Monday, January 17, 2011

Goals for the year..#2: Use less...save more

Things I have done in the past few months to save money, use less chemicals, and less waste:
1. Stop buying multipurpose cleaners. They are too expensive and although I love Seventh Generation, it's hard for me to justify spending over $3 for a bottle. So, I took an empty one (they have the BEST sprayer on the market) and I make my own cleaner. I put a few tsps of Dr. Bronner's soap (lavender or peppermint are my faves) and fill the rest with tap water. The lavender is an antiseptic and it smells heavenly. I've started adding a few tsps of white vinegar for some punch. Now, it costs me probably $.25 for a bottle of cleanser.

2. Cut back on paper towels. This one was hard...not for me but my sweet husband who would use about five. FIVE to dry his hands. I almost had a heart attack on several occasions. He is doing better and now knows to use the towels on the stove or fridge to dry his hands and uses far less now to clean. We are now down from about 1 1/2 rolls a week (scary, right?) to about 1 roll every two weeks. I use microfiber cloths for just about the rest of my cleaning, but when it comes to cleaning up meat juices from husband's dinners, I get way to grossed out to use anything but paper towels. I'm working on it though!

3. Stop buying rinse aids for the dishwasher. Use vinegar. Hello. Why haven't I done this before? It's ridiculous and cheap. So, adios rinse aids!

4. Use half the recommended amount of laundry detergent. I don't notice a difference in the cleanliness of my clothes and it makes my laundry detergent last twice as long. Zing!

A few minor changes with big results. What little things do you do in your home to make big changes?

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