Great Isn’t it Obvious MoneySaving Hunt: Tell us the secrets you didn't know you had

Camie

We were so horrified the last time we filled our oil tank that we haven't had the boiler on for weeks... We've a power shower, so don't need hot water in the tank for that. For any other hot water, we just boil a kettle as we need it (One and a half litres - a kettle full - is enough for washing up; I rinse under the cold tap). I had a spare kettle, so we keep that in the bedroom for convenience. We find we need less than 1 litre of hot water - not even boiling - for washing or shaving. It's difficult to quantify what we've saved, but for sure we don't need to keep a tank full of hot water all the time just for washing and washing up twice a day! It will be interesting to compare our total fuel bills for the six months in comparison with last year's!

Georgiabay

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

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I often wonder the same about the washing up water. It's already in a bowl and right by the back door so would be very easy to do. But I don't really fancy tipping washing up liquid all over the plants.

When we had a hosepipe ban one year I used to water my plants near the back door with the washing up water and they thrived.
When I was tidying up the plants in winter though I found a few teaspoons on the ground which I must have thrown out with the water.

Sharp_Eyes

tsmlion wrote: »

I know this is a money saving website but some of you seriously need to get out more and/or get a life.

You can't take it with you.

At your funeral do you want people to say "What a nice man/woman" or "What a tight git that was"?

I think tips saving real money are useful..........heating up toothpaste to get a dribble out.....................:rotfl:

I'll tell you this....with the savings I've made from the 'little' things, I've been able to travel all over the world!!! My friends might laugh at me for the quirky things I do, but they don't laugh long when I'm off to Egypt or Paris!!! :cool:

kaggsy

Love all these posts - very helpful!

My tip is this - my husband works at home so I make him up a flask of coffee at the beginning of the day. This saves him boiling a kettle during the day when he wants a cup and also cuts down the amount of coffee he drinks! :j

JimmyTheWig

laddy94 wrote: »

hi i have purchased a 300 watt inverter [converts 12 volts dc to 240 volt ac] for around £30 it has twin household sockets so i now charge my laptop, pda, digital camera and mobile phone and even use a 12 volt powered AA/AAA battery charger to charge remote control or other batteries while i drive. This aters fuel economy by a miniscule amount and saves my electric at home. PLEASE REMOVE VALUEBLE ITEMS FROM PARKED CARS . Cheers steve

When this idea came up before (suggestion of charging mobile phone in car rather than indoors) it was agreed that it was cheaper to do it indoors.
The thinking is that a power station is really efficient at generating electricity, but a car isn't.

Those that are allowed to charge these things at work can save even more money, though!

JimmyTheWig

Camie wrote: »

We were so horrified the last time we filled our oil tank that we haven't had the boiler on for weeks... We've a power shower, so don't need hot water in the tank for that. For any other hot water, we just boil a kettle as we need it (One and a half litres - a kettle full - is enough for washing up; I rinse under the cold tap). I had a spare kettle, so we keep that in the bedroom for convenience. We find we need less than 1 litre of hot water - not even boiling - for washing or shaving. It's difficult to quantify what we've saved, but for sure we don't need to keep a tank full of hot water all the time just for washing and washing up twice a day! It will be interesting to compare our total fuel bills for the six months in comparison with last year's!

Reminds me of the guy I bought my first flat from.
He said energy bills were low as you didn't need hot water - he used to fill his washing up bowl from the electric shower!
And the flat was so small that heat from cooking dinner kept the place warm for the evening.

jb5

Toothpaste -
Most adverts show toothpaste extending along the entire length of the brush head. This much toothpaste is not really required. A small lump, about the size of a pea is quite sufficient.

Plastic Toothpaste Tubes-

Dilly wrote: »

I always get the very last bits from my tubes by running a toothbrush handle alon the tube from the bottom upwards. Its amazing how much extra you get to use

I do something similar, but I use the edge of the bathroom door. With the lid STILL ON, flatten the bottom of the tube against the doors edge with your palm. With your other hand pull the tube back toward the door hinge, so that the tube is bent into a right angle. The edge of the door will push most of the remaining toothpaste towards the lid end of the tube. Repeat several times to make sure you've got all of it! (I hope this makes sense!)
I manage to get anything up to ten more brushes out of the tube using this method and have banned my DSO from throwing away toothpaste tubes until I've done this!! A free alternative to those tube squeezing devices.

Liquid Soap Dispensers -
Rather than push the dispenser all the way down, push it halfway, or maybe even less if your hands aren't too dirty. I find this usually provides enough soap to do the job. (I wonder why manufactures produce dispensers with such a long piston travel:rolleyes:). I have thought about putting a few rubber washers at the bottom of the piston to prevent anybody pumping the dispenser too much. However, I think my DSO would consider this a step too far! She does not share all my extreme eco- warrior & MS skills!

EDIT- One nice thing about this site & people leaving thanks for a post is that it demonstrates to my DSO that I'm not entirely mad, (or at least I'll have some company when they come to take me away!)

Tazness

JB5
What is a DSO ??

Tazness

Forgot,
As we are being good at not over filling the kettle we bought a travel kettle, I found that the big 1.7L ones 1 cup would berely cover the element.
I dont know if it is any more economical to run as it has that hot plate at the bottom rather than an element .
but we dont have any lime scale ... thus saving the kettle and a nice cuppa..

Any one found a small regular kettle??

Re my idea of saving LOADS of money by using contraception.. make sure you dont pay for your condoms, there are loads of places to get them for free..

jb5

Tazness wrote: »

JB5
What is a DSO ??

Designated Significant Other.

I first heard the phrase from a chap who'd worked in Sweden. It's basically a Swedish term for unmarried partners.

DSO- A slightly different definition.