Green & Thrifty Links

Here are a few links I have found today that I thought fit in great here as they are all about saving money and living more naturally.

You already know how I love vinegar for its versatility and low cost; but if you are looking for even more ways to use it, check out 1,001 uses for distilled white vinegar. Not only are there suggestions for using it for cleaning but the website also shows you how to use it in other areas such as health and automotive.

One thing that I've struggled with in the past is learning to say no to buying something, even if it is at a deep discount. I get it from my mother, she can't pass up a good deal (which I will say has come in handy as she finds ridiculously good deals on items sometimes)! But as Amy from The Finer Things in Life points out in her post The Best Way to Save Money, it is not a good deal if you can do without it or it will get thrown out. This just creates more waste and pollution and robs you of your hard earned money. I am grateful for this reminder as I am really trying to remind myself lately not to spend money on an item when I already have something else that will work.

I have written before about how I love leftovers because I hate waste. What I don't think I have ever written about, however, is my love of my freezers. Well Kristin from 52 Baby Steps has saved me that trouble with her two-part series on the freezer. I especially loved part 2 when I read it because it gives so many helpful hints for ways to utilize the freezer that I had never even thought of! While I always freeze cooked and portioned meat as well as baked goods, who would have thought to freeze homemade cream of X soup in muffin tins to make it easy to use later? Definitely check out these posts.