Tag Archives: recycle

More Uses for Cans

Recently, I received an e-mail from a reader who asks about reusing aluminum and other food cans. She always gets a good deal on canned food, so she uses quite a bit of it. After emptying the cans, she washes them out and stacks them in her pantry. “The cans are taking over my kitchen,” she writes. “Is there something I can do with the cans, other than recycling them?” A while back, I did post an article on reusing tin cans. Since then, I’ve found some more ideas. Of course, you can always recycle the cans, but isn’t it … Continue reading →

Picking Our Own Trash

Some times sweating the small stuff can add up. It all depends on your circumstances and your level of frugality. Here is one of the things that we have done this past week that could be considered frugal. We keep a large, lined, garbage can down in the basement. In this can goes dryer lint, burnt out light bulbs, and various home improvement trash. Basically, anything that isn’t food gets thrown in this garbage can. Every once in a while, when the can is looking full, I’ll go and raid it while I am waiting for the washer to fill … Continue reading →

What to Do with Bread Tabs

A little bit ago, I shared some ideas for reusing odd things around the house that were featured in the Tightwad Gazette. One of those items was the humble little bread tag. You know what I mean? A bread tab is the rectangular piece of plastic that is used to secure commercial loaves of bread in their plastic bags. Bread tabs are plentiful and, of course, they are free with your bread purchase. We already know of two uses for the bread tab. The first is as a stitch counter when knitting or crocheting. The tab has that convenient little … Continue reading →

What to Do with a Dead Umbrella

A dead umbrella has no use, right? Of course you know that I am going to say that of course a dead umbrella has a reuse. You know this blog by now, and reusing items that might otherwise wind up in the landfill is a great frugal thing. Our umbrellas seem to be drying left and right on us. We have a virtual umbrella graveyard. Perhaps it is the blustery wind of spring. Perhaps it is the fact that all of our umbrellas are about the same age and have just reached the end of their natural life spans, Or … Continue reading →

Reducing Your Trash 3

We are on a mission to reduce the amount of trash that exits our homes. With just a few changes in our lives, we can affect the amount of garbage that our families contribute to the landfills, and as a result, also save money. If you missed the earlier articles in this series, you can find them here: Reducing Your Trash and Reducing Your Trash 2. And now, here are some more ways to reduce your trash. Stay away from convenience foods, which have a lot of extra packaging. Pre-prepared food is generally less healthy for you than food that … Continue reading →

Reducing Your Trash 2

Here are even more ideas to help you reduce the amount of trash that comes out of your home. You’ll save the environment, and you may even same some money, too. If you missed the earlier article on reducing your trash, called, aptly, Reducing Your Trash, click here. And now, let’s continue with tips for reducing your trash. Buy concentrated products that need to be diluted before use, such as cleaners, laundry detergents, frozen juice, fruit drinks and more. This will save on packaging, since you will be bringing less into your home. Reduce the amount of catalogues and junk … Continue reading →

Reusing Shower Curtains

Whether you are redecorating your bathroom or changing out your shower curtain because of wear, you might want to take advantage of that old shower curtain and use it in some new ways. If your curtain is made out of fabric, you can reuse the fabric in so many ways, from turing it into a tablecloth to turning it into doll clothes. For plastic shower curtains and liners, here are some ideas that you can try. First, before you reuse your shower curtain, you may want to wash and sterilize it. One creative idea for an old shower curtain is … Continue reading →

New Uses for Bread Bags

Thanks to the great deals at the bakery thrift store, we have been buying a lot of bread for sandwiches and toast. I have been saving the bread maker usage time for rolls, quick breads and pizza dough. As a result, we are quickly accumulating a lot of bread bags. I thought it might be a good idea to share some ideas for reusing bread bags. Some of these ideas we use in our own home, some ideas I researched, and some ideas were given to me by friends and readers. Do you have an idea that doesn’t appear here? … Continue reading →

Free Wood Pallets

Wood pallets are a great resource that can be had for free and yet used for some many practical applications. Here are some ideas about where you can get free wood pallets and what you can do with them. Wood pallets are used at retail stores and places of businesses to hold goods, usually during shipment. It isn’t cost effective for the owners of the good to send the pallets back to their suppliers, so usually they are just thrown away. This is such a shame, because they can be valuable and save you money. Ask your local home improvement … Continue reading →

Things to Do with Terra-Cotta Pots

Do you have some terra-cotta pots around? There are a lot of things you can do with them. Don’t throw them out. Try one of these reuse ideas and keep up with your frugal lifestyle. Terra-cotta pots can be great for storage, especially because of their ability to absorb water. You can use a terra-cotta pot in the kitchen under the sink to store your sponge, scrub brush and other dish-cleaning devices. The pot will absorb any little bit of water that remains to keep everything dry and bacteria free. For Mother’s Day one year, my kids made a pen … Continue reading →