I was thinking about Neil Pasricha’s blog called 1000 Awesome Things and started thinking about awesome frugal things. Here’s my Top Ten List of frugal things that I find particularly awesome:
- Using all of a food item without wasting a drop (especially if I’ve wasted the same food item in the past).
- Making a ‘brown bag lunch’ without using plastic or disposable products.
- Putting together a dinner with on-hand ingredients after considering going to a restaurant or buying new food (these dinners are famous at my house – known as ‘throw together dinners’).
- Eliminating an errand or doing an errand without a car.
- Talking myself out of buying something.
- Saving money on something that I’d normally buy anyway.
- Hearing the trash truck and not sprinting to the curb, because our trash can isn’t full.
- Getting rid of things from my house.
- Enjoying a day or a weekend without spending money.
- Reusing something that was headed for a trash can.
These are just a few things that I think are awesome. How about you?
An Exercise in Frugality 
11. Reusing a plastic bag so many times that you can no longer read Ziplock on it (they wash us great in the machine with the towels).
12. Using my homemade laundry detergent because it is frugal and earth friendly.
13. Walking out of Target and having saved over $50 by stacking coupons.
14. Getting free samples that will make great stocking stuffers this Christmas.
15. Making my own homemade corned beef from a cheap beef roast for St. Patrick’s day this year.
16. Making homemade bread from my refrigerator bread dough: fast, easy and soooo good.
17. Cooking up dried beans in bulk in 20 minutes in my pressure cooker.
18. Crocheting “rag” rugs using “yarn” made from my husband’s old T shirts.
17. Using Koolaid (the Aldi brand) to “dye” said rag rugs.
18. Buying produce half off for quick sale and going home and freezing it.
19. Making 4 quarts of sauerkraut with the cabbage that went on special after St. Patrick’s Day.
20. Making my own wine vinegar with some of the gift wine we were given that sat opened in the frig too long.
Sandy, thanks for adding 10 more awesome frugal things!
These are great lists. Here are a few additions of my own:
Getting as much pleasure out of taking care of something I already own as I do in buying something new.
Finding something used that is cheaper and more unique than anything I could buy new.
Picking up books I’ve had reserved at my branch of the library.
Having an easy to clean room because it’s been decluttered.
Great list! :) The garbage one is great, we’re pretty good in this area too, especially for us being a family of 6. When I see the big full garbage bags and bags my neighbors put out every week it makes me wonder what the heck they eat/buy/use every week! Ack!
Love this…very fun!
Statewide open access library policy is my big find of the week. I live in Iowa where most public libraries participate in this program, meaning that when I go to a town to visit friends and relatives I can walk right into their library, hand over my driver’s license, get a free card, and check out materials which I can then return at my home library (again, free) in Iowa. Thus, I will never be caught perousing the shelves of bookstores and movie stores because I have nothing to read or watch.
Libraries are just cool! Good sources of info, free wi-fi, people-watching, and sometimes even a good place to read with a cup of joe in your hand. Also, the public library is a great place to escape to when your relatives are driving you nuts. A third bonus? Piling books into my checkout basket satisfies my consumption impulse with no guilt.
I’d encourage people to see if their own states have this. And to support their libraries. And to give them their old books and mags when they’re downsizing their own shelves.