Something from nothing

[Spirit Deer]

I enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to get what I need or want while spending as little money as possible.  In this economy, it's more important than ever to find creative ways to do so for the least cash outlay.  Some of my recent projects:

Mixer cover made from scrap fabric and stash bias tape.  Total cost, $0:


Pot rack made from a scrap board and four hooks from the hardware stash.  Total cost, $2.50 for two more gold hooks:


Potholder made from re-purposed canvas bag, scrap of batting, and stash bias tape.  Total cost, $0.


In the past month we've completed about ninety UFOs or items made using stash materials.  I'm just getting started!  Making something from nothing has always been a way of life for me, but I never realized how much I re-purposed and made things just from found objects till I started keeping track of each item I've completed.  I love the challenge of using what I have to get what I need and keeping my money in my pocket (where it can be used later for camping and gas for trips.)

I love seeing what other people come up with to save money and still get what they need.  Creativity is endless, and we can all learn from each other when we share our ideas and accomplishments.  What are yours?  Tell us!  Pictures are always nice if available, and it doesn't have to be camping-related although that's especially fun.

[chiefd]

Hey whats that white stuff in the middle pic.  We have not seen much of that here this year.  I have a vague idea of what the stuff is...

Great way to save some bucks but also save the landfills...

[Spirit Deer]

We haven't had much snow this year either.  Winter events are being canceled left and right including the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.  And I never thought I would see the day there would be ads in the local paper asking people to bring clean snow to the park because there isn't enough laying around to scoop up and put in the forms for the snow sculptures for our local winter fest.  We only had about four inches on the ground when that pic was taken a week or so ago, and not much more now.

[austinado16]

Well, I can't say the total cost was nothing, but re-using, rebuilding, restoring has been SOP my entire life.

Our Victorian home was going to be torn down.  We were paid to move it, have restored it, and for what it cost us to do, we couldn't have purchased a "fixer" 1960's track home.

The house is completely furnished and applianced in a similar way, including all the lighting.  The kitchen/laundry are real 1950's major appliances that I've restored.

Similarly, my VW Rabbit Diesel pickup was free, found laying in a farmer's field in pieces.  We camp in a $250 PUP that was donated to a soup kitchen, towed by a Suburban that was donated to the Goodwill.

Of course nothing that's free or on the cheap is going to be immediately useable, so we do have sweat-equity to factor in.  I'll gladly take that any day of the week, compared to huge financial outlay that we'd otherwise encure.

[Spirit Deer]

Yeah, I do a lot of refurbing too.  Not on the level you do, but still making something useful.

Has anyone besides me noticed lately the quality of so many ready-made things?  I don't mean just that the materials and workmanship are poor, although that's a problem too.  I'm talking about stuff you buy that's supposed to do something but in reality doesn't work very well.  I looked at mixer covers that cost around $20 and read a lot of reviews that said they don't actually fit the mixers they're intended for.  What?  That's reason #4,342,975 why I like to DIY when I can.  I know when I'm done what I have will do the job I need it to do.  I'd be really, really ticked if I plunked down $20 for something simple that won't even do the job I bought it for.

[austinado16]

Yes.  It seems like the market is flooded with low dollar (or sometimes not) junk products.  It's that Walmart mentality of buy cheap, use for short time, toss it, and buy the newest cooler looking version.  Factor in that it's all made in China and what a joke it's all become.

[wavery]

Yeah, I do a lot of refurbing too.  Not on the level you do, but still making something useful.

Has anyone besides me noticed lately the quality of so many ready-made things?  I don't mean just that the materials and workmanship are poor, although that's a problem too.  I'm talking about stuff you buy that's supposed to do something but in reality doesn't work very well.  I looked at mixer covers that cost around $20 and read a lot of reviews that said they don't actually fit the mixers they're intended for.  What?  That's reason #4,342,975 why I like to DIY when I can.  I know when I'm done what I have will do the job I need it to do.  I'd be really, really ticked if I plunked down $20 for something simple that won't even do the job I bought it for.

We should live next door to each other....... (not in Minnesota though.... ). My wife and you seem like clones..... those pot holders are my wife's dream...... she loves..... loves..... loves those. She is constantly making custom covers for everything (including the dog).....

Like Todd...... I love restoring things and just don't even consider buying new (on most items)..... tires are an exception...... 

[Spirit Deer]

I've been known to make slipcovers for dogs, too. 

[austinado16]

Mmm.....haven't slip covered the 2 Queensland Heelers, but I've been known to whip out the Pfaff 360 (a swapmeet find for $40 in it's original Pfaff Citation cabinet) and make a piece of doll clothing with DD.  Nothing elaborate, but still fun once in a while.

The joke around the house is; we don't buy anything new(well, except most clothes), because within a short period of time from deciding we need it, we'll find it either at the swap meet or a garage/yard/estate sale, or on CL.  This past weekend, it was a brand new stainless Cuisinart 2qt ice cream maker for $5.  They're $80ish.  Now how you gonna walk away from that?  2 weeks ago a giant 33" tall x 51" long oil painting by Italian Artist Antonio De Vity.  It's a gorgeous Paris streetscape in the impressionist style, and worth hundreds, or maybe a grand..........$2.  Looks great in our Parlor.

[Spirit Deer]

Great finds!  I love it when I come across some treasure for pennies.

We don't buy much new either.  It's way too easy to get stuff secondhand for cheap, sometimes even free. 

[Brian]

I love this topic!! I am a big fan of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and a confirmed cheapskate

I am also a big fan of those who posted above and love what Austinado16 has done with the house and appliances he mentioned. He posted some pics a while back and it was really terrific, DW loved the kitchen!

We also do what we can to maximize the value we receive, the Plantation was won at a charity auction with a $125 bid and the Monty was selected because it gave us everything we wanted, and as an orphaned Japanese SUV in the midwest, was priced significantly less than it would bring here (Southern California).

I haven't seen anyone mention what is our families biggest money saver tho, and that is our chest freezer. It currently sits full of chicken, fish, frozen veggies, juice and breads at -10 degrees F. All of it bought on sale or clearance and none of it for more than $.99 a pound. Especially with a big family that thing literally saves us thousands of $$ a year.

Oh yeah, I bought it for $25 at a thrift store 10 years ago, on clearance because the gasket had come loose.

Brian

[Spirit Deer]

Love that, Brian!  We just bought a new freezer, our second, for close-out food bargains like you mentioned.  We got the freezer on a Black Friday sale.  It was $100 off, plus another 10% for a senior discount we're not quite old enough to get but they automatically give it to us.  (Should I be offended by that?)  Plus we get rewards for buying prescription drugs there, and that gave us an additional 15% off.  Pretty darn good!  At any rate, we have two chest freezers now and a big side by side freezer, and they're all full.

Don't forget about the savings making your own -10 degree ice for camping!

The new freezer came with one basket that hangs at the top, but I wanted more.  Rather than pay about $40 each for two more, I took two larger ones I had salvaged a while back at the recycling center and cut them down, then rejoined them together with cable ties.  Total cost was free except for a few pennies for the cable ties.

I also salvaged a flatware basket at the recycle center to replace the one that came with our dishwasher.  Bleach is my friend, and now it's all cleaned up and working at its intended purpose again.  I bet it never expected to get a brand new home and a new life after being abandoned and discarded like that!

All our pets are recycled, too.

It always amazes me what people will get rid of because one little thing is wrong with it, and what people are willing to buy to fix that one little thing and get great stuff for cheap.

[Spirit Deer]

I got a yarn organizer a couple weeks ago for $1 at Goodwill.  (No, this is not me!)

It was like new except missing the handle and the dividers inside.  I figured for a buck I could play around with it and see if I could figure out something for dividers, and of course the handle was nothing to replace.  I thought about it for a while and decided two-liter pop bottles might make good dividers.  They worked out perfectly!  Six fit around the outside corresponding with the holes in the lid, and a seventh one fit in the middle, so I whipped out the trusty DeWalt and drilled a hole in the center of the lid for the center one.  Perfect!  I can get at least small two projects in that organizer and it keeps everything tidy and clean.

[wavery]

We are BIG freezer fans also (we have 2....3 if you count the freezer in our 26 cu' fridge).

When we find a good deal on meat, we buy 30# at a time. Same with other items. We freeze Salmon 30# at a time too (when free range, skin on fillets go on sale for $5 #)........ but you have to know how to do it..

It's important to have a new design freezer. The old ones will cost double in electricity costs (not that I care because I don't pay for utilities  ).

I hate to disappoint you but there's no such thing as 10* ice  . Water will only go to 32* unless it is mixed with salt or something else. I think that salt water will only go to 28*

That's the secret in freezing fish. Put the fish in a zip-lock. Add water and squeeze the air out. Then freeze your fish. It's only good for about 6 months that way but if you freeze fish below ~28*, it damages the meat and changes the flavor and consistency dramatically (to me). The water surrounding the fish will keep the meat just below 32*. When you thaw the fish, it will taste as fresh as the day that you froze it........ disclaimer...... this doesn't work as well with certain fish....... I've tried it with trout and to me, trout must be eaten within a few hours of being caught. It works great with Salmon, fresh caught Tuna (except Banito and Jack Tuna), and Mahi-Mahi is the BEST. Most white meat fish do great.


One more trick for you Costco Rotisserie chicken lovers. I buy them 15-20 at a time (just because I hate shopping). I take them home and put them in 1Gal Zip-lock Freezer bags. I suck out all the air and throw them in the freezer. Thaw them out and they are actually better than they were before you freeze them, @ $5 per bird, you get ~3# of prepared chicken. It can be eaten cold and are great to throw in the camper fridge frozen and let thaw while assisting the fridge to stay cold.

I hate frozen chicken from the store. I'd rather eat cardboard.

[austinado16]

Yes to a freezer.  Being that I can only have vintage appliances, of course I found a GE "Food Freezer" from about 1957.  It was originally designed to go under the counter and the front pulls out, revealing 2 drawers inside.  Back in the day you had a matching fridge up on the wall as a wall cabinet.  There was also a version of fridge that stacked on top of this, with the top of the freezer being sort of a counter top. 

Anywhoooo.......I'm always hitting the 50% off meat area.  Bacon, red meat, chicken, fish, etc.  Into the freezer it goes.  Even been grinding our own hamburger with cheap steaks like Sirloin or New York.

And yep, one of our Queenslands was free....accused of being a cat killer.  lol, she could care less about cats.

One neat re-use I had about 2 years ago was someone giving away about 100' of cedar fencing that had rotted off at the posts.  It was those big 6'x8' panels of 4" wide dog-eared cedar that get put around housing tracts.  It was beautiful; all silver with moss/leikens(sp?) in the wood.  I took it all apart. Saved all the good cedar for the 50' wide fence I was going to build across my back yard at the property line.  Then I cut up what was left and we've been using it for firewood when camping.  Made a really cool looking fence about 7' high because I put down a 1x12 redwood at the base, and then set the cedar planks on top of that.