Best painless "stretching things" budget tips?

[semo233]

BUMP

 

[pampam]

My DD is hard on toilet paper. She flings the roller, and if 17 feet fly off, then that is what whe will use. To stop so much paper from rolling off, I would step on the roll before placing it on the roller. The oblong shape of the cardboard insert worked very much like the toilet paper conservers we sometimes see in public washrooms. Anyway, one time the cardboard insert actually came out of the roll. I put it on the roller, and it worked great. Toilet paper will not fly off the roll. It comes off the roll only as long as one pulls on the paper. So, I do this now with all our toilet paper. By removing the cardboard inset we save quite a bit of toilet paper, and it is better for our septic system.

 

[jgraney106]

My DD is hard on toilet paper. She flings the roller, and if 17 feet fly off, then that is what whe will use. To stop so much paper from rolling off, I would step on the roll before placing it on the roller. The oblong shape of the cardboard insert worked very much like the toilet paper conservers we sometimes see in public washrooms. Anyway, one time the cardboard insert actually came out of the roll. I put it on the roller, and it worked great. Toilet paper will not fly off the roll. It comes off the roll only as long as one pulls on the paper. So, I do this now with all our toilet paper. By removing the cardboard inset we save quite a bit of toilet paper, and it is better for our septic system.

You are my idol! I have the same problem here ! Thanks for the great idea!

 

[5 'LIL *TWINKERS*]

Having 5 kids we go through a lot of canned fruit. I try to buy the fruit packed in its own juice or pear juice. Instead of draining the canned pineapple juice down the drain, I divy it out among 5 cups and add apple juice or whatever on hand, and water.

We also save our ketchup and mustard containers and refill from the bulk size containers that you can get at costco or other bulk warehouse store.

I also make my own antibacterial hand wipes for the kids' lunchbox for school. Just take cheap pack of wipes and add lots of squirts of handsanitizer (Im a germaphobe so I buy the huge industrial size containers from walmarts ). I always add a little warm water and squish and mush all the wipes so everything gets mixed in and soaked up. Put a couple in a ziplock and add to their lunch boxes to wipe hands before they eat. They know not to throw away the ziplock bag, just the used wipes. I then put a couple more wipes in the bag for the next day.

My dd2 has sensitive skin on her butt...I add babymagic lotion, babybath and warm water to her wipe container, mush and squish again. Works great!

DD12 face is starting to get oily, bought her some stridex pads, cut them all in half for her, works just as good!

Make up snack bags. Whatever kind of cereal, crackers, candy, dried fruit, nuts, etc. you can find in the cupboard that can be eaten with fingers, mixed together and put in snack sized ziplocks. Put in a bowl or brown paper bag and can be grabbed for after school snack. Kids love a mix of things!

 

[hsmamato2]

My DD is hard on toilet paper. She flings the roller, and if 17 feet fly off, then that is what whe will use. To stop so much paper from rolling off, I would step on the roll before placing it on the roller. The oblong shape of the cardboard insert worked very much like the toilet paper conservers we sometimes see in public washrooms. Anyway, one time the cardboard insert actually came out of the roll. I put it on the roller, and it worked great. Toilet paper will not fly off the roll. It comes off the roll only as long as one pulls on the paper. So, I do this now with all our toilet paper. By removing the cardboard inset we save quite a bit of toilet paper, and it is better for our septic system.

WHAT??? This is so cheap.....I may do this!!!!! My ds takes a LOT- this may stop the problem with no one the wiser......

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Whenever I get the urge to buy something new that we don't necessarily "need" I give the old one some extra TLC. For example, lately I've been thinking that I want a new van, but our old one is still fine, runs well, etc. so I went out today and gave it a good cleaning inside and out and I felt alot better about it. I've done the same thing with furniture.

Also when I get the urge to redecorate I'll look around my house and see if there's something else I already have that I can repurpose or just move to a different room to change it up. Or I'll just rearrange the furniture and reorganize a little bit and clean so it feels like a new space.

As an added bonus when I do this sometimes I'll find things we can sell on ebay or craigslist.

 

[Inigo]

DD12 face is starting to get oily, bought her some stridex pads, cut them all in half for her, works just as good!

I like the Olay facial cleaning cloths to wash my eye make-up off. (I use the vibrating face washing thing for the rest of my face.) For the longest time, I cut the Olay cloths into fourths. For the last couple boxes, I've started cutting the cloths into 8ths, and I find there is still enough cleanser for both eyes.

 

[pampam]

I realized I have to colour my hair sooner than I would like, because my hair gets grey quicker at the temples, before it shows elsewhere. Someone suggested only using half the hair colour and saving the unmixed other half for the next time. I went one better. I realized the 2 solutions I mix together were 2 ounces each. Equal sizes. So, I only used a small capful of each, mixed together in a small bottle. I brushed it onto the grey temple hair with an old toothbrush. It worked perfectly. I expect by only doing touch-ups my package of hair colour will last quite a long time. Of course when it starts to fade, I will colour all my hair, but in the meantime, my hair looks freshly coloured.

 

[Mermaid02]

My DD is hard on toilet paper. She flings the roller, and if 17 feet fly off, then that is what whe will use. To stop so much paper from rolling off, I would step on the roll before placing it on the roller. The oblong shape of the cardboard insert worked very much like the toilet paper conservers we sometimes see in public washrooms. Anyway, one time the cardboard insert actually came out of the roll. I put it on the roller, and it worked great. Toilet paper will not fly off the roll. It comes off the roll only as long as one pulls on the paper. So, I do this now with all our toilet paper. By removing the cardboard inset we save quite a bit of toilet paper, and it is better for our septic system.

I LOVE this idea!!!

 

[pampam]

bump

 

[pampam]

bump again

 

[Missy1961]

I realized I have to colour my hair sooner than I would like, because my hair gets grey quicker at the temples, before it shows elsewhere. Someone suggested only using half the hair colour and saving the unmixed other half for the next time. I went one better. I realized the 2 solutions I mix together were 2 ounces each. Equal sizes. So, I only used a small capful of each, mixed together in a small bottle. I brushed it onto the grey temple hair with an old toothbrush. It worked perfectly. I expect by only doing touch-ups my package of hair colour will last quite a long time. Of course when it starts to fade, I will colour all my hair, but in the meantime, my hair looks freshly coloured.

It's really not a good idea to keep unused hair color. They are chemicals, and you can't control what could happen. Sorry, this is not a cost saver, it may end up costing you more in the end.

 

[MineMail]

The only thing I won't hang out is underwear- I don't want the neighbors to think we have surrendered!! LOL

I said the clothesline, not the flagpole.

We also have inside racks that we hang stuff on in the spare bedroom when the weather is bad. Only takes a moment or two.

I grew up in a house with a clothesline upstairs and downstairs, but our new house doesn't have one and I worry about the Home Owner's Association rules.

We have a clothes rod over the dryer that we use for hanging shirts and other things, and we use a wire shelf with some clothespins for smaller items.

I miss the sunlight and fresh air smell, though.

 

[runwad]

I grew up in a house with a clothesline upstairs and downstairs, but our new house doesn't have one and I worry about the Home Owner's Association rules.

We have a clothes rod over the dryer that we use for hanging shirts and other things, and we use a wire shelf with some clothespins for smaller items.

I miss the sunlight and fresh air smell, though.

I have a patio and and a bar set w/high chairs. I place a rod/broom handle between two chairs and wa-la, instant clothes line. Its kinda concealed on the patio so not so obvious. Maybe something like this can work for you?

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

It's really not a good idea to keep unused hair color. They are chemicals, and you can't control what could happen. Sorry, this is not a cost saver, it may end up costing you more in the end.

As far as hair color I think Pampam was suggesting measuring out equal amounts of each bottle, mix and use it, leaving the unmixed portions in their original bottle ready for next time. I have done this many times. As long as they arent mixed you can keep them for a long time

 

[bookgirl]

As far as hair color I think Pampam was suggesting measuring out equal amounts of each bottle, mix and use it, leaving the unmixed portions in their original bottle ready for next time. I have done this many times. As long as they arent mixed you can keep them for a long time

Have to agree, my mom had a beauty shop (back when they were called beauty shops LOL) and her coloring supplies came in large bottles, you mixed them up for each job. As long as they activator is not mixed in the supplies are good for a long time.

 

[canadianmom2three]

It is amazing how much food one accumulates....we just did a week without grocery shopping, and it was suprisingly easy. I wouldn't recommend doing this all the time (I missed my fresh veggies and fruits) but once in a while I think is great, and we had a LOT of frozen veggies in the freezer. I usually spend $150 - $200 a week on groceries, so it was a savings for sure!

Also, I saw the idea about filling up PB jars for ice blocks. WE use our empty dishwasher soap and fabric softener containers - they have a built in handle, and fit well in the cooler - we even have a big laundry soap one in there for the big cooler. As an added bonus, it is more efficient to have the freezer full, so these fill up our bottom shelf when it is empty, but it is easy to take them out if I need the room.

 

[sforbes223]

WOW only to page 26 and my head hurts from all these great ideas. Cant wait to read this years post.

 

[itutorfortravel]

Give up paper towels and paper napkins. Buy a bunch of good quality (on sale of course!) white dish towels. They will last forever, can be bleached of stains and can be used for drying hands and are great for covering laps really well while eating...so they're perfect with kids...less stains on clothing!

I switched to cloth napkins about a year ago! My friends think I am trying to be fancy but I'm really just saving money It's incredible how quickly our family of 3 can go through a package of paper towels, and it's awesome how much we save by using cloth napkins!

 

[PinballFamily]

Came across an interesting tip recently - for those who use the spray pump bottles of hair spray (not the aerosol cans).

When your spray bottle gets down to half-full, fill the rest with water and shake. Apparently, this does not hurt the effectiveness. Haven't tried it (yet) but might give it a whirl... If anyone has tried this, let the rest of us know!