Here at the Frugal Village Homestead we handle car purchases one of two ways. 1) We buy a new car and keep it for a long, long time or 2) We buy a good condition used car. Yankee Bill’s philosophy is that if you add up all the repair costs you spend in a year,… Keep Reading
Sharpening Knives — Make Do and Mend
If you cook at all you use knives, and if you use knives you know the frustration of dull knives. At this time of year when tomatoes are in abundance, nothing annoys me quite as much as a knife too dull to slice smoothly through a ripe, juicy tomato. So they are irritating, but did you… Keep Reading
Canned Purslane — Eat the Weeds!
This years garden. . . well, it hasn’t been exactly a flop. I’ve gotten quite a few tomatoes, cucumbers and squash out of it. However it hasn’t been an EXCELLENT garden, and I haven’t had a ton of excess to can. First the weeds got ahead of me, then the late blight hit the tomatoes,… Keep Reading
Leftover Seafood Chowder — Make Do and Mend
I absolutely hate throwing out food. It’s such a waste. It hurts me to have to throw out food that has been left too long and gone bad. I know, it still happens to me sometimes as well, but it always makes me mad. Even worse to my mind is perfectly good food that is… Keep Reading
Scraping the Jar — Make Do and Mend
Getting the most out of our money–isn’t that what most people want? Folks coupon, comparison shop, buy used and more to try to save a dime. I applaud that and personally try to get the most out of everything I spend my hard earned money on–especially food. Although I still throw out more food then… Keep Reading
Saving Bacon Grease — Make Do and Mend
Bacon is wonderful stuff. Even more wonderful is the organic bacon I get from a local farm where I buy a pig (well, the meat part of a pig) every year or so. Mmmm. It’s amazing. But the bacon itself isn’t the only thing that’s amazing–you’ve also got the bacon grease. Bon Appetite calls bacon… Keep Reading
Line Drying Laundry — Make Do and Mend
One of the things I like to in the summer, when the weather cooperates and I am home, is hang my laundry out on the line to dry. There are multiple benefits to line drying. First off, I’m “Doing Without” the dryer–so I’m saving the money it costs for the electricity to run the dryer. … Keep Reading
Cardboard Box Drawer Dividers — Make Do and Mend
I love when I can solve a problem without buying anything. . .just “Making it Do” with something I already have. Here’s a perfect example. Years ago when I needed to organized my makeup drawer, I made my own drawer dividers. Sure–the stores are just FULL of products to divide up your drawers. You can… Keep Reading
Using up Asparagus Stems — Make Do and Mend
Spring is that brief, pleasant season when fresh asparagus is actually priced reasonably at the grocery store! I love asparagus. I tried to plant a bed when we first moved in but it unfortunately has not thrived. So I content myself with a few seasonal bunches purchased at the store or farmers market. Now if… Keep Reading
Filtering Oil from Frying — Make Do and Mend
Every once in a while I like to fry something. I know, I know. Since the mid 80’s we have all been told that fried food is evil. It’s going to kill you. Your heart will clog up, you’ll have a heart attack and die. But let’s face it–there are certain things that just taste… Keep Reading
