What Do You Do to Make Things Last Longer?

**staceyy** · 10-08-2005, 08:29 AM

I'm looking for new ideas to make things last longer. Currently I do some of the following: I re-wash plastic bags, disposable plastic coated plates and cups, and tin foil, I use paper towels twice before throwing away or using to clean my windows, I use less toothpaste and detergent than recommended, I cut my dryer sheets and facial cleansing cloths in half. I reverse my hand towels so I do not have to wash them as often.

I especially like it when I can buy something on sale, use double coupons and then cut my useage in half. Please tell me what you do.

**Darlene** · 10-08-2005, 08:38 AM

Besides most of the above
~I water down shampoo
~buy the stonger tea & get many uses out of one bag
~get as many errands done in one car trip as I can
~water with rain water
~use less meat than called for in a recipe
Next...

**Mamaw** · 10-08-2005, 09:38 AM

Water plants with saved water ( cooking, dehydrator, etc)
Save all left overs and put them in casseroles or soups
Use less detergent,shampoo, etc
Water down products when I can
Reuse storage bags
Use bags from shopping as trash bags
Use rags more than paper towels
Use cloth napkins and wash them
I cant think of any more right now so I evidently need advice on this from other folks. Post away all!

**canadian gardener** · 10-08-2005, 05:07 PM

Wear aprons, to protect my clothes.

Never cook, do housework or garden in my nice clothes. I often do indoor chores in my nightie,

and I have work clothes for painting, gardening and cooking. Those ones are specifically ok to get dirty or ripped.

Change after the work is done and I've taken a shower.

I have hooks on the wall behind my bedroom door to air out my nightie and my work clothes so they are ready for use. (keep the good clothes clean, and change back after).

For working outside the home I'd suggest changing out of them when you get home as a way of telling your body to relax.

**seatosea** · 10-08-2005, 07:33 PM

-I try and keep things clean, especially electronics
-vaccum filters of fridge, freezers
-my husband is great at maintaining the cars, oil changes etc.
-oil my gardening tools before putting them away
-I too keep certain clothes just for working outside
-use hm draino once a week to help the plumbing
gee, I guess there is a lot we all do!

**Darlene** · 10-08-2005, 07:51 PM

Oh my Margery how could I forget, the apron goes on first thing. I know my family jokes about me & will continue to joke long after I'm gone that they almost always remember me wearing an apron. They are just so handy.

**joyofsix** · 10-08-2005, 08:35 PM

I re-use coffee grounds and tea bags.

I always use less detergent, dish soap, toothpaste and shampoo. And try to remind the kids to do the same.

We keep showers short and the littlest two bathe together.

Keep everything in good repair and cleaned.

Use cloth's vs paper towels. Containers vs baggies.
No paper plates unless we're ill. Regular cups vs dixie. I still can't convince dh to use cloth napkins though .

**dolphin** · 10-08-2005, 10:51 PM

Wear aprons, to protect my clothes.

Margery, I just started doing this today. Good grief, I'm 50 and just now wearing an apron.

I loved it! I got it free at the food bank clothing giveaway last week. I washed it and hung it on a peg in the laundry room and saw it when I started cleaning house this morning and thought hey, this is cool! It has too pockets and is short and I loved it!

I do most of the things you girls do except I don't cut my dryer sheets in half anymore. We build up too much static electricity here when I try to do that so I buy the cheapest WM brand and they work great and last 80 loads for about $2.00.

I also use less meat than called for. I try to add stuff like oatmeal or crackers to ground beef recipes to make them go farther.

I buy the cheapest oil for my car which has an annoying leak which I can't afford to fix so any oil will do.

I re-use printer paper so both sides are used.

I go to the dumpster at Family Dollar to get all my packing supplies for Ebay sales on the days they receive shipments. They aren't dirty and they also let me go through the store and pick up any boxes that they have just emptied and I get the packing materials too.

We use a lot of fans around our house to keep air circulating and sometimes use the air compressor to clean the AC filters when I buy the more expensive ones.

I re-use all of ds's sprial notebooks and folders from school. When he buys a new one for a new class. I take the older ones, remove the used pages and use them for me.

**Mom23boys** · 10-09-2005, 01:16 PM

~use less detergent than called for
~toss all leftover veggies into a bucket in the freezer to use in soups
~stretch my meat by adding oatmeal, veggies, etc.
~reuse some baggies...not ones that contained meat
~combine errands when in town to only make one trip

**PrairieRose** · 10-09-2005, 01:46 PM

~doing better at using up all the leftovers and planning meals around what's in the pantry that needs to be used
~re-use those bath towels for several days (makes them last longer and you do less laundry)
~use newspaper cut up into about 1/4 pages to drain fried foods on (I use one paper towel or napkin on top of)
~wash my good knives by hand rather than the d.w. b/c it keeps the sharp edge longer
~sharpen my own knives and scissors instead of buying new
~use saranwrap instead of foil whenever possible
~re-use foil over and over again

**ironmaiden** · 10-09-2005, 06:32 PM

I put the kids shampoo in an old pump hand plastic dispenser.
They started just playing with the shampoo - especially the 3 year old - whenever I blinked. They now know they get one pump.

We use cloth napkins for us and washcloths on the kids. My kids now don't like paper napkins as they don't work as good!!

Let the neighbors know we accept hand-me-downs. And when we are done with the clothes, we make sure they are passed along. Especially this year's halloween costume for my daughter.

Do laundry often - so stains don't set and ruin clothes.

Rent videotapes from the library - all the latest and greatest for a $1 and then they take those $1s and buy more. We never buy videos. The other library has a lesser selection, but they are free.

Learn to cook. Family who don't like to cook or don't know how to come up with something quick do takeout. Even convenience food from the grocery store is cheaper than takeout. So there is always some plus frozen madeahead food in the house.

**Lori Biever-Launder** · 10-10-2005, 03:44 PM

I feed my animals a quality food that takes less to feed them to keep them full. I also give my dog bones (raw) and scraps. How does she look? She is 45 pounds of solid muscle (she is a very, very stocky, muscular breed) with almost NO bady fat! My cats get a few little tid bits too. I spend only a few bucks a month to feed all three of the big fur kids--it costs more to feed our two Guinea Pigs than it does to feed the dog and two cats!

My DSs insist on wearing their old socks until they look like they ar emade of lace. Then I cut them apart and use them for cleaning rags. I don't buy expensive socks since DSs seem to wear them all out at the same rate of speed!

We have one thrift store here in town that I try to hit every couple of weeks. I am constantly on the lookout for jeans for my DSs as well as any other good deals that stand out.

I am never to oproud to accept things from friends. We get garden overflow from our neighbors every summer. In exchange, we invite them over for dinner or I take them soup when I make a big batch. Othr friends give us scrap wood for kindling, the grapes of the vines they dont' care for, plums, etc.

We all take our lunches to school and work. I buy the DSs hot lunch once a week. If they want it more often, they must pay for it. I will get a lunch out with friends about once a month and we ALWAYS use coupons to get a good or great deal. For example, DH and I went out yesterday for a little time without the DSs. We went to Burger King and spent $7.00 for the two of us.

I have found that if I have the Crock Pot filled with food before I go to work, I am much happier in the afternoon and am less likely to want to grab food out. Plus, it is SO nice to come home to the smell of a meal bubbling away in the Crock Pot.