Frugal housekeeping tips

[Coolminty]

As title suggests really, need to drastically reduce spending in all areas of our lives. Gone are the days of wasting £100 in home bargains on nice smelling cleaning products which isn’t such a bad thing. I’ll start :

amazon do 4 x 5l of white vinegar that can be used for all sorts, fabric softener, glass cleaner, getting rid of smells etc

Washing up liquid can be used in place of a lot of other soap cleaners diluted in a spray bottle. I sometimes add a few drops of lemon or eucalyptus oil to get my nice smelling fix

Keep meals simple, look for 4 ingredient recipes and such.

anyone else have any tips to share?

I don't use liners for these as only 'dry items go in. The only bins I use liners for are the food and the general waste.

My eco settings on the dishwasher and washing machine both take over 3 hours. We are busy household with 7 of us in it, but it doesn't really matter if it takes a bit longer.

thank you
i have put another economy wash on,
just takes getting used to and being organised

Be really ruthless about washing. I go through the stuff the kids put in the basket and chuck it back out if it can be worn again. I’ve gone from only wearing anything once before washing it to hardly washing anything after one wear. Undies obviously and anything that smells sweaty in the armpits, but layering up means washing the smallest, thinnest thing rather than the thicker tops which can be worn again. Jeans and trousers can go at least 2 wears, maybe even 3 or 4. The same for skirts. A clothes brush is helpful for hair and “bits” if you’re doing this.

My DC were away this week and I’ve actually struggled to fill a load of washing on my own. I’m very particular about smelling and looking neat too, so I know it doesn’t impact that. I do hang things up again if they’ve got another wear rather than leave them in a pile.

I buy a 5 litre bottle of white vinegar from Ocado for £5. I use it to descale the kettle, clean the dishwasher and the washing machine, and also use it to make up bottles of shower spray. (Spray around the shower after use so no water marks).

With eco settings, a tip I saw was to compare a normal vs eco wash on a Smart reader if you one to see if it is cheaper for your machine.

Seems obvious, but check all the different size packets of things for best deal, especially if there is an offer on one size... doesn't always make it the cheapest.

We have one under counter freezer and an ice box in our fridge which is tiny. We always have frozen milk.

we don’t really eat frozen food though. We have frozen jacket potatoes, bread, milk, peas, sweet corn and fruit for smoothies, and sometimes bulk cooked meals. But otherwise nothing, so we don’t have a problem with freezer space.

i imagine it’s an issue if it’s stuffed to the gills with food from the freezer aisle, my mum mostly eats from her freezer so she definitely struggles.

I don't use fabric detergent in every clothes wash - I think there is a enough left in the drum for a couple of washes or at least from the soap suds it looks like there is.

Inspired by this thread I have crossed expensive shower spray off the shopping list and used the empty spray bottle to make our own with white vinegar and water!

Agree with sweepingeyelashes, our freezer is full of all sorts, from bread (slice out of freezer and into toast, or sandwiches made with frozen bread are thawed before lunch - we never waste bread). Any fruit or veg past its best is cooked and frozen, as are gluts of fruit from the garden - just about to start on the rhubarb!

We use a lot of coconut milk in cooking, but rarely a full tin so the remainder is divided into plastic tubs and frozen.

Usually make at least double of recipes and freeze half - we had beef rendang for supper last night, I quadrupled the recipe so now have three batches in the freezer for future meals.

Buy meat and fish when it's on special or reduced and stash in freezer.

There's not much that can't be cleaned with hot soapy water, add a little bleach or disinfectant for bathrooms.

We're on metered water so use water out of garden butts for washing windows and cars, cleaning cat trays, washing down garden furniture etc.

Yes!

I fill about 1/3 of the bottle with vinegar and top up with water. And add a squirt of washing up liquid.

Costco own brand bog roll is very good and much cheaythan Andrew and the like (but only if you've room to store 23,567 rolls😆)

Cheaper than Andrex ffs

@Pommelegible We can use plastic bags in our food waste bin and they also fit this well

how so? Wondering what your council do differently. Our food waste bins are all tipped into a truck and sent off to make compost. Surely it would all end up with bits of plastic bags in it if you just use plastic bags, or do you mean you use the biodegradable food bin bags in the bathroom bin?

I have an American fridge freezer, a large chest freezer and another medium fridge freezer ( fridge is for my injections and medication). I buy in bulk. Farmfoods is amazing for frozen food and you often get brands very cheaply, if you go to their website you get vouchers for 10% off. Brilliant for frozen meat, bulk nuggets, potato products etc. they also do HUGE 110 wash surf washing powder, 2 for £22 ( £20 with a voucher). That's great value.

I also go to Iceland food warehouse around 7pm. Every single month I walk out with a load of fresh meat that is reduced to at least half price. 8 pork steaks for £2, 8 sausages for 50p, belly pork for £1.25 etc. I cook much more in the air fryer than the oven these days to save money too. Freezers really do pay for themselves if you have the funds to purchase and run an extra one. .

I cut the ends of tubes of empty toothpaste and get another couple of uses out of them. Also, cutting a tube of used tomato puree a couple of times and you can get an extra use out of.

Fabric dye.

Me and my husband have over the years (decades!) inherited a missmatch of towels. Still in perfectly good condition just faded or no longer wanted. The paler ones went sunflower yellow and the darker ones navy blue. They last about 6 years before they look a bit faded. (I usually hold out even longer!)

I recently nearly caved when I saw some lovely Orla Kiely towels. (At £40 odd!!) I gave myself a good talking to remind myself that I already have perfectly good towels and the Orla Kiely ones wont have good longevity as they're patterned, so no saving once they fade.

I bought some more Dylon for £5 a pop.

I also dye bed sheets to give them a new lease of life too.

i always used to freeze bread
every day i would make sandwiches for the entire household from the bread in the freezer
somehow my freezer is too full now
i must try and reorganise it
i have treated myself to bread bin, so that makes the place look at least tidier, i imagine it must help the bread last.

dying sheets is a great idea

although sheets are fairly inexpensive.

Why do you use foil on baking trays at all? I've never ever done this - just use non stick baking trays

Even better, go milkfree.
obv difficult when you’ve got young children but once we had one lactofree (horrendous allergies) then 2 vegans if was a joy to drop ‘have we got milk in?’ related shops.
Most of our meals are vegan South Indian. Find a cuisine you like and research it.

We have a Nutribullet which we used to make smoothies for breakfast. I buy the cheapest fruit in the supermarket for it. We freeze bananas - peeled and cut into four - and use frozen soft fruit which is almost always cheaper than fresh.

My DM cleaned everything with watered down bleach. Bathroom, kitchen, floors, all bleach.

@Wouldntitbenicetobeinyourshoes no I reuse bread bags to line my food waste caddy (and my bathroom bin). Our food waste is incinerated to generate power (although now I’m thinking about it burning plastic isn’t great is it?)