meaning, energy savings. go green, save green, right?
*be purposeful about output. most things that plug in to the wall suck energy even when they're not in use. coffeemakers, cell phone chargers, electric toothbrush chargers - everything. unplug them when they're not in use. the BIGGEST wasters of energy are things on "stand-by" power: things that can be controlled with a remote. put these things on a surge strip that can be turned on and off. we put our TV, VCR, DVD player and stereo on a single surge strip, turned the whole thing off when not in use, and saved like 15 bucks the first month.(granted, none of our things were energy-star rated; savings would've been less if our stuff was newer/more efficient to begin with.) turn off your computer when it's not in use, and put all computer-related electronics (printer, speakers, etc) on a surge strip and turn off when not in use.
*think a tiny bit harder about laundry. not much, just a tiny bit. wash WHATEVER you can in cold water (i'd say 99% of our laundry is washed in cold water only - even baby stains come out if i "shout" them first). do consecutive loads - the dryer doesn't have to work as hard to dry the second load, since it has already been warmed up by the first. run your loads after 9:00 whenever possible - you can save 50%-75% on water and energy after 9 pm.
*think a tiny bit less about dishes. don't do them very often - or TOO often, really. only run the dishwasher when it's full. don't rinse them if it isn't necessary (depending on the dish and your dishwasher). if you follow these rules, you actually can end up using LESS water and energy than if you did them by hand after meals. only run the dishwasher after 9 pm. only use half the detergent the dishwasher can hold- it still works as well. use the normal or light cycles, and don't use the heat dry.
*cook creatively. if you can cook two meals at a time, or use leftovers, the stove/oven only has to be on once rather than twice. the smaller the appliance the less energy it uses, so consider that when cooking. (grill>toaster oven>microwave>range>oven). use the smallest pot necessary, since it takes more energy to heat a larger pot, and use the right-sized burner (don't put little pots on big burners, or vice versa).
then there are the standards:
.dust lightbulbs - it makes them more efficient.
.don't set your fridge/freezer too cold (but obviously cold enough!)
.turn off lights when not in use.
.turn down heat at night.
.turn off water when not in use.
.take quicker, cooler showers.
.turn thermostat down and dress in layers instead.
.turn a/c to higher temp and open windows/run fans instead.
.close north-facing shades in winter and south-facing shades in summer. (open them in opposite seasons.)
if you live in ames, you can call the electric department and request a free conservation packet (515-239-5120; ask for steve). it has TONS of information, audit sheets, fridge and freezer thermometers, and tons more stuff. it's really interesting, and FREE. it can't hurt to call!!!
Showing posts with label frugal friday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frugal friday. Show all posts
frugal friday: cost of food and others
what does the average american family spend on groceries per month? check it out here and see where you fall in comparison!
some other tiny tidbits to tack on to the frugal friday post about cleaning:
1. use a microfiber cloth to clean with! seriously, these are pretty much the greatest technology developed in the cleaning world (maybe)...i got an eight-pack in the auto department for five bucks. dry, they dust like a pro without any cleaning solution. damp, they clean glass and countertops (even greasy surfaces) - i just dampen mine with water or a little rubbing alcohol for glass. then they just go in the washer and can be used again and again!
2. attach a microfiber cloth to your swiffer sweeper so you don't have to keep buying those RIDICULOUSLY expensive disposable refills.
that's all. have fun saving money!
some other tiny tidbits to tack on to the frugal friday post about cleaning:
1. use a microfiber cloth to clean with! seriously, these are pretty much the greatest technology developed in the cleaning world (maybe)...i got an eight-pack in the auto department for five bucks. dry, they dust like a pro without any cleaning solution. damp, they clean glass and countertops (even greasy surfaces) - i just dampen mine with water or a little rubbing alcohol for glass. then they just go in the washer and can be used again and again!
2. attach a microfiber cloth to your swiffer sweeper so you don't have to keep buying those RIDICULOUSLY expensive disposable refills.
that's all. have fun saving money!
frugal fridays: cleaning recipes and musings
so, it's that time of week again - the day where i get to write about SAVING MONEY and not feel embarrassed for boring my audience. because, let's face it people, if you're bored, stop reading and wait for the next post. it's that simple.
green cleaning is not only budget-friendly, but it's also enviro-friendly. and, not to plagiariaze an esurance commercial, but both ways save GREEN. haha. ha. ha...
anyway, i use these recipes around the house all the time (except for the laundry recipe, which we discussed earlier, but i HAVE used it and it works well.) the only thing to prep yourself for is that things don't smell as chemically clean as when you use store-bought methods (read: less like lemons, more like pickles) but the smell only lasts for an hour either way anyway. so i'd rather save the cash and live without the hour-long bleachy smell.
all-purpose antibacterial cleaner:
16 oz water (1/2 spray bottle full)
16 oz vinegar
1 tsp borax (keep out of reach of kiddos and compulsive eaters- toxic if eaten!)
yep. that's it. kills bacteria and mold. costs less than 15c. per big bottle. (i haven't done the exact math, but i know it's at least that if not cheaper. and let's face it, anything less than 2 bucks these days is a STEAL.)
really, for any cleaning other than kitchen and bathroom (where antibacterial is a must), you could just fill a spray bottle with warm water and add about a tsp of dishsoap.
laundry soap:
2 parts grated ivory soap (the $1/3 bars stuff)
1 part borax
1 part washing soda (NOT the same as baking soda; they sell it at hyvee in ames in the laundry section.)
use 2 tbsp. in a load of wash (let dissolve in water before adding clothing)
you could mix this all together then shake well before using. i just take the lazy way and keep a tbsp and a 1/2 tbsp in my laundry room - add 1 tbsp of soap, then 1/2 tbsp of each of the other things and call it good.
(*note: i've seen some people boil the soap down with water then add the other stuff to form more of a gel/liquid detergent, but like i said, i'm lazy and this seems to work just as well.)
window cleaner
rubbing alcohol.
that's it. spray on glass or pour onto a paper towel, then wipe.
toilet bowl cleaner
1/2 c. borax
1 c. vinegar
pour into toilet bowl, close lid. let sit for 1/2 hour, then scrub with toilet brush (super shiny bowl when you're done!)
drain cleaner
1/2 c. baking soda
1/2 c. vinegar
pour baking soda down drain, then slowly pour vinegar down drain. flush with boiling water after the bubbling has stopped. repeat as necessary. (best to do this once a month for preventive care - not as good as drano once you have a hair nest in your drain.)
so, that's it. with a few basic ingredients, your home can be clean and free of bacteria and mold, all for pennies on the dollar for the store-bought cleaners. and if you really like that lemon smell, buy a 25c lemon at aldi, cut and peel it, rub the counters with the actual fruit part (then rinse so it doesn't get sticky) - lemon is antibacterial. then grind up the lemon peel in your garbage disposal.
and now for my musing: i'm going to ask our property manager people if i can plant a container garden somewhere around here over the summer. then i'm going to look around for canning/freezing equipment at garage sales and have myself a big, stinky (according to allison) hayday of canning my homegrowns. tomatoes, that is.
green cleaning is not only budget-friendly, but it's also enviro-friendly. and, not to plagiariaze an esurance commercial, but both ways save GREEN. haha. ha. ha...
anyway, i use these recipes around the house all the time (except for the laundry recipe, which we discussed earlier, but i HAVE used it and it works well.) the only thing to prep yourself for is that things don't smell as chemically clean as when you use store-bought methods (read: less like lemons, more like pickles) but the smell only lasts for an hour either way anyway. so i'd rather save the cash and live without the hour-long bleachy smell.
all-purpose antibacterial cleaner:
16 oz water (1/2 spray bottle full)
16 oz vinegar
1 tsp borax (keep out of reach of kiddos and compulsive eaters- toxic if eaten!)
yep. that's it. kills bacteria and mold. costs less than 15c. per big bottle. (i haven't done the exact math, but i know it's at least that if not cheaper. and let's face it, anything less than 2 bucks these days is a STEAL.)
really, for any cleaning other than kitchen and bathroom (where antibacterial is a must), you could just fill a spray bottle with warm water and add about a tsp of dishsoap.
laundry soap:
2 parts grated ivory soap (the $1/3 bars stuff)
1 part borax
1 part washing soda (NOT the same as baking soda; they sell it at hyvee in ames in the laundry section.)
use 2 tbsp. in a load of wash (let dissolve in water before adding clothing)
you could mix this all together then shake well before using. i just take the lazy way and keep a tbsp and a 1/2 tbsp in my laundry room - add 1 tbsp of soap, then 1/2 tbsp of each of the other things and call it good.
(*note: i've seen some people boil the soap down with water then add the other stuff to form more of a gel/liquid detergent, but like i said, i'm lazy and this seems to work just as well.)
window cleaner
rubbing alcohol.
that's it. spray on glass or pour onto a paper towel, then wipe.
toilet bowl cleaner
1/2 c. borax
1 c. vinegar
pour into toilet bowl, close lid. let sit for 1/2 hour, then scrub with toilet brush (super shiny bowl when you're done!)
drain cleaner
1/2 c. baking soda
1/2 c. vinegar
pour baking soda down drain, then slowly pour vinegar down drain. flush with boiling water after the bubbling has stopped. repeat as necessary. (best to do this once a month for preventive care - not as good as drano once you have a hair nest in your drain.)
so, that's it. with a few basic ingredients, your home can be clean and free of bacteria and mold, all for pennies on the dollar for the store-bought cleaners. and if you really like that lemon smell, buy a 25c lemon at aldi, cut and peel it, rub the counters with the actual fruit part (then rinse so it doesn't get sticky) - lemon is antibacterial. then grind up the lemon peel in your garbage disposal.
and now for my musing: i'm going to ask our property manager people if i can plant a container garden somewhere around here over the summer. then i'm going to look around for canning/freezing equipment at garage sales and have myself a big, stinky (according to allison) hayday of canning my homegrowns. tomatoes, that is.
frugal friday: laundry
so, i used to make my own laundry detergent, but have kind of fallen out of the habit recently since store bought is a (tiny) bit easier. also, since i wash all of our clothes together - including atticus' - i decided to use store-bought rather than homemade, since homemade is soap-based and they don't recommend that for use on baby clothes (i guess it messes with the flame-retardant stuff on kiddo pjs). however, i think if done a certain way, storebought can come pretty close to homemade in terms of price.
(the only thing that creeps me out about it is that it has a ton of unrecognizable chemicals in it, and thinking about having residue of that stuff on our baby clothes or my underwear is kind of gross.)
anyway, here's the best cost analysis i could come up with. i'm not the greatest at math, but i dedicate myself in the name of saving money, so i think this is right:
homemade detergent:
ivory soap: 3.79 for 10 bars (.02 per load)
borax: 2.89 for 76 oz (.01 per load)
washing soda: 2.38 for 55 oz (.01 per load)
homemade rinse (fabric softener/residue remover):
vinegar: 1.99 for 2 gallons (.02 per load)
total cost of one load: .06 (+ the cost of water and energy, obviously, but that will be true regardless of the type of detergent you use.)
here's the clincher for store-bought: only use half of what they tell you. i was talking to our appliance guy, and he said that it's better for your washer and your clothes to only use half the recommended amount, unless your clothes are really dirty. the only reason they recommend using as much as they do is because it makes you use more and therefore buy more.
storebought detergent options:
xtra liquid: 5.86 for 96 loads/192 half-soap loads (.03 per half-soap load)
arm and hammer liquid: 8.49 for 96 loads/192 half-soap loads (.05 per half-soap load)
arm and hammer powder: 11.86 for 145 loads/290 half-soap loads (.04 per half-soap load)
so, for the actual cleaning product, arm and hammer powder costs the same as homemade, and xtra actually costs less, as long as you only use half the amount of detergent. not to mention, both are (only a tiny bit) more convenient than having to make your own.
storebought softener options:
target brand fabric softener liquid: 3.29 for 60 loads (i don't know if you can halve this or not) (.06 per load)
target brand softener sheets: 6.49 for 240 sheets (you can use each sheet twice) (.01 per load)
so, for softener options, vinegar is less expensive than storebought, but if you want to buy softener, sheets are way less expensive than liquid.
so there you have it. i've decided to use arm and hammer powder detergent and vinegar, so my total cost-per-load is about 6 cents. i do 3-4 loads per week (avg: 3.5), which means i'll spend about 11 bucks a year to wash our clothes.
if i didn't halve our detergent, and used both liquid and sheet softeners, i'd be spending around 15 cents per load, or about 27 bucks a year. and that's only using the cheapest-of-cheap products. other products could make it WAY more expensive than that even.
so i save 16 bucks a year, which doesn't sound like much, but it's like getting nearly a year and a half of laundry for FREE, if you think about it.
not to shabby. and hopefully not too boring.
(the only thing that creeps me out about it is that it has a ton of unrecognizable chemicals in it, and thinking about having residue of that stuff on our baby clothes or my underwear is kind of gross.)
anyway, here's the best cost analysis i could come up with. i'm not the greatest at math, but i dedicate myself in the name of saving money, so i think this is right:
homemade detergent:
ivory soap: 3.79 for 10 bars (.02 per load)
borax: 2.89 for 76 oz (.01 per load)
washing soda: 2.38 for 55 oz (.01 per load)
homemade rinse (fabric softener/residue remover):
vinegar: 1.99 for 2 gallons (.02 per load)
total cost of one load: .06 (+ the cost of water and energy, obviously, but that will be true regardless of the type of detergent you use.)
here's the clincher for store-bought: only use half of what they tell you. i was talking to our appliance guy, and he said that it's better for your washer and your clothes to only use half the recommended amount, unless your clothes are really dirty. the only reason they recommend using as much as they do is because it makes you use more and therefore buy more.
storebought detergent options:
xtra liquid: 5.86 for 96 loads/192 half-soap loads (.03 per half-soap load)
arm and hammer liquid: 8.49 for 96 loads/192 half-soap loads (.05 per half-soap load)
arm and hammer powder: 11.86 for 145 loads/290 half-soap loads (.04 per half-soap load)
so, for the actual cleaning product, arm and hammer powder costs the same as homemade, and xtra actually costs less, as long as you only use half the amount of detergent. not to mention, both are (only a tiny bit) more convenient than having to make your own.
storebought softener options:
target brand fabric softener liquid: 3.29 for 60 loads (i don't know if you can halve this or not) (.06 per load)
target brand softener sheets: 6.49 for 240 sheets (you can use each sheet twice) (.01 per load)
so, for softener options, vinegar is less expensive than storebought, but if you want to buy softener, sheets are way less expensive than liquid.
so there you have it. i've decided to use arm and hammer powder detergent and vinegar, so my total cost-per-load is about 6 cents. i do 3-4 loads per week (avg: 3.5), which means i'll spend about 11 bucks a year to wash our clothes.
if i didn't halve our detergent, and used both liquid and sheet softeners, i'd be spending around 15 cents per load, or about 27 bucks a year. and that's only using the cheapest-of-cheap products. other products could make it WAY more expensive than that even.
so i save 16 bucks a year, which doesn't sound like much, but it's like getting nearly a year and a half of laundry for FREE, if you think about it.
not to shabby. and hopefully not too boring.
frugal friday: groceries
hello all. i've been thinking about it, and i think i'm going to start doing weekly posts about my favorite thing - saving money. this week: grocery basics. i've found that implementing just a few basic things can really save a lot of money in the long run. while i kind of go all-out in my grocery shopping attempts, i think if i only implemented a few basic principles that would save the most time and money overall, they would be the following:
1. menu plan. i put together a monthly menu plan (dinners only), but you could even do a weekly or bi-weekly plan. you could plan a dinner for each specific day (i.e., lasagna monday, salmon tuesday, etc.) or you could just plan seven different meals for the week, then decide each day which one you want to make.
i find this saves a bunch of money because i buy "focused ingredients" - stuff that i know i'll use and i know will actually provide me with everything i need to make a given meal. i can also schedule things like BLTs and tacos together because they both use lettuce and tomato, so I know I'll use these things before they go bad.
you can plan your meals based around stuff you already have and then fill in the holes. you could also plan them based on the sale ads from your cheapest grocery store (if you're only going to one store). i try to plan meals with simple ingredients - the higher the number or more expensive/unusual the ingredients, the higher your grocery bill will be. use your menu plan to help you create your shopping list.
2. take a list. i put together my grocery list based on my menu plan as well as the dry-erase list we keep on the fridge of anything we run out of or would like to get this week. i try to never get anything that isn't on the list, although i might just put "snacks" or "fruit" or even "impulse" on it, then decide exactly what i want once i'm at the store.
3. estimate and take cash. once i put together my list, i estimate how much it will cost. i know that milk is 2.50 at ALDI, so i write that next to "milk" on my list. then i add all my estimates up to see about how much my shopping trip will cost. because we limit ourselves to $80 every two weeks, if my estimate goes over this, i figure out what on my list isn't absolutely necessary, or i plan in a cheaper meal to get the cost to fit into what we've budgeted.
take cash! take cash! take cash! if there's one thing that i think will help more than anything else, it's this. i think it's really easy (for me, at least) to spend a little more than i had wanted if it's coming from our debit card/checking account, but if i take cash there is an absolute limit to what i can spend. it forces me to look for better deals and keep track of how much i'm spending as i go so that i don't get to the line and find out i have to put something back (i try to avoid this at all costs by adding up the total in my head or on a calculator). so, once you've figured out your estimate, take cash based on this amount (i sometimes add a couple bucks to the total, just in case something is more expensive than i thought, or there's a really great deal on something i don't have on the list, or there's something i forgot to add to the list.)
4. double the time between trips. if you currently go twice a week, try to stretch it to once. if you go once a week, try to stretch it to once every two weeks. and try and plan for anything you'd make a special trip for - milk, bread, etc. - and get enough to last you the whole time. that way you won't find yourself at the grocery store after work to pick up a gallon of milk, hungry and rushed, and end up buying more than you had planned or getting something different for dinner than you had planned for.
5. buy cheaper proteins. protein is usually the biggest part of most grocery budgets because it tends to be pretty expensive. ground beef is cheaper than steak, white meat chicken is cheaper still, ground turkey (from ALDI) is cheaper still, dark meat or bone-in chicken is cheaper still, eggs are cheaper still, beans are cheaper still, etc. while cheese and dairy can be somewhat expensive, pound-for-pound they go farther than meat, as do beans, which means they can actually cost less in terms of how much an entire meal costs. get creative with meals to stretch your protein as far as it will go. also, fruits and veggies are cheaper per pound than most proteins, so if you can include more of these and less protein, it will be even cheaper. (most americans get WAYYYY more protein than necessary, so cutting back won't be a negative step nutritionally.)
see, nothing too involved or anything. while meal planning and list writing take time, i like to look at it like this: if it helps you double the time between grocery trips, it actually saves you time, since you won't spend as much time at the grocery store. also, i like to think of it more like earning money: if an extra hour of planning every two weeks saves me $40 each shopping trip, that's like $40/hr. sweet gig.
1. menu plan. i put together a monthly menu plan (dinners only), but you could even do a weekly or bi-weekly plan. you could plan a dinner for each specific day (i.e., lasagna monday, salmon tuesday, etc.) or you could just plan seven different meals for the week, then decide each day which one you want to make.
i find this saves a bunch of money because i buy "focused ingredients" - stuff that i know i'll use and i know will actually provide me with everything i need to make a given meal. i can also schedule things like BLTs and tacos together because they both use lettuce and tomato, so I know I'll use these things before they go bad.
you can plan your meals based around stuff you already have and then fill in the holes. you could also plan them based on the sale ads from your cheapest grocery store (if you're only going to one store). i try to plan meals with simple ingredients - the higher the number or more expensive/unusual the ingredients, the higher your grocery bill will be. use your menu plan to help you create your shopping list.
2. take a list. i put together my grocery list based on my menu plan as well as the dry-erase list we keep on the fridge of anything we run out of or would like to get this week. i try to never get anything that isn't on the list, although i might just put "snacks" or "fruit" or even "impulse" on it, then decide exactly what i want once i'm at the store.
3. estimate and take cash. once i put together my list, i estimate how much it will cost. i know that milk is 2.50 at ALDI, so i write that next to "milk" on my list. then i add all my estimates up to see about how much my shopping trip will cost. because we limit ourselves to $80 every two weeks, if my estimate goes over this, i figure out what on my list isn't absolutely necessary, or i plan in a cheaper meal to get the cost to fit into what we've budgeted.
take cash! take cash! take cash! if there's one thing that i think will help more than anything else, it's this. i think it's really easy (for me, at least) to spend a little more than i had wanted if it's coming from our debit card/checking account, but if i take cash there is an absolute limit to what i can spend. it forces me to look for better deals and keep track of how much i'm spending as i go so that i don't get to the line and find out i have to put something back (i try to avoid this at all costs by adding up the total in my head or on a calculator). so, once you've figured out your estimate, take cash based on this amount (i sometimes add a couple bucks to the total, just in case something is more expensive than i thought, or there's a really great deal on something i don't have on the list, or there's something i forgot to add to the list.)
4. double the time between trips. if you currently go twice a week, try to stretch it to once. if you go once a week, try to stretch it to once every two weeks. and try and plan for anything you'd make a special trip for - milk, bread, etc. - and get enough to last you the whole time. that way you won't find yourself at the grocery store after work to pick up a gallon of milk, hungry and rushed, and end up buying more than you had planned or getting something different for dinner than you had planned for.
5. buy cheaper proteins. protein is usually the biggest part of most grocery budgets because it tends to be pretty expensive. ground beef is cheaper than steak, white meat chicken is cheaper still, ground turkey (from ALDI) is cheaper still, dark meat or bone-in chicken is cheaper still, eggs are cheaper still, beans are cheaper still, etc. while cheese and dairy can be somewhat expensive, pound-for-pound they go farther than meat, as do beans, which means they can actually cost less in terms of how much an entire meal costs. get creative with meals to stretch your protein as far as it will go. also, fruits and veggies are cheaper per pound than most proteins, so if you can include more of these and less protein, it will be even cheaper. (most americans get WAYYYY more protein than necessary, so cutting back won't be a negative step nutritionally.)
see, nothing too involved or anything. while meal planning and list writing take time, i like to look at it like this: if it helps you double the time between grocery trips, it actually saves you time, since you won't spend as much time at the grocery store. also, i like to think of it more like earning money: if an extra hour of planning every two weeks saves me $40 each shopping trip, that's like $40/hr. sweet gig.
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