January 2025 Frugals

[early morning]

We use a straw bale over the front-room crawl-space vent, otherwise the floors in there are COLD! We have it blocked with an insulation panel also. Lots of people around here put hay or straw bales on at least the windward side of the foundation. It helps a lot. We don't have room for bales on that side and we have windbreaks, but DH has been putting a sheet of foam insulation board against the area where the pipes run from the basement up thru the exterior wall to the kitchen sink, and we've not had frozen pipes since. But when it's sub-zero, I still drip the faucet into a bucket! All other waterlines are interior except the downstairs bath, and it's much better insulated to start with. It was added in the 60s, and we added more insulation when we had some other work done.

Personally I like straw better than hay because it doesn't mess with my allergies as much in the spring, when I'm trying to move it back to the compost. It doesn't seem to get moldy so quickly.

[Tybee]

We use a straw bale over the front-room crawl-space vent, otherwise the floors in there are COLD! We have it blocked with an insulation panel also. Lots of people around here put hay or straw bales on at least the windward side of the foundation. It helps a lot. We don't have room for bales on that side and we have windbreaks, but DH has been putting a sheet of foam insulation board against the area where the pipes run from the basement up thru the exterior wall to the kitchen sink, and we've not had frozen pipes since. But when it's sub-zero, I still drip the faucet into a bucket! All other waterlines are interior except the downstairs bath, and it's much better insulated to start with. It was added in the 60s, and we added more insulation when we had some other work done.

Personally I like straw better than hay because it doesn't mess with my allergies as much in the spring, when I'm trying to move it back to the compost. It doesn't seem to get moldy so quickly.

Straw is preferable, for sure. We used to buy it in Michigan from the farmer down the road. It was also much cheaper. But we can't source it here, at least not yet.

[happystuff]

I'm not sure what this falls under, but I hope it ends up being frugal! LOL. Was looking for something to clean the shower with - lots of soap build-up, etc. Was at the store and saw a cleaner that was supposed to be able to handle "soap scum/build-up", so I bought it. It is a spray bottle with two packs of concentrate cleaner. I also found a refill pack containing three additional packs. I like the idea of reusing the bottle and not buying a whole other one when the cleaner itself is gone. It was all at the dollar store, so I'm hoping it will work. If so - yay! If not, not too big of a $$ loss. Now all I have to do is get off my lazy butt and clean the shower -

[Tradd]

A combo of blue Dawn, white vinegar, and a bit of water in a spray bottle does wonders for soap scum and the like. Huge squirts of Dawn in the bottle. It’s the only hard surface cleaner I use.

[happystuff]

A combo of blue Dawn, white vinegar, and a bit of water in a spray bottle does wonders for soap scum and the like. Huge squirts of Dawn in the bottle. It’s the only hard surface cleaner I use.

Thanks. Writing this down to use if this new stuff doesn't work!