So I know it's not an original idea, but as I was washing my hands this morning I thought of another tip to give readers who may not have thought of it before. I am amazed at the savings you can accumulate when you simply use half of what you would normally use of certain items. The epiphany came like I said before, when using our hand soap this morning. On a whim I bought the "foaming" hand wash from Method (because 'sweet water' smells SO good!). When the container was empty and I refilled it with my normal hand soap, it didn't work because it was too thick. I always buy the refills in larger quantity from WalMart or Costco. So I poured half of it back into the big bottle and filled the remaining room up with water. Gave it a good shake and viola! It works just as well, foams nicely and in the long run is saving me half of what I normally pay for hand soap!
Like I said, there are lots of things I can do this with that I never even realized. As I started brain storming here are some of the things I came up with that work the same even when you cut them or the amount in half: dryer sheets, dish washer detergent (only fill the wash cup, not the pre-wash), juice (who needs all the extra calories anyway, especially with kids) flavored creamer (when you use half milk and half creamer it makes it more like a latte!), shampoo & conditioner, (try using half, if you make the bottle last twice as long you can buy the kind you like for the same price as the cheap stuff!), butter (my sister-in-law told me about his one! Blend in the food processor 1 lb. of softened butter with 1 cup of olive oil, it's really spreadable and much better for you than the margarine junk!) energy, (using less wattage reduces energy use) TV/Internet, (with all the tv shows available on line, why pay for cable when you've already paid for the Internet?)
These are just the ones that came to my mind! I know there are plenty more if you just look around your house. I love the idea of reducing waste as well as saving money!
Have one you'd like to add to the list? Let me know!
1 comment:
I was thinking about the spreadable butter and the vinegar for fabric softener, but you got it already!
We actually feel like olive oil is a little strong for our tastes, so we use canola oil. I'll do a pound of salted sweet cream to 1 1/4 cups of canola, once every two weeks or so. (Saffola would be ideal, but it's spendy at my Whole Foods!)
We don't even like plain ol' butter anymore, this is so light and fresh tasting!
As for the vinegar, it makes our towels unbelievably soft, and everything else pretty close to static-free! I use 1/8 cup for an entire load, and even with my cloth diapers, since it controls soap build-up, too. I'm excited to read about its other uses! (Maybe I won't have to have little chalk scribbles on the floor by my back door this summer- I made the mistake of telling my boys that if you draw a line of chalk, ants won't cross it! I had all these little trapped ants in my kitchen last summer! We're going to try vinegar this year... :) Thanks!
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