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

And I have found running the dishwasher on the 45 min program gets things as clean as the 2 hr 40 min one unless its one of my stuck on casseroles.

In the winter, I diligently check the weather online each night to decide what temperature the central heating will come on at in the morning, if I allow it to come on at all. 8 degrees overnight tonight so no heating required tomorrow morning. Last year, we spent a shedload on gas. Last month's gas bill was half that of December 2012 - take that British Gas!

I do decant handwash and shampoo and conditioner into quality bottles already. DH does the washing up liquid but if I don't use fabric conditioner the washing machine starts to get smelly (hard, London water). My DSF decants Gordons or even supermarket into the Bombay Sapphire bottle (and with whiskey). I jsut put chimps into the Fortnums tin actually Chimps are better than their breakfast tea

Re: the shorts thing, my dad (in his mid 80s ) has cut down all his old business suits to wear as shorts - - helps that he is slightly eccentric and doesn't care what he looks like - despite a career in the fashion industry !! He also wears my DH's and DB's cast off clothes.

I'm still in bed, does that count? It's saving on lighting but I'm alone so it's not as fun as it could be.

Also, ignore sell by dates on food. That's what your nose is for.

when i was a child we always shared a tea bag. have they got smaller and/or weaker?

i made humous, with no tahini, none in tesco. just chickpea tin, and juice of a lemon, extra virgin olive oil and salt. and garlic. yummy.
always put bottle of wash up liquid in sink, the lid gets wash up liquid on it which can be utilised

I do loads already mentioned.

Always look for codes if eating at chain places or buying online.

Xmas shopping starts now in the sales. This saves me hundreds tbh.

Always buy whoopsie labelled stuff in the supermarket.

Ignore best before dates.

1 night a week is cheap and cheerful tea. Think like egg,chips and beans or home made veg broth and crusty bread.

Home bargains for everything except fresh produce.

DS[who is 19] is drinking "organic" hot choc .Little does he know it ran out ags ago and has been refilled with a much cheaper option which he doesn't like

i have started to turn tins of food upside down, make for easier coming out. beans for eg.

Lucy, if i cooking with a tin or jar i put a bit of water after ive emptied it to get the dregs out!

I do loads, DH thinks I'm bonkers but I think even if we we rolling in it I wouldn't want to waste money.

Cook veg in the Oven along with whatever meat is cooking. Just put it in water in a Pyrex dish and it will boil like it was on the hob.

Open oven doors after cooking

Cook two or three things in the oven at a time. Part cook in microwave to save energy on thbgs like jacket potatoes.

Use old baby muslin cloths for tea towels

Old clothes if too scrappy to be passed on are chopped up for dishcloths or used stuffing for draught excluders

Lint from tumble dryer as firelighters

No paper escapes this house. It is shredded and goes on the woodburner
Same for any stick, cardboard or scrap wood.

All food scraps to chickens to save on pellets

All left over food that is still edible is frozen to be used up in next suitable meal, includes dregs of milk, wine, small bits of cheese, lone slice of garlic bread to be whizzed up And used as topping for pasta bake.

Dishwasher tablets are halved or we use half dose powder.

Rain water is collected and used for chickens.

Gosh loads more too

gonna try full fat milk and water it down. might I regret a full four pint flagon?

I water down washing up liquid when it's almost finished too. I use half a (cheap) dishwasher tablet only and also half the amount of laundry liquid required (as recommended by a washing machine repair man). I don't wash out clothes when we've only worn them once, but hang them up to air instead on a hanger.

If you use coconut milk and are tempted by the low fat ones, don't be. They are the same price as the normal ones but the ingredients just say "coconut milk, water". GUESS HOW THEY MADE IT LOW FAT?

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

eww... not sure I'd fancy my rice made with chicken shit/cloaca juice water.

Seriously . . . where there is salmonella in eggs, it is much more likely to be on the shell than the egg inside - hopefully boiling will get rid of it but < shudder >

Oh Ragwort your Dad sounds awesome

I have started switching off the small bulb in the back kitchen

This is a joke We make love with the lights off

OK Balloon I'll stop doing it just for you but it hasn't harmed us yet. It's not like I put in poo covered eggs. In the good old days gran just used to break the eggs straight from the coop into the pan; I bet now they are hosed down before they go into their boxes.

What you say makes a certain amount of sense but it's honestly never bothered me. You do know that your cooked chicken was once full of insides don't you? I even remember when a fowl was boiled (obviously plucked and gutted but part of the gutting always meant that a whole egg was found and after that a nearly whole one and a not so whole one and then some tiny yolks. All those, straight from the bird's bum made it into the soup. Delicious it was - yum. Bet your heaving now.

This is a really interesting thread but I'm baffled about the pp's who decant supermarket gin into a Bombay sapphire bottle and can't tell the difference. Supermarket gin is a London gin whereas BM is a botanical gin so tastes totally different.

Went to Harvester at the weekend, kids ordered tomato pasta. Then I went to the salad bar and saw they had tomato pasta on there. So cancelled their order (without telling them) and got them a bowl of pasta from there, plus they had their free cucumber etc plus a piece of garlic bread. Meal for 1 adult and 3 kids for £12!

Otherwise, I just buy almost all 'basics' range products excepting a few which are awful compared to normal. Why anyone would buy more expensive chopped tinned tomatoes is beyond me. And basics kiwi fruit are identical to the others except you get 6 for £1 instead of 4.

Re the eggs, yes I would say shop bought eggs have been pretty comprehensively scrubbed before sale, as i was recently given some eggs from a friend's garden hens, which were really muddy. Anyway I don't worry too much about anything I'm putting in boiling water as the boiling should kill off whatever germs there are anyway.

COOK WITH THE PAN LIDS ON.

I use eco laundry liquid and soda crystals.

I've only recently twigged (reading something here on MN) that most of the very long washing machine cycle is rinsing. No need for much rinsing when I use only 4 small pumps of liquid (Method). So I've switched to Reduced Time washes and am saving both water and electricity. And a wash is done in under an hour.

I make my own clothes washing liquid. Works out about a fiver for 20 litres.