Saving money besides with coupons

[imasham]

While I love to get a good deal, one of the problems I've found is long term storage of items that are typically refrigerated. I like to stock up when good sales happen so that I can maximize savings. One item I've traditionally found hard to store is eggs. The common, North American attitude is that eggs have to be kept in the fridge. Boy did I learn that this is wrong. I learned a trick from a preparedness blog I follow to lightly coat eggs with mineral oil in order to help them last. I thought I'd give it a try and just finished a 13 week test storing eggs without refrigeration and it was a great success. I'm about to start an even longer term test. You can read the weekly results and see the photos on my own blog. The link's below. All I want now is a REALLY good sale and I'll stock up like crazy!

Another way my wife and I are reducing costs is by drying our clothes outside where the sun and wind are free. We just installed a clothesline today and our first load just came in! Again, pictures and more thoughts are on my blog.

[rewogd]

While I was growing up my mother kept the eggs, and still does to this day, in the pantry. She never ever had them in the fridge. I find it funny now that an egg gets left out and my husband tosses it because we can get sick... This is a good trick to know.

[imasham]

Well...the hen isn't refrigerated, is it?!!!!

[Kelkens]

When we were in Mexico, in an older grocery store they had the eggs unrefrigerated. My cousin said they do the same thing in some stores in England. She also said on the farm they did not refrigerate eggs and what makes them spoil is washing them.

At the same time I just can not do it. I have a sensitivity to eggs any way as they bother my stomach. I have also had salmonella once from chicken that I ate at KFC. It was such a miserable experience even though it has been years I still remember.

I think there is a reason we have evolved to refrigerating eggs. On the farm we ate them as we got them so there was very few that were not used up as soon as you gathered.

Certainly drying clothes outside saves as does things like stopping to do errands when you are already making trip or cycling/walking to work. Every time you start your car it is burning up money. So the idea is to burn as little as possible. We cycle to work some and even a few days makes a lot of difference.

Our teenage kids are working at places that give them a free meal during their shift. It is amazing that even one less lunch meal a day cuts down on food costs. Some places if you volunteer will give you meals,etc. They did that at the Taste of Edmonton last summer. Not only do you get to meet people and get out at a fun event they feed you.

[alwaysdaddysgirl]

I would love a clothes line but in my subdivision they are not allowed. How dumb is that? I am not allowed to have a clothes line in my backyard. I have tried a free standing one but the wind is getting so strong these days that clothes end up all over the place and need to be rewashed. I may put up a clothes line this year anyway, I already have the line and the pins.