Misc How To Conserve Goods Thread

[rob0126]

I thought this might be a good thread to make.

Basically, how to make your stuff stretch. It could be anything, but I'm starting it off with food.

Since Vanilla extract is about an arm and a leg now, I thought of this idea to conserve it.

It's simple, just put the contents into an eye dropper bottle, and measure it out by the drop.

Usually, a glass of water with 5 drops and some stevia(brings out the flavor) does well for a drink flavoring.
Takes about 10 drops for a quart of water for me.

But I tell yah, we save a lot of vanilla extract by doing this.

Health food stores usually carry 1oz eye dropper glass bottles for a reasonable price.

As for cooking, it would take more of course, but I think it's better than just pouring it in, and potentially using an unnecessary amount.

 

[tech]

Better yet, get a fifth from Mexico. Cheaper and more potent than the "vanilla" available in the states, use half as much. This bottle has lasted us over 20 years.

IIRC, it was $4.

 

[rob0126]

Better yet, get a fifth from Mexico. Cheaper and more potent than the "vanilla" available in the states, use half as much. This bottle has lasted us over 20 years.

IIRC, it was $4.

Got a link?

 

[moldy]

Use EVERYTHING. I saved the broth from BBQ ribs I made last week and put in the fridge. Tomorrow it will go in with some smoked sausage, leftover cabbage, turnips, potatoes and carrots from today's Irish meal to be soup. The leftover corned beef will become reuben sandwiches with some home canned kraut.

 

[moldy]

Ugh - it's late and I just got up. Made some scrambled eggs with salsa. The salsa was a gift and is too runny for our taste, so I drain out the chunks and add to eggs. The liquid (some of it) will get added to soup. Soup is a great way to use up leftovers so they don't seem like leftovers. The soup will also have potatoes, turnips (I can them together because most people will say they don't like turnips, but can't even tell if they're in something if mixed with potatoes. And we have better luck with growing turnips), carrots and cabbage from yesterday's lunch. If there are leftover eggs, they will be part of breakfast burritos later in the week.

I made coffee, then an extra pot to make iced coffee for the work week. It saves me time in the mornings (and time is most assuredly a resource!). I re=used the grounds from this morning's cup, added more, and will make a quart jar of iced coffee with no ice. That is 2 days worth which will get me thru till the next day off. The egg shells and coffee grounds go into an open bucket to dry out to get used in the garden (closing it up makes them mold- I do live in Colorado where it is quite dry, so this isn't an issue for me).

I put about a cup of beans to soak overnight to add to the soup - adds protein and fiber and mass (more soup), for much less than meat - and to me, beans just pick up the taste of whatever they are cooked with. I will add a pound of sliced kielbasa to the soup and save the corned beef for reuben sandwiches later in the week.

Laundry will get done today - we tend to get fairly dirty working around the farm, so I use the recommended amount of detergent. My pants didn't get dirty yesterday, so I will wear them again with a fresh shirt. I don't own a dryer, everything is line dried.

I will do some baking today also. DH doesn't like to spend money (or the results) on fast food, and I have a hard time eating every day at work - both expense and sometimes there are things I just can't eat. I also eat like a 7 year old, so there is waste (well, it goes to the dogs or the chickens...). I have about a half cup of milk in the fridge that is starting to smell 'blinky' (dont' know why Mom called it that when it started to sour), so I plan on using that in the plum coffee cake or kolaches I make. We have enough leftovers to take to work, but I will look thru the fridge and freeze some if I don't think they will make it.

I may need to ship out things for Ebay later. I reuse boxes from work for shipping and shipping labels are printed on the blank side of papers that I have accumulated and don't need (nothing personal, just from classes and such).

That's this morning. I like to squeeze Mr. Lincoln so hard he screams like a little girl. I will add more when I can.

 

[WalknTrot]

Better yet, get a fifth from Mexico. Cheaper and more potent than the "vanilla" available in the states, use half as much. This bottle has lasted us over 20 years.

IIRC, it was $4.

Somebody brought me a big bottle of "Mexican" vanilla once. I thought it was horrible, tasted nothing like real vanilla extract, and it went down the drain.

 

[Toosh]

OK - so, this is not stretching what you have but I'll share in case it works for someone here.

About once a month 3 friends and I chip in together to buy bulk for basic items. None of us are slaves to a name brand on most items so it works for us. Someone mentioned vanilla in a thread above. We buy from Gourmet Vanilla Beans for Baking and Extract Making in North Dakota. 32 oz. Madagascar Vanilla for $50 comes to $1.56 per oz. They do free shipping for domestic orders. That's versus my local Kroger which sells a 2 oz bottle for $10. But, then we are forced to get together for an hour or so and giggle as we re-package stuff into our shares.

If you have friends in low places, it saves a lot to buy in bulk.

It's also fun to make vanilla extract. Do it in the insta-pot and it's ready in no time.

 

[tech]

Got a link?

Well, you go south until you cross the border....LOL

no link for real world activity

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Better yet, get a fifth from Mexico. Cheaper and more potent than the "vanilla" available in the states, use half as much. This bottle has lasted us over 20 years.

IIRC, it was $4.

I have a bottle of that vanilla from Mexico that was bought for me by a friend that visited there. It has lasted several years, and I'm still using it. It's the best, and like you said, it's much stronger, so you don't use as much.

 

[summerthyme]

Somebody brought me a big bottle of "Mexican" vanilla once. I thought it was horrible, tasted nothing like real vanilla extract, and it went down the drain.

I hear you! I fortunately stocked up on vanilla beans just before prices went nuts... bought 3# for the price of 9 beans, now! I should have a lifetime supply...

One thing I found saves tons of dishwasher soap (Dawn)... Amazon has pump tops to fit Mason jars. I picked out one of my antique jars (they are sturdier) and added the top. You can use it to pump out just a tiny bit at a time. Compared to using the bottle... even though I bought the smallest bottle available for sink side use, and would refill it from the bulk bottles... it saves at least half.

Summerthyme

 

[moldy]

Haitian vanilla is also awesome, but I think it might be hard to come by for quite a while.

 

[20Gauge]

Better yet, get a fifth from Mexico. Cheaper and more potent than the "vanilla" available in the states, use half as much. This bottle has lasted us over 20 years.

IIRC, it was $4.

My parents did this every time they went to Mexico

 

[20Gauge]

Somebody brought me a big bottle of "Mexican" vanilla once. I thought it was horrible, tasted nothing like real vanilla extract, and it went down the drain.

Yes there is a lot of fake vanilla out there also....

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I stretch my DAWN dishwash, too, I buy the bulk bottles at Sam's. I have a smaller squirt bottle that I fill with about 1/3 of the bottle with water, then finish filling the bottle with the dishwash from the bulk bottle. It works just as well diluted like that.

If we want a second pot of coffee for the day, I reuse the same coffee grounds with a bit of fresh added to make the second pot.

To keep from using a lot of paper towels, I buy dishtowels. Not ordinary dishtowels, though. I buy the bulk packages of 36 microfiber towels in the 16 in. x 16in. size. Lots cheaper than buying regular dishtowels or paper towels in the long run and last a lot longer, too. They work great for drying dishes as well as your hands.

We never get tired of eating left-overs. I cook big meals, and have the leftovers the next night, or I put the leftovers in the freezer for a meal later on. Saves on time, effort, and money.

 

[rob0126]

I have a bottle of that vanilla from Mexico that was bought for me by a friend that visited there. It has lasted several years, and I'm still using it. It's the best, and like you said, it's much stronger, so you don't use as much.

It ain't cheap now.

Pure - Medium

Pure Mexican Vanilla (8.4 oz / 250 ml) Contents: Vanilla Bean Extractive in Purified Water 35% Alcohol No Additives / No Preservatives Made with the Richest Vanilla Beans on Earth Diploma of Honor, Gold Medal First Prize, Mexico Imported from Mexico – Bottled in the United States Single Sourced...

mexicanvanilla.com

But 8oz would probably last us a long time.

To keep from using a lot of paper towels, I buy dishtowels. Not ordinary dishtowels, though. I buy the bulk packages of 36 microfiber towels in the 16 in. x 16in. size. Lots cheaper than buying regular dishtowels or paper towels in the long run and last a lot longer, too. They work great for drying dishes as well as your hands.

Thats a good idea. where bouts do you get them?

We buy the pick-a-piece paper towels to save on them that way. We usually go thru 1 PT per week in the kitchen because of it.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

It ain't cheap now.

Pure - Medium

Pure Mexican Vanilla (8.4 oz / 250 ml) Contents: Vanilla Bean Extractive in Purified Water 35% Alcohol No Additives / No Preservatives Made with the Richest Vanilla Beans on Earth Diploma of Honor, Gold Medal First Prize, Mexico Imported from Mexico – Bottled in the United States Single Sourced...

mexicanvanilla.com

But 8oz would probably last us a long time.



Thats a good idea. where bouts do you get them?

We buy the pick-a-piece paper towels to save on them that way. We usually go thru 1 PT per week in the kitchen because of it.

Oh yeah. The vanilla I have from Mexico is very expensive, but it's all I use. It's not the brand you pictured, though. I'm sure there are other brands. Since I don't speak or read Spanish, I can't even read the writing on the bottle, LOL.

I get the microfiber towels in bulk packages at Sam's. 36 towels to each pack. I can't remember the price, since I bought mine a few years back. I'm using a pack now, and I have one in reserve. I don't keep a big stock of paper towels, because I use these. Paper towels is one more thing I don't have to find room to store.

 

[jward]

I hear you! I fortunately stocked up on vanilla beans just before prices went nuts... bought 3# for the price of 9 beans, now! I should have a lifetime supply...

IIRC you've also got some incredibly exquisite cocoa on hand- - - startin to sound like the beginnin makings of a heck o' a party :: hint hint ::

 

[jward]

I don't really work at conserving- my problem with the death of dh is having too much of everything and far more than I can use- yet I'm not comfie taking it to the bigger p ublic square to sell, gift or barter, coz being known for "extras" ain't good and grey : (

I've found that I've got no appetite again, so I've stopped cooking, or parcel out what would be one meal into a days worth of food, which has the unintended consequence of extending. I also do grammie's trick of only using a quarter of a paper towel instead of the whole thing

 

[summerthyme]

IIRC you've also got some incredibly exquisite cocoa on hand- - - startin to sound like the beginnin makings of a heck o' a party :: hint hint ::

When I was prepping for Y2k, I knew that we'd be able to produce the basics. But I've read a lot of history, and realized the imported spices we take for granted used to literally be worth their weight in gold. So, I stocked lots of things in whole form... peppercorns, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, vanilla beans. And added plenty of chocolate chips.

They were all packaged well, and are still fresh and pungent, 25 years later! Of course, I restocked as I used stuff, but I know I have a lifetime supply at this point. Which is a good thing, because peppercorns aren't $2 a pound anymore!

Summerthyme

 

[nomifyle]

If we want a second pot of coffee for the day, I reuse the same coffee grounds with a bit of fresh added to make the second pot.

We do this every day and for about three days before we dump it. Just add new to the basket, makes a nice strong cup of coffee.

I didn't use paper products except toilet paper when I was raising my boys. Now I get the select a sheet kind and its saves on paper towels, I'm not sure how long a roll will last but its more than a month. Now we exclusively use paper plates. I have three kinds: regular paper, styrofoam and the regular plates. I'm stingy with them too, but we use what we need, probably two to four a day. I have a good supply.

Vanilla I have plenty of, bought some as the prices had started going up, although since I don't bake I use very little.

There are some people, who have probably never been hungry, that refuse to eat left overs, we are glad to have them. I've always been frugal in the kitchen.

for as long as I can remember I've bought the 1000 sheet rolls of tp, last much longer, for the two us one roll last a week.

 

[CaryC]

Changing the subject, not changing the subject - sort of:

Stretching ammo:

In a Shumer event, or economic downturn/depression one of the things people turn to is taking wild game. Which is a viable method of supplementing the food supply at home.

In today's hunting atmosphere, shoot until it doesn't move, ammo is widely available, no harm, no foul.

But in my dad's day, during the depression, more than one shot is a waste, and costly. Other than honing your hunting skills, so the animal will be in a position for a single shot kill, being able to take the single shot and kill, takes practice.

Believe it or not your go to for meat will be small game. Which in turn means either the .22 rifle, or shotgun. So while plentiful now not only store, but buy ammo to practice with. And use normal hunting ranges to practice with.

For the .22 that would mean 100 feet-33 yards. At those yards you should be able to hit the bulls eye, so have your weapon sighted for that range. Even a 10 ring can mean a miss. And done off-hand without a rest. Take all shots on small game while they are sitting still. Practice, practice, practice until you can. You can practice with a moving target, once you get the still shot down. Throwing a can in the air, or rolling along on the ground. And you can practice with a rest until the bullseye is a normal shot.

The shot gun of course is no problem for a still shot, and not worth the shells to practice, but to hone shotguns skills shoot clay pigeons. You don't need all that fancy stuff. Just get a box of clays and throw them yourself and then shoot them. Practice, practice, practice.

Once you get the hunting honed down to hunting and shooting the one shot. Will stretch your ammo.

My dad during the depression killed 200 squirrels, without a dog, during a season. Used a single shot shotgun, and used 200 hundred shells. That's 8 boxes of shells. And stretched it as far as he could. Imagine if it took 2 shells to kill a squirrel. Or 3 shots. And if anyone is interested they were low brass No.6.

And that is over the winter.

Over the summer it was fishing. And while pole fishing is fun, and does net some fish, the real provider is net fishing.

 

[Peachy]

I always cut those little sponge/scubbie pads in half and only leave one on the sink. Before I throw out any napkins or paper towels I look them over. If it is mostly clean I put it in the recycle bin behind the trash can. Anytime I have a floor mess to clean up, that's where I grab paper towels from--then it's into the trash.

I freeze everything! When I'm sick of anything, into the freezer it goes! Frozen eggnog in little jars is tasty during summer. My momma hated waste and so do I.

I've been known to order 25 lbs of butcher ground black pepper and vacuum pack it. It stays fresh for years.