Do You Repurpose Your Things?

bbudgetbungalow.com

Are you a shopper who buys things with a single purpose? If so, you may own rarely used appliances, pricey storage containers, or new stuff when the old stuff still sufficed.

When I was just starting out, I bought more than I do now, probably due to my inexperience. What cured me was after replacing a set of bath towels I thought were showing signs of wear, I noticed that the new towels looked no better then the old set after a few washes.

Now don't get me wrong, you want to replace articles if they wear out, and sometimes you really do need to buy a specific item if it does an important job properly. Obviously, you wouldn't wear a lamp shade for a hat to shield yourself from the sun, nor use a magnifying glass to read when you need a pair of eyeglasses. When something is essential; it makes your life better, safer or happier, buy it.

But nowadays, I'm more mindful about buying new things. I try to separate my wants from my needs; and consider the cost to the environment with a desire to lessen my carbon footprint. Furthermore, I learned not to buy toys, tools, or kitchen gadgets that aren't very practical. How often will you use a bread maker, or a tomato slicer? I mean, you can make bread in a mixing bowl and your oven. It takes two seconds to slice a tomato using a sharp knife.

I also try to repurpose things when it makes sense. Here are four ideas that might let you use an old standby in a new way, resulting in savings:

1) Mason jars (above) - Canning jars are sturdy, transparent and come in all sizes. You can repurpose them in so many ways! I store everything from dried spices, flour, sugar, refrigerated leftover food, loose buttons and small office supplies in them. 

I will probably never again buy another candle holder. Mason jars make beautiful glass candle holders, and the price is right.

Photo: instructables.com

2) Cake pans - A Lazy Susan will set you back $10 to $25. But you can easily make your own Lazy Susan by using extra cake pans of the same size; or go to a dollar store to buy two 9-inch round pans and a package of marbles for a couple of bucks. (Better yet, repurpose table salt so you don't have to buy marbles. Salt works!) Pour the salt (try what you have at home first) into the bottom pan. Stack the pans, one inside the other. Voila: a turning Lazy Susan for your spices.

Photo: iPhone

3) Plastic pillow casings - I repurpose the protective plastic casings that come with new pillows. They are usually heavy duty plastic, plus have a handy zipper. I use them to store other items that need protecting like my Everly Brothers paraphernalia, or blankets that get put away until next winter.

Photo: instructables

4) A shoe organizer as a vertical herb garden - This last idea is one I must try as a space saver in my apartment. Clever, right? My research says an indoor (or outdoor) vertical garden is easy to grow. Remember to test the caddy for leakage as you will be watering it, and hang it in a sunny area. Very efficient, indeed!

Shoe organizers come in both cloth and plastic. You can repurpose one to organize all kinds of things to hang in your bathroom; on one side of a door; or inside a closet. Vertical storage saves horizontal feet! There is no reason to restrict a shoe organizer to just shoes.

Have you repurposed something you'd like to share? Your ideas may be even better than mine!

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Repurpose Food Containers, Jars and Mugs

These are the food containers delis use when customers buy potato salad or coleslaw. Mine comes from the health food store when I buy a pound of peanut butter. I find they are the perfect size to portion and store homemade soups, stews, chili and leftover vegetables in the refrigerator or freezer. And you can stack them inside your cupboard with dry goods such as rice and whole grains, candy, or even medicine like packets of Alka-Seltzer. Moreover, you can see right through them! They are available in 3 sizes: 8 oz, 16 oz and 32 oz. Mostly I use the 16 oz size.

I don't know why it took me so long to think of it, but recently I began using them (minus the tops) as organizers for like-things inside the top drawer of my night stand. As much as possible I try to repurpose something I already own to organize things since buying drawer organizers can add up to a fortune. Sometimes it's worth the expense. At times these free plastic food containers make the perfect repository to give necessities inside a nightstand a proper home. If you were to fill an entire drawer with them, they might keep one another from flopping around inside the drawer, or you might need to get creative by stitching, or hot gluing them to hold together.

Now I'm eyeballing other objects I rarely use to repurpose as vessels to hold other loose things. No need to buy special drums, old coffee mugs work for office supplies, such as pens and pencils which you need to grab repeatedly. Food canning jars come in many sizes: I already use large ones to store pasta and medium ones for syrups. Alternately, there's no reason they can't provide a home for desk supplies such as paper clips and tacks, or household tools like nails.

Furthermore, I use an old glass candle holder for my collection of lip balm. Place on a workspace, or somewhere within reach.

Can you get better organized by grabbling a rarely used dish, tank, carrier meant for one thing to repurpose for something else needing a home?


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It Pays To Give Old Things A New Life

Photo: cranberrytownship.org

After reading The Story Of Stuff, I too began to think about the entire life cycle of the things we buy. Can we reduce waste by recycling more of our stuff? Individual efforts make a collective difference in saving our environment. As a bonus, buying less and giving old things a new life can also save you big bucks! So when it makes sense, why not do it? 

Here are a few items I reuse or repurpose, which may sound cheap, as well as, brilliant!:

1) Reuse old (but still good) shoe insoles - Sometimes I luck into a pair of sneakers, all-weather mocs or ballet flats that have the perfect arch support. If I wear the outside shoes out, but the insoles are still good, I remove them (before throwing out the shoes). Later on, I slide the saved, old insoles into brand new shoes. I might also order a half-shoe-size-up so that I can slide one, or two pairs of the old insoles into my new shoes. I slip the old insoles under the new shoes' original (new) insoles. Often this works to absorb shock without making the toe bed too tight and results in turning uncomfortable shoes into very supportive walking shoes! With double (or triple) insoles, you get mighty fine cushion, bounce and shock absorption.

Old drawers turned into toy boxes. How clever!

Along with the saved, old insoles of trashed shoes, I buy Dr. Scholls' insoles. They cushion when there is no extra room in a shoe, as well as, are thin enough to triple up inside shoes for extra cushioning. For example: I turned my LL Bean All Weather Mocs into a super supportive walking shoe (by ordering a size 8 1/2 -- up from my usual size 8) and inserting a Dr. Scholls' insole along with a Nike's sneaker insole underneath the All Weather Moc's leather insole. Now I can walk all over the city in them as if they were sneakers!

2) Repurpose aluminum foil - Instead of buying Brillo pads, simply crumble up a piece of washed, previously used aluminum foil to scrub your pots and pans. It removes food particles, and you have one less product to buy. Naturally, you can tear off a new piece, but if you use aluminum foil to bake a dish or wrap food, wash and reuse it to scrub a pan before throwing it out.

3) Recycle paper/ plastic bags - As mentioned in a previous blog, I have a wire recycler as my kitchen trash can. All the plastic supermarket bags are reused as garbage bags. Paper bags also become garbage bags, as well as, wrapping paper for packages mailed at the post office. Aim to save a tree and use less plastic whenever possible, but reusing them helps too!

4) After making a batch of Kombucha tea, I reuse the paper towels that cover the tops of the brew to spot clean my floor, or to dust. Why not? They aren't dirty.

5) Next I plan to repurpose two empty Kleenex boxes to organize and give my plastic grocery bags and clean, gently used paper towels a home.

6) Repurpose an ugly old file cabinet, or other furniture - I enjoy the show Knock It Off, which is always breathing new life into unsightly old furniture, or metal file cabinets by staining or painting them. The show saves homeowners $1000s for the cost of a can of paint.

7) If I buy beauty products that come in small containers, I wash and save a few for traveling. I have a slender cosmetic bag filled with these empty miniatures. Why buy special containers for trips instead of recycling these perfectly good containers? Let's make one less landfill by washing and reusing what we have. 

Earth Day arrives on April 22nd! Think about all the things you buy. Each of us can lessen our carbon footprint for Mother Earth by reducing, recyling and reusing. Do you give your things a second life? Feel free to share your genius ideas under comments.

Photo: earth911 - A hanger dish rack

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Plastic Food Containers To Repurpose

I have a set of Rubbermaid and a European brand of food storage containers, but the plastic containers I grab most often to store leftover food in the refrigerator or freezer I get for free when buying food. Who knew? Also with the free containers, I don't worry about losing them if I take food to a cookout. 

 

 I bought Healthy Choice frozen entrees for my mother and discovered the plastic bowls they come in are non-stick and perfect for microwaving 2-egg omelets. The eggs cook well and slide right out with less cleanup because you can eat the omelet out of the same bowl. If you wish to wash and reuse the bowl, it's easy too because cooked eggs and cheese don't stick!

Gosh, I bought a silicone microwave omelet dish that doesn't work as well. Without greasing, everything sticks to it. 

By the way, Healthy Choice dinners are as close to homemade-tasting meals as you can get readymade at a reasonable price. For seniors who tend to eat less, they are the perfect portion. Not a bad lunch size for hungrier people either. Sometimes I add more meat or vegetables to them, which is also an option.

Another container I repurpose is what you get when buying peanut butter from a Health Food store or Chinese Food. If needed, you can also buy them from Amazon. Bar none, they are my favorite storage containers. Good to store half a cut onion or tomato, cheese, leftover soup or beef stew, etc. They are durable and can be washed to use time and again. The 16 oz size is perfect! Stackable in the freezer also.

The Rubbermaid containers don't get half the use. In a do-over, I would make do with repurposing the free containers which is also good for the planet.

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A Charging Valet Station

Organization is the key to having a lovely home. Everything we possess needs a place of its own, which saves time, energy, frustration and money. (Have you ever re-bought an item because you couldn’t remember having one, or find it?) Sometimes the cords for all of our devices look sloppy. This faux leather charging valet station from Brouk organizes and hides those unsightly cords.
The cords of up to 4 iPhones feed into one main cord, which pokes out of the back to plug into a wall. Store all the other cords in the drawer. Plus, park a few other essentials such as house and car keys, or sunglasses there as well. The charging station comes with a 4-prong power strip and cord and is available in 6 colors.

Home Depot sells an attractive bamboo charging station ... nice, sturdy and inexpensive to house both iPhones and an iPad.

As you can see here on Amazon, there are a few different looks and price points of valet charging stations to suit every home. Consider it another great holiday gift ideal.



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3 Low-Tech Cookers Worth The Money

If you have a stovetop you're all set, so why buy extra cookers? 

Well, because the following 3 appliances do their jobs of cooking their specific food better than pots and pans on top of a stove. Plus they're low-tech and super cheap, which makes their respective ease and efficiency worth considering. Let's take a look:

1) An Egg Cooker - When I first saw egg cookers on the market I thought how ridiculous to buy a special gadget to boil eggs, but I've changed my mind! The reason is you can cook either hard, medium, or soft boiled eggs perfectly every time. Not so in a pan of boiling water on a stovetop, where the results of getting the eggs cooked just right can be mixed. Cooking time is less using the egg cooker also because you use far less water. You pour a small amount of water into the egg cooker which quickly brings the water to a boil. A see-through cover lets the eggs steam until the water disappears which activates an alarm telling you the eggs are done. To clean, just raise the parts with tap water as they get steamed, not dirty. 

Egg cookers come in mini, small, medium, and double-decker sizes corresponding to how many eggs you need to cook at once. They'll also make a custard, though I don't plan to utilize this function.

2) Rice Cooker - Again initially I thought what's wrong with just simmering rice in a pan on a stovetop? Nothing ... but a rice cooker steams the rice perfectly every single time and you can serve it in the very same cooker. I selected the Progressive Prep Solutions Microwave Rice Cooker over a pug-in-a-wall option. It makes up to 6 cups of tender flawless rice and can be tossed in a dishwasher. The rice is as fluffy as using plug-in models. Six cups of rice is enough for many recipes, but if you need to cook more rice, bigger units are also sold.

3) Mainstays 12" Nonstick Electric Skillet - I made Salisbury Steak with mushroom and onion gravy for 4 people in the skillet and it turned out just like it does on a stovetop. I let our dinner keep warm by lowering the pan's setting to 150 degrees F while we ate our 1st serving. You can sauté, sear, roast, braise, and steam family-sized meals in the 4 1/2 quarts pan. The skillet is ideal for entertaining as it sits on a countertop and is easy for guests to help themselves to seconds. Best of all, the electric skillet and its tempered glass cover top are dishwasher safe minus its easily removable temperature control component.

After a neighbor's fire in 2019 left our entire NYC apartment building without cooking gas for 8 months, an electric skillet would have come in handy for making one-pan dinners. We got tired of snacks, cold cuts, and eating out, which also got costly.

Wow, 3 economical simple cookers to make home-cooked meals better and more convenient. From cooking to serving dish to dishwasher!

🍔🥖🥪🍔🥖🥪🍔🥖🥪🍔🥖🥪🍔🥖🥪🍔🥖🥪🍔🥖🥪🍔🥖🥪

👺Just for fun, here are 4 gadgets that tend to be a complete waste of money: 1) a George Foreman grill, 2) a sandwich maker, and 3) a breadmaker as you'll rarely reach for them. Tasty hamburgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, and a loaf of bread can be made as easily or consistently on a stovetop or inside an oven without special gadgets -- the reason you'll stop using them. I had a small George Forman grill. It grilled burgers no better than a frying pan on a stovetop, but I had to wash a special catch-the-meat-juices tray that is placed under, in front of it, so I gave it away. I never bought a breadmaker as I knew from experience you don't need one, and the devices seem to produce small loaves. When I bake bread I like sandwich-sized slices. 4) I also recommend passing on buying an ice cream maker. Ice cream is easily purchased from either an ice cream parlor or a supermarket. Homemade isn't better tasting than readymade and you'd have to eat plenty for homemade to be more cost effective. Ask would you really want to step on a scale after reaching your break-even point? Hell no.😳😱

Bon Appetite at home!🍷

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DIY Lip Balm: Is It Worth The Cost?

Photo: www.tokopedia.com

We all use lip balm. A chapstick (a/k/a upright lip balmsells for up to $3.00, including the tinted variety (like Maybelline's Baby Lips, which is very moisturizing). A 13 ounce tub of Vaseline Petroleum Jelly (a/k/a pioneer lip balmis even cheaper per ounce, costing about $3.50 a jar. What's more, there is no science behind fears that petroleum jelly is unsafe to slather on lips. I do it all winter.

So is it worth making your own lip balm? Well, the answer is yes and no. If you can't finish a batch in a year's time, it's cheaper and more convenient to just buy lip balm as you need it. 

However if you blaze through chapstick like wild fire, it is cost-effective to make a batch. After buying the necessary ingredients and containers, you can bring the cost down to about $1 a pot or stick. Plus, they make lovely gifts, or you can sell them if you are an entrepreneur.

An easy recipe I like for homemade lip balm uses 3 main (and 2 optional) ingredients:

Beeswax-Coconut Oil Lip Balm

Ingredients:

1 cup grated beeswax
1 cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon vitamin E oil

Optional ingredients:

a few drops of soothing peppermint oil,
food coloring; or a slice of lipstick for a tint. (A slice of a clean crayon works too; so does powder blush. All these options will add a tint.)

Directions: 

1) In a microwave safe dish, grate the beeswax until you get one cup.
2) Add a cup of coconut oil, which will be solid at room temperature. (1 to 1 ratio.)
3) Microwave the mixture for 20 seconds, repeat until it melts. Go slow so it does not boil.
4) Remove and stir them together.
5) Optional: 
 a.  Add a few drops of peppermint essential oil.
 b. If you wish, tint the lip balm with a few drops of food coloring; or a slice of lipstick. (You can microwave the mixture for a few more seconds if needed.) Stir together.
6) Finally, add one teaspoon of vitamin E oil to the mix. It gives the lip balm its shelf life. Stir all the ingredients until uniform.
7) While warm, pour into containers with lids. Some people recycle old, washed lip balm containers. Other folks repurpose their Altoids (mints) mini tins. While still others buy a supply of pot jars or cylinders like these, which can be labeled and gifted. 
8) After pouring into containers, let cool.

Note: Shea butter could probably be substituted if you don't have beeswax, though I haven't tried it.

I won't lie. Although I love the natural, luxe ingredients of this homemade lip balm, I usually just buy a chapstick (or Baby Lips tinted stick) as needed.

I'm more likely to make my own Vaseline Rosy Lip Therapy because you can't buy a full size jar. I've only seen teeny, tiny jars of it -- .25 ounces to be exact. That's a Lilliputian size. Why so small?

What we can do is buy a regular size tub of clear Vaseline, then add a few drops of pink, or red food coloring or Kool-aid ... plus drops of a nourishing essential oil like coconut (or drops of almond oil; or rose oil if you have it). You can also add drops of peppermint oil, if you wish. Set the Vaseline on a stove top and let the pilot light soften it so you can blend it easily without melting. Voila ...  we have a full-size jar of homemade Vaseline Rosy Lip Therapy. However, it's more practical to make small pots at a time, and keep the rest of the Vaseline clear for other uses. The idea is to save money by buying a regular size jar of Vaseline and adding your own tints and oils.

I mixed a chip of cheek blush (arrgh, dropped my blush on the bathroom floor and a piece broke off!) with Vaseline to make a lovely lip gloss. Alternately, you can mix a slice of lipstick with Vaseline for a moisturizing tinted lip balm. It's too easy-peazy, not to do it yourself to get more product for less moola! 

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Shelf Helpers To Organize

Psst ... you. Yes, you! Take a look in my cupboard.

Once started, I enjoy organizing my home. In an effort to prevent clutter I: 

• Try not to buy unnecessary things; 
• Get rid of things I don't use; and 
• Make sure every thing has a home.

It can be challenging. Whether we live in a big, or small space, we need an abundance of stuff to cook; clean; groom ourselves; and entertain visitors. If you think about it, even a minimalist uses lots of items, tools and gizmos to maintain person and home.

Especially in a small space, it is important to consider how you will store the things you plan to buy. This seems like common sense, but when walking into a store, there are aisles of beautiful, but impractical (for your space) temptations! Whenever possible I buy compact appliances like a kitchen hand held mixer (not a countertop mixer); a laptop computer (not a desktop); and an upright vacuum cleaner (not a canister model). Sans the mass, compact tools do their jobs like their Cadillac siblings. 

Fortunately in my small Manhattan apartment, I have cupboards (some New Yorkers don't!), but I still have to get everything in there. Shelf helpers do the trick! (Please don't judge. I have not found a way to live without plastic storage food containers: Unlike glass storage containers, plastic is easy to stack in a limited space and doesn't break when falling over. I never, ever microwave food in them. But I digress.) Back to putting things in order ...

Here are a few helpful organizing tips:

1) Take everything out of a cupboard, then return things, placing the stuff you use daily in front at your fingertips.

2) Don't buy expensive organizers. Get rid of stuff instead! Shelf helpers, at $4 - $6 each, are a cheap, unbeatable tool for organizing essentials -- the things you must keep to make your life easier; happier; or better.

3) About size: Medium and small shelf helpers fit better. The large ones take up too much valuable space inside the cupboard. Often they work for outside areas like counter tops.

4) Usually grouping "alikes": cups; plates; wine glasses; or gadgets together is the best system. If you store small footprint items in front, they won't interfere with grabbing bigger items in the back. As much as possible, I try to avoid the need to move things in order to seize other things. It's annoying to have a job (i.e. move stuff) before you do a job (take out a plate). Organize your things in smart ways to save steps!

A shelf helper separates (and stabilizes) dishes and other things, giving them their own home. Not only do shelf helpers organize horizontal space, they let you use vertical space!

In the top photo: The (12) red, goose, china cups and red plate/platter are Christmas dishes. In hindsight, I would not buy once-a-year festive dishes. They take up too much real estate! Moreover, there are a few possessions in the cupboard I never use ... yet am slow to give away as they are gifts. But one day the never-use-articles will have to go!

Extra Tips: Put self helpers (1) in the back of your clothes closet, on the floor to create an extra level for lining up your shoes, as well as, (2) under a bathroom sink to neatly stash a few cleaning supplies. These organizers don't need to stay in your kitchen and will fit tight spaces elsewhere in your house. Finally, (3) be mindful of overconsumption; and try to limit the things you bring into your home. Get into the habit of buying enough. Less is better!

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When I got tired of wasting time searching for my stuff, my organizing gene kicked in! Now I'm a dedicated organizer. Everything big or small I own in my apartment must have a home. I also got rid of purely decorative items that can't do a job. No freeloaders in my small living space, at least the inanimate object must be able to hold something, or it goes!

The Syntus 360 Rotating Makeup Organizer sits neatly on a bathroom countertop to save space. You spin it around to see and get to all your makeup. The dolly organizer is slim and compact with adjustable partitions.💄 

Since I don't have counters in my Manhattan bathroom I have to keep my makeup and skincare products inside my medicine cabinet so I bought smaller organizers to fit inside it. They are clear with divided compartments, and a step-level style. I can't spin them around, but can still see and reach for everything without moving anything.

Organizers are relatively inexpensive and over the years save you a ton of time! I also think I buy less since I can see the makeup I already have and nothing gets forgotten or lost! I'm also trying to use up what I have and eventually shrink or consolidate what I purchase. My long-term goal is to be an even more mindful shopper. One step at a time!

Start decluttering and putting things in place today. You'll wonder why it took you so long to get organized!

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Best Dollar Store Investment Buys

Sometimes you need to buy top-of-the-line household items and sometimes you can settle for good enough for its intended purpose. That's where dollar stores come in!  

For fun I'll share five $1 articles so surprisingly durable -- i.e. I've gotten years of unexpected use out of them -- that each one deserves to fall under the heading of Great $1 Investments: 

1) Microwave anti-splatter cover - There's no need to shop elsewhere where microwave food covers cost more money. The dollar store offers the same quality and it's as durable as any I've encountered. I only need one cover and don't know why more than one is needed, but hey for $1, who can quibble about the expense?

2) Shower comb with huge teeth - I bought a total of 3 combs for 2 teenagers and one for me to hang in my shower. I use it every day to untangle my freshly shampooed and conditioned hair. Also, I like taking it on overnight trips so I can style my hair by combing it through as I blowdryer it -- leaving my hairbrush and straightener at home. It works beautifully!

3) I found these flat stainless steel measuring spoons at an Odd Lot Trading store. 99 cents stores and Walmart also sell them. They are thin and compact, taking up little space in a kitchen drawer. They'll easily bend if abused but will last forever to measure spices, vanilla, and baking powder. They are cheap, but get the job done, so why replace them with a bulky expensive set? Heavier metal doesn't measure more accurately.

4) I needed a shoehorn and was unsure how long plastic would last but was sold on the 24-inch length so I don't have to bend so far down to slide into a pair of shoes! Turns out the plastic is super durable. I've used the shoehorn for years now and especially like the practical loop for hanging ... a feature I didn't even know I needed!

5) I like the flat, multi-sink stopper shown below👇. It's become the only type I buy for a kitchen sink, bathroom sink, and bathroom tub. I have one that stays in the kitchen and another for the bathroom. They fit all-size holes and the rubber is thick and flexible. At $1 each a true bargain!

Sometimes the best things in life aren't exactly free, but from a dollar store, they come very close! $5 well spent for 5 lasting buys!

Have you bought anything for $1 and still using it years later?

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