30 MoneySaving household hacks to avoid waste

wootsy

decant large bottles of washing up liquid etc into smaller bottles - you will use less. Also a bottle that you push down a lever to get the solution will make you use less.

Slinky

Peechy69 said:

debbiedodge1737 said:

I just got a electric and gas smart meter put in last week and noticed that although we are not on economy 7 (if that is still out there) we do get charged less between 12.30am and 7.30 am which i never made use of before. But the past week I have started loading the washing and dishwasher the night before ready to turn on at 5.30am when I normally wake up, they are both then finished before 7.30am making use of the cheap rate and the the washing is hung out on airers or outside to be taken in in evening before bed.

Debs
x

We've got Economy 7, plus both my dishwasher & washing machine have delay timers on them, so I make full use of the cheaper nightly rate by putting both machines on during this time.

We've got Economy 7 and also do this. I found that the timers have drifted over time, so in the summer I get cheap rate electric from 1.27am until 8.27am instead of midnight-7am.  If I'm up early I'll get some ironing done before 8.27 to take advantage of the cheaper rate.  We're in no hurry to move to smart meters!

ValerieofNorwich

two ideas: mini jam jars are excellent for instant coffee with a flask on picnics.  Also cut used bottle bags down, to keep scarves, neatly in drawer, use the bottle bag handles to make hangers for calendars and tots paintings!

balabooberlies

ValerieofNorwich said:

two ideas: mini jam jars are excellent for instant coffee with a flask on picnics.  Also cut used bottle bags down, to keep scarves, neatly in drawer, use the bottle bag handles to make hangers for calendars and tots paintings!

Wonderful........
bala

p00

ValerieofNorwich said:

two ideas: mini jam jars are excellent for instant coffee with a flask on picnics.  Also cut used bottle bags down, to keep scarves, neatly in drawer, use the bottle bag handles to make hangers for calendars and tots paintings!

You can cut the bottom off the bottle bag and refold it so you have a smaller handled bag too
p00 x

p00

MemeandPepe said:

Hooray! at last we are 'normal'.  The children all think we are tight but we prefer to call it 'thrifty'.  Happily though they are inheriting some of our habits.  Where do we draw the line between saving because it might be useful later and hoarding?  My Nephew thinks that if and when my Brother and Sister-in-Law pass on, it would be easier to set light to the house!  A bit extreme.

I have lived in my house for 44 years so there is quite a bit of stuff. I  have started to regularly begin to minimise after seeing 2 people having to clear houses recently when people have passed away. Most of it ends up in landfill. I also know several people who's houses are full of collectables 'to pass on when they are gone'. What a waste if those things are not wanted or worse still not really worth anything in the future.
I would say that if you are 'saving' things for family members etc give it to them to save. Let them choose whether to sell now or keep for later.
I have also stopped having extras in of everything. You know when you go to Home B*rgains and stock up. If my shampoo is virtually empty I can buy one then.
I also (now retired) do not shower every day. No need is there if I have a wash. The amount of water etc I have saved in the last year must be huge.
My biggest wastage must be boiling the kettle for endless cups of tea. That I need to look into.
See if you have a local Olio. Its for giving away stuff locally (especially now all the charity shops are closed). Yesterday I actually swapped a children's police set for 3 boxes of teabags.  I think I got the best of the deal to be honest as he did tell me they were having a clear out, but then had this 'toy'.
p00 xx

Diana2014

Sandy2 said:

Is it safe to use the cold water that initially comes out of the hot tap to fill the kettle. Having an oil boiler I seem to have to wait and waste a lot of cold water first whilst waiting for the hot to come through?

I run off that cold water into repurposed containers (eg water bottles, clean milk jugs) and use it to refill the toilet cistern, or to water plants.

Diana2014

ailz95 said:

popoma said:

I store boiled water in a 2l Thermos. When I need freshly boiled water, I fill the kettle with that, and top up as needed. Anything over immediate use goes back in the Thermos. Very little time and thus energy is needed to boil each time.

That works in a sofrt water area, but you're told not to reboil water in a hard water area - like me in the south east - as it damages the kettle and makes the tea taste funny from the limescale.

I'm in a hard water area, too. I pour the extra boiled water into a clean bottle and (when cooled) use it to water houseplants, or lime-hating garden ones.

Diana2014

The best 'cane caps' for stick supports in the garden are empty snail shells. Anyone who has a garden in the UK has snails, which leave empty shells lying around when they die, so I collect those and reuse them.

Gemmie57

Like other forumites, whenever I come across tips of how to save money, I find I have been doing most of them for years.  One job I had to do when a teenager in the 1970s which I found tedious, was 'sides to middling' sheets.  Being from a large family we used a lot of sheets which sometimes got worn in the middle.  My Mum asked me to cut the sheet up the middle, place the two old sides on top of each other and sew them together with a flat seam, then hem the new sides.  This was a job I often did during the Summer holidays and swore I would never do as an adult, but found myself doing it on a number of occasions as our sheets wore out.