Sneaky ways to save the pennies

malteaser1988

Just been reading all the tips to bulk out mincemeat.

I add mushrooms, carrots and peas to my spagbol. it goes much further and means I get some veg in my meal too! maybe not quite my 5 a day but at least part of it!

Also I tend to cook lots of pasta and use only a small portion of the bolognaise mix because pasta fills you up and is much cheaper than mince!

malteaser

Steve-o

I bought a couple of those liquid soap dispensers that dispense the soap as foam, so that I could use them for my own nefarious ends: when they were finally empty I filled them up with my own choice of liquid soap. The soap has to be mixed with water until it is about the consistency of milk (or it will be too thick to turn into foam), which means that you only have to use a small amount of soap to make a full bottle of foamer.

A bottle of liquid soap (hand soap, shower gel, etc) will easily last at least 4 times as long as it normally would, and feels much better than thick sticky soap. I now have Lynx shower gel-foam in one bottle, and a moisturising soap-foam in another bottle.

A jumbo bottle of value shower/bath soap (around 30p in Tesco) used in this way would last a loooooooooooong time.

Mellika

Steve-o wrote: »

I bought a couple of those liquid soap dispensers that dispense the soap as foam

Where did you buy them from? I've never even heard of those!

Steve-o

I used the Johnson & Johnson foaming wash dispensers. There are a number of others (Boots, Kandoo, etc), but the J&J ones were a good price when I bought them.

Mellika

Thanks Steve! Will take a look at that

Steve-o

If you buy one of the foaming soap dispensers Mel, open it and take a look at how thin the soap is. It'll give you a rough idea of what consistency you'll need when you come to refill it.

Mellika

Thanks, I would have forgotten that!

I've looked through the Tesco and Boots websites and haven't been able to find any (except for the kids ones which would be inappropriate)

miserly_mum

If you grocery shop weekly, each week do your main shop a day later than the previous week. 1st week weds, 2nd week Thurs and so on.

Every 8th week you will have a "Free" weeks shopping

Also a good way to use up the stuff lurking about in the back of freezer and cupboards.

Steve-o

Mellika wrote: »

Thanks, I would have forgotten that!

I've looked through the Tesco and Boots websites and haven't been able to find any (except for the kids ones which would be inappropriate)

The J&J kids ones are the ones I use! :rotfl: With the stickers taken off they just look like generic soap dispensers.

I saw one in Tesco that would look more fitting in an average bathroom (a simple, clear bottle), but it cost £2.50 more that the J&J ones so I stuck with them. It was a brand called 'Simple' or 'Natural', or something that like.

Edit: After doing a little looking around, it seems that the pump mousse dispensers are the same sort of foaming dispensers. The Botanics Sensitive Cleansing Mousse (Boots website) looks like it would do the job, along with a number of other products. If you're in a shop try one out - if you have to pump it and it comes out like a foam, it's a foam dispenser.

marybishop

What a brilliant thread!

I close the curtains at dusk too and have even closed them a bit earlier if it's blowing a gale outside - have you ever noticed how chilly that bit is between the curtain and the window!!!

By mistake I bought Mr T's unperfumed liquid soap (think it was 99p) so added a few drops of essential oil to it and it was lovely! Have done the same with aqueous cream which is unperfumed so great for very dry/sensitive skin - just makes it a bit more special at a fraction of the cost (I know essential oils aren't cheap but you only need a few drops so they last ages). Geranium and orange is a lovely mix.