Thrifty Tuesday - Mason Jar Soap Dispensers

Anyone who knows me knows that I love mason jars!  Antiques, new, unique, I love them all.  I love using mason jars in unexpected ways.  They hold pencils and pens on my desk, toothbrushes and toothpaste on the bathroom counter, drinks at the dinner table, etc.  I have been eyeing the mason-jar-turned-soap dispensers for a while.  Etsy has premade ones if you can afford them.  Pinterest has plenty of diy versions.  I hadn't got around to making one or buying one yet.  Imagine my surprise while at Walmart the other day.  They had these soap dispensers on the clearance rack.  The jars were plastic and mason jar wannabes.  It was the lid and pump that really caught my eye.  It looked about the right size for a mason jar.  I figured I would buy the soap dispenser for less than $3.50.  Ideally it would fit on a mason jar and I could toss out the plasticy jar.  If not, I would use it up and then toss the whole thing.  I brought it home and it fit!  Perfectly on a regular mouth mason jar.  Yay!  I immediately poured the yummy smelling soap into my glass jar, screwed on the lid and voila, I have an inexpensive mason jar soap dispenser.
  I love finding something I have been wanting on clearance.  It makes my little frugal heart happy!

Packing Lunches

Since money is extremely tight we had to cut out all the extras. No more grabbing lunch out. This is easier for me since I am not in town. Hubby however works two jobs. I had to get in the habit of packing two meals for him each night before bed. He leaves around 530 in the morning, so there is no way I am going to pack something then. I have found if I pack his lunch the night before I am more likely to actually do it, and he can grab it and go in the morning. Something I have done to help make packing lunch time easier, is to divide up lunch items as soon as I get home from the grocery store. Before putting snack items away, I divide them into the jelly size mason jars (more on the plastic lids later). It takes more room in the pantry, but its incredibly easy to grab and go. Same principal applies to yogurt in the fridge. That way when I am gathering lunch items, I can spend the least amount of time needed. Typically I will pack two leftover meals (one for lunch and one for dinner) as well as a dairy snack (yogurt with home canned jam or applesauce) and one or two snacky snacks (think pretzel bites, trail mix, etc). I will also fill a mason jar or two with water and crystal light). I hate spending money on individual packages of a larger item because you are mainly paying for the packaging. It takes only a couple minutes extra for me to divide up a larger package when we get home from the store. Packing lunches has saved us soo much money, especially on the double shift days (where hubby goes from one job to another). Before packing lunches, we would just grab something quick $5-10 each meal per person. If hubby works 7 days a week and 4 of those are double days, we would be spending $55-110 on meals a week. There is no way we have that kind of money to throw away on cheap food- not even good quality food, Im talking about fast food here. So not only are we saving money we don't have to waste, but we are eating more healthy home made food. Let me tell you though, it does take dedication and planning. Some nights I just want to fall into bed and sleep but I will remember I need to make his lunch. Yes, he could pack his own, but I think he is already doing so much by working two jobs. My "second' job is to support him in as much as I can. I don't think its fair to make him pack his own lunch at 11 pm when he is getting home. Call it an act of love if you will... Do you pack lunches? Buy food out? Eat at home?

Just Ask

Sometimes saving money is as easy as just asking! The other day I was at KMart, and as usual I went to check the canning isle. I have a habit of going to these isles wherever I am to see if they have anything I need on clearance. They had the plastic storage caps (which we use once we divide up snacks for use in the pantry and lunches) in damaged boxes. I needed to buy more of these anyways, so I asked the cashier if there was any discount for damaged boxes. item was fine, but the packaging was all dented. I got 10% off just because I asked. Sometimes you never know until you ask. These boxes were already damaged- in no way am I suggesting you stomp on a box to damage it just to get a discount. That is stealing in my eyes. However, if I see a product that I need and its damaged, I have no problem asking if they give a discount. This applies to many other places as well. The other day at Home Depot, I got mulch for half off just because the bags were ripped. Mulch is mulch to me, and I am just going to throw the bag away anyways. If you are looking to save money and don't mind damaged packaging or torn bags, just ask! You never know.

For the Love of Mason Jars

I am sure most all other homesteaders will agree with me when I say that mason jars can be used for virtually anything!  There are the obvious uses in canning and food storage.  Pinterest has a million decorating ideas for mason jars.  With a few accessories you can add a multitude of new uses too.  Today I want to show you just one of the many ways I use mason jars.  I bought this cuppow lid at the local feed store (or you can check out cuppow.com).  It sits on top of the jar in place of the usual flat canning lid.  Then screws on the ring, like normal and in an instant you have a travel mug!  This is a great way to take water, tea or green smoothies along in the car without worrying about them sloshing over.  If you have kids, then you could do juice (or you can do juice if you don't have kids but just really like drinking juice).  I wouldn't advise putting hot coffee in it, for obvious reasons.  One disclaimer I would add is that it is NOT spill proof.  Just a heads up (speaking from personal experience).  I love that a mason jar is useful whether its dressed up or just basic.  I like that I dont have to store different cups.  We use mason jars for our daily glasses.  I can just grab the lid if I want to go somewhere, thus eliminating the need to have normal cups as well as to go cups.  Whats not to love?