50 Ways To Save Money By Not Wasting
As much as I hate clutter, I also hate wasting things. Granted, I do my own fair share of wasting water, food and energy, but if I at least keep myself conscious of ways I can cut waste, then I’ll help myself, the environment AND you, my fellow earth creatures.
In the Bathroom:
- Turn off the water – When you’re shaving (men) or brushing your teeth, turn off the water when you’re not rinsing off the razor or toothbrush. If you want to know how much water you’re using by letting it run, put a container under the faucet for the amount of time you brush or save and see how much it comes out to be. For instance, if I left the water run while shaving, I use at least a gallon. That’s 365 gallons of water per year right down the drain!
- Only flush when needed – I’ve said it before to “If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.” It’s a gross topic, but honestly you’re only wasting more water if you don’t really need to flush.
- Only use the minimum shampoo/conditioner/body wash – Even though I’m almost bald, I still sometimes use a glob of shampoo when all I need is a small dab. The stuff is made to foam up for a reason — to cover more area — so use less of it than you think you need and you’ll be surprised that it’s still effective.
- Use less toothpaste – Really, do you need to fill the whole toothbrush with Colgate? You can get away with half or even a fourth of the toothpaste it takes to cover the brush and still have pearly whites. Again, this stuff foams for a reason.
- Toilet paper doesn’t protect you from germs – Ok, maybe that thin sheet of Charmin might place enough of a barrier between your bottom and the seat to ease your mind, but it really doesn’t protect you from germs. Also, you have much more of a chance of contracting a cold or worse by not washing your hands than from the seat touching your butt. We’ve had to force roommates, renters and relatives to buy or bring their own TP because they’re so OCD about germs that they go through rolls of our paper in a single day or weekend! It’s not like paper grows on trees you know! Oh, wait…
- Keep your bar of soap dry – I keep my bar of soap in a soap dish out of the reach of the water stream or any splashing, and drain out any water I notice in the dish before leaving. I’m amazed at how much longer the soap lasts by keeping it dry than if it’s sitting in a half-inch of water.
- Reuse your towel the next day – Growing up, everyone in the family (5 people) tossed their used towel in the hamper every day (and they still do). Since college, though, I’ve gone from using the towel to dry off just once to at least 5-7 days. Honestly, I can’t see why my family still won’t reuse their towels when they’re complaining about the water and power bills. When you’re washing over 30 towels a week (4 adults, 2 kids), you have to wonder where that water and power is going.
- Don’t use those stupid disposable toilet brushes – That has to be the dumbest, laziest invention ever. Just spend 10 seconds brushing the toilet. Wear a rubber glove if you’re worried about cooties, or just wash your hands like any other normal person would do afterwards.
In the Kitchen
- Use dish towels, not paper towels – If you keep a towel near the sink that’s only to be used for drying hands, then you’ll find your paper towel usage diminish severely. We go through a roll of paper towels every 3 weeks at the fastest, unless we host a party. And if you use the “reuse your towel” tip from the bathroom section above, you’ll reduce your laundry pile even more!
- Use less water when washing dishes – Just like the tip to turn off the water when brushing your teeth or shaving, I advise turning off the water when you’re just scrubbing the dishes. Only use it when you actually need to rinse something off.
- Use less dish soap – Some soaps are more effective than others, but overall, if you just let your dishes soak in water longer with less soap, and throw in some more elbow grease, you’ll get the dishes just as clean (and get a little workout too). That leads me to…
- Reuse containers – Instead of using disposable baggies or styrofoam containers, get some Tupperware (or whatever the “safe plastic” of the moment is). And you can wash out those plastic baggies too!
- Recycle – Obviously this goes for anything in your life, but in our house, most of the recyclables, except for paper, come from the kitchen. In Montgomery County, MD, we’ll soon have single bin recycling where we just dump all paper, plastic, tin, etc. in one big tub and they sort it for us. I can’t see how it’s any easier than that! (oh, this isn’t exactly saving you money directly, but reinvesting those materials helps in the long-run)
- Don’t toss the leftovers – A friend of ours won’t let a single leftover in his fridge for some reason. I personally can’t see why anyone would waste perfectly good food. Even if it’s gone bad, you can…
- Compost your leftovers – Rockville, MD gives away “composting kits” to residents who ask, which makes it even easier to contain your composting pile of yard and kitchen waste. Old food is excellent for your garden or shrubbery!
- Donate unwanted food items – Growing up, I can’t count how many cans of peas and corn we gave out to the food drives because we had so many. Sometime you just buy too much of something because it’s on sale, and get tired of it, so think about donating it. You can deduct it on your taxes if you have proper documentation too!
- Run the dishwasher on the lightest setting and
- Prewash your dishes. By rinsing off the heavier gunk on your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, you can use a lighter wash setting to clean the dishes.
- Mark your food items with the purchase date – We use permanent marker to indicate when we bought the item to know how long we’ve had it on the shelves. We don’t have to wonder whether the beans have started to grow roots again.
- Use a mop and/or scrub brush on the floors, not a Swiffer. They charge an arm-and-leg for the refill bottles when you can buy tubs of Pinesol for pennies on the dollar. And you’ll find your floors are cleaner with some elbow grease too.
In the Office
- Reuse your paper – You don’t need to toss a sheet of paper after you wrote one word on it. Use every square inch of that sheet, and then recycle it when your done or…
- Shred your paper and compost it if it has personal information. Just keep any glossy paper, plastic bits or shredded credit cards/CDs out of the pile.
- Shut down your computer/fax/modems/routers/etc. – Even standby mode means it’s using power. Even better…
- Buy a Smart Power Strip
that automatically shuts off anything plugged into the marked outlets when it detects a change to lower power frequencies.
In the House
- Use natural light – When it’s daytime, you can probably do most of your chores and even read by using the daylight. No reason to waste electricity and lightbulbs when the sun is doing all the work for you for free!
- Seal your windows, doors, outlets with caulk or insulation to reduce the loss of heat in the winter and cool air in the summer. For power outlets on walls adjoining the outside, there are special, precut insulation pads you just insert behind the outlet cover. I was amazed at how drafty it was in the outlet box!
- Only run the heat or A/C when you REALLY need it! I don’t mean when you’re breaking a slight sweat or get a slight chill. If you’re cold, put on slippers or more clothes. If you’re hot, go to the library and read in THEIR air-conditioning 🙂
- Turn off those vampire electronics – Similar to the office tip above, shut off any appliances that have lights on when the unit is off, or show the time. That means the unit is sucking up power, even thought you’re not using it. For example, use a Smart Power Strip on your entertainment center to kill those energy-sucking vampire electronics. The one downside is that many older TVs. will lose their settings when you unplug them. Why can’t manufacturers build in small flash drives to store your settings longer-term?
- Use light-blocking curtains in the summer – If you want to keep your house cooler in the summer, one big way is to block out the sun during the hottest parts of the day by using light-blocking curtains or blinds. Keep the sun out and the cool air in.
- Get a water heater timer (for electric water heaters only) – We only run our water heater for 3 hours per day, right before, during and after showers. Granted, we only have one heater, but we still limit the times we’re heating water to off-peak usage times. Again, this is about both saving money and not wasting, so don’t bother with the “but it takes longer to heat up water from room temp” arguments because I’ll just say…
- Insulate your water heater so it keeps as much heat in as possible. If you touch your water heater and it’s warm, that means it’s losing heat.
- Replace leaky faucets. You’ll be amazed at how much water you’re losing each year by not replacing your leaky faucets. Stick a cup under it one day and see how much you collect. Now multiply that by 365.
- Use CFL bulbs, not incandescent – My only gripe with CFL bulbs is they seem dimmer until they warm up, but that only lasts a few seconds. Otherwise, I’m very happy with our CFL replacement bulbs. Just don’t try to use them in dimming lights.
- Don’t leave the TV on just to “have noise”. When I go home to visit family, every TV in the house seems to be on all day, even when no one is watching it. But when I turn one off, everyone’s ears perk up and ask why I shut it off. Just silly and wasteful.
- Get rid of your junk through eBay, Craigslist, Freecycle, yard sales, Goodwill/Salvation Army, etc. Even if it’s broken, there’s probably someone else who will take it for free for scrap, a weekend project, or to fix and sell.
In the Yard
- If you have room, Compost your yard waste. I used to waste money buying those big paper bags to bag up the cut grass every week, but now I just pile it behind the shed as compost. Same goes for leaves, but even though we don’t have any trees in our yard, we get enough leaves that we still need to bag some.
- Cut the grass less often. I hear some neighbors mowing their grass twice a week. C’mon, it doesn’t grow any faster than our grass! Even better…
- Get a manual push mower – Sure, it’s not very practical for big yards, but millions of townhouse or small plot owners will find that they can cut the grass in less time with a push mower than a power one because it’s easier to maneuver and requires no gas or starting mechanism. Just walk and push!
- Don’t install a pool – One of the biggest energy, water and time wasters in our household is the in-ground pool from the last owners. You’ll easily spend hundreds or thousands per year in maintenance and electricity to run the pool, plus chemicals, toys and replacement parts. Last year, we spent $400 on a new pump and this year we’ll be spending $500 on a new vacuum. Just avoid buying a pool if you can (but don’t tell prospective buyers that when it’s time for us to sell).
- Plant a tree for shade – It might take a few years to begin getting some real shade from any sapling, but not only is planting a native tree good for the environment, but it’s often nice for the landscaping when it’s time to sell!
In the Car
There are tons of fuel saving tips to be mentioned, but I’ll just speak on a few of the easier or more manageable ones:
- Drive slower – We’ve all heard the numbers that 55mph on the highway is your optimal speed, but what about local roads? You still want to
- Drive a constant speed to get more consistent gas usage
- Don’t jack-rabbit starts, which means don’t gun it when the light turns green. This is one of the biggest wastes of fuel out there. Just throttle through a nice, smooth, consistent acceleration
- Use cruise-control on the highway – If you can’t force yourself to abide by the speed limit, then let your vehicle keep you under control.
- Keep your tires properly inflated – Look on the side of your driver door or where the door meets the car for the proper pressure for your tires. If it says 30psi per tire, that means when the tire is “cold”. I tend to stick another 2-4psi in the tire above the factory level, but your tire allowances may differ.
- Drive less – plan your errands so that you can accomplish them all in a single trip, with the least amount of driving between each location. Even better,
- Use public transportation, a bike or just walk – I know not all towns support these modes of transportation well (my hometown doesn’t), but if you have the opportunity to walk a half-mile to Blockbuster for a movie, just do it. You need the exercise anyway, tubby.
- If you need one, Buy a used car. Sure, manufacturers will keep churning out shiny, new cars, but that doesn’t mean you need to overlook a perfectly good 1986 Chrysler Lebaron. You’ll save some serious cash, get more features than you could new, and utilize what’s already available (thus reducing your contribution to waste).
- Drive during less congested times – If you can get to your destination with fewer cars in the way, then you’ll save time and money. Try to go out for that bank or post office run at 11am or 2pm, not during lunch hour.
- Ditch the extra weight – How much junk’s in yo trunk? I just hauled around a 40lb bag of soil for 3 weeks without realizing it. That’s like hauling around a 4-5 year old everywhere I go! Now go clean our your car!
Now I’d like to hear what money-saving tips YOU practice around the house, in the car, at the workplace or anywhere else, but make sure to keep them related to NOT WASTING either.
Mike is the original Clever Dude, starting the site in 2006 because his wife said “you need a hobby”. Mike loves helping others to avoid the silliness and stupidity that got him into extreme debt, but also learning general life skills and hacks along the way. Mike and his wife “Clever Dudette” are DINKs (Dual Income, No Kids), travel the country in an RV from their home base in DC and are passionate about their respective careers in technology (him) and nutrition (her).
The fuel saving tips are good. But i think we also need to do more to try to find ways to get the price of gas down. If ti keeps going the way it is, we may find ourselves unable to drive to work and anywhere’s else because it will become a luxury that not many of us will be able to afford.
My apologies in advance if these have already been mentioned, but didn’t see them in the 1st 20 or so entries…
Hang Dry Clothes: Big-time savings in summer as weather permits.
Get a battery-powered lawnmower! Ignore what even the manufacturers say that they’re suitable for up to just 1/3 of an acre. I have 1.5 acres and have no problem rotating doing first the front lawn, then the back on alternate days or alternate weekends. I can mow for 40 minutes on 1 charge.
I also have a battery-powered week whacker for trimming. Granted, you’re still using electricity to recharge, but to me this is vastly preferable to having to deal with smelly, noisy, flammable gasoline.
Solar birdbath and other garden fountains: mine works great.
Towel washing: i agree with the orginal writer. You’re clean when you step out of the shower, so why the need to obssessively wash towels all the time?
High gas prices benefit is that we look harder at alternatives faster. The gas prices will never be low again and we have to look techs that make sense. Don’t have big government subsidize one technology neither. Let all possibilities come into the markets and consumers can decide what they want.
No way using a toothbrush fort teeth and toilet even if bleached . A toothbrush isn’t that expensive…can get 3 or 4 at the dollar store for $1.00 for all. Use common sense.
Plastic lunchbags for carrying loose crackers, grapes etc can be washed and reused mega times.
Purchasing paper goods, canned goods on sale with coupons if possible is the best way to keep a pantry well stocked. We have enough toilet paper to last about 2 years but won’t stop me from getting more if the price is right. Same for laundry detergent.
Nothing is purchased unless it’s on sale except an emergency item. Sale items are bought in quantity.
Grapes can be purchased in bulk and frozen. Frozen grapes are delicious.
Produce items such as peppers and onions and berries can be frozen for use later.
Meal cooking for the week is using less gas or electric. We do 3 meats and/or chicken at once in the oven. Some will be frozen if not being used that week.
Hi
You have good ideas but do you know that first thing you (US people) should do – change your BIG engines for smaller ones !! In the EU people are thinking much more ekological than you – AMERICAN IDIOTS! (no offense ofcoz’ – I just like green day 😉
cheers
Great ideas. I kind of “stumbled upon” not using so many paper towels and napkins. I was trying to pinch some pennies and have been using the dish towel, which has been there the whole time, for more than just drying dishes. Although I still prefer paper towels, I can see how that’s saving a little money and a lot of waste.
resturants use paper plates to save on water so, we tried it for a month. We did save on our light bill. WE use less water, and dish soap. What used to be over $100 dollars . It dropped thirty five dollars . We have to go where the saving are .I get 125 plates for $3.50 at the dollar store. They last a month. Sometimes we use one one if we are having sandwiches, I plan one pan meals or use the crock pot .
So nice to find F.F.Fs (Fellow Frugal Fellows!) like myself. An idea about paper waste: my 2nd grader brings home tons of papers everyday. While we do keep a small portion to remember throughout the years, the rest, I generally cut in half and use as grocery lists, etc. I just keep them in a drawer and am never at a loss for paper when I need it.
If you do want noise in the house, you could get a windup radio and put that on rather than the tv. Pretty much free energy there.
I can add a great one. If you think hauling around 40 lbs of soil is a lot, try hauling around a FULL tank of gas! My truck has a 20 gallon tank. I have always been in the habit of filling it up when half full. Now I wait until it is almost empty then only fill it up only half way.
Since a gallon of gas weighs 8.33 pounds, that’s 83 pounds that I don’t haul for no good reason!
Now on long runs yes I fill up all the way of course. But in the city there are always gas stations.
Good tips. My only question (or at least something to consider) is if the cost of having to clean your toilet more often outweighs the water savings for not flushing every time. Also consider potential sickness from having all those bacteria constantly hanging around the bathroom. Just a thought…
I think no.1 goes for women too (re: shaving armpits, legs, etc.)
If it’s yellow, let it mellow – I like that! Can’t get myself to doing it but I will give it a try.
I’m good with towels.
And, Lord, do I have junk!
I think I’m gonna print all your tips out ‘cos they’re pretty handy.
Thanks and take care…
Eat on a theme for the week using what’s on sale. You will save on ingredients. One dish can parlay to the next and left overs work for something else. When I do this I have much less waste.
order only water if you eat out.
keep water in the car and snacks that are easily stored, your less likely to stop and drive through for something.
Always brew your coffee to take on the road with you.
Use a vacuum sealer and mason jars to store and freeze food
Thank you so much for this list…There is things in there I didn’t think about and the car ….well the 10 ton of garbage i have in there now needs to go!
Thank you!
Great ideas, even if some are kind of gross. We have always used cloth napkins. My mother-in-law buys a bunch of fabric and sews up some squares for us and they work great and last for years. You can even reuse them at the next meal for the same person.
We also use soda bottles filled with water and sealed in the toilet tank to save water.
Compost food. This year we actually had a ton of pumpkins and other squash that grew in the compost pile.
Try living with one car per family. I stay at home with the kids and some days I just don’t have a car if my husband can’t find a car pool or bus to use. You would be surprised by how much you don’t need it. That is a ton of money saved a year.
Use your library. You can take our books, dvds, music, etc. for free. Some even have digital so you can download music to your ipod instead of buying it. I can request anything in the entire county all from my home computer and pick it up at the library a mile from my house.
Lots of great tips! We have used fabric napkins for years and reuse them several times before washing (it is usually pizza, bbq, etc. that gets them really dirty) same for reusing bath towels (usually about a week). We got a 55 gallon drum to collect rainwater. It worked great this summer for watering outside plants and the garden. It more than paid for itself this summer alone! We started composting this year – just dug a hole in garden and put about a week’s worth (there is only 2 of us) before covering it up. We live in Wisconsin – so from now until April we won’t be able to compost — frozen ground…. We have an old house with lots of doors. We close off the living room and use a space heater. We keep the rest of the house cooler after 8pm. We use removable clear caulk to seal windows in our house. The caulk then easily comes off in spring and has never ruined the paint or woodwork. We have a second floor landing door that is not used in the winter – we completely caulk around the storm door, then use the plastic 3m to seal it even further. We stopped using swiffer dry refills – use microfiber sheets instead. just handwash them and reuse. We hang clothes outside many months a year – again, Wisconsin. We figured we save enough in the summer to allow us “to enjoy” using the dryer in the winter. I have washed and reused plastic baggies for years. I have also stopped buying tall kitchen garbage bags. Save plastic bags from Walmart, grocery shopping, etc. On second thought – most of the times when you buy just a few items “carry” them outside of the store without a bag. Tell the cashier you don’t want a bag, they will look at you like you are stupid! But – when you do need a bag, reuse it in your kitchen garbage. Stop using bags in your bathroom trashcans — why do you need them? Save money!!! I stopped buying napkins and papertowels years ago. I only use papertowels for washing windows and I’m sure there’s even a way to stop using them there! I only wash my hair every other day. My husband is bald – so look at all the cash we’ve saved (on shampoo and water!).
Some great tips here. I’ve always wondered how much extra power is being consumed by leaving computers and monitors on. I’ll have to try a month with them off to see if I notice any considerable savings.
I used to leave a small tv on, even when I left the house. It’s amazing how calmer I feel without needing the external noise anymore. Did take a few days to break the habit though.
Knee highs or pantyhose. Wash them in the shower or bath, hang to dry by morning.
Who needs expensive bath oils, a little dash of olive oil is great.
Dog food should be carb free or near to it. They dont need the extra filler and you don’t need to be paying for the filler either. The BM is much better to clean up as well as a bonus.
You all probably know but coupons are all over the net. Get organized before you shop.
*SAVE 50% ON SHAMPOO: Wash, rinse. Do not repeat. Seriously, do you wash your car twice? Do you wash your dog twice? I have not been “repeat”ing for years now and no one has noticed!
*FIND COUPONS ONLINE: I wanted to get something at time-life books and at the checkout it asked if I had a coupon. I googled “Time-Life coupon” and found one for 20% off that worked. I saved $40! So just because you do not have a coupon does not mean you cannot look real fast.
*ASK FOR DISCOUNTS: One website wanted $60/mo for me to sign up. I said no way that is too much. So they said okay sign up and then email us back and we will give you two free months. All I had to do was ask!
*NO CABLE BILLS: I found several websites that have free television and movies. I watch the old classics (just saw Moby Dick for the first time ever) and newer series for free! Well there are commercials in them but the Internet is flat rate, so I do not need cable TV nor rent from movie rental houses!
I’m sorry but I have to comment on that “germs don’t live on the outside of your body” comment.
Umm yeah. Staph infections occur spontaneously.
Good stuff, but I went through the “save the trees, don’t use paper bags” period. That turned out really well, don’t you think? CFL’s–these are the ones that contain MERCURY, right?
WTF–do you really think that all the billions of these things are going to get recycled? Do ya think that perhaps the MERCURY in them is a problem??? Everyone reading this, please think about it!!!!!!!!!!! Don’t let the politicians/”scientists”/conservationists snow you!!!
I have been practicing almost all these things you mentioned. When I told my tenants not flush the yellow stuff, after all they have 5 little kids, the father was appalled and was complaining with friends that I did not let them pee. Well the wife tried it and they finally cut their water bill by 50%, they were hooked!!!
All in all this is a very good list. I do prefer using my own towel, although I will wash my towel after a week.
There is something that has bothered me for a long time, and it is hardly ever mentioned in these saving type of forums and that is why is there so much energy put into packaging. Look at all the fuel and plastic that is put into bringing a couple of pens home from the store.
The worst offenders are the pharmaceutical companies, especially for their samples. I received one pill in sample packaging from my Dr. and it was in foil and cardboard container, and that was in this hard plastic box that wouldn’t be of any use for much after opened and that was wrapped in a shrink wrap type of plastic. This was just for one stupid pill.
Why isn’t the public more intolerant of all the junk mail and grocery mailers. That is a huge waste of trees, fuels, inks, lights, and energy for something that we can see the price of in the store. I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t go to a certain store just for a certain brand that may be a few cents less that week. Oh, and would it cost me more gas to drive the 8 extra miles to save the few cents?
I send my junk mail back to the sender so it costs them. (if they have a postage paid envelope in the mailer, I send it to them blank) If more people would do that, maybe they would see the lack of profit in sending out such nonsense. Maybe they would just get the message.
I feel if we would cut down just on packaging and junk mail, we could make a huge chunk of difference in helping our little blue ball a better place for generations to come.
How about adding:
“using both sides of the toilet paper” while your at it ?
@Bob, you can develop an efficient rolling and padding technique to optimize the tissue paper without being messy, but there’s a fine line between frugal, cheap and just plain disgusting, and I think using both sides crosses the line. Then again, if it works for you, go for it!