ptquilts

I tried making my own coffee from chicory roots once. YUCK!!

toomanycats

I get several uses out of dryer sheets. I do not buy the name brand ones to begin with and just reuse a couple of times. by the third time may have to pop a couple of used ones in but they work. by then they are getting very see through like so the softner is used up. warm weather I line dry most items. our water is very soft so don't use much soap for dishes, clothes or to bathe. Our biggest problem is the well water. in this area it is heavy sulfer and tastes like rotten eggs even with filters. the filteration system we put in last year helps but now it is getting low so is more concentrated and stronger. if we leave it sit out overnight is drinkable otherwise have to buy water.

wolfkitty

My mother always made her own soup, and she would keep a plastic container with a cover in the freezer to toss leftover veggies into to use.

I use bars of soap until it is just a sliver and then when the new bar is just a little past new, after a shower when both are dampened, I meld them together to use up the sliver. It's kind of fun if they are different colors.

When I brush my teeth, I use about 1/2 an inch of toothpaste. It's still more than enough, and doesn't waste the rest that would just go down the drain.

quilter on the eastern edge

I always transfer the dish detergent to a decorative bottle so I can leave it on the counter. But I always fill the bottle half full with detergent and add water to it to fill it up. This makes the dish detergent last twice as long and also I don't use as much as when I leave it in the original squirt bottle.

wanda lou

Cheap Vodka I use it to Clean the bathroom, and the kitchen.
Spray bottle with
50/50 water vodka mix, add a couple of drops of essential oil and you are ready to clean.

I also use this when ironing.

I cut dryer sheets in half and I cut paper towels in half.

SEGASAL

I make my own starch....because I cannot afford to spend a ton on the best press...this is what I do

2oz of vodka (i used the cheap stuff)
2 cups of distilled water

and you can add a couple drops of lavandar or any other scent you want...

ptquilts

my recipe is similar - Cheap Vodka, add a few ice cubes and twist of lemon, drink until you don't care whether the bathroom and kitchen are clean..... :wink:

TanyaL

This is saving in reverse. (Going about 100 MPH in reverse) I decided to make some blouses for my 9yr DGD and my serger is so old it hardly does anything. So while I had my expensive does everything embroidery Brother machine in the shop to get a thread jam unjammed I just "looked" at the new sergers. In order to make some new girl's blouses cheaper and better quality I spent $1600! However, never again in my old age will I have to thread a machine needle - which I can hardly see anyhow. Now how many blouses will I have to make to save any real money?

luvTooQuilt

In a fine spray bottle I put downy liquid and dilute it with water- just enough that the water is light light light blue- spray the carpet to reduce static and freshens the room too..

Make my own starch
1 cup Sta-flo concentrated starch
1 cup water
1 cup frebreeze any scent
mix/shake with lid on, in a clean spaghetti jar and pour in an empty Best press starch bottle

when my Cello kitchen pad gets to yucky (embarrassing more like it) for dishes I use it to clean the bathrooms

I re-use my empty frebreeze sprayers for vinegar or bleach to use for cleaning..

Clear plastic containers that the fruit-strawberries, grapes and the like, salad, comes in are great for fabric scraps..

I use spaghetti jars to:
~ hold/display buttons and smaller quilting items
~ store homemade humming bird sugar water in the fridge..
~ store craft items for my daughter to play with
~ use as a 'vase' after my lil one painted it - great out-of-my-hair-craft
~ store the freebies; salt packets, sugar packets, ketchup, mustard that come in the to-go bags

I put two good squirts of dish soap( less than an inch) in an empty bottle and dilute with water to wash dishes.

I keep shoe boxes handy to hold scraps until i have time to organize them and/or cut them down then put in their perspective places

i keep an empty milk/tea jug to water my plants with..

I use plastic 2 ltr soda bottles to water the garden- bought an attachment to screw on so while upside down will gradually water the garden..

mesh baggie for soap slivers....

use clothes pins on hangers to keep clothing from slipping off the hangers

use a multi pant hanger to hold and organize quilt tops and another one for assorted with strips

hang clothes outside to dry instead of using dryer
in the winter I have a bypass to allow the heat of the dryer to come in instead of venting out to warm up the area

turn orphan blocks into hot pads as gifts- and save batting scraps just for this purpose

use paper plates and paper napkins when its just me or me a my lil one- no dishes to be washed, no soap to be used, no running of the dishwasher, and more time for me to quilt!

cut the flat end of the tubes (toothpaste, face cleansers) to get up to five more uses..

swap fabrics with fellow members instead of buying new..

left over ice cubes put in potted plant to gradually water then as they melt

I use vinegar in the dishwasher instead of a rinse aide

buy in bulk and foodsaver (sucky-bag ) them

use crock pot instead of oven in the summer

use oven more in the winter

use fireplace in the winter

cook more for leftovers

I use gifted candles instead of turning all the lights on.. I keep the main light on and the glow gives off ample lighting thru out the rest of the area..

close doors and cut off vents to the unused rooms of the house- i made bean bags to cover the vents in those rooms..

made under the door bean bags to trap heat/ac in specific rooms that are connected to the foyer- plus each floor has its own heat/ac unit..

older window frames have bean bags on them too to reduce drafts..

re-use large ziplock baggies for 'garbage'

re-use the plastic containers that 'snap' shut like ziplocks for left overs and other various uses..

charity-crafter

:lol: When I first read this I was like, what do you mean make my own coffee and tea? It's takes a special climate to grow the beans/tea plants and then....ohhhh...make it at home and not buy it at Starbucks....that makes more since.

I've gone the stay flo starch method also, add water and frebreeze any scent. Those spray cans never expell the entire amount, about half way through the nozzle messes up, even though I pull it off and rinse it and other things

I shop the sales, don't go to as many stores as I used to. I would hit one store for the one thing on sale, and then wind up buying more on impuluse, hit the next store and pick up that sale item + more. Now I shop primarily at the large international market for produce, and Aldi's for just about everything else.