10 Ways to Save Money

Just recently I have quit my full-time job outside the home and have now become a full-time stay-at-home-mom. This brings many things into perspective. One being, we now will be going from 2 incomes down to 1 income. My husband is such a hard working man and God has truly blessed us in many ways and has never ceased to provide for us and I want to do my best at being the help meet my husband deserves. And one of the ways I can do this is to do whatever I can to save money in order to stretch our income and I would like to share them with you so that you can start saving, too!

10 Ways to Save Money

1. Don't buy cleaning cloths or store bought dust cloths. Use old clothing as dusting or cleaning rags! This is a great way to recycle an old t-shirt or less than perfect towel. Not only are you saving money by using what you have you are also lessening what goes into our landfills. :)

2. Just say no to store bought household cleaners! Why pay a small fortune for household cleaners when you can easily make them yourself? I have been doing this for awhile now. I use a very simple recipe. Just plain old white distilled vinegar and water (50/50) in an old spray bottle that you have cleaned out and it's safe to use everywhere in the house! I use it to clean the mirrors,windows, counter tops, bathroom and kitchen sinks, toilets, stove, floors, and more! It's non toxic ( unlike the store bought cleaners ) and vinegar is a great disinfectant!

3. Never buy laundry soap again! Again I say, make your own. It's easy, super cheap, and lasts a long time. There are different recipes for making your own laundry soap; powder, liquid, or paste like. I've used the powdered which works very well. You only need 1 Tbsp per wash load. For the recipe go to the Duggar's website here (my links aren't working so I have copied and pasted the links for you) http://www.duggarfamily.com/content/duggar_recipes/30456/powdered_laundry_detergent_top_load_machine .

The recipe I prefer is the "paste". It still uses only 1 Tbsp per load, but seems to last longer than the powder recipe to me and you can get the recipe by visiting Beautiful Somehow's blog here http://beautifulsmhw.blogspot.com/2012/04/frugal-and-simple-laundry-week-homemade.html .

Lastly is the liquid recipe. This is supposed to last the longest out of all 3 recipes. However, it does require you to use a 5 gallon bucket and frankly, I just do not have that kind of extra space in my home. You can also get this recipe by visiting the Duggar's here http://www.duggarfamily.com/content/duggar_recipes/30455/homemade_liquid_laundry_soap_front_or_top_load_machine_best_value .

4. Use the plastic grocery bags for the waste paper baskets in your home. I use them in my bathrooms. They're free and have easy to carry handles!

5. Use vinegar in place of expensive fabric softeners. Yes, I know. Here she goes again talking about vinegar. Seriously though, it's wonderful and softening your clothes and brightening brights and whites! All it takes is a cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle. I promise your clothes will not come out smelling like you were dying Easter eggs! No hint of vinegar smell at all.

6. Skip the dryer and hang your clothes out on the line! I like to call this "Solar Drying" :) A few benefits of Solar Drying include: your clothes last longer, the sun is a natural whitener, no static cling, and it's FREE!

7. Use cloth napkins instead of paper. They're super easy to make. You can use cotton or flannel fabric from an old shirt, table cloth, or sheet. I prefer to cut mine 11 inches x 11 inches and i sew along the border with a tight zig-zag stitch to prevent them from fraying too much. I like the country look, so i do let them fray a bit. Wash then use! That's it! (Once used I just throw them in with a load of laundry, then they're ready for using)

8. Unplug any appliance that you are not using. Even if the appliance is turned off it's still using electric. Cell phone chargers, computer or laptops, microwaves, toasters, coffee pots, etc. (please don't unplug your refrigerator lol)

9. Install a water filter to your kitchen faucet instead of buying bottled water.

10. Make homemade wet/dry cloths for your "Swiffer'ish" product by using old cotton t-shirts. Just cut them to size and use dry or lightly spray your homemade all-purpose cleaner on your floor surface and wipe away.

I hope you can use some of these tips. I would love to hear any of your money saving tips or frugal ways.