For the past several years, we've done the following which I feel saves money that maybe other people waste it on. Hey, if we can get along without it and not miss it, so can you!
Cleaning supplies. I just don't clean, so I never have to spend money on cleaning supplies! Ha, I'm just kiddin'. But I only buy window cleaner, Comet for bathroom counters/sinks/bathtubs, when they really need a good cleaning, and I'll admit it is NOT every week (I won't reveal myself further! LOL), Bon Ami (countertops), Dawn for dishes, Cascade for dishwasher. I've tried every ecologic and otherwise dishwashing soap and I can't live without my cascade. Everything else leaves film, no matter how little or much I used. Bleach, Ammonia for wiping grubby walls and cleaning grease, and vinegar and baking soda. I admit that I hate wiping toilets and I have in the past bought the clorox disinfecting wipes for that purpose. But I need to bite the bullet and use the nitrile latex gloves DH brings home from work with a bottle of bleach water, and quit whining how the bleach hurts my nose. I'll have to mix it weaker. I could probably also eliminate the Comet and Bon Ami. Maybe I'll try that once my current supplies run out, and just use the vinegar/baking soda and Ammonia. I should probably quit buying Windex, too, and just go with diluted vinegar. Look I just saved myself about twenty bucks right there, inspiring myself! Besides, I have to be accountable (and make my progress look as good as possible, too) so that will help.
Laundry: We have hard water, no softener, and currently we use our clothes dryer, so we haven't missed not using the dryer sheets. Besides, the fragrances are made out of petrol and chemicals which have never been studied for safety (and they irritate my nose and lungs!) so we are happy without them. Besides, did I mention they cost money? I'm about to go get a clothes drying rack, though, and see if I can cut way down on the clothes dryer usage. I figure I'll do one load ever three days, dry it on the rack, toss it in the dryer for five minutes on unheated to get the crunchy out. DH hates crunchy underwear and jeans and I can't say I blame him. Another thing is I rarely sort by colors. If I have enough, I'll separate darks and lights. I put reds in with darks. Haven't had a problem yet, as long as the reds have been washed a few times already. I rarely use stain removers; only on my favorite items or if I'm sure the item will be ruined if I don't. Oxyclean is my favorite. You can just use hydrogen peroxide though, too. Hmmm I feel some savings coming up.
We do about four loads of laundry every two weeks, six, if you count the DH's uniforms. He's supposed to have work do them, but they always fail to return at least half his clothes and that just doesn't work for him. Our laundry prevention techniques are as follows. My kids are terrible about ripping everything out of their drawers in a hurricane, wearing something for four hours, and throwing it in the dirty hamper. Ah, who am I kidding? They throw it on the floor and then I hound them to put it away, and THEN they throw the (clean) clothes into the dirty hamper.
So, I assign them three outfits and pack the rest away till they're really needed. Remember they have school uniforms.
Not washing extra clothes is a big time, money and energy saver. I myself have thrown out all of the clothes I have been hanging onto for years and years (and years!) because it's a waste of space and I never use them. What is the point of having stuff hanging around if you never use it? Its tying up your psychological energy and keeping you from moving forward. Think about it. I have one row of clothes, about four feet long, which is probably three feet still too many. I wear it for a day and rehang it up for another wear, until I detect odor or see a spot, then it goes in the hamper. Lots of people probably do something similar.
I also do one load at a time and put it away right away. Trying unsuccessfully to tackle mountain of laundry, failing, leaving it on the couch/bed (or floor, and then REWASHING IT....you know who you are!!) is NOT doing yourself any favors here. So just do one load at a time as you are able and move on. If you must, teach your nine year old to use the washer and dryer (it really is simple enough! I taught mine), and put each in charge of their own laundry. I've threatened to do this if I keep catching them putting cleans in the dirty pile. I also only wash the clothes that END UP in the hamper, too. That helps keep me from having to clean their room to find the dirty clothes when it's laundry time (bet you didn't know you were signing up for awesome responsibility-inducing child-rearing techniques when you clicked, did you?)
We have our own chickens, use some eggs, sell the extras, which covers the cost of their feed. Free breakfast/lunch and sometimes dinner, saves about $25/month (if you're buying the humane, healthy eggs at the store for $5/doz like we were).
We collect rainwater to water the garden (I'm not a great gardener yet, but we are doing wicking beds and hydroponics this year to try to beat the Texas heat, so maybe I'll be able to add that to my money saving repertoire!), and we built our beds out of stuff we already had so that saved a little.
We LOVE freecycle, a yahoo group (there are subgroups for your city) where you can get anything for free (and get rid of anything you don't want). We've gotten two good dishwashers and a microwave, and untold amount of other awesome stuff without paying a dime. It's always been safe and I've never had any bad experiences in the nine years we've been doing it.
We bathe as needed instead of daily (yes we are clean people!) and we probably save on shampoo and bath soap as a result. We also use foaming hand soap dispensers, dilute the soap, and save money that way. Too much soap dries my hands out anyways. We also dilute the bath soap if it's too thick.
Oh! I use Ecobutton for my computer. It plugs into your USB and you hit it when you walk away, putting your 'puter into sleep mode (easily awakened, has never malfunctioned), saving you a lot of money, and saving a lot of CO2 too. It tells you how much you've saved; let me go look: $633 over a few years. Not too shabby.
We don't water our lawn. That would be financially, humanitarian-wise and ecologically irresponsible. Just do a quick google search for how much drinking water people dump on their lawns, when there's a water shortage and distribution problem in the world. If you're going to spend money on water, please consider investing it in projects that bring it to people in the world who don't have any clean drinking water. Besides, the lawn gets brown sometimes but it ALWAYS comes back when it rains ;)
Food waste is taboo in my house. We eat alllll the leftovers, and feed the rest to the chickens if we must.
When I got my motorhome I was all excited about living it in one day, and began a de-cluttering spree, getting rid of and selling stuff that I wouldn't be able to, or want, to take with me (or store!) should we ever decide to live in it. I don't regret any of the purging. I feel simpler, freer, cleaner. I have a lot of stuff decorating the house that I can sell, too, when the time comes. So, sell stuff you aren't likely to use, and simplify your life, making money in the process. If it doesn't bring you utility and joy right now, purge it.
We have a great AquaSana water filter that saves me gas trips from having to go to the water store (and its cheaper) or buy bottled water.
This is getting long so I'll do another post if I come up with more. This is to document what we already do, and I know we will make more improvements as we go!
a couple of comments about cleaning supplies: I use ajax powder for ceramics like the toilet bowl, very inexpensive. Just do not sprinkle in the air or you will breathe it in! pour on wet sponge instead! also, 10 years ago I bought a concentrated bottle of windex at home depot for $8. To use it, one must dilute it with water. I think i am set for life and beyond! If you like windex, it's a good investment. the bottle is not even 1/2 after 10 years.
ReplyDeleteGloves were a necessity to prevent chem burns, but i was never a friend of baking soda and vinegar. they cause a lot of extra work rinsing. especially in windows, they leave nasty streaks. to whiten grout, one can scrub forever and use a mix of bakingsoda and peroxyde.... or....... regrout. it takes less time to regrout than to scrub an old floor grout (in my opinion)
I use water with a drop of dish soap on almost every surface, works for me. To remove vaporized grease spots (example, above gas range) i use denaturated alcohol (of course only on alcohool-proof finishes (i have formica cabinets)
Sorry for the rant on cleaning supplies, but i thought may be this contribution may help you save a little $$ and time.
then, each one as their preferences. my water is probably not as hard as yours, hence i have less need for vinegar than you may have. Have you tried rinsing your hair with vinegar? it makes it super smooth and shiny. I learned that from my grandma, I do it every other week.