Filed under: Frugality, Uncategorized | Tags: books, cauliflower, Consumerism, elderberries, frugal, growing food, Radon, reusing, Waste reduction
This will be a quick post, just a ‘gentle reminder’ that it’s Friday again. If you’re new to this blog, I like to reflect on the week just passed and then share some of the ways that I have found to keep money in my wallet.
Monday: It’s seed-starting time so I bleached a bunch of our 4 pack cups saved over many years. Sterilizing them like this before each new use eliminates soil-borne bacteria or other disease transmitters to my new seedlings. Remnants remain of labels reminding me how old some of these carefully preserved cups are. Reusing over and over? Priceless!![20160219_154347[1]](https://tennesseetransitions.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/20160219_1543471.jpg?w=420)
Tuesday: I caught a sale and was able to buy three beautiful heads of cauliflower for 99 cents each. When life gives you cauliflower, USE IT! We enjoyed it once in Wild Rice Risotto with Butternut Squash and Cauliflower, and Red Pepper Kale from the garden on the side. We ate the second head in a Cheezy Cauliflower Soup that was delicious. I still have one head left that I plan to make a curry with tomorrow. Normal price: About $3.00 per head. Savings: about $6.00!
![20160219_161617[1]](https://tennesseetransitions.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/20160219_1616171.jpg?w=420)
Wednesday: I bought a book from Amazon that I’d read some time ago. The library didn’t have it but it was one I wanted to keep to refer back to so I put it on my ‘wish list’ and waited for the price to drop. Did you know that if you put things there they’ll also let you know when the price has changed? It’s a hard back without a mark in it and with a nice dust cover for one cent plus $3.99 shipping, and the seller was in Tennessee, hopefully creating less of an environmental foot print than say, shipping from California or someplace ‘off’. I love buying used books but I won’t pay over $4 for them so sometimes I just have to be patient. Patience has rewarded me many times and is one of the key tenants to frugal living. Savings over original price: $9.00!
Thursday: Got the results back from my Radon test… the ‘safe limit’ is 4, our readings were only 1.7 so not having to pay for mitigation methods to remedy it saved us about $1,000. The test kit was Free.
Friday: With today’s warm sunny weather I felt compelled to ‘get outside’ so I pruned my elderberry bushes before they break dormancy. I’m going to have to work harder at protecting the fruits from the birds this summer, and plan to try a reflective tape but would appreciate any other tips you know that work. Elderberry Wine and Syrup? Priceless!
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Tennesseetransitions 
Another good frugal week for you. And you can start your seeds…I am so jealous! Grow on.
Comment by sarasinart February 20, 2016 @ 11:59 AMWe have to cover our elderberries (and sour cherries) with netting, if we want any. Nothing else seems to work for us and the birds don’t share…they eat everything before they’re even edible. This last year I bought rolls of tulle fabric (like what is used for wedding dresses) and covered so many crops, including cabbage and broccoli. Saved the elderberries, cherries, etc. Gotta say I love that stuff! It’s not easy to cover very large bushes, but well worth the effort! From a distance, Ron said it looked like a wedding here.
Comment by Cassa VK February 24, 2016 @ 3:36 PM