Bed risers are hard plastic flat-topped dome shaped devices, about six inches tall, that you put under the legs of a bed in order to gain more storage space beneath the bed.

When we moved into our new house about three years ago, or thereabouts, we had some, but discovered we needed others. The small twin bed in our craft room is uncommonly low, and we wished to raise it both for the comfort of any guests and because the under the bed storage totes for crafts did not actually fit under this bed.

We did once pick up two official, genuine, intended for this purpose, sets of bed-risers in the clearance section of that discount store people love to hate.  They were marked down so much that we couldn’t have used blocks of wood or bricks for any less, so we bought them.  They were already in use, however, in the bedrooms of the small-fry, so their bins of dress-up clothes and blocks could slide beneath their beds.

We have a friend who uses bricks, and they work quite nicely, although they do hurt if you stub your toes on them.  You can cover the bricks with felt, foam, or other cushioning.  But we didn’t have any bricks and when I get a bee in my bonnet, it’s a bee with an extreme need for instant gratification. I wanted the bed up N.O.W.- not the next time we mad a run into town and remembered to get the bricks while we are actually in town and not on the way home when we slap our heads and say, “oh, I meant to get bricks, maybe next time we go into town….”  We thought about blocks of wood, but we only had three that would work, and we needed four, of course.

Then Jenny-Any-Dots had a stroke of genius.  We had <em>quart sized paint cans</em> from all the painting and decorating we did before moving in!  For some reason, they’d been left in a corner of the garage instead of being thrown out.  There were four of them.  One of them was still about 1/3 full of paint, so we put that one beneath the most accessable bed leg.  Should we ever want to touch up the trim with that paint color, we’ll just move it out temporarily.  Jenny even made them look pretty with some scraps of cloth and ribbon in just a matter of minutes.

It took more than few minutes for us to sort through the crafts that were going under the bed, but that’s done, too.  To make them even sturdier (although ours are still going strong, three years later), you could fill them with sand.

Paint can bed risers is a good example of what’s in my hand frugality.  You start with an idea of what you want- I wanted bed-risers.  Then you think about the purpose and function your item will be filling, and the size, and shape of the item you want, and start thinking by analogy- what other items have a similar shape?    What other items could fulfill the same purpose?

In our older house, Jenny’s bed fit in a nook in the wall that was exactly the size of a twin sized mattress.  It was not the size of a mattress with frame.  Storage space was even more limited there.  So we needed something to support her mattress and raise it above the floor as well as provide more storage space- so got a set of sturdy metal and plastic milk crates (my husband works at a grocery store, so we could get them easily) and put her mattress on those.  Had they been available, our five gallon buckets, four -six of them , covered by a board and then her mattress would have worked.  Or we might have tried a couple of used coffee tables or end tables, side by side, topped by a board, and then her mattress.  We might have used end tables with cupboards in them, and had some extra under the bed drawers for clothing.

It takes a bit of creative thinking, and lots of us think we’re not creative.  But what I’ve found is that the more you practice thinking this way, the more creative you become.

1.  Shop when no one else is. I don’t mean the physical time you shop (like shopping at 3 am) but shop for items or services when they are not in demand.  We saved a significant amount on labor when we had our new furnace installed by choosing to replace it in the “off-season”.  I also save money on clothing by shopping a season behind, buying winter clothes actually in winter instead of in the fall when they are most popular.

2.  Is there a used alternative? Any time I need to make a purchase, large or small, I think about if it is something I can buy used.  From Goodwill to the classified section to Criagslist to even eBay, if it is an item I can buy used instead of new, I try to do that.  I’ve even purchased evening wear at Goodwill.

3.  Even clearance items go on sale. I used to think the clearance rack was just a dumping place for unpopular items that was subsequently ignored by the staff until new items needed to be dumped.  And that may be true, but in making room for new items, those items already there get marked down even more in an effort to make them sell.   By keeping an eye on the clearance rack at stores with quality merchandise, I’ve been able to find items my family needs for a true fraction of the cost.  The longer it hangs out in clearance, the less expensive it gets.

4.  Research, research, research. How do I know when I should spend a little more?  Part of that process is trial and error, but a key component in the internet age is research.  If I am making a big purchase (or even a small purchase), I read anything I can find about it.  I take the results with a grain of salt - sometimes the bad is overrepresented on the internet - but I can find out key information about the item and determine if it fits in with what I am looking for.  Another way I do research is through free samples.  I request free samples of items when I see them, and I also have tried  many many items for free through survey websites.  My spouse even found his favorite deodorant from being a product tester for a survey site I belong to.

5.  Pay attention to sales, but stay focused. There are some name-brand grocery items my spouse is not flexible about.  I can’t just buy what’s on sale for him.  But I can pay attention to sales and find the item when it is at its least expensive price.  Watching sales every week can backfire if you aren’t careful, because you can start buying things just because they are on sale.  Stay focused on what you are looking for.

Developing these strategies has helped me to keep from overspending but also not just opting for what costs the least by default.  If I can make a purchase that will last for decades for a little more than a purchase that will only last a year, that is obviously the more frugal choice.   I’m just beginning to really figure out how to make those choices possible.

Recommended resources: Vision Forum Deals helping you catch the best clearance, coupons, sales and more from Vision Forum

Need Some Extra Cash?

Who doesn’t? I recently decided to organize my living room entertainment center and wondered “Why do I still have all these CD’s?” We are in the age of the iPod and do you really still listen to those CD’s you’ve had since high school?
If you decide, like I did, that you can get by without those nostalgic reminders of your younger years, you can sell your CD’s and get some cash for your holiday shopping – not to mention some much needed storage space.
First, you need to figure out where to sell the CD’s. A few years ago I would have just headed to the nearest Wherehouse or other CD store, but look around and you won’t see any of those stores anymore. There are, however, many places to sell used CD’s online. Some of the websites offer more money20than others – the ones where you can get the most money for your CD’s will give you credit or trade. One of them you can even use the credit for an iPod. This would be great if anyone on your holiday list would like a DVD or iPod. Many of the websites also offer to pay for shipping if you reach a certain threshold dollar amount.
I chose to go through SecondSpin.com because I wanted cash and they were in California where I live, so the shipping is less. They pay a set media mail rate for shipping for different quantities of CD’s. I found that the shipping rate they paid covered about 75% of the shipping cost from my address. Knowing that you have to cover some of the shipping charges should be incentive to do some research to find the closest location to your house.
After you find the place you want to sell your CD’s, the rest is easy – just follow directions on the website, send them in, and wait for your check. You will find that some of the CD’s aren’t worth more than $1 or may have broken covers – these you can save for your next yard sale. Here are some websites, I’m sure there are many more out there.

• SecondSpin.com
• Spun.com
• Wherehouse.com
• TheCDExchange.com
• BuyBackMadness.com
• CashforCDs.com

Now I need to work on those DVD’s that we never watch… I’m Shelly from The Happy Toddler, where I blog about frugal ideas for your entertaining your little ones

Recommended resources: Biblical Womanhood Crystal Paine’s e-books help you save as you shop, cook, and serve your family

Note: Check the library for books!  I found most of these at the library when I first started my frugal journey.  You may also check Paperback Swap if you’re a member there. (It’s free to join.)

Books:

The Complete Tightwad Gazette. This was the first book that I found actually *useful* when I was single.  There is advice that is applicable to all sorts of lifestyle situations.  It is the book form of the now defunct newsletter.  I’ve bought this book numerous times, and always end up giving it away and buying it again.

The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness. Pretty much everybody has heard of Dave Ramsey at this point, but I’m going to mention him anyway.  If you’re in a great deal of debt or have no idea where to start, start with Dave.  I don’t always agree with him all of the time, but his overall message is good.  Pay off debt, save for emergencies, and then live like no one else so later, you can live like no one else!  I love his attitude that all things are possible.  I have done many things in my life that were “impossible” so I know that most things can be done!

Your Money or Your Life. My husband and I read this not long after we got married, and it completely changed the way we look at money.  We exchange hours of our life working at a job for money.  If we learned to live on less, we would have more time to do what we wanted.   It sounds very basic, but it is a concept lost on many people.  The book I linked is the updated version.   They give real life examples and interview many people living the Your Money or Your Life way in different seasons of their lives.  The authors of the book were both single and achieved great things.

More-With-Less Cookbook. An excellent basic cookbook that emphasizes inexpensive, healthful ingredients.  I used this cookbook all the time in my ‘po grad school days.  The book was written by a Mennonite woman who was concerned at America’s consumption of the world’s resources.

Living More With Less. This was written by the author of The More With Less Cookbook, but focused on simple living.  If you’re intested in simple living or simplifying your life, this is a good book to start with.

The Simple Living Guide: A Sourcebook for Less Stressful, More Joyful Living. A good go-to guide for beginners in simple and/or frugal living.

The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous  &  Broke. Suze Orman’s no-nonsense practical financial advice for women who are just starting out.  I wish I’d read this sooner.

Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic. An eye opening book about how our quest for stuff is getting kind of insane.

E-Book:

Crystal Paine is the coupon QUEEN.  She explains how she does it in her e-book/e-course Supermarket Savings 101. After reading her book, I dropped my membership at The Grocery Game and started doing it myself.

Websites and Blogs:

The Dollar Stretcher is a good starting point!  There are tons of articles on just about any frugality topic for any person at any stage in their life.

Money Saving Mom posts all the Walgreens and CVS deals each week, along with excellent money saving posts.  Crystal and her family lived on $1000 a month while her husband went to law school without taking any loans out.  She does not say that living on one income can be done- she shows you how! I’ve learned so much from her.  She’s also the author of Supermarket Savings.

The Simple Dollar is “financial talk for the rest of us!”

Finance for a Freelance Life- Mrs. Micah is getting out of debt and having fun doing so!

Like Merchant Ships- our own Meredith and one of my favorite frugality blogs.

What are your favorite frugality books and blogs?  I did not even scratch the surface of what is out there!

Recommended resources: Living on a Dime Frugal Living and Cooking e-books

For many of us, buying generic products is second nature. I swear by them. In many cases the only difference is a matter of packaging, or perhaps a slight difference in quality (sometimes Giant-brand peanuts don’t taste as good as Planters peanuts). In some cases, I like the generics even better than name brands.

But there are a few generics that I’ve tried and now avoid like the plague. For example:In some cases, I like the generics even better than name brands.

But there are a few generics that I’ve tried and now avoid like the plague.

1. CVS razor blades for the Gillette Sensor handle. Micah tried these and they really cut up his face. He even tried each replacement blade once to be sure it wasn’t a problem with a few of them.
2. Giant generic nasal strips. Micah sometimes snores and last fall he decided to try nasal strips. These weren’t anything like the razor incident, they just didn’t stay on well and when they did, they didn’t do much to prevent the snoring. Whereas we had a great experience with Breathe-Rite.
3. CVS noncomedogenic, non-salicylic moisturizer with sunscreen. It was very gritty in a way that felt less like exfoliating and more like sand (also, why does moisturizer exfoliate?). If it got in my eyes it burned. It was an appealing $4 cheaper than the Neutrogena version, but not worth the savings.
4. Giant scouring pads. Rusted after one use. We used them up, one use at a time, but it was a real disappointment.
5. Giant all-purpose cleaner. The bottle was poorly made, the top doesn’t stay on properly. And I generally disliked using it.
6. CVS maxi pads. CVS makes a nice pantiliner, but their maxi pads simply don’t get the job done. Neither has any generic maxi pad I’ve tried.

But for the most part, generics rock! Here are a few that are still part of my day-to-day life.

1. CVS benzoyl peroxide cream (their alternative to Neutrogena’s “On the Spot”). It does a great job preventing breakouts, it’s basically identical to Neutrogena.
2. CVS personal lubricant. That’s right, they make it! And it’s packaged just like Astroglide, works just fine as a lubricant. I was impressed.
3. CVS non-drowsy nasal decongestant. I have allergies and there are some times of the year when I can’t do without decongestants. I dislike taking them, but this is one of the most pleasant I’ve run across. Unlike most, it doesn’t knock me out or leave me feeling sleepy.
4. CVS sensitive skin soap. Beats Dove for price and everything else is just as good. We did try their regular soap once (CVS) and I didn’t like it nearly as much. It made me think more of Dial than of Dove. But since I have sensitive skin, CVS works.

While I can’t think of anything specific from Giant, we do buy Giant generic brands for most of our meat, canned vegetables, dried beans/rice, milk, cheese, etc. We only once had a problem, when a small, bean-sized rock got in with my beans. I don’t know if that was Giant’s fault or could have happened anywhere.

I didn’t know what to use for the ants but a quick google search informed me that placing chopped up orange peels on the ant mounds would work quickly and it did. We have an orange tree in our yard so all we had to do was eat a few oranges and then lay the peels down. I wish I had known and done it sooner!

I have used salt, cinnamon and vaseline for other issues that have come up with critters around our home.

I have come to learn it’s all a part of living in the South. I’m curious if you have tried and true DIY pest control remedies to share. I would love to hear other ideas.

Trying to eat what’s in season is healthy, and it’s also good for the pocket book, as seasonal foods tend to be the better buys in the produce department.  In North America in November, those foods would include:

Brussels sprouts, cranberries, parsnips, turnips,  butternut squash, carrots, kale, onions, potatoes,  apples, pears, and pumpkins.  I will share an idea or two for preparing each of these below.

My favorite way to cook and eat Kale is here.

I like to combine cranberries and pears for an easy cobbler- slice the pears, mix with cranberries and sugar and a bit of cinnamon, top with a mixture of oats, brown sugar, butter, and pie spices, and bake.

I like parsnips diced and fried in butter (none of my family like them at all).  Turnips are nice grated in a slaw or salad or diced in stews.  The INgalls family munched on them raw, like apples.

Turnip Slaw

1/4 cup chopped sweet red pepper (we have used green, and we also buy bags of frozen chopped peppers in the winter and just use some of that)
1/4 cup green onions, thinly snipped with scissors
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of honey
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 cups of grated turnips- peel them (remember to slice the tops to grow more turnip greens) and grate them (I use my food processor)

Mix all ingredients except the turnips, then pour the mixture over your grated turnips and mix well. This serves four.

Butternut squash is good in soup.

Carrots are easy to prepare.  One main dish recipe I’ve enjoyed in the past is carrot-bean croquettes:
Serving Size : 35 (no that’s not a typo)

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
——– ———— ——————————–
10 medium onions — grated
10 cups pinto beans, cooked — mashed
15 cups raw carrots — grated
5 cups bread crumbs
4 teaspoons sage
salt — to taste
flour — for breading
3 whole egg — beaten
garlic powder — to taste
onion powder — to taste

Combine first four ingredients well. Form into patties- about 72. Coat in
flour; dip in egg roll in a mixture of 1/2 flour and 1/2 bread crumbs and garlic
and onion powder.
Bake at 375 degrees for ten minutes on a greased cookie sheet. Cool. Wrap in
waxed paper and freeze. Move to baggies or plastic containers or cover in foil.
To serve, thaw, and fry in oil.

NOTES : Serve with ketchup and mustard.

All those root vegetables are good in this roasted vegetable dish- which can be a main dish or a side dish, and is a very good fall meal.

Potatoes we’ve discussed before, and apples are pretty self-explanatory (although we also enjoy ours in an old pioneer dish of fried onions and apples with a bit of cheese).

Brussels Sprouts- I have an unfailing recipe for these.  They are perfect every time.  I scrape my steamed, buttered, and salted sprouts onto my husband’s plate.  He loves them, and I do not, and this makes us both happy.

But I’ve become a couponaholic and a deal-chasing diva, and now I get name brand items for less than I used to pay for the generic equivalent.  I’m not stuck on name brands - if i can’t get a deal I still buy generic, but I like to pay the lowest amount possible for items, no matter what the branding on the outside.

And in becoming a brand-name buyer, I’ve come across two programs that with a minimum of effort, I can take advantage of to help out my child’s school.  I’ve heard of them (as most people probably have) but I’ve just started to work to actively notice them.

The first is Box Tops For Education. General Mills must own the world, because I see these collectible box top labels on everything from toilet paper to tampons to cake mix to cereal bars.   I simply clip them off and collect them in an envelope for my son’s school, and every so often send them in.  Each is like my making a 10 cent donation, without having to do anything more than clip and send.  I don’t buy items specifically to get the labels, but I do take advantage of when I have already bought them.

The second is Campbell’s Soup Labels For Education.  This is a little more effort for me, because it seems harder to get the labels on these types of items off than the box top ones, but it still is pretty simple and works on exactly the same principle.  Labels are worth points, and when your school has a certain amount of points they can redeem them for items for the school.  They aren’t just on soup, they are on Prego and V8 items as well.  I don’t come across these as often but when I do, I collect them in an envelope as well as send them in.

Two easy ways to give to your child’s school (or a friend’s child’s school if you homeschool or do not have kids) that don’t cost you any additional money, just a very small time investment.

Recommended resources: Biblical Womanhood Crystal Paine’s e-books help you save as you shop, cook, and serve your family

It’s at times like these that I need to remind myself that breastfeeding saves me a LOT of money!  Like most frugal pursuits, I’m choosing effort over expenditure. 

(And truly, how much effort is lifting up my shirt and lying on the sofa?)

Breastfeeding is not without associated costs.  Here are a few tricks for making it even less expensive:

• Meijer stores give women free prenatal vitamins with prescription.
• Make your own nursing pads by recycling what you already have.
• Stretchy, no-wire bras can be pulled down for access, in lieu of nursing bras.
• Gain extra coverage for less by layering a long tank beneath your top.
• Skip bottles altogether.  If you don’t have to work, you can get by with a minimum of bottles and a quality hand pump. 

Should you experience difficulty, a GOOD lactation consultant is worth every penny (and often covered by insurance).  Solving breastfeeding problems early quickly pays for itself!

There are a lot of ways to get creative, and put together frugal and beautiful things for the holidays as gifts or just for around your home.

Here are some links to really cute ideas to get you started on frugal holiday creativity.

A Little Sparkle
Fall Decorating Without the Fuss
Thanksgiving Tables

What creative and frugal things do you like to make over the holidays?