Our Frugal Journey

I haven’t bought a paper napkin in more than two years.
Ditto for disposable plates, cups and cutlery.
But up until very recently, I’ve had enough stashed away that we were still routinely using them.
That’s all about to stop. I assessed my supplies and have tucked away an “emergency” stash — just in case.
Within the next few [...]

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Today’s post is one I’m recycling from last February when I made my very first batch of gift tags out of our stack of Christmas cards. With store-bought gift tags readily available at 90 percent off in the after-Christmas clearance, I did not save tons of money making my own tags. But I did do my [...]

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Home Depot  is starting off the Christmas season a little early with an offer to help you save money on new Christmas lights that will, in turn, reduce your energy bill.
Starting Nov. 5, you will be able to trade in five sets of your used and/or broken incandescent Christmas light strands for coupons worth $3 off  new strands of [...]

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Just as CVS began rolling out its program to pay customers for keeping plastic bags out of the landfill, as I wrote about here, Target announced it too will pay customers who tote their purchases home in reusable bags.
Starting Nov. 1,  Target shoppers will receive 5 cents off their bills for each reusable bag they use. This national program [...]

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I love, love, love it when I can save money AND do my part to help save the planet.
So I was thrilled to hear CVS was making that easier with a new program it is launching this month.
The drug store’s Green Bag Tag program rewards shoppers who tote their purchases home in their own reusable bags.
In other words, [...]

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Since I began blogging last December, one of the most popular posts — by far — was this one detailing my reintroduction to the sewing machine and the recycled juice pouch purses that resulted from my efforts. Many readers reported in on their own efforts to turn trash to treasure. And one reader I know told [...]

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Another post that has generated a lot of interest from readers and remains a topic of interest is this one on 50 reasons to keep taking your local daily paper. In the interests of disclosure, not only am I a former newspaper journalist, my oldest son aspires to be one.  Andrew is a rising senior [...]

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Earlier this week, Washington D.C. gave final approval to a 5-cent fee on all disposable bags — plastic and paper.
Way to go, District of Columbia! As far as I know, D.C. is only the second major city in America to approve an ordinance to ban or tax single-use bags. San Francisco was the first.
In D.C., [...]

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