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Re: DG's frugal journal

Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2019 8:23 am
by Dgflorida
Tuesday am

I must write down the idea for the stand alone water collector before I forget the details. Take existing kiddie pool. Secure to top of rain barrel with hole drilled at proper location for draining. Attach tarp to top edges of plastic pool to make a funnel to the opening into the barrel. Put either home made or store bought leaf catching drain wire cylinder down through hole and into rain barrel. Add screen. There that is written down. Whew.

Well, after this dance event, I will have 3 months before I dance again. October. I hope I can heal a bit by then.

I need to get control of that one section, the septic tank section, of my yard. My efforts so far have failed. The yard guy mows some of it, but the rest can't be mowed per say because I had this idea of growing ground cover there. The ground cover did not spread as I had hoped. And watering it through the crazy hot dry weather did not work out either. Well, back to the drawing board on that one. I still need to continue my efforts to add the termite prevention spikes around the house. The knee stopped that. I needed to expand the gravel area from 12 to 24 inches and that is a lot of work. And if I lift anything over 10 pounds, the knee complains. Stupid knee. And some lovely lilies are growing in that 12 inches that I want to expand. I don't have anywhere to put them. And this is not the season to move them.

I didn't feel that I made much progress on yard tidy. Felt like I just more one pile to another. sigh.

Re: DG's frugal journal

Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 9:31 am
by Dgflorida
Wednesday am

Time to write down another idea I found. A good way to recycle old skillets. Attach them to a post in a circle and make them into shallow bird baths. Take off the handles. already drilled spot for attachment to the post. In my case, post will be attached to an old tree stump. Those are solid for years, if not decades. There is a metal mount available for deck building that would be perfect. Just a few drill holes in the stump top and secure the 4x4 to the metal strapping. Good project. Good recycle. I have 2 used skillets. Perfect.

36 hours to "liftoff". So far, so good. Packing today. Final shower today. Final clean up today. Busy day.

Re: DG's frugal journal

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2019 10:17 am
by Dgflorida
Friday am

I walked this morning with the neighbor. We aren't walking as far as before, but I am at least walking a bit without pain. Also got hubs out to walk a block and back. That is the only exercise he gets. He reads most of the day. Fortunately, on the keto diet, he is not gaining any weight.

The county has decided to reduce garbage pickup. Boy, people are screaming to high heaven. I am sitting back glad I am frugal. We don't generate enough garbage for twice a week pickup. So once a week will be fine. Since my knee went bad, I have not walked my egg shells or vegetable wastes to the worm towers. Even so, still can't fill up a little bag twice a week. Instead of paper towels, I use rags. And I avoid excess plastic when possible by using reusable containers and buying in bulk using my own containers. The difference really mounts up. And I could easily do more. Most people are lazy. Demand we save the environment until they have to make a sacrifice. Well, it should be interesting to see if they can learn frugal ways.

The county has also decided to increase drainage fees. They base the rates on the amount of impermeable surface they figure you have. Well, the rate increase hurts, but I don't intend to cause waves, so to speak. Again, a lot of yelling going on. I have rain barrels and actually save a bit of water and I have a permeable driveway. A rare thing. Again people want a better environment until it costs them something.

The almost continuous rains are encouraging green slime to grow on the concrete patio. I decided to clean it with bleach. I could pressure wash it, but bleach is a more permanent solution. I try to use as little electricity as possible. I broom sweep the floor and hand wash the dishes. I get hot water by using the microwave rather than the hot water heater. Since I wash just a few dishes, 2 cups of hot water is enough. Saves water, saves electricity since I don't have to heat 40 gallons and a pipe. Now broom sweep the concrete with bleach. No power. And of course, make solar tea. I would like to solar heat water for washing dishes, but it doesn't get hot enough really. Might work on that concept a bit later.

I was disappointed that we used more electricity last month than a year ago. I had hoped that the windows and insulation would really make a difference, but the hottest June on record nullified my efforts. I have not been forced to use the dehumidifier. But during the 5 days of seemingly continuous rains, the house humidity was 80%. It has dropped now.

Hubs and I have decided that we have too many clothes. Hubs has some suits as he expected to be able to travel for funerals and such. He realizes now that he won't travel again for any reason. I have also realized that I will never be that thin again. So no reason to keep these clothes. Finding a good charity to donate to is hard though.

Re: DG's frugal journal

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2019 7:13 pm
by Dgflorida
Friday pm.

Finished a project that had been on my mind for months. Simple project. Made 14 dowel plugs for the counter sunk screws, required by code for the front door. Put them in. It was hot outside and I could only work on a few at a time before I began to sweat and the mosquitoes began to bite. Now that it is done, I can paint the door frame. But white? Or red?

Changed out the glad solid air fresheners and took the dried up pieces off the plastic spool. Put the spool in the recycling can and took the pieces and put them in a web bag from a turkey and placed it in front of the fan. This may add scented air for awhile.

Re: DG's frugal journal

Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2019 9:21 am
by Dgflorida
Saturday am

Yep, the leftover remains of the solid air fresheners do give a hint of scent to the fan air. Nice when an experiment works.

Today, I hope to tackle some clutter. I feel so much better since that trip with hubs is over. I so dreaded it and the thought of it pulled me down. I feel like painting, but the humidity is just too high outside for it and I can't vent the inside air, so I must wait on it. One of the frustration when dealing with clutter is it often feels like it is just moving clutter from one place to another and not actually getting rid of anything. Let's see if I can change that result.

Re: DG's frugal journal

Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 7:49 am
by Dgflorida
Sunday am

After breakfast, I will caulk the gutter in front. See if that can reduce the dripping a bit. Hope it dries enough before the likely afternoon rains. Do it while it is cooler and less sweaty.

I have the chicken in the refrigerator thawing and also the chicken fat that I will cook it in this evening. I am almost out of chicken fat. I will have to see if there is any pushed to the back of the freezer. My Italian herb seasoning has bugs in it. Yuk. I hate throwing it away, but no choice. Luckily, it was mostly gone before the bugs appeared.

It is clear that I must put vegetable scraps outside in the compost instead of being lazy and putting them in the garbage. The tiny flies. Yuk.

Putting the container at the back of the refrigerator on the top shelf was a good idea. The water leaking onto the floor has stopped and the container is slowly filling up. I know it is from the automatic freezer defrost. I can't recall a refrigerator that didn't leak. Of course, I have been in the humid south for 50 years. That may be a factor. I do love living in the south though.