I was thinking the other morning (in the shower, again) about how we save money in so many ways every day… stuff that Karl & I have been doing for that long that we don’t think about it; thus it never makes a budgeting blog entry. So, I’m challenging myself to put together a list of 50 ways we save money in and around the house. Here goes!

1. We fitted groovy people-sensors in the bathroom and kitchen so that the lights only come on when there’s someone in there
2. We turn sockets off overnight or when they’re not in use
3. Vegetable offcuts are used as the bulk part of our rabbit/guinea pig’s diet
4. Any veg that the animals can’t eat is added, with animal bedding etc, to our compost heap – no money spent on improving soil
5. We grow our own veg (see above!) which means we have virtually no veg cost in the summer
6. We seed-save so that we can grow next year’s veg at no further cost
7. We have a water butt and various containers to save rain water for the garden
8. When our kettle died, we replaced it with a fast boil ‘energy efficient’ kettle (Philips HD4671/20)
9. We only ever boil the amount that we need
10. We boil water in the kettle before add it to potatoes/pasta etc because it uses less energy than the cooker top
11. We (and by which I mean I!) steam veg where possible over an existing pot being used to cook e.g. potatoes
12. We descale the kettle weekly to keep it fast boiling and efficient (damn hard water area)
13. We use white vinegar instead of commercial descaler which, bought in bulk, is cheaper AND more eco-friendly
14. We also bulk buy bicarb of soda, it makes a great cooker cleaner (amongst other things) – see Summer Naturals for more info
15. We use cloth nappies for the kids, most of which are on child 2, 3 or even 4
16. And cloth wipes/flannels too; from faces to bums and everything in between
17. I exclusively breastfeed my babies. Saves me upwards of £600 per year
18. We wean on to family food straight from my plate – no expensive jars of mush here
19. In fact, we avoid most of the baby industry altogether by co-sleeping, using a wrap sling instead of a pushchair and avoiding expensive classes and activities
20. I don’t use any cosmetics or special shampoos on my kids. Water is an excellent cleaner.
21. I don’t use any make-up, creams or special beauty products on myself either. Deodorant is my main extravagance ;)
22. I cook extra at most meals so that I have some for the freezer or lunch the next day – ready meal without the horse junk
23. I bulk out meals like spaghetti bolognese with a cup of lentils – adds an extra 2-3+ portions for just a few pence
24. Instead of buying expensive chicken breasts, I buy a whole chicken and get 4-5 meals out of it AND stock from the carcass
25. I make milk last longer by adding a cup full of cooled boiled water when the carton gets to half-empty
26. I make the milk last even longer still by not buying into the idea that kids need half a pint of milk a day; it doesn’t make evolutionary sense that we need the milk of another species to meet our nutritional needs. Instead I breastfeed through the 2nd year and give a varied diet high in calcium-rich veg etc
27. I freeze milk we’re not going to use straight away so that it doesn’t go bad before we can use it
28. I’ve started using dried milk for sauces etc where the taste is less important
29. I also water down my shampoo and shower gels (and I’m thinking about making my own)
30. I time my showers, aiming to keep them under 3 minutes.
31. I bathe the kids together
32. I dry laundry over airers and on the bathroom towel rail to avoid using the (expensive to run) tumble drier. Even running a dehumidifier to stop the house getting damp is much cheaper than the drier
33. I dry laundry outside in the summer, and use oval sock peg thingies to maximise drying space
34. Most of the children’s clothes have been bought second hand or used more than once (Oliver looks fab in a pink babygro)
35. I only generally buy myself new clothes when the old ones fall off
36. We got rid of our TV license and stopped watching TV
37. We ‘upgraded’ our broadband to get a lower price – regularly check on the packages that your suppliers (and their competitors!) offer to make sure you’re getting the best deal
38. We use comparison websites every year when renewing home and car insurances
39. We use Top CashBack for any qualifying online purchases
40. We try not to turn the heating thermostat above 19 degrees
41. And we’ve turned the water thermostat down to 50 degrees – we don’t need to bath the kids in boiling water!^*
42. We open up the dishwasher to avoid the expensive drying cycle
43. If we go to one of the bigger supermarkets, I raid the discount fridge for stuff I can freeze for later
44. I buy mostly supermarket value range stuff, with only a couple of exceptions (mayonnaise and loo roll)
45. I buy a veg box because it’s better quality and works out cheaper than foreign out of season supermarket veg
46. I re-use the cardboard trays in my veg box as biodegradable planters
47. I meal plan to make the most of my veg boxes too
48. We open the curtains as soon as the sun comes up and close them before it sets to make the most of the daylight (benefit of a south-facing house)
49. We have thick velvet curtains on external doors
50. I buy the cat food in bulk boxes of 48 instead of those tiddly boxes of 12

^* It’s really important that if you turn your water temp down, that every now and again you turn it back up and allow the water to heat through thoroughly for a day or two, to kill any lurking bugs. Karl will probably be able to give you exact temperatures…

Kudos if you got through all that! Virtual cookies if you can suggest even more?