Comments on: Stop Wasting Money on Disposable Things

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 02:10:13 +0000

I’m a fairly frugal person in spirit, but this type of stuff always seems like overkill to me. In as much as disposables facilitate convenience and sanitation, I use them – they save me time so I can focus on increasing my own productivity. It’s not clear that using non-disposables is a certain improvement, I think it really just depends on how valuable your time is.

If you’ve really got nothing else going on or you’re extremely tight on cash, you definitely should scrounge. Otherwise, you should dedicate your time to improving your “long-ball” finances, like working for a promotion or a new passive income idea. If you’ve got a job and you work 40+ hours a week in addition to side income projects, just chuck stuff in the trash. The upside of using nondisposables is $300-400 a year on the outside and really won’t change much for anyone above the poverty line.

By: JS

JS — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:34:05 +0000

I love my rechargable AA batteries, but one downside I wish I had known about is that they are slightly fatter than non-rechargables (I use Energizer; maybe other brands are different). One of my most battery-sucking devices has you drop the two batteries into a cyclinder and put the cap on, and you turn it upside down to let them fall out. It takes a lot of effort to get the rechargables out, and I’m always worried that they will get stuck.

By: de

de — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 12:05:55 +0000

Our cleaning rags didn’t make the cut when we moved cross country, partly because we were still using them to clean the house when the POD was picked up. So Ikea has pretty nice kitchen towels for .49 each and I use them exclusively in the kitchen for draining fried stuff, wiping up, drying washed produce etc. Our washing machine is in the kitchen, so I just drop them in there after using them. Easier that hauling home and storing bales of paper towels.

By: Fawn

Fawn — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 16:37:15 +0000

Also, I have about 40-50 white rags I use for dirty things such as meat messes, washing floors and bathroom cleaning. I have a basket next to our wash machine that I put them in, and wash them when I run out. I don’t have a problem with them molding or smelling bad. I wash them by themselves, seperate from our kitchen and bath towels. (I think it is nasty to wash cleaning rags with kitchen or bath towels.)

By: Fawn

Fawn — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 15:37:42 +0000

I like to use the swiffer, but instead of buying the pads, I use a rag! :D Our house is mostly hardwoods and the entryway and bathroom are tile. I use Murphy’s Oil Soap in a squirt bottle. Works like a charm!

By: Steve in W MA

Steve in W MA — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 23:50:47 +0000

I read about a farm family in VT that even washes, dries, and reuses their paper towels. When I read it I thought for sure that it wasn’t possible to wash and dry a paper towel for reuse, but I tried it and it actually works! a paper towel will actually stand being gently cleaned, dried, and reused.

I don’t actually do it on a regular basis though, I’m just sharing.

By: ChristineWithRegence

ChristineWithRegence — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:24:48 +0000

Great tips! For ideas on how you can take charge of your health care costs, check out Whatstherealcost.org.

By: lynnie

lynnie — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 02:18:08 +0000

i have a swiffer vac; it’s rechargable and i only change the cloth 1-2 times a week. i don’t have to bend over to push things into a dustpan, which saves my back. it’s invaluable for me.

By: Elaine

Elaine — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 20:10:08 +0000

As for plastic bags, containers, etc. We are now using glass containers for food and stainless for a water bottle. Rethink the plastic thing. Check for BPA.

BPA is even in microwave popcorn bags. Just pop your own in a glass bowl with a little oil, around 6 min. Don’t forget to cover.

By: Elaine

Elaine — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 20:05:00 +0000

I agree with whatever it is to keep from throwing stuff in the landfill. Yes, it’s better on the budget as well.

You can all stop using fabric softener sheets/liquid and start putting vinegar in your rinse water. Think of the money you’ll save.

For cleaning we use vinegar, baking soda, and rags. That’s all. I even make my own detergent.

By: Pashmina

Pashmina — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 18:28:41 +0000

I was spending a lot on lotion kleenexes (also an allergy sufferer) but I bought a pashmina scarf and cut it into pieces to make shorter scarves and hankies.

Pashmina hankies are amazingly SOFT and you can hand wash and air dry them in the bathroom sink.

By: Steve in W MA

Steve in W MA — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 01:34:45 +0000

Those cheap ziploc vacuum bags that work with the manual vacuum pump work great for freezing meet, and you can clean them thoroughly, let them dry, and reuse them a a number of times. I think they are much less wasteful than standard freezer wrap, and are not nearly as expensive as buying an automated vacuum packer, while giving most of the results of the full vacuum packer. If you’re really concerned about bacteria on the reused bags (none of which would survive 10 days of being on a cleaned, dry ziploc by the way) then sanitize them in a 1% bleach solution before reusing them.

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. :)