Boy, where do I start?
Now if you knew me 17-yrs ago you would never know I was the same person that I am today..all random thoughts.
Chickens for eggs (chickens meant dirty to me in my younger years..LOL..I love love my chickens)
Line dry my clothes
Make homemade laundry detergent (I really liked my Tide)
Vinegar for the rinse cycle
Pressure can,water bath can,dehydrate
Gardens,fruit orchard,several raspberry,blackberry,elderberry,juneberry plants,herb garden,mint garden,strawberry patch,asparagus patch.rhubarb...all of which I preserve.
Crocheting my own dish clothes
Making my own tinctures --from my elderberries that I planted last year
Making the copycat version of Dawn dish soap foam
Baking breads,cookies,fruit breads,scones,bagels,sub rolls,french bread,hamburger rolls,cinnamon buns,cornbread, from scratch
Making my own fake syrup
Making my own yogurt
Freezer meals
Turning hot water off during the day
Foraging
Planted medicinal plants
Turning all lights off when not using
Making handmade rice packs..( I use these daily during the winter months)
Stockpile
Match coupons up with sale items
Keep a well stocked( huge variety) of baking supplies..I learned over the years that there seemed to always be a certain ingredient or spice etc that I didn't have in my pantry..so now I learned from that.
I keep a alternate back up for foods that I tend to run out of like..instant potatoes,powdered milk and dehydrated onions.
I combine errands to save on gas
I make sure that I keep lots of medicine & medical supplies so no emergency trip to the convenience store to spend triple the money
Pay bills through online banking-saving myself postage
Have power strips in each room except the bath and kitchen
Wash clothes in cold water only
Buy loss leaders
Purchased a Foodsaver..(the BEST money saving item that everyone should have imho!)
Instead of taking a vacation we stay home and entertain our selfs by sitting around our firepit that we roast bacon on a stick, with the stereo blasting and drinking ice cold beer that I got on sale,go-carting-4-wheeling,we put up our tent,fishing and boating on my families property up the road.
Cut our own wood for our wood stove
Mow our own lawn
I cut my own hair
My dh and boys use a electric shaver to cut their own hair
I don't get manicures or pedicures
We snow blow our own driveway
Don't go to the Movie theater
Make my own homemade Kahlua
Make my own seasonings like taco,ranch,onion soup mix etc,
Do all of our home repairs
Do all of our own mechanical works on our vehicles
If I buy a product and it doesn't meet my standards I call the company to tell them why I'm not satisfied with their product..I'm always compensated for it.
Use and recycle what we have around our property..for example my dh made me my chicken coops by using wood that was left in the garage when we bought the house,reused the door that we took off the house when we replaced it with a energy efficient door,used the windows that was also left in the garage when we bought it,used the wire that was actually still coiled up to make the chicken run..again all was salvaged from our home.
My fenced in gardens were made by the wire that was left here.
I know there is more but that's all I can think of on top of my head.