*Save butter wrappers in a ziplock in the fridge. Use them to grease a pan or glaze the top of a loaf of freshly baked bread. I first saw this when I was 10 yrs. old at my Grandma Hachtel's house. I think of her every time I get the last trace of butter off the wrapper.
*Zest oranges & lemons before eating/juicing. Save the zest in the freezer for future recipes.
*For those two bites of leftovers keep a container in the freezer. Just add to the "Soup Box" and then throw it all in when you make soup the next time.
*Cut off buttons & keep from old clothes. Make old clothes into cleaning rags. Make old Levi's into denium quilts or baby bibs. Cut off the worn out bottom of socks and keep the top part to be a covering over bandages for arms & legs (bleach first.) Check out this tutorial for the cutest recycled toddler dress.
*Soap: First, unwrap when you get new soap & let it cure (dry out in a cupboard). It will harden & last MUCH longer. Then, keep the almost gone bits of soap in an old nylon. Tie it off with a slip knot & hang in the shower. The bits will provide soap for quite a few more showers. Keep adding to it.
*Cut open toothpaste & lotion tubes when they are almost gone and get a few more "servings" out of them.
*If you have a fireplace, dryer lint makes a phenomenal fire starter.
*Old baking soda makes a great cleanser to clean sinks, tubs, etc.
*The juice from canned fruit makes awesome popsicles. Just pour it into a cheap popsicle molds & add a stick.
*Add water to soap bottles (hand, dish, laundry soap or shampoo/conditioner), swish & get another "serving or two".
*Separating bananas from their stem keeps them fresh longer. (I haven't tested this one)
*Rinse eggshells, run through the food processor or blender & pour over flower beds/gardens. It provides great nutrients to the soil.
*Cookie & brownie crumbs can be saved in the freezer for ice cream toppings.
*Cereal boxes make great magazine holders. Just cut at an angle & cover with contact paper.
*Store water in old bleach bottles. It is instantly "sanitized."
*A collection of washed tin cans looks very chic holding markers, scissors, pencils, pens, & other craft supplies. Tin cans can become amazing gift baskets as my friend Alisa demonstrates. You can also see her great idea for recycling old CDs.
*Onion skins & purple cabbage leaves make awesome natural Easter egg dyes. Here is picture of our marbled onion skin Easter eggs. My dad will laugh that I had to dye my eggs to look like farm brown eggs. You can't see the marble on these ones too much but you can tie the skins on with string & make different patterns. Here and here are some great ideas for Easter eggs.
*Use a larger scrapbook punch & create custom gift tags from old cards. Check these out. Why didn't I think of that?
*Use TP tubes as collars for short extension cords & cables. Much easier to store.
*Check out these great ideas for great recycling ideas mostly using old cereal boxes.
What are your favorite extender or cost cutting tips?
2 comments:
You were not at Grandma's long enough or she would have taught of all of these things - except use scissors and don't pay for the punch.
She also saved the foot of the sock to dust chair legs. Bananas didn't last long enough to worry about spoiling.
Aunt Sheri
Lately we have
1) recarpeted our old minivan using a roll of $20 indoor outdoor carpet (the old carpet was shot)
2) exchanged reading books at a ward dinner party (I'm addicted to good books, this feeds my habit at no cost, no library fines)
3) print my own music staff paper from a free online site
4) buy peppermint/raspberry tea in bulk & brew it up at a fraction of the cost of the packaged stuff
5) buy chicken legs on sale, roast them before freezing & take two for quick easy lunch protein with my salad & fruit They're thawed out by lunch time
6) We're eating food from our pantry that we bought at prices we paid 2 years ago.
7) We eat plain,simple unprocessed foods. They're cheaper and healthier
8) Tom & I both work full-time out of the house & don't have time/energy for many things. (Tom 10-12 hr days, me music program season) Time is money for us. A crock pot saves us a lot of time/money cooking & helps us to keep eating healthy. (I know what's in my soup)
9) My need for health remedies has decreased since we cut out sugar. Sugar causes a lot of body inflammation. This is worse for some people than others.
10) We pay cash for gas instead of debit (this saves a 45cent surcharge for each fillup)
11) I use vinegar/peroxide to clean most things in my house. It's cheap & non-toxic. $1.50 gal at Costco.
12) I use factory seconds (mis-shapen)from the health food store for bar soap instead of body wash. Great quality/much cheaper.
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