Lots more Sneaky Ways to save the pennies

daffodiltulip

pamsdish wrote: »

I find I prefer to turn off shower soap over body then rinse.

I think it's more efficient. Whoever thought it was a good idea to wash (i.e. use soap) whilst standing under running water? It's a bit like trying to clear the drive of snow during a snowstorm!

GreenNinja

zoelb wrote: »

Thanks for all the tips so far - really useful. This thread is shaping up to be as good as the last

My tip is dying my clothes. Mainly my black jeans tend to fade after time, but still have plenty of wear in them - so I get a pack of black dylon machine dye (around £4 but you can find it cheaper I think) and dye them (throw in a couple of light tops too you want to revive to get the most out of it). I also dyed a pair of light wash jeans which I never wear, but love the fit, a lovely dark denim colour, and now I wear them loads!

Easier than scouring the shops for the perfect fit jeans, and cheaper too!

Fantastic idea!! Many thanks for this! I have a fave pair of black jeggings which have faded loads, so this will give a new lease of life!! :T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T

Uniscots97

sparrer wrote: »

Which just goes to prove you can teach an old dog new tricks - thanks for the tips

You're welcome Sparrer, I love learning new things.

Uniscots97

Old tights (clean obviously!) have many uses. They are perfect for storing onions. But they are great for making into shower scrunchies. You make them by roughly measuring a 10-15cm length and folding it back and forward until the end. Then tie tightly with a bit of nylon string (if you don't have any then take an elastic band and tie it in a knot and use one side of this to tie the tights and the other is a loop to hang it up), then with the ends tie into a loop so you can hang it up.

mcculloch29

How have I not seen this brilliant thread before? Looking forward to a good read in depth later!

MothFilledWallet

pamsdish wrote: »

I find I prefer to turn off shower soap over body then rinse.

The good ol' Navy wash, for when you have to conserve as much water as possible as you have a finite supply on a ship/sub.

you can do a something like it in an old fashioned tin bath (My mum has a snazzy thick plastic one that I used to sit in as a kid and pretend I was in a boat). Two/three big steel buckets of warm/hot water (or 4-6 smaller buckets more manageable buckets)

(I used the kitchen hot tap to fill the buckets)

Bucket 1 to wet and lather up, including hair.
Bucket 2 to wash body off, and light rinse out of hair.
Bucket 3 for final rinse of hair and rinse off any lurking suds.

What I called a 'Posh wash', for when mum was coming to tea or something else where I needed to be squeaky clean lol

Only need 1-2 buckets if you have short hair, mine is rather long now but could get it all done with 1 bucket when I had a shaved head. Half to lather, half to rinse.

Had to do this for a few months when my bathroom plumbing went funny (yes I know....heheheh....plumbing...)

Used the water to flush the loo for the next day

There is a bit of an art to it as first, if you're a bigger person and not very mobile I'd fill an extra bucket for missed bits

Best done in a warm room with towels close to hand as it can be rather nippy to say the least in the winter months if you go for the full wash. :eek:

mcculloch29

Washing.... I was talking to a friend the other week who is on benefits and has a prepaid key meter for gas and electricity. I was trying to help her make savings from what she spends on fuel.
She told me she spends 'Hours in the shower, I like to get all the shampoo and conditioner out of my hair.'

Like me, she has a deep bathroom sink, and short hair, so I suggested she wash her face and shampoo/condition her hair in the sink as I often do, before stepping into the shower for a 3 minute from- the- neck -down wash. (I have a timer that helps me to stick to under 4 minutes.)

My friend looked at me as if I'd come out of the Stone Age... I thought it was quite a sensible suggestion!

At the risk of it being TMI and my being new to this thread, I've found a portable bidet brilliant for freshening up those Important Little Places, rather than having a full shower when I don't need one... I won't let you know what she said about that! :rotfl:

Nargleblast

A shower timer is a brilliant idea for saving electricity and water. It is possible to have enough of a shower to wash your face and body adequately in just two minutes, and if you want a longer, more relaxing shower then five minutes is loads of time! Try it and see.

Uniscots97

Rather than buying expensive eye make up remover use a cotton bud dipped into a drop of olive oil this will happily break down even waterproof mascara.

sparrer

unixgirluk wrote: »

Rather than buying expensive eye make up remover use a cotton bud dipped into a drop of olive oil this will happily break down even waterproof mascara.

I keep a small, plastic screw-top tub of olive oil in the bathroom cabinet for just this purpose. Having been asked on a couple of occasions what it is I'd recommend you keep it in a solid coloured jar - it looks suspiciously like a 'sample' you might be taking to the doctors! On the other hand the clear jar does deter from anyone opening it to investigate the contents :rotfl:
Rather than buying cotton buds I use one folded sheet of loo roll per eye, it works perfectly and helps the budget. A bonus is the olive oil makes eye lashes healthy and silky, and it helps to keep 'laugh lines' at bay