This idea has got to be the easiest way to save money. While doing it only once will only save a few pennies, do it over years will save a lot! I originally wrote about this idea here, but since I created that post, I have made changes to save even more money.
If you use dish washing soap directly out of the bottle, you are wasting money. The manufactures make this soap so thick that you only need an amount equivalent to the size of a pea for a whole sink full of dishes! But how many of us use just a pea size amount? I know I don't. So rather than try to ration the amount I use, I did the opposite and reduced the thickness of the soap.
I have done this for years! However, in the past year or so have I reduced it further.
So, lets get started! I am going to use a new soap dispensing bottle that I made at a craft event we had at our church this past Saturday. The bottle was purchased from Hobby Lobby and I etched the words 'dish soap' onto it using letter stencils.
Now, fill the bottle 1/4 of the way up with the soap.
Fill the rest of the bottle up with water.
This will make that soap bottle go four times as long! That means you will need to purchase 3 less bottles before you run out! In the original post mentioned above, I was using a 50% soap/50% water solution. For the past year, I have been using a 25% soap/75% water solution. I can honestly say, I do not notice any different between the soap full strength, soap at 50% solution and the soap at a 25% solution. Not any difference at all! And, I wash a lot of dishes by hand!
Best of all, this idea works with any liquid cleaning agent. Shampoo & conditioner, glass cleaner, you name it! Try it! It only takes a few seconds to do and will stretch your hard earned dollars even further!
A few weeks ago, I spray washed the patio and the patio furniture. (Spray washing is a must in the south, both the patio and the patio furniture get mold on them. Spray washing with a power washer is the only way to remove it.) I don't find it necessary to spray wash the patio every year, every other year seems to do fine. Same with the patio furniture. However, this year was the year to do both.
My patio furniture is wood. It has also been a bit rickety for the past few years. I wasn't sure it was going to survive the spray washing! When I finished, this is what I had for one of the chairs.
Two of the slats that formed the seat fell off! In addition, the front piece disintegrated in front of me! Well, it is to be expected, wood doesn't last a long time in the humidity here. And, these chairs are 21 years old. (They have been repaired and repainted a few times over those 21 years.) Is it finally time to purchase new ones? Well, I was thinking it was (and getting excited about having new furniture!) That is, until I went back out an inspected both chairs after they dried. If repaired and repainted again, they could last another two to three years. I could hear my great- grandmothers saying to me "Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without!" As much as I wanted new furniture, I resisted and decided to repair what I had instead.
The first step was to replace what was missing. My husband cut some replacement pieces from extra wood we had left over from another project. These were simple straight cuts, nothing fancy or hard. While he was doing that, I decided the two slats that fell off when washing, could still be used. I used new finishing nails to reattached them back onto the chair. I am not sure they are sturdy enough to last three years, but if needed we will cut additional pieces at a later date and replace them. For now, the chairs are no longer rickety, the new pieces eliminated that. So, here is what we ended up with before painting.
It was now time to paint. (I had to paint the chairs in the garage because thunderstorms were forecasted for that evening. As you can see in the background, Molly was helping me.) I had some redwood stain that I purchased a few years ago at the home improvement store and never used. It was on sale and I knew I would use it some time in the future! Everything on our patio is wood and it all needs to be repainted every few years. I try very hard to have everything we need on hand for everyday living. When you determine the time to purchase items, you can wait until they go on sale. With just a bit of planning, you should never have to pay full price for anything! Anyway, here is what I purchased.
Two coats later, here are the wood chairs.
I also repainted the table between the chairs. That didn't need any repair, just repainting. That table is 20 years old. Next up is the steps to the hot tub. One of the sets of legs fell apart when I spray washed it!
Would I really like new patio furniture? Yes, I would! While I do want new furniture, spending money to purchase it pains me! I simply can't do it while the furniture I have can be repaired to last just a few more years. Being frugal over the long term is more important then the few weeks of gratification you will get from the new furniture. As Dave Ramsey often says, "If you live like no one else, then later, you can live like no one else!"
This seems like a 'no brainer' to me. Cleaning with vinegar (and baking soda) is the cheapest, most effective way to clean anything! Boy, will it save you money over commercial cleaning products!
I use vinegar to clean all over my house. Get some spray bottles at the big box store (label them so you know what is in it) and store it just as you would any commercial cleaner. Mine live under my kitchen sink. Here are some of the ways you can use vinegar and eliminate the cost of commercial cleaning products:
Windows, counter tops, kitchen table, and other general cleaning needs: one part vinegar and one part water. Spray and wipe.
Kitchen sink: sprinkle baking soda (just as you would commercial cleaner) and then spray a few squirts of vinegar and water. Scrub with a sponge.
Shower stall, bathtub, toilet and other bathroom surfaces: Mix vinegar with some dish washing soap, spray and let it sit for a few hours. Wipe clean. (You can see more details on how to make this cleaner and clean your bathroom with it here.)
Laundry: Use vinegar (full strength) in the rinse cycle in place of fabric softener.
Dish washing rinse aid: Let your rinse aid dispenser completely empty and then fill it with vinegar (full strength).
Garbage disposal: Freeze some vinegar in ice cube trays, put a couple of cubes in the garbage disposal and turn it on.
Round Up replacement: OK, this isn't really a cleaning product, but it is a chemical you don't have to purchase! Spray the weed with vinegar (full strength). Works great for weeds that crop up between sections of concrete or in your landscaping.
When you run out of a cleaning product, instead of purchasing a new bottle, replace it with vinegar! You will get a safe, chemical free, effective cleaner that will save you money!
Everyone knows that a full freezer is more efficient than a half full one. But what do you do if your freezer is half full of food and you can't afford to restock it? Fill it with water! I have water bottles stuffed in every nook and cranny possible! Also, as we consume what is in the freezer, I fill the top with additional water bottles. Here is a current picture of my freezer contents.
Later this week I will remove a 30 lb turkey to cook for Molly. (It is down at the bottom and not visible in this picture.) That turkey won't be replaced until winter (when they go on sale). Instead, the space will be filled with a few one gallon water jugs that I save for just that purpose!
Filling your freezer with water accomplishes a lot! Not only will it keep you freezer running efficiently (saving you money on electricity and producing less wear and tear on the appliance overall) but it is also a great idea when those summer storms cause you to lose power! The foods in a full freezer will stay frozen longer than a freezer that is only half full. The last thing you want to do is lose money on food that goes bad because you have no power!
In that situation, the water will keep the foods frozen or semi-frozen long enough to give you time to figure out what to do with it all. If the power is out for a significant time at my house, my plan will be to cover the freezer with blankets. Depending on how long the authorities tell me the power will be out, I will set up the canner and can as much as possible. Having the water in the freezer will keep everything frozen or semi-frozen until I have a chance to deal with it.
Another thing you can do with all that frozen water, is to put it in the refrigerator. The frozen bottles will help to keep your refrigerator cold during a power outage too. It will act like the icebox your great-grandmother had!
Whether you lose power or not, filling the empty space in your freezer with water bottles will keep it running more efficiently. The bottom line is, it is an easy way to save money and be prepared for an emergency!
Here is an easy way to cut your electricity bill! It takes a few dollars, but will reward you with consistently lower bills! What is it?
A surge protector! I have quite a few at my house. Every television set has one, the cable boxes (my husband likes living in the 21st Century so these are a fact of life at my house), and anything else that has a phantom load that can't be eliminated. What is a 'phantom load'? Appliances that have a clock, remote control or work continuously even when they are not needed, all carry 'phantom loads'. You will save money if you turn them off when you are not using them. You can do that with a surge protector.
They fit neatly and discretely behind the appliance and can be operated with your foot or a stick. Here is a picture of one of mine. This one is on the family room TV, record player, and DVD player. (Yes, we have a record player. We do not have a CD player.) Even our computers, printers, and Internet box are plugged into one!
My husband uses the stick to turn it on/off. I use my foot. While it is exposed (and not tucked behind the cabinet), you can't see it from the rest of the room.
You can also reduce your electricity bill by replacing your electric clocks with ones that use a battery. No need to run out and purchase all new clocks - when it is time to replace a broken one, purchase a non-electric one instead. We haven't had electric clocks at our house in years.
Surge protectors don't have to cost a lot of money. You don't need one with all the bells and whistles on it. Simple, plain and inexpensive work really well here.
You WILL notice the difference in your electric bill!
I have started a new topic category that I think can help all of us on our journey to be more frugal. Let me state that I know living a frugal life is hard! Most of the time it takes more effort! In a frugal life you exchange money (savings) for time and work effort. There is a reason that convenience sells in today's busy world! But that doesn't mean that you should give up on trying to save money. There are lots of things you can do to save money that don't take a lot of effort. Hence, a new topic was born! Under the new topic category of Easy Ways to Save Money, I will highlight tricks that take a minimal amount of effort but can have a big impact on your budget! I hope you will like (and use) these ideas!
For the first post, I would like to show you one of the easiest ways I have found to save money. I have been using this trick to stretch my cleaning supplies for years! It works with no loss of cleaning power! I always use it with commercial cleaning products and sometimes I do it with my homemade products as well (where applicable - if you use half vinegar and half water to clean your home now, don't dilute it any further.)
I have mentioned this trick on Facebook before, but I have never showed you how easy it is to do here on the blog! The example shown is for commercial hand dishwashing detergent. It works equally well for shampoo & conditioners, kitchen countertop cleaners, floor cleaners, bathroom cleaners, and liquid hand soap.
When you have an empty bottle of product, wash it out to rinse off any soap buildup or residue. Grab the new bottle of product. With both of these, you are now ready to start.
Pour half of the new bottle into the old one.
Fill both bottles to the top with water. (My apologies for the blurry picture, my hand was wet and apparently I didn't do a good job of holding the camera steady!)
Instead of one bottle of product, you now have two! You have just cut your cost of cleaning in half!
I will grant you that the commercial product alone will be thicker. However, unless you are extremely frugal with how you much you use at one time, you are probably using more than you need! I know for a fact that the product mixed with water makes just as much suds and cleans just as well! Personally, I don't find that I use more because it is thinner.
If you really think that you will end up using more because it is thinner, get a pump bottle that limits the amount of product dispensed at one time. I use one of those bottles for my shampoo. One squirt of half product/half water makes just as much lather as the thicker commercial product alone - and my hair is extremely long!
This trick works for me and I know it will work for you! The best part is you won't notice the difference in the cleaning results because there isn't any difference. Contrary to what the TV commercials tell you, you just don't need a lot of any product to get something clean!
If you purchase cleaning supplies from the store, this trick WILL save you money!
Now, that's living frugal!
