A Candle Saving Trick

Have you ever thought it was a waste to throw out a candle when there is still a little bit of wax down the bottom of the container ?  Here's what I do if  I have another candle of the same fragrance  -

* Pop the glass candle container into a saucepan of very hot water. Just a couple of inches of hot water is all you need

*  Let the wax melt ( about 10 minutes ).

*  Take the glass candle container from the saucepan and carefully pour the melted wax into the top of a new candle.  

*  Let it cool for a few hours before lighting the new candle.

TIP - Make sure there is enough wick above the wax so you can light it.  About 5 - 7 mm is good.

Melting the wax

Adding the melted wax.

Have you tried this candle trick before ?

Can You Spare 5 Minutes To Save Money ?

 I have another 20 quick and easy money saving tips to add to last week's 20 I shared.  If you can spare 5 minutes you'll be able to fit in one of these really simple tasks and save some money along the way.  Maybe make it a goal to do one each day.

Can you spare 5 minutes to -

*  make a bottle of Miracle Spray.

*  put a bucket in the shower to save the warm up water.

*  cut up an empty cereal packet to use as go between for meat,  muffins and crumpets for freezing.

*  save and reuse your bread bags around the home instead of using bin liners and plastic wrap.

*  close your curtains on a cold day / hot day to help with temperature control.

*   put a chicken carcass in the slow cooker with water and herbs to make chicken stock,  then soup.

*  write a menu plan for the week using what you have on hand.

*  hang washing on a clothes horse instead of using the dryer.

*  cut up old holey socks for garden ties or use whole as dusters.

*  transfer old towels,  hand towels and face washers to the kitchen or laundry for further use.

*  make up your own herb blends ( taco,  Italian etc ) in bulk then store in a container.

*  make up an extra batch of biscuit dough to freeze for further baking.

*  take cuttings of plants in your garden to eventually fill in gaps or give as presents.

*  plant a few veggie seeds in your garden or a plant pot.

*  dig around in the garden looking for volunteer seedlings.  When found, dig up and plant to fill a gap.

*  grate a 1 kilo block of cheese yourself.  Add corn flour,  shake and freeze excess.

*  spray paint and old item to give it a new look.  Vases,  frames,  jars and jugs are quick to do.

*  portion out bulk buys of meat before freezing.

*  put shopping bags in the car for the next grocery run.  No need to buy bags ever.

*  juice and freeze those lemons you grow or were given.

Making the most of lemons.

Cut up cereal packets

Freezing biscuit dough

What's old.......

is new again.

Can you think of anything that takes just 5 minutes and saves money ?

Can You Spare 1 Minute To Save Money ?

When I talk to people about saving money and being thrifty,  the most common reply I get is "  I don't have time to do that ".  Guess what ?  We all have the same 24 hours in a day.  What we choose to do with those 24 hours heavily impacts our lives.

I've chosen to stay off my phone ( it isn't a smart phone ).  I've chosen not to sign up to Instagram and  Twitter.  I've chosen not to check Facebook every five minutes.  Instead I've chosen a purposeful life that allows time for me to do so many money saving tricks every day.  These choices mean I don't have to work full time.  While none of the 20 frugal tips below singlehandedly paid off our mortgage 12 years ago,  they did help stretch our low income and freed up extra money to make extra payments.

Can you spare 1 minute to -

*   stick a sliver of soap to the next bar of soap.

*   turn a near empty bottle of sauce,  shampoo,  shower gel etc etc upside down to get every last drop out.

*   pour leftover water from a drink bottle into a bucket.

*   put a lid on a saucepan when cooking.

*   double wrap meat and meals for freezing to prevent freezer burn   

*   fill a thermos with the remaining boiling water from the kettle.

*   use a bread bag as a bin liner.

*   cut a flower or small green branch from the garden instead of buying flowers.

*   turn off a standby light on an electronic item.

*   buy 2 half price grocery items instead of 1.

*   grab a blanket for your chair or bed instead of turning the heater on or turning it up.

*   turn a light off in a room not being used.

*   save a gift bag and reuse it again.

*  ring family / friends to invite them over for a cuppa instead of going out.

*  pour a glass of water from the tap instead of drinking soft drink,  juice or alcohol.

*  buy a generic grocery item instead of the dearer branded item.

*  pop your leftovers in the freezer instead of letting it be pushed to the back of the fridge and spoiling.

*  choosing to be happy with what you have and not buying the latest ' trend '.

*  weigh / measure out your pasta and rice for each meal instead of always cooking too much.

*  use a squirt of dishwashing liquid in your mop bucket instead of using floor cleaner.     

Blankets for warmth

Freezing leftovers

Buying generic branded food.

Using bread bags as bin liners

What little jobs take you 1 minute and helps save you money ?   

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 23rd July 2022

 Some weeks are not as thrifty as others.  It's not because I'm lazy or can't be bothered,  it's because all the thrifty tasks are up to date and there's nothing left to do.  

I write down all my thrifty tasks as I complete them.  This week I got to Thursday and my list had 4 tasks written down.  Other weeks,  I'm a powerhouse on Saturday,  Sunday and Monday with an impressive list to share.  Oh well,  it all balances out in the end.

I will say that this week I had a few weak moments.  I'll confess that I did use my clothes dryer to dry a few loads of washing.  On those days I was so busy and tired that throwing just about everything into the dryer was the easiest option.  Also,  the really cold weather played havoc with my hands and I couldn't face using clothes pegs on the clothes horses.

Here's my smaller thrifty list for the week -

*  Fed the compost bin with kitchen scraps.  Come Spring time Darren will be emptying the compost bins onto our veggie garden.  We haven't bought compost or garden soil in many,  many years.

*  Fed bread crusts,  grass and weeds to the chickens.

*  Made another batch of soap.  This batch is a men's one that smells like Cool Water Aftershave.  Darren loves the fragrance and even Megan said she'd use it.

*  Gratefully received a bunch of flowers and some lemons from a cleaning client.  She's also a long time blog reader.

*  Saved the washing machine rinse water and shower warm up water.

*  Dried some washing on the line when we had a mild day on Friday.

*  Made up a bottle of surface spray with dishwashing liquid and cooled,  boiled water.  I use this to do most of the cleaning around our home.  That's why I make one every 2 weeks.

*  Froze all meal leftovers.  Nothing goes to waste in our home.  Leftovers are eaten for dinners ( only ) on very busy days.

*  Recharged mobile phones,  battery banks,  shaver,  the cordless stick vacuum and other electronics during the day when the sun was shining on our solar panels.  We are hoping to see a small change in our power bill because of this.   

*  Shredded lots of paper using a paper shredder my Dad gave me early this year. The paper will be used in our chicken coop or compost bins.

/Flowers from a friend

Shredding paper

Beef mince pasta bake

Cool Water ( type ) men's soap.

How did you save time,  money or energy this week ?

Do you have slow thrifty weeks at times ?

Reduce Food Waste By Doing This

For many households it has never been more important for  the grocery budget to be stretched as far as possible.  Food costs are rising almost on a daily basis and every little tip and trick should be used to get the most out of the food you can afford to buy.

Here are some ways to reduce food waste - 

*  Cream - Any amount of leftover cream getting close to it's use by date can be made into butter  Use the marble in a jar method for a small amount or a stand mixer for a larger amount.

*  Cheese - Don't let it get hard or mouldy.  It should be wrapped it in baking paper and stored in an airtight container.  It can also be grated and frozen.  Just add a little corn flour and shake so it doesn't stick together.

*  Wilted veggies - They make great soup.  Add some soup mix,  stock or a tin of diced tomatoes and no one will ever know.

*  Wrinkly fruit - Stew ( cook ) and make fruit cobbler or  jam  Some of the best jams I've made are from mixed fruit.

*  Stale bread and rolls - Can be made into dried bread crumbs or bread and butter pudding.  Store the stale bread in the freezer until you have enough to make one of these items.

*  Sweet rolls / buns - Make great bread and butter pudding

*  Roasted veggies - Can be made into tasty frittatas,  flans or quiches, or put them in a soup for amazing flavour.

* Cooked veggies - Can be added to frittatas,  pasta bakes,  or blitz and add to spag bol and pasta dishes.  Make a soup,  add to a casserole or make bubble and squeak.

* Cooked rice -Makes delicious rice pudding and creamed rice.  You can freeze leftover rice,  or make fried rice.

*  Yoghurt -  Can be used in smoothies,  made into icypoles or frozen for a sweet treat.

*  Chicken carcass - Place it in a slow cooker with water and make stock.  Strip off the meat and use it with the stock to make a hearty chicken and veggie soup.

Bread and butter pudding

Making mini quiches

Here are the links to some of the recipes I suggested -

Bread and butter pudding

Creamed rice

Chunky chicken and veggie soup

Chicken flan

Frugal February Challenge 2022

Over at The Cheapskates Club,  many members are participating in the Frugal February / Spending Freeze Challenge.  This is a challenge where all non essential spending is halted for the month of February.  After watching this challenge for many years,  Darren and I have decided to give it a go.

During January we had expenses for our trip away to Tasmania.  We also had to buy a new mattress and a new laptop.  None of these expenses could be avoided but our savings has taken a huge hit.  Mattress prices have increased enormously since we bought the last one 10 - 12 years ago.  This time round we only replaced the mattress and kept the old base to save costs.  Let's just say if you want a comfortable mattress,  there's nothing much under $2000 and that's the sale price.  

Darren needs two computer screens for his new job so he took my old laptop that was running a bit slow.  Thankfully laptops were on sale for the ' Back to School ' season and we got a good deal for my new one.

As you know,  we are very frugal ( most of the time ).  We are not perfect with our spending and do like to have morning tea or a lunch out every now and then.  This spending freeze challenge has got us excited about increasing our savings account.  

The rules for this challenge -

*  Continue to pay all household bills as per usual.  This includes gas,  electric,  water,  rates,  insurances,  medical ( if needed ),  food,  petrol and mortgage / rent if you usually do this.

*  Only spend money on absolute essentials

You can't spend money on - 

Takeaways

Eating out

Going to the movies

Buying magazines

Entertainment

Clothes / shoes

Toys

Homewares  

Here's our plan of attack for a successful challenge -

* For us personally we will not be eating out at all for the entire month of February.   We are just going to resist the urge.  I'm happy to make hamburgers,  nachos,  pizzas and fish and chips at home all from scratch with what we have on hand.  

*  Making sure we take water bottles and muesli bars wherever we go as a back up for hunger pains.

*  Combining errands in one trip and when we are already on the road for cleaning jobs.

*  Using the seeds we already have to plant more veggies and flowers instead of shopping at Bunnings.

*  No birthdays fall in February but I will be looking ahead to future months to try and make the presents.

*  Using the homewares we already have and perhaps rearranging them for a new look.  

*  When the urge strikes us to go shopping at department stores, we will be writing a list of what we THINK we need and revisit the list at the end of the month.  Maybe we won't need that item after all.

*  I will only be buying essential food items.  My stockpile is very healthy.  Now is the time to live off it.    

I hope to give you a weekly update of how the challenge is going for Darren and I and how much money we are saving or spending.

We hope to have lots of this at the end of the month.

Using what we have.

Making our own takeaway / fast food

Baking from scratch.

WHO WILL JOIN ME IN THIS CHALLENGE ?

My Thrifty Tool Kit For Saving Money At Home

 There are a few handy items I've always had on hand to save money.  Most of these things cost well under $20 but have saved us that amount many times over.

*  A basic sewing kit.  I've had a sewing kit since I was about 9 or 10 years old when I was a Brownie ( they now call it Girl Guides ).   Sewing kits are handy to sew on a button or to mend a small hole.

*  A clothes horse / clothes airer.  I have 4 in total and they cost me $6 each and have lasted decades.  Cheaper clothes horses have thinner rails which means you can use pegs.  I've found clothes dry quicker when pegged as apposed to draping them.  Our clothes dryer is rarely used.  If you have floor ducted heating then the clothes will dry quite quickly.

*  Clothes pegs.  Yes I use the plastic ones and they have lasted me 20 + years.  Pegs are great for hanging washing on lines,  clothes horses,  on coat hangers ( keeps the washing in place ),  for clamping shoes that have been glued ( repaired ),  for sealing frozen veggie packets and for keeping large aprons on small grandchildren.

*  Reusable / washable dish cloths and sponges.  I make knitted dish cloths which can be thrown in the washing machine.  I also use microfibre cloths for general cleaning and to buff our stove top clean.    These last quite a few years which is fantastic considering standard kitchen sponges last a few weeks and are a breeding ground for bacteria.

*  Reusable shopping bags.  I've been using them since 2005 when we were holidaying in Noosa and got caught out with their no plastic bag policy.  To this day I still use those same bags and they look amazing.  I've also made calico bags and picked up a few reusable bags along the way and all were free.  I've never bought a Coles / Woolies plastic bags when they started charging for them.  I always keep a few foldable bags in my handbag and a few in the boot of my car.

*  A calculator.  I just love using a calculator when planning my financial goals.  If I can save $10 here and there I like to calculate how much the total is over 1, 2 or 5 years.  This keeps me on track.

*  Linen / lingerie bags.  These are fantastic for putting delicate items of clothing or jumpers in the washing machine.  I don't have time for hand washing and I don't want my clothing to be caught on hooks or zippers.  These bags can also help prevent pilling.  I bought new bags on Ebay in 2018 for just a couple of dollars each.

*  A clothes shaver / depiller.   The current one I have cost just under $20 and it works really well.  I have a cream coat that was looking quite old with terrible pilling.  After running the clothes shaver over it,  it transformed into a new coat.  I didn't need to throw it out and saved myself $40.  I've used it on some of Darren's jumpers and saved even more money.  I have had cheap clothes shavers in the past and they didn't work as well as my current one.

Clothes shaver

Linen / lingerie bags

Washable dish cloths

Clothes horses / airers.

What's in your thrifty tool kits for saving money at home ?

Do you have some of these items ?

Free Alternatives For Around The Home

 We live in a world that likes to replace items on a whim.  If things look a little tired or out of date - just go and buy a new one.  You only have to watch tv ads or look at the latest department store catalogues.

Over the last 18 months or so many incomes have been slashed and having spare cash can be a luxury.

Here are some free alternatives you can easily source with little effort -

*  Need a new kitchen sponge ?  Raid your linen cupboard for unwanted or faded face washers.  They are very durable,  can be washed in the washing machine and are also great for wiping kitchen benches.

*  Need some pantry storage ?  Use glass Moccona coffee jars.  They come in different sizes and can be easily sourced on social media pages.  Any glass jar will do the job including jam,  pasta sauce, tomato paste and pickle jars.

*  Need new cushion covers ?  Tables cloths,  pillow cases and bed sheets can easily be sewn into cushion covers with minimal effort,  skill  and equipment.

*  Need a new vase or don't like the look of the ones you have ?  Use glass jars as is or paint them a neutral color like white for a classic look.

*  Think you need a new rice cooker ?  A saucepan will do the job and did so for hundreds of years before the sudden urge to use one.  Just wash your rice before cooking and put a timer on for accurate cooking.

*  Need to update your old picture frames ?   Paint them with a more modern color.  Check your garage for leftover paint from your last painting project.  If your frame has a matted picture in it,  the mat can be painted too.

*  Need new tea towels ?  Cut and hem old cotton doona covers or pillow cases.

Jam jars for herb storage

Free Moccona coffee jars from Facebook

Painted frame and matting

What free alternatives do you use around the home ?