Another along the same lines...don't use fabric softener, use vinegar instead (it really does work, I promise!!). Vinegar also works well instead of JetDry in the dishwasher.
I like the smell of Downy, but I mix it 50-50 with white vinegar. And I've been using the same plastic bottle for years; I always buy the Downy in the "milk carton" refills.
I never throw out the plastic grocery bags. I hang it on the laundry door, off my kitchen, and throw all my paper/dry garbage in it. Sure saves on the tall kitchen garbage bags!
I keep an old Kleenex box in each bathroom, and I shove plastic grocery bags into it. The Kleenex box keeps them neat, and then they're handy for changing the bathroom trash.
When making seasoned meat for tacos I use a 50/50 mix of browned ground turkey and cooked brown rice - once the seasoning is added it is very difficult to tell that the rice is not turkey - would also work with beef.
Similarly, if you add a little chopped apple to tuna salad, it tastes like chicken salad . . . but cheaper and easier.
This doesn't work for me anymore because I work from home now, but when I was working part-time in an office, it saved me a lot of money. I love magazines, but not the cost. So I sent out an email at work and asked if people would pass their magazines on to me when they were done reading them. I don't really care if I'm reading them a week or two late! Anyway, I got tons of magazines. The ones I didn't want I just threw out, the others I took home and enjoyed. Even got to read some new ones I hadn't looked at before. And people were happy to do it!
Similar tip, which I stole from a travel magazine: When you fly, be last off the plane and look to see if people left magazines in their seats. People do this all the time -- they buy a magazine for the flight, then abandon it. My husband flies for business, and he frequently brings home something that we wouldn't buy but do enjoy.
I was going through the clothes that my dd had out grew. They had stains on them and I could not send them to the Salvation Army.. so I cut them in half to be used as rags (insted of paper towel) . I use them and then toss them.
A hint about infant's clothing and stains: Breastmilk and powdered formula do not stain. Formula made from concentrate and ready-to-feed formula do stain.
I tried tomato plants the past two years. Last year, I got about 10 tomatoes total. The year before, I don't think I even got 5.
I'm not very good at growing tomatoes, but squash and cukes are easier (or maybe just better suited to my soil). I wish I could get peppers to grow; they're so expensive! In the summer I love to shop at the farmer's market. For example, last summer I spent $13 and bought enough materials for two dozen jars of salsa, which we are still eating. Actually, that's not quite true -- I spent $13 at the farmer's market and then still had to buy 24 limes (one for each canning jar). Still, we're talking about less than $1 per jar.
The CFL bulbs do not last substantially longer and are not budget friendly. I don't like them, but DH swears he's not changing bulbs as often. Sorry, I think he's convinced himself that they're worth it, they're not.
I have no opinion on that particular disagreement, but more than once I've been SURE that a certain thing was worth the money, the time, whatever . . . and once I took time to measure the cost or the time, I discovered I was dead wrong. The point: Experiment. Put two
new lightbulbs in the same light fixture, and write down what day you do it. Measure how long each one lasts, then compare the cost vs. how many days it lasted.
Wow. I am seriously going to cut waaaaaaay back on tea bags and apparently save tons of money. I use 12 when I make tea.
Being Southern, I could never cut back on teabags, but I buy them at a coffee/tea outlet by the case -- they're about half the cost of tea at the grocery store.
Similarly, I buy all my spices at an expensive health food store. Everything else is expensive, but their serve-yourself bulk spices are only 5-10% the cost of spices at the grocery store. I intend to get A TON of little square tins (I saw them on a website) in which to store them all neatly in my spice cabinet . . . someday.
Do you keep a bag or something near the dryer to collect the lint in?
I stuff dryer lint into empty toilet paper rolls. They make great fire starters. I have a small stash of toilet paper rolls in a box near the dryer; however, we always have more toilet paper rolls than dryer lint.
I believe we will never see food prices cheap again. I am not trying to be a doomsdayer or a pessimist, but I want to be realistic . . . I have a feeling I will be spending far more time in there making even spice mixes (taco seasonings, etc...) from scratch to save $$.
It seems that many foods are going up, but other very basic foods -- especially foods that take more effort -- are still affordable. For example, I just bought a package of 10 chicken thighs for $4.25 (wasn't marked down for quick sale -- regular price). I boiled the chicken and picked it off the bone. I made half the chicken into enchiladas and froze the other half for a casserole or another round of enchiladas. I also froze two containers of chicken broth. Meat for two meals and two 1.5 cup containers of broth for $4.25 -- not bad.
