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In order to cut down your use of other products you need to first find out the minimum amount you need to get the job done. If you have to, use a measuring spoon. I did this with dishsoap and found that we only need 1/4 teaspoon in a sink full of dishes. In a previous kitchen I kept that 1/4 teaspoon next to the bottle of soap as a reminder.
If you have very hard water you can add a bit of baking soda to anything to make the soap 'soapier.' I have done this with shampoo, dish soap, and bubble bath. I have also diluted shampoon and condition with water to make them last longer. And, of course, whenever you think the bottle is empty you add water to it, shake it thoroughly and get at least one more usage out of it.
Elsewhere I have seen the following recommended for the automatic dishwasher: Dissolve 1/2 tsp of baking soda and 1/4 tsp dishwashing (regular hand dishwashing) soap, into 1/2 cup warm water. Pour into the dispenser cups.
I tried it and it did not make too many suds, but I wasn't completely satisfied with the state of my dishes- I think vinegar instead of water would have been better.
There is almost no recipe that really requires as much sugar as the recipe calls for. We have cut the sugar amounts in cookies by as much as half without any noticable difference.
Some people might think this seems tedious and picky and just grungy, just to save a few pennies. The pennies add up quickly, of course, but this saves in other areas, too. When you learn to get by with less, you learn to see other areas where you can also do more with less. The less often you run out of products like dish soap and sugar, the less often you have to make a run to the store. The less often you run to the store, the more money you save.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Frugalities, reducing consumption
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5 comments:
It always surprises me to hear people complain about the things they can't do without... because it's obvious, they've never DONE without.
I have lived without a bed. I have lived without meat. I have camped without electricity, without a bathroom, and without a shower.
And, quite honestly, you can live quite happily with very little. If I were to lose everything in a fire, while it would suck big time, I could get 98% of it replaced— the rest, of course, being photographs and a few pieces of art by my deceased grandmother.
But most people aren't willing to do without, even in the little things. Me? I'm too lazy to do it on a regular basis (the measure of my extravagance.) :)
I'm one of those people who will use every last drop of something to the point of sclicing open a container to get out the last bit of lotion or toothpaste . Funny, there's always, and I mean always, enough for a few more days. This kind of thing makes me really happy.
SaraLynn, I, too, know the happiness of using the last drop and then some. It really is quite a satisfying sensation.=)
There is almost no recipe that really requires as much sugar as the recipe calls for. We have cut the sugar amounts in cookies by as much as half without any noticable difference.
"Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" (John 6:60)
Some of this must be inborn. My son is always going around behind me, cutting open mustard bottles and scooping out the last bits. As far as I know he has never seen this done. He also adds water to the shampoo bottle when I consider it empty. He is such a miser=) I hope he doesn't drive his wife crazy someday.....
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