A little update

My mom who is my loyal follower, wanted me to post an update to the Vinegar thought. Evidently, vinegar is good for nail fungus. That would be great savings!

For those of you preparing for winter storms or what to do if the electric goes out. If you can prepare ahead of time, fill your bathtub full of water so you will have water to flush the commode!

Thanks mom for your thrifty thought!

Why Shop Retail

I have always been a firm believer of not paying retail prices for clothing regardless of where they are from. I just can’t bring myself to pay $50.00 for a pair of jeans, or $60.00 for a hoodie! So where do I shop? Goodwill for regular clothing items, if I cannot find them on sale for a reasonable amount of money. My son has grown 8 inches in the past year, so lets just say we are spending a ton of money on clothes for him. I am very fortunate to have a very nice Goodwill within 20 minutes from my home. Well Saturday I thought I would just stop in to see if there was anything good, and I found 2 pairs of American Eagle jeans for $4.97 each! They were in really good shape. I would have paid at least $40.00 a pair in the retail store. Our Goodwill always has name brands such as American Eagle, Ann Taylor, The loft, Gap and so on. What is the key, you have to LOOK. I do take my time looking at each item to make sure they are in good shape, and a brand my kid will wear. Are you going to find something every time, probably not. But when you do, the savings is wonderful.

Another thing I picked up were a few newborn dresses. No we don’t have a new baby here, they are for  dolls. I am a crafter and was thinking about making some new outfits for the doll babies I keep for my granddaughter. I thought while I was there, I might as well look and see if they have anything. Low in behold, I found 3 three little outfits for $1.87 each. I cannot even buy the fabric or the yarn to make it myself any cheaper.



So before you head to the mall, check out Goodwill!

Ground Hog Day

Well today’s thrifty thought is brought you by The Groundhog day storm. If you are lucky enough (haha) to be in its way let’s hope you were prepared. How can I include this in the thrifty thought? Well do you have all your supplies ready before it hits? If not, you will be paying premium prices on batteries, higher grades of gas, and so on. I live in the country and it is at least a 20 minute drive into the larger town where we get most of our goods. With the impending storm, we were checking on the necessities we will need if the lights go out and low and behold there are no “D” batteries. So this morning on the way to work, I stopped at our little grocery store and of course they sold out already. Now this storm isn’t due until tonight mind you. So now I will need to drive out of my way to buy these batteries, and I was just in town at the grocery yesterday! But all in all we are ready, generator has been tested, we have 10 gallons of drinking water, an almost full tank of propane on the grill. I even practiced plowing snow with the bobcat yesterday. Now I am not saying “BRING IT ON” , but I do feel prepared.








Did I mention my hubby will be out of town for it. That’s how it seems to go. LOL

Vinegar!

Spring Cleaning is around the corner, yuck! But at least you don’t have to spend a lot of money on glass cleaner. All you need is a spray bottle, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, and 2 teaspoons of rubbing alcohol. This mixture will work on all windows, glass and mirrors. If you have well water, I would recommend getting distilled or drinking water. You can purchase a gallon of the most inexpensive bottles water for about a buck here in Ohio. The well water has a tendanancy to spot after it dries. What I like about this mixture is that I can use my microfiber clothes and I am not using any paper towels. This is an extra bonus. If you get the weekly newspaper, you really can cut your costs by only using a squirt of water and wadded up newspaper!

It's almost time!

Well it has been sometime since I have shared any thoughts. Well my thrifty thought of the day is about gardening! I know it is the middle of winter but-now is the time to start thinking about it. Even if you live in an apartment you have room to grow a few things. Just think outside the box or square garden that is. Think containers! Herbs and some hybrid variety of veggies do well in pots. I have successfully grown the following from containers: Jalapenos, Tomatoes, cucumbers, cilantro, parsley, basil, thyme. Just look for container varieties at your local garden store. Any little bit helps. Produce at the grocery store is just very expensive! Lets look of those of you that have a yard. Even if you only put in a 6x6 garden this spring, think of the possibilities! Only planting lettuce, tomatoes, green beans, and onions will keep you eating fresh until October if you live in Zone 5. I live in Zone 5 and double cropped green beans and lettuce last year and it was wonderful. We eat a lot of salads and this saved us weekly from the grocery. Get creative! Maybe try growing cucumbers or snow peas from a hanging basket this year. Your local library has a lot of great books on container and intensive gardening. But get planning now!!