Any tips on the following spendy things?

alicemary

As I faced a bowl of washing up, and squeezed the last drops out of the detergent bottle, I wondered what I would do the next day to clean my dishes....
Is there any other household detergent that can be used for dish cleaning in an emergency? Shampoo? Soap??

My other spendy thing is cotton wool. I use a water-based cleanser for my face (the only one that works for me), and apply it with a cotton wool pad. I've tried regular cotton wool but it absorbs more than the pads. I've tried using a cloth but it also absorbs more than the pads. Any alternatives to cotton wool pads??

And I'll end with a tip: to clean kitchen surfaces, I take a break halfway through a load of washing up, and use the dish water and cloth to wipe everything down. No good for deep cleaning, but works to keep the palce under control.

oliveoyl

You can use Stardrops for washing the dishes.

sunflower76

I havent' found an alternative to cotton wool pads but only use them with toner. How about changing your cleanser to a thicker one that you can apply with your fingers?

shetitasatic

Snap! I was going to say the same thing! I use No7 pink cleanser- apply with my fingers then wipe off with toilet paper. I then soak a muslin cloth in fairly warm water and go over my face again with that several times. You'd be amazed how much make up comes off after using cleanser!! Using the muslin cloth helps exfoliate the skin.

Steve-o

I would imagine that any sort of soap (hard, liquid, showergel, etc) would be fine, as long as you rinsed it off: tasting Fairy is bad enough, but Lynx would probably be worse.

Edit: if you have a liquid soap dispenser, you can fill that (when empty!) and it'll make sure you only dispense a set amount of washing up liquid. Good working out how long a bottle will last, and planning accordingly.

cafecreme

This probably sounds a bit silly, but I always buy my cotton wool in France, because it costs about 50 or 60c for about 120 cotton wool discs.. they are the cheap ones though but still good enough for removing my cleaner and much better than using a flannel or whatever. So whenever we go on holiday there we bring back a year's worth of cotton wool as well as our wine!

(tissues in handy packets are also much much cheaper - it's bizarre).

Swan_2

before there was any dedicated washing up liquid on the market, people washed their dishes with soap powder/flakes, laundry detergent or just plain soap

as has been mentioned above, cleansers are pretty much interchangeable as long as you rinse

sexymouse

Washing up liquid is essentially salt-based, and my nan has used hot water and salt to wash up her dishes for years with no ill-effects. It is also good because it's abrasive so will get off stuck on food. If you want to make your plates etc nice and shiny, use some white vinegar and rinse with hot water.

BilberryCharlotte

alicemary wrote: »

As I faced a bowl of washing up, and squeezed the last drops out of the detergent bottle, I wondered what I would do the next day to clean my dishes....
Is there any other household detergent that can be used for dish cleaning in an emergency? Shampoo? Soap??

My other spendy thing is cotton wool. I use a water-based cleanser for my face (the only one that works for me), and apply it with a cotton wool pad. I've tried regular cotton wool but it absorbs more than the pads. I've tried using a cloth but it also absorbs more than the pads. Any alternatives to cotton wool pads??

And I'll end with a tip: to clean kitchen surfaces, I take a break halfway through a load of washing up, and use the dish water and cloth to wipe everything down. No good for deep cleaning, but works to keep the palce under control.

I am sure that I read ages ago that if you separated the layers of your cotton wool pad, they would fluff up and then you get twice the use. Mind you, I notice that some of the ones my daughter buys are very compressed, so whether you would be able to separate the layers at all I am not sure. Sorry can`t be more help.

Pitlanepiglet

I'm sure you know this but buying cotton wool pads from the baby section is usually much cheaper than buying them from the beauty section!

stilernin

alicemary wrote: »

My other spendy thing is cotton wool. I use a water-based cleanser for my face (the only one that works for me), and apply it with a cotton wool pad. I've tried regular cotton wool but it absorbs more than the pads. I've tried using a cloth but it also absorbs more than the pads. Any alternatives to cotton wool pads??

Many years ago I saw a make up demo where cotton wool pads had been made from cotton wool pleats.

You need a small square 'tupperware' box - open out the cottonwool pleat and cut into squares to fit the box. Wet with water and squeeze almost dry (without losing the shape) before putting into the box and then you will find that you can peel off layers thinner than the original pleat depth.

As it is already damp, any cleanser, toner or moisturiser isn't absorbed as much so you save on the quantity you use.