1. I have an olive tree that is full of olives in my front yard. I've wanted to learn how to cure olives for years so I finally gathered the courage to tackle it with the help of a dear friend's advice. I spent 2 days picking olives. It's very time consuming because you have to pick one olive at a time (and they're small). I finally got the tree pruner and cut the top branches that were bursting with large olives. That way I could sit and just pick the olives off the branch instead of standing on a ladder while I pick. Once they were picked it was a long process of lye, soaking and a lot of rinsing. I now have 5 gallons of olives soaking in a salt brine. We hope to share with a few neighbors and some of our family.
2. I hung out my laundry on the line. Winter is just around the corner so I'll be hanging some lines in my garage... hopefully next week. I plan to hang my laundry as much as possible through the winter to keep my electric bill low.
3. I cut back the watering time for the lawns. The grass was pretty much dead when we moved into our home. So, we focused on saturating it with water to bring it back to life. As a result my water bill went up to $127. Ouch! This month I'm setting my timer and only allowing the water to run 10-15 minutes in each spot. So far the lawn looks just fine.
4. I planted lettuce seeds and green onions in a container by the back door.
5. I made 2 batches of laundry detergent. I've been making my own laundry detergent for years (off and on). It's one of my biggest money savers.
7. I realized I was wasting a lot of water in the mornings when I first turned on the hot water faucet. The water would run and run until it finally turned hot. I now keep a bucket outside my back door and bring it in next to the sink. I let the water run into a container and then fill my bucket. I end up with a half a bucket of water from the kitchen sink and the bathroom sink which I then toss onto the new seeds I planted outside my backdoor.
8. I bought whole milk and added water to stretch it. :-)
9. I used cabbage leaves for my breakfast burritos instead of low carb tortillas (which are so expensive).
10. I used a Kohl's $10 coupon and purchased a gift for Christmas.
I had several new money saving ideas I wanted to tackle this week but I ran out of time. The kids are coming for lunch on Sunday and so I've spent my extra time this week preparing.
Well, that's all I'll write about for now. I'd love to hear how you saved money in your home this week.
