Chill out with a refreshing beverage foraged from your backyard and neighborhood, and scavenge free salads and spices for your dinner. Here are a few things you can easily find, for example, in the city of Los Angeles.

What can you do with old clothes that are not good enough to donate?

Modern electronics suck electricity from your wall even when you think they are turned off. A surge protected power strip will ensure you don't waste money by letting you turn appliances completely off, with no ghost energy drain at all.

This is a 99 cent frugal living ebook that is worth several times its cover price. It's a Kindle download you can read free from your laptop, desktop computer, smartphone or Kindle reader.

A one week menu plan for a family of four in tough times.

How to subscribe to the free Frugal Living newsletter, and what you can expect.

Thinking of saving money using solar techniques? Get started in small ways and work up in price and complexity. Eventually run your whole house! Here is my personal solar plan.

The Solar ReStore solar panel and battery pack is a GREAT unit to get anyone started powering small electronics with the free power of the sun.

When you buy used, you can afford to be a linen snob, buying only the best for your bed.

For busy people who are driven crazy each holiday season, it is a good idea to get some of the holiday "work" completed in the longer, hotter, slower summer months. It might even make you forget the heat!