Comments on: Stop Wasting Money on Disposable Things

By: SY

SY — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:02:23 +0000

I’ve lived in apartments with tiled floors, and have found swiffer works like a charm. But here is how I use it – use a swiffer dust mop (it doesn’t have the spray function), with a microfibre dust cloth to pick up all the “dry” dust, dirt etc. Then, replace the cloth with another which has been soaked (and wrung out) in a mixture of castille soap and warm water. It cleans so amazingly well. I use one cloth for the kitchen and a different one for the bathroom. Someone had mentioned in a post above, the wonders of just plain soap and water. I’d like to add natural cider vinegar to that list. And I use Dr. Bronner’s castille soap which is the purest and gentlest form of soap because the glycerine which is formed as a part of the saponification process, is not removed. It is wonderful for all kinds of things – gentle enough for babies, for bathing for people with severe allergies or skin infections, cleaning house (and bathrooms, and washing clothes for someone with allergies. I was told that hospital floors are cleaned with castille soap as well though I can’t verify that. You can get a huge bottle for about $25-30 (I’ll have to check as it’s been a while since I bought one – they last a while). I don’t need anything else for cleaning. I use the unscented hemp variety though you get it in lavender and other natural scents.

By: K Moore

K Moore — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:40:42 +0000

Besides, reusable solutions save you trips to the store, once you have rags you are pretty set. No emergency trips to the store for paper towels. I haven’t bought paper towels in a long time, and I like it!

By: K Moore

K Moore — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:27:47 +0000

I can’t believe so many people are against his suggestions. LAZY!
You don’t need 50 lbs of rags, cut up the t shirts that are too sad to donate, have a dozen rags and wash with your dog blankets, bath mat or other non clothing items. I store the rags in a small bucket that I dump out to clean, wash it, dry it and put the rags back.

You can use a square of toilet paper to blow your nose if need be.

Try not to buy anything you will throw away.

By: alex

alex — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 03:01:48 +0000

i definitely recommend the keeper/diva cup/moon cup, they save loads of money. plus, no worries about toxic shock syndrome.

By: ppp

ppp — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:48:40 +0000

Swiffer – Instead of using disposable pads, make your own from old towels and rags. Use and launder (along with your handkerchiefs).

By: bonzadog

bonzadog — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:15:44 +0000

“Swiffer pad reversal?” No doubt this has already been covered in the above post, but I don’t have the time to read all 147 posts. Has Swiffer pad reversal been mentioned yet? Use the original side, then flip to the other pad side for extra mileage?

By: Linda

Linda — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 07:25:47 +0000

I clean everything with rags made out of old clothes, towels, washcloths, etc. I cant remember the last time I bought paper towels. I dont use disposable toilet brushes either, instead, I always use an old rag and throw it away at the end.

By: mary

mary — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:27:46 +0000

seems to me all this “money” you are saving is then wasted with hours and hours of extra laundry to wash rags, diapers, hankies, etc

how much soap, hot water and electricity is that costing???

no thank you. I’m sure it’s cheaper to wash my clothes down by the river and leave them on a rock to dry too. But I don’t live in a Little House on the Prairie and I don’t want to pretend that I do to save a nickel.

I’ll take the modern conveniences, thank you. I love our disposable society. :)

By: Chloe

Chloe — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 05:24:27 +0000

Alright, so I suppose those are all good ideas, less trash and the like, but did you factor in how much it would cost to wash all those things? The environmetal impact of the gallos of water you use? The energy your washing machine or dishwasher uses up to clean your stuff?

By: Isa

Isa — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:57:03 +0000

My parents always reused Ziplocs when I was growing up, as well as reusing the containers that food came in.

By: Kala

Kala — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:38:04 +0000

I agree to an extent, but money isn’t the only factor. Take the mop for instance, using a traditional mop is FAR messier, less effective, takes 3 times as much time & effort, and is very difficult to clean and store. I’m willing to pay a few extra cents to save that much time and effort on a regular basis.

By: Eagle

Eagle — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:18:49 +0000

I live in a very dusty desert area, and the dry swiffer is a great way to pick up dust and hairs all over. I am sick of buying all the refills and thought about going to a fleece piece of fabric, paper towels or flannel cloth- but what should I spray on the cloth to get the most magnetized action? Is Pledge a bad idea? I’m talking about dusting the floors.

By: julieta

julieta — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 06:07:00 +0000

We just went out for dinner, and brought our glass container for leftovers. We bring our own bags to the store, including produce bags, and keep ceramic plates, mugs, glasses and metal serviceware at the office. We reuse plastic bags of food items you buy in the supermarket, so we do not buy ziplocks or use cling wrap. Sure we sometimes forget or get caught in a situation, but that is the exception and not the norm. I personally think that reusing plastic plates or ziplocks is just fooling yourself and supports a corrupted system. Why should we? The more people realize the vicious cycle, the sooner we will get out of it, so why not start now? There is really no excuse in using disposables other than “I am a person that does not use brain power”.

By: A

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 21:35:43 +0000

There are many cases where ziplock bags are just more convenient, because they take up less space. However, I reuse bags as much as possible. It’s really simple to wash them out afterwards, and I don’t understand why more people don’t bother. If a bag is no longer usable for food, I downgrade it to use for some other, non-edible, purpose.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:10:29 +0000

Trent, this was a great article!! As someone who is sick and tired of basically throwing their cash in the trash on disposable products, all of these suggestions make complete sense. It’s amazing how many ideas not only save a person money while contributing significantly to bettering the environment. Bravo!

Ever since I found out you were a fan of cloth diapers, I’ve been itching to let you know what a wide variety of cloth alternative products are out there besides diapers. For the Swiffer mop and duster lovers, the internet is teeming with cloth replacements. This is true for the Clorox mop as well. Just check out websites such as eBay, Amazon, and Etsy (a crafter’s website for the handmade and commericial products available.

Another product I’ve not seen you mention are cloth menstrual pads. Much like cloth diapers, most of them are as easy to use as disposables. Laundering them is a snap and quality pads will last for about five years, saving both money and the environment in the long run. Once they have tried cloth menstrual pads, most women I know have not gone back to disposables, either, because the cloth version is so much more comfortable. When you find a quality brand of cloth menstrual pads, they also serve well to manage light incontinence problems, replacing disposable Poise and Serenity pads.

Typing “cloth menstrual pads” into a search engine will help you find these products easily. This leads me to wonder why I have not seen these products for sale anywhere besides the interent. What’s up with that?

By: Nick

Nick — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:26:29 +0000

Most of the list I agreed with, except the tissues and paper towels. Reusing tissues would be rather disgusting to me personally. As far as the paper towels, you left out the cost of detergent, water, gas/electricity, and the time you lose from actually washing them.

By: Carol

Carol — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:09:17 +0000

I use the swiffer cloths – but don’t toss them. Once a month/every other month I throw the used ones in a lingerie bag and pop them in the wash with my throw rugs. I do use the dryer afterwards, and then just pick off the big balls of lint, cat hair and stuff that forms. Fold them up and put them back in the box. I purchased a big box of swiffer cloths (the dry ones) when swiffer first came out; it’s still half full of the new, unused ones! I only throw out the used ones when they’ve lost their weave.

The way I see it, ziploc, tinfoil, plastic wrap, swiffer cloths – no one really said they were for one use only, right?

By: Denny

Denny — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 01:53:57 +0000

I find this it worth replying to this comment: >>>no way in hell I will ever stop buying pads and use reusable cups/pads. *shudder* <<<

I just can’t understand this point of view. My cup is much more comfortable than tampons and simpler and less expensive – and I don’t have to pour it out as often as I’d have to change tampons.

Does anybody use anything reusable as a substitute for toilet paper? I find that toilet paper is the single most likely reason I have to go grocery shopping. Almost everything else can wait, but tp can’t.

By: MrsMoney

MrsMoney — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 01:04:09 +0000

How about cloth toilet paper? http://ultimatemoneyblog.com/extreme-frugality-family-cloth

I know some people actually do this and like it! Crazy, isn’t it?

By: Marci

Marci — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:45:32 +0000

I got the swiffer free at a garage sale, bought one box of refills, and said no more :)
But… A kitchen towel or old hand towel ties just fine onto the swiffer base and works just great. Flannel cloth also ties on well, or can be sewn to fit with velcro.

Then the cloth goes into the washer.

I like the shape and form of the swiffer for my laminate wood floors. It just does a much better job on them, less streaks etc, than a cloth mop. As is great for small spills or quick clean ups after the grandkids are over.

I’m with you on all the rest. When I do use a Ziplock occassionally tho, I wash it out, hang to dry, and place in the freezer. Odd place to keep them, but it works for me :) Garage sales are great places to find used, but in great shape, tupperware etc. sometimes 5 or 10 cents each!