FOR FUN... what random things do you do in your home to save money/make things last longer?

[tiamariaxxx]

OK so at tea time my lovely husband has been teasing me because he thinks its strange i water down the washing up liquid once its near the bottom i fill it half way so that its not very runny, nd then he thought it was even stranger that weve got 2 full bottles in the cupboard... Even if i only get 2 more usage out of it its still saving isnt it?

I also water down the fabric conditioner and some other cleaning products.

I also try to re-use towels wherever possible i know people think its minging but you can imagine how many towels a family of 6 go through it would be a wash a day just for them if i didnt

Probilly other stuff aswell i do but cant think atm

I put the whistling kettle on the log burner to heat water. Takes frigging ages but it's so satisfying hearing it boil and knowing it hasn't used any extra energy :)

I only fill up the washing up liquid with water on the last little squeezeful - doesn't your bottle get all bubbly?!
Erm, I can't think of anything at the moment, I don't water anything down. I will wait and see what others say, I'm sure there's loads I do just cant remember.

I water down products. Most people use too much which can either damage an item, or just gets washed down the drain.

I cut open bottles to get the last dregs out i.e. toothpaste.

When drinking wine in a box, upon reaching what seem to be the last few drops, I open up the box to squeeze the last of the wine out of the bag inside the box don't we all?

I do that too OP
Same with shampoo, fabric softener and I'm currently doing the same with a bottle of hand wash. If you just gently swill the water around, it doesn't foam up.
I don't intentionally do it to save money, it just seems a shame to chuck it in the bin.

I've also started snipping the end off my tubes of toothpaste and face cream to get the last few smears out too.
My face cream only comes in a thin tube and I use it daily, I can get another whole weeks worth out by cutting the end off the tube then slotting it back on so it doesn't dry out.

Yes it does go all bubbly but it doesnt bother me too much its fine for putting in the bowl to soak things :)

And arhh yes i do the toothpaste too, we have 3 different toothpastes in our house i know its crazy so we need to

I add water to squash - especially the double concentrate. Evil!

I save little cut offs of veg (broccoli stalks for example) and make them into a vegetable soup to freeze.

I buy the big economy bottles of shampoo and condiitioner from Sainsburys with the pump to measure out the amount. They last for ages because the DC don't pur out huhe handfuls.

Also, buying smallish packets so you eke things out.

Making a pot of tea with two bags now three of us have it in the morning.

If I make Kedgeree I boil the eggs with the rice to save boiling an extr pan.

ooh never thought of cutting bottom of things, i think i will ive just chucked an hair remover tube away bet i can get a bit out of it will save it now :)

I snip the toothpaste tube in half. I also pull the top of my foundation off and use the bits around the edge that doesn't get pumped out for another 2 weeks.

I'm not being frugal just lazy to go to boots for my no7

My grandma cuts washing sponges in half. Come on they're only like a pound for 20 what is the point!

I buy full fat milk - the kids have it as is but DP and I water it down a splash in cereal, tea etc

At the end I do that for washing up liquid, toothpaste, shampoos and conditioner. I even cut my tinted moisturiser and body cream bottles and scrape it off the sides as there is always loads left that you can't squeeze out.

The gear knob on my car has cracked and almost came off so I had this black plastic strip, I've wrapped it around where the crack line is and covered it with black tape (lots of black tape) and voila good as new lol I know it doesn't cost much to change it but its the hassle of getting it done.

I water down wash up liquid and liquid soap. I also use the solid soap until it's nearly all gone and then stick it to the new bar.
I'm laying on the sofa under a fleecy throw with a hoodie over the top of my PJs to keep warm without turning the heat up.
I leave the oven and microwave doors open after use so the heat spreads throughout the room (when dcs in bed or out of course).
I measured exactly how much water we needed to put in the kettle for mine and dh's teas and drew a mark on so I don't use more energy than needed to boil it.

My nan used to make ridiculously weak, black tea. Every morning she made up a cup of tea, using 2 tea bags (I think) and left them there. Throughout the day she would pour a bit of this stewed tea into her cup and then fill with boiling water. A box of tea bags lasted aaaaages!
I told my dad about this and he copied the idea - he also drinks black tea and gallon upon gallon of alcohol and is also a bit of a miser.

When I cut the bottom of a tube of moisturiser or hand cream, I use 2 hair clips (bobby pins) to close the cut end so it stops it drying out.

I do that with most cleaning products. The box says use 2 washing tablets for the washing machine. I only euse one unless things are caked in mud.
I buy economy biscuits and empty the packets into the cookie jar. They haven't noticed yet. Ditto, cornflakes and hand soap.
I go around and ensure everything is off at the wall/unplugged.
I turned the thermostat down and bought everyone bigger jumpers and blankets to snuggle under.
I try to batch cook and fill the oven with different dishes. I then freeze things in boxes for meals.

I remember when I was little when it was tea time if there was only a little bit of red sauce in the bottle left my mam used to add a bit of water to make it last a bit longer watery sauce mmmm!

I try not to use too much water in the kettle,try not to waste food, add water to liquid soap, cut the ends off tubes, make sure all of the toilet roll has been used (df seems to leave too much on the roll before opening a new one),.

When cooking rice, I put vegies on top of the rice to steam, saves a pan. When changing the cat's water bowl or cleaning kids' water bottles I always tip them onto pot plants. (saw dh tip water down the drain the other night - ).
We also - and this is prob a bit gross - leave dd's bathwater in til the next bath. This is partly to stop the cat pooing in the tub (god knows why but she does it very randomly) but then also it makes a good hand-washing "basin" for after playing in the garden etc. These days I also stand in it to cool down.

A huge(1.5l) bottle of fairy liquid is £1.59 in farmfoods.I put about 1/3 of this into a pump bottle.Each bowl full will take about 4-5 pumps.I get about 2 months out of each small bottle this way. If I need more suds I put a tiny bit onto a sponge first.

I ran out of hoover bags on NYE just before my friends were coming over for a party. I remembered a tip my mum told me years ago, took the bag out to the outside bin, cut the end open and tipped the crap out and stapled / sellotaped it back up. It worked perfectly.

Not motivated by saving money, just by not having time to go to shop for any new ones, but I think I might try to get two uses out of each bag now.

I get two bottles of Yellow Tail for £11 if I walk 3 mins from the house.

Frizz ease hair serum pisses me off. How do you get the last squirt or two out of that .... impossible. Always end up chucking it out with a bit left still in dammit.

Yes to cutting tubes etc. also I grate hardened cheese to make sauce rather than throw it.

I have a Flashmop and you have to put in this small bottle of flash onto it - well sod paying £3.99 for a new bottle, I cut a small hole into the top, get the cheaper bigger flash bottles dilute it and pour into smaller bottle, put a cork I had lying about into the hole to stop spillage and voila £3.99 saved many times over in the past 12 months.