The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: purple monkey on April 16, 2015, 06:30:36 PM
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Anything that you have to do to save money that others might find objectionable?
Okay, I will start:
I wear my sweats (bottoms) at least twice before I wash them.
I hang dry my clothes for a little while before I dry them. My SO insists on using the dryer. :-)
I rake up pine needles in a parking lot nearby and put it in my flowerbed instead of buying mulch as often.
Impress this newbie: Please outdo me with your actions, calling all heavyweights!
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I think ... there is nothing in the western world collection of "ordinary actions" that can't be done for less. NOTHING. From flushing your toilet to brushing your cat, there's a cheaper way to do it that works just as well, because there's so much extra Stuff out there that's practically free. Add Virtually Free Stuff to Brains and you'll come up with a better mousetrap - or at least a less expensive one - every time.
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I have become very ill and not working, so I have been trying to find ways to save and or make money.
I have chronic pain after surgeries that is an unimaginable nightmare.
Before I became sick, I found MMM and lurked a lot.
I can stay on for a little while now, so I decided to start posting.
I love this site and am so thankful for it.
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Well, there's really nothing I have to do to save money. All my money saving is based on the concept of "frugality without sacrifice."
Still, I'm sure there's plenty of people who would find driving a 1996 vehicle -- which I do -- objectionable. But I like my oldie-goldie Dodge Dakota. And I'm sure lots of people would turn up their noses at my preferred attire of jeans and -- depending on the weather -- either T-shirts or sweatshirts. But I like and am very comfortable in that clothing.
I think everything I do that saves me money is like that.
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What I do, isn't so much to save money, it's because I don't like waste.
I reuse my tin foil until it literally falls apart.
If I use a paper towel to dry a fruit/veg, and it simply wet, and not dirty, I hang it up in the kitchen to dry it.
I wash out milk bags and reuse them for freezing.
Use the minimal amount toilet paper, to 'get the job' done.
Wash my hair once a week.
Wear my shorts or jeans for a week..unless they are visibly dirty.
Wear shirts/top for 2 days
Use the same towel for a week (we have our own bath towel)
Save tea in the pot, and keep adding water and another teabag as needed..for that day.
When baking I substitute the milk with 1/2 water or juice...to stretch the milk
Save the styrofoam meat trays and other plastic containers (yogurt/marg) as disposable dishes, when having a picnic, or if the power goes off.
I use 'used' envelopes for scratch paper.
Almost all clothes come from thrift stores
House sit while on vacation
share a meal at a restaurant, when their servings are too large.
...and I buy reduced produce/meat at the store.
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What I do, isn't so much to save money, it's because I don't like waste.
House sit while on vacation
How do you find a place to house sit.
Excellent post, by the way!
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What I do, isn't so much to save money, it's because I don't like waste.
House sit while on vacation
How do you find a place to house sit.
Excellent post, by the way!
Do a google on 'house sitting'.
Most sites charge a fee for the house sitters to join, while it is free for the home owners.
Some sites are free for both.
I'm Canadian, and my husband is Australian.
We live in Canada, but vacation (7-8 months a year) to get away from winter
We are actually house sitting now :)
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balkanbabe - that was us:) We went to a city hall with 5 family members and then out to eat at our favorite restaurant. That was 13 years ago - still going strong. And I still have the red "fancy" dress I wore and used it a few more times for special events.
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cloth diapers/cloth wipes when kids where little
composting food/garden waste
washing things like jeans/jumpers when visibly dirty rather than after 1 wear
menstrual cup, although did not work well for me
Sold our clothes dryer
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Like kathrynd, I don't do most of my weirder things to save money.
In terms of what people might find objectionable:
I use our pee in the garden. It's great fertilizer. (No really! (http://www.nwedible.com/how-to-use-pee-in-your-garden/))
I'm building a composting toilet, just because I want to learn about composting toilets
I spend a goodly amount of time around poultry poop, and let me kids play in the chicken coop if they want. Hasn't hurt 'em yet.
I rarely wash my hair with anything more than water, and I cut my own hair. I take "low maintenance" to the extreme with stuff like hair and makeup. (On the other hand, the idea of going more than about a week without changing my sheets skeeves me out.)
I brush my teeth with baking soda or my homemade tooth powder. Commercial toothpaste is weird.
We cloth diapered, so more poop related stuff there, but that stage is over, now.
I'm planning on raising maggots deliberately as a high-protein feed source for my hens.
I'll bury all kinds of stuff in the backyard. Those 30 pounds of free halibut bones took a few days to stop stinking, I tell you what.
I save old eggshells, bake them after something else comes out of the oven and then feed them back to the birds or use them in the garden.
But I don't do any of that to save money. If it happens to save money, great!
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Like kathrynd, I don't do most of my weirder things to save money.
In terms of what people might find objectionable:
I use our pee in the garden. It's great fertilizer. (No really! (http://www.nwedible.com/how-to-use-pee-in-your-garden/))
I'm building a composting toilet, just because I want to learn about composting toilets
I spend a goodly amount of time around poultry poop, and let me kids play in the chicken coop if they want. Hasn't hurt 'em yet.
I rarely wash my hair with anything more than water, and I cut my own hair. I take "low maintenance" to the extreme with stuff like hair and makeup. (On the other hand, the idea of going more than about a week without changing my sheets skeeves me out.)
I brush my teeth with baking soda or my homemade tooth powder. Commercial toothpaste is weird.
We cloth diapered, so more poop related stuff there, but that stage is over, now.
I'm planning on raising maggots deliberately as a high-protein feed source for my hens.
I'll bury all kinds of stuff in the backyard. Those 30 pounds of free halibut bones took a few days to stop stinking, I tell you what.
I save old eggshells, bake them after something else comes out of the oven and then feed them back to the birds or use them in the garden.
But I don't do any of that to save money. If it happens to save money, great!
Your post made me think of more :)
I read online, a while ago, about the maggot raising for protein for chickens...it was very interesting.
When we house sit, (like now) many times we look after chickens..and we just throw out the egg shells (crushed, but not baked).This property is about 10 acres, so they have lots of bugs to catch on their own.
We house sat at a place that was off grid..and they had a composting toilet..I loved it. There is no odor, because there is a little fan (solar powered) that whisks aways odors. Every so often you drop down a handful of sawdust.
In Australia I never wear makeup..but in Canada, I do wear a minimal amount (I know..go figure)
I cut my hair once a year (let my daughter or husband do it) and my husband colors my hair (he asked to)
I wear my hair in a french braid , because I like it.
We no longer have any pets when we return home (Canada) for the summer, but we are foster parents for the SPCA to momma cats and her kittens, along with orphan kittens until they are old enough to go up for adoption. The SPCA supply all the litter and food...and we supply the love (the best job ever ! )
When my kids were small we did cloth diaper (with the pins/plastic pants)
Hung clothes in the heated basement in the winter, and outside to dry in the summer.
We cut open toothpaste containers (and a lot of other products) to use all of it.
Right now I have a plastic squeeze mayonnaise bottle cut in half..to get the stuff that refuses to come out
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Like kathrynd, I don't do most of my weirder things to save money.
In terms of what people might find objectionable:
I use our pee in the garden. It's great fertilizer. (No really! (http://www.nwedible.com/how-to-use-pee-in-your-garden/))
I'm building a composting toilet, just because I want to learn about composting toilets
I spend a goodly amount of time around poultry poop, and let me kids play in the chicken coop if they want. Hasn't hurt 'em yet.
I rarely wash my hair with anything more than water, and I cut my own hair. I take "low maintenance" to the extreme with stuff like hair and makeup. (On the other hand, the idea of going more than about a week without changing my sheets skeeves me out.)
I brush my teeth with baking soda or my homemade tooth powder. Commercial toothpaste is weird.
We cloth diapered, so more poop related stuff there, but that stage is over, now.
I'm planning on raising maggots deliberately as a high-protein feed source for my hens.
I'll bury all kinds of stuff in the backyard. Those 30 pounds of free halibut bones took a few days to stop stinking, I tell you what.
I save old eggshells, bake them after something else comes out of the oven and then feed them back to the birds or use them in the garden.
But I don't do any of that to save money. If it happens to save money, great!
+1 to almost all of this.
* FWIW, Harvey Ussery says don't bother baking the eggshells, he thinks it's nonsense that they have to be baked and crushed or the hens pick up egg pecking habits. I took his advice and haven't had any problems.
* In re pee, my favorite topic and why I'm in this thread, all the males in this family are encouraged to pee in the backyard, preferably in something well-mulched. I bought a Luggable Loo toilet seat cover and use it over a 5-gallon bucket with the bottom cut out. I also pee and empty my menstrual cup in a bucket in the shower and then transport all that nitrogen and water out to the garden for fertilizer. I use a reusable washcloth as the outdoor toilet paper.
* Use a trap in the kitchen sink to collect crumbs and sludge off dishes and glasses. The slimy little collection is pretty gross to look at, but I empty it out in my worm bin and it's perfect for them.
* I compost lots of stuff they say not to compost, i.e. meat, oil, vermin and weeds:
I compost chicken bones after crockpotting them for stock twice (with vinegar the second time). They say not to compost meat, but after two or three days in the pot, the bones are so soft I can crush them with my hands, and I hate the idea of tossing all those nutrients in the trash. Choice validated by World War II victory gardeners (http://www.cityfarmer.org/grandpasVG.html), FWIW. I have also composted dead birds, rats and squirrels. They seem to all but evaporate into the pile.
* We wash our clothes in cold water, which drives some people crazy.
* I dream of installing a greywater system but we haven't gotten there yet.
* We buy or accept hand-me-down used shoes.
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We love hand me downs.
I will sort my kids dirty laundry. To see what can be worn again vs what really needs washed. I'm working on getting them to do it themselves but baby steps.
Kids are learning to peal potatoes for french fries.
I use Charlie's detergent ordered though Amazon. I learned about it while I was cloth diapering my first. Less than 10 cents a load works in HE machine. And cleans just about anything. Seriously it's pulling the sharpy out of a white blanket slowly but surely, and best thing no allergic reactions.
I shop for fruit and vegetables at a seconds market and start at there last chance table.
I replaced the flower beds with strawberry beds years ago when we moved in. If I'm going to tend it im going to eat it. Lol
When I get down or need a shopping fix I go to the library. All the stuff I want and more. Plus no guilt and better yet they take it bake in a few weeks and I don't even have to figure out what to do with it.
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I live in a twin house (side-by-side duplex with separate deeds, very common in Pennsylvania). There's a huge premium for detached houses. One of my wife's brothers thinks we're absolutely ridiculous for doing this.
We live in a better school district than he does, and he has kids, too. So his priorities are very confusing to me.
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I think a lot of the standard Mustachian stuff applies here:
- No cable
- No cars
- No fancy-pants, super-expensive wedding
- Little to no frivolous spending
There's plenty of people who find these choices "objectionable."
Also:
- We wear maybe four outfits over the course of a week, including 1-2 bottoms for each (work bottoms and then denim for evenings/weekends) unless something gets clearly dirty/smelly.
- We only use HVAC when absolutely necessary; otherwise a well-placed fan or some very insulated layering works well (our in-laws are WAY better at this than we are though).
- I wear very little in the way of make-up, and very rarely. You'd be surprised how few people comment/care, but how rude those who do comment are.
- I don't shave between November-April, because no one sees my legs anyway and the BF doesn't care. When I mentioned this to my sister, she FREAKED. (If I was truly badass, I'd make this a year-round habit.)
- Unlike many car-less people in the city that we know, we don't order groceries through Peapod. "But it's so hard/too much time/too far to walk/too heavy to carry..."
Luckily we hang out with fairly frugal people (aside from the Peapod mess) anyway, and the commentary from our families isn't just about frugal habits but about general city living, liberal-mindedness, minimalist tendencies at large. Frugality is just one aspect of my life that makes my hometown family and friends go "Huh?"
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I use Charlie's detergent ordered though Amazon. I learned about it while I was cloth diapering my first. Less than 10 cents a load works in HE machine. And cleans just about anything. Seriously it's pulling the sharpy out of a white blanket slowly but surely, and best thing no allergic reactions.
Is this the one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AM16MZO/ ?
Does it have a smell at all? We use Arm & Hammer now because I can't stand smelly perfumed detergents.
Does it actually seem to make clothes last longer as the reviews suggest?
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Why would anyone find your money-saving ideas 'objectionable'? It doesn't affect THEM... I might say that some of the ideas presented here might not be for ME, but it wouldn't bother me of others do them...
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I live in a 600 SF condo. Most of my single friends find that too small. They "require" a 2 bedroom.
I de-grease and wash my (2) bikes (one beater and one high-speeder) myself. The shops charge $25 or more and do not thoroughly wash the frame. Not many of my friends are willing to do this (too dirty and tedious). It's a messy job that takes me about 1 hour per bike.
I wear button down shirts twice (with undershirt), except when worn in very hot, sweaty weather (send them out).
I do not own a car. I live in Chicago where I use transit, cabs, car rentals, and airplane.
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I wear my sweats (bottoms) at least twice before I wash them.
I find this objectionable. I wash my sweat pants after like 20 wearings, unless I get them super dirty. If I am wearing sweat pants though I am most likely just putzing around the house, and I wear underwear, so they don't really get dirty. No need to wash those sweat pants (or most any pants) very frequently at all. My jeans do get washed about once a week, but I also ride 70+ mi/wk in them.
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We recently bought a house that is a time capsule from the 50s when it was built. My family keeps bugging us about updating the kitchen, but it's fully functional so I'm in no hurry. The house is in an amazing neighborhood that we would not have otherwise been able to afford.
Other than that, we:
reuse Ziploc bags
regift/return gift items if we won't get frequent use out of them
thrift store for all clothing and shoes for the whole family (other than husband who prefers new shoes off the clearance rack)
sold our van last year and bought a Matrix
It typically doesn't bother us when others comment on our financial decisions. I'm willing to offer up proof that these little things pay off, but I have no doubt it would make them all feel like the poor ones. LOL
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Why would anyone find your money-saving ideas 'objectionable'? It doesn't affect THEM... I might say that some of the ideas presented here might not be for ME, but it wouldn't bother me of others do them...
You'd be surprised. Even on here, presumably a safe place where one can confess their frugality without fear, some people have reacted in surprising ways to the tidbits presented above here.
One real trigger point for Americans in particular is not bathing every day. It's a hard habit to break if you've been doing it all your life, even if your skin and hair would benefit from less frequent showering.
This is just one example from the illustrious Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2969141/As-revealed-80-cent-women-dont-shower-day-guess-women-showers-just-week.html If you read the comments, it is perfectly clear that lots of people find it disgusting not to shower every day.
Here's an example of a thread on here on which a regular commenter was skewered for suggesting people not flush every time they pee: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/how-long-can-you-go-without-flushing-your-home-toilet/
I also debated with someone on here about not showering every day.
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Why would anyone find your money-saving ideas 'objectionable'? It doesn't affect THEM... I might say that some of the ideas presented here might not be for ME, but it wouldn't bother me of others do them...
One thing that I believe a lot of FIRE people plan to do once FIREd is to accept the subsidy from ACA for health insurance.
I find this objectionable. Fiddling around with your income and lowering your expenses to pay the least amount of tax possible is fine by me, but if you lower your income so much that you need a subsidy, then I think you're playing a different game.
I know I'm going to take a lot of heat for this position, but I don't think benefits and welfare should exist for people who have a choice. I understand that this is how the system has been set up, but if I chose not to work and instead collect welfare, how is that any different?
If you cannot afford healthcare, then by all means go for the subsidy. But if you choose to stop working when you are fit and healthy and take a subsidy, then I object to it.
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If I skip a shower on a day, it's usually a Saturday where I don't have to go anywhere. During the week(because I have to go to work), I can't get away with it. I'm guessing that if I didn't have to work, I'd probably shower much less.
As for a lack of flushes, I've done it on occasion when I'm drinking a lot of water(and thus needing to pee a couple of times an hour). But again, that's something I'd do as a habit.
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I bike to work every day, If I do not Bike I ride my EBike. This is through winter and occasionally snow and cold and rain. I have bee winter riding to work since 2000. My Coworkers often greet me with " You rode your bike? it is 12 degrees out!" OR "It may snow this afternoon are you crazy?"
I had this job for ten years and I still hear these comments all the time. The Younger people at work respect my decision to bike more, they get it cause they know I save 20-60 dollars a week in parking fees. One of the young'uns calls me a Badass ;{)
Others just can not get used to the idea, I think the fact that I am female makes them object more, either because they feel I am not safe or that biking is too masculine.
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I butcher a lot of our meat. Probably not a huge saving over conventional meat, but tons cheaper than store bought organic.
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We don't own a dryer, a car, a microwave, anything made by apple, private smartphones and a bunch of other things usually considered necessities.
We usually do not eat out, go to to the club or pub or the movies on weekends. Most of our weekend activities are free.
We do not make weekend trips and do not take beach or ressort vacations.
I do not shower everyday and wash my hair about every fifth day in order to keep my skin and hair healthy, money saving is an added benefit.
I mix most of our cleaning supplies from a few cheap basic ingrediences including our laundry detergent. It's fun, convenient because you can tailor the products to your need and a lot cheaper than the branded stuff.
We do not buy organic exept for meat. Imho animals being confined to tiny spaces and stuffed with antibiotics is one of the worst sins currently being commited by mankind. And its already coming back to bite us. A lot of other organic products are pure luxery and status items, imho.
We do not throw away leftovers. Almost anything can be re-heated the next day.
We wear shoes and clothes until they fall apart. Before that they get repaired and mended.
We don't upgrade electronics but only replace what's no longer working.
I have not and never will be buying nespresso capsules.
I do not go shopping as a recreational activity and do not dream of a big wedding.
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Some of this is due to laziness rather than frugality.
I do my laundry manually by filling up the bathtub with clothes and water/detergent and splash around in it for 10-15 minutes. Then I wring it out by hand, and hang it up to dry for a couple days. I pretend I'm a villain from a Bond movie trying to squeeze the life out of someone's neck.
I wear my clothes 2 days in a row at work (change underwear socks undershirt every day). My manager doesn't seem to like this-- yesterday she asked me "Were you wearing the same clothes as yesterday?" I responded "Yeah... but just pants and shirt..." Fuck them. I'm writing this at work and quitting in 2 weeks anyway.
I wear the same pajamas (tshirt and sweatpants) to bed for like, a week before changing.
I cook entire meals in my rice cooker, cuz it takes less energy, and it heats up the kitchen less in summer.
I keep my bed box spring on the floor.
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Why would anyone find your money-saving ideas 'objectionable'? It doesn't affect THEM... I might say that some of the ideas presented here might not be for ME, but it wouldn't bother me of others do them...
You never know what will gross someone out. On a gardening forum I used to read, one poster was aghast at the idea that people fertilized their vegetable gardens with . . . manure. "Do you tell your guests that the salad they're eating was grown with POO??" He would have keeled over at the thought of peeing on the compost heap.
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Why would anyone find your money-saving ideas 'objectionable'? It doesn't affect THEM... I might say that some of the ideas presented here might not be for ME, but it wouldn't bother me of others do them...
You never know what will gross someone out. On a gardening forum I used to read, one poster was aghast at the idea that people fertilized their vegetable gardens with . . . manure. "Do you tell your guests that the salad they're eating was grown with POO??" He would have keeled over at the thought of peeing on the compost heap.
And I don't purchase toothpaste. I'm saving upwards of $5/year. Plus I got so much more free by eliminating it from my morning and evening routines. 2 min/brush X 2 times/day X 365 days/year X hr/60 min = 24.3 hr/yr. That's more than 1 entire day I gain each year by not brushing my teeth.
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Biggest thing for me is drying my laundry outside when the weather is nice. I had a couple neighbors pitch a fit about it when they were selling their house because they saw it as an indicator of being poor and worried how it would look to prospective buyers.
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I use Charlie's detergent ordered though Amazon. I learned about it while I was cloth diapering my first. Less than 10 cents a load works in HE machine. And cleans just about anything. Seriously it's pulling the sharpy out of a white blanket slowly but surely, and best thing no allergic reactions.
Is this the one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AM16MZO/ ?
Does it have a smell at all? We use Arm & Hammer now because I can't stand smelly perfumed detergents.
Does it actually seem to make clothes last longer as the reviews suggest?
I use charlie's for all our wash. It works well. It has NO smell (I hate smells too!) I do have a delicate wash for bras, wool, and other delicates. But I usually do a sink wash for those anyway.
I save all my veggie scraps and meat bones for soup/broth.
I save fruit scraps for making a syrup to add to mixed drinks ( I like cocktails...:)
I definitely don't wash my PJ's/sweats/lounge wear until it is dirty. Sometimes this is many times, sometimes only 2x. I use the smell test for most of my clothes. (I have a sensitive nose, which does help).
Cloth diapers and wipes still going strong.
I can't wait until I can compost again. Sometimes I just throw things into the side yard if they won't be smelly and attract critters.
Oh yeah, I mostly do the no-poo hair routine, or conditioner only. My curls have never looked better! I only bathe in the am if needed, but I am wasteful of bathwater :(. However I share the bath with DD, does that count?
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Some of this is due to laziness rather than frugality.
I cook entire meals in my rice cooker, cuz it takes less energy, and it heats up the kitchen less in summer.
I am intrigued...tell me more about the rice cooker, please.
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Why would anyone find your money-saving ideas 'objectionable'? It doesn't affect THEM... I might say that some of the ideas presented here might not be for ME, but it wouldn't bother me of others do them...
You never know what will gross someone out. On a gardening forum I used to read, one poster was aghast at the idea that people fertilized their vegetable gardens with . . . manure. "Do you tell your guests that the salad they're eating was grown with POO??" He would have keeled over at the thought of peeing on the compost heap.
I will admit that hearing about menstrual cups grosses me out. Haha. I guess to each his own. (BTW, I pee all over the yard, not just in the compost.)
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I am intrigued...tell me more about the rice cooker, please.
There is actually something called a "multi-cooker", which is a glorified name for a rice cooker (sometimes with a few additional settings) - and you can google multi-cooker recipes to discover the wealth of recipes for these - most of these can be made in a standard rice cooker as well.
I use my multicooker as a rice cooker, slow cooker, steamer, and even for baking - it is one very versatile device.
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I clean a Crossfit gym in exchange for my wife and I's membership. Not glamorous and many people wouldn't want to do it. but for about 8 hours a month it equates to a hourly wage higher than what I am paid as an engineer. And a bonus is I can workout anytime I want.
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I suppose the most objectionable thing I do is keep food for a week or more in the fridge. So for instance I might have some cooked chicken that is there for a week and starts to smell a little funky. I rinse it an soup it. Wife won't eat it, so more soup for me! I never seem to have gotten sick from this practice and have been doing it for 35 years.
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Don't fix car A/C's despite living in a hot and humid climate. Don't fix body damage either. Amazing how mortified some people are to drive a car with a crumpled fender.
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I'm planning on raising maggots deliberately as a high-protein feed source for my hens.
My eyebrow started to raise and I thought that's frugal way beyond what I could ever do.... until I read the last three words of your sentence.
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Do a pits and crotch wash instead of a shower a couple of times a week. Too frequent showers make my skin uncomfortably dry.
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I mend everything, even underwear and canvas shoes. I plant celery and scallion bottoms in my garden to get new growth. I save meat bones and vegetable scraps for stock. I sew my own curtains, decorative pillows and slipcovers. I cut up steel wool pads (like Brillo) into 4 pieces. I buy 90% of my clothes at thrift shops.
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I'm planning on raising maggots deliberately as a high-protein feed source for my hens.
My eyebrow started to raise and I thought that's frugal way beyond what I could ever do.... until I read the last three words of your sentence.
Awesome! :) Yeah no maggots for me, thanks!
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Well, this title looked interesting and I'm sure there are some good comments, but I really don't care what other people's definitions of objectionable are. Meh. I do what works for me without fear of outside opinions. If you do what works for you and I do what works for me, hopefully we'll all live happily ever after.
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While we were living in Guam, we lived off base, and had to pay for our own electricity. We kept our temperature set as high as we could while still keeping the mold under control. Some of my acquaintances (I wouldn't say friends) who lived on base, found that very objectionable when they came over. "Ugh! It's SOOO hot in here! How do you live?!?" "Well, we pay for our own electricity, jerks, so deal with it, or don't come over!"
If I went over to one of their homes, I always took a jacket, because their houses were all miserably cold in my opinion. I would have liked them to have to pay for their own electricity for just one month so they could know how much money it was costing - and maybe they wouldn't be so quick to toss off thoughtless comments about the temperature setting at my house!
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You mean besides robbing banks and siphoning gas? ;)
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I don't wear deodorant.
I turn the hot water heater on a couple times a week when I want to shower.
I make my panties.
I don't admit in public how cold I keep my house in the winter or how small my food budget is. People would worry. I just wanna do mah thang. No worries.
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I don't wear deodorant.
I turn the hot water heater on a couple times a week when I want to shower.
I make my panties.
I don't admit in public how cold I keep my house in the winter or how small my food budget is. People would worry. I just wanna do mah thang. No worries.
I question how much you are actually saving by doing this. I take a long hot shower every night, run my dishwasher, and run my stove and oven as much as I want and my baseline natural gas bill is like $23/mo. A significant portion of that is a connection fee that I would pay even if I turned my gas valves off. It only costs me a few dollars a month to keep a 40 gallon tank filled with piping hot water 24/7.
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Biggest thing for me is drying my laundry outside when the weather is nice. I had a couple neighbors pitch a fit about it when they were selling their house because they saw it as an indicator of being poor and worried how it would look to prospective buyers.
My neighbors were so horrified about my line drying (underwear, flapping in the wind!) that they put up a privacy fence.
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I don't wear deodorant.
I turn the hot water heater on a couple times a week when I want to shower.
I make my panties.
I don't admit in public how cold I keep my house in the winter or how small my food budget is. People would worry. I just wanna do mah thang. No worries.
I question how much you are actually saving by doing this. I take a long hot shower every night, run my dishwasher, and run my stove and oven as much as I want and my baseline natural gas bill is like $23/mo. A significant portion of that is a connection fee that I would pay even if I turned my gas valves off. It only costs me a few dollars a month to keep a 40 gallon tank filled with piping hot water 24/7.
Got to admit that the things I listed were motivated more by a choice to live a healthy/green lifestyle than by money saving.
I have a 10 gallon electric hot water heater. If I turned it on every day I would question whether any energy was saved. As is I only use hot water for showers and that is about twice a week, so I turn it on for 2 hours a week. There is a lot of debate on the internet over the pros and cons. I read a lot and made a a choice that works for me in my current living situation.
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Things that kind of horrify my mother and sister:
I wash my hair with baking soda.
I use washable menstrual pads. (My sister's comment, when I mentioned this in passing perhaps three months after our grandfather had given me a cash gift: "You really earned that thousand dollars from Grandpa.")
I am still wearing my postpartum granny panties. My youngest is nearly 3. And I have mended holes in them.
I do not always flush when the kids or I pee.
They don't even know that I sometimes use cloth rags instead of toilet paper.
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Things that kind of horrify my mother and sister:
I wash my hair with baking soda.
I use washable menstrual pads. (My sister's comment, when I mentioned this in passing perhaps three months after our grandfather had given me a cash gift: "You really earned that thousand dollars from Grandpa.")
I am still wearing my postpartum granny panties. My youngest is nearly 3. And I have mended holes in them.
I do not always flush when the kids or I pee.
They don't even know that I sometimes use cloth rags instead of toilet paper.
I never purchased maternity panties....just made do.
Everywhere else you've got me hands down other than the kids not flushing - but I am sure that is pure laziness vs frugality. :-)
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Things that kind of horrify my mother and sister:
I wash my hair with baking soda.
I use washable menstrual pads. (My sister's comment, when I mentioned this in passing perhaps three months after our grandfather had given me a cash gift: "You really earned that thousand dollars from Grandpa.")
I am still wearing my postpartum granny panties. My youngest is nearly 3. And I have mended holes in them.
I do not always flush when the kids or I pee.
They don't even know that I sometimes use cloth rags instead of toilet paper.
I never purchased maternity panties....just made do.
Everywhere else you've got me hands down other than the kids not flushing - but I am sure that is pure laziness vs frugality. :-)
My kids were born via c-section. You GOTTA have granny panties while you're healing from that--I can wear almost none of my pre-pregnancy underpants because three years later, the seam is still (a) numb and (b) the site of an awkward, unattractive skin flap that one does not want one's panties bunching into. I did find myself investing in maternity bikinis, too, while I was pregnant as I gained 45 pounds (sigh), but they were so comfortable, I have long since worn out every pair.
And to further my sort-of-gross frugal bona fides, I will point out that some of the panties in question were actually third-hand (previously worn first by my mom, then by my sister, who was pregnant before I was).
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Forward, backward, inside-out & turn it around. That's all I'm saying.
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* Use a trap in the kitchen sink to collect crumbs and sludge off dishes and glasses. The slimy little collection is pretty gross to look at, but I empty it out in my worm bin and it's perfect for them.
Do you not use soap or detergent? Or is that ok for the worms too?
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* Use a trap in the kitchen sink to collect crumbs and sludge off dishes and glasses. The slimy little collection is pretty gross to look at, but I empty it out in my worm bin and it's perfect for them.
Do you not use soap or detergent? Or is that ok for the worms too?
Who wastes money on fancy pants soap?
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* Use a trap in the kitchen sink to collect crumbs and sludge off dishes and glasses. The slimy little collection is pretty gross to look at, but I empty it out in my worm bin and it's perfect for them.
Do you not use soap or detergent? Or is that ok for the worms too?
Who wastes money on fancy pants soap?
*raises hand*
I do. But not any more! However, instead of throwing out everything I have and researching to figure out all the alternatives and home made recipes at once I've decided to learn them all one at a time as I run out of things.
Currently I'm trying out deodorant alternatives.
Next is probably laundry soap.
Then dish soap or maybe hair styling products.
Since I cut my hair very short and started washing it once a week it will probably be a very long time until I need to figure out shampoo and conditioner.
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Sleeping in my office for weeks at the time...not during office hours although I am a pro at faking deep concentration :)
Drink water with apple cider vinegar and also use the same concoction as body wash/deodorant
Use vanilla extract as perfume.
Pick up empties if I come across one on the street
Still biking when it's -45.
Eating/Drinking expired milk.
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How do you sleep in your office? Don't the cleaning and security people rat you out?
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How do you sleep in your office? Don't the cleaning and security people rat you out?
There's no live security person in the building, and I got rid of the cleaning contract a few months after I took the job. Not only was it expensive but not worth it for a couple of paper pushers, so I do our own cleaning myself which takes me an hour a week at most. I am the director of this small agency but I take every opportunity to get off my chair to clean the place, run errands, pick up the mail, deliver things in the immediate vicinity of the office. Our office used to be the bachelor pad of the guy who built the place, so it is equipped with a full bathroom, couch, private storage area where I keep my two bikes, and basic kitchen essentials: mini-fridge, microwave...and I just got a nice espresso/capuccino machine. Visitors and colleagues don't like strong coffee so I keep it for myself, and they can use our old coffee maker with a year' supply of cheap Maxwell House coffee we have left :)
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I use our pee in the garden. It's great fertilizer. (No really! (http://www.nwedible.com/how-to-use-pee-in-your-garden/))
You have ruined me with this comment! Now every time I pee I can't help but feel guilty that this valuable fertilizer is going down the drain (along with a couple gallons of potable water). Not only does pee have nitrogen my plants want, but it is resource intensive to filter out that nitrogen at the water treatment plant. So not only am I wasting it, I'm spending resources to boot. Ahh!! My inner tightwad is screaming!
Any suggestions on urine collection for women? I live with roommates, who would probably look sideways if I just carried a mason jar from the bathroom to the compost bin (conveniently located just outside the kitchen window).
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This is a really good idea. I was thinking about the cost of water.
I might have to start fertilizing my plants.
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I use our pee in the garden. It's great fertilizer. (No really! (http://www.nwedible.com/how-to-use-pee-in-your-garden/))
You have ruined me with this comment! Now every time I pee I can't help but feel guilty that this valuable fertilizer is going down the drain (along with a couple gallons of potable water). Not only does pee have nitrogen my plants want, but it is resource intensive to filter out that nitrogen at the water treatment plant. So not only am I wasting it, I'm spending resources to boot. Ahh!! My inner tightwad is screaming!
Any suggestions on urine collection for women? I live with roommates, who would probably look sideways if I just carried a mason jar from the bathroom to the compost bin (conveniently located just outside the kitchen window).
Your plants need electrolytes.
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I use our pee in the garden. It's great fertilizer. (No really! (http://www.nwedible.com/how-to-use-pee-in-your-garden/))
You have ruined me with this comment! Now every time I pee I can't help but feel guilty that this valuable fertilizer is going down the drain (along with a couple gallons of potable water). Not only does pee have nitrogen my plants want, but it is resource intensive to filter out that nitrogen at the water treatment plant. So not only am I wasting it, I'm spending resources to boot. Ahh!! My inner tightwad is screaming!
Any suggestions on urine collection for women? I live with roommates, who would probably look sideways if I just carried a mason jar from the bathroom to the compost bin (conveniently located just outside the kitchen window).
Your plants need electrolytes.
You should water them in Brawndo.
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I use our pee in the garden. It's great fertilizer. (No really! (http://www.nwedible.com/how-to-use-pee-in-your-garden/))
You have ruined me with this comment! Now every time I pee I can't help but feel guilty that this valuable fertilizer is going down the drain (along with a couple gallons of potable water). Not only does pee have nitrogen my plants want, but it is resource intensive to filter out that nitrogen at the water treatment plant. So not only am I wasting it, I'm spending resources to boot. Ahh!! My inner tightwad is screaming!
Any suggestions on urine collection for women? I live with roommates, who would probably look sideways if I just carried a mason jar from the bathroom to the compost bin (conveniently located just outside the kitchen window).
Easy. Just get an earthenware pitcher (usually super cheap at Goodwill), the kind with a large opening, and pee into it. The roommates will think you are watering the compost. And indeed you are.
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I keep an old cottage cheese container in the bathroom to pee in for the compost. I always dump it immediately and wash it before returning it to the shelf where it lives. No roommates and the neighbors aren't close enough to see exactly what I am dumping in the compost.
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I live in a twin house (side-by-side duplex with separate deeds, very common in Pennsylvania). There's a huge premium for detached houses. One of my wife's brothers thinks we're absolutely ridiculous for doing this.
We live in a better school district than he does, and he has kids, too. So his priorities are very confusing to me.
We live in the same in nearby Chester County!
possibly objectionable:
I use cloth wipes for #1s and we don't flush pee much...
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Well, I suppose it depends on your definition of "others."
Many of the non frugal freak out when I tell them I make my own laundry detergent.
I don't bother telling them that I use a diva cup, and family cloths. Hell, I don't even tell my roommates about the cloths.
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Haha. Diva cup. It feels like indoctrinating someone into a cult whenever I bring it up to someone. Usually it's when a girlfriend and I are doing a happy hour or skyping with wine or something. And then, you broach the subject. Reactions have varried from pure horror with visible recoil (one friend... and she couldn't handle even the softest nursing school story, so that kinda ended). But shockingly, most reactions are open and curious, especially when you frame it with convenience (12 hours!) and health benefits.
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Basically everything I do to save money is something that others find objectionable. Some even tell me that. "You don't have cable?????" "You could afford a much bigger house!" etc
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Oh, I thought of another one. I don't shower every day. I shower every other day. This isn't so much for fiscal reasons, I just don't feel I get dirty enough most days to warrant a shower. Also- I'm prone to athlete's foot, so frequent showering is more likely to bring on a case.
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This is kind of hard to answer because people I know find things objectionable that people on this website would find either normal or not frugal enough. lol
My friend found it shocking that I buy meat and produce from the manager's special bin. I didn't tell her I buy nearly all my clothing second hand. She said used clothing is for poor people.
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This is kind of hard to answer because people I know find things objectionable that people on this website would find either normal or not frugal enough. lol
My friend found it shocking that I buy meat and produce from the manager's special bin. I didn't tell her I buy nearly all my clothing second hand. She said used clothing is for poor people.
Or rich people living like poor people so they can get rich...:)
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This is kind of hard to answer because people I know find things objectionable that people on this website would find either normal or not frugal enough. lol
My friend found it shocking that I buy meat and produce from the manager's special bin. I didn't tell her I buy nearly all my clothing second hand. She said used clothing is for poor people.
Or rich people living like poor people so they can get rich...:)
That's how I see it! :)
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Haha. Diva cup. It feels like indoctrinating someone into a cult whenever I bring it up to someone. Usually it's when a girlfriend and I are doing a happy hour or skyping with wine or something. And then, you broach the subject. Reactions have varried from pure horror with visible recoil (one friend... and she couldn't handle even the softest nursing school story, so that kinda ended). But shockingly, most reactions are open and curious, especially when you frame it with convenience (12 hours!) and health benefits.
Ha! I know exactly the feeling. Was delighted to hear mention of it in a new (to me anyway) sitcom the other day. Although the storyline revolved around the character not being able to get it out so at the same time as thinking "yay, it's gone mainstream", I was wishing they hadn't gone negative for the cheap laugh.
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Haha. Diva cup. It feels like indoctrinating someone into a cult whenever I bring it up to someone. Usually it's when a girlfriend and I are doing a happy hour or skyping with wine or something. And then, you broach the subject. Reactions have varried from pure horror with visible recoil (one friend... and she couldn't handle even the softest nursing school story, so that kinda ended). But shockingly, most reactions are open and curious, especially when you frame it with convenience (12 hours!) and health benefits.
Ha! I know exactly the feeling. Was delighted to hear mention of it in a new (to me anyway) sitcom the other day. Although the storyline revolved around the character not being able to get it out so at the same time as thinking "yay, it's gone mainstream", I was wishing they hadn't gone negative for the cheap laugh.
Before nursing school, I had no idea how many people thought that you could lose thing "in" your body, through eyes, vagina, etc, Like contact lenses or feminine hygiene products.... and it's not always a patient.
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Third or fourth a Diva cup. Although, I would still use it if it cost 4X more! FREEDOM! I still have to change it every couple of ours during my heaviest time, but no more pads! Yay! Most people do find it disgusting, though. How blood soaked cotton jammed up there is more "clean" than a medical grade silicone cup is beyond me. Come to think of it, periods in general disgust most people, but I've never understood that reaction. Come on, people! Almost every female has one! Your mother does/did.
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Minimal flushing of urine.
Day old yuppie bread at half price, half or one third original price canned products (beans, veggies, etc.)
Washing of 'critical areas' instead of shower several times per week.
TVP (textured vegetable protein) granules for protein with brown rice and veggies most days for lunch.
Keep my average cost per pound for vegetables and fruit at $1.50/pound or less in a HCOL area by buying loss leaders.
Walk or bus almost everywhere in all kinds of weather in the northeast. Hardly every use my 1995 Toyota Corolla with about 125k miles. (But it is really nice to have occasionally for places that are hard to reach by public transportation.)
No cell phone. No tv. (I use Ooma and pay about $4/month for VOIP phone.)
8 year old computer.
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So, I started something new recently.
I went through a neighbor's trash.
Oh, My! Please don't tell my NON-Mustachian husband!
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I use our pee in the garden. It's great fertilizer. (No really! (http://www.nwedible.com/how-to-use-pee-in-your-garden/))
You have ruined me with this comment! Now every time I pee I can't help but feel guilty that this valuable fertilizer is going down the drain (along with a couple gallons of potable water). Not only does pee have nitrogen my plants want, but it is resource intensive to filter out that nitrogen at the water treatment plant. So not only am I wasting it, I'm spending resources to boot. Ahh!! My inner tightwad is screaming!
Any suggestions on urine collection for women? I live with roommates, who would probably look sideways if I just carried a mason jar from the bathroom to the compost bin (conveniently located just outside the kitchen window).
"Roomie, just be glad I'm not peeing out the kitchen window" might do it. :)
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I use our pee in the garden. It's great fertilizer. (No really! (http://www.nwedible.com/how-to-use-pee-in-your-garden/))
You have ruined me with this comment! Now every time I pee I can't help but feel guilty that this valuable fertilizer is going down the drain (along with a couple gallons of potable water). Not only does pee have nitrogen my plants want, but it is resource intensive to filter out that nitrogen at the water treatment plant. So not only am I wasting it, I'm spending resources to boot. Ahh!! My inner tightwad is screaming!
Any suggestions on urine collection for women? I live with roommates, who would probably look sideways if I just carried a mason jar from the bathroom to the compost bin (conveniently located just outside the kitchen window).
Fortunately, we only have grass that I don't want to grow (because then I have to mow it), so I don't need to fertilize it. And we have a septic tank, so there's no cost for filtration. Still, there's 1.2 gallons of water there, so if it's yellow, let it mellow.
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I wear my sweats (bottoms) at least twice before I wash them.
Only twice? I wear mine for a month or more. But just to sit around the house--not to work out in. If they actually got dirty I'd wash them.
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I wear a cheap white t-shirt under the tops. I wash the shirts after one day. I have like 30 of those shirts. I wear them under my dress shirts for work too.
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Before nursing school, I had no idea how many people thought that you could lose thing "in" your body, through eyes, vagina, etc, Like contact lenses or feminine hygiene products.... and it's not always a patient.
Game, set, and match, Bracken_Joy! Though, I suppose we could debate the semantics of 'lost' vs 'horrifically suctioned'.
http://thehairpin.com/2014/01/the-best-time-a-diva-cup-suctioned-itself-to-my-cervix/ (http://thehairpin.com/2014/01/the-best-time-a-diva-cup-suctioned-itself-to-my-cervix/)
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Before nursing school, I had no idea how many people thought that you could lose thing "in" your body, through eyes, vagina, etc, Like contact lenses or feminine hygiene products.... and it's not always a patient.
Game, set, and match, Bracken_Joy! Though, I suppose we could debate the semantics of 'lost' vs 'horrifically suctioned'.
http://thehairpin.com/2014/01/the-best-time-a-diva-cup-suctioned-itself-to-my-cervix/ (http://thehairpin.com/2014/01/the-best-time-a-diva-cup-suctioned-itself-to-my-cervix/)
I will indeed debate those semantics. She knew exactly where it was, and it's not like it would migrate into her uterus. Awful situation and medical intervention called for? Yes. Lost into the abyss? Nope.
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* Use a trap in the kitchen sink to collect crumbs and sludge off dishes and glasses. The slimy little collection is pretty gross to look at, but I empty it out in my worm bin and it's perfect for them.
Do you not use soap or detergent? Or is that ok for the worms too?
Soap and detergent residue doesn't really do any harm to microbes, in fact some say that the soap actually help the soil food web to the stuff you want it to digest, although I'm not sure that's true. :)
Remember, it's the scrubbing, not the soap, that mostly kills bacteria in your environment!
(We don't use antibiotic soap on principle, but even if we did, the ratios would favor worm food anyway. The dish drainer ends up with much more food-particle matter than soap matter.)
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Two work friends argued strenuously that I should pay for a haircut, even though they liked my cut before I told them I did it myself. They thought that it was somehow crazy and weird. I went through all the reasons I didn't want to: it takes travel and waiting time, it may not even turn out well, I'm learning a skill, etc. "But what about if you want a complicated style?" "I'll live without it." They could not grasp the concept.
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More basic than many posts here, but I cook virtually all our meals, make stock, render lard for pies, bake our bread, make all desserts (mmmm, homemade ice cream, pudding). It takes time and organization. I try different cuisines regularly. I also have guests over for dinner rather than going out. A surprising number of folks I know don't cook, and spend a fortune on food that's not nearly as good.
Also, no cable TV. Rarely watch TV in any format. Always surprised when people just have electronics blaring nonstop in their homes.
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I wear clothes until they feel not so fresh, if there's no visible staining. Wearing sweatpants twice? I would definitely wear them more than that.
I don't find any of the stuff I do objectionable. If it bothered me, I wouldn't do it. I think my husband is a little bothered by the "if it's yellow, let it mellow", though we mostly only do it at night, and he's not a huge fan of the cloth diapers we use sometimes on our son.
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Old expired medicine. No problems
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I wear my sweats (bottoms) at least twice before I wash them.
I find this objectionable. I wash my sweat pants after like 20 wearings, unless I get them super dirty. If I am wearing sweat pants though I am most likely just putzing around the house, and I wear underwear, so they don't really get dirty. No need to wash those sweat pants (or most any pants) very frequently at all. My jeans do get washed about once a week, but I also ride 70+ mi/wk in them.
Ditto. i was sitting here thinking, "wow, am i really that weird for wearing sweat pants for days and days without washing them?" My husband and I go by the good ol' sniff test. If they smell, wash em. otherwise, they're good to go. (To be fair though, we too wear underwear.... most of the time)
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Expiration Dates=Suggestions (at best, lol).
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I cut up an old fitted flannel sheet that we would never use again (DH says flannel makes him uncomfortably hot at night) and turned it into "pee towels." Now I use them for "number ones," and stick to the old California maxim, "if it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down." It's working great and we are saving so much on buying toilet paper!
I get most of our household items (cookware, decorative items, clothing, etc.) from Goodwill. It's a good cause, it keeps stuff out of the landfill, and it's an inexpensive way to have good quality things at a fraction of the price.
We bought our last three cars (sequentially--we became a one-car household nine years ago) on eBay. Not particularly radical, but it scared a number of our friends and family members. All the cars worked out just great for us. Older cars keep the registration fees down, and as time marches, the better old cars become in comparison to the ones that are even older! For example, our current car is 13 years old, but it has power locks and windows, heated seats, auto-adjustable seats with "memory," a CD player, and so on. Hardly a hardship!
We gave up spending money to buy and maintain equipment for hobbies we rarely participate in. In my husband's case, it was golf. Then we got rid of our camping stuff. We did it a few times, and finally DH said, "why are we spending money to go out and pretend we are homeless?" We switched to bowling...much cheaper and a lot more fun!
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I drink cheap beer.
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Expiration Dates=Suggestions (at best, lol).
Definitely. We keep eggs in the fridge for months past expiration. Just cook them and they are fine.
We also eat leftovers for a week or more after they've been cooked. Some people throw out anything that's been in there more than 2 days. Just follow good cooking practices and keep your fridge at 35 degrees.
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I make my own household cleaning products such as laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent and bathroom cleaners. I don't do it to save money but rather because I enjoy it, saving money is just a great by-product. People may not find this an "objectionable" way to save money but they tend to find it odd.
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Similar to the pee post, I empty my diva cup into my watering can and water the roses with it. Even my husband is unaware of this.
I bought used cloth diapers.
I make my own laundry detergent
We live in a small-ish house in an older neighborhood
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Biggest thing for me is drying my laundry outside when the weather is nice. I had a couple neighbors pitch a fit about it when they were selling their house because they saw it as an indicator of being poor and worried how it would look to prospective buyers.
My neighbors were so horrified about my line drying (underwear, flapping in the wind!) that they put up a privacy fence.
I wish I had neighbours like that! Would motivate me to perform new, shocking feats of frugality..
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I'm intrigued by the pee towels. Please provide more detail. Is it a similar concept to reusable cloth diaper wipes, i.e. reach for cloth in supply basket --> use --> chuck in used basket --> wash --> fold --> place in supply basket?
Any special laundry considerations? How did you introduce the idea to the larger household? The folks in casa Sam's use up astounding amounts of toilet paper. I've never been so brash as to suggest cutting back, but maybe I could sidestep the clutch by suggesting an alternative to toilet paper.
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I'm intrigued by the pee towels. Please provide more detail. Is it a similar concept to reusable cloth diaper wipes, i.e. reach for cloth in supply basket --> use --> chuck in used basket --> wash --> fold --> place in supply basket?
Any special laundry considerations? How did you introduce the idea to the larger household? The folks in casa Sam's use up astounding amounts of toilet paper. I've never been so brash as to suggest cutting back, but maybe I could sidestep the clutch by suggesting an alternative to toilet paper.
The OP seems to suggest that she is throwing away the sheet with each use--correct me if I'm wrong.
I use mine exactly like cloth diaper wipes and I also use them for small spills, nose wiping, etc. I keep a basket of them on the kitchen counter and just grab one on my way to the toilet. Then I toss it in the bodily fluids basket next to the toilet, which generally also contains things that Little Brother has peed on and Big Brother's hashmarked undies. These items are set aside for going through a rinse cycle before the regular wash. (I usually rinse cold and wash warm or hot, but if I am planning a cold load, then I will do a hot rinse instead.)
I am the only lady in my family, so I was the #1 consumer of TP and had no need to sell others on it.
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"Family cloth" explained on Extreme Cheapskates:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olWArpqK3F0
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I wish I had something to share but I'm just not far enough into the frugality mindset to do anything too weird... My roommates and I all leave the toilet unflushed unless we poop, so there's that, but that's pretty much it!
I'm loving all these other posts though, keep em comin'!
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I bought a washer, dryer, and refrigerator used for about 30-40 cents on the dollar. All of my family told me that they would break and they were not going to help me fix them. All came with a 2 year warranty. We called once for the refrigerator and ended up getting a replacement for the washer for no extra cost. It's been 3.5 years and I haven't heard anything from the family lately.
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Are you able to share some of the recipes?
I don't remeber any off the top of my head. I usually just google what I want to make such as "homemade laundry detergent" and several websites will pop up that have recipes for just about everything. Most homemade cleaning products use some combination of these ingredients: vinegar, borax, washing soda, citric acid, baking soda and/or essential oils. The majority of those can be bought in bulk online or at Sams Club/Costco.
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Are you able to share some of the recipes?
I don't remeber any off the top of my head. I usually just google what I want to make such as "homemade laundry detergent" and several websites will pop up that have recipes for just about everything. Most homemade cleaning products use some combination of these ingredients: vinegar, borax, washing soda, citric acid, baking soda and/or essential oils. The majority of those can be bought in bulk online or at Sams Club/Costco.
Back when The Simple Dollar was a non-monetized site (pre-MMM), Trent had a good tutorial on how to make laundry soap. If you don't like monetized blogs where the founder's voice is but a faint echo, there are loads of recipes on the internet. If you have a Winco in your area (West Coast), they are an excellent source as they have all of the ingredients in stock at great prices.
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Combine:
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda
1 cup shredded Fels Naptha soap
Add 1-2 Tbsp to laundry.
I buy the washing soda and Fels Naptha at an Ace Hardware locations. Borax is available in the laundry detergent section of nearly every big box store. I use a box grater to shred the soap. I've also tried Zote (which seemed to moist to shred well, but which you can allegedly just throw in the machine and use as your detergent in bar form), Irish Spring, Dove and a variety of other soaps. They all seemed to work somewhat adequately (no clear-cut failures).
We call the homemade laundry detergent our "utility soap" and use it mostly on towels, rags, blankets, etc.
I didn't seem to be doing a complete job removing stains and smells from our clothes, and DH likes the smell of Tide, so we use Tide for clothes, especially shirts. We seem to get a fairly good price when Costco has it on discount.
I like having the alternative/backup available and will continue to make it for the foreseeable future.
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I can't get into the DIY detergents at this point in my life, but when the label calls for a full cup or half cup of tide, I use about a teaspoon-full instead.
There are usually still suds visible when I open the washing machine door, so why would I need more? My family would never visit again if they knew this or would probably bring their own sheets!
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I can't get into the DIY detergents at this point in my life, but when the label calls for a full cup or half cup of tide, I use about a teaspoon-full instead.
There are usually still suds visible when I open the washing machine door, so why would I need more? My family would never visit again if they knew this or would probably bring their own sheets!
I've been doing this for years. The recommended amount is WAY too much. I probably use more like a tablespoon, since I have young kids who get their clothing filthy, but it's still far less than what the cap says.