Favorite Frugal Tool?

**Kimberlina** · 06-26-2005, 12:22 PM

I was just pondeing yesterday what my favorite frugal tool is. My bread maker? A can of WD-40? Nope.

I decided my favorite frugal tool is a rubber scraper/spatula. I have a small variety of them, and I love them. They are great for getting every last bit of whatever out of the jar/bowl. I have abig one, like the ones I used as a pastry chef, that doesn't have a handle. Actually, those are plastic, but they do the same job.

The reason it outweighs other frugal tools is because it is usually pretty cheap and it doesn't get used up, like a can of oil would. If you buy a decent one, it will even withstand heat, and is worth the extra money you would spend on it, because it serves a larer variety of purposes.

What is your favorite frugal tool? If we all share, we might help each other find new favorites!

**psjkmom** · 06-26-2005, 12:26 PM

I love my drying racks for drying clothes outside (or inside during inclement weather). With the summer sun, my laundry smells wonderful!

**RuthNY** · 06-26-2005, 01:52 PM

I love my scissors. I cut into tubes or bottles of toothpaste, handcream, lotion, soaps, everything and I use the very last drop of everything I use.

**MelinaG** · 06-26-2005, 03:38 PM

For me it is a tie betwwen water and clothes drying racks. Our clothes drying racks actually are recycled by using our DD's old crib bars and attatching them to a wall so they fold up and the horizonal to allow for great drying. Water because our landlord pays for it and I use it to dilute everything: shampoos, ckeaners, juice...ect.

Melina

**PoorRichardsGirl** · 06-26-2005, 07:02 PM

Our computer, more specifically the internet. Knowledge is power!

**beckanoah** · 06-27-2005, 03:30 PM

Hey great job on the drying rack idea. Brilliant... I use a tension shower rod to hang dry all my shirts inside (out of the hot sun of the SW)... Our dryer is on it's last legs and we are going to have to replace it soon....it's a necessity. I won't hang all my other clothes.

Favorite tool: Internet to keep on top of my bills and credit card. Not to mention the vast resources at your fingertips...all for a low monthly price.

**Telephus44** · 06-27-2005, 08:18 PM

a 5 gallon bucket. I have several of them. They are useful for storage, catching rain water, planting vegetables in, mopping floors with, upside down as a step stool.. the list goes on.

**cheapgeek** · 09-15-2005, 12:26 PM

Reviving this old thread because I thought of one.

My whiteboard. I use it almost every day to remind myself what food to use up in the next day or two. I'm disorganized by nature, so this goes a long way in avoiding wasting food.

**pkellyc** · 09-15-2005, 10:04 PM

My dollar store hammer. My Dh happens to think it is a peice of junk and wouldn't touch it for a million dollars. But it is perfect for hanging small pictures and curtains, and I always know where it is.

**momof42003** · 09-16-2005, 01:04 AM

It would have to be the little scraper you can get from Pampered Chef to scrape the stonewear... I got some for free, and I use it to scape stuff off of counters and my new stove... They work better than what my dad use to use-a chisel....

**bamamomto4** · 09-16-2005, 01:18 AM

mmm I guess my drying racks. If it's going to

I can still hang my

to dry.....all over the house

**chewawalove** · 11-09-2005, 04:56 PM

Bumping this one again...thanking MelinaG for an awesome AHA ! moment.

A local thrift store sold some crib sides for $1 and I had bought several BUT they are about to meet a new purpose>>Drying Racks !!

Thanks for the idea !!!

Sharon

**Mojjo** · 11-09-2005, 05:01 PM

a pen and paper...writing every dollar i spend down does more to stop me from blowing money then anything. And meal planning and a comprehensive grocery list are my biggest assets.

**YankeeMom** · 11-09-2005, 05:05 PM

Originally posted by PoorRichardsGirl
Our computer, more specifically the internet. Knowledge is power!

That was my answer too...I learn FAR more on the Internet than I ever have from any book or person or item. I would have never learned about frugal books such as TCTWG or JustBeans or How to Feed Your Family on $12 a day if I hadn't read about them online first.
The internet is my source for recipes, for searching for substitutes, gardening help, homemade cleaners, what works, what doesn't. The internet also lends me a sense of community. There are others out there who are like me...who like to cook from scratch, who get a kick out of seeing how little they can spend on things that most people don't even think about (and thus spend three times as much).
It gives me a feeling of security too. All this knowledge, I know I can make it through thin times. Even if I *gasp* had to have the internet turned off (mostly because I've learned I can get free internet at the library

).