I love vintage skills and some of the best are the frugal tips for your homestead. It is no secret that the generations that came before us seemed to know these frugal tips as a way of life. We have some much that we can learn from them, even improving some with a modern take; but most are best left as they were done in the past. Vintage frugal tips are a great way to keep vintage skills alive and save us money in every home and homestead.
I have compiled a list of the best vintage frugal tips that will help you and your homestead. Theses frugal skills come from my own archive and some of my favorite bloggers. I hope they help you to adopt a more frugal lifestyle and make homesteading (and life) more affordable.
40 Vintage Frugal Tips for Your Homestead
Get Debt Free – Grandma said if you don’t have cash don’t buy it
Live Within Your Means – and start saving
Make Your Own Laundry Detergent
Replace Disposable Paper Towels
Purge the Stuff You’re Not Using with a Yard Sale
Reuse Items – Like Old Bed Sheets
Shop the Dollar Store for Homesteading Supplies
Try a Vintage Recipe – Ginger Switchel
Cook Frugal Meals From the Past
Build a Auto Waterer for Your Livestock
Make Some Old Fashioned Biscuits
Build a Greenhouse & Grow Food All Year
Dehydrate Tomatoes for Tomato Powder
Raise Quail (even in small yards / patios)
Learn Some Vintage Skills on YouTube
Bake a Homemade Pie Instead of Buying One
Brew Coffee at Home (stop going out)
Help Your Kids Start A Business
Compost to Build Great Soil (less waste)
Well there you have it, 40 vintage frugal tips for your homestead…or any home for that matter. What would you add to this list? How does your homestead save money through skills from that past? Maybe something your grandma taught you? I know mine were full of wisdom!
I make my own mixes, like onion soup mix, taco mix, spaghetti sauce seasoning mix, and many more. It saves buying those small expensive packets.
And better for you! No chemicals!
What a great list! I can’t wait to read through all of this information!
My family tried to repurpose as many things as possible so a dress for example became a skirt then it became a cushion then a quilt and so on. A chicken roasted has leftovers used in other meals then the bones are made into stock then the bones go into the Bokashi composter and get composted for the garden. Things can get quite creative!
Thank you for putting this list together!
Tiffany,
My wife and I recently embarked on the journey towards self-sufficient homesteading, this list will be a great help for us on our way there.
Thank you!
Let me think…
I garden, Organically.
I can, when I can (ha ha ha). Usually they are things that were grown in our garden, or obtained at a local Farmer’s Market, as well as homemade salsas, sauces, pickles, jams, et cetera. I bought a pressure canner last year to venture into canning low-acid foods, but haven’t tried it yet.
We have chickens, for eggs, bug control, and fertilizer production.
I compost the proceeds of gardening, eating 3 meals a day, and chicken keeping.
I make stock, from scratch, from bones obtained from family meals.
We cook from scratch, on a part-time basis.
I have a clothes line. This isn’t used all year, as I live in the NE USA. But still.
I brew coffee and tea at home, when I remember to do it.
Baby steps, baby steps…
We try to do most of these but with failing health some must go by the wayside as this may be the last year to heat with wood only as it gets pretty cold and snowy in Ontario Can but I love the tips as we dry on a line inside during the winter and it helps keep the humidity up.
I grow my own garden with everything in it to bottle spaggetti sauce, salsa. I also have several fruit trees that I bottle the peaches, pears and make my own jelly from the plum tree. I’m 39, and have done it my whole life. Even when I was a single mom for about 5 years.
Ants have an innate ability to store for future in smaller portions. Ants achieve the impossible through discipline. If They Can Do It, We Can Too.
Even the Bible tells us to consider the ant. 🙂
I compost like a MACHINE. My hubs laughs: if it isn’t protein or dairy (save for eggshells) it all goes in. I’d read several articles on it, including (I’m totally going to butcher this, bear with me) one about a woman from the 1800s who basically started ‘mulching;. She put anything that could possibly be used (i.e., no dairy, or protein, no bones) over her crops. She never had to weed, (so the story goes) and she had the most abundant garden.
So I compost, putting veggies etc into the blender (yes, I have a specific Garden Blender – think, Salvation Army) add some water, toss on pile. The moisture keeps the balance going, especially in the hot dry part of the NE USA summer. Mulch everything in the fall.
Works a treat!
My grandma taught me lots of budget wisdom too:
Make your own cleaning products from vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, etc.
Plan ahead! Organize your errands to minimize mileage as much as possible. We make one trip to the grocery per month with one quick stop at a store for fresh produce that we don’t grow ourselves.
Simplify gift giving and vacations. Learn to do free family activities. They often are most memorable anyway.
Great tips all things I wish I had known ages ago but it isn’t to late ☺
The least expensive white bread I ever made was called Depression Bread. Even though it’s amazingly low-cost, it tastes fabulous. I like it best when dipped in a hearty soup or stew.
4 cups flour
2 cups warm water (about 110 F)
2 Tbsps. yeast
Pour flour into a large bowl and make a hole in the middle. Pour the yeast and warm water in the center, then combine with the flour until you form a ball. Cover with a towel and allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until it doubles.
Knead the dough and make into 2 loaves, let it rise once more. Bake at 300-350°F until golden.Brush a little butter on top to make a soft top or leave as is for something a little crunchier.
Yummm this is like my grandma’s bit Her’s had some salt and a T of sugar.
Commit to not eating meat for the first two meals of the day. Eat whole fruit instead of juice.Do not allow processed treats or soda in your home when the children are small except for holidays and birthdays and they become life
long sugar haters! My grown children are raising the third generation of children brought up in this manner.Turn down the thermostat in winter and turn it up in Summer & not only will you be living more in tune with the actual weather,but you will stay much healthier too.Keep the TV & electronics off and read library books together.Builds intelligence ,saves energy and helps pay tuition later on in the form of school scholarships awarded for academic excellence.Creativity needs unstructured time to develop.Thrift is not just about saving money.It is about using what we have wisely,sheparding our resources,thinking outside the box.Healthy
This is a good list! It is amazing how much more resourceful we could be!
Great site. My husband and I lived off grid 20 years. Now on a small lot in a rural village. Busy getting my tiny homestead in shape. Just finished canning 3 bushells tomatoes,plums and peaches. I make my butter with my Kitchenaide mixer,yogurt. Just about everything as there are too many additives in everything. Anyone can do this no matter where you live or how much money you have. You just have to be motivated. We are all spoiled. When there is an emergency,do you see how panicked people get?!. You MUST be prepared to help yourself!
I sew clothes, create costumes, and make gifts. I have also crocheted beautiful things.
I love it! Keep it up and teach others!