“The philosopher Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king.
Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’
Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.”
I think it’s safe to say that all of this started with my three New Year’s Resolutions. I wanted to be healthier, do even better financially and be even more green (eco-friendly)!
Let’s start with Be Healthier! Little did I know that in January I would stumble across a book called Toxic Free by Debra Lynn Dadd which very thoroughly exposes chemicals residing in our homes and products that we use every day. I was not completely ignorant of this because my mother was always very careful about chemicals she used in our home while I was growing up. These include Bleach, Tilex, Pest Control Sprays, etc. because that’s what they are- chemicals! I was also not as aware as I should have been of the chemicals in items like shampoo and deodorant. I have never used many in my home either but now I am especially conscious of it.
The other part of Being Healthier that I am trying to follow is eating healthier. Both reducing the chemicals in my house and eating healthier lead me to wanting to use more organic products when I am able to.
My next New Year’s Resolutions was to do even better financially. The question then becomes- How do I start replacing chemicals and foods in my house for more Organic, Healthier, Greener options and at the same time not spend a ton of money?
I have decided that I am not going to go through the house and throw away all of our cleaning products and stockpile that I may no longer want to use in my home. What I am going to do is slowly start replacing products when I find good deals and looking for better options. As I do, I am going to donate or sell the items that I will no longer be using.
This is what I have done so far-
– I realized that every woman’s deodorant in my house contains Aluminum. So I am now using baking soda instead. You simply apply a small amount when you are damp from the shower and it disappears just like deodorant would. So far it has worked great!
(My new compost bin)
– I started a compost to create soil. I am planning to start planting in a couple months when the weather gets warmer. Hopefully this will save money on fruits and veggies that won’t be grown with pesticides. My mother actually offered me this small plastic bin when I was looking for something to put my compost in so I didn’t have to pay for that either.
– I bought some Tom’s of Maine products that were a great deal at CVS this week. I was able to use gift cards so it was zero out of pocket. Click HERE to see that post.
– I was out of Tilex and instead of going out and buying more I created my own cleaner from equal parts baking soda and vinegar to green clean my shower. We have been very sick in my household for about a month which means that there was some mold and mildew growing that with some light scrubbing my homemade, green cleaner took care of. Click HERE for more green cleaner ideas. Most homemade cleaners are green and I was excited that many could be made from items I already had in my house for FREE and don’t have to cost a lot of money.
– I received a cast iron skillet for Christmas from my brother that I was excited about because now I have an alternative to Teflon. My boyfriend’s mother also recently gave me a stoneware cooking item that is also much healthier to use.
All of this being said, I am going to start doing more blog posts in two new categories. Natural/Organic Deals and Healthy Food Deals. So check back to see what I come up with!
1. Keep Bananas Fresh Longer– This is so easy I can’t believe I never heard of it. I love having bananas in the house but I hate it when they go bad before we can eat them all. To keep them from browning longer all you have to do is wrap them in a plastic bag and twist it closed. I use the plastic grocery bag I took them home in.
2. Use a Baking Mat– They can be used instead of foil over and over again. They actually help prevent food from burning and you can wash them in the dishwasher. So easy!
3. Unplug all kitchen appliances unless you are currently using them– How many years have you been paying electricity for a microwave, coffee maker and toaster that you use for maybe one hour a day? I wish I had that money back and I bet you do too. I was surprised how quickly this became a habit for me.
4. Use Less Dishwasher Soap– When I had a crappy dishwasher I had to almost completely wash every dish before they went into the dishwasher. I found out (and later read in an article) that you don’t always have to use the double dose or both cups of dishwasher soap to get a load of clean dishes. Experiment and see how little you can get away with.
5. Wait Until Your Dishwasher is Full– A Dishwasher cycle is the same no matter how many dishes you use so you might as well find out how much you can put in it and still get the same clean dishes.
6. Run Your Dishwasher at Night– By running it at night you can turn off the heated dry function and your dishes will be dry in the morning. This also saves money because of #7
7. Use Non-peak Hours for Electricity Savings– Many electric companies charge less if you use your appliances during non-peak hours when the electric grid is less active, like at night.
8. Cook Food in your Microwave– A microwave is much more energy efficient when cooking food than turning on your whole oven or stove top. Click HERE for more information about it. I use my microwave to brown ground meat- it’s faster and easier. Many meals can now easily be made in the microwave.
9. Eliminate Paper Products– We don’t buy napkins ($2 a pack), paper towels ($6 a pack), paper plates ($4 a pack) and disposable cups ($4 a pack). That’s at least $16 a month savings. I have an easy system where we keep reusable napkins (in place of paper) and hand towels and rags (in place of paper towels) in a drawer for easy access. I also keep a small hamper in the kitchen that I throw them in when I’m done. I add these to the regular wash. To save time we don’t even fold them, just put them out of site in the drawer. This is also a green idea. I love saving trees.
10. Make Use of Your Freezer– It’s known that freezers work better when full. If you make extra food, instead of leaving it in the fridge to spoil, freeze it in meal sized portions. Or freeze extra bread until you will need it.
11. Stock Up on Free/Cheap Products– When kitchen products are free with coupons stock up. I have a nice stash of dish soap and cleaning products so that I never have to pay full price.
12. Soap is Soap– This is something that a scientist told my mother at the Orlando Science Center. I often use dish soap as hand soap because it’s cheaper. I personally like Olay Hand Renewal. The label even tells you it’s for hands. My mother has also used shampoo for laundry detergent over the years because she could often get it for cheaper.
13. Make Your Own Cleaning Products– Many can be made by things you have in your kitchen already. This also helps eliminate chemicals from your home. Click HERE to see a great list of easy products to make.
14. Buy in Bulk/Stock Up– This applies to anything you can get a good deal on and reasonably store and use before it goes bad. You know what space you have and what you use frequently. I recently stocked up on canned chicken (HERE) because it will last for years and I know we buy it regularly.
15. Use Every Last Drop– Make sure that you get every last drop out of any product in your home. Some easy strategies include- Turning a bottle upside down, adding water and shaking, cutting a container open, and using a spatula to get the rest of something out of a jar. Click HERE to read an article I wrote about it.
16. Don’t waste– It’s a sin the amount of food that Americans throw away. The biggest problem in my household of two people is eating all of something before it goes bad. I’m trying to do a better job of using leftovers for new meals and freezing extra portions. For example- Last night we had baked chicken and tonight I will use the remaining chicken to make a chicken and rice meal.
17. Eat What You Already Have– This also helps eliminate waste. I love making dinner from items that I already have in my kitchen. Take stock of the items that have gotten lost in the back of your pantry and use them in meals before they expire.
18. Be Organized– Nothing makes me madder than buying something and realizing I already had it in the fridge. Being organized will help you know what you have and what you need to use.
19. Make Use of Your Kitchen Utensils and Appliances– Why have them if you don’t use them? I have a glass dish that is partitioned down the middle and is perfect for holding two side items and even better I can heat both up at once saving electricity.
20. Don’t Buy Expensive Plastic Containers– The container your butter comes in may not be as stylish as Gladware but it works just as well. Containers food comes in can be washed and reused the same as expensive plastic food storage products.
21. Store food in Reusable Holders– Using the pot I cooked a stew in and covering it with the pot’s matching lid or using a glass container with a lid saves me from having to wash additional dishes and also saves money by using less foil and plastic.
22. Don’t buy more than you need– Sometimes a larger bottle is a better value but if you will never use all of it before it goes bad it isn’t saving you money to buy a larger size
23. Make it From Scratch– For the price of a couple packages of cookie dough I can buy all of the ingredients to make cookies from scratch and have lots of flour, eggs, and sugar left over for other meals. Another advantage is that you know exactly what is going into your food.
24. Double Your Milk– Click HERE to read how to double your milk. This may also work for highly concentrated juice.
25. Add Water– Adding water to items that are highly concentrated does dilute them but sometimes you don’t need an item at full strength, whether dish soap or milk. This can stretch your hard earned dollars in a way you won’t even notice.
26. Filter Your Own Water– Buying a Brita type filter pitcher has been proven to pay for itself. I hate paying for bottled water and water from your own faucet is a hundred times cheaper.
27. Use The Web– The internet is full of really great recipes and there are sites that will even give you recipes based on ingredients you have in your house. Supercook.com is one of these.
28. On Cold Days Run Your Appliances– Running the dishwasher and using the oven on a cold day will help heat up your house and save on heating expenses, especially if you were going to use them anyway.
29. Use Less Dishes– Anything that has to be washed requires time, energy, and money. I try to use as few plates, utensils, and cups as possible. For example when making bagels I will use the same knife for the butter and then cream cheese because butter will not contaminate the cream cheese. I am very, very careful about contaminating foods but some are compatible. Other easy ideas would be using the same cup all day or sharing a spoon for stirring your morning coffee.
30. Shop at Dollar Stores– Some products work the same no matter how much you pay for them. Small kitchen utensils can be bought very inexpensively. Dollar Tree even has a section devoted to them. Click HERE to see other items I found there for extremely cheap.
What do you think? Does anyone have any ideas that I missed? Leave a comment below, I would love to read them!
When you’re sick, it makes it so much harder to get anything done! Almost my entire family is sick right now. Not just with colds. I have a sinus infection and two ear infections and my boyfriend is really sick as well. For the first few sick days we threw our hands up and gave up on any housework and focused on getting better. Now that antibiotics have kicked in and I have a small amount of energy I am determined to start doing small things that need to get done.
I looked at the couponing drug store deals for this week and I decided that there wasn’t anything I really needed. I was excited last week to get to stock up on some household items and especially dishwasher detergent.
We do use our dishwasher for several reasons-
1. I have researched and read that using a newer energy efficient dishwasher can actually save electricity and water over hand washing.
2. I prefer to have anything that will come in contact with food be as sanitary as possible so when I hand wash dishes I use a lot of hot water and soap. We are lucky not to need to do almost any prewashing of dishes so that also assures me that my dishwasher saves time, energy and water.
3. We all know the saying that “time is money” and considering 1. and 2. I greatly enjoy the time my dishwasher saves me.
Frugal Things This Week-
1. Staying out of stores as much as possible due to being sick always means less opportunity to spend money
2. Choosing not to coupon as drug stores this week because I didn’t really need anything
3. Making up a huge batch of Spaghetti (one of my comfort foods) mostly from stuff we had in the house at the beginning of the week so that we had easily available food to eat and would be less tempted to eat out
Ever wonder what to do with the crunched chips at the bottom of the chip bag? I’ll tell you what we use them for. I worked at Chili’s for years and people pay a lot of money for salads garnished with what amounts to fancy chip pieces. At home, I used crunched chips as salad toppers. It’s a cheap and easy alternative to croutons and you are using something you might otherwise throw away.
Join me in 2012 in recording what you spend and save. I use the above planner to write down every cent I spend and then next to it I write what I’ve saved. It’s fun to see what your totals are and I am planning to do this for an entire year.
I also use a small pendaflex, like the one in the picture above, with a section for each month to file and save my receipts. It makes it really easy to find a receipt if I need it for a return or a missed coupon.
When we rented our house, it was the first time I had ever had a glass stove top. I was worried about cleaning it so I bought the specially made stove top cleaner. However, this didn’t work about half the time. I happened to be in a used appliance store with my mother and sister when I asked the sales lady how much it would be to replace the stove top if it was damaged beyond repair. The answer was- A LOT. But the sales lady told me that I probably wouldn’t have to. Instead she suggested that we use a flat razor blade ($1 at Dollar Tree) to remove any remaining cooking particles. AND IT WORKED! My stove top looks like new and I never need to buy cook top cleaner again.
This is cheaper and it requires less chemicals to be used in my house.
Savings- $5 each time you would have to buy cook top cleaner
Disclaimer- Not all stoves are the same. I recommend caution when trying this on yours to make sure it works for you and doesn’t damage your stove.
It’s that time of year again- cold and flu season. Unfortunately, I’m sick! I’ve learned my lesson about waiting to go to the doctor and so as soon as I suspected that I had more than a cold I made an appointment and went. I was asking about discounts on prescriptions and the nurse told me that anyone who has a reoccurring prescription should visit the manufacturers website to see if they have a discount. I have a friend who was able to print a coupon for $10 off of her prescription each month. That’s a lot of money saved for a little bit of time.
Another way that I save on prescriptions is by always saving coupons for free gift cards with new or transferred prescriptions. You never know when you or someone near you will get sick and getting a gift card with a prescription is a silver lining in having to go to the pharmacy.
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