Tag: Frugal Living Tips

Today’s thrifty living tip is to hang your laundry using a clothesline or a laundry line. I have two metal posts outside that I use for my clothesline. Inside the house, I have a thick long chain on hooks which runs the length of my wash room. I do have a long wash room.

I can use the inside line when the weather is too rainy or cold to hang laundry outside. Hanging laundry helps to save electricity or natural gas, and I also find it puts less wear on my dryer. I have had the same dryer since 1997! I do use my dryer, but I hang laundry as much as I can.

Worried about wrinkles or clothes are too stiff, then just throw them in the dryer for a few minutes to help soften them. I prefer my towels to be stiff as I find they absorb the water more after I bathe. I just love how my sheets smell in the fresh air.

Do you hang your laundry?

Today’s thrifty living tip is to water down juice. It stretches out the juice plus it cuts back on the amount of sugar your kid(s) drink. I know that drinking water is the best beverage and many of us do not drink enough water daily. I used to add an extra 1/4 cup of water so it still tasted good to my son. I also use this tip for cranberry juice. I do not like the taste of it, but it tastes more like a cocktail type drink to add a small amount to my water.

Today’s thrifty living tip is to use a bag as a paint tray liner. I don’t have any pictures, but basically use a plastic shopping bag or even a garbage bag as a liner for the paint tray. It’s much cheaper than buying those plastic throw away ones at the store. It is much easier to clean up when you are done. I just put the paint tray inside the bag and tie at the end. It stays in place, and all I have to do is untie and throw the mess away. Try it for your next painting project.

Today’s thrifty living tip is to use OxiClean to get out old stubborn stains. I used to sell clothes that I would buy and resell on Ebay. I came across clothes that would have set-in stains which is hard to get out. I would make a paste of OxiClean with a little water in a plastic bowl and just spread a little onto the stain. I used this on colored clothes, and it never left bleach stains. I used the regular OxiClean since the color safe version didn’t exist. I would let it sit for 30 minutes and just throw it in the washer. It always got out the stains.

I also used another trick for whites and light pastel colors. I would boil water and pour into one of those plastic tubs (the free ones from the hospital), and dissolve 1 tbs of OxiClean before adding the stained parts of the garments. I didn’t leave too long in this mixture, and usually let the garments soak for about 10-20 minutes. I made this batch when I had several garments, and the water stayed hot for a while. It was extremely rare for neither process to remove a stain.

I still like the other stain removers for new stains, but this Oxiclean method was the best I found for removing old or set-in stains. What is your method of removing old stains from clothing?

Today’s thrifty living tip is to conserve water by bathing the kids together or if they are too old, then bathe them back to back unless they are very dirty. If they are that dirty, then I might think about rinsing them off before bathing them. As a child, I remember taking a bathe with my brother until I was about three or four. My mom did it to save time and money.

Another way to save money on water and conserve water is only fill the tub partially. I never fill mine more than half and sometimes less. We are all taking showers now with a low flow shower head so I can turn it off while soaping up.

One more tip to conserve money even while showering might be to take a shower with your significant other. I know it sounds a little risque for a family orientated blog, but I’m just merely pointing out the fact that it does conserve water plus puts more money in your wallet instead of going down the drain. I hope these tips help you to find ways to conserve water plus time and money.