How Frugal Can Ya Get?!

Our Garden at the beginning of the season.
The pig we raised.
One of those free pumpkins!
Idaho can be a great place to live when times are tough. I have learned some great lessons here. Being frugal is one. Here are some ideas for you that I have done. Make your own bread; lots of hard work if you don't have a bread machine or a kitchen aid, but even better is the day old bread from the bread store. You can buy a truck load for about 3 dollars, we freeze it. Use the bags from the groceries for trash; don't buy trash bags! If you are lucky to live near a farm...and we are surrounded by them; gleaning is a must; we have dug up potatoes after the harvest, pumpkins, tomatoes, corn, lots of fruit and we always stop on the side of the road for the onions that have fallen off the big trucks( onion season is big here). Gardening has become second nature, although we only grow what we can't get cheap in the winter for canning and freezing( mostly fruit and a few select veggies). Hunting has become a way to fill the freezer before the paychecks stop. We grind our own elk and deer meat (mixed with bacon or pork fat, you can get for free at most meat departments in the grocery store) This year we raised a pig (fed it day old bread..cheep food) and only paid 47cents a pound for it to be butchered. It taste great. I have also found that soapy water and watered down bleach are great for cleaning everything, and you can buy it in big enough bottles to last a few months. If you have any other frugal ideas you have done, please share them!!