Frugal Crafting: Mesh Veggie Bags

I saw some mesh veggie bags here, and wondered why I hadn't thought of that. I'm very good about taking my cloth grocery bags to the store (except when I was collecting bags for my fused plastic project), but I hadn't thought about taking reusable bags for my produce.

I filed the idea away, under my 'to do after we move and get settled' list, and didn't think about it again till I found some mesh laundry bags in the dollar section at Target. They're big- about 3 feet by 2 feet- and I realized I could easily make some mesh produce bags out of them.

I cut each bag into 4 rectangles. Since there was already seams in 3 sides, I only had to sew one side and the top or bottom of each smaller bag. I used the original drawstrings in the two bags that included it, and made my own drawstrings and drawstring channel for the other two.

You can see which drawstrings were recycled and which I made.

They were quick, easy, and cheap, and now I can do even more to reduce the amount of plastic we use. Cool!

Total cost:

2 laundry bags from Target: $1 each, $2 total

8 mesh produce bags: $.25 each, since I already had the thread and crochet thread (that I used for the drawstrings)

Have you tried using mesh bags for produce? How'd it work out?

Saving Money: Do-It-Yourself Moving

A week from today we'll be loading up all our stuff for the trip across the country. With this move, we'll have moved 6 times in the 8 1/2 years we've been married. We've also had our stuff in storage on 4 different occasions.

So I thought that today I'd talk about some of the things we've done, and what we've learned.

Our first move was across the street and down several blocks, about a year after we got married. Since it was so close, we loaded my Jeep and my sister's pickup truck and made a couple trips till everything was moved.

Our next move was an out-of-state move when we went to language school the first time. For this move, we rented a Budget truck and drove it ourselves. Since housing wasn't available right away, we put our things in storage for a couple weeks. When a house came available, we rented a U-Haul and transferred everything.

Our third move was back to where we'd been living before language school. Mr. S was finishing some training in another state, and I had stayed behind while I finished my classes. Once I was done, I didn't want to stay there by myself, so I loaded what I could in the car and moved back. We had to have orders in order to have the move payed for by the military, so we put everything else in storage. This was our only move that was done by professionals- they came and packed everything up, stored it for 3 1/2 months till Mr. S was done with his training, then shipped it to where I was living, where they unloaded it. One glass jar was broken and our ironing board got lost, but I'm not complaining- my parents always had massive amounts of breakage/theft/etc with their 'professional' moves.

Our fourth move was back to language school, and we used a Budget truck again. Once again, we put our stuff in storage for about a month while we waited for a house to become available. When it did become available, we used a Budget truck to transfer everything.

Our most recent move was here, where our families are. We loaded everything into a U-Haul truck and drove it here, where we unloaded most of our stuff into a storage unit in town. We eventually used my parents' truck and trailer to move everything to a shipping container in our back yard.

Our upcoming move will be made using ABF to ship our stuff. We're using their ReloCube option, but we have to take our stuff to the ABF terminal to load them, so we'll have to load everything into a U-Haul truck and haul it into the city (a hassle, but way cheaper than all the other options, so still worth it). ABF will ship our stuff and store it for a week or so till we can move into our house, at which time they'll deliver the cubes to our house and pick them up once we've unloaded them.

Some things we've learned:

1. U-Haul will match other companies' posted prices for the same trip/services. If you go to Budget's site (they've been the cheapest option for our past moves) and get a quote, then call U-Haul, they'll confirm the quote and then match it. I didn't learn this till our second move back to language school, after I had already rented the Budget truck, unfortunately. Budget and Penske trucks are higher off the ground, with a higher center of gravity, which makes them feel less stable. When you're driving a big truck over the mountains or in windy conditions, this could be an issue. I like the U-Haul trucks because they have lower beds and a lower center of gravity, which makes for a more stable ride.
2. If you don't want to drive a truck, there are other options: PODS, ABF, etc. I called PODS for a quote, but they were going to charge almost twice as much as what ABF quoted me. ABF actually has two options: fill a semi trailer (and pay by the linear foot) or use their ReloCubes. For our move, the ReloCubes are cheaper to use, but I imagine that could change based on where you're moving to and from. The trailers are not as secure- you don't get to lock it; but you do get to put your own locks on the cubes, so no one else can get into them- much safer.
3. When you're storing things, call around for rates and deals. Both times we stored things for a short time while we waited for a house to open up we used Public Storage. They had a deal where the first month was $1 plus some administrative fees. Since we were out before the first month was up, I think we paid a total of $20 each time. Way cheaper than the $200-300 regular monthly rate (it was an expensive area). I've frequently seen half off the first month's rent and other deals, so call around to see what you can find. Make sure you read the fine print to make sure they don't require a minimum stay- Public Storage didn't.
4. We didn't have a Public Storage option when we moved here, so we used a local no-name company. I didn't like how much we were paying each month, so I started researching other options. I ended up renting a shipping container from Mobile Mini for half what I'd been paying the storage unit company. Mobile Mini does charge delivery and pick up fees up front, but when you average that across the length of time we used the container, it's still way less than what we were paying for the storage unit. I think for how long we've had it, it ended up being $15-20 a month. Plus, there was the added convenience of having our things in our back yard.
5. Look around before buying boxes: I've bought them online from Uline, and I've bought them from moving companies and even Home Depot. Buying them online only works if you're buying enough to make the shipping charges worth it. For smaller amounts of boxes, check out moving/storage companies and hardware stores. You can also get boxes for free from stores like WalMart- just ask for them. I like having just 2 different sizes of boxes (I'm OCD like that), so I do pay for boxes. It makes it easier to load the truck or stack in storage.

If you're doing a do-it-yourself move, research the options and see what will work for you and your situation. What are you willing/not willing to do? How much stuff do you have? Are you ok driving a big truck? I drove UPS trucks one summer in college, so I don't have a problem with it, but I've also reached the point where I just don't want to deal with it on a 3 or 4 day trip. What is your budget? How far are you moving? How much time do you have? Do you have friends to help you load the truck, or are you doing it yourself?

Figure out what's important to you, make your decision from there, and enjoy the adventure of moving to a new place.

Have you picked up any money-saving tips for moving?

Repurposing: Socks to leggings, part 2

I made another pair of leggings for LMS. She doesn't really need them, but I couldn't resist the pair of super soft knee high socks that were on sale at Target. I love the argyle detail!

I used the same technique that I used on the purple leggings- quick and easy.

They were on sale for $3.48. A little more expensive than each of the purple leggings, but you should feel how soft these are- snuggly soft!

Since I already explained the process here, I won't do it again, but I did take more pictures.

Total cost: $3.48

We have a house to move to

This is the house we'll be renting for the next year. It's in a nice neighborhood, there's lots of {dog-free} trails in the community, and it's close to work. The HOA fees are taken out of our rent, and entitle us to use the community center, which has workout facilities and a pool- so our 'gym membership' is included in our rent. Can't wait to move in, unpack, and get settled!

Saving Money: Telephones

When we were at language school this last time, we almost didn't get a land line. The only reason we did was so we could use the fax machine. It turned out that I used it very infrequently so it was an unnecessary expense.

We've gone the last few years having just one cell phone between the two of us. Whoever needed it the most would take it with them that day, and usually it worked out pretty well. A couple months ago we finally broke down and got a cell phone for me. This was in anticipation of the day that we would have our own place: we already knew we weren't going to get a land line at our next house. You used to need a land line in order to get internet, but with all the advances in internet technology, that's no longer the case. Thank goodness! Can you imagine how long it would take to download one blog page on dial-up?

For us, cell phones make sense. I don't want to be tied to a land line at home, especially when Mr S is gone on a trip. I want to be able to receive a call from him whenever he's able to call, wherever I am. Nothing's worse than staying at home all day, every day, on the off chance that he might call that day. And if we both have cells, why should we have a land line? This doesn't work for everyone, but for our circumstances, it's what works.

While there are some who argue against the intrusion of having cell phones on your person all the time, just because you have it, doesn't mean you have to answer it. Just like at home :)

Quick ways to save on your rate plans:

• Skip the repair/replace fee. It only works under certain conditions, and those conditions are never the ones that damaged/destroyed your phone. If you save up the money instead, you can easily replace your phone should the need arise. We save $4 per phone each month.
• Call and see if your provider offers a corporate discount for the company you work for. We save 10% on our monthly bill doing this.
• Watch your usage and double check which plan you need. Look for plans with free nights and weekends, free incoming calls, free calls to other cell phones (regardless of provider). Don't pay for services you don't use. If you don't text and will never text, but you still receive spam texts, ask your provider to put a text block on your line. Mr. S's plan does not include texts, so we kept having to pay for spam texts. It took a couple calls, but we got a block put on his line to prevent all texts from going through. No more charges for texts we didn't want in the first place.
• If you're out of the country for an extended period of time, call and put a hold on your line. We did this a few years ago when Mr. S went out of the country on a training mission. Since he didn't have an internationally capable phone, there wasn't any point in him bringing it with him. At that point in time, I think I actually did have a cell, so I didn't need to use his. There was a maintenance fee of about $10 a month I think, but that's still less than the normal cost per month.

Frugal Crafting: Fused Plastic Bag Snack Bag & Envelope

Awhile ago, I found several blogs where people used fused plastic bags to create things. At the time, I didn't have any plastic bags since I take cloth bags when I shop (except for Target, because their bags are just the right size for the trash can in my craft area), so I had to make an effort to start collecting them.

Last week I decided I had enough bags, and set about making some fused plastic bag fabric. It ended up being a bit trickier than I expected- the process is a bit fiddley, and there was some trial and error involved in trying to get some satisfactory results. I have to agree with Dana, who said that Target bags work the best. They're a teensy bit thicker, and seemed to stand up to the process a bit better. I did do some with bags from wally world, but the results were not as satisfactory.

I tried adding some embellishments to a couple of the sheets:

I cut out the little starbursts from a bunch of wally world bags and put them under the top sheet of plastic- I like how this looks.

I cut out the letters for LMS's name from various bags and put them under the top layer of plastic (hard to see with the letters blurred, sorry).

I used both of these pieces to make a snack bag (original idea here) for LMS- the starbursts on the back, her name on the front.

I sewed the bottom and sides together, and then used the iron to fuse the open edges a bit. I was making it up as I went along, so if I make another one, I'll sew the top edge first, then sew the sides and bottom. I used adhesive velcro dots to close the snack bag. If I make another one, I would put the velcro dots on before sewing the seams, and sew them to make sure they stay in place.

I had planned on making cash envelopes out of folded fused plastic bags, but I think the fused plastic is a bit thick for that (and I had a hard time getting even, consistent fusing), so I changed my mind. Instead, I made a zippered envelope to hold our gas money for the month.

I also made a sheet of fused plastic bags with the top layer being a sheet of plastic from a Target bag, with the ink on the inside so it wouldn't bleed (as recommended here).

I sewed the word 'gas' on a small piece of plain fused plastic, then sewed that to the sheet I wanted to use for the envelope. I tend to be a perfectionist, and want things to be perfectly even and neat, but I tried to squash that and just let it turn out how it wanted. Not sure if I like the results, but it's a learning process.

I still have some sheets of fused plastic left, but I haven't decided what exactly I want to do with them- more snack bags, more zippered envelopes, something else entirely? I'm not completely satisfied with how the fused sheets turned out- I had a hard time getting them evenly fused, so I think I'll keep saving Target bags and do some more experimentation. I did like the shopping bags Dana made, but my fused sheets didn't look nearly as nice as her did. Maybe with some more practice...

Total cost for this project: zero.

I collected the bags as I shopped, and I had the zipper, thread, and velcro dot already.

Frugal Eating: Family Feasts for $75 a Week: Book Review

A month or so ago I requested several books regarding cooking on a budget. One which just recently became available was Family Feasts for $75 a Week, by Mary Ostyn.

Mary has 10 kids in her family, so she's experienced in cooking for a lot of people, and doing it on a budget. We only have 1 child, not 10, but we still need to cook frugally and spend as little as possible.

She has lots of good tips about ways to save money around the house, when cooking, and so on. I have 8 brothers and sisters, so growing up, we were always finding ways to save money. We did a lot of the things she mentions, so there wasn't a lot that was new, but there were some things that stood out.

One major point she makes is that planning is necessary- meal planning, grocery planning, etc. It brought to mind the adage 'Fail to plan, plan to fail'. If you don't plan out your budget, your meal plan, your shopping list, etc, you won't be able to stick to your budget- you'll end up spending way more than you intended.

I found quite a few good recipes that I need to add in to the meal plan I made awhile ago. There are several things I liked about the recipes she included: they're not centered around meat (meat is included, but it's not like eating a steak and baked potato), there is a lot of bean and lentil recipes, and they're from around the world. Two of her kids were adopted from Korea and four were adopted from Ethiopia, and she's made an effort to include meals from their native countries, as well as others.

She also uses very few canned items, no boxed  mixes, and no canned soups in her recipes. She doesn't use them because they're pricey, which is true, but most of them are also sources of gluten, so I can't use them. Her recipes aren't specifically gluten free, but enough are naturally gluten free that I was able to find a good number of recipes that I can use.

She also includes instructions on canning, which I thought was helpful- it's becoming a lost art.

I like finding new recipes that are inexpensive to prepare, yet are still nutritious and taste good. I'm looking forward to trying a lot of the recipes she included.

Another thing she talked about that I really like, and will start once we move, is a 'price book'. Basically, you keep track of the items you buy the most, and you figure out how much they cost per unit at the stores that you shop at. That way you know which store has the best price and at which stores to use coupons and sales to get the absolute best deals. In a small notebook, using one page for each item, track the prices, locations, dates, etc for that particular item. It can be a bit overwhelming, but she recommends to start with 20 items and add on from there, as you can handle it. Sounds like a great way to figure out where to buy the items on your list. (She gives good instructions and examples, starting on page 38- much better than I can summarize here.)