Organizing Helpers

Jan Hayner

40 Ways to Save on Home Expenses

1. Use table scraps to help fertilize your gardens (flower beds or vegetable gardens)
2. Stop using the dryer (except for emergencies) go back to line drying your clothes and sheets. They smell better and save on gas or electric.
3. Green clean your home; most cleaning agents have vinegar, ammonia, baking soda, borax, salt, lemon juice in them. Funny, those are the same things that grandma and great-grandma used to use!
4. Insulate the hot water heater.
5. Don't use a dishwasher, hand wash dishes. It takes less time and energy.
6. Install sink aerators
7. Use water saver faucets, toilets and shower heads.
8. Plug all of your appliances into energy saver power strips. Turn them off when not in use so the currant ceases and you save on energy costs.
9. Wash your clothes in cold water
10. A wring washing machine uses less water and power to run, than an electric or gas washer.
11. Check your home for air leakage, such as weather stripping, caulking, insulation etc.
12. Use a programmable thermostat and set it according to what the temperature will be outside and when someone is home or gone.
13. Use LCD or halogen light bulbs to help give off more light with less energy use.
14. Plant trees to help to shade your home and keep the sun off of the roof in the summer (overheating your home and using more AC), to save on energy consumption.
15. Plant bushes around your air conditioner in order to keep the heat of the day off of it.
16. Use rags to clean things up, wash floors etc. instead of paper toweling. Then simply wash them when they are dirty.
17. Don't waste money on aluminum foil and plastic wrap. Use the stretch covers to cover bowls. Shower caps work best for 9x13 pans and roasters.
18. If you have a freezer besides the one in your refrigerator, simply fill the freezer in the refrigerator with the food that you will use in one weeks time. It will save on opening and closing the freezer door and wasting energy.
19. Leave your saucepans lids on things that you are heating for supper. It will conserve energy because they will heat faster and hold the heat longer.
20. Check all the washers etc. for in faucets to make sure that there isn't any leakage and water dripping. Don't forget the outside faucets.
21. Have a home energy check done for your home.
22. Take a paper bag lunch to work and have a picnic outside, instead of eating out or the company cafeteria.
23. Get rid of all of your credit cards except one for emergencies.
24. Eliminate the premium channels if you have direct tv or cable.
25. Tape movies that you don't have time to watch for nights when there is 'nothing' on TV.
26. Carpool to work, to the store, shopping, taking the kids to events etc.
27. Purchase used books instead of new and sell your old ones or trade them in and get credit towards your next purchase.
28. Refinance a 30 year mortgage for a 15 year mortgage.
29. Wait three days for any major purchase over $100, if you still want it or need it and can afford it, then make the purchase.
30. Throw all of your change in a jar for emergency use only. If you don't have an emergency, add it to your savings account at the end of the year, make an extra payment on something that you owe on or to add it to any major purchase that you may have to make.
31. Use battery operated clocks instead of electric.
32. Use your electric or gas appliances during 'off-peak' times. Check with your utility company to see what times these are. Energy cost is lower.
33. Use the size of a quarter as a guide for shampoo, conditioner, hand soap, dish soap and anything that you use a pump supplier or squeeze bottle for.
34. Use a washcloth dipped in fabric softener and wrung out as a fabric softener sheet in your dryer. It will last for 4-6 dryer fills, depending upon the items and softener used.
35. Set your refrigerator to 40 degrees and your freezers to 0 degrees.
36. Lower your water heater to 120 degrees.
37. Use less detergent in your washer.
38. Use baking soda as a laundry detergent instead of laundry soap.
39. Take showers instead of baths.
40. Insulate your basement. You lose up to 33% of your energy through your walls, according to the Department on Energy.

Clean Your Bathroom and Help the Environment too

This is what is found in a lot of bathrooms due to lack of time to do a thorough cleaning job on a daily basis. It is no wonder that we feel like we are spinning our wheels and never seem to get out of the cleaning mode in life.

This is how my life went, day after day. It was hard to take care of four kids and all of their friends, work a full time job, take care of everything else such as doctor appointments, shopping etc and still have a spotless house. I would still be scrubbing the bathroom at midnight, just to have someone have turn it into a disaster area, before I got out of bed in the morning.

Then one day I was helping my daughter with her homework and she was studying life in the old west. It sure seemed strange that those women could accomplish so much and they didn't have all of the modern conveniences that I did. This really got me to thinking, what did they do that I was missing, after all, I had Mr. Clean, Bon Ami and Windex to help to get me through the tough spots.

I forgot that they had 20 mule team borax, vinegar and ammonia; not to mention good old baking soda! So, I decided to do a little research of my own, after all, Proctor and Gamble did it! So, I set out with my handy two buckets, my store bought cleaners and my good old fashioned cleaners (like grandma used to use), my scrub brushes and rags.

My experiment would involve doing half an area with modern cleaners and half with the old timers. Try it, if I write down everything that I learned that day, no one is going to believe me. As they say, 'seeing is believing'! I was totally amazed at how clean-clean, everything was, a matter of fact, it was squeaky clean, unlike the modern cleaners that, many times, left a residue.

Here are some of the mixtures that I used when cleaning my bathroom and that is the room that has the most germs, bacteria and scum in my house.

Unsightly Grout with Ground in Dirt
Pour a little full strength vinegar on the grout and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Just turn around and walk away and let the vinegar do the work. Then take some fresh warm water and a cloth and go back and wipe up the vinegar, rinsing in between. Your grout will be good as new and your floor will shine, now that's a winning combination!

Dirty Smelly Shower Curtain
Just throw the shower curtain in the washing machine as usual with about an 1/8^th of a cup of baking soda and let your washer do the work. Take out and let air dry and it will be better than new because now it will be clean and soft too.

Dull Shower Tiles
Mix ½ cup of vinegar, ½ cup of baking soda and add ¼ cup of salt and mix well. Now just wash your tiles as usual and they will shine and sparkle. If there is any residue left over, Just rinse with clear water and wipe dry.

Built up Soap Scum may be a little harder to get off, but if you make a strong solution of ½ cup vinegar, ¼ cup baking soda, 1 cup ammonia and mix it in a gallon of HOT water, it will cut through the scum easily. Just wipe on, let it sit a few minutes so the chemicals can work and wipe off. Simple as that!

Don't forget to wash off the mineral deposits on the showerheads, it is so easy with ½ cup of vinegar and hot water placed in a plastic baggy. Just mix the chemicals together, place them in the baggy and use a rubber band to attach  the baggy around the showerhead, so that the showerhead (the holes) are submersed in the vinegar and water. Then, let sit for about 15 minutes or until the water, cools off and you are finished. No having to take the showerhead apart, no scrubbing, it is easy as can be and it only takes 15 minutes.

Jan has many more hints on green cleaning and organizing your home at Organizing Your Life THE EASY WAY, get her new book '101 Hints for Around the Home' to help get started.

How to Save Money on Groceries

Why don't we start with some of the major 'don'ts' of shopping?

Do Not Do This:

1. Go to the store hungry
2. Be 'taken in ' when something is 'on sale', know your prices
3. Go to the store without a list of essential things that you need
4. Buy instinctively, plan for it on your 'next' grocery list
5. Do not take family along when grocery shopping. You have a plan to stick to and don't want 'unknown' things in the cart.
6. Go out of your way to buy something on sale. If you have a route and an objective for more than one thing, it is a savings otherwise; you are spending extra money on gas and wear and tear on your vehicle.
7. Buying 'convenience foods', you can probably make double the amount for half the price if you make something from scratch
8. Buy the small box of an item. The savings is in purchasing the large size.
9. Don't purchase brand name, when the store brand is usually a lot cheaper. The same canning factory makes a variety of store brand labeled foods as well as the name brand. Just make sure that your food is made in the USA for quality.
10. Forget to cut coupons- you can use your store card (the one they give you for discounts) as well as coupons for more savings. If you get really good at it, you can trim tons of money off your grocery bill.

Now that we have that out of the way, what are some of the priceless gems that we 'can do' to save money at the grocery store!

1.  Buy in bulk if we use a lot of a particular item

2.  Buy the largest size box of cereal and keep the contents in a zip lock bag for freshness. But only do this, if the calculations as far as weight is beneficial, a big box doesn't always mean that you are getting more for your money.

3.   Purchase items that are in season. You do not want to buy a large amount of onions in the winter, buy them when they are less expensive in the summer and then chop them up and freeze them to use for cooking in the winter.

4.   Bring a calculator with you or at the very least and notebook and pencil to do your calculating. If something is $3 for 4 rolls (75 cents) and another store special is 6 rolls for $10.00 (60 cents each), which the  best deal?

5.  Make sure that you always check your pantry before you leave the house. You may already have an item

6.   Make a grocery list that matches the items that you are planning to prepare between now and the next trip to the grocery store. Purchase what is on your list. The only 'extras' that there might be is if something is a great sale price and then you will purchase two of those items.

7.   Cut back on meat, fruits and veggies are better for you and you can save a lot.

8.    Use leftover meat in casseroles and as an added item on pizzas. Cheese pizza is less expensive than the one with 'everything' on it.

9.    Cook a lot at one time and then freeze the food according to the meals that you will make that are on your menu.

10.  Check your receipts to make sure that you have been charged the correct price.

The BEST SAVER OF THEM ALL: Take the money that you have 'saved' from your smart shopping trip and put it away and use it for the, major sales, to fill your pantry and freezer. Turkeys are on sale about a month before Thanksgiving, buy two of three and have one handy for company at Christmas. The beginning of summer is a great time to fill the freezer with Brats and hamburgers too!

Smart shopping can save you time, money and stress and you get such gratification when the pantry and freezer is full and you still have money in your 'sale' envelope. Have a great time shopping and saving!

Jan is a Professional Organizer that offers ways of saving money, relieving stress and simplifying life. Get her new book '101' Hints for Around the Home' filled with organizing and cleaning tips and shortcuts.

• Previous Posts:

• 40 Ways to Save on Home Expenses
• Clean Your Bathroom and Help the Environment too
• How to Save Money on Groceries
• What to Do When the Kids Get Bored
• Which Is More Important, A Clean Home or Your Family
• Clean, Clean Clean Before Summer Arrives
• Inexpensive Advertising for Small Business
• How to Find that Extra Special Gift for a 'Special Dad'

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