Old style things that 'only you' do...

Leonie

rainbowrisin wrote:

Gulp, part with money, shudder, cringe;)
Thanks for this, will have a look and might well buy - i actually do buy when it's something i want and can't get any other way, and am probably paradoxical in that i'll feel ill at parting with a penny i feel i don't need to, but buy mainly organic food and a few other bits without batting an eyelid that it costs more than other food, coz it's what i want. I read a book called "Self Reliance" by John Yeoman a couple of years back, and it was an absolute eye opener - he's a complete frugal dougall and i got so much info and lots of tips from the book (no, i don't do his PR work, either:D )

Thank heavens it isn't only me - I feel so guilty reading all these columns because I only buy organic, which takes up way more of my budget than I should be spending. As far as I'm concerned, the benefits to my health have been enormous.
But I do stacks of these tips as second nature, and 'police' my finances on a daily basis.

It's so nice to find I'm not as eccentric as I thought!

Leonie

CLARABEL wrote:

ok,
I am currently flat on the floor with a bad back and you guys have made me really laugh and feel not alone in my scrimping behaviour.

I do lots of those things but also use junk mail wrappers as food bags..haven't had to buy and since i discovered this one

i add soda crystals to the wash to reduce washng powder needed..great and stops limescale.

I refill soap bottles with ecover washing up liquid and a few drops of lavender oil..lovely.

i make my own squirty bathroom cleaners ( refill old bottles) from soda crystals, tea tree & lavender oil and hot water - very cheap.

keep this thread going it's fab!

Clara.x:j

Ecover washing up liquid is great - I have really sensitive skin, but I've filled my hand wash dispensers with it too, and it's really gentle.

I have just loved this thread - I've picked up some really useful tips. I thought I was already economical, too!

I like the hosepipe one - I'm on a water meter too, and had never thought of this. Must go back and say thanks on that one!

Leonie

CLARABEL wrote:

ok,
I am currently flat on the floor with a bad back and you guys have made me really laugh and feel not alone in my scrimping behaviour.

I do lots of those things but also use junk mail wrappers as food bags..haven't had to buy and since i discovered this one

i add soda crystals to the wash to reduce washng powder needed..great and stops limescale.

I refill soap bottles with ecover washing up liquid and a few drops of lavender oil..lovely.

i make my own squirty bathroom cleaners ( refill old bottles) from soda crystals, tea tree & lavender oil and hot water - very cheap.

keep this thread going it's fab!

Clara.x:j

Clarabel, I forgot to mention - if your bad back is lower spine and disk related - there's an absolutely brilliant book by Robin McKenzie called 'Treat your own back' (about £7.06 on Amazon) which put my back to rights in a couple of months. I tried to cut the tap root of an acer with a spade, and popped a disk. The exercises are simple, and I do one of them before, after, and during any heavy work - and sleep like a baby afterwards with no back pain. He's a miracle worker.

full-time-mum

sophiesmum wrote:

my teenage daughter is a terrible brand fiend. She insists she cant possibly use cheap nasty shampoo and conditioner on her hair, and insisted on chucking a particular (expensive brand in the trolley). I let her get away with this the once and over the past year have been refilling it with asda own brand stuff.

I did the same with Weetabix and Kellogs cornflakes. Both of which OH insisted were they only ones worth eating. After a couple of weeks, I pointed out what I'd done!!! Now I just buy shop brand!

EagerLearner

I empty the hoover filter too - wash it and leave it outside to dry and it's fine.

I use virgin olive oil for moisturising in the shower, also before bed for moisturising dry skin - plus mixed with some brown sugar it's also a lovely body exfoliator that you can rinse off (it dissolves). You can also polish stainless steel with it very nicely, all for nothing. Has saved me a bunch on beauty costs. :T

full-time-mum

sexymouse wrote:

Unfortunately my hair is very long and thick, so takes at least an hour to dry completely in the summer heat, so my pillow would be soaked if I didn't dry it at night.

My hair is long and thick and I reckon it takes 2 or 3 hours to dry naturally.

If its wet at bedtime, I plait it and cover my pillow with a towel. In the morning, nice wavy hair!

I do it through laziness - never thought of it as moneysaving before!

PumpkinPie_3

Wow what brilliant ideas! I am going to start doing a lot of these from now on.

PumpkinP

singlehouseholder

If I go to the loo, I always make sure I give my nose a blow first, saves on the old bog roll.

SusanCarter

EagerLearner wrote:

I use virgin olive oil for moisturising in the shower, also before bed for moisturising dry skin - plus mixed with some brown sugar it's also a lovely body exfoliator that you can rinse off (it dissolves). You can also polish stainless steel with it very nicely, all for nothing. Has saved me a bunch on beauty costs. :T

How do you get virgin olive oil and brown sugar for free?

snoozer

We use baby oil instead of shaving gel or oils. Much cheaper than either and gives a lovely smooth finish to my legs and DH's chin.