Making your own cleaners eliminates a lot of waste, is a lot less toxic, is more frugal, and really doesn’t take much time or effort at all.

Just a thought!

Other ideas would be:

1) We put a low flow shower head and new low-flow aerators in to further cut down on water use. Here’s the post where I talk about it. It has links to the products we bought:

http://simple-green-frugal.blogspot.com/2008/11/how-low-can-we-go-water-conservation.html

2) We use a bucket in the shower to catch the water while it is heating up (while the stream is too cold to get in yet) and use the water in the garden.

3) When I steam veggies or boil potatoes, I save the water. It works great as a veggie broth in soups or for cooked rice.

4) I learned how to bake my own bread last spring. I didn’t expect to be able to do it, let alone enjoy it, but it’s so much fun and we’ve saved lots of money.

5) I make all my own greeting cards. I used old calendars, ribbons, old maps, construction paper and whatever colored paper or pictures that come in the mail that I think may be useful. We’ve saved a TON this way!

6) Making your own household cleaners is a big savings too. There are recipes all over the internet.

7) We cancelled cable almost a year ago and don’t miss it at all. The few shows we do enjoy are free on the internet or we can rent through the library.

Just one more then, I promise I’ll stop. Use more grains in your meals and reduce the meat/dairy. I’m not saying you have to go vegan, but meat and dairy are far more expensive than bread, rice, and pasta (but be sure to choose whole grains).

Hope this helps!