1. I ordered new rollers for my dishwasher’s top rack.
I’m not sure what kind of plastic they make these out of, but over time, they dry out and fall apart.
(My more cynical side says this is not an accident on the manufacturing side, because good heavens, there are tons of other plastic parts in my dishwasher that don’t wear out like this!)
Anyway.
I believe we replaced all four since we got this dishwasher 13-14 years ago, and one just went out the other night.
I placed an order for four, because if you’re going to pay for shipping, you might as well just pay once and get all four.
And heaven knows the other three are going to give out at some point in the future. Better to be prepared!
2. I removed a piece of glass from the bottom of the dishwasher.
When it was running the other night, I heard that familiar buzzing sound, which meant that something was stuck in the chopper blade.
Luckily, I’ve taken apart my dishwasher around 789 times by this point in its life (at least, it feels like it!), so it only took me a few minutes to unscrew everything.
I found a piece of glass, a seed, and a piece of plastic, and once I took those pieces out and put the dishwasher back together, all was well.
We do try to keep unchoppable things out of the dishwasher, but boy, they do seem to make their way down anyway.
3. I remembered to put together receipts for reimbursement.
Like rebates, reimbursements are a thing that can get away from you if you’re not careful. Just one of those annoying, nagging sorts of tasks, and if you don’t get to it, you end up losing money.
We’d purchased a few (pre-approved) things for church recently, so I gathered together all the receipts, filled out the form, and turned it in yesterday.
4. I did a (late) money email.
(Read all about how and why I do money emails here.)
Normally I try to do these at the end of the month or early in the month, but I was pretty late this time around.
Buuuuut, better late than never.
This is the second month in a row where we have not had any crazy and unusual expenses and my goodness, it is really fabulous.
5. I….
…listed a book for sale on Amazon, pulled a pork roast out for pulled pork sandwiches, made a green smoothie by using the last of the frozen fruit and some Hungry Harvest spinach, and redeemed my TopCashback (affiliate link) earnings for an Amazon gift card (5% bonus!).
Your turn!
Share your own Five Frugal Things in the comments.
Suz
Tuesday 14th of November 2017
These posts are a good reminder that a lot of the older appliances are so much sturdier (sadly)... Our dishwasher and (clothes) washing machine are both 20+ years old. The dishwasher is very loud and the washing machine doesn't "match" the dryer, so my husband periodically asks if we should replace them - thank you No - they are real workhorses! I wish we could convince manufacturers that we don't always want the latest and greatest finicky new capability that will then cost $hundreds to repair (one reason I love my 17-year-old car)..
Diane C
Tuesday 14th of November 2017
Grrr. Our Sears washer is just over five years old. It's not fancy-pants and it cost about $450 new. The bearing has been getting louder and louder as it approaches apparent planned obsolescence. DH called Sears after a Google search failed to provide happy answers. Yup, you cant replace just the bearing and the part cost $150+. DH saved shipping by ordering it elsewhere. Gah! Sears gave us the wrong part number and of course it doesn't fit! More research, and now we're waiting on another $150 part. Meanwhile, the washer's disassembled and the laundry's piling up... $300 to save a $450 washer? Ouch.
In a rental property, we have a new Whirlpool Refrigerator from Lowe's. The tenant couldn't get the first filter out, so we made a warranty call. Whirlpool replaced the entire housing and filter. Next time the filter needed to be replaced, same problem. This time, Whirlpool says the parts are "free", but we must pay $350 for their labor and we can't DIY it. I don't think so. We're trying to get Lowe's to make it right. Who buys a refrigerator that costs $350 every time the filter needs to be replaced?
So, two big frugal fails currently. Good thing we're frugal all the time so stuff like this doesn't derail us, but boy is it frustrating!
Kristen
Tuesday 14th of November 2017
Oh man, that is so irritating! I hope the new part does the trick for you guys.
And my goodness, what in the world is up with the fridge filter issue? That doesn't seem right AT ALL.
Anonymous
Tuesday 14th of November 2017
Five plus one for me this week:
1 I did my reimbursement claims in time 2 I knitted a companion for a lone glove (still had the wool in my stash) rather than buying a new pair 3 replaced a malfunctioning computer monitor with a functioning although outdated model from our attic 4 hand mended a fraying cuff on an otherwise fine sweater 5 self cooked egg salad and hummus for our sandwiches plus one: cleaned my iron, that had gone brown and sticky for some reason. It is now working perfectly well again!
Suzan
Tuesday 14th of November 2017
I love reading how creative people are at saving.
I live in Australia and our prices a different and it is summer now.
1. We bought three leg hams at $6 a kilo. These are dated to almost the end of summer. so we prepared for Christmas to some degree.
2. Tonight it is hot and I am tired so I asked my daughter to bring home a chicken and coleslaw. We whipped up a salad and called that dinner.
3. I am using some fabrics I bought a while ago to make a quilt.
4. I am convincing myself that I do not need to shower my adult children with gifts. They will be give some money and gag gift for Christmas. My son owes me some money and that equals what I intended to give them all. At present my son is working in a very isolated region of the country so I am covering his bills until her returns home.
5. I am doing well at sticking to my use it up plans.
Deidre
Monday 13th of November 2017
- Just spent a chunk of money on car repairs but I hope to keep it going for a while longer I've had my car since 2004 with only service/tyre/battery costs so the bill hurts a little but not a lot. - Been doing some major spring cleaning and found some petrol vouchers I redeemed from a rewards program ages ago and forgot about and they don't expire until March next year, that will save me about $200! - Don't think it's a 'saving' but I did get some money back from the tax man this year - yay! - My sis made me and a friend a delicious brunch on Saturday and we sat out in the garden on a beautiful sunny day - we figured it would have cost about $70 all up in a cafe - I too put out some loads of washing on the line this past week and today's got dry in about 2hrs as it's 34 today. - and as I put out the washing I winced as I remembered the roast beef slices from the deli I forgot about and will now have to go in the bin, must work on my meal plan; been slipping a bit..
I have no dishwasher DIY skills to speak of so kudos to you who do; our last dishwasher made a tragic noise and praise God I was standing next to it when black plumes of smoke came out of the top. Our new dishwasher has no cutlery basket and I am so sorry I didn't keep the old one - we now have to individually 'place' each piece on to the top tray and it drives me nuts, but I am grateful to have one.