What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[gtaus]

Initial Review of Menards Power Cutter

Well, I did buy one of those power cutters that are currently on sale at Menards through 11/17/2024...

I charged it up and tested it out in comparison to my previous power cutter that I bought from Harbor Freight ($40.00). It's almost the exact same power cutter. Both are 4 volts, the blades are the same size, the $10.00 Menards power cutter works the same as my HF model.

I will end up keeping this Menards power cutter out in my garage. The new power cutter from Menards comes with a newer USB-C electric plug for charging, so I will now have a USB-C charger for my cell phone and newer devices out in the garage as well.

I use my power cutter(s) primarily for cutting up cardboard boxes that I shred up to make coop litter. But they are great for other things. Here is the features list...

Features

• Cut through paper, plastic, cardboard, leather, canvas, carpet, wallpaper, wire netting, flower stems and more
• Cuts a variety of materials up to 1/4" thick
• Self sharpening blade
• Comfortable soft grip handle

My old hands used to cramp up when I cut cardboard with my manual heavy-duty scissors. So, I needed a better option if I wanted to process my cardboard boxes at home instead of hauling them off to the recycle center. It's just so nice for me to process all our shipping boxes, cutting them into strips, shredding them in my paper shredder and using the shreds as coop litter. All that cardboard is now 100% recycled at home, used as coop litter, and then turned into compost for my gardens!

 

[gtaus]

Better/Faster Way to Clean Out Nestboxes and Coop

On my elevated coop, I have a drop-down panel on the outside of the coop to access my nestboxes which are mounted inside the coop. Over time, small bits of nesting material will start to build up in the space between the panel and the frame on the coop, causing it to get harder to close the panel.

Previously, I just used a knife to dig out any of those bits around the hinges and the edge of the panel. Today, I want to clean out that hinged edge and the nest boxes themselves. I got the idea that I could use my blower that I use to clean off my benchtops, saws, etc...

I bought one of those when they went on Clearance for less than $8.00 each. The regular price had been $40.00. I liked this small blower so much, that I bought a second blower keeping each one at different stations in my shop/garage for quick cleaning.

Today I used that small blower to clean out my nestboxes and the bottom edge of the drop-down panel. Did a great job, much faster than how I cleaned out the nestboxes and that edge before with a knife.

Those small blowers are made by just about all the different tool brands. I don't think I would have bought one for $40.00 or $50.00 at regular prices, but the Clearance price was too good to pass up. One thing I am always doing is cleaning up in my shop/garage. This blower just makes it easier to blow off the saws, benches, etc...

Yes, I have much bigger leaf blowers, but that is really overkill for small area cleaning where you only need a directed blast of air. I use my leaf blower when I do my semi-annual coop litter cleanout. After I shovel/sweep out the old coop litter, I hit the floor with the leaf blower and it cleans everything down to the linoleum. Works even better/faster than the brooms I used in the past.

Just want to add that when I clean out the coop, I always wear a mask. No good to let all those nasty particles get into your lungs. Although the leaf blower pushes a lot of stuff into the air, in my setup, I open the back wall of the coop and just shoot the air out. The leaf blower actually reduces the amount of dust that I get exposed to because it blows everything out the back of the coop, in front of me, whereas the broom method was much more dusty because it did not blow the particles away from me.

I already had those blowers in my garage. It did not cost me anything to use them for coop cleaning. Just wanted to mention how well they work in case other people had not thought of this method of cleaning. I have yet to see any YouTube videos of anyone using blowers for coop cleanout, but if you have these tools, it can make the job a lot easier.