There is nothing more that a frugal person loves than getting something for nothing. Whether that is a discarded piece of furniture carelessly left on the side of the road, free plants that need harvesting and replanting or something from the kitchen that would normally be thrown away but can produce well, something from nothing.
Consider the humble whole chicken. I roast a couple of chickens a month when they are on sale. I harvest all the meat but save the bones and when I have enough (usually two big chickens are fine), I place the bones in my slow cooker right before going to bed. Add in about 8 cups of water, any juices from a freshly roasted chicken, a couple of roughly chopped carrots, celery and two onions cut into quarters. I don’t even bother to take off the skins. I will then throw in a couple of bay leaves and about a tablespoon of whole pepper corns. I then hit ‘low’ and set the timer for eight hours. Good night.
In the morning, I have the best, most savory chicken stock ever. I also, however, buy stock and broth when it is on sale, but this is the special stock that I use for chicken soup when somebody is sick, or we just feel like a treat in the form of homemade soup.
Basically, I made something from nothing; bones that would normally be tossed out but, with just a little coaxing from my slow cooker and a few ingredients I always have on hand, will render the best flavor. Magic.
One of my frugal resolutions in 2026, is to find and create many more ‘Something from Nothing’ solutions. Like most frugal folks, I abhor waste so taking something that would normally be thrown away, discarded or used for just one purpose and repurposing, recycling, refining and reusing, will be my mantra for 2026.
the house behind 