Tag Archives: reduce

The New “R” in Green Living

You may have heard about the three “Rs” in green living. These are easy to remember guides to practicing responsible consuming. These three points are Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Reduce means to consume less and produce less waste. Reuse means to get the most out of something, rather than discarding it and replacing it with something new. Recycle means you either repurpose something old that you don’t need into something new that you do need, or to recycle that product so it can be made into something new by someone else. There is a new “R” to add to our … Continue reading →

How to Reuse Ribbon Scraps

Ribbons are so useful aren’t they? We usually use ribbons for an obvious reason, to tie up packages. Sometimes we even use them in crafts. But ribbon ends can quickly add up, and you may find yourself left with dozens of little pieces that can’t be used for anything els, or can they? If you just can’t bring yourself to toss your bits of ribbon, try using them in one of the following ways. Ribbon can be used to hang a picture for a designer look. You may not actually want to use the ribbon to hang it, because it … Continue reading →

A Sneaky Trick to Use Less

One of the great principals of a frugal lifestyle is to use less or extend what you already have to make it last longer than it normally does. Think about it. If you can go from buying a big box of laundry detergent every month to buying one every other month, you have just cut your cost for laundry detergent in half. It can be a fun challenge to discover how to use less of an item without compromising your standards. for example, I cut my facial cloths in half to save money on them. I tried cutting them into … 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 →

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 →

Reuse from A to Z! (Mu-N)

The wind is howling outside today in anticipation of a big storm that will come later this afternoon. It gives us all a sense of anticipation and a desire to be prepared. Batting down the hatches puts me in mind of our resources and our efforts to reuse everything we have. We are getting better, but we still seem to have a large amount of materials that go out on the curb for recycling. Hopefully, we can cut that amount down, in our efforts to reuse items first. We are still getting through our alphabet of recycling. Here are some … Continue reading →

Re-gifting and Re-using

Many people shy away from re-gifting after having heard horror stories of giving a gift back to the original giver. However, with care you don’t have to end up embarrassed. You can also do “partial” re-gifting. If you or your kids received one of those large popcorn tins with a holiday scene on it, you can re-use it once the popcorn is gone to package another gift. It will work great as packaging for a fragile item, with a little filler inside to help protect the gift. On the other hand, you could use it for one of Mary Ann’s … Continue reading →

Recycle This!

Are you ready for a few more simple tips anyone can use to help protect the environment? In a previous article, there was a tip offering a way to help stop wasting so much paper (and having so much paper clutter), by having more items sent via email instead of through the regular mail. Here are some more ways to avoid wasting paper: Guess what I’m doing right now? Well, besides typing this article. Okay, I am cutting up little pieces of paper. Yep. I’m cutting up all those notes sent home from school. At least one teacher tries to … Continue reading →

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

*“Use it up; wear it out; make it do, or do without!” ~L. Reid The above quote (*from WiseOldSayings.com) is filled with wisdom. This is the way people lived for many years. While technology can be fabulous and innovation does much to make our lives easier, we’ve become a very consumption oriented, “disposable” society. How many of us throw things away instead of re-using, recycling, or repairing them? As we begin to shift away from convenience and “disposability,” at least slightly, we’re learning more ways to make do, make things last longer, or find new ways to use things instead … Continue reading →

The First Principle of A Frugal Lifestyle: Reduce

Learn how to follow the first principle of a frugal lifestyle when you reduce your resources and save money. “Reduce” is the very first thing you can do when embarking on a frugal lifestyle. It can be as simple as conserving energy use by turning off lights. The idea is to look around your home and your life and see what you can do with using less. There are so many things that can be reduced without much of an impact to yourself or your family. Did you know, for example, that if you let your clothes soak in the … Continue reading →