pjlla
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2003
- Messages
- 11,654
We had a thread like this a few years ago and I got some GREAT ideas that I still use today.... so I figured it was time to try it again! I'll list my top 10 and then you share yours! Remember.... keep it clean and polite and if you don't like someone's suggestion/idea.... just step away! No need to be snarky or critical!
1. Cloth napkins .... I use the multi-packs of plain white terrycloth washclothes from Walmart and/or Target for napkins when it is just us (use something nicer for company). When they get too stained/ratty they become cleaning rags. I had the same batch for about 5 years before they got too icky for the table (even with bleaching frequently). I took a black sharpie and put a huge "R" (for "rag") on each and moved them to the rag bag/cleaning bucket... so if they get washed they don't get put back into the napkin drawer by mistake.
2. Plastic cups for the bathroom instead of disposable Dixie cups. I bought 8 very inexpensive plastic cups, pulled out my label maker and each one got a label (family of four, so that gave us 2 per person). About every 3-5 days (more frequently during the cold and flu season) I swap out the cups on the counter for new cups and put the dirty ones in the dishwasher. The cups have held up and the labels have stayed on for at least 5 years now. DD went to college and took her cup with her! ** DISCLAIMER** I'll be the FIRST to tell you that we do NOT need more plastic in the environment and I make a HUGE effort to buy as little plastic as possible and recycle/reuse as much as I can. But in the grand scheme, this idea SAVED plastic because I wasn't filling plastic trash bags with stacks and stacks of one-use, throwaway Dixie cups! But I do keep a small supply of those on hand for overnight company and for anyone with a cold.
3. Make my own vegetable stock/broth. I save carrot peelings, onions peelings, broccoli stems, celery leaves, etc (but nothing starchy and no tomato) in a bag (or 2 or 3) in the freezer and when I have enough and have some free time, I make up a HUGE batch of vegetable stock for the freezer. I buy organic whenever possible AND I wash my produce really well. Anything that doesn't make it into the bag for stock (like the very dried up bottoms of the stocks or anything heading "south"), goes into the compost bin. And if I have a lot of produce waste that can't go into the stock pot (watermelon rinds, apple cores) I can always bring them to one of my neighbors for their chickens or pigs!
Using my biggest stock pot I can cook down a full pot in an afternoon (I usually add a few peppercorns and bay leaves, plus any fresh herbs I have in the garden like rosemary and parsley). I can usually make up 24 +/- cups pretty quickly. I freeze them in (recycled) plastic jars in 6 cup batches. I found that to be my most frequently called-for amount in recipes.
My DS has a chicken allergy, so I can use this anywhere that a recipe calls for chicken stock. I make a lot of soup and stew, so I can go through a batch in just a few weeks.... but it keeps in the freezer for months.
4. Use a clothesline. I hang clothes outside all spring, summer, and fall, whenever it isn't raining. On a really hot day I can turn over my main clothesline 3 times (especially if it is sheets and t-shirts....jeans take longer). In the winter and when it rains I do use my dryer for bath towels, kitchen towels, kitchen napkins, and jeans, but hang whatever else I can on a drying rack and on hangers over the shower rod. We have a pretty high electric rate here in NH and with the dryer going, the pool pump running, and a few nights of a/c, my electric bill can easily be $300 in a month. Since putting the pool pump on a timer, combined with hanging clothes out and turning off the hot tub all summer, we can keep the electric bills closer to the $200 mark. Plus it seems SO NUTS to me that I run around closing blinds and trying to keep the house cool and then TURN ON THE DRYER???? Made NO SENSE!
5. Buy used whenever possible. If you are "weirded out" by the idea of buying things at a thrift store or yard sale, then just skip this. But I buy used whenever possible. I figure I am reducing my carbon footprint by buying items WITHOUT extra packaging and by buying I am keeping those items from going to the landfill. And if I don't like it/can't use it/get bored with it, it doesn't seem like such a waste. I do have a few places where I draw the line (underwear). I've bought used cars, used furniture (although I know folks who are concerned about bed bugs and cockroaches so they avoid anything upholstered), used shoes, tons of used clothes, books, dishes, pots and pans, rugs, toys, computer components, power tools, jewelry, lamps, baskets.
6. With the above being said....FREE is my favorite price! I keep my eyes open for stuff heading to the dump/landfill or advertised on FB as free and if I can use it or upcycle it, I grab it!! I currently have a free night table in my garage that I plan to refinish/upcycle and give to DD for a printer stand. That being said, I NOT to grab EVERYTHING that is available for free.... because if I don't need it, it just adds to the clutter around the house. Plus maybe someone else could really use it. No sense being greedy.
7. Menu planning/meal planning. This is a big money saver. Now in all honesty I'll tell you that we have NO fast food restaurants in our town and NO pizza delivery here. So if I don't cook it isn't like we can run out and grab something. But that being said, menu planning DOES save us money and time and does avoid that 4-5 pm distress of "what are we eating??". And by staying more organized with my menu planning, it allows me to work more days (I work per diem, so I don't always know when I'm working) without distress. And for those who have the temptation of take-out/carry-out or delivery right around the corner, menu planning can help avoid that!
Another HUGE bonus of menu planning is LESS FOOD WASTE! My goal, for myself and my family, is ZERO food waste!! If we can't eat it, I either put it into my aforementioned veggie stock pot or into the compost bin. Worst case scenario I feed it to the birds (things like stale cereal and bread).
8. Patch it or fix it! Yup, I patch things.... I used to patch my DS's jeans when he was little and wore out the knees, I've been known to sew holes in socks, I currently have a set of sheets on my bed that have been patched where they became a little threadbare. I have taken shoes to the cobbler to be resoled/reheeled (most especially if they are good quality expensive shoes or boots). I've fixed zippers on backpacks, made over curtains to fit new windows, sanded and refinished furniture pieces that were showing their age, glued things back together, etc.
9. Keep a price book. I did this years ago when the kiddos were little and I was looking to save a dollar anywhere I could. But then I got busy with the kids schedules and gave it up for a while. But I've gotten back to it recently and it is reassuring to be able to stock up on cat food on sale with a coupon, knowing that it is the BEST prices around for the last 3-6 months. And I recently found a menu plan from 2010 where I noted the price per pound from a chuck roast I used in a recipe... and I was reassured to see that it was EXACTLY the same price per pound I would pay today at my favorite supermarket. And when I get that niggling feeling that prices are going up, I can check my book and actually KNOW if things are going up or if it is just my imagination. My book is pretty casual.... I list the actual item, where I purchased it and the UNIT price (that is VERY important). I also try to list whether it was a sale price or a regular daily price.
10. Worry about the pennies. I know, I know.... you all are familiar with "a penny saved" and all that. But it is TRUE. I know folks that can't be bothered to use a coupon for .50 or don't want the work involved in saving $2 by hanging out a load of laundry or using their dehumidifier water to water their potted plants. If they can't earn/save $100 for their effort, there is no point (DH is kind of this way). But it HONESTLY does add up!! And it IS worth it. Sure, that soda at the drive-thru on your way home is only 75 cents.... but if you do that 3 times during the week.... times working 4 weeks in a month equals $9..... and that is $108 for the year. Multiply that times all of the other "small" changes you could make and you could easily save $1,000 for the year by just making TINY changes and worrying about the pennies.
Okay.... your turn!!........................P
1. Cloth napkins .... I use the multi-packs of plain white terrycloth washclothes from Walmart and/or Target for napkins when it is just us (use something nicer for company). When they get too stained/ratty they become cleaning rags. I had the same batch for about 5 years before they got too icky for the table (even with bleaching frequently). I took a black sharpie and put a huge "R" (for "rag") on each and moved them to the rag bag/cleaning bucket... so if they get washed they don't get put back into the napkin drawer by mistake.
2. Plastic cups for the bathroom instead of disposable Dixie cups. I bought 8 very inexpensive plastic cups, pulled out my label maker and each one got a label (family of four, so that gave us 2 per person). About every 3-5 days (more frequently during the cold and flu season) I swap out the cups on the counter for new cups and put the dirty ones in the dishwasher. The cups have held up and the labels have stayed on for at least 5 years now. DD went to college and took her cup with her! ** DISCLAIMER** I'll be the FIRST to tell you that we do NOT need more plastic in the environment and I make a HUGE effort to buy as little plastic as possible and recycle/reuse as much as I can. But in the grand scheme, this idea SAVED plastic because I wasn't filling plastic trash bags with stacks and stacks of one-use, throwaway Dixie cups! But I do keep a small supply of those on hand for overnight company and for anyone with a cold.
3. Make my own vegetable stock/broth. I save carrot peelings, onions peelings, broccoli stems, celery leaves, etc (but nothing starchy and no tomato) in a bag (or 2 or 3) in the freezer and when I have enough and have some free time, I make up a HUGE batch of vegetable stock for the freezer. I buy organic whenever possible AND I wash my produce really well. Anything that doesn't make it into the bag for stock (like the very dried up bottoms of the stocks or anything heading "south"), goes into the compost bin. And if I have a lot of produce waste that can't go into the stock pot (watermelon rinds, apple cores) I can always bring them to one of my neighbors for their chickens or pigs!
Using my biggest stock pot I can cook down a full pot in an afternoon (I usually add a few peppercorns and bay leaves, plus any fresh herbs I have in the garden like rosemary and parsley). I can usually make up 24 +/- cups pretty quickly. I freeze them in (recycled) plastic jars in 6 cup batches. I found that to be my most frequently called-for amount in recipes.
My DS has a chicken allergy, so I can use this anywhere that a recipe calls for chicken stock. I make a lot of soup and stew, so I can go through a batch in just a few weeks.... but it keeps in the freezer for months.
4. Use a clothesline. I hang clothes outside all spring, summer, and fall, whenever it isn't raining. On a really hot day I can turn over my main clothesline 3 times (especially if it is sheets and t-shirts....jeans take longer). In the winter and when it rains I do use my dryer for bath towels, kitchen towels, kitchen napkins, and jeans, but hang whatever else I can on a drying rack and on hangers over the shower rod. We have a pretty high electric rate here in NH and with the dryer going, the pool pump running, and a few nights of a/c, my electric bill can easily be $300 in a month. Since putting the pool pump on a timer, combined with hanging clothes out and turning off the hot tub all summer, we can keep the electric bills closer to the $200 mark. Plus it seems SO NUTS to me that I run around closing blinds and trying to keep the house cool and then TURN ON THE DRYER???? Made NO SENSE!
5. Buy used whenever possible. If you are "weirded out" by the idea of buying things at a thrift store or yard sale, then just skip this. But I buy used whenever possible. I figure I am reducing my carbon footprint by buying items WITHOUT extra packaging and by buying I am keeping those items from going to the landfill. And if I don't like it/can't use it/get bored with it, it doesn't seem like such a waste. I do have a few places where I draw the line (underwear). I've bought used cars, used furniture (although I know folks who are concerned about bed bugs and cockroaches so they avoid anything upholstered), used shoes, tons of used clothes, books, dishes, pots and pans, rugs, toys, computer components, power tools, jewelry, lamps, baskets.
6. With the above being said....FREE is my favorite price! I keep my eyes open for stuff heading to the dump/landfill or advertised on FB as free and if I can use it or upcycle it, I grab it!! I currently have a free night table in my garage that I plan to refinish/upcycle and give to DD for a printer stand. That being said, I NOT to grab EVERYTHING that is available for free.... because if I don't need it, it just adds to the clutter around the house. Plus maybe someone else could really use it. No sense being greedy.
7. Menu planning/meal planning. This is a big money saver. Now in all honesty I'll tell you that we have NO fast food restaurants in our town and NO pizza delivery here. So if I don't cook it isn't like we can run out and grab something. But that being said, menu planning DOES save us money and time and does avoid that 4-5 pm distress of "what are we eating??". And by staying more organized with my menu planning, it allows me to work more days (I work per diem, so I don't always know when I'm working) without distress. And for those who have the temptation of take-out/carry-out or delivery right around the corner, menu planning can help avoid that!
Another HUGE bonus of menu planning is LESS FOOD WASTE! My goal, for myself and my family, is ZERO food waste!! If we can't eat it, I either put it into my aforementioned veggie stock pot or into the compost bin. Worst case scenario I feed it to the birds (things like stale cereal and bread).
8. Patch it or fix it! Yup, I patch things.... I used to patch my DS's jeans when he was little and wore out the knees, I've been known to sew holes in socks, I currently have a set of sheets on my bed that have been patched where they became a little threadbare. I have taken shoes to the cobbler to be resoled/reheeled (most especially if they are good quality expensive shoes or boots). I've fixed zippers on backpacks, made over curtains to fit new windows, sanded and refinished furniture pieces that were showing their age, glued things back together, etc.
9. Keep a price book. I did this years ago when the kiddos were little and I was looking to save a dollar anywhere I could. But then I got busy with the kids schedules and gave it up for a while. But I've gotten back to it recently and it is reassuring to be able to stock up on cat food on sale with a coupon, knowing that it is the BEST prices around for the last 3-6 months. And I recently found a menu plan from 2010 where I noted the price per pound from a chuck roast I used in a recipe... and I was reassured to see that it was EXACTLY the same price per pound I would pay today at my favorite supermarket. And when I get that niggling feeling that prices are going up, I can check my book and actually KNOW if things are going up or if it is just my imagination. My book is pretty casual.... I list the actual item, where I purchased it and the UNIT price (that is VERY important). I also try to list whether it was a sale price or a regular daily price.
10. Worry about the pennies. I know, I know.... you all are familiar with "a penny saved" and all that. But it is TRUE. I know folks that can't be bothered to use a coupon for .50 or don't want the work involved in saving $2 by hanging out a load of laundry or using their dehumidifier water to water their potted plants. If they can't earn/save $100 for their effort, there is no point (DH is kind of this way). But it HONESTLY does add up!! And it IS worth it. Sure, that soda at the drive-thru on your way home is only 75 cents.... but if you do that 3 times during the week.... times working 4 weeks in a month equals $9..... and that is $108 for the year. Multiply that times all of the other "small" changes you could make and you could easily save $1,000 for the year by just making TINY changes and worrying about the pennies.
Okay.... your turn!!........................P
