When it comes to being frugal and constantly reading frugal and finance blogs and magazines, I get totally burned out. It seems like everyone either has the same ideas or are repeating what was obvious to most years ago. Sometimes it makes you want to go off the frugal grid and look in a different direction.
As a matter of fact, I’ve been doing exactly that. I’ve been checking out other mom(and dad) bloggers, cooking bloggers and even fashion bloggers for a wonderful distraction. I decided to catch up on some old magazines I haven’t had time to read and see what may inspire me to keep this lifestyle going and create some new ideas to share. They’ve all been great muses but of course, there is always something new to learn about frugality, and this time around for me, it had to do with sponges.
I was reading the new All You magazine and saw a tip that said to cut your sponges in half to extend your stockpile. You can clean your dishes, or whatnot, with half a sponge just as well as you could with a whole one. Duh! Such a great idea! Now, I’m sure I’ve read this on a frugal blog or in a magazine ages ago, but probably never implemented it. Why I didn’t, I’ll never know, but it’s such a simple tip that I’m sure it could get lost in the hussle and bussle that is finance blogging, but it’s a solidly good tip. As soon as I read it, I immediately thought “why didn’t I think of that?” I haven’t felt that way about a new frugal lesson in a long time and it was so great to having that moment of surprise and delight back. One of the things I loathe about this lifestyle is the fact that it can get mundane and stagnant, if you let it. When ideas like this fall into my lap, it makes me want to partake in a happy dance, and gets me motivated again.
So, now I’m on a mission to see what else I haven’t thought about yet. Its been fun trying to rack my brain for new ways to save. Sometimes you just need a sponge to light a fire under your butt.
Have you guys ever felt stagnant in your frugal lifestyle? What has bought you out of that feeling?
I know what you mean. If I see one more article about giving up a daily latte I’m gonna punch someone lol. There are only so many ways to decrease spending and increase income.
Another cool idea: water down regular hand soap and put it in a foaming dispenser. if you google you can find the right ratio. Basically buy a big soap refill for a few dollars or even a single use dispenser if you get it cheap with coupons, water it down, and it lasts forever.
Another: outdoor patio furniture with free wood pallets. Saw that on a DIY site.
Thanks for the tip. Don’t worry about repeating, I only read your blog for example so it would be news for me.
I use powdered detergent for my dishwasher. I when I first open it, I pour in some baking soda and give it a shake. I do that a few more times as the box empties. That way I have the baking soda already mixed in with the detergent.
Also, if I have a little spray bottle leftover from something else, I get pour in a bleach based cleaning product (the type for counters). I use that as a fabric spray for serious stains to either treat them immediately (follow with cold water pressed on the spot), or before I put the piece in the wash. Tide to Go sticks cost too much! I also use your trick to pre-treat entire loads with vinegar and baking soda.
I buy cheap wooden clothespins at the dollar store to use for bag clips and always save the rubber bands from around asparagus.
I love that! I never thought about cutting my sponges in half. I always buy them in packs of two or four. I’ll be cutting them all in half today! Thanks! 🙂
Liz, that’s exactly what I was talking about! Yes, we get it, now tell us something new lol. But sometimes we miss a gem of an idea, so I guess it’s good to repeat a few of the good ones every now and again.
Sundayline, you’re welcome! I’ll keep in mind that my new readers probably haven’t heard all the “usual” frugal tips. Actually, maybe I’ll do a few “best of” posts coming up, so any new readers can just bookmark those for reference, instead of going through the whole blog. Thanks for inspiring that idea lol!
Alex, I love all those tips! I use whatever dishwasher detergent is on sale, and mostly its the tabs. So, when the powder is on sale, I couldn’t figure out how little i can use without not using too little(to stretch out how long I can use that box). Now I know to just add some baking soda! Thanks so much!
Mandi, I’m so glad you love the tip! It’s a great one, right? It totally blew my mind lol.