Category Archives: Lemons to Lemonade

Lemons to Lemonade – Junk Mail Revenge!

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Mail, mail everywhere

I use to hate getting junk and snail mail every day. 

It’s very rare that a day goes by without us getting some form of mail in our mailbox.  It’s possible to contact each mailer of junk mail and request that they stop sending you the junk mail and they have to, but that won’t totally stop it…  And besides, there are other type of mail that you get in your mailbox that isn’t junk mail, like various types of bills and banking/checking/investing account statements, etc… 

So I decided at the beginning of this year to see if I could put a spin on this mail waste in some way that it might benefit me!  Surprisingly, I was able to, especially for the back of the envelopes!  

Here are a few of my uses and suggestions: 

  • Use them to jot down ideas for blog topics (my favorite use).  They are the perfect scratchpad for brainstorming .
  • If you use a knife to open them, you can use them for holding coupons (I don’t do this yet, but I would if I did).
  • During research for investments, jot down the company and ticker, current price, dividend, and date of the stock.  Put then in a pile to be reviewed when making investment decisions.
  • Use the envelopes to keep score when we play games like yahtzee, greed and certain card games!
  • For the similarly sized envelopes, I keep a few in a small stack in the drawer by the phone and use them to take messages on.
  • After doing the suggestions above, use the envelopes as part of your garden compost pile, if you do gardening.  While it won’t add up to much, it will complete the cycle (as in recycling) and is very green!  Make sure you don’t include any envelopes that has a plastic see through window!

The main idea is that the back of the envelopes has a plain white surface, perfect for jotting something down on! 

While reusing envelopes may seem small and trite and not worth it, I say “Why not“? 

You are doing the environment good by not sending the envelopes directly to the junkyard, and squeezing an extra use out of something that is effectively trash! 

Can you think of additional uses for your junk mail (or junk mail envelopes)?  If so, please respond!  I’m always looking for better ways to use them!  Humorous responses are welcome too! 🙂

-D

Lemons to Lemonade Series #2 – How To Stop Drinking Pop

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A year ago, I use to drink at least 4 cans of pop (coke, soda, soda pop or whatever you call it) a day.  And to make matters worse, at least 2 of those pops, were bought from vending machines.  So, that means I would spend at least $1.75 a day for something that doesn’t help my health and while costing little still adds up to $12.25 a week.  

no pop

So I stopped drinking pop, and decided to drink the filtered water at work instead.  That worked out well, at least for a week.  After growing up with pop, milk, coffee, tea and lemonade, just plain ole water just didn’t statisfy my taste buds anymore.  So what was a poor pop addict like me to do?  

Well I chose to go with the single flavored packets for bottled water packages (both Lipton and Wyler):  

 The Lipton packets run 10 for $2.00, but I only add 1/2 a packet per water mix, so it only cost me .10 cents per serving.  The Wyler Pink Lemonade is even better, it’s only $1.00 for 8 packets so it only cost me .04 cents per serving.  So on a typical day, using these only cost me  about .60 cents. or $4.20 a week.  These are much healthier than soda pop drinks.  

Yes, I know that this is a small way to reduce cost, but it’s also a healthier way to go than just carbonated sugar water.  

Do I occassionally still drink pop?  Yes, of course I do, but now it’s maybe a can a week or every other week.

Lemons to Lemonade Series #1 – Long Commute Drives

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I hate driving in the car on long trips!  I use to dread going on the annual vacation just because I would have to drive hours and hours to get to our vacation destination (usually Hilton Head or North Myrtle Beach).  But now, do I still hate it?  No!

I hate driving

What has changed for me?

Now I listen to audio books on long vacation trips.  I can often find a good novel to listen to during the long drive down to Hilton Head Island.  Sometimes, I even wish the drive was longer so I could finish the audio book that I’m listening to.

Does this work for commutes to work?

Yes, I believe that it would work for long commutes to work!  My commute to work is only half and hour, so I don’t get the long novel for trips to work.  I do like to listen to short comedian CD, short autobiographies (like Benjamin Franklin) and other shorter audio materials.  Long stories like Stephen King’s “The gunslinger” is too much for short commutes, but for long commutes, this series might be perfect.

How is buying audio books a frugal way to drive to work?

It isn’t, I don’t buy the audiobooks, I borrow them from the Library.  I think if you try this technique out, you’ll find that your commute is more bearable, and you’ll be increasing your wisedom, or be entertained (or at least laugh at some good jokes) in the process.

You might be wondering, What have I listened to?  I like to listen to comedians, and classics that I normally wouldn’t listen to otherwise…

  • Bill Crosby:  Bill’s comedy is great for the car, nice and slow so you don’t miss the joke
  • Robin Williams:  Robin was a tough listening to during the commute, his humor is quick and in a noisy car, you might not be able to hear him.
  • Farhrenheit 451:  A classic but still a good listen!
  • Animal Farm:  A classic and another good listen.  A bit dry though.
  • Oliver Twist: Good story, but tough to hear sometimes if your commute is noisy.
  • 1984: Interesting, but I wouldn’t listen to it again.
  • I am Legend: Good story, a bit different from the 2007 movie remake.