article thumbnail

Go Green This Halloween

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

We do put up decorations (ones I buy at garage sales or thrift stores and reuse each year). Search the attic, the backs of the closets, the garage and see what inspiration presents. Dad’s old cowboy hat and a rope from the garage can be the start of a cowboy get up. Tip # 2 Recycle/reuse costumes.

Halloween 138
article thumbnail

Canning CAN Be Cheap!

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

Never try to use non-canning jars to preserve your food – doing so could lead to dangerous (invisible) bacteria growing in your food. I have found that garage sales , flea markets , estate sales or Mom/Grandma’s basement are the best places to score a great deal on used canning jars.

Canning 185
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Ways to Make Do With What You Have

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

Use up your food. No one likes second hand food, but if you fix it differently the second time around it can still be appetizing. With fresh food – buy only what you can eat before it goes bad. Pay attention to expiration dates by organizing your pantry and freezer so that the oldest food is in front.

Making Do 219
article thumbnail

Stuff – Full Circle

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

We especially need essential stuff, like food, water, shelter, heat, clothing, defensive and offensive protection. Some get stuff from stores, the less financially favored head for thrift stores, garage sales, Mom’s house or the trash pickup routes. Humans need stuff. We need stuff to survive.

Cycle 113
article thumbnail

What Makes a Saver?

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

If you don’t have enough money to put food on the table, you are going to do something about it. As a young mom, I saved like mad – going to garage sales, thrift stores and accepting hand me downs on toys and clothing. In its simplest form, the thing that makes a person a saver is the act of saving.

Making 124
article thumbnail

Why Did I Buy That!

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

All those yummy food commercials use all kinds of methods to make the food look salivatingly good – from glued on seeds on the hamburger buns to soda loaded with antacid to make it bubbly. Last week I visited a garage sale. The kids reported what they liked and what they didn’t. Reciprocity. Do you watch HGTV?

Buy 100
article thumbnail

How Little Could You Spend on Your Child in a Year?

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

Many of the other items I needed like cloth diapers and clothes for the baby in bigger sizes I bought from garage sales. In my children’s first few years of life, food was the biggest expense. All those items got plenty of use as all three of my kids used them. We Love to Spend Money on Our Children.