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Learning to be Frugal. What do YOU do?
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<blockquote data-quote="susiestar" data-source="post: 454847" data-attributes="member: 1233"><p>Buy NO commercial cleaning products unless a new spray bottle is needed because one broke. Use ammonia, baking soda, dish soap, bleach (NEVER with ammonia of course) and vinegar to clean the entire house. If you need something more abrasive than baking soda, use salt.. I keep a box of baking soda in the freezer. I change it about every 3 months but I DO NOT throw the old one away. It goes to scrub tubs, the porch, etc.... I don't use that on clothing stains or dishes or the kitchen sinks/counters because it has absorbed odors, but it is perfectly fine for cleaning other things. </p><p></p><p>DO NOT EVER purchase clorox 2 or other color safe bleaches. Put one cup hydrogen peroxide into a 32 ounce bottle, fill with water and use 1/2 to one cup per load instead of the store bought stuff. You can this mix straight onto stains or even use straight peroxide on some fabric, like underwear. It is awesome for blood and other protein based stains. </p><p></p><p>Instead of taking the plastic seal off of the peroxide bottle, try poking a few holes in it with a pin. Or a slightly larger one with a pencil tip. This way you pour a LOT less out at a time.</p><p></p><p>Keep peroxide in a small spray bottle (either the 97 cent one from the trial/travel product section of Walmart or one from a hair product) and use that on cuts and scrapes, stains, etc... You use a much smaller amount that way. We were going through a bottle every other month with all the scrapes thank you got into from the coordination/Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) issues, and when I switched to the spray bottle we used a bottle every 6-8 months and we used it on more things than we did before!</p><p></p><p>Lisa, you have GOT to go and invest in that book I recommended. I am NOT KIDDING. Get easy child or Nichole to order it used online and then READ IT. It even deals with the saving butter tubs, etc... for use vs. hoarding issue. The title is The Complete Tightwad Gazette and even if you decide to go buy it at full price at a bookstore you will save more than the price of the book the first year. </p><p></p><p>I take clothes taht we won't/can't wear and cut them up for dish towels, washcloths, gift bags, etc.... Yes, I could pass them on to others, but much of what I am cutting up came from freecycle/thrift stores etc... and are not likely to be purchased again due to hard use by my men. I do cut up some that could be usable by others, but I count the amt of gas to go drop them off and the weeks it will take for husband to go and do it (I don't drive unless it is an emergency anymore - just not a wise idea with medications and a couple of health issues.) and that works for us. Usually I sew a hem in the ones to be used for rags because I know the kids are NOT going to pick up the strings that would occur if they were not hemmed. I do the sewing by hand because I cannot stand to just sit and watch something on tv. I MUST have something to do or I go nuts. </p><p></p><p>Clothes that are just in too bad a condition/shape to be made into rags, or the printed area of tshirts wehre it won't work as well as a cleaning rag and the design won't look good on a gift bag, get cut up into smaller squares to use as kleenex. We go through a TON of kleenex and it literally is $$ we just blow away. thank you and I , esp, get rubbed raw by even the softest tissues so these small scraps of fabric are esp nice to our sore noses. I don't choose to wash them but you could choose to do that. I just see it as getting one last use out of them. </p><p></p><p>Go through clothes as you put them into the washer to pull out ones you need to throw away. Why pay for the water and soap to wash something that you won't use again? I tend to put stuff for thrift stores/garage sales into a separate pile so that I can just fold those items and put them itno a bag or box with-o having the kids or husband see them in the laundry as they fold it and beg to keep it or try to hide it so it won't be given away turned into rags. Clothes they truly love but don't fit go into a box for a tshirt/memory blanket, but sometimes they have something super ratty looking and won't get rid of it so I have to sneak it away, Know what I mean??</p><p></p><p>I don't buy toilet bowl cleaner. Yes, it is nice to have that liquid to squirt up under the rim. But the products are so expensive and have to be hard on the environment. I have an old pump bottle from shampoo and I keep bleach water in it. I hold it over the bowl and give a few pumps, then use the brush to distribute it around the bowl, let it sit for ten min while I do something else, and then go back, brush the bowl, and flush.</p><p></p><p>I don't buy those disinfecting wipes. I use babywipes for many cleaning things because they are cheaper. They are incredible for cleaning off the rim of the toilet and the outside where the guys miss, and for many other small cleaning jobs. They are esp good on the toilet outer surfaces because they are designed to clean that type of waste off of children. I have experimented with making my own, but it is not really worth the time it takes, and the paper towels, even the good quality ones like Bounty, tend to disintegrate if kept damp for very long.</p><p></p><p>I prefer to use liquid hand soap rather than bars soap at the sinks. I dilute whatever soap I use with water, somewhere between equal amts water and soap to 1/3 water and 2/3 soap. Sometimes you have to stir it pretty well - put a marble or similar size pebble in the container to help mix them up when needed. I also put a rubber band around the pump so it cannot be pushed down all the way so that you get less soap per pump. A full pump from most hand soap dispensers that you would have at home gives a whole lot more soap than is needed for most adults. By putting the rubber band around it you adjust to a less wasteful amt of soap and then you don't have to discuss using only 1/2 a pump or whatever with your husband and kids. When I first started this I noticed that it cut our use of the hand soap by around half and if anything the number of times we washed hands went up because I was paying close attention to how often the kids washed their hands! Just do NOT use a ponytail holder - they are covered with fabric and mold/mildew will grow on them far faster than on a plain rubber band.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="susiestar, post: 454847, member: 1233"] Buy NO commercial cleaning products unless a new spray bottle is needed because one broke. Use ammonia, baking soda, dish soap, bleach (NEVER with ammonia of course) and vinegar to clean the entire house. If you need something more abrasive than baking soda, use salt.. I keep a box of baking soda in the freezer. I change it about every 3 months but I DO NOT throw the old one away. It goes to scrub tubs, the porch, etc.... I don't use that on clothing stains or dishes or the kitchen sinks/counters because it has absorbed odors, but it is perfectly fine for cleaning other things. DO NOT EVER purchase clorox 2 or other color safe bleaches. Put one cup hydrogen peroxide into a 32 ounce bottle, fill with water and use 1/2 to one cup per load instead of the store bought stuff. You can this mix straight onto stains or even use straight peroxide on some fabric, like underwear. It is awesome for blood and other protein based stains. Instead of taking the plastic seal off of the peroxide bottle, try poking a few holes in it with a pin. Or a slightly larger one with a pencil tip. This way you pour a LOT less out at a time. Keep peroxide in a small spray bottle (either the 97 cent one from the trial/travel product section of Walmart or one from a hair product) and use that on cuts and scrapes, stains, etc... You use a much smaller amount that way. We were going through a bottle every other month with all the scrapes thank you got into from the coordination/Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) issues, and when I switched to the spray bottle we used a bottle every 6-8 months and we used it on more things than we did before! Lisa, you have GOT to go and invest in that book I recommended. I am NOT KIDDING. Get easy child or Nichole to order it used online and then READ IT. It even deals with the saving butter tubs, etc... for use vs. hoarding issue. The title is The Complete Tightwad Gazette and even if you decide to go buy it at full price at a bookstore you will save more than the price of the book the first year. I take clothes taht we won't/can't wear and cut them up for dish towels, washcloths, gift bags, etc.... Yes, I could pass them on to others, but much of what I am cutting up came from freecycle/thrift stores etc... and are not likely to be purchased again due to hard use by my men. I do cut up some that could be usable by others, but I count the amt of gas to go drop them off and the weeks it will take for husband to go and do it (I don't drive unless it is an emergency anymore - just not a wise idea with medications and a couple of health issues.) and that works for us. Usually I sew a hem in the ones to be used for rags because I know the kids are NOT going to pick up the strings that would occur if they were not hemmed. I do the sewing by hand because I cannot stand to just sit and watch something on tv. I MUST have something to do or I go nuts. Clothes that are just in too bad a condition/shape to be made into rags, or the printed area of tshirts wehre it won't work as well as a cleaning rag and the design won't look good on a gift bag, get cut up into smaller squares to use as kleenex. We go through a TON of kleenex and it literally is $$ we just blow away. thank you and I , esp, get rubbed raw by even the softest tissues so these small scraps of fabric are esp nice to our sore noses. I don't choose to wash them but you could choose to do that. I just see it as getting one last use out of them. Go through clothes as you put them into the washer to pull out ones you need to throw away. Why pay for the water and soap to wash something that you won't use again? I tend to put stuff for thrift stores/garage sales into a separate pile so that I can just fold those items and put them itno a bag or box with-o having the kids or husband see them in the laundry as they fold it and beg to keep it or try to hide it so it won't be given away turned into rags. Clothes they truly love but don't fit go into a box for a tshirt/memory blanket, but sometimes they have something super ratty looking and won't get rid of it so I have to sneak it away, Know what I mean?? I don't buy toilet bowl cleaner. Yes, it is nice to have that liquid to squirt up under the rim. But the products are so expensive and have to be hard on the environment. I have an old pump bottle from shampoo and I keep bleach water in it. I hold it over the bowl and give a few pumps, then use the brush to distribute it around the bowl, let it sit for ten min while I do something else, and then go back, brush the bowl, and flush. I don't buy those disinfecting wipes. I use babywipes for many cleaning things because they are cheaper. They are incredible for cleaning off the rim of the toilet and the outside where the guys miss, and for many other small cleaning jobs. They are esp good on the toilet outer surfaces because they are designed to clean that type of waste off of children. I have experimented with making my own, but it is not really worth the time it takes, and the paper towels, even the good quality ones like Bounty, tend to disintegrate if kept damp for very long. I prefer to use liquid hand soap rather than bars soap at the sinks. I dilute whatever soap I use with water, somewhere between equal amts water and soap to 1/3 water and 2/3 soap. Sometimes you have to stir it pretty well - put a marble or similar size pebble in the container to help mix them up when needed. I also put a rubber band around the pump so it cannot be pushed down all the way so that you get less soap per pump. A full pump from most hand soap dispensers that you would have at home gives a whole lot more soap than is needed for most adults. By putting the rubber band around it you adjust to a less wasteful amt of soap and then you don't have to discuss using only 1/2 a pump or whatever with your husband and kids. When I first started this I noticed that it cut our use of the hand soap by around half and if anything the number of times we washed hands went up because I was paying close attention to how often the kids washed their hands! Just do NOT use a ponytail holder - they are covered with fabric and mold/mildew will grow on them far faster than on a plain rubber band. [/QUOTE]
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