Can you please give me your top 5 consumable replacements?

[mykdsmomy]

In the interest and instant need of turning frugal, I am trying to figure out what consumable things I can replace with permanant items. I've been kicking around getting a Diva Cup or Keeper.....I've also stopped buying paper towels.....but what other things have you replaced that really works and saves you money?

Also along those same lines.....are there things you've replaced in your home ...like spray cleaners for baking soda and vinegar? Do you regret it or are you seeing the same result? Thanks mamas.....i'm once again trying to (once and for all) get FRUGAL!!!!!!

[LEAW]

paper towels, diapers, sanitary pads, kleenex, shower curtain, toilet paper, baby wipes, all replaced with different forms of cloth (though we do use TP for #2 still) - old tshirts become new cloth

as we use up our cleaners we are switching to bs/vinegar for almost everything except laundry soap

dh uses bs/vinegar instead of shampoo, ocm can replace face wash

we use klean kanteen water bottle and a reverse osmosis filter

mason jars in a variety of sizes for food storage instead of ziplocks and tupperware

sorry that's more than 5 things, but it's what we have done so far.

[Staceyy]

Paper napkins can be replaced by cloth.

Plastic wrap can be replaced by washing and re-using plastic bread bags and the plastic bags you put your produce in at the grocery store.

Dryer sheets can be replaced by pouring a little fabric softener on a washcloth and placing in the dryer.

Plastic coated paper plates can be washed and re-washed many times in the dishwasher.

Baggies and aluminum foil can be washed and re-used many times.

Plastic garbage bags can be replaced by using plastic grocery bags.

[eloise24]

I replaced all our "commercial" cleaners with vinegar/essential oil blends. I don't regret them at all and in fact, love them. Keep in mine I have 10 boys in our house (residential group home) and it's still clean & yummy! The stuff works. I also use cloth rags instead of paper towels (since they never get donated to us) and grocery bags instead of buying garbage bags.

[Snowdrift]

I'm working on this too at the moment.

CD's are the obvious
also, cloth TP
fabric bags for fruit and vegetable storage (working on this still--ordered a couple to try plus may make my own once I decide what I like)
Vinegar is great for cleaning, as is BS, whihc I really only use for scrubbing the sink and for laundry. Everything else is just vinegar.

I stopped using paper towels for most things a while ago, but have found that it's hard on towels and they aren't always effective, so I ordered some hemp-blend unpaper towels.

Fabric pads--although I've had limited success with those. Maybe a diva cup eventually but right now I'm sticfking to pads.

Mason jars definitely. Switched almost all my food storage--dry, freezer, and fridge to mason jars.

We're getting there. I definitely like not having to buy nearly as much laundry detergent, no cleaning products, little toilet paper, almost no paper towels, few plastic bags.

[Amys1st]

Kitchen rags for paper towels

cloth napkins for napkins. They also are great to wip little mouths, quick spills etc.

cloth diapers for sposies

keeper diva cup for tampex

water jug for bottled water

cloth bag for lunches

I could go on and on

[Llyra]

reusable net bags for carrying home groceries and other purchases, and a big basket for carrying home produce.

cloth diapers

cloth menstrual products

nix paper towels and nasty dish sponges and have an arsenal of cleaning rags (I do keep paper towels for cleaning up cat vomit (I have three cats who hairball on a regular basis), but that's it! THere are just some places I can't bear to go.)

cloth napkins

save quart yogurt containers for leftovers

buy foods from the bulk bins and store in reusable containers-- when you buy packaged stuff, you pay for the packaging-- my cupboard has rows of glass jars and plastic bins full of rice, beans, flours, sugar, etc. The biggest moneysaver for us has been learning to cook from whole foods, and cutting out as many packaged foods as possible.

As far as cleaning products go, I invested in a few large plastic spray bottles and mixed up my own formulas. It's just as convenient as the chemical stuff, since I already have it mixed in the bottles, and I think my house is even cleaner now since now it's less unpleasant to do the cleaning. I do buy dish and laundry detergents still, although I buy huge bulk bottles to save on packaging. You can get buy on having white vinegar, castille soap, and baking soda, and need very little besides.

Sometimes I use DD's cloth wipes after peeing, rather than TP. I am PG and pee a LOT, and we would go through so much TP if I used some every time. The cloth wipes are so much more comfortable. I am not ready to make the jump to using them for BM's, and DH is not, and we need to have TP in the house for guests, but we use much less now.

[MamaRabbit]

Originally Posted by mykdsmomy

In the interest and instant need of turning frugal, I am trying to figure out what consumable things I can replace with permanant items. I've been kicking around getting a Diva Cup or Keeper.....I've also stopped buying paper towels.....but what other things have you replaced that really works and saves you money?

Also along those same lines.....are there things you've replaced in your home ...like spray cleaners for baking soda and vinegar? Do you regret it or are you seeing the same result? Thanks mamas.....i'm once again trying to (once and for all) get FRUGAL!!!!!!

#1 - cloth diapers. I didn't use with my first and started when my DS was 9mo old. Holy cow!!! Why didn't I do this earlier?!? (I figure my savings to be $200 this year)

#2 - Diva Cup. Started using it recently. Feel better. No more waste. Why didn't hear about this sooner? (I figure my savings to be $75 this year... minus the cost of the Diva)

#3 - Vinegar. I started using this as my main household cleaner about a year ago. I like it for most things, but sometimes, it leaves something to be desired. I'm still working on that. But it does save tons of money. (I figure my savings to be $30 for the year... not much money, but better for me and environment)

#4 - Dish clothes. A lot of them. I was using sponges and paper towels. Less icky. Saves a lot. (I figure my savings to be $50 this year)

#5 - cloth TP. I laughed at the idea a few months ago. Decided to give it a try, and so far, it's working well. I told DH it'll save us at least $50 a year .

[swimswamswum]

Mine are mostly repeats:

1) diva cup/ cloth pads
2) rags instead of paper towels (we use old socks and DH's boxers)
3) bulk bin foods from the co-op
4) reusable lunch bags, sandwich keepers, pyrex containers and water jugs (Kleen Kanteen and Sig)
5) cloth napkins
6) vinegar and essential oils for mopping and cleaning
7) Dr. Bronner's for cleansers/ soaps

[oneKnight]

I'll try to mention some others (I do use cloth TP and no papertowels, etc)
-buying in bulk and separating into smaller containers yourself
-riding a bike to save gas (and exercise at the same time!)
-taking leftovers to work for lunch instead of buying something
-mooncup and cloth pads
-Buying 2L coke and pouring my own glass instead of cans (at home) and be sure to recycle every can if you do buy cokes in a can. I keep a 'milk crate' in the back of my truck to collect them when I'm away from home.

[zo's ma]

I just wanted to say that the Keeper is the best 30$ I've spent in a long time! I'd been using cloth pads and this is SO much better.

[mykdsmomy]

Thanks for all the great suggestions! Keep em coming

[PrettyBird]

Mine are pretty much repeats:
-Cloth diapers and wipes
-Dishrags instead of sponges
-Rags instead of paper towels (although we do have a roll or two of paper towels that are rarely used)
-Pyrex containers and mason jars. I reuse old spaghetti sauce and nut butter jars a lot.
-Homemade laundry detergent (although I use Charlie's now because the homemade doesn't cut it for dipes, but Charlies is still economical)
-Vinegar, baking soda, borax, washing soda, and tea tree oil for cleaning. Different combos of those clean almost anything.
-Kleen Kanteen
-Canvas bags at the grocery store
-Cloth TP and pads still make me kind of squeamish although I know they shouldn't.

[mnnice]

Some of my others have been listed already, but the gold screen thing that we use instead of coffee filters is right up there. We bought that thing for $6-8 10 years ago and it out lasted its orgianal coffee maker.

[courtenay_e]

We use microfiber cloths for cleaning windows and glass, and shining faucets, as well as for dusting. This replaces newspapers for glass and spray polish for dusting.

I use organic hemp inside premie socks with a string serged onto it for tampons (I just have never been able to use pads...I HATE the wet slimy feeling of sitting on a bled on pad).

We used cloth diapers 'stead of s'posies, washcloths instead of wipes, and breastfeed.

We read the newspaper instead of watching cable.

I clothes swap twice a year (which is completely free)and sew, often using "reclaimed" fabric from not taken stuff from the clothes swap, and from freecycle, to make the kids' clothes, diapers, longies, wraps, napkins, wipes. This saves us HUNDREDS of dollars.

My friends and I swap books (we all have extensive libraries and similar tastes), and I use the library.

We, too, use cloth napkins (we have a few sets for each season, so I have some for the wash and some to be out), and kitchen towels or cloth diapers rather than paper towels and paper napkins. I've always used dishcloths rather than sponges.

We cook from scratch almost completely. I make a roast, make soup from the bones, freeze the soup. Make sandwiches and another hot dinner from the meat. We menu plan, so as to never hit that five o'clock just on the road, "what's for dinner" phone call that ends in carry out again...'cause if we get carryout, that's our entire food budget for the week! We buy in bulk and store in smaller containers, as well.

We make our own playdough, in just one color, every other month or so. This costs about forty cents and is enough for four children to have PLENTY at the same time. And we use cookie cutters, plastic knives and spoons, and some little people toys, actually, with the playdough.

I carpool everywhere I possibly can with friends and family. This makes trips to the grocery store not only more fun (ugh, fun?), but saves gas and emissions...trips to LLL an adventure for the kids and more relaxing for moms, and ends up giving us more face time than phone time.

[Ruthla]

Paper towels were replaced with a pile of washcloths and kitchen towels. I'm not sure this really "counts" though, as I've never been a big user of paper towels.

Tissues consumption is reduced by purchasing handkerchiefs.

Cloth napkins replaced paper napkins (and also can be used in place of paper towels in some situations where a washcloth or kitchen towel wouldn't work.)

Cloth shopping bags replaced plastic grocery bags (not really a financial change, but an environmental change.)

Washable Cloth lunch bags replaced paper lunch bags and "disposable" lunch boxes/bags- the insulated reusable lunch boxes/bags always got gross after a while (when a child left something messy in there and it got forgotten about) and couldn't be fully washed- so they needed to be replaced every few months, or we'd end up using paper bags that are replaced daily.

I reduce my usage of plastic food storage bags by saving glass food containers and reusing them for food storage. Plastic containers would work as well (from a frugal perspective) but I'm concerned about toxins from plastics leaching into my food.

Empty glass iced tea bottles (individual servings) are used for packing water or homemade iced tea in school lunches. I also use them for taking water with me when I go out, instead of buying water in plastic bottles.

[Rant n Raven]

My list (slow solid change)

-PYREX! Our latest thing has been phasing out tupperware. Pyrex from the 50's and 60's with glass covers for microwave, oven, and fridge.

-Delivered Milk, Cream, 1/2n1/2 in glass bottles.

-Cloth pads or old guy's underwear ( works for me)

-Cloth napkins, hankys and kitchen towels. Whenever anyone asks what we want, I say cloth napkins since they are inexpensive, we use them constantly and they are fun.
(Next step, different napkin ring for each person so that you keep your napkin between meals! I heard that this was their original purpose)

-Only buying really high quality shoes or bags

-TRYING! to always bring the cloth bags, and containers to use at the bulk bins. We are good about soy sauce, oils, maple syrup and honey; However I often forget to label properly!

-Other side of office paper for art projects

-Tissue paper and paper bags (sometimes stamped or stickered) for wrapping paper.

Good thread. Keep it going.

I am inspired! Which should I get Diva or Keeper?!?!

[swimswamswum]

A friend of mine has the keeper. She says it's thicker than the diva. I bought a diva and love it (it does take some getting used to, but the manufacturer will refund it if you hate it after a couple of months). I still have to wear a panty liner with it though. I have some cloth pads and need to get 6 or so more. It's such a great feeling to go by the tampon/pad eisle at the store and know that you don't need to buy that stuff!

[kathirynne]

My list

(I'm sure I will add more items to this as I think of them.)

No paper towels
Leftovers for lunch
Homemade laundry soap
Homemade cleaners
Fabric bags to the grocery (my grocery gives me 5 cents off my order for each bag of my own I bring. )
Buying from the bulk section. (This is an especially good way to buy spices for a new recipe. I can buy just enough of the spice to try the recipe, instead of an entire jar or tin of something I may or may not use again.)

[blueberrymama]

I just started cloth diapering my little one about 3 months ago to save money and because I always wanted to but didn't have the guts, then we bought a new mini van that made out car payments go up about $200 a month so that takes about $50 out of my grocery money every week and that hit me really hard so I decided to start the Cding and now it's just trickled over into other items that are consumable. I look at everything with new eyes that can be replaced. I'm new at this so mine are pretty much what everyone else has said...
I was a paper towel junky and now I use washcloths
Handmade mama cloth pantyliners
I bought a Diva cup but I haven't had the nerve to try it yet.
Canvas bags at the grocery store, I got all mine for @ 25-50 cents each at the thrift store! whoohoo!
Buying jeans for my kids and myself at the thrift store.
I actually use my real dishes and wash them in the dishwasher instead of paper plates.
My Hubby takes leftovers for lunch every day and drinks water.
2 liters of pop instead of cans or going to the gas station for a fountain pop.
I'm trying to wean myself from pop and making iced tea.
And I've always breastfed and that saves a TON of $$$! LOL

It's amazing how much less trash has been going into the trash can every week and it's gave me a better sense of self pride.
HTH,
Julie