We are so excited to welcome guest poster, Sarah Titus, who is the founder and CEO of “Saving Money Never Goes Out of Style”. Sarah is here to share some fabulous money-saving solutions that you might not have considered before! Take it away, Sarah!
There are many ways to save money around your home, but you may not realize some key tricks.
Often times, it’s the things that only take a few moments or we don’t think about that can really push us into savings overdrive.
Here are some tips to help you save even more at home, so you can spend your money on what really matters to you.
Refill your oil diffusers
Did you know that you can refill your oil diffusers (like Air Wick or Glade Plug-ins) with essential oil and Fractionated Coconut Oil? Just refill them when they are out rather than spending money on expensive refills at the store. It only takes a few drops of oil and a teaspoon of Fractionated Coconut Oil to fill one diffuser and each time you refill it, you generally only need to refill the essential oil for scent. I find that the coconut oil doesn’t burn off, so it’s safer as well.
Don’t Toss out those extra condiment packs
If you go through a drive-thru, you probably get ketchup, mustard, dipping sauce, and more in your to-go order (and if you don’t, ask!) Don’t just throw them out when you are done eating. These can be saved for later use or even putting in lunches for yourself or your kids to take with them to school. My favorites are the soy sauce packets you get in Chinese food! They can be used when you are making rice at home.
Use rags on your Swiffer
Those refills of the Swiffer wipes are expensive. They really are no more than a thick paper towel with a cleaning solution when you think about it. If you love the convenience of the Swiffer mop, use rags instead. Rags that are about the size of a square washcloth are the perfect size to tuck into and around the sweeper. Just wash them over and over for less waste to our environment and more money in your pocket!
Think outside the box
Now, I know the idea of this next tip is a huge no-no for a lot people and the idea of it is not something many would consider. However, you can find amazing things set next to dumpsters that people just didn’t want to throw in such as furniture, working appliances, and even clothing.
I am a single SAHM who is known for living quite well now, but years ago when I was homeless and got my first apartment, I scored this solid wood shelf and used it as an entertainment center until I could get on my feet. It was standing right there in our apartment complex next to the garbage bin one day as I was taking the garbage.
To this day, it sits in my mom’s home, still getting used every day. Of course, you want to sterilize these items thoroughly, but it would amaze you what people simple don’t want. Now that I’ve come full circle, I’ve put brand new SEALED items worth $150 out by my curb with a free sign. In fact, that’s how I scored a nice pine kitchen table once as well. A free sign on someone’s sidewalk!
Use every last drop
You know those little pieces of wax paper that butter comes wrapped in that you just toss? Think twice next time you go to throw one away. That butter amount is perfect for greasing pans for baked goods, casseroles, and other hot dishes. It may not seem like much, but every little bit helps.
Likewise, instead of throwing out your dish soap when it is empty, fill the bottle with a little bit of water and shake it. You can get two more dish loads out of the bottle that way. This applies to everything. That last little bit of toothpaste seems insignificant, but the last time I made an effort to squeeze out the last drop to see how long it would really last me, it lasted me 2 weeks of daily brushing!!!
Make your own coffee flavoring syrup
Coffee flavoring syrup can get costly, but making your own is as simple as having some sugar and water and boiling it down to a syrup, then adding flavoring. It costs pennies to make it this way and not only will it save you money on buying it at home, but since you control its strength, you may never wish to hit up the coffee drive-thru again.
What do you like to do to save money from home? Any creative ideas you can share?
Sarah is a stay-at-home mom of two wonderful children. From homeless to well-off, this single debt-free mom is most known for her ability to live well on $18k/year. Sarah loves encouraging others that dreams do come true if they are willing to consistently work for it. Follow her blog: Saving Money Never Goes Out of Style.
Emily says
Look, if the restaurant/drive-thru gives you sauce packets and you have extra, by all means use them for home and packed lunches. But to ask for them with the intent on using them for something other than dressing up that establishment’s food is an integrity issue (read: stealing). I work at a pizza chain and get to sick of people asking for handfuls of parmesan cheese, plates, cups (when they didn’t even order a 2 liter of pop!). We’re not here to outfit your kitchen or supplement your mealtime, we’re here to make a profit and keep people in jobs and you in pizza. When enough people do things like this, you see places starting to charge for these amenities, and then everyone’s unhappy. Keep it civilized: buy your condiments at the grocery store and use small reusable containers to pack them in your kid’s lunches.
Sarah @ SarahTitus.com says
Emily, I completely agree. Thank you for clarifying. I didn’t mean for someone to take advantage. I’ve worked fast food in my life as well and know how expensive it is to get a company’s name on the packets. However, if we are already getting them, don’t throw them away. Use them up. If we are not asking for them, like me, I just forget…ask for the normal amount. I assume common sense to be used here. 🙂
Brittany at Equipping Godly Women says
Great tips! Very easy to do, but things most of us don’t think of or think wouldn’t make a difference. But add them all up, and that’s some serious savings!
Shauna says
-Cut open your toothpaste tube: you can get at least a few more days, sometimes 5 days more.
-Put a bit of water in your pasta sauce jars, put the lid back on, shake it up and dump into the pasta sauce you’re heating up to easily get it all out of the jar.
Lydia @ Thrifty Frugal Mom says
Great tips and so smart! So often people think that “little” things like this aren’t worth it but they truly do add up to big savings!
Anna says
I love these ideas! I found some small but thick rectangular microfiber cloths at the dollar store (2 for $1) which fit my spray mop perfectly and are my favorites!! I also make my own coffee syrups and they are wonderful and definitely only pennies per serving saving me from going to the drive-thru for that great flavor.
Jimi Gail Hoover says
These are really fantastic ideas. I’m married, and between both of our incomes, we still struggle. I’ve a few tips myself. To make any room smell better, put a dryer sheet on any vent or the return vent. Then you can still actually use the dryer sheet in the dryer as well. The used dryer sheets are also good for getting ALL of the lint outta your lint filter too. You can reuse bread bags for anything you might need to throw away while on the go. At home you can use them for storing leftover rolls, cornbread, etc. Those tin pie pans you get at the grocery store to make a pie with, reuse them by running them through the dishwasher and storing them until you decide to make anything that needs to go back in the oven to bake. Same for plastic water bottles, when finished run em through the dishwasher, refill with tap water or whatever filter water you use and refrigerate. Putting a single paper towel down on the glass turnstile of your microwave not only softens the sounds of putting something glass on top of glass, but it will make spills easier to clean up and can remain in there until it gets dirty. While we’re talking microwaves, as long as it is still in one piece, microwaving a soft wrung out, wet kitchen sponge for 30 seconds will kill 99% of all kitchen germs as well as save you money by not constantly replacing sponges to do your dishes with. Clothes pins work great to keep chip bags, sugar, corn meal, flour bags closed tightly and are still very cheap at any of the dollar stores. Hairspray will take ink outta clothes. Wax on the carpet? Lay a piece of wax paper down on top of the wax and iron the spot on a low setting. Reuse grapefruits, oranges, lemons, and limes by slicing them in half and keeping the hard “stem” before you carve, eat, spoon out, (if you will) in the center of them and leave to dry. Then fill it up with a tad of oil and then light the “stem.” Perfect citrus room smell. Thanks for letting me share. XOXO Jimi.
Katie says
Those are great ideas! Thanks!
Denise says
How do I refill my diffuser?
I’d love to know. I have empty ones sitting around because I don’t want to use the chemical laden refills!
Caroline says
Thanks for sharing! I’m a big supporter of saving condiment packets and using every last drop. My husband probably thinks I’m a bit neurotic about it, but it’s just how I was raised I guess, haha. I’ve been thinking for almost two weeks now that “okay, NOW my conditioner is empty,” but then I keep getting a good blob the next day, too. I just add a little bit extra from my new bottle. But it’s amazing how far that last bit can go!
The trick I wanted to share was this: I always print less important things on the back of old papers, handouts, etc. If there’s a blank side to a sheet of paper, white or colored, I use it. And if it’s only a half sheet, I use it for grocery lists, to-do lists, notes, whatever. (I’m still a fan of paper lists, though I use my phone sometimes too). Then I recycle it when I’ve used both sides!
Seriously, I spent five years in college and only used slightly more than one package of paper. (Given, I had to print on campus every so often when I would finish up something last minute. But then I’d use the back of that later on.) Of course, sometimes you need to print on clean paper, like for essays and such, but then you can use the back of that essay for something later when you get it back and don’t need it anymore. 😉
Just over one package of printer paper for my entire college career. For real.
Karen says
I mix the last little bit of dishwashing liquid with water, and use it to clean my glasses. Cleaners sold just for this purpose can get pricy.
I buy natural soaps from a home-based company I found online. The scents are just enough to freshen up the rooms the soaps are placed in. I have a hard time with commercial air fresheners, so this idea works for me.
Julie says
A great way to get dish soap to last forever is to use a foaming dispenser. It takes three quarters water and I just add dishsoap to it every now and then. It works great! I bought a few foam hand washes from bath and body works and reuse the dispensers. Works amazingly to save on hand soap too!