MOM: Conservation is Key

…to living frugally, of course

It’s been on “the Mind of Megan” that it can sometimes be the little things in life that add up and “cost” us- Whether it be emotionally, physically, spiritually for financially. Today, we shall talk about the financial side.

I have been thinking about conservation around the house since we’ve been doing the “No Lights Challenge” this January. I’ve noticed that there are all kinds of things around the house that I do as a habit, not because they are actually necessary- like how much toilet paper you use. Other things, I feel we have been influenced by the media to do. Imagine a toothpaste commercial….there stands a woman with glowing skin, nice thick hair billowing around her face and wait….how did you even notice those things with her shiny white teeth and toothbrush with that PERFECT glob of swirly toothpaste on it? You know what I’m talking about- the glob of toothpaste on there is bigger than the bristles!

The truth of the matter is, we probably all use too much of certain things around the house. Let’s look at these and a few other examples.

Toilet Paper: What single thing do we use around the house more than toilet paper? That’s a big one at our house! Now let’s say that you typically use 6 (or more) squares of toilet paper everytime you go to the bathroom. Try using about half of what you  usually do next time, and see if it’s not enough. My guess is, you’re over-using. If you used 3 squares as opposed to 6, you’d be using half as much paper- And buying half as many packs of toilet paper each year! Not to mention you’re saving the world from excess waste.

Toothpaste: Did you know the American Dental Association recommends you use only a pea sized amount of toothpaste? For children, they recommend an amount the same size as their little pinky nail. Brushing your teeth doesn’t take a ton of toothpaste! The real work comes from the brush and the operator. So cut down on toothpaste, and save a buck- Or if you’re like me and often get toothpaste free, save yourself a little deal finding .

Laundry Detergent: Read the instructions on your bottle of detergent. Many times a person will just fill up the measuring cup, not paying attention to the load size or how heavily soiled the clothes are. And if it were me…I’d see how my clothes do with even less detergent!

Dish Soap: When you wash dishes in the sink, did you know your main point of cleaning isn’t actually to kill all the germs on your dishes? Dish soap simply breaks surface tension so that all the yuckies can “slide off” of your dishes, right down the sink. This leaves your dishes germ free just because the soap captured the germs and the water washed them away. You really really don’t need much soap to achieve this…so try a bit less, until you need to add more.

Paper Towels: If I don’t have “select a size” paper towels, I simply fold the larger size in half longways and then tear it in half. I find that is all I typically need for a quick wipe down of the counters. You could use even less paper towels by cleaning surfaces and sticky fingers with a clean, damp dishcloth (with maybe a little soap on it). I use one dish cloth for sticky hands and one for counters, and then toss them in the laundry each evening. This saves me a ton of paper towels.

Dryer Sheets: Now, we actually no longer use these in our home, but when we did I would cut all the sheets in half. It was more than enough to de-static a large load of laundry.

Other things to try to use less of: Shampoo/Conditioner, body wash, hand soap, dishwasher liquid, fabric softener, commercial cleaners, mopping solution and make-up. Can you think of others? Leave them in the comment feed!

Here’s to living- Happier, healthier, more FRUGAL lives!

~~FrugalMegan~~