Saving $$ Tips
1. Free Firewood
Everyday we seem to get junk mail. Instead of throwing the envelopes away, use them for shopping lists, honey do lists, or writing down a recipe you want to try. When you are done with them, make sure you shred it (your mailing address may be on the back), and if it is a recipe that works/you like, rewrite it on a recipe card or place it in your recipe book for later use. This saves on buying memo pads or stickies.
~Another use for unwanted mail or paper items is you can create paper bricks. View video below for instructions:
2. Vinegar
There are many uses for vinegar! It is also very cheap. Instead of buying cleaners, use equal parts vinegar and dawn liquid soap to use to clean your bathroom. Spray it on and leave for 15 mins and the bath tub scum comes right off without scrubbing.
~Add 1/4 c to your fabric softener section in the washer instead of the store bought brands with chemicals.
~Another good cleaner is 2:1:1 solution of Hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dawn dish soap.
3. Hang clothes to dry
When it is summer time, hang your clothes out to dry. You will be amazed how much your electric bill will go down even if you have an energy efficient dryer. We do not hang our personals outside, but inside on a small rack you can hang up.
4. Skip the dry cycle
Dishwashers have become more energy efficient, but sometimes they don't dry so well. When our wash cycle is done, I open the dishwasher and let the dishes air dry. This is great in the winter as the vapor from the dishes moisturizes the air, but can also heat the room (to some extent).
5. Coupons
Bed Bath and Beyond coupons NEVER expire even though they have an expiration date on them. Some grocery stores will have digital coupons you can save to your card/phone, and craft stores will have different coupons depending on the season.
6. Groceries
To save on groceries, you not only can save with coupons, but you can save, by not buying the junk food and going with a more natural approach. Getting the fixings for a salad may be more expensive together, but comes out to feed more people or more times than buying a salad from McDonalds, so in serving portions, it is cheaper.
*Another tip for grocery shopping - Coupons are great, but if you wouldn't normally buy the item, but you have a coupon for it, don't buy it. This is how stores and manufacturers get you. They make you think if they give you a coupon, you will buy it thinking it is a good deal and you save money, but if you wouldn't buy it in the first place, you are spending more money just getting that item.
7. Where to shop
Stop going shopping at the mall. There are many consignment stores that have a great selection and are a lot cheaper! There are also many discount stores that will have cheaper items. Check out the different online website sales sites like craigslist or letitgo.
8. Home phone
Do you really need it? Most of the calls that come through are telemarketers, so you really don't need it as most people carry their cell phones with them everywhere. Unless you live where there is no cell phone signal, get rid of the home phone.
9. Television
If you have an HD tv, you can get the basic channels (if you are not in the sticks). Plus do you really have that much time on your hands that you can watch all the channels that you pay for? Most Bundles have great pricing, but you are paying more for something you don't use as often or shouldn't use as spending time with family and friends should be more important than that. You can also view most shows online (if you just have the internet) and Netflix or Hulu have them online for a small fee if you can't live without seeing a certain show. Or you can actually get some house cleaning done instead of being glued to the tv.
10. Foaming hand soap
Once you use the contents of the bottle, buy more liquid hand soap and refill it with a bit of liquid soap and water. You won't use up as much soap and you won't be spending as much buying new soap dispensers of soap each time.
11. Washing dishes by hand
This is not my favorite thing to do, but big pots and pans take up so much space in the dishwasher and most of the time, they don't always come clean. So we wash our pots and pans and difficult to clean dishes in the sink and the other stuff in the dishwasher. We then control the amount of water we use when washing the dishes. There was also a study done on whether your wooden spoons were cleaner in the dishwasher vs hand washing and it turned out that dishwashers left more bacteria on the spoons than hand-washing - http://www.annaandkristina.com/wooden-spoons/ .
12. DIY
It is always better to make things yourself rather than buy them already made.
~I like to make our wet wipes using this recipe: https://wellnessmama.com/1459/homemade-baby-wipes/ I add a little more water than she does as a roll of wipes that I buy seem to be more dry than soaked with the solution if I don't
~My favorite laundry soap (liquid) is found here - https://wellnessmama.com/462/homemade-laundry-detergent/
~A deodorant recipe I like is here - https://www.homemademommy.net/2015/12/video-tutorial-how-to-make-homemade-deodorant.html however I do need to apply another time throughout the day depending on what I am doing. This is the only one I have tried so far and you do not need a lot, so it will last you a long time.
13. Waiting
If you want something, wait 6 months and see if you still want/need it then. If you still need/want it after 6 months, then purchase the item. If you don't need/want it, after 6 months, you never really needed it in the first place.
14. Declutter!
If you have items in your house that you are not using, it is taking up space in your house and could be preventing the air in your house to not circulate as well as it should. It will also allow you to see the things you do have and prevent you from buying more/extras later down the road.
15. Use food scraps.
When you cut the ends of broccoli or asparagus off, place them in a freezer and use in a soup for another day. Leftover vegetable scraps like carrots, onions or celery can be used when you make chicken broth. Create your own compost for your garden using vegetable scraps, egg shells, and coffee grounds.
More to come as I think of them