February Frugal Hacks

 Brrrrr!  It's -34 Celcius in the still air and I am dawdling. I am loathe to leave my nice warm house. The temperature has been so cold, that certain services have been cancelled. School busses have been cancelled because some of them cannot start. School crossing guard service have been cancelled. It is too cold for them to work outside.

But I need to go to my flophouse to complete a repair, and do some cleaning and organizing. There is always lots to do!  I enjoy working at my building because the tangible improvements are gratifying. I manage the property, and perform critical functions such as monitoring the boilers etc. so I am essential.  

Today is a holiday (it's Family Day in Canada). This holiday is a good thing! It's meant to break up the monotony of artic winter temperatures and allow families stay at home (I just realized the irony of this).  I am using this holiday to do some work. But rest assured I spent the Valentine's weekend lolling about on the couch watching trash TV.  Yesterday I did venture outside, very briefly. I had to take the garbage out and to sort the recyclables...and after a few minutes my fingertips were so chilled that they started to burn. This is a precursor to frostbite. So I decided to stay in for the rest of the day. I used to enjoy long walks and working outside in the fresh air.  But I think I'll hibernate for another 4 weeks until the temperatures warm up. 

This morning I wrapped up warmly and started the car. In this deep-freeze, I need to warm my car for 30 minutes or risk it stalling at a traffic light.  So I thought I'd use this opportunity to share some frugal hacks, this is the flophouse landlord edition of "February Frugal Hacks".

Do you see this little double-clamp? I bought it at an "As Seen on TV" store years ago when I visited Mall of America in Minnesota. It is quite possibly the best thing they sell! I use it to eke out the last few drops in a bottle.  The bottles of shampoo came from cleaning out rooms after some tenants vacated. They left behind 5 half-empty bottles of shampoo which I decanted into 2 full bottles. Some people may turn their noses up at using someone else's discarded shampoo...not me though! I make sure to consolidate like shampoos together, and reap the rewards! I figure I saved $14 by saving 5 bottles from the trash.

Here is a small repair I made that went awry. A pipe had broken, and I tried fixing it myself by gluing it together with super-glue, and then affixing a collar made from marine epoxy. After everything cured properly, I turned the water on and it fell apart. My patch job couldn't withstand the water pressure. So I called a plumber in. Heck, I tried though! 

I enjoy making small repairs and improvements. When I call in a skilled trade I ask if I can ask them questions, or record them working, so that I can learn. My knowledge and skills are becoming more substantial...and I continue to apply them whenever I can!

Here is a picture of a sturdy cube truck. Used to store garbage. My building generates enough garbage to fill three of these. Instead of spending over $700 to purchase 3 trucks...I am going to try to make my own version.

Here are 2 hand trucks I purchased. They are used to move pallets of goods, so they are extremely sturdy. I managed to acquire the carts for a bargain. And I have convinced a friend to help me fabricate a box for each of the carts. I have plywood and hardware that I was able to purchase second hand...don't get me started on the price of plywood and other lumber products!! I would rather scour online marketplaces to find material rescued from other projects. 

On a side note...remind me to tell you the story of the marauding raccoon who feasts on unattended garbage bags left outside.

My goal is to create 2 rolling cube trucks for less than $300 each. 

After some friendly chatter, I was able to reduce the price from $150 to something more affordable. These hand trucks retail for a lot of money!! In the event my project fails, I can still sell them for more than I paid.

As the weather warms up I will show you the progress for these carts. 

For now, stay warm! 

happy thrifting ;)