ilovedolphins
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Post by ilovedolphins on Dec 11, 2016 9:39:29 GMT -5
The past few weeks I have been thinking more about making homemade products. My laundry soap is about empty and I cringe to think of paying the high prices at our store when I could make some for about 5 cents a load. I am also looking into making cleaning products.
Toilet paper and kleenex are two items that I just hate to buy. I use a lot of kleenex so I thought I could always try handkerchiefs. I bought a pack of double roll toilet paper 12 count the other day for almost $11 and it is half gone. But that is an item that is a necessity.
I am going to look into making lotions and soap. I don't know if I could do the homemade deodarant but I could always try it for the days I stay home. I don't know how effective it would be working out at the gym and getting really sweaty.
I wanted to try making dog food. I have already made dog snacks. And I try to cook as many meals from scratch that I can and have time for.
What have you tried making that you think works out well to save money on?
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ilovedolphins
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Post by ilovedolphins on Dec 11, 2016 9:47:41 GMT -5
This isn't a homemade idea but I could save on trash bags by just dumping my trash into my trash dumpster each day.
Saving money on these items won't make you rich but it could save a significant amount of money each month.
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Dec 11, 2016 9:48:05 GMT -5
For home cleaning, i bought a bunch of spray bottles. And, i buy Mr Clean or something similar and then fill each bottle 1/3 full and fill with water and that is my cleaner for the whole house.
I do a lot of cooking. I don't buy canned cream soups. When i need Cream of chicken, i make it myself out of some chicken broth or stock and milk/flour, etc. I add some spices and it is delicious and i use that in a lot of my recipes.
I don't buy a lot of prepackaged convenience foods. I keep basic foods at home. Frozen veggies in the freezer. A bag of rice and potatoes. Milk, butter and cream on hand, etc. I always have some boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I have buy any seasoned rice products. I have a big bag of rice and a rice cooker and will make my own spanish rice, etc.
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buystoys
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Post by buystoys on Dec 11, 2016 9:51:43 GMT -5
I make my own body butter. Not so much to save money, but because it works so much better than any I've bought.
3 T. shea butter 1 T. coconut oil 8 drops Tea Tree Oil Mix well. Good for six months.
I use it in place of skin lotion and facial moisturizer.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Dec 11, 2016 10:21:17 GMT -5
The past few weeks I have been thinking more about making homemade products. My laundry soap is about empty and I cringe to think of paying the high prices at our store when I could make some for about 5 cents a load. I am also looking into making cleaning products. Toilet paper and kleenex are two items that I just hate to buy. I use a lot of kleenex so I thought I could always try handkerchiefs. I bought a pack of double roll toilet paper 12 count the other day for almost $11 and it is half gone. But that is an item that is a necessity. I am going to look into making lotions and soap. I don't know if I could do the homemade deodarant but I could always try it for the days I stay home. I don't know how effective it would be working out at the gym and getting really sweaty. I wanted to try making dog food. I have already made dog snacks. And I try to cook as many meals from scratch that I can and have time for. What have you tried making that you think works out well to save money on? Good topic. I don't make any homemade products, but I should. I was just thinking the other day what a racket those packs of taco seasoning are: $1 for a little bit of spices to use once. I'm going to look into making my own. As to the bolded part--damn! My DH just bought some 12ct double rolls for $4.49! Granted, that was a great price, but still. His guideline is $0.40/roll in a good sale. Can't always find it quite so cheap, but when you do, stock up!
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Dec 11, 2016 10:39:50 GMT -5
I have made my own seasoning mixes. It's pretty easy. I have a lot of spices on hand so I often just look it up right before making something. Heck i even made homemade oreo cookies one time! They turned out pretty good.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Dec 11, 2016 10:46:06 GMT -5
I have made taco seasoning before. My brother likes it since it turns out a bit spicier than the usual packet I buy.
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Dec 11, 2016 11:04:29 GMT -5
Any time I buy something, i ask myself, can i make this at home? And, often you can. However, there has to be a cost/benefit for me. The time i invest in making it myself needs to be balanced versus the cost savings. Is it worth it for me to make my own soap or laundry detergent? For me, i dont' have an interest in that. However, putting together my own taco seasoning is simple enough because i already have all the spices. I enjoy baking bread so i don't mind investing time to do that. I don't really want to sew so, so i will not be making my own clothes any time soon.
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buystoys
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Post by buystoys on Dec 11, 2016 11:09:39 GMT -5
Shooby's post is why I don't make a lot of seasoning/cream soup/hamburger helper/etc. at home. While I do a lot of cooking and baking, I don't like having five gazillion bottles of seasonings in my cabinet. (I have way too many as it is and it's hard to find some of the smaller bottles in the mess.) I like to mix it up and we enjoy a lot of ethnic foods so I will buy seasoning packets rather than the individual spices for a lot of things.
Making tika masala from a box today. We had some a few weeks ago and it was AWESOME! Much better than the home made variety I tried a few years ago.
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Rukh O'Rorke
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Dec 11, 2016 12:03:45 GMT -5
I buy vinegar in the gallon bottles, use in a spray bottle for nearly everything you spray and clean, works on mirrors and glass, too. Just straight vinegar. I use baking soda for a scrubber as needed, but rely on mostly vinegar. So - not really making anything, but not exactly the usual. Use it mixed with murphy's for the floor - water too in that mix. My house cleaner insists on softscrub for a few things, so I do buy that for her. But she and I use the vinegar for the most stuffs. I tried "recipes" for make your own dishwasher stuff - that was a nogo. I do use vinegar for the rinse cycle. About a cup of vinegar and rinse. My concerns in cleaning products are more environmental than cost. I have respiratory/dermatological symptoms to most cleaning products. I'd be interested in the recipes for clothes washing soap. I use the All free and clear, and we do not buy fabric softeners at all. I use about half the recommended dose of soap for laundry - so that is a savings right there, lol! We have a machine that needs the HE type soap - so not sure how the home made recipes work with those? I cannot buy canned soup. I look at the can, and the price, and every soup imaginable - you can make 1/2 to a gallon for the cost of the can. So - I started down the soup path about 20 years ago, and now I make soup so good the cans would be inferior on every level. But - it did take a long time to get there. When I started making soup - I found that you can be a good cook in other dishes, but it didn't transfer to soup. It was a new deal with a new learning curve. The broth is of course key, and it's funny that buying canned broth is just as expensive as canned soup. So I think it is developing a good broth that is the thing to learn. I've added new soup recipes a little at a time over the years, because it takes a lot of practice to get one "right". the line up now includes pea soup, black bean, pasta e fagioli, cream of broccoli, cream of potato, cream of trombetta squash, spicy pumpkin, lentil, and of course the whatever veggies are in the house and need using soup. And - speaking of the trombetta squashes - those are huge when mature! very mild tasting - and each squash could make a few gallons of soup. I love this squash - you can eat them like zucchini young, they are good as a zuchetta type, and mature as a zucha. I have about 7 of them matured from this years garden - they will last all winter and I'll make 1/2 to a gallon of the soup about 1 time per week or every other week. I use about 1/3 to 1/4 of the squash per time, just add the broth base of onion, garlic, celery, carrot, seasonings and spices, DD prefers one small potato added in for texture. Can make it mild for a soothing soup, or curried for something more exciting, or just spicy for added warmth. So - I do do a lot of growing, so does that count? we have hot peppers drying that will last a year or more, and I still have a few wrinkled green peppers that are good to cook, may use those up this weekend. Been eating the sweet dumpling squashes a lot - I did those stuffed yesterday with an italian spiced filling with a wild rice mix and lentils. Came out very tasty. Just have a few tiny ones left. I had good success with my last few batches of cooking beans from dried. That has been a bit hit and miss, but I've recently learned that the age of the beans in the packs can affect how they cook up, and my last few batches worked well. I plan to try fresh from the garden next year to compare. I used to be a bread baker during budget pinches, but then 2/3rds of us went gluten free. gluten free bread is quite a different story. A friend gave me a bread machine with a gf setting, so I started in on that, and now I have a good base recipe that works - after a year of experimenting, and will start expanding on variations. And - more on gadgetry - we got a soda stream - so now I can make my own sparkling water. now I want soup and bread! but I'm out of flour, and no carrots
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phil5185
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Post by phil5185 on Dec 11, 2016 12:09:33 GMT -5
Looking at your list, during WW2, we made those things (some of them weren't invented). When we butchered a hog, we rendered the lard, stirred in lye, made a cake pan of soap (cut it into bars like brownies). There was no kleenex (not invented yet), we used cloth handkerchiefs. We had an Outhouse and catalogs hanging on coat-hangers (no, the glossy sheets don't work). Tooth paste was not yet invented, we used baking soda. Dog food was table scraps and rabbits. I don't recall deodorant - there was perfume, lilac water to mask smells. We had a metal bathtub hanging in the porch, on bath night we put it in the kitchen and poured hot water in it from the cook-stove reservoir and from kettles. There was no plastic - when we bought things, they came unwrapped (no need to rip things out of a nasty plastic wrap that requires scissors). There were no paper products during the War (there was no waste basket in the house, there was no need). So most of your ideas have been tried and perfected - not to save money but to obtain needed goods.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Dec 11, 2016 12:16:51 GMT -5
I make my own mixes...
When I get out the ingredients for a pie crust (I use Pepperdoo's recipe), I make the one I'm working on, then make up five or so mixes in ziplock bags or mason jars to use next time.
I do the same with rye rolls. And biscuits. And cornbread...
I do pretty much all my baking from scratch, and while measuring stuff isn't that big of a deal, it's still pretty handy to just grab a bag and add the wet ingredients. (I either write the needed ingredients and cooking directions with a sharpie on the bag, or I print them out and have them on a clipboard inside the cupboard.)
I make my own salsa, relish, apple butter, etc from the stuff in the garden. I do this with my parents so it really cuts the work down. We also get a bunch of chicken all at once and process it--either in vacuum bags for the freezer, or by canning it.
I've made my own lotion bars, vanilla, laundry detergent, blankets, etc.
I made my son a bathrobe for Christmas. Incredibly soft, high quality fleece (bought on sale combined with a coupon). He's tall, so the "one size" robes are way too short, both in length and in the sleeves. It cost me about $15 and a few hours of time, and will hopefully last a lifetime.
I've also started making quilts, not to save money, but as a hobby. However, to buy a hand pieced, hand quilted quilt, you're likely to spend a fortune. I can make one for under $20 (but a ton of time is put into them).
I've made dog treats, but I stopped short of doing dog food. You really want to make sure you get the right balance of what the dog needs to keep them healthy.
I have a spice cabinet I keep pretty well stocked. I can usually make what I need for seasonings with what I have on hand. Also, now that I've learned to make gravy, I will never go back to a gravy mix.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 11, 2016 12:30:31 GMT -5
I do a lot of DIY, more for the environment than cost saving although it does save money: make my own laundry detergent from borax, washing soda and soap, made my own cloth diapers, made my own cloth wipes and napkins, make my own trashless lunches, grow my own vegetables, make household cleaners out of vinegar and baking soda. I haven't bought napkins or paper towels in over 5 years. Cloth ones are so much more practical. With the exception of food and toiletries, I buy nearly everything else second-hand. I grew up poor and know all about brushing teeth with baking soda, lol. I'm not poor anymore and buy normal tooth paste for the extra minty feeling, but I can appreciate its effectiveness.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Dec 11, 2016 12:34:24 GMT -5
Looked up the recipe for taco seasoning, and off the top of my head, I think I'd only have to buy 1-2 more spices, so I think I'll try it next time.
ETA: I looked. Just need to buy crushed red pepper flakes, and we'll be good to go!
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Dec 11, 2016 12:38:05 GMT -5
We don't make anything to save money, in terms of cleaning things.
We do shop at Costco though. That saves us time and money, especially when we time our buying with coupons.
Knitting my kids' hats is cheaper than buying them, though. I should be able to get 2 hats for 2.00 worth of yarn...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2016 12:46:03 GMT -5
Looked up the recipe for taco seasoning, and off the top of my head, I think I'd only have to buy 1-2 more spices, so I think I'll try it next time. I quit buying those packets years ago. If you have a Sam's Club or Costco membership they sell one and a half pound containers of it foe like $4. Lasts a long time for us and we eat tacos a lot.
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phil5185
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Post by phil5185 on Dec 11, 2016 12:46:21 GMT -5
You can buy baking-soda flavored Colgate, Crest, etc - I like them.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Dec 11, 2016 12:51:01 GMT -5
I read a really interesting article about homemade laundry soap and how bad it is - for your clothes and your washing machine. I don't know if it was true, but gave what seemed like a technical breakdown of chemicals. You might want to look into it before you commit to more homemade laundry detergent.
That said, the thing I make that saves me the most money - dinner. I am blown away whenever we eat out. I spent $35 at Chick-fil-A. I made steak, potatoes and veges for the 4 of us for $35! And that was prime meat.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2016 12:55:39 GMT -5
I would think it would be hard to make homemade detergent for the new HE washers. I made some back in the day and it worked, but was really sudsy.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Dec 11, 2016 12:56:21 GMT -5
Looked up the recipe for taco seasoning, and off the top of my head, I think I'd only have to buy 1-2 more spices, so I think I'll try it next time. I quit buying those packets years ago. If you have a Sam's Club or Costco membership they sell one and a half pound containers of it foe like $4. Lasts a long time for us and we eat tacos a lot. No memberships, but I'll keep that in mind when they have a free weekend or whatever.
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Dec 11, 2016 13:09:22 GMT -5
The past few weeks I have been thinking more about making homemade products. My laundry soap is about empty and I cringe to think of paying the high prices at our store when I could make some for about 5 cents a load. I am also looking into making cleaning products. Toilet paper and kleenex are two items that I just hate to buy. I use a lot of kleenex so I thought I coulalways try handkerchiefs. I bought a pack of double roll toilet paper 12 count the other day for almost $11 and it is half gone. But that is an item that is a necessity. I am going to look into making lotions and soap. I don't know if I could do the homemade deodarant but I could always try it for the days I stay home. I don't know how effective it would be working out at the gym and getting really sweaty. I wanted to try making dog food. I have already made dog snacks. And I try to cook as many meals from scratch that I can and have time for. What have you tried making that you think works out well to save money on? I think you are on the right track. I tend to focus more on services that have a high hourly cost. For example, the single lever faucet in our guest shower stripped so that once you turned the water on, you couldn't turn the water off. I've got to think that calling a plumber to fix the faucet would cost $100 - $150. Instead of making a phone call, I took the handle off and found that a small plastic handle adapter between the handle and the stem on the cartridge had stripped. A visit to the local plumbing supply house provided a new and improved handle adapter. At a cost of $4.29. Well, not really $4.29. We have four of that particular faucet in the house. This won't be the only time I'll see that problem. So, I got a couple of extra adapters for my plumbing supplies tote, so I won't have to go across town the next time a handle strips. The other big thing I focus on is auto repairs. In our area, a skilled mechanic's time costs $95 an hour. The radiator in one of the cars started to leak. Having a shop replace the radiator would cost close to $500. A new radiator cost $125, and it took a couple of hours of my time to replace the radiator. A savings of $375. Or, to look at things a little differently, consider how much you would have to earn to pay a $500 car repair bill. Considering SS withholding and a 25% income tax rate, you'yd have to earn $663 to pay the repair bill. Another thing to consider is that an auto repair shop makes part of their money from the parts they install in your car. Parts supplied by an auto repair shop cost 50% to 100% more than you will pay for the exact same part from an auto parts store. (One time, when I was feeling lazy, I got an estimate to change antifreeze the radiator hoses, and a thermostat on one of our cars. The parts cost for the thermostat was $38, which I thought was high. So I walked through the door into the connected auto parts store and bought the thermostat for $12 and changed the antifreeze myself.). I don't begrudge auto mechanics making a living. I'll just let them make their living on repairs I can't do myself. Despite what a lot of people think, most routine auto repairs are pretty simple. If my DW, the Nordstom's Rack girl, can replace brake pads and rotors on a Dodge minivan, I bet you can turn that $550 brake job into a $100 brake job, too. (YouTube is your friend. It helped me turn a repair that the dealer wanted $3,000 for into a $260, 45 minute project.)
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Dec 11, 2016 13:12:30 GMT -5
Shooby's post is why I don't make a lot of seasoning/cream soup/hamburger helper/etc. at home. While I do a lot of cooking and baking, I don't like having five gazillion bottles of seasonings in my cabinet. (I have way too many as it is and it's hard to find some of the smaller bottles in the mess.) I like to mix it up and we enjoy a lot of ethnic foods so I will buy seasoning packets rather than the individual spices for a lot of things. Did I say i have "five gazillion bottles of seasoning"? No
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buystoys
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Post by buystoys on Dec 11, 2016 13:14:48 GMT -5
I didn't say you did, Shooby. I was just stating why I don't make a lot of seasonings myself.
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Rukh O'Rorke
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Dec 11, 2016 13:32:18 GMT -5
Looked up the recipe for taco seasoning, and off the top of my head, I think I'd only have to buy 1-2 more spices, so I think I'll try it next time. I quit buying those packets years ago. If you have a Sam's Club or Costco membership they sell one and a half pound containers of it foe like $4. Lasts a long time for us and we eat tacos a lot. one of the really off-putting things about baking bread is the cost of the yeast. Those little packets at the store are about 1/2 or more the cost of a cheap loaf. But the huge costco thing of yeast I think was 5-10 dollars? I've had one in my freezer for years and it still works great. I went a few years without baking bread, and thought I should use more yeast cuz it was old. Nope - thing exploded, lol.
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whoisjohngalt
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Post by whoisjohngalt on Dec 11, 2016 13:35:55 GMT -5
Oh how I wish I could stop buying napkins and PT. But my kids are pigs and we are home all day and the messes they create.....I will either be doing laundry 10 times/day or clogging our pipes with all the stuff that I need to clean.
Kleenex did not exist where I am from and my Dad used TONS of handkerchiefs. My mom washed them weekly, by boiling them in hot water and baking soda. Same for diapers and towels and other "paper" products.
I just looked at our 2016 numbers - I spent $153 on paper towels. I don't know if I would have saved a lot of money using cloth and doing 10x more laundry....
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Dec 11, 2016 14:02:00 GMT -5
I quit buying those packets years ago. If you have a Sam's Club or Costco membership they sell one and a half pound containers of it foe like $4. Lasts a long time for us and we eat tacos a lot. one of the really off-putting things about baking bread is the cost of the yeast. Those little packets at the store are about 1/2 or more the cost of a cheap loaf. But the huge costco thing of yeast I think was 5-10 dollars? I've had one in my freezer for years and it still works great. I went a few years without baking bread, and thought I should use more yeast cuz it was old. Nope - thing exploded, lol. I bought a huge thing of yeast on Amazon and been using it for a long time.
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Dec 11, 2016 14:05:50 GMT -5
2lbs of red star yeast on Amazon is like $10
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Dec 11, 2016 15:18:05 GMT -5
I cab buy brand name chicken noodle soup, it costs me a buck or two. When I make it from scratch. I have to buy chicken legs, carrots, celery, parsley. dill, parsnips, etc., so it's not really cheaper. Better, but not cheaper.
I wish there was a way to store fresh parsley, dill and coriander. I throw so much away because the bunches are so big.. I tried freezing it, but it it's slimy and nasty.
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nlt
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Post by nlt on Dec 11, 2016 15:28:23 GMT -5
Rukh- If you have your GF bread recipe handy, would you post it? The last time I tried to make a GF recipe in my bread machine it was a disaster! It takes ALOT of experimenting with GF to get things edible sometimes 😀 thanks!
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Dec 11, 2016 16:12:10 GMT -5
I've never had the courage to attempt making my own laundry detergent but I've heard some pretty good things about it, especially from Trent of the Simple Dollar. There are some start-up costs involved, buying more than you need for one batch is inevitable, but the return on the hour of (weekend) effort is pretty good as long as you actually use up the goop that you have made.
I'm sorta embarrassed that six years after buying my own house, I haven't attempted homemade laundry detergent yet. I have the space and privacy to make the stuff, and use the stuff, and store the stuff to make the stuff, but for some darned reason, I never get around to making the stuff despite having the space, stability and the plastic buckets required.
OTOH, if you want to talk about instant savings, what you can save by running white vinegar (bought by the gallon) through a coffee-maker instead of the blue stuff, is kinda stupendous.
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