A Guide to Inexpensive Composting 3

Have you ever thought about composting? It is a frugal way to nourish your garden and produce less trash. I have been talking about creating an inexpensive compost bin. If you missed the first two parts of this series, you can read them now here A Guide to Inexpensive Composting and here A Guide to Inexpensive Composting 2. Once a week or so, mix your compost. You can do this by rolling the can around a bit or using a shovel or pitchfork to mix it all up. I know, we are supposed to add things in layers, right? But … Continue reading →

A Guide to Inexpensive Composting 2

Composting can be very frugal for at least two reasons. The first is that it provides you with a free, nutrient plant-food for your garden. The second reason is that it reduces the amount of garbage you produce. If you pay for your garbage by the bag or pound, there is an immediate savings there. And you’ll also save on garbage bags, as well. In the first part of this series on inexpensive composting, I talked about getting started with building your own easy compost bin. Now, here is part 2. Place the compost bin (your garbage can) in a … Continue reading →

A Guide to Inexpensive Composting

Yesterday, we had a really nice play date with two fellow moms and their kids. At snack time, the kids were eating some tangerines, and as one of the moms peeled the orange skin, she asked if we composted. We don’t. Composting is something that I have been thinking about doing ever since we moved here about a year ago, but to tell the truth, I was a little intimidated by it. I didn’t really know where to start with composting, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted rotting garbage in our around my home. But, it is time that … Continue reading →

Free Flowers

Want to stock your garden with beautiful high quality flowers without spending a cent? Then you’ll want to read this article. I’ll tell you how. I think the price of flowers is pretty crazy these days, but there is really no reason to pay for them. That is because you can easily find dozens of perennial flowers for free. These flowers, although they will bloom year after year, are routinely dug up from the front of businesses and thrown in the trash. Professional landscapers are paid to keep the areas of these businesses always blooming, and so they change out … Continue reading →

The Frugal Alternative to an Expensive Garden Tool

Gardening by growing your own food is a great frugal activity. If you like to garden, then I am sure you’ve come across many tools that seem absolutely necessary for success. But usually, there is a frugal alternative to be had for a fraction of the cost or even for free. One of these tools has to do with maintaining a healthy lawn. It is the aerator. Aerating the lawn is one of the key ways to have a healthy lawn. It will allow the roots of your grass to get the much needed oxygen and air that they need … Continue reading →

Make A Frugal Greenhouse

With all of our trips to local parks and gardens, I have really been itching to have a garden and grow our own vegetables. My grand plans will have to wait until next year, when we can install some protective fencing. Otherwise, my garden will wind up feeding the deer and the bunnies. But, I’m going to get started anyway, growing some things indoors. I checked into buying a greenhouse to help start my seeds and nurture the young “plantlings” indoors. But, the whole greenhouse set up can get very expensive. So I found a way to be a bit … Continue reading →

Frugal Barbecue Grill

There is still plenty of summer left to do some great grilling and barbecuing outdoors. And, if you live in a mild climate, you might even get away with extending the BBQ season into much of the fall. And since there is still time to use your grill, there is still time to save money with it. Using the grill can be very frugal in itself over traditional oven cooking, since the grill keeps the heat out of the house and reduces your cooling costs. But if you really want to save when you barbecue, read these tips! Now is … Continue reading →

Save Money on Canning Jars

In an early article, The Frugal Art of Canning, I talked about the money saving benefits of canning your own produce. Now I’ll offer some additional information on being frugal with canning. Although canning supplies are relatively inexpensive, it always pays to get the supplies as inexpensively as possible. You can often find items such as jars, rings, lids, labels and more used. One word of caution, though. it is not recommended that you reuse the lids when canning. There is a danger that they may wear out and not seal as well. Of course, you can still use them … Continue reading →

The Frugal Art of Canning

If you grow your own food in your garden then you are already saving money. What do you do with your produce? Do you usually eat it all up with a little bit to spare for family and friends? Why not take the next step to save even more money off of your food budget? This year, plant some extra produce and plan to preserve it, so you will have plenty of food the whole year through. That is where canning comes in. Sure, there are some types of produce that can be frozen, but most of the time, frozen … Continue reading →

Growing an Indoor Herb Garden

We have begun the task of trying to grow herbs. I had read a book about how much money could be saved in a year, by growing your own. One to never turn my head away from anything that can save me money, I gathered my five kids together and asked who wanted to help. Excitedly, they all will be helping. Finding a family activity like this, that not only includes bonding and family time, but also responsibility and education, is rare. We were very excited to get started, but there were some things we had to think about first. … Continue reading →