frugal accomplishments | The Big White Farmhouse
My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.
And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.
+ We bought a new washer and dryer. After months of sort-term fixes, we knew our money would probably be better spent just replacing them. We found a pair in our price range that also fit a specific need: no fancy parts! No touch screens, glass tops…just your run of the mill, all metal, no frills machines. They are a little smaller than the last pair, but I’m hoping their lifespan will be considerably longer than the last ones.
+ I cooked dried beans to use in recipes. So much cheaper than the canned variety and it makes a ton! I use this recipe to cook the beans and this one to make refried beans. Oven baked tostadas are a delicious and quick meatless meal we’ve been loving lately.
+ After months and months off, I went back to making our daily homemade bread. I’ve gotten into a good routine with the bread machine doing the mixing and first rise, then I separate into two loaves for the second rise and bake. I’m also considering doing a big “baking day” and making a week’s worth of bread/bagels in one swoop. Maybe next month.
+ I cleaned the coffeemaker with inexpensive vinegar and water. We’ve been terrible about doing this regularly, but I want to be better about it in this new year. Better tasting coffee and a better working machine = win/win!
+ I used some of last year’s garden produce that we saved in the freezer. So nice to eat something fresh in the dead of winter!
+ I’ve been selling a few things on ebay, Poshmark, and Pango.
Previous Frugal Accomplishments
2021: WINTER // SPRING // JULY // AUGUST // OCTOBER // NOVEMBER 2022: FEBRUARY
2023: JANUARY
JANUARY’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.
And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.
+ I had two unopened bags of flour tortillas in the pantry that I knew we weren’t going to use soon. Turns out tortillas are very freezer friendly! I wrapped them up in foil, popped them in a freezer bag, and they’re ready to use in the future.
+ We’ve fallen into a weekly dinner routine that tends to have three of the same themes: a soup/chili, a breakfast for dinner, and a Refrigerator Clean Out Night. The other four nights vary based on what we have.
+ Due to the hens starting to slow down and/or lay in mysterious and inconvenient places, we broke into our water-glassed eggs stash from last fall. I’m so thankful that I saved them back in the days when we were drowning in eggs! (And in case you’re curious, after a thorough washing, the appearance and taste is exactly the same.)
+ I had a dress to sell but discovered some pilling along the sides. Since that would drastically reduce the resale value, I took out my handy fabric shaver (affiliate link) and it looked good as new! A good reminder that we can keep our clothing in great shape with just a little upkeep.
+ I made homemade chicken broth from chicken backs we saved from last summer’s processing day.
+ A fun DIY kitchen curtain project: I moved a curtain rod from another room and spray painted it matte black. I then found fabric I liked (originally a shower curtain!) and cut and sewed it to the correct size. And bonus: I purchased the shower curtain on Poshmark and used the profits I had earned from selling our unneeded items to purchase it, so the only money spent for this project was the spray paint at $5.98!
+ I reduced the amount of laundry I do, making sure I have full loads.
+ I’ve mentioned many times before that our first floor has a textured wall treatment that I would like to have skim coated. It will require a professional, so I’m saving my pennies! One way to get closer to the goal is to use our credit card’s reward point program. We use our credit card almost exclusively (and then pay it off in full at the end of the month) and whatever points I earn, I redeem for cash to be transferred to a special savings account. Baby steps, but I’ll get these walls done one of these days!
Previous Frugal Accomplishments
2021: WINTER // SPRING // JULY // AUGUST // OCTOBER // NOVEMBER
FEBRUARY’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.
And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.
+ I bought a merino wool sweater for $4, but one of the leather elbow patches was coming undone. My son didn’t care for the patches anyway, so I pulled the stitches out of both and the sweater is good as new!
+ Our hens have been laying regularly all winter, which has been a huge blessing. We average 9-11 eggs a day.
+ I made fodder for the chickens. With all of the snow and mud, they seem desperate for anything green and it was a welcomed treat! It also helps a tiny bit with feed costs.
+ I gave my hair a trim. In other hair news, I am trying to train my hair to shampoo less often. If I can deal with greasy hair for a little bit, I think I’ll have healthier hair and save some money on shampoo too!
+ I made chicken stock from a roasted chicken carcass and a bunch of vegetable odds and ends that I keep in the freezer. Still using my favorite Souper Cubes (affiliate link).
+ We keep the thermostat relatively low and are just piling on the sweaters and quilts. I seem to feel the cold more than any other family member; I have teenage boys happily walking around in shorts and t-shirts!
+ I used up a big bag of frozen blueberries and made a batch of blueberry butter. I used the recipe from this book (affiliate link), but didn’t end up canning them. A lot of work and my kitchen looked like a blueberry blood bath (hands dyed blue! dishcloths dyed blue! everything blue!) but the end result was delicious. We have used it as a spread for toast as well as swirled into oatmeal and plain Greek yogurt. We’re planning to top our pancakes with it next.
November’s Frugal Accomplishments
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
+ We had a bag of potatoes that were just about to go bad, so I decided to practice a new skill and dehydrate them. The process was a little tedious, but my little kids helped peel and slice and spread on the trays. It was a family event! I ordered an attachment (affiliate link) for my Food Saver that seals mason jars so I can keep them in the pantry for a rainy day. (I found a recipe for scalloped potatoes that I printed to use them up later on.)
+ When we process our chickens, we keep the backs of the ones we cut up into breasts/thighs/wings. (We try to use everything!) I thawed one of the bags of backs and made a big batch of chicken broth. I kept some in the fridge and froze the rest for future soups and stews.
+ At the grocery store, I stocked up on vinegar and baking soda to make homemade cleaners.
+ I made puree from little pie pumpkins I bought at the store. I also roasted the seeds using this delicious tutorial. It’s so awesome to use every part of a vegetable.
+ I saved the seeds from one of the last peppers grown so I can grow them again next spring.
+ When we moved to the farmhouse four years ago, our cell phone reception was very spotty and unreliable so we got a land line. Thankfully, in the years since, the reception has greatly improved (not great, but waaay better than before) so we felt comfortable letting the land line go. That saves us $35 a month and bonus! We just received our final bill and it was actually a $13 credit. I’ll take it!
+ I amended our garden soil with ash from the fireplace, last year’s compost pile and leaves from around the property.
+ The biggest win of the month goes to my pigs. Those little guys eat all of our scraps. Between the pigs, the chickens and our compost pile, we have almost no food waste at this point. Huge!
+ J needed a new pair of sneakers. I had the hardest time finding the style he wanted that was also in his size! Thankfully, a quick search on ebay found just what I was looking for and at a comparable price. And bonus for being able to support a small business!
+ I used up all of the old, leftover wrapping paper I had saved from last year before buying new rolls.
+ I cleaned my dishwasher with vinegar using this tutorial.
+ I unclogged both of our master sinks and one of our bathtubs with my go-to recipe.
+ We turned off our air conditioning on the first day of fall (September 22) and I am anxious to see how long we can go before having to turn on the heat!
+ We have a bad habit of keeping cell phone and laptop chargers plugged into the wall. Apparently these still use “phantom energy” so I’ve tried to change my habits and unplug them when not in use. (We now unplug the toaster and other kitchen appliances too.) Not sure how much we’ll actually save on our electric bill, but every little bit helps!
+ I’ve been asking myself, Can I get one more use out of it? I’ve seen the benefit of this simple question both from a frugal standpoint as well as just general waste reduction. A couple of examples:
- I cut a notch on the back end of my toothpaste and got three more days of use!
- I use almond milk in my morning coffee. One morning, I realized that I was nearing the end of the bottle, so I used a little less than normal in order to give myself one more serving later on.
+ I buy Bonne Maman jam so that I can wash and repurpose the glass jars. They are the perfect size for little bits and bobs. Also, did you know that Classico pasta sauces are poured in mason jars? You can wash them and then add your typical lids and bands for further use.
+ We weren’t planning to buy our pigs until the spring, but couldn’t pass up the great deal! While they were already a great price, if we purchased three or more, we could save even more. In other pig news, we took apart our chicken tractors (we have a new plan for next spring) and reused the lumber to build a pig shelter. It’s not particularly pretty, but it’s free.
+ I bought little pumpkins to decorate my kitchen, but went with the pie version so we could also make puree later on.
+ I had some points and store credit on ThredUp so decided to check out their clearance section for next year’s clothes for my daughter. I was able to find nine pieces of clothing (all name brand bottoms, tops and a hoodie) for less than $50. A great deal.
Previous Frugal Accomplishments
2021: WINTER // SPRING // JULY // AUGUST
+ I have used the same purse for the last six years. Just one purse! She has served me well, but I knew it was time to retire her when my four-year-old starting peeling off flaky pieces of faux leather during Mass. Because I’m the most boring person in the world, I found a similar replacement (same brand, same size) on Poshmark for less than $20!
+ Mark gave haircuts to three of the boys. I gave my daughter a big trim – about four inches off and she looks so cute!
+ I shredded junk mail to add to my compost pile.
+ I listed and sold a handful of books I’ve finished and don’t see myself reading again.
+ I used the water collected from our basement dehumidifier to water my plants.
+ I bought a new skirt (secondhand) and found a small hole in one of the pockets. Two minutes and a quick stitch later, it’s good as new!
+ Our well-used fitted sheet got a rip in it, so we had to buy a new set. The flat sheet of the old set is still in great condition, so I’m keeping it to use as a quilt backing or for some other project.
+ The hens are laying more than 90 eggs a week and we are loving the free protein source!
+ I started working on a little homemade Christmas present for each of the kids. I even found a coupon to use at Joann’s too!
Previous Frugal Accomplishments
2021: WINTER // SPRING // JULY
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. – J.R.R. Tolkien
+ We’ve been interested in solar generators as another piece of our power outage solution plan, but always thought it was out of our price range. Thankfully, I stumbled on a Youtube video with an affordable solution! The generator is a GoPower Plus and while there were rumblings that you could find them on clearance at Walmart, I ended up finding mine on ebay. (Amazon has the same one, but it’s more than I paid.) The solar charger was also on clearance at Harbor Freight. (P.S. This one system will obviously not be able to power much, but it’s a start!)
+ I gave my hair a trim.
+ We had an ant infestation in the garage, so I whipped up some simple homemade ant killer: equal parts baking soda and powdered sugar in the cap of an empty pasta sauce jar. I also sprinkled cinnamon to deter any more from entering.
+ A handful of apples were bruised and starting to go bad, so the kids and I made cinnamon sugar apple chips in the dehydrator. Here’s the recipe:
Cinnamon Sugar Apple Chips 4 apples a big squirt of lemon juice 2 Tbsp. sugar 2 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Peel and core the apples, then cut into thin slices.
Mix together the remaining ingredients and then toss in the sliced apples, coating evenly.
Place on the dehydrator trays and dry at 145° for 6 hours.
+ I made carrot top pesto using carrots from my garden.
+ I purchased a book online and reused the mailer later for something I sold on ebay. Love free shipping materials!
GARDEN SAVINGS:
+ As of this writing, we have picked strawberries, lettuce, peas, bunch onions, carrots and red potatoes from our garden. Using current prices from the grocery and local farm stores, I’m estimating that we have saved about $105 so far!
+ More exciting news: our hens have started laying! We have collected 32 eggs so far and at $5 a dozen (per our local farm), we’ve saved almost $15.
Previous Frugal Accomplishments
+ My son had a broken button on his collared shirt. I removed the broken one, replaced it with the last button (which won’t be seen since the shirt will be tucked in) and voila! Ready to wear.
+ Mark made a brisket and, after removing a lot of the fat, decided to try his hand at making tallow! Super easy process in the slow cooker and it was nice to get one more use out of something that we would normally just throw away.
+ I used my handy dandy declogger recipe to fix our utility sink.
+ The seam on a pair of Sophie’s leggings ripped open, so I hand sewed it back together. (My little sewing basket is getting a lot of use!)
+ We gave haircuts to three of the boys.
+ I made chicken stock from a roasted chicken carcass (from one of our own chickens!) and veggies scraps I keep in the freezer. Per usual, I used my favorite Souper Cubes (affiliate link). Later, we used the stock as the liquid for cooking pinto beans. Delicious!
+ We fed the hens some of our kitchen scraps and the rest went to our growing compost pile.
+ I chose a few books to read and review on Netgalley. Gotta love new books without spending any money!
GARDEN SAVINGS:
+ As of this writing, we have picked 244 strawberries from our little strawberry patch. In our area, 2lb. of organic strawberries cost $5.56, so we’ve saved about $20 by growing our own! Not bad for just ten bareroots.
Previous Frugal Accomplishments
We’re working on two big financial goals right now: saving (a little more than) six months of expenses and paying down our mortgage! I’m happy to return to intentional frugal living as we chip away, little by little. Here’s what we’ve been up to this winter: (Linking up with Rosie again too!)
+ Last year, my husband and boys chopped up a bunch of fallen trees from our property. Even though they aren’t completely seasoned yet, we’ve still been able to keep our heat quite low when we burned the wood in the fireplace. Other frugal fireplace accomplishments: I sprinkled the wood ashes around the driplines of our fruit trees and we tried a DIY firestarter from toilet paper rolls and dryer lint.
+ I gave my daughter a haircut.
+ I buy a lot of used books and sometimes they are hardcover rejects from libraries. I carefully cut the plastic cover off the dustjacket and boom! Looks like a brand new book!
+ Groceries seem to be getting more expensive, so I worked on incorporating a little more rice and beans in our dinner rotation. I even learned how to cook dried beans – so easy and makes a ton!
+ I took advantage of ebay’s waived listing fees (I get 200 a month) and posted a bunch of unneeded and outgrown clothing.
+ I made chicken stock from a roasted chicken carcass and a bunch of vegetable odds and ends that I keep in the freezer. I used my beloved Souper Cubes (affiliate link) again.
+ I started browsing ThredUp for deals to get a head start on spring/summer clothes for my daughter.
+ After almost a decade, I finally bought new glasses last November and now I wear them almost every day! (Ironic since I hated glasses with a passion when I was in high school, but here we are.) This is saving me lots of money in contact lenses and solution.
+ I took out my soap keeper (affiliate link) once my bar of soap turned small and unwieldy. This has proven to be quite a handy purchase for stretching soap even further.
Your turn! What did you do to save a little money the past few months?
Previous Frugal Accomplishments
JULY’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.
+ Summer seems to be a great time to sell old school books on eBay and I’ve been having a lot of luck. I save boxes and packaging from my own online purchases and reuse them to ship out the books. Frugal and environmentally friendly – a win/win!
+ I am in the process of sewing a scrap quilt completely by hand using a variety of fabrics that I’ve been hoarding forever – some given to me from my late grandmother, a few I purchased over a decade ago, even a couple pieces of clothing and an old pillowcase.
+ I made cutoffs for Sophia from a pair of her jeggings. They had big holes in the knees and would have ended up in the trash. Turned out so cute!
+ We had summer squash coming out of our ears this month! I cut a handful of them up in rounds and froze them for later. A few recipes we’ve made:
+ I purchased two new dresses for church on ThredUp. I had credit from sending in a clean-out bag along with enough points to get $10 off of my order.
+ I used the water from the kids’ kiddie pool to water my wildflowers in the front beds.
+ We harvested and shelled our “crop” of dry kidney beans. (This post was helpful.) We had quite the laugh since it ended up only being enough to feed us for probably two or three meals. Oops! We’ll definitely have to increase the amount we grow next year.
+ Mark gave four of the boys haircuts.
+ TJ needed new sneakers and I found an outgrown pair of J’s in the hand-me-down bins. They were still in good condition but were a little dirty around the bottoms. Nothing a Magic Eraser and a little elbow grease can’t fix! Now they’re back to white and ready to wear.
+ Ebay had a monthly promotion that waived the listing fees for 200 items. I listed 19 items, mostly books, saving me almost $7.
+ I replaced our very outdated family photos with pages I pulled from a vintage painting book. I love how unique they are and that this short-term solution was free. I’ll get those professional family photos redone someday.
Your turn! What did you do to save a little money this month?
P.S. I pin frugal ideas to this Pinterest board if you need some inspiration too!
_________________________________ Previous Frugal Accomplishments: JUNE’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.
+ File this under “Things I Should Have Known, But Actually Had No Idea”: after digging around blindly in the small opening of our lint screen for over two years, I discovered that it actually opens! (Insert face palm.) I also cleaned out the lint that gets trapped in the vent to the outside of the house. Better air flow should help with less drying time (= saves money) and makes less of a fire hazard too.
+ I made a natural fertilizer for the garden from egg shells. I also cut up a waaaay too ripe banana (too ripe even for banana bread) and buried the pieces in the soil for an extra potassium boost.
+ We lasted until May 23 before we turned on the air conditioning. We lasted 71 days, which is amazing for Virginia. We can thank this cooler than normal spring.
+ We replaced a ceiling light with one that we’ve had stored away in the garage. I purchased the schoolhouse-looking light for my old house right before we decided to move, so it’s just been sitting brand new in the box. Mark installed it for me and it’s perfect! I hope to be able to sell the old (perfectly nice and functional, just not our taste) light in the months ahead.
+ I unclogged my shower drain again using my trusty recipe.
+ Mark watched a few hair-cutting Youtube videos and then gave the two big boys haircuts.
+ I made a chalkboard from an old piece of artwork that we got when we were first married, almost 15 years ago! The glass was broken and it didn’t really fit our decor anymore, so we turned it into a chalkboard for our garage gym. Mark had a piece of plywood cut to size and then I painted it with chalkboard paint. Super simple project and now the boys have a place to write out their workouts and rep tallies. I’m really happy that we could give something new life instead of just throwing it in the trash.
+ My daughter saved the sticks from her popsicles, painted them and glued them into frames for her artwork. + I sewed a potholder (using this tutorial) to replace one of ours that has seen better days. The fabric is extra special because it was given to me by my grandmother, who has since passed away. The potholder is definitely imperfect – my sewing skills are rusty! – but I’m so happy that I was able to create something useful and I know I’ll think of my Memere every time I use it. + I made my own refried beans using this recipe. MAY’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.
+ We’re following the square foot “method” for our garden, but wanted to save a little money by skipping the cross-hatch pieces that make the squares. Instead, I constructed a temporary version out of strips of cardboard. I use it when I plant and then keep it in the garage until the next time.
+ My front door rug was moving everywhere and bunching up, which was driving me crazy. I cut up an old unused rug pad to fit underneath and now it stays in place! I can’t believe it took me this long to make a two-minute fix.
+ I planted wildflowers from seed kits that never sold from the old Big White Farmhouse shop. I found them tucked away this winter and couldn’t wait to put them to good use in the front flower beds. I didn’t know what to expect since they were over three years old, but the germination rate still seems to be good! I have little sprouts everywhere.
+ We’re getting a 15% credit on our auto insurance policy due to being stuck at home during the outbreak.
+ As of this writing, we’re still going strong without having to turn on our A/C! I’m grateful for this weirdly cool spring.
+ Our sourdough starter has saved us quite a bit of money since we can make our yeast stretch further.
+ We had a bit of an ant invasion near our side door. I made a homemade ant killer, which was equal parts vinegar and water in a spray bottle, and that helped kill the ones in the house. For outside, I made a concoction of equal parts powdered sugar and baking soda in a small, shallow container and it worked within hours.
+ Mark has been chopping down dead/dying trees around our property and cutting them into firewood pieces. + We’ve become even more cognizant about our food consumption, especially as prices seem to be slowly rising. Regular “Refrigerator Cleanout Nights” have helped us have very little waste.
Your turn! What did you do to save a little money this month?
P.S. I pin frugal ideas to this Pinterest board if you need some inspiration too!
_________________________________ Previous Frugal Accomplishments: