that you were able to re-use a mat you already had. I, too, am trying to buy less stuff. When I want something, I am trying to see if a) I actually do need it and b) if something else I have would suffice. I oftentimes realize that I don't need it or have something that will work. My final step is to wait a bit before buying. This allows me to look for a deal and also consider again if I really want/need it. Usually I forget all about it. LOL

Yesterday I had to take my little Charlie to the vet again. he is prone to urinary tract problems (blockages, infections, etc.), and I was concerned he was blocked again because he cried in the litterbox and nothing came out. The bad news is that I ended up spending just under $100 on the trip. But the good news is that he wasn't blocked and only has an infection. So, yes, $100 spent...but the last time he was blocked, it cost like $750, so this was better than that!

Last night my in-laws suggested we order food in for dinner, but I suggested the frozen pizzas and they were fine with that. They were here again for lunch today and again suggested ordering in...but I brought out some chips and stuff for sandwiches instead.

After they went home last night, DH, DD, and I had family movie night. We watched part of a movie we already owned and had a little popcorn and juice. It was really nice, and frugal, too!

I am kind of excited about today's frugal. I saw this cute hair bow tutorial on Pinterest, and since DD loves flags, I thought it would be fun to make some red, white, and blue ones for DD:

http://www.craftquickies.com/hallowe...cker-hairbows/

The only thing is that I didn't have any red or blue fabric and didn't want to have to buy 1/4 yard each at my local quilt store. Well, today I was taking the baby's sheets (the baby we are expecting in about a week, I mean) downstairs to wash before putting them in his crib. DH designed a superhero nursery for him and bought two crib sheets--navy with white dots and bright red--to match. (we got them on sale and with a coupon, of course! ;-) ) Anyway, the sheets came wrapped in these little matching fabric bags. Usually I throw them out because they are kind of pointless...I'll never get the sheets folded up inside there again! But today I realized that these little fabric bags could be cut up and used for DD's 4th of July hair bows. They are the perfect colors and will look nice alternating with some white fabric scraps I have. Yay! Should be super cute, and they won't cost anything, really, since we needed the sheets anyway and already have the hair ties and the white.

[fidgiegirl]

Superb on the fabric bags, Kat!

Is there anything your kitty can take for the urinary issues? Once I cat sat and had to add a cranberry powder to the cats' f food to help with something like that, but not being a cat person, I have no further ideas. Isn't it funny how sometimes it's a savings to go to the doc/vet early, especially for a known problem like in Charlie's case, but other times, it's better to wait it out, like in Rosa's case. And interestingly, in each case the decision was made the way it was made due to a previous experience. Just goes to show that it mostly comes down to paying attention, and like cdttmm said, stopping to think about it.

[Tussiemussies]

Hi Kat, I recently saw some cute hair bows lately. Funny when I was a young girl I used to feel special when I had a proper hair ow on... That is a great re-purpose you found with the material.

Is the baby's room almost ready? When is he due? So exciting!

[Tradd]

Kat, those hair bows sound so cute.

[Blackdog Lin]

Thanks to everyone that posts on this thread. I enjoy reading them all.

I remembered to "shop at home first" this week. My closet dirty-laundry basket died a couple of weeks ago (I'd been repairing it for years, and it just got to where it wasn't worth all the effort I was putting into it), so I moved one of the back-porch ones to my closet. I still had one good one on the back porch, but I wasn't happy about using the same basket to both hold dirty clothes till laundry day and as the one I use for the clean clothes ready for folding. So I added a laundry basket to the shopping list.

When out in the barn this week looking for flowerpots, I spied an old wooden fruit bushel basket, with handles and everything. Gave it a good spraying and sunning outside and it's working just fine as my dirty-laundry basket on the back porch.