Tag Archives: Frugality

Stop Garden Weeds With Biodegradable Weed Block

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by Texas Homesteader ~

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At the Mother Earth News Fair this year I attended several gardening seminars. One presenter spoke about ‘biodegradable weed block‘. It’s supposed to suppress weeds during garden season. Then it naturally degrades by the end of garden season to just be turned back into the soil. Now I hate plastic weed block because weeds grow right through the blasted stuff, it’s messy, it’s expensive and it’s PLASTIC. But I’ve never even thought about biodegradable weed block.

I wondered how it worked, what it was made of, how expensive it might be, etc. So I went online to research. I found it’s made of ‘wood pulp’. Hey, could that be PAPER??

So I’m thinking of using those heavy paper feed sacks RancherMan’s been saving for me. I’ve always used those paper feed sacks in the walkways of my garden covered by mulch. But I’d never given thought to using it in the actual planting areas. Hummmm…

Biodegradable weed block for the garden? As it turns out, it's really a thing! And it degrades by the end of the season to just mix back into your soil. I hate the plastic weed block, this more natural material appeals to me! #TexasHomesteader

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Buying Products Used: Good For Your Budget AND The Environment

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by Texas Homesteader ~

I’ve talked before about our love of our secondhand percolator coffeemaker. It’s perfect for a very low-waste cup of delicious coffee! But although we loved it, we were going through our morning coffee way too quickly. We really wanted a larger percolator.

When we make a purchase we first research it extensively. 1st consideration is given to customer satisfaction followed by features we desire and only lastly, cost. We’d researched & made our decision for the percolator we wanted and RancherMan was about to place the order. Then he decided to look for a used one instead.

Now this makes my heart happy. I always prefer pre-owned when making a purchase. It’s good for our budget and the environment.  And isn’t she a beauty?

Buying products used is good for the environment AND your budget! When researching a potential purchase we don't look at price first #TexasHomesteader

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5 Frugal Things This Week To Save Money & The Environment

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by Texas Homesteader ~

Since RancherMan & I are not corporately employed we keep a close eye on our finances. Every now & then it’s fun to share 5 simple frugal things we did this week to save money. Oftentimes it’s so simple, we just have to keep an eye open for the ample opportunities. And I love that it often packs a nice little eco-friendly punch too!

Come see the 5 easy yet frugal things we did this week to save both money as well as the environment.

5 Frugal things we did this week to save some cash and be eco friendly too. It's easy if you just look at things a different way. #TexasHomesteader

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Pet Stains? How To Easily Make Your Own Carpet Cleaner Solution

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by Texas Homesteader ~

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When we adopted our Mini-Schnauzer Baily several years ago, she was plagued by painful bladder stones. This condition also caused her to relieve herself often in the house, and her urine was sometimes tinged with blood. A carpet-stain nightmare! I’m happy to say surgery to remove her bladder stones was a success and Bailey has been a happy and healthy member of our household ever since. But that pet stain in our bedroom? Hummm…

Of course we tried to spot-clean the carpet ourselves with various purchased carpet cleaners. But even rinsing out the carpet to the best of our ability, the soap residue apparently attracted dirt over the following days until the stain magically ‘reappeared‘.

Pet stains on your carpet? We struggled for years to remove the stain, even using a professional carpet cleaning company. But this homemade stain treatment was what actually worked! #TexasHomesteader

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5 Frugal Things To Save Money This Week

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by Texas Homesteader ~

RancherMan & I were talking one morning this week as we enjoyed our coffee. He remarked “How wonderful is it that we’re HERE?? That we don’t have to use the alarm clock to wake us with a startle each morning, that we don’t deal with traffic an unreasonable boss or angry co-workers??”

I must admit I feel the same. Our lives out here are magical. But as we started recounting how it’s indeed possible for us to live in this magical place, one thing came up again and again. Finances. We have to be careful with them. We’ve traded a systematic paycheck for one that comes when it comes. But we’ve also traded the corporate world to live HERE! Finding places to save comes naturally to us now. Come see 5 Frugal Things we did this week to save a little cash.

5 Frugal Things To Save Money. Decluttering, Dining, Travel and MORE! #TexasHomesteader

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How To Make An All-Natural Air Freshener For Pennies

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by Texas Homesteader ~

Years ago I did away with artificial scents in our home. Oh how I used to love those reed diffusers, plug-in room fresheners and scented candles! But I decided those artificial scents just weren’t right for me or my family.

These days I’m more apt to use essential oils for room fresheners than a plastic-packaged plug-in delivering a sometimes overpowering artificial scent. Recently I made a super-cute room freshener using a repurposed canning jar and leftover lace. So easy, so inexpensive!

I don't want artificial air fresheners & scented candles in our home. So I easily made my own air freshener with baking soda, essential oil, a repurposed canning jar & leftover lace #TexasHomesteader

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Need a Quick & Easy Side Dish? Rosemary Rice

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by Texas Homesteader ~

We like to invite my parents to join us for supper whenever we can. There’s just something about breaking bread together that bonds people, don’t ya think? And heck, my folks live relatively close so why not?

Typically RancherMan will grill the main entree and I’ll provide the sides and dessert. One of our favorite sides is Roasted Fresh Vegetables because it’s eye-catching, healthy and easy. But I’ve made that side the last 2-3 times that they joined us. Although they loved it, I wanted something different this time. Hey, I have that gorgeous rosemary bush right outside my door. Why not put it to good use? I decided to make rosemary-flavored rice for a quick & easy yet delicious side.

Rosemary Rice - I needed a quick & easy side dish for a dinner party. I used fresh rosemary growing in my garden to make Rosemary Rice. #TexasHomesteader

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Use A Laser Printer For Cute Customized Labels

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by Texas Homesteader ~

I’m always looking for easy ways to label repurposed glass storage jars in my kitchen or pantry. And I especially like the jars to look nice when they remain out on our countertop, such as our popcorn jar.

I stumbled upon an idea of using regular packing tape (you know, the wide tape you use for sealing boxes for shipping) and a laser printer to make a transparent image label. Since we have a laser printer I was intrigued & decided to give it a go. It worked perfectly!

You can make a cute image label using a laser printer and regular shipping tape. REALLY?!! Yeah, it turned out really cute and was easy! #TexasHomesteader

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5 Frugal Things This Week To Save Money (And The Environment!)

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by Texas Homesteader ~

Living here has taught me to make the most of what we already have. It’s really very easy when you learn to do little things each day to save a few bucks. It’s rarely the big grandiose things that make the most financial difference, but the small daily tasks repeated over & over.

So I’ll share with you 5 frugal things we did this week to save money. It has a nice little side benefit of almost always being gentler on the environment too!

Come see 5 Frugal Things we did to easily save a few bucks this week. As a side benefit, they were good for the environment too! #TexasHomesteader Continue reading →

Cute Decorative Pillow Made With A Flannel Shirt

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by Texas Homesteader ~

Fall is here, y’all! Now I know some folks relish in changing the decor for their homes or porch with each changing season. Although it looks great, seasonal decor changing has never appealed to me. I guess I’m just not a Pinterest-worthy decorator.  LOL

But still, there’s just something about the arrival of cool temperatures after a long, blisteringly-hot summer…  I started getting the hankering for some cute flannel and/or plaid accents. So I thought it would be fun to make flannel-shirt decorative pillows for our guest bedroom.  It was easy, even for my novice sewing skills. And here’s the kicker: I use those decorative pillows in my guest bedroom to store my spare sheets. Clever, no?

I made some cute decorative throw pillows for our guest bedroom from repurposed flannel shirts. And I use them to store our spare sheets! #TexasHomesteader

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