DG's frugal journal

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Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Sunday am

I hope to start painting today. I have saved old shower curtains and table cloths to put under things that I paint. Since it usually rains in the afternoon, I really have to paint under cover on the concrete. So we will see how it goes. But first to Walmart before the after church rush. No I am not afraid to go to Walmart. These copycat shooters are everywhere and can appear anywhere although gun free zones are generally preferred. Schools etc.

Yesterday, we had skinless, boneless, filleted chicken breasts. I buy the family packages on sale for $1.49/lb and thaw one package. Eat a couple of fillets and slice the rest and refreeze. Some say refreezing is bad. But I have done that my entire life without a problem, so I call it yet another fear tactic, media click bait. A package will yield about 4 meals. Today, hubs wants ground beef. I buy the 5 lb rolls and slice them into patties. I put 2 large patties in a reuseable pint container and get one out whenever hubs wants ground beef. I used to reuse cereal inside waxed paper to separate them, but no more. If they are thawed, they came apart easily. Saves a step.

If we avoid the rain today by some chance, I will do laundry. In the summer since it rains most afternoons, I either do it early and put it out under the awning in case or put it out in the evening and bring it in first thing the next morning. Interestingly, it seems ok to leave it out overnight although there is a greater chance of a frog on it.

I had opened up the faucet on my rain barrels during the days of rain. I have the faucets shut again. Luckily I have some rain water accumulated in my gutter trashcans to use today on my potted plants if it doesn't rain. I will pump the leftover water into my rain barrels tomorrow. Mosquitoes bred in the standing water, but by limiting it to 2-3 days, they don't have time to hatch and if they do, they can't escape the barrel screen. Besides, we have standing water in the ditches and in the lake. It is Florida.

I have been cleaning up the porch the last couple of days. It seems to accumulate dirt even in the rainy season. I have several additional bags of stuff to throw away. I have them sitting outside in the front. I don't take my garbage can out anymore. I walk it across the street to my neighbor's. Neither she or us have enough to fill the can, so we share. Makes a little less work for the garbage men.
BevMoore
Posts: 1012
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 11:04 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by BevMoore »

DG,
I think the refreezing has more to do with nutrition than safety. My understanding is freezing, thawing and refreezing reduces the nutritional quality of the food. However raw food can be thawed, cooked and then refrozen. At my age I need to get the most nutrition mileage from my food since I have to eat a lot less calories as I have gotten older.

Bev
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Good to know Bev. I don't really care about the nutrition part of meat, so I will continue to freeze. Thanks Bev.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Monday am

In theory, rainy all morning, so temperatures should stay down. I turned the paint can upside down yesterday to redistribute the thick paint. Although I will stir the paint, this makes me feel that it will be better mixed. Probably silly, but it makes me happy. The paint was on oops discount. The gallon only cost me $9. instead of $25. It is high quality exterior paint. I am using exterior since the porch is open to the weather.

The plan for the week includes more weed trimming on the north side. The yard guy is due on Wednesday and I want it cleaned up there before he comes. Also yard pickup is early Thursday am. So we will see how far this out of shape body goes. At least, the knee is behaving.

The house temperature of 83F looks like it will stay for the rest of the summer. No complaints from hubs. What I did do though was start keeping a half pitcher of cold water or tea in the refrigerator, so he could have cold drinks. I don't drink cold water because the cold gives me the hiccups.

I am very curious about the Japanese water saving techniques. I think I will google it a bit more in my resting time. Of course, there are many limits to what I can do here with the way the house is and the laws are. I had hoped to funnel ac drip water to the garden, but there isn't really very much of it since we insulated the house and raised the house temperature. Despite the outside temperatures staying above the house set temperatures probably 20 hours a day or more, the ac runs maybe a dozen times a day for a short time each.

Probably our biggest water use is the washing machine. However I have a new He machine which is said to use less water. I had to buy a new one. My old one failed.I like that I need so much less soap as well. The results have been softer clothes and no need for a softener sheet. I reuse the softener sheets by spraying them with fabric softener. I usually have to use the dryer for a couple of minutes to ensure things are really dry from the line. Tossing a dryer sheet in is convenient. Still less waste.

I am making solar tea again. Hubs likes it cold in the afternoon and with dinner. He cannot lift the large glass container I use to make it in the sun, so I transfer half of it to a dollar store pitcher. I make it about 3 times a week. Some people say solar tea is unsafe, but here the sun is so hot, I am not concerned.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Tuesday am

Yesterday, I pumped the water from the gutter trashcans into the rain barrel using my hand pump. I only let water sit in the cans for 3 days before transfer. Not enough time to make mosquitoes. I have some rain water set aside to wash out a couple of dirty trashcans. Rain water is good enough for that and it is free. Then the remainder will go into the rain barrel. I used rainwater to clean the car last week. It doesn't really need it yet.

More painting today with the discounted paint. Also a good day to do a bit of sweeping in the house and enclosed porch. Dust and leaves are a constant challenge. I haven't used at the electric vacuum cleaner in a year or more.

My refrigerator apparently is self defrost and it leaks water from time to time from a spot along the back inside of the refrigerator section. It accumulates in the bottom and leaks out onto the floor. After several attempts, I have found the right container to catch most of that leaking water. I then use the water to clean misc containers that collect either kitchen vegetable scraps for the worm tower or coffee grounds. Sometimes there is enough to do a hand mop of the floor around the counter area. It seems to get dirty faster. No waste of water.

Today, I will use the last bit of Cajun seasoning in a container. It is always a challenge to get the last out. But I feel good when I try. I turned a couple of containers of oil upside down in the skillet yesterday before cooking in order to get the last of the oil out before tossing the containers. Waste not.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Tuesday pm

Hope to get dinner on the table early, so that I can use the evening to paint on the buffet.

Caution: health post below. Beware of UTI
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Today, I moved the sliding handicapped bath seat into the spare bathroom. I will use it there. Hubs catches his urine in a urinal. He began doing that when he had his hospital experience with UTI and needed to know that he was passing enough urine to clear up the infection. It became a convenient habit for him. Also the doctor asks sometimes. And color, volume and odor are warning signs. They say once you get one, you can get one again easily. I decided that it is a good thing to be sure to keep my fluids flowing too. I am bad about drinking water. Given this heat especially important to keep the fluids moving. This is a precaution. UTI is scary. He had a lot of pain. The sliding bath seat has a pull out in the center for washing those delicate parts if the person can't stand at all. It is a great idea. So glad the physical therapist recommended this model. Since we don't need it right now for bathing, why not use it to protect against UTI. This getting old is ....getting old.
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I also use the transport wheelchair as my computer chair. It is comfortable and easy to push back and get out of. Way easier than a computer chair. It is unfortunate to have all this handicapped stuff, but it is good to be able to use it. Hate when things just sit in the corner and gather dust. I wonder how I can use the walker.
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