Coronavirus Frugality

Not good, most people that start hording from stress start believing there will be another disaster soon. Just don't horde useless stuff, like plastic drink cups, dead batteries, clothes that don't fit.

We are eating a moderate meal once a day. Stopped drinking junk drinks, I also noticed I'm conscious of how many squares of paper towels & toilet paper I'm using now.
We have a bidet in the back bathroom but until it gets bad, I'm still using TP.

LOL - Yipee! My mother used to make brandied fruit every year. Nobody would eat it but her because that fruit was weeks old - it had to be spoiled. Well, it never made her sick.

[link to www.myrecipes.com (secure)]

Clearly the psy ops purpose was to have us consume less.

I loved that thread! And Clara.

There was a recipe floating around that used a lot of fruit (similar) to you recipe that made into a cake. Called friendship cake.

Wash them - I always rinse mine anyway

They will be fine !

Mmmmmm split pea soup !

yes, and i think this will have lasting effect on another generation who grew up with plenty, and now faces possible shortages.

I've grown the celery, didn't get big stocks but it was great to add to soups and stews. The onion and garlic also did very well.

Waste not what not

but but but .... clothes that don't fit can be made into a quilt if they are cotton.....lol I'm joking though I did do this with my kids clothes and now they each have a baby quilt made from their baby clothes. Sentimental

I have been saving used disposable nitrile gloves to wash in 150F water with detergent and bleach.

The Queen says it is going too far, but I notice she is being incredibly frugal as well.

We are carefully eating through everything in the fridge and freezer before even considering preps.

Since we have chickens, I find myself eating about 6 eggs per day, my primary source of protein.

You could also try planting a few. Easy to grow

Thats true but alot of people having changed anything. They have big bellys stretched out and they have to eat to get that feeling.

Myself been cutting back or snacking half servings.

Alot of people are still going to restaurants, even being suggested by some as advice to help local businesses. Like sorry I dont have enough money as it is at this time and im going to spend $20 for one meal at a restaurant for take out versus $20 of groceries which goes way further.

I grew up with family that didn't really come out of the Depression until the mid 1950's. they had been poor before it hit and were worse even after. Frugality wasn't a name they used, it was how they lived while making sure all but fresh food was always 12 months on their home shelves.

I was the gloves also.

I've been losing weight. It's not so much from a lack of food, but rather because I'm no longer going in to work each day.

Normally, at work, trapped at a desk in an office, I tend to snack on candy bars and other candy throughout the day. Also, at work, people often bring and share doughnuts, bagels, and other pastries.

Starting to enjoy boxes of old herbal tea sitting in my cupboard for years. Doesn't taste so bad in these times!

Very important thread. Bookmarked for later, 5 star OP!

Took leftovers from last night, put it on bread, and made today's dinner.

It's bringing back common sense rather then spendthrift idiocy. Hence, my lifestyle has not changed one iota.

I use way less tp. I was not one of the many who maxed out on bags of TP and there is none to be had now, so frugality, it is.

Funny that hey! A fine wee bit of solace in disturbing times...I love Twinings lemon and ginger.

I rmembered the thread...lol...I've been here a long time so specific threads are hard to source if I can't recall the title...

Thread: Post your Cheap Meal Recipes here!

Note there are other threads within the thread....

Last Edited by The Oddity on 03/23/2020 08:05 PM

We are eating at 8, noon and 5 and have stopped all snacking.

You can make your own compost pretty easily, and collecting worms is easy too. Put some cardboard down and they tend to collect under it. When you eventually lift up the cardboard, there will be a lot of worms. Watch videos on youtube on making your own worm compost. Those worm casings and that compost resulting is pretty great for mixing with garden soil for your own homemade soil.

Things that can go into the worm compost bin:

grass clippings, kitchen scraps, egg shells, spent tea, wood ashes, cardboard/paper, tree bark (ie if you have a storm and lose the tree, use the bark, advice against the wood because it can leach nitrogen), manure (not "hot"), other plant waste, leaves, feathers, spoiled hay, etc. You can add more material as the worms compost things down. Go lighter on the amount of greens added though. The more broken into pieces everything is, the easier for the worms to break things down. Cut and soak any cardboard/paper before putting it in. A double system, where water collects in the bin underneath, is best. That gives the leach water. Use screens to prevent worms from escaping the compost bin itself.

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Replant any excess sweet potatoes and potatoes you have on hand (they are planted differently though, so mind that).

Consider growing seeds of plants that are either prolific, fast growing, continue to grow, or are perennial.

If you are raising chickens, eggs can be stored longterm, without refrigeration. There are several methods out there. One is by water glassing.

Also, if raising chickens, the bedding used can be left to dry on top of the coop for a couple weeks and then used in the compost bin.

heat/cooking: rocket mass heater/rocket stove
Learning how to make cob might benefit for making something like a pizza oven. None of these require big logs in order to produce substantial heat. Generally, twigs and thinner fallen branches are good for keeping the fire going. You don't need much.

water: why buy water or worry about the tap water. If you have a way to collect the water, and decontaminate/purify it, you are golden!

Growing plants in little containers, you can start a whole new plant from store bought herbs.

Guerilla Planting seeds...

Plant "weed-like" plants in areas that won't be hit by pesticides or lawn mowers. Amaranth has a lot of protein. It's time consuming to deal with, but if you have to choose between starving or eating, do it. This would be best guerilla planted.

If you live in the south and know of kudzu and where to find it, look up recipes for it! You are sitting on a nutritional goldmine, and your neighbors might even be happy to have you pruning their kudzu for them. Take care, as if it finds any spots to grow, you'll be stuck with your own invasion, so don't grow it yourself if you can help it.

My last bit of advice: learn about your area, things that grow in the wild in your region, things you can harvest in order to survive off of.

Measure the animals food carefully for their weight. Save meat bones in freezer for bone broth for humans and pets and bone broth ice cubes for dogs.

Always recycle paper towels when possible.

I've been planting indoors like crazy. Mainly flowers for now because I am guessing when this let's loose there may be a shortage. I've got baby salvias, cockscomb, cone flowers, daisy, and many wild flowers already transferred to 3" pots. Later this week I start veggies in my aerogarden seed tray.

I figure flowering plants will be a nice gift to my family and friends when this is over.

I’ve never been this frugal before. I’d like to help local businesses but when you’re on a sinking ship you grab whatever lifeboat comes along.

Married over 40 years, 5 kids.

Never did this before:

I use half the amount of laundry detergent, fill up the washer with clothes and water, and let it sit and soak a couple hours. Then set it to wash.

I'm a prepper and we have a whole lot of laundry detergent. But, the whole situation seems ominous so I'll stretch it twice as far and hope we dont end up like Venezuela.

Nope, not at all. I have no fear of this as I feel it is being blown out of proportion to collapse the economy and sell America out to the globalists. If I do catch it and die, I won't have to be here to live under Communism or worse.