8 Great Household Money Saving Hacks

A lot of people complain about the cost of living and how much the household budget costs, yet few people do anything about it. Before getting trapped into thinking that nothing can be done, there are some really great ways to save money on household expenses. Sometimes there is a little effort involved, but it is usually reasonable. Most of these hacks also work in any industrialized nation. If you struggle to pay for the household budget, you might consider some of the following.

Laundry detergent

While it isn’t particularly difficult to make homemade laundry detergent that works even better than store-bought, at a fraction of the cost, it does take time and effort, usually. However, if you normally use liquid laundry detergent, you can save a substantial amount of money by simply switching to a powdered version. A bottle of liquid laundry detergent is simply powdered detergent with water added. It cleans no better than powdered soap, but you are actually paying a substantial amount of money for the water. 

If you like the convenience of liquid detergent, no problem; just mix your own. Simply fill a gallon jug or empty liquid detergent bottle three-fourths full of water. Add two cups of powdered detergent, stirring while adding it but trying to avoid vigorous action that will cause suds. This process is easier in the water is hot, but not boiling.

Easy laundry detergent alternative

You can make inexpensive laundry detergent that is much cheaper than store-bought, mostly because it contains no fillers or additives. It does a better job of cleaning, it is safer, and it saves money. To do it, simply mix washing soda and borax. There is no complicated formula, either, since the mixture is 1:1. That is, mix one cup of washing soda to one cup of borax. Neither washing soda or borax is especially cheap, but the amount used in the wash is far less than what is usually used when using store-bought detergent. Use one tablespoon of the mixture for a small load of clothes, two tablespoons for a medium-sized load, or three tablespoons for a large load. This mixture has more cleaning power than commercial laundry detergent. All name-brand powdered laundry detergents contain 50%-75% fillers or more and the fillers do nothing to get clothes clean.

All-purpose cleaner

People often spend a lot of money on all-purpose cleaners that can cost between $2 and $4, or even more, for a spray bottle full. Mix your own and save money. To do this, mix two cups water, one cup rubbing alcohol, and one tablespoon dish soap. Pour this into a spray bottle and you’ll have your own all-purpose cleaner. If you want an extra strength version, simply add 1/2 cup of distilled vinegar. To use it, spray it on, let it sit for a couple of minutes, then wipe it off.

Drying clothes

The amount of energy that goes to a clothes dryer can be large and can really cut into the household budget. Anything that cuts the amount of energy that is used ends up saving money. Using dryer balls is one way to cut the energy that is used. Dryer balls can cut drying expenses by 25%. You don’t even need to buy dryer balls since you can make your own. The link above is to an article that shows how.

You can save even more, though, by investing in a clothesline. Hang the laundry up and let them air dry. People are sometimes surprised that clothes will even dry when the air temperature outside is below freezing. It doesn’t work very well if it is raining or snowing, but using a clothesline and hanging the clothing to dry can still save as much as 90% of the cost of running a dryer.

Sanitizing agent

Forget buying products advertised and designed to simply “kill germs on contact”. Instead, use a 50-50 mixture of distilled vinegar and water. Vinegar sanitizes, kills germs and bacteria, and even kills mold and mildew. If the problem is especially bad, use straight vinegar. This is a very inexpensive sanitizer, it is non-poisonous, and it leaves a fresh scent as the vinegar dissipates. If the smell of vinegar bothers you, just add a tablespoon of lemon juice or a few drops of essential oil of your choice.

Recycling bath and hand soap

Through use, bath and hand soap gets smaller until you are left with small pieces that seem like they are impractical for use. Don’t throw them away, though. There are a couple of ways they can be used. One way is to run them through a blender or food processor, then to put the shavings in a container, adding just enough boiling water to cover them. Let them sit for a day or so, then stir, and you have liquid hand soap that doubles as dish soap.

Alternately, the soap bar remnants can be put into a mismatched sock (we all end up with those, right?) and tie the top. Put this soap sock next to the tub and use it to wash with. The shavings can even be used in place of laundry detergent. 

Many places, such as hotels, give away complimentary travel soaps that are really too small to be of much use, and these can be used in the same way as the leftover pieces of bath and hand bar soap.

Weight the produce

If you buy 10-pound bags of potatoes, 5-pound bags of oranges, or similar pre-bagged fruits and vegetables, how often do you weigh them? Many people don’t think about this because they figure that there must be 10 pounds of potatoes in a 10-pound bag. This might sound reasonable, but a bag that is labeled as containing 10-pounds of produce may contain much more. The label simply means that by law, it must contain at least 10 pounds. It could contain quite a bit more. You can get more produce for the same price if you weigh the bag and choose the heaviest.

Refrigerator cleaning

People normally clean out the refrigerator periodically, which is a good thing for keeping food sanitary. However, they often don’t think about cleaning under and behind the fridge. When you clean the inside of the refrigerator, pull it out and vacuum the condenser, coils, and under the fridge. The extra effort saves money. Dirty coils and condenser not only put a strain on the fridge, they also increase energy usage. You can save up to 20% or more of the cost of running the refrigerator by simply keeping the coils and condenser clean. At the same time, you’ll extend the life of the refrigerator.

These are only eight hacks that can lower household expenses. You can save money and the effort that’s involved is usually minimal. If a person has plenty of money to waste, none of this is important, but the funny thing is that I have yet to meet anyone who has so much money that they aren’t interested in saving on the household bill. The above are eight ways to do it.