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I've gotten a lot of great ideas from this thread, but these are my faves :)

 

I pour a tablespoon of milk into the bottom of an almost empty ranch dressing bottle, shake well and we get several more meals out of it.

Use olive oil or water for the non-creamy kinds.

 

I cut my dryer sheets in half, only use them for towels.

 

I cut open toothpaste tubes to get the last bit out.

 

I use my used dryer sheets as dust rags. They actually make the surface repel dust so I can go longer between dusting the house. :)

 

I don't have anything new to add, and not anything surprising, but I do like to browse the thrift stores and have a friend cut our hair for us. I always check out the clearance stuff at Target and most other stores. My dad uses his coffee grounds at least twice, too.

 

I'm always looking for fun things to do with my kids that are free. There are many places around here that offer free admission on certain days (museums, zoo, botanical garden, etc.). Also, if we want to go see a play, we can usually get free theater tickets by being the coordinator of a field trip (I think they give one free seat for every 10-15 seats sold, or something like that).

 

In the past, I have done a few Tupperware fundraisers to get money for school books. I don't have even have many people to sell to, but still each time have gotten at least a $200 check. You don't have to sell it regularly, or have a show; you just sign up to do a one-time fundraiser and they send you the catalogs. They do allow homeschoolers to do this. You can choose lower prices for a 30% commission or prices that are a bit higher for a 50% commission.

 

ETA: One thing that I get from Target's clearance racks regularly is pj bottoms for my girls. They like to wear the pj pants/shorts with t-shirts to bed, rather than night gowns. The pj's in the girls' department are way too expensive at regular price and I don't usually see them on clearance - but I see them all the time in the women's dept. clearance racks. I buy the women's pj shorts or capris that are size XS or S and they fit my girls perfectly. I get them as low as $2 this way. For tops, they use old t-shirts from VBS or something like that - or we get those cheap, solid color tees from the craft stores (the $2 shirts that you can buy and decorate yourself).

Edited by hsmom3tn
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Maybe this doesn't count - but I try to see how many meals I can get from a chicken. I used to get 3 from the Walmart rotisserie - but now I rotisserie my own and I can get an easy 3 (same price but I think I get an easy pound or more of meat from doing it myself). We eat it one night - casserole the rest and then boil the bones/strip what's left for stock.

 

Maybe this doesn't count - but I try to see how many meals I can get from a chicken. I used to get 3 from the Walmart rotisserie - but now I rotisserie my own and I can get an easy 3 (same price but I think I get an easy pound or more of meat from doing it myself). We eat it one night - casserole the rest and then boil the bones/strip what's left for stock.

 

Have we been spammed??? This caught my eye, especially since the one from lucmas has that link in the sig.

 

Could be wrong, though, I didn't click on it....

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I have been thinking about how cheap my wedding was. My dress was $70 for the fabric and my aunt sewed it. It was gorgeous. I was very happy with it. I watch "say yes to the dress" and I can't believe it. My shoes were on clearance for $12. My mom and I made my veil.

 

My mom did the flowers. (She is amazingly talented and has entered shows.) We bought them at a warehouse. DHs grandma made the cake. (not professional, but very delicious and beautiful) Volunteers supplied trays of food.

 

We probably spent around $2000 for everything including renting the reception hall, and it was a very nice wedding.

 

That's is about what we spent on our wedding too. My dress was more than yours ($150) but our reception and all the food was free. My MIL made our cake. We did sheet cakes with one small topper. It was perfect. I loved it!

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count me among the converted! I do hereby promise, swear, or affirm that I will never again toss a ziplock back b/f it has seen the last of its Marianne Faithful potential.

 

There are a few other things I'd like to try . . . the dishwasher detergent for example. I tried one once b/f and it was awful. It didn't include the secret ingredient, though. I'll be trying that one out.

 

I'll give the used dryersheets for dusting idea, too, but who knows when that'll be.

 

Definately will be trying the homemade bows and the Christmas postcards.

 

I'll be going back through to see what other tips I can round up.

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count me among the converted! I do hereby promise, swear, or affirm that I will never again toss a ziplock back b/f it has seen the last of its Marianne Faithful potential.

 

Maybe we should start a club ... I have visions of people posting pix of their rough livin', die hard, chewed up, something the cat dragged in Ziplocs which have literally been put through the wringer but which still hold water and can rock last night's chili with the best of them.

 

I'll be going back through to see what other tips I can round up.

 

I got a lot of ideas through a series of books called the Tightwad Gazette. It used to be a newsletter (before I discovered it), and the editor later published all its columns into books after the newsletter became defunct. One of the snippits was about how someone does not buy toothpaste. She says if she just spends a good 15 minutes brushing her teeth really well, they are pretty darn clean! Much cleaner than 90 seconds with toothpaste.

 

:o I am ashamed to say: One of the tips in the book (or was it in one of the Steven Caney books?) was to save the colorful plastic friction caps that go over the top of milk jugs (typically the gallon size ones). I started to do so and now have a Mason jar full, but I forgot what they are for! But I still keep saving them though.:D :001_unsure:

Edited by mirth
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instead of using blush, I blot my lipstick with my fingers and dab it on my cheeks.

 

:iagree: I have never bought a blush. I've been using my lipstick as blush for 25 years. It works perfectly. I don't know why more people don't use it. You end up color coordinated! My DDs think I'm nuts.

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It's only if the people who know you would be surprised. Some years ago in college, there was a girl who reused to buy any clothing that was on-sale. The reason? If it's on sale, that means that someone's hands had touched it. She only wanted clothes that no one had touched. I was surprised.

 

I knew a girl whose entire family wouldn't buy anything on sale. Their justification was "If no one else wanted it, why would we?"

 

:eek:

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I just have to ask. Why is it surprising that so many ppl shop at thrift stores or garage sales for clothes? I buy *most* of our clothing from thrift stores or garage sales. The only thing I don't buy from there are underware, bras, socks and pants for me (only because I have a really hard time finding ones that fit nicely). Just curious why it would be surprising to other's?

 

I don't understand it either but it really matters to some people. (huh) I grew up in Arizona and spent 17 years in New Mexico, most people I knew considered the thrift store a perfectly reasonable place to shop. As I moved eastward it became less and less acceptable and where I am now folks would never admit if they shopped there. I figured it was regional but maybe I've just been talking to less thrifty folks.

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I don't understand it either but it really matters to some people. (huh) I grew up in Arizona and spent 17 years in New Mexico, most people I knew considered the thrift store a perfectly reasonable place to shop. As I moved eastward it became less and less acceptable and where I am now folks would never admit if they shopped there. I figured it was regional but maybe I've just been talking to less thrifty folks.

My dad wouldn't let me shop at the Salvation Army or St. Vincent DePaul shops when I was a teen (and those were the only places to get the cool, vintage duds). I think, for him, it was a pride thing - having grown up poor with 1 pair of patched jeans and 1 pair of shoes for each kid, and I think his father wouldn't take any "help" either. Not being able to provide for his family the way everyone else does (shopping at first-hand stores) was a bitter pill to swallow.

 

Me? I don't care at all. My MIL is a big rummager and GoodWill shopper and I've found some pretty cool things with her. But I think for some of another generation, it boils down to embarrassment. Then again, I suppose there are those, too, from this generation who feel other peoples' castoffs are beneath them.

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I thought of another cheap-o thing I do. I buy the small highly fragranced votive candles instead of the more expensive larger sizes and after I've burned them down to unburnable puddles, I scoop the wax into a small, electric warming crock (like the kind used for keeping dips warm at parties). The wax doesn't disappear as quickly, but the whole house still smells great.

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The funny thing is, is that no matter what cheap thing I chose it would come as no surprise to anyone I know. So, this is a tough one. Will require some thought. How about tearing off and giving my many daughters their daily allotment of toilet paper!! Does that count?:confused:

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If it's on sale, that means that someone's hands had touched it. She only wanted clothes that no one had touched. I was surprised.

? Huh? Didn't someone SEW it? Didn't some store employee put a price tag on it? Sounds like an argument for learning how to sew if you ask me. And maybe raising your own sheep so you can card the wool... Good grief. I have begun thinking some people want this experience of their car/clothes "losing their virginity" because they're the first to touch them. It's kind of creepy.

 

:o I am ashamed to say: One of the tips in the book (or was it in one of the Steven Caney books?) was to save the colorful plastic friction caps that go over the top of milk jugs (typically the gallon size ones). I started to do so and now have a Mason jar full, but I forgot what they are for! But I still keep saving them though.:D :001_unsure:

I just end up buried in packaging if I do this. I'd love to be able to keep every piece of paper and reuse it, but I just can't. I have to throw stuff out or recycle it.

Edited by stripe
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I do a lot of thrifty things, but I can't shop at consignment shops for clothes. We did it when I was a kid and there always seems to be a smell. Plus, the hit and miss nature of it all seems way too time consuming. It's easier for me to p/u things on sale/clearance at other stores and just not buy as much. I love the recycling aspect of it and am glad others do it. However, I do love buying books used. Half-Price books is my next best friend after these boards.

 

Laura

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I love them. I have purchased nice plastic bags from Ikea and others, and some huge nylon orange bags from Home Depot, that latch, for grocery shopping but, if they make it back to the car, they don't neccessarily make it into the store with me....we also have a tiny BSA troop so end up with leftover Scouting for Food bags, and the church won't store them (fire hazard). I like to fold them into a nice little package to store (tuck the fold into the open end) and I use them to transport everything...a bow stuck on it means its a present. Five by the door to sort things going different places later (library, back to mil's, home to sister's, returns, recycles, donation.)

 

Regarding the thrift shop smell...it is there, yes. I will only buy things I can wash (not shoes), and when it comes home it goes thru a special wash with oxygen bleach, extra rinse, but then, it is ours, with our germs! The joy of the hunt (or scrounge), when scoring nice things, at a bargain price, in a major thrill, and makes the joy of using something I really do like even greater. Plus, if I buy something new, and/or (gasp) full price, then that means that it will get ripped, broken, sat upon, lost or otherwise rendered useless all the quicker.

 

Cheapo is buying little dresses and boys outfits, sheshe labels, new, at NC outlet, really, really cheap and farming them to three different consignment sales. Another cheapo (in college and few years after) was buying lots of books when the thrift store got in hot titles, ten cents apiece, then trading them for lots of credit at the twoforone bookstore, to get what I really wanted to read. The twofer store manager knew what I was doing and was happy to get the good books.

 

I'm so uptown: I got my husband to make a goofy little Ziploc bag dryer, like my mom had: dowels stuck in a base....he got tired of me putting them over everything else to dry. I do wash those by hand, though.

 

Best cheapo is proudly duct-taping camping equipment, and repairing everything....husband can fix anything. Well, thrifty, may be a better word, not so much cheapo.

 

Now, I must say I am impressed with the thrift of not using certain personal paper products. That would take more fortitude than I can muster. And recycling human waste....saw enough in diapers.

 

Great thread...makes me feel normal, whatever that is.

 

LBS

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We reuse the brown lunch bags my husband takes to work. He keeps them there, and when they pile up, he brings them home. Obviously when one gets ripped or tattered, it gets trashed, and occasionally I'll just toss one if I see it around the house with trash in it. Another thing we do which doesn't seem all that surprising really I guess, is cut my families' hair. Saves a ton, and isn't that hard to do.

 

We bought a lunch bag for my DH...in the Walmart Sporting Goods department so no Spiderman or whatever on it. It zips shut, has a plastic removable liner and the top unzips and expands if he ever needs extra room. It cost about $10 and we just this summer replaced the one that we bought him when he started this job, 7 years ago....so that's like $1.50 a year? We replaced it because the zipper broke and I decided it wasn't worth my time to replace it....because I hate sewing zippers, lol.

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I buy VO5 shampoo and conditioner- a dollar a bottle, and I dilute the conditioner half and half with water. It works fine, diluting doesn't work well with the shampoo.

 

I also cut my own hair and dh and the boy's hair. I don't use soap on myself, or makeup, or lotions, I use olive oil or mineral oil for moisturizer.

 

You don't use soap...:001_huh: May I ask what you use to wash with, then? I am not being snarky...just can't imagine not using soap.

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We do a few "thrifty" things - like buying groceries in bulk and storing for later, growing our own veggies and canning them for use through the winter, and I love garage sales...but really, I stop there. Some of you all have great ideas - things I would have never thought of, in fact.

 

I was just sitting here running down my list of NOT thrifty things I buy/do/use and WOW...Eek. I bet hubs would be really happy if I gleaned something from this thread. He is always getting on to me for my Yonka face cleanser, Victoria's Secret body washes and lotions, and Aveda shampoos. He hates that I never eat leftovers, doesn't understand why I simply MUST eat out every weekend, and roars like a bear when I go shopping at the mall for clothes. On second thought, I am NEVER letting him see this thread!!! LOL

 

ETA: Oh...and we have free range chickens and we eat the eggs. That is really more because we don't like the way commercial farmers keep and tend their chickens - we much prefer the taste of free range chicken eggs. :)

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I can't believe I forgot about this. Mostly because I haven't done it in years.

 

One of the best ways to get free, perfectly good stuff is to drive around the giant outdoor garbage bins at large universities on dorm move-out day (or week). Students are so eager to get out before the deadline and pressured to fit everything into their cars (or boxes to be mailed), that they will discard tons of useful items to avoid dealing with this problem. Like stuff they were using the day before. Lamps, microwave ovens, and binders I remember seeing fairly often.

 

The farther the dorm is from a UPS store, a parking lot, or a public street the better the discards.

Edited by mirth
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I'm not ChristyM, but here is my recipe for laundry detergent:

 

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value

4 Cups - hot tap water

1 Fels-Naptha soap bar

1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*

½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!

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I'm not ChristyM, but here is my recipe for laundry detergent:

 

 

 

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value

4 Cups - hot tap water

1 Fels-Naptha soap bar

1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*

½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!

 

 

 

I'm officially impressed. Where do you ge tthe felt-napha soap? I mean, I googled it, but I am sure you have a special place you get yours from...

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My son wanted to give gifts to all the kids at church one year so we made the Christmas Crackers (all kinds of free patterns online) out of old tp tubes. He covered them with scraps of wrapping paper and filled them with stickers and cheap candy. They were a big hit and I only spent $4 on everything.

 

I did this once for my dd's Chinese themed b-day party. It was a big hit here as well.

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