Tips on Conserving things

[thumbclaw]

Fantastic Thread!  Why is it hiding in Women's Department?

I'm new at this, so some of these are uber-obvious for the veterans.

Breast Feeding. 

Cloth Diapers-- I use pocket diapers and discovered that if you don't put the insert inside the pocket, most often you can just change the insert.  So I bought extra inserts and only have 2 or 3 diapers to wash in any given day.  Works really well until potty training.  Found that the Tiny Tush one-size systems works well from birth until PTed.  Have only 12 diapers (about 30 inserts tho), and my two overlapped for a couple months in diapers with no problem.

Bath time- if anyone takes a bath, everyone takes a bath.  This is just about every other day (my kids love dirt).  Then I use the bath water to wash big things-- potty chair, high chair, floors!!, rugs, toys, cat boxes, cats.  DH hates the crazy look in my eye when I am looking for things that could use a washin'.  As long as no one poops in tub (not a given LOL) then I use that bath water until it's really unusable dirty.

We don't buy anything new.  Nothing non-perishable anyway.  The thrift store is awesome because you can reuse, and often can buy much nicer stuff than you could afford new.  Craigslist until someone sells it.  I am wondering how long it's going to take me to find a spin dryer.

We also only heat one room at a time.

Everyone gets their own glass/cup to reuse for water.  We all chose a distinct cup to avoid confusion and we have a specific place to keep them.

We eat lots of spagetti squash because they grow so well and store so well.

I just started canning this year, but I did can 24 quarts of apple butter or sauce.  I also stored a whole bunch of apples as well as possible.  We'll see how they last


Loved the clirdy talk.  For the pressure washer, could you just use a really large Parfait jar? Or do you think it would break?

[Chickengirl]

Bath time- if anyone takes a bath, everyone takes a bath.  This is just about every other day (my kids love dirt).  Then I use the bath water to wash big things-- potty chair, high chair, floors!!, rugs, toys, cat boxes, cats.  DH hates the crazy look in my eye when I am looking for things that could use a washin'.  As long as no one poops in tub (not a given LOL) then I use that bath water until it's really unusable dirty.

ROFL ours is unusable dirty once DD and DP have been through it - our order of bathing is me and DS (bub), DD, then DP. There is nothing that can be done with it then, other than putting it on the garden!

These days though, as it heats up, most days we fill the bath in the morning so that I can cool off and maintain some sanity (ah, pregnancy in an aussie summer rofl, I'm in and out of that bath several times a day!), and of an evening, if DD hasn't hopped in or wasnt too grotty, then we do what you do, thumbclaw

forgot to add - when I shave (not real often ) I too just use soap. DP does it with plain water - he says your skin gets used to it, and it must do, because he never has a problem. But i'm happy to use soap

[MEA]

clirdy

I love their world -- much shorter than our "wearing out dirty"

We have hooks on the back of the bathroom door where we hang our current clirdy clothing.

We also have "wearing-est out" clothing -- as in, we're spreading compsting today, put on you "wearing-est out" trousers.

[Grower]

I have a drawer for those! Also shoes that have various grades of wear and purposes.

[MEA]

As I was growing up, we never had a lot of clothing, and we named to name a lot of it -- red sweater, shirt from Gran, deer hunter shorts (don't ask), Miss Smug Mug (ditto).  I had a brown dress that I did the over stitching on the seam while my mother read to us from Mallory. It was named White Samite.

[MEA]

I've worked it out...a friends showed me this snakey sort of thing that is a tube of fabric with buckwheat in it that you nuke and drape around the neck....

off work tomorrow -- I'll have a go at making one and stuffing it with the rice and use the fabric from the "bean" bags for patchwork.

[kmaine2]

I've worked it out...a friends showed me this snakey sort of thing that is a tube of fabric with buckwheat in it that you nuke and drape around the neck....

off work tomorrow -- I'll have a go at making one and stuffing it with the rice and use the fabric from the "bean" bags for patchwork.

You might find this fun too!http://rhythmofthehome.com/warmth/patchwork-draft-snake/

[MEA]

Nice. We've alway called them (very UPC, I suspect) draught doggers.

I feel some Christmas presents coming on...

[kmaine2]

I made a couple of these yesterday they were a lot of fun and worked up quick. Great use for old rice too!

[MEA]

I started (years ago) something I called the traveling shoe shop, which was a box (sometimes more)  that goes around the neighborhood with gently used children's shoes (while opinions are divided on children and 2nd hand shoes, I, obviously, decided that they were okay).

Here's something I wrote about it a couple of years ago:

The traveling shoe shop arrived today, in two cardboard boxes.  My friend, Martha dropped it off as she drove to work. My daughters, a neighbor, and I tipped the boxes out, and started sorting through them. The same single black ballet slipper that has traveled around the neighborhood since the shops inception is still there, in what by now must be a forlorn hope its mate will someday be added.  (We've added a rule to the original one – all shoes must have what you estimate to be three month wear in the:  all shoes must have a mate, but it seems on one has the heart to throw out what has become the shop's mascot.
We recognize an old pair of boots that both girls, as well as a friend down the street wore – Land's Ends lifetime guarantee is still going strong. There is a pair of new Hello Kitty socks in a zip lock bag that my youngest longs to claim, but they are toddler sized.  And there is the pair of water shoes my older wore to camp a few years ago, with her initials crossed out, and other set written in. They fit the younger – consolation for missing out on the socks.  My neighbor takes a pair of slightly worn sneakers for gardening. I find winter boots for both girls and a pair that may my fit my nephew: if not, I'll toss them back in the boxes the next time they come to me.
Then we add a pair of new black shoes that the younger out grew between coming home from the store and the next Sunday, a pair of boy's wellingtons from my godson that my younger daughter has out grown and a pair of tiny blue sandals that I found cleaning the attic (and remember the older daughter wearing).  Later that day when I take my older daughter to be a mother's helper for the afternoon, the traveling shoe shop comes with us in the bike trailer.

The mother, Dorcas has 2 year old identical triplets, a seven year old son, and a house that is much cleaner and better organized that mine. She's hoping that with my daughter to entertain the children she'll clean out their dresses and closets.  My daughter can tell the little girls apart, but I have to confess I take my clue from her. While my daughter start the girls and their older brother singing and dancing around, Dorcas and I bring in the shoes. Right off the top, she takes the women's size 4 brown lace ups. great! I can use these.”

When I come to pick my daughter up, Dorcas also has winter shoes and boots for her family, a pair of white sandals, very sturdy, to replace the pair one of the little girls left in the park the week before.  I feel I have to mention the strange green stain on one strap. “Who cares?” asks Dorcas. after any kid's worn white shoes once, they'd got some sort of stuff on it.” I carry out the boxes. On top of one is a pair of Scooby Doo sneakers, three pairs of tiny white sneakers, each one with a different colored pastel stripe on them.  A bag of snow boots has been added to the traveling shop.
Tomorrow the shoe shop will go to a down the street neighbor with 18 month old twins girls, and I'll suggest their parents take it to their across the street neighbor who five year old son (large for his age) is a big Scooby Doo fan. After that the travelling shoe shop  will make their way from house to house, sometimes going out of the neighborhood as people lend it to coworkers or relatives. Eventually, it will make its way back to me. Very likely, it will be in different boxes. Sometimes it spills over 5 boxes. Sometimes it fits into a grocery bag. It depend on the time of year, and whose been having a turn out.   
Right now, the traveling shoe shop gives second life to shoes that might otherwise end up in the landfill, and saves us all a few pennies.  It's easy enough to start – you need a box and outgrown shoes in decent condition, and a couple of friends who share your thoughts about hand me downs. If I'm right, and the economy is in a tail spin, it could mean the difference between a child having boots for the winter or staying home from school on cold, rainy or snowy days.



I'd love to start someother kinds of traveling shop, but can't think of anything small enough other than hats and gloves, etc. Any ideas?

[Grower]

Sweaters. Who doesn't have sweaters they don't wear anymore? Too small, too big, too hot, not your color, etc. We all love sweaters, but we all have at least a couple that we don't really want and haven't given away yet.

[theozarker]

I love the traveling shoe shop idea.  (And the traveling sweater shop idea, too.)  I keep a can of clorox spray handy to spray the inside of my gardening shoes - keeps the odor down.  Maybe keep one in the traveling shoe box?

Something else I do, completely unrelated.  I hate those tiny scraps of potato chips that always wind up at the bottom of the bag, so I dump them in a one gallon freezer bag and crush them to put on top of casseroles or to dredge fish, chicken strips, etc. in for frying.  I keep the bag in the freezer and add newly crushed potato chip pieces to it.  Then I just take out what I need to top a casserole or dredge the meat/fish.  Keeps me from feeling guilty over throwing the bag of chips away when I get down to the little pieces.

I love all the great ideas on here.  Keep 'em coming, ladies.

Linda

[MEA]

I like the sweater idea, too. I tend to toss them in with whatever I'm passing along to a particular person or into the donations bin, but it is so much fun to get the traveling shop, it would be fun to have another.

BTW, if you are a knitter, you most likely know this, and if you aren't you can't use it (unless you know a knitter) but children tend to grow up, rather than out...

so you knit their sweaters with a cuff that can be doubled -- and when the undoubled cuff is getting short, you pick up stitches from the cast on (or off) and make the cuff longer. If the sleaves are sewn in, once the elbows start to go, you can switch them.

And then, when the sweater is too small and worn, you unpick it, toss out the worn bits that were the now much darned elbows. You skein the yarn, wash it, let it drip try, ball it, and reknit it in a larger size, making a fake fair ilse pattern out of something that contrats to make up the difference in the amount needed.

[kmaine2]

In this area, we could use a traveling winter outer wear store. Snow pants, snow boots and jackets. I always like to keep a size ahead on that sorta stuff and always want the outgrown stuff to go to someone I know can use it.

[houseoftang]

Wow, MEA, that's good info.  I'll have to remember that.

That traveling shoe store idea really is great.  I suspect we'll be doing that in a few years when all of us newlyweds become parents.

Something else I do, completely unrelated.  I hate those tiny scraps of potato chips that always wind up at the bottom of the bag, so I dump them in a one gallon freezer bag and crush them to put on top of casseroles or to dredge fish, chicken strips, etc. in for frying.  I keep the bag in the freezer and add newly crushed potato chip pieces to it.  Then I just take out what I need to top a casserole or dredge the meat/fish.  Keeps me from feeling guilty over throwing the bag of chips away when I get down to the little pieces.

I just tilt my head back and empty them into my mouth.