Today we are continuing in our series of Ways We Save Money. (See all of the saving money posts here.) Once again, I will start with a caveat: just because this is how our family does it, does not mean that you have to do things this way as well!
I’m lumping most of the general “household” items in this post together.
1. Instead of paper, use cloth
We use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins, which does end up translating into savings over the course of the year. I just toss the napkins in with towels I am already washing so it doesn’t add anything to our energy expenses. We use cloth rags for wiping up spills, cleaning up Vera after meals, and cleaning bathrooms and other areas around the house. We rarely use paper towels (just for those nasty tasks such as squishing bugs or cleaning up something super gross). I “hide” my paper towels under the kitchen sink so that I have to think before using one. I’m now in the habit of grabbing a rag instead of something disposable. We do use normal toilet paper and tissues, fyi. 🙂
2. Clean with simple cleaners
I make a lot of our household cleaners using basic stuff like white vinegar and baking soda. It’s amazing how well those two items work for almost every cleaning job around the house! I have also made some of the recipes from Clean House, Clean Planet and found them to be quite effective as well. I particularly like the all-purpose disinfectant which uses tea tree oil to sanitize after nasty messes. Making your own cleaners can seriously save you cash, and they are safe to use around babies and children.
3. DIY laundry detergent
I’ve blogged about homemade laundry detergent before. This recipe uses 3 ingredients and only takes about 15 minutes to make. I love using it!
4. Learn to DIY
Since owning our own home, we have learned to do a lot ourselves that we did not know how to do before. We’ve learned some helpful tips and tricks about painting a room. Tad has learned how to fix a dryer (twice!). Tad has also fixed some plumbing problems that we’ve encountered. (Before you tell me that your husband is not a DIY kind of guy, let me assure you that Tad wasn’t either!) We have saved a lot of money (well, we honestly didn’t have the money to spend!) by fixing appliances and leaks and doing other stuff around the house ourselves. I’m sure we’ll learn how to do lots more things around the house before it’s all said and done!
5. Decorate on the cheap
I don’t have a decorating budget, but we’ve managed to cobble together decorations for various rooms of our house. People have generously given us used furniture and nice decorative items that we have been excited to use in our home. We have shopped on Craigslist, at Goodwill and other thrift stores, at estate sales, and at IKEA for many of the furnishings in our home. I’ve also made art and decorative items for the walls (see our nursery for examples) and Tad made our dining room table. Just because you don’t have a lot of money doesn’t mean you can’t make your house feel like a home!
So, how does your family save on household items?
Linking to:
Life as Mom
Giggling about Tad having to become a “handy man”. Our phone service wasn’t working when we moved because our house hadn’t been wired to the phone company’s box…. and what does my husband do???? Climbs under the house to do it himself… had Internet in an hour or two and NOT another bill;)
I”ve got to get back into using cloth napkins… we’ve loved them but with the move and mine looking shabby, I just hadn’t gotten back into it:/