Water
Save shower water and use to flush the loo and water the plants. Cut the top off a plastic milk bottle, leaving the handle in place to use as a scoop.
On inbetween days have a sink or bucket wash.
Get an egg timer from your water co to limit your shower times.
Turn off tap while lathering your hair & body.
Have shallow baths.
Save water drawn while waiting for hot water to run, save plastic milk bottles for this.
Install an aerating low flow tap head/shower head
Fix leaking taps with new washers
Check for leaking toilet cisterns (esp if you have a dual flush loo) - use ink/food colouring etc and check a few hours later for colouration in the bowl.
Check the water meter is accurate.
Use low water programs on dishwasher/laundry
Install water butts
Wash clothes less frequently, hang clothes up overnight to air them.
Hang towels straight up to dry so you get more use between washes
Water the garden in the evening to reduce evaporation
Plant drought resistant plants
Electric & gas
Make sure the immersion heater is turned off when not required - just turn it on for 30 mins.
Lids on saucepans.
Turn everything off at the wall when not in use.
Boil kettle for washing up smaller amounts.
When making tea, just fill to the underside of the minimum fill line when making a single mug. Turn off when it’s reached a full rolling boil… sometimes they keep boiling for another 30 seconds more.
Use the radio for background noise rather than the TV.
Get double glazing film to go over windows. You can even use bubble wrap, just make sure you cover any draughty gaps.
Mobile phones
Buy a phone upfront (second hand) and get either a giffgaff goodie bag, or for occasional use a classic payg sim, either 3’s 321 or O2’s classic. Ask around your friends for a giffgaff recommendation and you’ll both get credit.
Consider getting a basic Nokia/Alcatel brick handset + iPod touch instead of the latest all in one smart phone with pricy contract.
If you’re clumsy or have kids, get a rugged protective case.
Health & diet
Cut out virtually all sugar (fructose) based products, including honey, sucrose, syrups, most processed foods, baked goods, dried fruit, fruit juices, soft drinks etc. Fresh raw whole fruit is fine because of the fibre. Fructose can trigger intense carb craving cycles where you’ll want to snack endlessly on crisps and choc biscuits from the corner shop. Eat real food to feel less hungry.
Cut down on white/processed starches such as white bread, white rice, pasta etc. Replace with an extra pile of fresh veg or salad or brown rice/sweet potatoes. Cheap offers in budget supermarkets for fruit & veg, along with market stalls.
Do 30 mins of brisk exercise 5 x per week.
Take a vitamin D tablet everyday (25 mcg or above). Check with your doctor if you have a medical condition which might contraindicate it.
Clothes
Charity shops
Jumble sales
Make your own - patterns online or charity shops. Buy second hand items with a large expanse of fabric to repurpose.
Mend your clothes - tutorials on youtube
Do smart laundry - separate lights, brights and darks. Don’t put items with metal zips like jeans in with delicates like lightweight jersey garments.
Handwash delicate items like woollens and items with non colourfast dyes.
Transport
Get a bicycle with panniers and/or trailer. Save 100’s on car ownership.
Toiletries
Use bicarb as deodorant (test it out on a day you’re pottering at home, rather than meeting important clients). Scoop out about 1/4 tsp onto the corner of a damp face cloth, and apply to armpits.
Use bar soap instead of shower gel/handwash.
Shaving - buy a job lot of razor blades and a safety razor. You can have years worth of leg shaving for the price of a couple of packs of gillette razors. Keep the blades bone dry after use and the blade will last ages… it’s the micro rust which dulls it.
Use coconut oil instead of moisturiser/body lotion. A jar is around £3 in Aldi.
Use 25p value toothpaste… it’s just as good and Dental Accredited. Just use a pea size blob, not the full length of the brush like the adverts.
Get toothbrushes from Aldi/Lidl/Homebargains etc where you get multiple brushes in a pack for under £1.
Floss using Lidl dental floss.
Get a mooncup (other cheaper makes are available)
Use a facecloth folded into 4 lengthways for sanitary cloths (for lighter days or when you’re at home). Patterns available online if you want to make your own washable towels with wings, waterproof layer & press-stud.
Cover up with sun hats and loose cotton tops instead of slathering everywhere in sun lotion.
Food and groceries
Shop at final yellow sticker time. 3pm on a Sunday is best. Often things reduced to 10p in the main stores like Te/Mo/Sa.
Otherwise shop in Aldi/Lidl for everything else.
Buy reduced veg and either cook up a big batch of soup and freeze, or make pickles/fermented veg. Save old jars & tubs.
Lentil dhal is a very cheap and tasty meal for lunch.
Eat offal… it is very cheap and highly nutritious. Liver and bacon with mushrooms is delicious, and heart has the taste and texture of finest quality steak pieces and doesn’t taste offally at all. Liver slices cook in just a couple of minutes, but heart will need slow cooking. Kidney is um, more of an acquired taste.
Beans and lentils are good for padding out mince dishes. Dried beans are much cheaper than tins, but require long cooking. Cook up a big batch at once and freeze in portions.
Grow patio food… cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets, strawberries in planters, land cress (almost identical to expensive watercress), herbs etc.
Cut dishwasher tablets in half.
Put a scoop of soda crystals in the machine with the washing powder, it helps boost cleaning power. Get them from HB which’ll be a third cheaper than the supermarkets.
Reuse teabags for two cups.
Buy full fat milk, it has more nutrition for the same price. The fat has more fat soluble vitamins.
If you find some reduced price milk, you can make homemade yoghurt. You just need a small tub of plain bio yoghurt to use as a starter. You could also make homemade paneer cheese which is great in curries, just get a small bottle of rennet in the baking aisle.
Instead of buying firelighters, take a cardboard egg box. Cut the egg sections into pairs. When you have an oily or fatty frying pan/baking sheet, take a sheet of kitchen paper, mop up the fat, scrunch up and place in the egg box holes.
Cut washing up sponges in half. You’ll get nearly as much use from half of one as a whole one.
Look out for food discount stores in your area that sell shortdated/overstocked food for very cheap prices. Online there’s Approved Foods.
Buy a large whole chicken instead of pieces which are more expensive per unit. You can get a main roast out of it, then a couple of nights pie/curry, then boil up the carcass for a couple of hours with half and onion, bit of celery & carrot. Save the stock and pick out the scraps of meat for a tasty base for soup/risotto.