Economizing Tips – Household

Dear TEAMS,

Here is the second installment of practical tips that will help you economize financially by saving you money, mentally (by saving you stress and time), physically (by improving the quality of your life), and/or spiritually (because it will help you with other more important disciplines).

To see the story that inspired this series (Peeing on Your Toothpaste), go here.

1. If you live in an area with hard water, putting plain white vinegar in the dishwasher or fabric softener cup in the washer will cut down on lime and calcium deposits, and over time will remove them if already accumulated.
2. Using wet newspaper on stainless steel and windows after washing will keep it from streaking.
3. For especially dusty furniture, use 2 rags: one barely damp and one dry.  Use the dry damp one to clean the item/furniture, then immediately dry with the other.  It’s a great way to clean wood, as long as you dry thoroughly.
4. Pick-a-size paper towels:  Best.  Invention.  Ever.  People who swear by their rags and old T-shirts and get self-righteous about how they’re better for the environment forget that it takes energy to heat the water in the washing machine, soap, their precious time and money to keep the rage hygienic.  Besides, a rag that cleaned up leaky chicken juice in the fridge and then is put in a hamper awaiting cleaning creates a cross-contamination biohazard.  Sure, save old clothes and towels and use them…but only for the places where germs aren’t an issue.  The pick-a-size assures you that you’re not using more than you needed to wipe up the spill.
5. Save the water that you run when trying to get the water hot or leftover from the dinner table and use it to water plants or refill the dog’s water bowl with fresh water.
6. Scrap paper abounds!  Sheets with a blank side can be kept for the printer for draft or unimportant copies.
7. When you have bought a new pair of sneakers, save the old pair for gardening, getting wet, painting, mowing the grass, or walking in pesticides/herbicides.
8. Buy pencils.  A pen (unless free) still creates waste.  A pencils is simply ground down.
9. Buy manual pencil sharpeners instead of electric.  The blades are better and last longer.
10. Have a “thought holding board” in a common area for the things that need to get done but you remember at inopportune times.  Take 15 seconds to write it, then forget it.  Look at the board once per week and do one of the jobs.  Trust me—the really important stuff ends up getting done and the not-so-important stuff reveals itself after 30 days.
11. For a honeysuckle bloom, pull out the long stamen (the thin part poking out of the center) and there will be a drop of sweet nectar on it.  Place on the tip of your tongue and enjoy!
12. In the summer (in Northern climates), put your houseplants on the porch.  You will remember the blue ribbon I got at the Fair one year for my massive, octopus-sized aloe plant, courtesy of this gem of wisdom from our dentist, Rick Knowlton.

In that I’ve noticed my readership has gone up, I am opening comments for other people to contribute helpful hints they’ve adopted.  Please let these comments be related to Household Tips.  There is a previous post concerning OverallConcepts that you can leave tips in that category there.  Upcoming posts will be on Personal Hygiene/Body, Laundry, or Kitchen.

Love,