\nbecause I gave up using the item (or found a cheaper option, found a
\nreusable for a disposable, or repurposed something to take its
\nplace.) Some folks thought some of the items on my list took too much
\ntime. Others said some of those items are not sustainable in the long
\nrun. I thought I\u2019d do a little update on what changed, and what
\nstayed the same.<\/p>\n
As always, this is a list of ideas, not absolutes.<\/p>\n
Save these money saving tips to your Pinterest boards for later! Share it with your friends!<\/i><\/p>\n 1. Credit card<\/b> <\/p>\n 2<\/b>. Some commercial cleaners.<\/b>I make a few of Scouring powder<\/b> \u2013 baking soda. When I change the box Counter cleaner<\/b>\u2013 I still use vinegar and water in my kitchen, but it could potentially damage the stone counter tops I installed in my \tDusting Spray<\/b>\t\u2013 This 3. Furnace filters <\/b>\u2013 My 4. Land line <\/b>\u2013 This one 5. Wrapping paper <\/b>\u2013I 6. Dryer sheets and 7. Bottles of 8.Coffee filters<\/b> \u2013I 9. Laundry detergent \u2013 <\/b>I still make powdered 10.Razors<\/b> \u2013 I still use this <\/b>Panasonic Wet & Dry I bounced back to disposable razors and then to a The Leaf comes in different colors. I chose a rose gold razor because I’m a girlie girl.<\/i><\/p>\n Not shaving at all would be even cheaper but that is. Never. 1. 12. Disposable batteries <\/b>\u2013 We use this set of rechargeable batteries<\/a>and never run out because we 13. 1>4.Disposable sandwich bags<\/b> \u2013 I recently switched to 15. 16. 17. 18.Kitchen 1Paper To clean counter tops, I use old bath 2. 3.Jet Dry<\/b> \u2013 Using vinegar in the Jet Dry dispenser in 4. What\u2019s \u00a0<\/p>\n
\ninterest<\/b><\/i><\/span>. <\/b>Although
\nwe have credit cards, we always pay off the balance in full when the
\nbill is due. By paying off
\nthe balance in full each month, we avoid paying any interest charges.\n<\/p>\n
\nmy cleaners. I know exactly what is in them and my house has never
\nbeen cleaner!<\/p>\n\n
\n\tin the refrigerator, I use the old box to scrub the kitchen sink.\n\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\n\tbathrooms. I use a portable steam cleaner similar to this one<\/b><\/span><\/a>which practically pressure washes and autoclaves as it cleans.(Disclosure:
\n\tI am including affiliate links for your convenience<\/i>.)\n\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\n\tone is new. According to my allergist, a light spritz of water on a
\n\tdust cloth works much better than scented dusting spray and is
\n\tbetter for my allergies. He\u2019s right!<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\nHusband bought
\nan allergy blocking reusable furnace filter (this is the exact one we
\nhave)<\/b><\/span><\/a> because we change our furnace filter on the
\nfirst of the month (in theory.) The only change is we now have two
\nreusable furnace filters because it takes awhile for the filter to
\ndry after rinsing it with water. Delaying the use of the HVAC in the
\nis not huge deal in the summer but not something we want to delay
\nduring the winter!<\/p>\n
\ntransitioned from being a house that only used cell phones to having
\na required landline for my husband\u2019s job and back to being a cell
\nphone only house when my husband changed jobs.\n<\/p>\n
\ncontinue to use paper and cloth reusable gift bags in order to
\nmaintain my sanity. In fact, my sister-in-law liked the idea so much
\nthat I made her a set from fabric I bought during after-Christmas
\nsales. I still use wrapping paper if I have to ship something but most
\nof the time I use a reusable gift bag.<\/p>\n
\nfabric softener \u2013<\/b>
\nI use vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser in the washing
\nmachine, which doesn’t damage it like traditional fabric softeners
\ndo, and it doesn’t affect the performance of workout clothes and
\ntowels.I still use a couple of dryer
\nballs (these dryer balls look like cacti<\/a>!) <\/b><\/span>in the dryer and now add several
\ncloth squares with a safety pin attached to fight static cling
\nwithout any damage to my dryer.\n<\/p>\n
\n carbonated water<\/b> \u2013 We still make our own carbonated water with
\na Sodastream
\ncarbonated water maker (learn more about it here,)<\/b><\/span>
\n<\/a>which not only allows us to have plain fizzy water whenever we want,
\nbut also helps reduce plastic waste from store-bought bottles. My
\nhusband likes to drink plain fizzy water all day every day while I
\nstick to filtered tap water and the occasional DIY club soda and lime
\njuice. Sodastream offers a discount on new CO2 cartridges when you
\nrecycle the old ones<\/p>\n
\nstill use this exact reusable cone coffee
\nfilter<\/span><\/a><\/b> It\u2019s supposed to make a better
\ncup of coffee. I don\u2019t know because I used a French Press like this one<\/span><\/a><\/b>
\nwith this cloth coffee filter<\/b><\/a><\/span>
\nin my single gal life. I never used disposable coffee filters so I
\ncan\u2019t compare. They have basket style reusable coffee filters (learn more here)<\/b><\/span><\/a>and
\nthey even have reusable
\nK cup cups here<\/b><\/span><\/a> too.<\/p>\n
\nlaundry detergent because it is the only kind that doesn\u2019t make my
\nwashing machine stink. This was another controversial item because
\nfolks claimed it took too long to make. Nope. I timed it. It takes me
\naround 15 minutes to make several double batches of DIY laundry
\ndetergent to fill this repurposed protein powder container once every
\nsix months. As always, your mileage may vary depending upon the type
\nof water, washing machine, and family size you have as compared to
\nmine.<\/p>\n
\nWomen’s Electric <\/b>Razor<\/b><\/span><\/a> for touch ups.<\/p>\n
\nsafety razor. After slicing my legs too many times I was ready to
\nditch it and go back to the disposable razors that cost stupid money,
\nuntil I learned about the Leaf razor here<\/span><\/b><\/a>.
\nThe Leaf razor uses a pivoting head, unlike my disposable razors, and
\nit has 3 safety razor blades (you can choose to use less) that don’t
\nslice my skin like the safety razor did. It is more expensive one
\ntime purchase for the razor but I probably would have spent that
\namount in a year on disposable cartridge razor blades so The Leaf
\nwill eventually pay for itself since safety razor blades cost
\npennies.\n <\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B09QB8D6S2&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=conblu-20&language=en_US\"\/)
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=conblu-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B09QB8D6S2\")
\nGoing. To. Happen. Ever.<\/p>\n
\nMost bottled water and soft drinks <\/b>\u2013 My husband likes to drink
\nplain carbonated water all day every day. I learned most sodas have
\nan ingredient I\u2019m allergic to so it was easy to give up. I keep
\nseveral sports bottles of filtered tap water in the refrigerator to
\ndrink all day everyday. We might have a soda hen we are out and about
\nbut truthfully, we will probably have an adult beverage instead.<\/p>\n
\nalso have this exact battery charger <\/span><\/b><\/a>that charges from AAA to D size batteries.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n
\nSoap<\/b> (for now) \u2013 I made big batches when I was learning and
\nexperimenting with different hot and cold process soap recipes when I
\nshould have been making half or quarter the amount of soap. Oops!
\nWell, at least we’ll stay clean for a long time.<\/p>\n
\nusing these exact reusable silicone zipper baggies for lunches. They
\nare sturdy, leak proof, and easy to clean in the top rack of the
\ndishwasher.<\/p>\n
\nPlastic wrap<\/b> \u2013 I hate that plastic wrap doesn\u2019t stick to
\nanything but itself so it wasn\u2019t a hardship to use the storage
\ncontainers we already had for leftovers in the refrigerator. If you
\nhave containers that didn\u2019t come with a lid, you can use these silicone stretch and seal bowl covers<\/span><\/b><\/a>
\ninstead.\n<\/p>\n
\nPaper napkins <\/b>\u2013 I found out we were going through tons of paper
\nnapkins every month because my husband used to grab a stack to clean
\nthe kitchen counters. That\u2019s when we switched to using cloth
\nnapkins. I pop the dirty napkins into a separate laundry basket that
\nis also used for towels. When the basket is full I do a load of
\nlaundry.<\/p>\n
\nDisposable straws<\/b> \u2013 When we started as
\nhistorical entertainers, we couldn\u2019t use disposable straws when we
\nwere performing (although now many of our fellow performers now use
\nreusable straws like these<\/span><\/b><\/a>) At home we used
\ncrazy straws like the mature adults we are until we fell out of the
\n habit. We still have reusable straws, we rarely use them.<\/p>\n
\nsponges and scrubbies<\/b>\u2013 I switched to using these reusable Skoy Swedish Dishcloths and Scrubbies<\/b><\/span><\/a> to wash dishes because they are plastic free. Both the dishcloths and
\nthe scrubbers are made to be washed in the dishwasher or washing
\nmachine after use.\n<\/p>\n
\ntowels. <\/b>Our
\nrescue dog is older and sometimes has accidents. Depending on where
\nand what, I use paper towels or my Bissell SpotBot Pet Handsfree Spot
\nand Stain Portable Deep Cleaner, which I can set and forget until it
\nbeeps(you can learn more about one of the best things I ever bought here.<\/b><\/span><\/a>\n<\/p>\n
\ntowels that I’ve cut to the size of a paper towel and sewed a quick
\nstitch at the edges to prevent raveling. I keep them under the
\nkitchen sink.\u00a0 I use them once and pop them in a basket in the
\nlaundry room. When the basket is full, I do a load of laundry.<\/p>\n
\nShower cleaner <\/b>\u2013
\nThe vinegar in my DIY shower cleaner ate away some of the tile grout
\nand had to stop using it. I now use The Pink Stuff Miracle Cleaner here<\/span><\/a>
\n<\/b>and completely understand why
\n it has a cult following!<\/p>\n
\nmy dishwasher ate away at a thankfully easily replaceable part. I
\ntried going without but my dishwasher said No
\nWay!<\/i>
\nI\u2019m back to the any brand that is on sale stuff.<\/p>\n
\nGym
\nmembership <\/b>\u2013 My
\nhusband\u2019s new job has a gym he uses on his lunch hour or after work
\nthat has a small fee. It is totally worth it because it has probably
\npaid for itself many times over in the health benefits because there
\nare exercises (especially if it is injury prevention or recovery)
\nthat he can\u2019t do at home.<\/p>\n
\non your list?<\/p>\n