Things to Cut When Money Is Tight...2026 September Edition

 1) Excessive/competitive gifting

This just came up at work.  Apparently our program staff are (is? ANGE! HELP!  I know you are retired but how do I get this verb to agree with a singular subject that implies multiple people) nice to the custodians and this is rare.  WTF??   Do people not want clean toilets and vaccuumed carptets and plenty of paper towels, tp and soap?

ALSO:  Have you tried to run a professional office WITHOUT custodial services?  

ALSO ALSO: I have been a janitor, hotel cleaner, and other similar jobs.  People treated me like crap.  Why do that? I could have poisoned many people by not cleaning those dance clubs and restaurants in Ames, Iowa back in the 1980s.   But, frankly, like contaminated lettuce at a chain taco restaurant (allegedly), how would anyone know it was me poisoning them?  They were all barfing after drinking and eating there anyway.

SO:  The custodian bought all 5 of us banana bread.  Like GIANT loaves.  EACH.  I bought one a few weeks ago because the lady and her son (boy toy??) came around and were super cute and nice and it's good bread but it was lik 15$ each!  The custodian doesn't make that much money.

Most of us were out of the office so our front-desk person doled the loaves out as we came in.  The custodian said she wanted to give us these because we are nice to her, talk to her, and give stuff to her.  We gave her a TINY jar of jam we'd made, a bit of a traditional medicinal plant (we have tons...good harvest this year) and a bar of soap with said medicinal plant in it.  This was over MONTHS.  Not all in a day.

My colleague said "Oh hell, this is going to escalate."  Yep.  Competitive overgiftery shall ensue.

I'm trying NOT to participate but it's hard.

Family-wise we've limited holiday gifts by having names drawn rather than everyone gives to everyone every year.  If you want to give an additional gift to anyone, FINE, but no obligation to do so.  This cut over gifting there quite a bit and it more fun (for me...hopefully for others).  We're mostly adults and we don't need more stuff.  

For the office, I really limit.  We have a yankee gift exchange but the newer person at the front desk and a couple others (this is for the bigger dept, not just our office suite so about a dozen folks) get gifts for everyone.  It's been hard for me not to reciprocate.  But it will escalate and if the budget is tight, it is NOT necessary.

To save $$ when cash is tight, STOP the over gifting

---aside:  The custodian came in while I was typing this (NOT AT WORK...totally at work) and chatted for 20 min.  She wants to learn to can meat!  Woot.  We teach that and it really helps folks).

Good luck in your quest to not give everyone everything you think they might want.

Things to Cut When Money Is Tight...2026 August Edition

1) Entertainment costs.

We already covered streaming services.  Stop it.

Most public libraries have free e-books for check out, print and audio.   Many also have canva or another movie streaming option.  But of course, you dropped your data plan and wifi right? 

Try busting out the dusty deck of cards, books you already own, games you already own.  Maybe ...just maybe...shooot the breeze with other humans without going out to eat/drink/jump-around-on-trampolines-for-a-price and on and on and on.  I think my favorite stupid entertainment cost right now is PAYING o throw axes in a cage or indoors.  Why? WE ARE IN IDAHO, PEOPLE!!!   Just get outside with some space and throw whatever you already own.  Then clean up after yourself.

There is probably something productive that you enjoy doing.  Cooking, sewing, sharpening knives, cleaning the keys on your piano, playing the piano.  Figure something out.  Try a new skill.   There are books in the library on how to do stuff. 

Sort some crap.  Maybe you'll find things to sell, recycle for cash (that beer can collection from the 1980s your drunkbutt uncle left you is work a buck or two as aluminum).   If nothing else, you will clear some space for the fall food stock up.

Don't go to movies you have to pay for.  Many towns have free ones in the summer.  BYO snacks and beverages (like water in those big dumb insulated cups you bought because they were trendy).

Once I year I treat myself to a 10 film pass at a local arthouse type cinema.  $6 per film.  I bring my water bottle.  The current pass only has 3 punches off it.  7 more to go.  Might take me through 2027.   Not $0,  but dang cheap.  And it's in the  budget.   As is the silent film festival pass each year.  That's another 40$.   In the budget and cutable if need be.

Things to Cut When Money is Tight...July Edition

 1) Stupid Fees

This might be the entire list today because there are lots of fees I realized I had cut through the years and have forgotten that people pay.

-ATM fees.   Use an ATM linked to your credit union or bank.   My credit union has agreements with other credit unions so I can use one pretty much anywhere in the country without a fee.  There is not only an app for that, there is a phone number I can dial it, put in a zip code (preferably the one where I am or will be shortly) and find an ATM.  ALSO...take out cash regularly and have it in hand.  Doesn't ALWAYS work.  I have yet to pay an ATM fee in 2026. I do carry more cash around than othes in my finanical class and have a stack of 20s in my home which I dip into as needed   The local branch of my credit union is closing in August so I will have to plan ahead a wee bit more.  There will still be an ATM, but I usually stop in there to take out $$ rather than using the ATM much. 

-Late bill fees.  I did bugger this one up this year one time.  While traveling, I ignored the notice in my phone calendar to pay the phone bill.  OOPS!  So, that was a few bucks down the drain and lesson relearned.

-Credit card fee at the gas pump.  I do my best to go to gas stations that do not charge more for credit card use.   Othewise, I actually walk inside with some of those 20s mentioned above, and pay cash, then go back in for the change.  It takes a moment, but it takes less time to go in to the station twice than it does to earn the takehome pay to cover the increased cost of using a credit card. 

-Credit card fee for paying taxes and government permits.  There is a significant "convenience" fee for using a credit card to pay my land taxes, building permit, etc.  I make time to stop by the actual offices when I will be in that town for other reasons, walk in, write a check (yes, a check) and get a receipt.  This requires a wee bit of planning but you CAN do this.,

-Credit card fees elsewhere.  My fave food truck (yes, I do buy food out now and then, it is in the budget and I can still afford it and find it worth it for a few specific places) has added a 4% credit card fee.  Credit cards charge the business a fee so they nee to either pass it on or raise prices across the board  I pay cash, and add that fee to the tip to maximize my support of a local business and support a healthful local food economy.  Same at the farmers markets and anywhere else I pay in person.   I do use credit cards when ordering online, paying for plane tickets/rental cars/hotels for the record and the ability to dispute charges through multiple channels should anything go wrong.

Apply this principle to whatever fees you may be paying.  You'll find other ones in your own spending patterns.  

Things to Cut When Money Is Tight...2026 June Edition

 So, not really specific things but more of a method.  Should have though through the series title but I didn't.

Anyhoo...

Slow down.  55mph doesn't just save lives, it saves $$.

Most rigs get better mileage if you slow down.   There is a limit to that.  I once had to follow a truck convoy for work duties.  The colleague riding along to make sure I didn't fall asleep on the all night drive, thought I'd get GREAT mileage at 3mph.  No.  There is just a base amount of fuel to keep a car running, and the middle of a gear's speed range seems to be more efficiently sustained than the bottom.  Got crap mileage.

Slowing down in town helps too.  Accelerating takes more fuel than keeping a steady speed.  One must accelerate from a stop, but accelerating gently will be more efficient.  If yo aren't going so fast, you may be able to just take your foot of the gas to gradually slow fore most of the stopping distance at intersections.  This is more efficient than going fast and slamming on the brakes.

On the highway, most of my driving, for my vehicle 55 to 60 does seem to seriously increase mpg.  I wonder if that is how the endgine is set up or how it was broken in or both   This past weekend I drove a few hundred miles on highways but through mountains.  I was pretty careful about not trying to accelerate going uphill, coasting as much as possible downhill, and just maintaining a speed on flat areas.   Gained over 10% efficiency.   Noted.

The other thing...walk for any errand etc under a mile (about a 15 min walk for me).  It costs money to start the car so every time you don't, that helps save $$ directly by not using fuel, indirectly by not causing wear and tear on the engine and by making me exercise which probably will make me live 3 minutes longer (and that's just enough time to binge it a bag of mini-candy-bars...damn...there goes the savings!).

Rules: 
Slow down

Start slow

Accelerate less

Maintain a speed

Don't drive if you can walk.

It will all save a bit.  Gas is back just under 4$ a gallon here for the moment, but it won't last.  So Im keeping the habits going,

Things to Cut When Money Is Tight...2026 March Edition

So...Everyone is out of money again. Well, the 99%. And my youtube algorithm is chock full of budget cuttery. To them I say...BEGINNER! Novice!!! 

 But still, you do have to begin at some point and that will indeed make you a novice. So, things to cut...just some thoughts probably not in a resonable order because my brain does not work in a normal order. 

 1) Cut out avoiding facing facts. 

 Figure out ACTUAL income (the paycheck, no the hourly wage. You don't take home the hourly wage, the gubment, insurance company, retirement fund, union etc etc etc take their cuts first). 

To do that take a look at your auto deposited paychecks or whatever (or, if your pay amount varies take as many as you can find and make and average and subtract 10% as a precaution). Make a note of how many hours are on that check. 

 A fulltime job is 2080 hours per year. Just keep that number in your brain pocket NOW, look at your spending records. If you use a credit and/or debit card or online, virtual venmoy type stuff...look at those records online. If like me you rock it like it's 1826 and pay cash, then gather receipts. Figure out about how much you have been spending. Use that info to estimate a budget for the next month. WRITE THIS ALL DOWN. 

 This won't happen in a day. Baby steps. START recording everything you spend in real time or like me (because I'm awesome) at the end of the day on graph paper with a pencil (for real). Be honest. EVERY spend. It's in pencil so I can got back and put in things I forgot. The top line on the sheet is "income" so if I find a dollar on the street, that goes into "income". In a month or 2 you will figure out categories (rent, electric, phone, streaming services (don't worry...you won't need that one for long)), beer, weed, coffee. WHATEVER. Just be honest and record everything. Now that you've started to face facts... 

 2) Quit buying lunch out if you can bring lunch with you. 

 Left overs ARE lunch. So is a bag of nuts and an apple. It doesn't have to be "lunch" but whatever meals you are buying out and about, STOP IT.  Again, baby steps. 

Also, do not buy equipment to bring lunch in or a fancy warmer for your lunch that plugs into the USB. NO. You have that giant bag of bags under the sink. Use one of those bags. Bring the whole loaf of bread going stale on the counter and jar of peanut butter from the cupboard to the office, or throw it in the work truck. TA DA! You packed lunch for the week. Good job. 

No...do not buy a fancy set of bamboo carbon neutral cutlery to spread the disgusting palmoil based peanut "spread" on your indestructible 99cent loaf of industrial bread shaped product. Grab a spoon or knife from the drawer at home. Find that plastic spoon from one of the last 2000 to-go meals you got at a drive-thru and throw that in the vehicle or office drawer. I dedicate one cupboard at work to the "office pantry" and keep a bowl, bit of silverware and salt and pepper in there along with the food. No one cares. If there is a shared fridge, embrace it and be polite (each monday or friday throw out the crap you forgot to eat). 

 3) STOP with the Unplanned purchases. 

 STOP and think first. Do you really need a new outfit for the concert (which will be your last because...seriously, if money is tight do not buy concert tickets, sing to yourself while you ar packing your lunch, that's your concert now).  Check the closet. Shop the hoard! Think about borrowing or swapping with a friend. 

Do you really need a countertop mixer? No, you do not. If you needed one, you would have one. Move on. 

Do not run to the store for a shallot when you have an onion sitting right there on the counter. No onion? Leave it out of the recipe. Find a recipe that uses what you have. New subscription to a streaming service...NO. NO NO NO. NO unplanned purchases and DEFINITELY no new subscriptions. 

 4) No More Buying coffee out. 

 Make it at home. You will save on the coffee, the health care needed due to constant consumption of liquid candy bars (Seriously saw a "Snickers Latte"...EW!), they cost a mint and are not that great. 

You also save on the gas burned idling in the line to the coffee hut. I set my coffee up the night before so it's ready to go. I have a couple of really nice travel coffee cups that I found at thrift and/or was given as presents. Use a cup you have. Don't have one? Use a portable water bottle, a thermos bottle, or like an old colleague of mine...just a mug from the cupboard, though his car carpet was indeed the thing of nightmares with the crust of years of dried coffee spills. But he did not care so it worked for him. 

 5) Put and End to Grocery shopping without a plan. 

NOT a meal plan necessarily. That is advanced thrifting, we're talking beginner cuts. 

Here's how to make a basic plan for grocery shopping. First 2 things...

A) look at the food you have on hand. Do you really need to shop? Fresh salad greens are not a necessity so maybe you can wait a bit. Can you make 2 or 3 days of meals from what you have? If the answer is no, get more creative and think again. Still no? OK, you're a beginner. But by now you know what you have and probably have some "I can almsost make that" things in mind. 

B) MAKE A LIST.  Really.  If you can ALMOST make soup and grilled cheese sandwiches but don't have the "right" veg.  Search for a recipe that will use up that 1 cup of chopped kale you were DEFINITELY going to eat but now it's limp, that lone can of diced tomatoes with the dusty top in the back of the tupperware cupboard, and 2 half peppers in the veggie drawer (Hint...all you need is an onion).  So, "onion" goes on the list.  Those keep pretty well so knock yourself out and get a couple.  You will use them in the next "stuff about to go off soup" aka "friday night dinner from here on out".  Figure out work lunches (bag of bread, jar of peanut butter).    

Great list!  onion, bread, peanutbutter.  Good first list.  I would add "cheapest fruit I like to eat" on there.  Remember that the "cheapest" is determined by the PER POUND price, not the per piece price.  If there is a cheap price on a 3# bag of apples ...divide it by 3, compare it to the loose apples.  If it is equal or close...here is your first advanced savings tip....weigh a few of the bags.  Some will be a half to a full pound over.  That cuts the cost even more.  

As noted...veg about to go bad is good for soup. But you noticed there is no "broth" on the shopping list.  You do not "need" broth. Do you know what is in broth? BOILED VEG (and/or meat). How do you make soup? YOU BOIL VEG (and/or meat). If you want it to be even tastier, fry some of the veg first. ...oh, sorry...I mean "saute' in oil heated to a shimmer"...Just fry it a bit. When it smells good, pour in water. Boil/simmer till the veg is the texture you like or the meat is cooked enough to be safe. TA DA!!! You made soup AND broth. If you sing to yourself while you do it you just saved the price of a concert ticket too. Way to go! 

Now.. Keep up with the income/outgo tracking. Facing facts is hard but gets easier with practice.

 Later I might to a post on what to stop immediately if you have a sudden money crisis. This is more longer range planning by shaving down the budget and knowing where you are at financially. Good luck!

I Bet "Frugality" Gets Popular Again. Tips for Newbies to the Spend Less Be Frugal Crowd

 What with stuff costing more.    

And our 401k's crashing and burning.  Mine hasn't recovered from the nonsense in the 90s, 2000s and 2010s.  And here we are with the 2020s debacle.  You never get back the lost compound interest.   Doesn't happen.  Lose ground. that ground stays lost at the level of investment I have.  Which is the max I can afford.

Anyway, higher prices, lower benefits.   Frugality gets popular.

The thing is, frugality or thrift ....that's a long game.  Not a short term "oh crap" strategy.  Still, may as well start in the "oh crap" moment.

So ,for the newbies ,here are places to start:

1  Use it up

2  Wear it out

3  Make it do

34  Do without

Easy!

Bit more info needed

1 Use it up.   This works in every part of life.  Vehicles/transport...run whatever you are driving IN TO THE GROUND.  Repairs are almost always cheaper than a car payment.   Food...START your meal plan in the stinky crisper drawer in the fridge.  What is about to go bad?  Can you eat it as is?  DO THAT!  Can you fry it up in an egg?  DO THAT.  Can you throw it in the Freezer Soup Container (any container in the freezer for left overs and edible scraps...when it gets full, take it out to thaw, if you have an onion or some garlic, fry that in a soup pot (if not, skip it), dump in the thawing soup (or, who are we kidding...the frozen block of soup) and heat it up.  Taste it.  If it's awful add something salty/savory (salt, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, etc, or sour (lemon juice, vinegar, a can of tomatoes) or some herbs (whatever is getting old in the cupboard) and try again.  If it's bland, I go for sour or a scoop of homemade mustard.  Just use your brain and whatever you have.  Also...you won't die of bland soup.  Just eat it.   For clothes...go shopping in the closet or dresser or call a friend to borrow or swap clothes for an event.  When clothes wear out, cut them up for rags and hair bands and free gardening supplies (undies elastics make great tomato plant support ties, t-shirt sleeves are really good headbands, old undies were my gramma's go-to soft polishing clothes which was gross but effective, I make gardenting and berry picking bags out of old jeans legs with a few stitches and a grommet or sewn on tab for attachment to my belt.  Books...firestarters after you drop them in the tub and dry them out but they are wrinkly.  and on and on

2  Wear it out.   Clothes...keep wearing them.  Boring...maybe.  NO ONE CARES what you wear.  If they do, they are shallow buttheads whose opinion does not matter.  Change into chore clothes if you do office work and then come home to outside work.  Vehicles....keep driving that rattle trap. USE IT UP.  When it really really croaks or you have to trade it in on a reliable rig for some reason, strip it of usable things like extra rims and tires so you can sell them separate or trade them or give them to friends who will wear them out and maybe, or maybe not, return the favor.  I gave away a car once.  The receiver loved it but it didn't work for them, they took one set of wheels for the vehicle they do drive, sold the car to a poverty stricken mechanically talented person who meshed it with other similar vehicles and hopefully came up with 1 running car.  Glasses...my godson gets his previous pair of glasses tinted as sunglasses when he gets a new pair of regular glasses.  Wears the sunglasses until they are scratched beyond usefulness.  Kitchen gear...learn to sharpen a knife.  A good knife resharpened will last generations.

3 Make it do.   I have an event coming up where Western States Business Casual is the dress code.  So I'm darkening up my black jeans and wearing my best thrifted eddie bauer shirt with some turquoise jewelry.  Good enough.   Vehicle...I have a crap truck that will haul 1/2 ton.  I need 1 ton of pressed sawdust logs for winter heat.  I found a place that will sell me the 1 ton pallet of logs for a price and let me haul it as 2 half ton loads.  It cost me 10$ more in gas, but that's 40$ less than delivery on 1 ton, AND 50$ less than buying 2 half ton mini-pallets most years.  I make do.  And I do the math (that's a more advanced tip...DO THE MATH).  Shovels...I have 4 broken shovels (because...shovels are not prybars but I am a slow learner on that).  So now I have 4 large hand scoops and I am learning to replace handles. "make it do" also means FIX STUFF.  I bust my glasses a lot as well.  Then, I bust out the superglue.  The latest triumph...lost the lense out of a favorite pair of progressive readers mid winter.  The frame broke on a snowy dark morning as I walked to the car.  The lens could be heard skittering away on the snow.  Couldn't find it so I got out the 2nd pair (they were cheaper by the pair of I bought a pair of pairs) and got on with life.  MONTHS LATER the snow thaws.  I am off the main walkway to the car one day and spot the lens!  TADA! I pocket it.  Find it again a week or so later.  Then eventually the glasses and lens are reunited with superglue (all braced in place with rubber bands off egg cartons and broccoli bought through the winter and stashed for re-use).  I glued it before I went to work so the stank would dissipate while I was gone.  It worked.  While I was at it, I glued some other stuff.   The glue was from a 5$ craft kit so basically free as I did and enjoyed the craft (see above...use it up).  

4  Do without.  Do without until you find a good deal, can borrow/trade for an item, or ...most often...figure out you didn't need that thing anyway.   E.g.  I would LOVE a cool garden shed or storage shed.  BUT, those cost money.  Or skill.  I don't want to spend on it and I have no skill.  So, the camper I used to live in is the garden shed.   Works fine.  Cost 1100$ many years ago.  I lived in it over 2 seasons for a total of about 12 months...that's cheap rent!  Then turned it into the storage shed.   Fine.  I have a friend who drinks tea every day and does not own a teapot.  She's happy with a sauce pan and pouring the water into a cup from that.  I use a teapot (bought at thrift) but have no wish for a teaball or strainer.  I just strain the tea leaves out with my teeth when I use loose leaf.   I just don't care.  Computer...my home computer is ancient.  I "make do" with my sister's dead iphones minus the simcards.  Which is also amusing when I insist I do not have a smart phone...then clearly pull one out of my pocket to use public wifi.  As for vehicles, due to lifestyle choices I would have trouble making do without owning one, but I have friends who have gone that route.  The do fine.  And live in town.  You can rent a car if you need one or borrow them.  A friend let go of his pick up when I assured him he could borrow my old beater one anytime.  Other friends lend me their rototiller.  Another and I share rental of a log splitter rather than either of us buying one.   Main point;  do not just go buy something you think you "need".

Just try all of those before you buy crap or panic.

So, there are your starter tips.  Welcome!

Forever Foods Instead of Forever Chemicals #2

 So....obviously....Honey.

I mean, they find it in tombs and it's still good.

I do keep this on hand.  I doesn't matter if it crystalizes.  Leave it.  It doesn't have huge amounts of vitamins and minerals, but some.  

It's also good for cuts and other owies so more than food!

Actually, that is true of vinegar as well.  Good for what ails you.

If you have bee hives, the raw honey with the leg bits in it is fine.  You won't die of dead bee bits.

The wax is nice to chew, make candles, whatever.  And nice for making salves. 

I cook quite a bit with honey which is different than with sugar, bit more fragile and baked goods are better on the 2nd or 3rd day as they sort of get moister.  But I am rarely able to leave a baked good untouched for that long.

I don't do industrial store bought honey anymore.   Much of it is adulterated.  Local honey costs more but supports local agriculture  The giant bee operations that migrate hundreds or thousands of hives tend to annihilate local native pollinators so I'm trying to get honey from folks who have 5 or fewer hives.   At that level hives can actually support native pollinators. Nothing is perfect so I don't eat as much.   The cost of local small producer honey serves as a good road to overconsumption.

Forever Food Pantry list so far:

Vinegar

Honey

Forever Foods Instead of Forever Chemicals

 I hear and report on "forever chemicals" quite a bit and am trying to find less negative things to think about or at least OTHER things to think about.

Also, this year I am tracking my UPF (ultra-processed foods) intake for the year.   Being conscious of it makes me a bit more aware of my food.  I still eat some UPF.  The point isn't to avoid it more than usual but to see what I'm actually eating.

ANYWAY, UPF has forever-chemicals (let's shorten that to fc's) in it and is one of the vectors of exposure for humans (rumor has it I am one of those).  So, lots of thinking about that.

And of course, I like to cook and am thinking about shelf stable foods, food preservation, and generally things I can in the future produce, store, find, grow, whatever that doesn't include forever chemicals.

Hence...forever foods stored in things that aren't  plastic.

Vinegar...I buy LOTS of it and often in gallon plastic jugs (heh heh....jugs).  Acid liquids in plastic take on fc's.  Especially from soft/flexible plastics according to some research I've been reading at various nerd links to scientific journals.  The vinegar in glass is freaking expensive.  And I do brew my own, or have in the past.  Especially when I'm trying to brew kombucha and then it goes to far and is vinegar.  Cool.

Vinegar, once fully brewed is shelf stable until it basically evaporates away.  It is a forever food (ff....?).

Pineapples were CHEAP at a discount grocery store.  1$ for an entire pineapple.  So, I got 2.  Which is a boatload of pineapple for one person with no space.   I cut one up and ate part last night, rest with breakfast.  I kept the scraps from cleaning it like the skin and core nubbins.  Those are in a jar now (glass...not plastic) with some non-chlorine water and vinegar mother from the jar of vinegar I brewed in the office pantry cupboard from some sparkling apple juice no one was drinking.  It ended up filling a quart jar and over the past few months it has pretty well filled the jar with layers of vinegar mother.

So, pineapple scraps, non-chlorine water, scraps from fresh ginger I was cutting up for other stuff, bit of vinegar from the jar with the mothers in it.  And a chunk of mother.  Yes, I am doing this at the office.  The temperature at home fluctuates too much to ferment very well.

Once this ferments fully, it should be shelf stable.  I like shelf stable.

It cost me 1$ for the pineapple.  The water is from the well so whatever the cost of that was (maybe 20000ish) split across every time I use water.  I know I am more than 20k gallons in to the use of the well for 10 years...per gallon....um,. 50cents?

The jar was 1$ about 100 uses ago so 1cent?

This is the "waste" from the pineapple (which I would normally have composted and will in fact compost after this and I mainly bought it as food so....15cents in lost nutrients to the compost though fermenting actually ADDS nutrients so I'm going to call it a wash and say 0cents for the pineapple scraps).

The start from the other vinegar and mother is from free juice (it was at work and was about to go off and get thrown out), another used jar and the mother grew from the dregs of kombucha I'd had for a while so...10cents?   

And of course, this new vinegar will start more vinegar if it works and recoup some of the "cost".

If it fails and I throw it, but of course not the jar out, it might be costing me 76cents. 

Given that I will get a pint of live vinegar from this if I don't add sugar and it works, and given that live apple cider vinegar (the closest parallel I think in retail because it is in glass and "live") is going at the lowest at $4.99 a quart.  That's $2.495 per pint minus .76.   I am saving $1.735 over having bought it and had a bottle I don't need and would need to recycle.    Nice.  Frugal.

More on forever foods to follow.

Natural Fiber, Quality, Durable Clothing is Important. Getting That 2nd Hand Is Even Better

 All that cheap crap synthetic fiber clothing you buy, then return or wear a few times and "donate" or throw out (most of the donated can't be used because it is crap and no one wants it so it is thrown out).

Here is a summary of the post-purchase, even if "returned" and you got your money back, damage it does:

https://youtu.be/tAw_LCfHJtM?si=C4l6zWGve7Z79oCx

SO DON'T.

Here's my latest thrift, at least 2nd hand maybe 3rd or 4th hand purchase:

Pure wool (yeah..I totally took that phot in a bathroom...), in great shape.  Warm as hell. 6$.  It is from the 1970s to 1980s.  Looks like the zipper has been replaced.  The zipper is heavy duty metal so it will last longer than I will.

How many coats/sweaters have I thrown out?   Zero in the last 20 years.  Donated?  Maybe 2 and those were "redonated" since I had gotten them 2nd hand as gifts or thrifts.  And they were in good shape.  I mend things as I can.

The natural fiber in this jacket will not become microplastics killing fish and birds and staying in the environment for eons.   The bits that come off when I wash this will get picked up by birds or critters for nests (since I hand wash outside with these wool type garments)  (also they rarely need to be washed).

I do have a pure wool sweater that wore out (holes in the elbows, so thin you could read through it, the seams gave way.  I had had it 15 years and it was used when I bought it).  I cut it into rags and am still using a couple of those.   

The jeans that recently disintegrated off my person at the end of a work day (eventually cotton...I buy 100% cotton jeans at thrift) have been stripped of usable parts like zipper, waist band etc.   And now the bits of it are used as firestarters.  It was too thin and weak to use as rags though I do use it to stop up spills now and then.  Once it dries out, it is a fire starter again.  

My used clothes do NOT end up on the beach in a different country.  

If you actually used it up, wear it out, or make it do, or do with out, then you don't trash the damn planet. 

SO stop with the fast fashion.  It might be "fast" in that it spends little time in your possession but the damage it does to the world, your budget, the people who make it, ship it, and sell it (all underpaid and exploited and often poisoned by the substances used in production and transportation and even off-gassing in the stores) is NOT WORTH IT.  Also, it looks cheap and ugly.

So buy decent clothes you will actually wear, wash, mend and enjoy.  They are better, they feel better, they look better and they don't destroy the planet or  your soul.

End of rant.

Juanita Turns 200,000

 Miles that is...

Juanita being the Honda I bought in early 2021, like February or something.  I could look that up but I can't be arsed. 

Here's the blog post where I talked about it:

https://simplicityandfrugality.blogspot.com/2021/03/brand-new-extremely-used-car.html

SO...yesterday I had extra running around to do after work, which wasn't frugal but crap comes up sometimes and there you go.

Headed to Moscow and noticed that Juanita was at 199,982 a bit south of my place (which is north of Moscow).  Cool.  By the time I left Moscow, where the aforementioned run-aroundery took place, I was nearly at the big 200k.

Here are actual before and after photos: 

BEFORE

AFTER

Here's how she looks as of earlier this week

Note the new sticker...bit small but makes her look large and in charge

Closer view of the sticker:

I put one on each front door.  They look like the real agency stickers but smaller and with more 'sqatch.

I have had the vehicle for 19 months and put 34,000 miles on it.  That is an average of 1789miles per month, give or take.  About normal for me.  I used to average 30,000/year.  This would be 21,500 per year.   A few more on on the pick up, but with a busted odometer, no one knows how many.  

ANYWAY:  5000$ purchase price.  About 1200$ in tires and repairs (tune up earlier and brakes recently).  6200$ for 34000 miles...  Ownership and major repair costs as of now:  16cents/mile

IF she goes to 300,000 miles, assuming I will need more brakes and something else, and tires that would end up at about 7500$ total (because I did pads and rotors this time, rotors should last so next brake job should be less)  for 134,000 miles is 5.6cents per mile...nice!  We'll see if that happens.

Incidental Frugality

 I'm doing a month of "no industrial bread type products" as a diet experiment.  I do like my diet experiments...this one did NOT result in intestinal distress.   Suddenly-Keto...that one went bad on me. Oops!

Anyway, this month has been no industrially produced bread, wraps, tortillas, chips, pasta, etc.  No carby things from big factories.  I am buying a bit of bread and maybe a 1x per week sugary treat from local bakers at a farmers market.  As a result, the salt and the processed food are way lower.

As a side effect...my grocery costs are WAY down.

The grainy-carby things I have at home are whole dried hominy and chicos (corn stuff) from a past trip to Santa Fe, some wheat berries (the stuff that comes off the wheat plant before it is ground up into flour), and I recently added some millet because it was cheap and I wanted to try it.

I've been canning dry black beans with the hominy and/or chicos.  EXCELLENT!  It takes the same amount of time and butane to can 4 pints of beans an corn as it would to cook a meal's worth.  I end up with 4 instant meals.  So far I haven't even heated them up.  Just eaten right out of the jar.  I may try it with wheat berries too.  

Lots of lentils with wheat berries.  Cook up in about 30 min and then I take it to work the next day.

Breakfasts have been eggs.  Lately with grated carrot or kohlrabi thrown in and fried up together into sort of a hash thing.   Good.  

I bought a grain mill, manual and small, from thrift a while back and busted that out a couple of days ago.  Turned wheat berries into course whole wheat flour (it's not a great mill but it works and was cheapish).  I added some to a breakfast carrot hash and it made it into more of a fritter.  Then I mixed the rest up like a biscuit dough and slow fried it over a very low flame.  Brought it to work and it was a fine biscuit if a bit heavy.  I'll get better.

The possible downside...is...well...ENORMOUS amounts of fiber.  This is healthy.  And gassy.  Win win??  Not for my colleagues.  But I'm not hungry all the time.

It's making me eat mostly what I cook.  Think before going to a restaurant because there is crappy industrial bread everywhere.  And it's making me really appreciate the local bread makers, especially my favorite guy with his long ferment sourdoughs.  I'm only buying a bit since even artisanal bread is super salty. 

The few times I've eaten at restaurants I've gotten in the habit of going for salad, no croutons.  Then just ignoring any rolls or bread on the side.  Mostly it makes me think before I even go to a restaurant.   A brunch meeting for work was ok. I picked the veggie omelette and skipped the biscuit (those are usually gross anyway).  

My grocery bill is coming in on budget so far and I'd lowered the budget considerably to make room for the increased gas costs.

SHRINKFLATION: I actually noticed it

 Even though I rarely shop "normal" stores like supermarkets and bigbox stores, instead preferring thrift, salvage (Ross, TJ, Grocery Outlet), and other options, I have noticed shrinkflation.

I check the clearance food aisles at Ross and TJ and I shop Grocery Outlet for groceries.  You'd be surprised what you find at Ross and TJ.  Like whole bean coffee.  I figure decent coffee for 5$/lb is doable for me.   Since I shop based on price per volume, I always check the amount listed on the package and in the case of bagged produce, I weigh the bags as there is quite a bit of variation.

Coffee is the case in point.  A while back, years?, I noticed that what looked like a 1lb bag listed 12oz as the weight.  That would be 3/4llb, not 1lb.  NOPE.  $3.75 is max for 12oz.   It has to be a full lb.  That is getting rare.  

This weekend at one of the discount/salvage stores I noticed 11oz bags of coffee beans.  Since I am shopping where merchandise goes to die, this must have arrived on "normal" store shelves months ago  Do let me know!

I await the 10oz of coffee beans in the 1lb size bag.  Cripes.

In June, didn't go in July, I found 2lb bags of coffee beans at Grocery Outlet for $9.99 so that met the 5$/lb price point.  I don't worry too much about the blend or roast at that price.  I do avoid flavored types. These almost always cost more and so far have never been the only option.

With prices going up, I bought a brick of "dollar store" type coffee.  It is well under the 5$/lb rate even in an 8oz, or is it 6?, size. We'll see if it is drinkable.

TP is another one.  I buy a regionally sourced off-brand.  It is under 5$ for 24 rolls.  Not fancy, soft, scented, lotioned, etc.  JUST TP.  I haven't bought any in a few months as I can store 2 packs at that size (thanks dead camper fridge that is still mouseproof!) so haven't looked at it of late.  I should keep the size label portion of the current pack and date it so in the future I can see if my TP rolls are shrinking.  At one point I calculated price per square foot but it was a lot of calculating.  I am rethinking "family cloths" (wipe rags) and rotating in newspaper now and then at least for #1s.   The savings is real now.  We'll see...

I went for 5gallon buckets at various hardware stores now and didn't buy any.  7-8$ per bucket.  Last time I bought them they were $3.50ish per bucket.   So, I did not buy any new buckets.  I am going to sort through what I have and glue up some of the old ones with glue I have.  Those that are beyond gluing but still bucket-like, will get the tool-toting duty.  Those that are glued and water tight can be non-potable water toting type tasks.  Glued but not water tight can haul dirt-like things.  Those that are still in good shape will get rotated in to laundry and other duties I consider high-end.

As for Shrinkflation with buckets...some of the "5-gallon" buckets are 4 gallon!  This is fine, but ends up with a non-standard height or lid size and mess up my system.  Also, less hauling/storage capacity for the price.

I Fixed A Thing!

 Which is hard because I don't know how ...

(there is a scene in the movie "Happy Texas" that would be perfect here but I can't find a clip)

I had a twin window fan.  Then, at thrift I bought a "new" one. I tested it in the outlet at the store BEFORE I bought it.  Then stuck it in storage and got rid of the old one that was starting to malfunction and smell funny.

A couple weeks ago things got HOT so I dug out the 'new' used fan.

ALAS it didn't run!  Didn't click.  Not slow.  NOTHING.

So, crap.  I put it in the car to throw out rather than have a dead fan taking up room.

There were no fans at thrift so I checked stores thinking it was late in the season and the fans would be marked down.  They were.  To 30$!!!  Uh, no.  I got the thrift fans for a max of 5$ each.  

So, fortunately I'm forgetful and had forgotten to chuck the 'new' fan.  I got it back out of the car and took a look at it while a video ran in the wee shed one evening.  After taking out about 2 dozen tiny screws (and wisely putting them in a bag) I saw a wire just hanging in space by the switch and the switch dealie also hanging in space.

I stuck the wire in the obvious empty hole and plugged the fan into the solar inverter. IT WORKED!!!  WOOT WOOT.

Dug out the glue.  Picked one that looked like it would work with plastic (could not find electrical tape, may not have any).  Using toothpicks as wedges I glued the switch dealie into the receptical that seemed meant for it.  Then jammed the dangly wire in the obvious hole (I had unplugged the fan) and used a couple of toothpicks as wedges to hold things in place for a couple of days while it dried.  And I was busy.

Tested again...still worked.  

Removed toothpick wedges.  Put all the screws back (no left over parts!! That's a first) and voila.  For about 15 minutes of hands on repair, I saved 30$ on a crap discounted fan from Rite-Aid (the cheapest one I saw...I boycott walmart and amazon so I do concede there may be cheaper new fans, but I won't by them).  

The hourly wage for that repair would extrapolate to 120$/hour.  That's worth the fix.

Anti-Inflammatory April Update 2: Cauliflower Stem Soup Recipe

 So, it's going really well.  Guts are sorting themselves out.  Arthritis less annoying, still there, I mean, it's not a miracle cure but I did a whole workout at the gym with weights this morning without thinking about my arthritic knee or my owie toe (pro tip--do NOT drop logs on the joint between your big toe and your foot and then ignore it because it doesn't bruise.  Damaged all the tendons/ligaments which froze up and now I'm like 3 months in to trying to get the mobility back to what it was.).  The toe mobility is coming along, I suspect the lower inflammation level is helping.  Maybe it is placebo effect and I don't care.

Also, not as itchy.  I have the driest skin on the planet according to a healthcare provider and it is often itchy.  Less so now.

I've made my own chocolate treats like mochas with dehydrated coconut milk powder, just coconut bits, home brewed coffee (drinking 1/2 as much as before...2 cups per day rather than 4), and cocoa powder.  No sweetener.  It's quite good.  So that helps with the skipping candy bars at the store even when on super sale.  I stocked up on cocoa powder just for this.

The chickens are laying well now so eating more eggs.  Some people find them inflammatory but I seem to do fine on them.

Eating a tiny bit of whole wheat organic flour.  About a cup a week cooked into things like chocolate service berry bannock made with no-sodium baking soda or no-sodium baking powder.  I have a bit of vanilla extract, organic real stuff, if I want to kick it up but so far haven't bothered.

Having banana eggs or just eggs and anti-inflammatory spice mix for breakfast most days.  

To support my good diet, I'm buying more produce, while keeping it frugal.   Last Saturday I had to be in town for a thing so I combined that with my grocery run and laundry duties to minimize trips.   

I got organic purple and green cauliflower heads, one each, for $1.50 each!  Since they each weighed over 1.5lbs, I hit my "Dollar a pound all year round" (that's a Jeff Yeager guideline for saving $$ on groceries...buy what is cheap and use it all).

I made a critical error when cooking up the first head, the green cauliflower.  I cut out the stem and leaves and put it in the chicken bucket (a pan that holds food scraps that the chickens can eat...then I add water and let it cook on the wood stove if that stove is going, because chickens don't eat raw onions).  OOPS!  I Don't keep that pan clean enough for human consumption of contents so...darn it!

I had forgotten that the stems are fine diced up small and put in soup or mashed potatoes or whatever!  Even fried up.  Same with the leaves and the ribs from the leaves!  It was like 1/2 the weight of the cauliflower.  

SO, yesterday I had the purple cauliflower florets for lunch with some boiled eggs and a dressing made from the dregs of fancy mustard, vinegar and olive oil.  It was good.  

I KEPT the stem and leaves in a bag and took them home.  Last night I diced them up into a pan.  There was about 1.5 cups of usable food.  The chickens just got those dry hard nubbins from where there were cuts/trims.  I added water, a chopped onion, a couple of carrots (saved the top bits to regrow the greens in little cups of water because that is fun and carrot tops are my go-to version of parsley), a 1/4 cup of dry green split peas.  This is my first attempt at cooking split peas. Seasonings: marjoram, thyme, fennel (the stuff I have the most of...that's how I chose)  We'll see at lunch today how it is.

Brought it to a boil and simmered it until I got sick of simmering it.  No, I did not fry the onion. I could have but then everything I own stinks of fried onion. It's in a jar in the work fridge.  Most of it.  There was like 3/4 of a cup of soup that would not fit in the jar so that's at the house (which was 34degs F when I lift this morning, basically the whole place is a fridge today) waiting to become tomato soup tonight.  I'll add more water and a can of (low sodium) tomato paste.  Again, tomatoes inflammatory to some but I do well on them.  That usually makes a decent tomato soup.  Pepper and vinegar can fix most crappy soups.

Lesson:  cook up the stems.  If you want, you can peel them.  The peel is usually the hard, fibrous, bitter part.  ALSO full of vitamins and whatnot.  I left it on this time.  Of course I wash my veg too.  If I don't care for the skin in this soup, I might leave it out next time.

My groceries, being INGREDIENTS and PRODUCE was cheap!  I threw in some probiotics which were on a rare 20% off sale and might encourage the guts to improve.  My Dr. (jesus I'm old...I still BLOG and I quote my Dr...) approves of them.  Also stocked up on the powdered coconut milk.  It was on the same 20% off sale and I don't tend to binge use it if I stock up.  Unlike nuts and dried fruit...I don't dare have a back stock of nuts, nut butter or dried fruit because apparently that is my kryptonite.  I just eat the entire stock way to fast and throw my guts out of whack.  

Groceries, for 2 weeks plus some restocking, was about 27$.  That is being used with my pantry staples like the flour, cocoa, coffee, tea, and fresh eggs.  I spend about an hour in the evening making something for the next few days lunches if need be.  That keeps me from spending that evening sitting in a chair spiraling down a youtube rat hole.  And of course it saves me running to the store for something for those lunches which happened now and then before.  

What If.... Preppers/Savers on the Youtubes Sometimes Lack Creativity and Experience

 OK, rando rant a bit because I'm kind of a dick.

On the youtubes, the thrifty people I follow are doing this "What if" type thing. Fine.  

Things like "What if you only had a half a bag of rice, 3oz lentils, and moldy cheese, and you don't get paid for a week and the money is gone...how would you stretch the food and what would you make?"

Mornings with Granny is best at this because I suspect she's been poor for reals.

I was poor once upon a time and now I'm too lazy/cheap/frugal to run in to town when I am lacking an ingredient.

ANYWAY...recently, the ones I watch are "prepping" or stocking up for power outages.  Turns out rice is a bad idea without power.  Um...like the electric stove or any of the 2 dozen counter top plug in appliances are the only ways to cook???

JEEZ people!  One vlogger was talking, this morning, about a power out where they had no way to heat water or cook food. She has other videos where they grill food outside.  Does the propane tank and/or charcoal not work when the electricity is out???

Also, candles under an upturned can with holes cut in the can-sides makes a tiny stove.   So does a can of crisco with a wick (which can be a bit of dry wood, twisted fabric, wooden skewers, taper candle jammed in a hole, or almost any cooking oil/fat you have around).  PEOPLE!!! Electricity is not the only power.  

What about a solar cooker?  Or the dashboard of your car in mid day?  Heat water with those mid day and then put it in a thermos, or even just wrap up the container of hot water with whatever.  That reflective dealy in the windshield works well.  ALSO coolers keep things warm.  They are don't just keep things cool.   Then you can heat that warmish water for washing or whatever.

Also...rice, pasta, grains can be soaked for a while, brought to the boil, poured into a thermos or the pan wrapped up and they will cook much faster with very little heat, e.g. over a candle or crisco heater.

Grills hold pots as well as naked slabs of meat. You can even bake bread, cake, whatever on there.

ALL YOU NEED TO COOK IS A HEAT SOURCE.  

Other tips for power-outage cookery:

Think about the size and power of your heat source.  Boiling a cup of water over a candle will take a while.   Boiling a cup of water on the grill is wasting heat...boil up the big pan of water (tea kettle, anyone?) and store the excess because maybe it will still be warm later.   Overnight oats/soaked-rice for 4 is too much to bring to a boil over a candle.  Not too much on a grill or in a solar cooker.  

Frying is faster.  Small bits cook faster.  You can fry on a grill.  Put the frying pan (cast iron is the best option) on the grill.  Add fat and whatever.  Cook.  Don't wander off.

Grill outside.  Want to bring some of that heat inside?  Heat up clay plant pots and bring them inside in metal buckets, set them on things that won't burn like bricks or the hearth.  You want get super warm, but you'll be busy and a bit warmer and NOT die of carbon monoxide. 

Butane burners are great, I use them all the time.  But the butane runs out pretty fast if you start with cold water and want to boil it up.  Hence lots of preheating on the woodstove and storing the water hot in thermoses (thermosi?  thermopodi?)...insulated containers!

Things to do now:

Make a "hay box" for your favorite pasta/rice pan.  NOT the insta pot.  Don't be an idiot.  The pan that you can put on the grill, stove, woodstove, etc.  Best if it has small handles but just use what you have.  Find a box, card board, wood, or a metal milk crate, that fits the pan with several inches to spare on all sides.   Line your box with wool blankets or old sweaters if you have it, or hay (hence the name), straw, cardboard, or even metallic bubble wrap. Make sure there is an inch of cardboard or wood or no-flammable at cooking temps fabric between any plasticky crap or fabric and the pan. Make the lining fit tight around the pan.   When the time comes, heat the pan up, like on that grill, and when the food is boiling hard, put the pan in the box (which of course you insulted on the bottom and sides and top) and close it up.  If you can heat up a rock or plant pot ahead of time and put that in the box while you finish boiling up the food, that will preheat the box and make it work better.

Don't have a box?  Make a bean hole in the ground and preheat it like in the olden days.  I will let you google that.

You can boil things mid-day in the solar cooker and transfer to the hay box or bean hole or thermos.

When using a thermos, preheating is best.

These all work like slow cookers.   Pasta will get mushy fast, whole rye berries hold up super well as do wheat berries, oat groats, and barley.   Quinoa is an excellent option as well.

If I am putting meat in, I prefer it to be fully cooked first, either fried up (sliced thin it fries faster/less fuel) or precanned by me or an industrial canning service.

If using a thermos for soup or flavored grains/pasta, you'll want to not use that for coffee or tea water later.  No matter what they say, the flavors linger. I have tested glass, plastic, and stainless steel lined thermoses and all retain that stank.  It's fine in the next cooked item, but not great in my coffee.  

To make the thermos cooking work: invest in a good bottle brush and good funnels.  I use a big canning funnel for the wide mouth thermoses and a skinny funnel for the insulated bottle type thermoses.  

The water you use to preheat a thermos is fine to use in the next batch of soup, to drink, to give to pets who usually enjoy the vague food stank, or to soak tomorrow's grains.  

These practices always save fuel/money/pollution/resources to why not be practicing now??

Rant complete...for now.

Day 12 Pantry Challenge Update

Well, it turns out I should not be left alone with nuts (heh heh).  Ate the rest of the Dec. ration of walnuts.  Dang it!  AND broke into the Larabars which I meant to save until January. Didn't eat all of them, but more than I wanted to.  It's the deliciousness.  I'm a victim of deliciousness.

So, I did notice that I'm not going through the cocoa powder (baking, not icky instant gross "hot chocolate" mix...barf).   Had cocoa eggs this morning.  Less delicious, more anti-inflammatory.   And lots of coffee.  Have plenty.  Had tea yesterday and will try to keep up with that.

We're mid storm, actually ending in a few hours.  I shoveled the car out, parked by the highway, yesterday.  4 inches of light snow.  But then it was going to turn to drizzle so better to get ahead. NOW there is 6 inches of HEAVY snow. It was 32 degs and snowing so really big pretty flakes that make for sucky shoveling.  It's going to warm up in a bit so heading out soon for more shoveling.

Anyway, back to the pantry challenge.  

I think I achieved peak frugality yesterday.  I was reading (re-reading of course) a volume of the Tightwad Gazette, the thrifty/frugal bible...get it, while eating a pilaf I made with what I had on hand, using a recipe from the TG, a recipe I hadn't used before.   It was DELICIOUS.

Here is the recipe and how I did it:

2 T oil

1 small onion diced up

3 cloves garlic smashed or diced

1/2 C left over meat or cooked beans or canned meat/fish

1 C grain

2 C water or broth...liquid

1/2 C other vegetable

Seasonings as you like.

In a sauce pan that will fit the entire recipe with room to boil/simmer, heat the oil up on medium.

Put in the onion and garlic (if you don't have them, use dry powder or whatever like chives/leeks/shallots/onion flakes/garlic salt (easy on the salt though)

Fry that until it smells good.  Add meat (not canned tuna or other canned fish...ooo...I have smoked salmon at work...that would be delicious) and then the grain.

Fry a couple minutes, then add the liquid and "other vegetable" and if you are using canned fish, add it.  You can add the fish liquid or not, whatever you like.

Add seasonings.

Bring to a boil.  Turn down to a simmer.  Put the lid on.  It is done when the liquid is absorbed.   

Adjust salt/pepper as needed (protip:  if you put in too much salt and have a potato, slice up the WASHED potato and throw a few slices in for a minute or two and pull them out.  They will pick up some of the salt). 

I used an onion, garlic cloves, a can of tuna, rye berries, water, fermented ginger carrots (only other fresh-ish veg in the house, could used dried and add it with the liquid).  Did not add tuna water.   Added thyme and rosemary from my garden and an indoor potted plant at the office, and cracked pepper.  The tuna was salty enough and I'm watching sodium levels so didn't add any.

It was delicious!  Better than a casserole because no oven needed and no thickener like cream of crap soup which I just don't like even in the vegan versions without the dairy.  If I could handle dairy and had butter, I think frying the stuff in that would be excellent.

There was also some walnut dust in it.  Since I'd just finished the walnuts in jar, I rinsed it with the water going into the pilaf to get the couple of tablespoons of walnut dust out of the jar and not waste it.

I'm going to try it with beans one of these days.  I think hot in a thermos it would be a good food for lunches when I am working outside.

Today I need to get out the week's ration of raisins but might do it right before bed so I don't just eat them all...hopefully!   I  have figs for January.  

What if I Stretched This Slow Fashion Thing a Bit Further?

 Like, I'm thinking I could NOT buy any clothes in 2022.   I've started looking at my clothing stock and what tends to come in to it regularly.

I have shortsleeve t shirts coming out my ears.  And I get some free now and then.

Could use a long sleeved t or two.  Easy to get at thrift I think.

Sweatshirts, enough, not too many but enough.

Enough undies for now, but aging.  3 new pairs kept in back stock should sort it out.

A good supply of warm sox, need to check into the summer weight sox stock.

Bras...could probably make it a year if I had 1 new good bra and kept it out of full rotation until needed.

Jeans/pants:  Numbers wise I have enough, but some are thin summer pants that I tear up fast so actually...1-2 decent pairs of all cotton jeans in backstock would get me through a year easily, especially if I do better at changing in to work pants before doing chores.

Sweaters....plenty.  I am actually wearing a really nice Dale of Norway sweater with pewter buttons as jammies.   I put a long sleeve t or hoodie over it, and a t-shirt under it.  Toasty.

Longjohns.  Supply is probably just enough to make it.  1 pair totally worn out, 3 pairs OK (1 is jammies).

Coats...don't get me started!

Rainpants...actually need a pair of these.   The ones I have are too big and in tatters.  Maybe 50% effective.

Workpants: I'm ok on these.  They don't all fit but who cares when you are shoveling sh*t?

Hats: I'm OK.

Gloves...hmmm...if I don't lose them I kind of have enough for warmth, but work gloves I should have 2 more pairs.   They get wet/bloody and I need a dry pair available when that happens.

Boots: peachy!  Tall rubber boots, insulated muck boots, and hiking boots (2 of 3 pairs bought by work), crappy old boots for hazmat work, 1 pair of steel toes, and....well, there are more.  Might need some repaired but not replaced.

Shoes: 3 old pairs but they will be fine.

Button down shirts...plenty.  I would like to wear a few out actually.

Undershirts/shells:  I could use a blue and a grey tank top.  

No formal wear to speak of but that almost never comes up and I can probably borrow a garment if I really need it.

I can work with this and come up with a list of things and double check backstock.   Get it all sorted by the time Jan 1 comes around and try for a no-clothes-buy 2022 if I feel like it.

Slow Fashion October OTD (outfit of the day)

 I started the day at the gym.

Shoes: ANCIENT and resoled shoes bought on sale.  Over 10 years use so far.  They are good leather and comfortable.   They got demoted to gym wear as the top is separating from the sole a bit and the glue doesn't hold as long when used outside.  

Socks:  Gift

Pants: bought for 1$ at thrift 2 or 3 years ago.  They just live in the gym bag.

Undies...old.

Foundation garment: See previous post. Same one.

Shirt: tank top purchased at thrift maybe a decade ago.  It's an eddie bauer or something and just will not wear out.

I also did yoga while there.

yoga bag: gift (actually, it was a gift bag but is a nice canvas shopping bag that now transports yoga stuff)

Blocks: bought on super sale during a 'rona closure of a local studio

Strap: I think I paid retail for this but it was like 15-20 years ago.

Mat: super cool FOLDING yoga mat bought at thrift for 2$ or so.  Used for several years now and shows no wear.  I like the flat fold better than the roll.  I can travel with it in a suitcase.  

Towel/blanket: Gramma got me this when I STARTED college so it is over 37 years into pretty well daily use.  It's thin but still soaks up liquids like water and sweat.  

Slow Fashion October: Another OTD (outfit of the day...see how I am all hip with the lingo if it is 1998)

 I WILL have a change of shoes here in a bit so I'll include both options:

Boots: bought by my job, warm insulated rubber boots.  Wore them home one day and back to work today to get them back to the office.  I wore them 5 times in the last week.

Shoes: Bought on deep sale 2 or 3 years ago.   Not thrift, I think they cost about 50 or 60$.  I wear them 3-5 days a week in fall and spring depending on weather.   They are good leather with good soles so will last a while. 

Socks: gift (thanks Chris!)

Jeans:  Ancient thrift jeans, this is day 1.  If I can keep them clean they will see several wearings this week.

Belt: Same as before.

Undies: Bought new, but worn weekly for about a year an a half.  They were part of the early 'rona underwear stock up that allowed me to go 2 weeks between laundry runs which saves $$.

Foundation garment:  Bought on super sale at Ross or TJMaxx.  Over a year ago.  Worn tons.  Protip: It is grey and grey bras don't look dingy like white ones after a year or so.  I don't generally use bleach and have touchy skin so whites get dingy looking.   Solution: avoid white clothes.

T-shirt: From a giveaway at work.

Button down (because I thought I had a meeting but now it is canceled):  Bought at thrift years ago.  I am pretty sure I paid 4-5$.  I usually stop at 2$ but this is a high quality shirt in orange (not a fave color but counts as "high visibility" on construction sites), it fits my line-backer shoulders and long monkey arms, AND has the coveted DOUBLE pit zips (vents for hot days) so I can wear it a lot all year.  Hence, it gets worn almost weekly.  I get compliments.  It is an REI or Eddie Bauer brand.  I'm not a brand rat but those two do tend to be high quality construction and fabric, along with a few other brands, so when I see them at thrift, I give them a 2nd look even if they are above the usual 2$ limit on shirt price.

Hair tie: Haven't picked one yet but all the ones with me are used.  I know this because they are around the bottom of my travel french press (thrift, obv) and it looks like it is wearing a fuzzy bracelet.  Tons of hair stuck in the ties.

Next time I buy some new garment, or maybe those carhartts mentioned in a previous post, I should put a dot or hash on the inside of the garment each time I wear it.  Then I can track the "cost per wear".  With some of my 2$ shirts I'm pretty confident we're approaching a penny a wearing.

Slow Fashion October Outfit of the Day

 Today...

Boots bought on deep sale (35$ usually 135$) and worn...80-100 times so far. 

Sox: none.  You don't need any with these boots unless it is cold out.  They are lined with cotton flannel

Jeans:  Thrift, worn 5 times so far this week.  Purchased many years ago.

Belt (I forgot this last time!):  Thrift, 3$ and I resented the cost, real leather sturdy belt with a brass buckle.  Worn almost everyday. Bought years ago.  could be 1000 wearings so far.  I reverse the direction it goes in the pants each time so it doesn't get that permanent dip in the back from always being worn the same direction.

Undies:  NEW!  but from thrift.  First wearing.  They are from that pack that was still sealed and the undies still taped to the cardboard insert that I found at thrift.  The pair I changed out of were in tatters. Clearly over 7 wearings.

T-shirt: Gift (thanks Chris) several years ago.  The collar is starting to get a bit wonky, but no holes yet.  Worn about once every 2 weeks for 2 years.  100ish wearings.

Foundation garment: It is on day 5 like the jeans.  I haven't sweat much this week and no one is going to be around me at work today (it's a holiday but I'm going in to make up some time rather than use vacation time for a day last week).  Bought new at deep discount at Ross Dress for Less. Probably 5-8$.  That's the price range I wait for for the high end foundation garments.  

Coat: Thrift, years ago.  

Hairties: dollar store.  Not sure how many times one hairtie gets worn.  Until it breaks.