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I have, for decades, used nothing as a personal soap except Mexican products like Zote or Lirio. They come in big one-pound bars for about a dollar, and are very close to the expensive pure soaps that are sold at craft sales. They are manufactured for laundry use by Mexican women who hand-wash the family laundry in a pila or in the river, but are perfect for shower, shave, and shampoo. My ex-, who was a hairdresser, said it was the best thing she had ever used in her life to wash her hair.
Are these soaps available all over the US, or just in Texas? How many bars of regular commercial soap would equal a pound of Zote or Lirio? I can usually get Irish spring soap for as low as 44 cents a bar when on sale.
I sleep in my car, saves at least $40 a night. Sleeping in my car saves $10 a night just on the room tax, which is why I have to look for a place every night where the police won't find me and run me off. It's called "stealth camping".
My friend's daughter has a mattress for the floor of her van (Dodge). She also has a sleeping bag. Generally, they look for places which allow RVs to stay overnight (like Walmarts) or truck stops... the money they save on trips is generally spent on a really nice place to stay about once a week.
Well, I bought a cheap brand awhile back and it doesn't dissolve worth a darn in cold water, which I wash most of my clothes in. So that one was money wasted. But I'll use it up in warm/hot water (will not wash towels and underwear in anything but hot).
Laundry soaps have gotten expensive. I've slowed down on my laundry because of it, although now it's never caught up.
I had the same experience with the cheaper laundry detergents. They don't dissolve properly in cold and/or hard water and leave a film on the clothes. I use a more expensive brand now, but I cut down on how much I use since like many others, my clothes aren't really DIRTY, they just need the body odor removed. I, too, wash my sheets and towels in hot water because of germs and dust mites. I also use bleach. I never buy anything but white sheets and towels. That way you can replace worn-out components of the sets and everything still matches.
I also find I CANNOT get the dishes clean in my dishwasher (and, yes, I do pre-rinse them) using the brands that are supposedly good for the environment. I would certainly prefer not to pollute, but not at the price of having food stuck on my dishes. I'll stick with Cascade for now, keeping in mind I don't have to use as much as I used to think I did.
just go to a hotel and hang around the housekeeping cart. when the housekeeper is busy cleaning a room, clean the cart out of the little soaps, shampoos and lotions.
Ummm, that's not frugality. That's theft. And one of the reasons hotels are as expensive as they are. Certainly the items left in your room are yours to keep and factored into the price of your room. But stealing from the hall cart? Do you know how many hotels these days have hall cameras and security to monitor them? You're going to end up in a very special FREE hotel room called municipal jail.
A trick for the dishwasher (in addition to using a quality detergent) is one I learned when I had someone come out to "fix" my dishwasher. It wasn't getting the dishes totally clean. My dishwasher wasn't broken.
He said that it's important to run the water at your kitchen sink until it gets HOT. Also make sure that there is no foodstuffs sitting in your garbage disposal before you run the hot water or run the dishwasher.
This trick affects the dishwasher and allows the dishwasher to get it's hot water faster, more efficiently. The leftover water in the bottom drain area of your dishwasher in between loads is cold. That water is there to keep the seals properly wet. You want super hot water flowing through the pipes and into your dishwasher, and running the kitchen faucet until it turns hot is the trick.
He said to do it twice.
Once before turning on the dishwasher, and then again, right before the rinse cycle starts (if you are home). Kind of a tedious thing, but I can attest to the difference...it DID work! My dishes got much cleaner and no residual gunk or smell. And yes, I use Cascade (he said use the gel).
I also find I CANNOT get the dishes clean in my dishwasher (and, yes, I do pre-rinse them) using the brands that are supposedly good for the environment. I would certainly prefer not to pollute, but not at the price of having food stuck on my dishes. I'll stick with Cascade for now, keeping in mind I don't have to use as much as I used to think I did.
I have heard from people that own dishwashers that for those types of dishwasher detergents, prerinsing is the problem. Theses types of powders rely on enzymes and for enzymes to work there needs to be something for them to work on. Prerinsing takes it away.... therefore they don't work.
Sometimes I think I should have put a dishwasher in when we did the remodel, but most times I think for just us two, handwashing is fine. Especially because if I zonk myself out over a meal, hubby gladly takes over the dishes.
Perceived convenience and the spoiled princess icky factor. Just plain not willing to get down on their knees and dirty their hands to scrub out a toilet or even just to wipe it down with windex now and then.
(Windex does a terrific job on china)
The basic day to day that anyone really needs is rather limited:
Bleach, Laundry Detergent, Window Cleaner, Liquid Dish Soap.
99 percent of the time bleach is not necessary. I use Distilled Vinegar on almost everything and the high acidity (5%) will kill virtually every germ imaginable. My dh and I make our own laundry soap.
People who spend money on things like Swiffers, amaze me. Such a waste of money.
Just plain not willing to get down on their knees and dirty their hands to scrub out a toilet or even just to wipe it down with windex now and then.
I worked in housekeeping for several years and I can tell you that the ONLY way you can clean a toilet properly is on your hands and knees. I don't care how much chemical soup you spray at it. Unless you get down there with a RAG and wipe it clean, it's dirty.
20yrsinBranson
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