Tag Archives: frugality

Our favorite articles about frugality, saving money & budgeting posted on TexasHomesteader.com

Homestead Hack: Use All Of Your Spray Cleaner

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by Texas Homesteader ~

Cleaning – we’ve all gotta do it #amiright??!! My favorite cleaner is much simplified from my younger days. 

Back  then I’d prance down the highly-scented cleaning aisle picking up whichever cleaner spray had the most eye-catching label.

But I recently wrote about how cleaning has become complicated.  So my cleaner of choice these days is a repurposed spray bottle with soap & water. 

Yep, soap & water! Cheap and effective.

But sometimes when I’m using that cleaning spray and I’m closer to the bottom of the mixture I have a hard time getting it to spray. 

I mean, when you tilt that bottle and the spray nozzle attachment doesn’t reach all the way into the cleaner, whaddya do?

Oh I’m so glad you asked. Check out this homestead hack, y’all.

When I get to the bottom of the cleaning spray bottle I have a hard time getting it to spray. Check out this easy HOMESTEAD HACK! #TexasHomesteader Continue reading →

Rehydrating & Enjoying Previously-Dehydrated Carrots

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by Texas Homesteader ~

Remember recently I ended up with a boatload of fresh carrots? Now there was no way to consume that many carrots before they went bad.

So I was frantically sharing as many as I could with friends, family & neighbors but there were Still. So. Many. Carrots.

So I dehydrated a huge bunch of them so I could enjoy them all winter long in our hot soups & stews. (you can read about dehydrating carrots here)

These dehydrated carrots look awesome in my pantry in shining glass jars. And they take no additional energy to store such as a refrigerator or freezer. 

But I wanted to know how they would taste if I reconstituted them to enjoy as a veggie side dish.  Let’s check it out, shall we?

I dehydrated boatloads of carrots, but can I rehydrate & enjoy as a side dish? Absolutely! Check out how easy it is. #TexasHomesteader

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Repurposing Empty Coffee Canisters – Food Storage

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by Texas Homesteader ~ 

Y’all know we drink coffee that’s sold in red and black plastic canisters. When the coffee’s gone the canisters are handy and I’ve used them for so many things so far. But they’ve been most beneficial for food storage. It’s like my very own (free and easily replaceable) plastic food storage containers.

We were invited to a covered dish affair & I agreed to bring cookies. I used an empty coffee canister to hold the cookies. EASY! #TexasHomesteader

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Fruit Leather Roll-ups Are Healthy & Fun To Make Preserving Apples Delicious!

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by Texas Homesteader ~ 

Making fruit rollups using plain applesauce makes a healthy snack option for kids and adults alike. I’ll share step-by-step instructions, let me show you how easy it is to make fun fruit roll-ups! 

In preserving all the fresh apples my aunt shared with us, I decided to make fruit leather roll ups. It was easy! #TexasHomesteader

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Preserving The Harvest: Dehydrating Carrots

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by Texas Homesteader ~
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I was given a boatload of fresh carrots recently and I didn’t want them to go to waste. Now I’ve written before about turning ugly carrots into beautiful carrots by chopping misshapen carrots into prettier more uniform pieces.  

In the past I’d dehydrated them using my small household-sized dehydrator. But now I have a 9-tray Excalibur dehydrator. I can really do some damage to that mountain of carrots now! Come see what I did.

I was recently given way too many carrots to eat before they went bad. So I dehydrated them, now I have lots for winter enjoyment. #TexasHomesteader

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Twist Tie Storage – Tame Your Junk Drawer!

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by Texas Homesteader ~

I typically bake our bread here on the Homestead. Especially since I’ve finally (FINALLY) found a delicious sandwich bread recipe that’s soft, fluffy and flavorful. 

But during the summer months we often buy our bread instead. You see, RancherMan’s a die-hard bread eater. But I hate to fire up the oven during those hot sticky summer months and add heat & humidity to our home. 

So he & I struck a happy balance – during the more temperate months I’ll bake the bread he craves. But I break from baking & buy his bread during the summer months.

I hate all those plastic bread bags we bring home of course. But at least I’ll repurpose them by dividing portion sizes within a freezer bag when I utilize my favored ‘Cook-Once, Eat-Twice’ method of cooking. 

And of course I’ll reuse more of the bread bags when I resume baking our bread too. I typically bake 3 loaves at a time and section off and freeze most of it. That way I can bring it out fresh for RancherMan’s dining pleasure.

But what to do with all those plastic-coated bread ties? I swear they multiply when you’re not looking!

Is your junk drawer cluttered? What to do with all those plastic-coated bread twist ties? Check out this easy storage solution #TexasHomesteader

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