Five Tiny Frugal Things -- Backyard Plants
Today's blog post is going to lean heavily into tiny frugal things and I went nowhere and basically did nothing yesterday. Mind you, this is no confession, instead it's a content admission.
1) I went for a slow evening walk with my friend Lise. Why slow? Her daughter is dog sitting an absolutely enormous snorty pug and this poor pup has to pee every ten feet.
2) I polished two pairs of boots that I need to get listed on eBay. I used a paper napkin to spread saddle soap on the Frye boots and now have minuscule bits of torn napkin essentially glued onto them. They're currently on the front porch and am hoping that the afternoon sun will warm them up enough to loosen the bits and pieces.
3) I came across Terence Conran's The House Book at the Goodwill bins a few weeks ago and although I didn't buy it, I did put it on hold at the library. I remember poring through this book early in life and thought it would be an enjoyable revisit.
I'll be picking it up at the library this afternoon!
4) I lined another of my hanging baskets with thrifted burlap and planted it with my rooted spider plants. I'd have done another one, but I ran out of potting soil.
This time I barely sewed the lining into place, which cut down the hands-on time by around 90%.
5) My backyard potted plants are absolutely thriving, even the varieties that should've died off over winter. These are the fuchsias that I got for free from last year's neighborhood cleanup event! (Planted in a Buy Nothing group whiskey barrel!) Hardly even starting to bloom, but that's a shady backyard thing.
How shady?
This shady!
Luckily there is some late afternoon sun for photosynthesis!
The plant on the far right is chocolate mint from a friend. And yes, it really does smell like chocolate!
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Big trees, aside from beauty and providing animal habitats and oxygen, are such great boosts to keeping utility bills down. Shade is good.
Just a comment that I noticed the blue Jiffy brand muffin mixes at my grocery store are $1.25 now. I think they had always tried to keep them under a dollar and am very glad they didn't shrink-flate the boxes to keep the price low. As you may know, they do not advertise, just have kept selling for almost 100 years. A new "flavor" is coming out next week: Hot Honey Corn Muffins. They introduced Honey Corn Muffins a few years ago; this one has a touch of "Hot", some kind of chili powder or pepper.
Jiffy has been our brand since I was a child! By me they sell at Dollar Tree for 75 cents a box.
I bought a box at Aldi a couple of weeks ago for 72¢. I'll be using it tomorrow for corn pone pie. I made the chili today. Love Jiffy.
Today is the last day of school!!! Made a batch of scotcheroos for the class. Used discount butterscotch chips from the cheapo grocery.
Ds and I are simultaneously getting allergy shots. I've been trying for most of my adult life to get a doctor to understand that I'm a snotty mess. Up until recently they give me that cockeyed, lady you just play at farming look and suggest otc meds. I'm so grateful that the tide has changed and I can get them. If we have to drive to town, might as well double down.
I sold the wagner ware skillet!
Finished Caesar on PBS. A cautionary tale for sure!!!
Vaccinating calves today. Saving the vet bill and stress of hauling.
Enjoying a cuppa in a thrifted mug, water boiled in a thrifted pan, tea from All-dis! (Aldis, lol)
I've been plugging away at paying my bills and trying to add to savings whenever I can, but other than that, I cannot think of any actual frugalness worthy to share. and I guess that is okay, too. 🙂
A day I can stay at home is a beautiful thing!
Today I had to finished the fridge task at my daughter's house and do some food shopping for guests.
I used rainwater to give some of my veggies supplemental water (not leafy greens).
I picked some berries in our backyard.
I washed sheets and hung those out on the line, along with a quilt that is getting some air.
I tidied in the fridge so I know what needs used and I ate leftovers for lunch.
I walked with my neighbor which is always a delight and she drives the 7 minutes to the lake because she has a dog.
I planted 2 more free-to-me lavender plants.
I have a FB marketplace meetup scheduled for later today
I do love the simple things of life.
I love a shady backyard! We have both sun & shade, depending on which side of the back patio we are on, and I like the flexibility to move around, depending on the temperature that day.
1) Defrosted frozen leftovers for a wild party animal Friday night. 😉
2) I get $150 in StubHub credits 2x/year through my credit card. Didn't have a use for this first half, so bought & sold Giants tickets. Made $60, because I apparently chose a dud. I use that to offset some of the cost of my credit card. I carefully track the rewards & benefits each year to ensure we are getting our money's worth, given the fee.
3) Had to give a lot of blood yesterday & treated myself to a sandwich out afterward. Used a coupon & a $2 reward, paying for the rest with a gift card, for no out of pocket spending.
4) Evaluated a cheaper climbing gym membership for the kids. The option we have is still the best bet, but I did research to confirm.
5) Read more free library books on my Kindle.
I'm also having a lazy day, having stayed up late to watch the final episode of Colbert -- and (sigh!) Paul McCartney, my one true love! No more CBS for me.
My frugals:
1. Read all the advice columnists and Andy Capp (comic strip) online. Why buy a newspaper subscription when you can get them for free?
2. Put up some storage shelves in my newly-cleaned out garage. Handyman wanted to build me some shelves out of wood. (Which he'd have to buy.) I said no; I have something better: Years ago, I found some discarded plastic shelves by the trash dumpster at the apartment complex and I've been using them for storage ever since. I can put them together by myself. One shelf has a crack in it but I put that one on top (to hold only lightweight items like tarps and trash bags). These shelves are taller than I am (5'7). I first had put them up in my town house laundry room; until yesterday, I had them in my closet/dressing room area, but I like them better in the garage.
3. We also put up some other old DIY shelving beside them. This one is only maybe 5 feet high. Both are like building Tinker Toys or Legos! But great storage. Esp. when paired with those faux milk crates you can buy at Walmart. (Most of mine are trash picked or thrifted.)
4. Redid my front porch so that I have 2 lawn chairs out there. Also changed from the Easter wreath to the red, white and blue one.
5. Air dried the laundry.
Your shady lush backyard is lovely. It reminds me of my grandmother's backyard in East Texas. She had hanging baskets & flowers. It rains a lot (usually) there and there are lots of big trees. As a kid, we would sit on the patio amidst the greenery in the evening.