Flavored vegetable water

Sarah suggested I use my thrifted Tupperware pickle box for crisper cut carrots and celery. It's worked beautifully! Right now, I am chilling pepper strips to serve with hummus.

The water even takes on the flavor of the vegetables. Now I use the flavored water when I boil chicken for broth. Waste not, want not!

Cheap Milk

The rising price of milk is a hot topic amongst frugal folk. Dawn at Frugal for Life and Amy at The Motherload both share advice about freezing milk for future use. I noticed that even Aldi's yogurt prices have risen, too.

I buy half gallons of milk during Kroger's 4/$5 sales. Once in a while, the manager will mark down those with today's sell-by date to 99 cents. That's $2 a gallon, or the price of Aldi powdered milk. Half-gallons are much easier to fit in the freezer above my refrigerator. If I don't have room, I immediately make homemade pudding pops or yogurt.

Using Less Laundry Detergent

Wait! Don't go!

I didn't buy this Tide liquid laundry detergent. Like the paper towels she stuffs under the sink, this "essential" was brought by my visiting mother.

It's been a long time since I last used Tide. How much detergent do you put in one load, anyway? You'd be hard pressed to tell from the faint white "one load" line in the middle of the cap. Apparently, my husband has been using the full-cap, 3-load amount for each wash.

I'm certainly not going to tell a husband-who's-nice-enough-to-do-wash how to do the wash. Instead, I took a Sharpie and marked the one-load line a little clearer.

If your children do their own laundry, drawing a line on the cap might stretch your liquid detergent a little farther. If you really want to toe the line, draw it a little less than one load.

Check out What? My Checked Bounced for a load-by-load account of how long a bottle of Tide lasts, 2 Tbsp. at a time.

Tupperware Bento

I am currently intrigued by bento. Bento is to Japan what brown-bagging is to America, but with the artful touch that typifies Asian cuisine.

We pack a lot of food to go: my husband's lunches, kid snacks, playground picnics. I'm not sure I'll ever have the energy or attitude to go full tilt bento, but I welcome inspiration for this everyday chore. I thought my frugal friends might enjoy the online bento resources I've found.


Why bento?

A new approach to packing food can jolt you out of a lunchbox rut.

Bento allows you to arrange dabs of leftovers and call it art.

Kids go wild over the fun shapes and traditional bento designs.

The Frugal Bento Box:

For "Bento inspired" lunches, any collection of plastic containers will do. Tupperware made a 70's orange lunchbox set similar to the Hello Kitty rectangular Bento Americans are snapping up in supermarkets. My $1 version includes a sandwich holder, a full size cup and small cup.

Use paper muffin liners to divide food within containers. These cost as little as a penny apiece. Frilly paper cups hold "a bite of this, a bite of that," and keep food separated for picky kids.

Bento is your chance to use all those cool cookie cutters. Shape sandwiches, cheese slices, and thinly sliced fruits.

No cookie cutters? Save different size bottle tops for cutting. Some even use craft knives for intricate designs.

Bento accessories include tiny bottles for sauce. You can use baby-size Tupperware S'midgets or leftover fast food condiment packs.

Check your local international market for Bento boxes and accessories, which are likely to be much cheaper than they are online.

Bento resources online:
Amazing photos at PBS "Meaning Of Food" on obento
Instructables on Bento
Lunch In A Box blog

Above, I found 3 Sterilite containers for 99 cents at ThriftSmart.

If you're looking for homemade lunchbox ideas in general, don't miss Frugal Upstate's Lunchbox Report.

Live Well On Less: Finishing Touches

I didn't want to end our study without giving you a few traditionally feminine examples. Consider these ideas the finishing touches of our Ladies' Finishing School lesson!

Pile the week's cookbooks in a basket and sit outdoors for menu planning while the children play. Find all the baskets you could ever want at yard sales.

Prop open a pretty book for decoration. Wooden display stands are easy to pick up for $1 or less.

Disguise a plastic pot with a damaged basket for a more natural look. This one came from the curb.

Line a bin with an old tea towel or napkin. Spots don't matter when only the edge shows.

Stretch the life of an aging bouquet by separating and cutting the stems into new containers.

Cover the torn back of a chair with a neatly tucked throw or hemmed fabric remnant. Paisley is always handsome against leather.

Transform your odd stemmed glasses into pedestal serving pieces. China works well, but glass is prettiest.

Use double-sided clear tape, sticky putty, or a piece of rubber rug gripper to secure the plate to the glass.

New to Like Merchant Ships? Here are all the lessons in our Live Well On Less week of study!

How To Live Well On Less

I would like to thank all our readers who participated in this week's course! Your comments truly enriched our study.

If you're new to Like Merchant Ships, please visit again for budget-friendly ideas and inspiration.

The Ladies' Finishing School will continue at The Merry Rose and Charming The Birds From The Trees. If you're just now joining us, below are links to each of our lessons on how to live well on less:

Introduction
Lesson 1: Start Small * Begin With Breakfast * Note
Lesson 2: Budgets * Managing Servants
Lesson 3: Purchasing * Good, Better, Best
Lesson 4: Home Decoration * Best Buys * Reviving Furniture
Lesson 5: Finishing Touches * Frugal Bibliography

Postscript: How To Live Well On Less...With Kids And No Energy

Live Well On Less: A Bibliography

Below are books which have contributed to my understanding and practice of cheerful frugality. I have linked to Amazon for ease, but you will check your library catalog before ordering...right?

This list is by no means complete. I read many of these titles simply because they were in my local library's collection. I am placing a star by my top favorites. You can also find additional book reviews by clicking on the "library bag" category on the sidebar.
Saving Money:
The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn*
Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom by Stephanie Nelson*
Shop, Save, and Share, How To Save Money Every Day,Half Price Livingby Ellie Kay*
Miserly Moms, Frugal Families, andMiserly Mealsby Jonni McCoy
Mega Cookingby Jill Bond*
How To Survive Without A Salaryby Charles Long*
The Complete Cheapskateby Mary Hunt
Yankee Magazine Living Well On A Shoestring
Frugal Luxuries and Frugal Luxuries By The Seasonsby Tracey McBride*
Living Well On One Income In A Two Income World by Cynthia Yates
Raising Kids On Just A Little Cash by Lisa Reid
Downsized But Not Defeated by Quinn and Miller-Lachman
Saving Money Any Way You Can by Mike Yorkey
Living Cheaply With Style by Ernest Callenbach

Money Management Philosophy:
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey*
The Millionaire Next Door and other books by Thomas Stanley*
The Overspent American and other research by Juliet Schor*
Consumer and real estate guides by Clark Howard
Debt-Free Living by Larry Burkett

Homemaking, Hospitality, and Decorating:
The Reluctant Entertainer by Sandy Coughlin
Design books by Alexandra Stoddard*
Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer*
Scaling Down: Living Large In A Smaller Space by Judi Culbertson and Marj Decker
Use What You Have Decorating series by Lauri Ward*
Homemaking books by Emilie Barnes
Mrs. Greenthumbs gardening books by Cassandra Dantz
House Thinking by Winifred Gallagher
Budget Living's Home Cheap Home

Simplicity and Contentment:
Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living by Tsh Oxenreider
The Circle of Simplicity: Return To The Good Lifeby Cecile Andrews
Home Sweeter Home: Creating A Haven Of Simplicity And Spirit by Jann Mitchell
The Simple Living Guide by Janet Luhrs
A Simple Choice: Practical Guide For Saving Time, Money, and Sanity by Deborah Taylor-Hough*
Simple Abundance by Sara Ban Breathnach
Celebrate Simply by Nancy Twigg
Six Weeks To A Simpler Lifestyle by Barbara Degrote-Sorenson
Your Money Or Your Lifeby Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin

Secondhand Shopping:
Alligators, Old Mink, and New Money by Allison Houtte
Secondhand Chic by Christa Weil
The Rummager's Handbook by R.S. McClurg

Free online texts:
I collect old homemaking books, so I wanted to include some vintage titles that everyone could read. I have not read all these completely yet.
The Next-To-Nothing House*
The Furnishing of a Modest Home
Adventures In Thrift
Thrift In The Household (*especially its definition of thrift)
The Honest House

Today's assignment: check your library for books that will encourage you to live well on less. This subject can be hard to find, as it overlaps several categories. Periodically, I search the online catalog using the following keywords:

thrift(y) * budget * saving * frugal * simple * less * recycling * reuse * consumer * green * secondhand * home * homemaking * home economics * stewardship * sustainability * poverty