Reusing and repurposing - frugal ideas and tips on how to reuse and repurpose virtually everything!

foxgloves

@PipneyJane - Our comfrey doesn't get a chance to be invasive as it's regularly cut for mulching veg beds, compost activator & sometimes liquid feed. There'll be loads of stuff on this online. I just fill a bucket with comfrey, fill it up with water & leave it for at least 2 weeks, usually longer. Use the resulting exceedingly stinky liquid plant food diluted 1 in 10 in a watering can.
I never cut an entire plant at once though as bees love comfrey flowers.
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subjecttocontract

As someone who doesn't do gardening or DIY and not wanting my property to look like Steptoe's Yard, I cant think of anything that I reuse or repurpose. Reading about how ingenious & resourceful people are is nevertheless entertaining.

foxgloves

Egg boxes : I usually rip these up & add to the compost bins but they are also useful for collecting fat from cooking, rather than putting it down the sink. I got the idea from a kitchen shop product which I didn't buy because it required an initial outlay, then regular filters to be bought. Cut eggboxes along the hinge to separate into 2 halves. Trim off extra strips of card from the closure. Put them in the lid half for a bit of extra absorbency then fit the other half inside. When we've roasted a joint or similar, the fat is poured into this where it will solidify & the whole thing can be binned instead of blocking waste pipes. I just keep about 3 of these in our pan drawer so they are ready to use.
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Makingabobor2

foxgloves said:

Egg boxes : I usually rip these up & add to the compost bins but they are also useful for collecting fat from cooking, rather than putting it down the sink. I got the idea from a kitchen shop product which I didn't buy because it required an initial outlay, then regular filters to be bought. Cut eggboxes along the hinge to separate into 2 halves. Trim off extra strips of card from the closure. Put them in the lid half for a bit of extra absorbency then fit the other half inside. When we've roasted a joint or similar, the fat is poured into this where it will solidify & the whole thing can be binned instead of blocking waste pipes. I just keep about 3 of these in our pan drawer so they are ready to use.
F

That's a great idea. 

annieb64

I just pour fat into a ramekin and let it solidfy in the fridge. Our egg boxes go back to the market stall where we buy eggs.

Nelliegrace

I save the meat dripping to have on hot toast or to sauté vegetables. It adds flavour to soups. If there is a lot I clarify it so it will keep. 
Yellow stickered double cream 300ml for 71p made 155g of lightly salted butter and about 100 ml of butter milk for baking. I freeze the butter in weekly ration portions. 

goldfinches

I save the water that I either steamed or boiled vegetables with and use it as cheat's vegetable stock, it keeps in a container in the fridge for around about a week or it can be frozen if you're not planning to use it soon. 

A friend of mine used the top of an old pair of tights that had laddered to strain the flowers from her elderflower cordial the other day, she cut off the legs and gave them to me to make ties for my allotment. Then she knotted the leg holes closed and folded the waist band over the rim of her colander to give it some support.

weenancyinAmerica

Question? If you have put the grease into the egg carton, if it is a cardboard egg carton, would it be possible to use it as a firestarter? If you cut the egg carton in one or two sections, do you think it would work that way?

Working_Mum

weenancyinAmerica said:

Question? If you have put the grease into the egg carton, if it is a cardboard egg carton, would it be possible to use it as a firestarter? If you cut the egg carton in one or two sections, do you think it would work that way?

I reckon it would work wnia - I had a friend who'd  drip unwanted hot fat onto paper and twigs etc she used as kindling so that it helped ignition. 

kimwp

I wrap folded paper towels round my rapeseed oil bottle to catch the drips so I have a handhold that's not sticky (I use the many elastic bands that seem to appear from thin air to hold them on). Although I don't light fires, I did set fire to one of these aper towels out of interest - it burned with a big flame for a long time, so I imagine would be pretty good for a firestarter.