My Favorite Hacks

I should probably write a little bit more on the topic of hacks and frugality. It’s something I speak about on a regular basis, but when it comes time to write, I freeze up.

Lol, imagine that! An introvert freezing up!

I guess I always feel like it’s going to be something that’s been said before or something no one is interested in.

But I’ve caught myself this week thinking, “I should add that to a blog post” more than once. So I thought I’d give it a try and see what happens. If it helps just one person, I’ll be a happy camper 🙂

Refilling Your Hand Soap Dispenser

I love those neat little hand soap dispensers. You know the ones that work like a lotion bottle, with the pump top? However, I was beginning to think it wasn’t worth it for the price of refills. I mean, bar soap is definitely cheaper, even if it’s not too cute.

However, during this past summer, we had a LOT of company. So I went ahead and put my dispenser back out, but found that it was almost empty. While at the store, I happened across a huge bottle of bubble bath for a dollar! Well, huge in relation to the soap refill bottles I had been buying.

Since I knew we were going to be using it a lot, I went on and bought the bubble bath and WOW, was I surprised! Not only did it lather like no other hand soap I’ve ever tried, but the aroma (I had chosen lavender) just stayed around forever.

Ever since then, the ONLY thing I buy to fill the dispenser is bubble bath.

In Lieu of a Soap Dish

I can never keep a soap dish. We have a bird that has the run of the house and he almost always shoves things like that off in the floor. I can’t tell you how many I’ve lost in the trash!

So, instead of using a dish, I now use an old cloth. Another of my “frugal habits” is to cut up old socks, t-shirts, jammies, etc., that have holes or stains that make them unusable. I had always stuffed them away to clean with, but one particular day, I thought I’d just try using one as a soap holder.

It works great. There’s an added extra though, that I hadn’t thought of until it came time to change it. You can use it to clean the sink or tub! Since it’s already saturated with soap, just run a little more water over it, and you can clean your whole sink area before tossing it in the wash!

Where has THAT idea been all my life?

Onions In The Fridge

One thing my mother always warned us about was putting an onion in the refrigerator. She said it would make everything in there smell and taste like onion. And sure enough, it’s not the most pleasant thing in the world. Even wrapped in saran wrap or aluminum foil, the odor seems to eke out into everything!

One surefire way to stop this is to use a glass jar with a lid to save your onions. I always save our salsa jars and jam jars and whenever I cut onions, if there are any extra left, I just put them in the jar and tightly close the lid. It stays super fresh longer than it normally would, and there’s no smell! That’s a win-win, right?

For a Nice Smelling House

Anyone who knows me can tell you I have a strong aversion to any kind of “off” smell in my home. I’m a candle and incense person, for sure! But sometimes, I find myself without either, and in those cases, normally, I panic! However, there’s something better than panic.

For a quick, fresh-smelling house, simply pour a little vanilla extract into a ramekin or something about that size that’s also over-proof, and stick it in your oven on the very lowest setting. In about 20 minutes, your whole kitchen and then most, if not all, of your house, will smell wonderful!

Another way to accomplish pretty much the same thing is by taking several rinds from citrus fruit and placing them in a pot. Cover this with water and then set to simmer on your stovetop. You can use any citrus fruit. Also, if you’re not going to be peeling several at a time, you can always save your peels in a freezer bag or plastic container in the freezer until you have enough and then simmer them. They’ll still work just as well. And if you want a little something extra, you can always add a little vanilla extract, anise seed, or some other aromatic to the simmering water. The sky’s the limit, it’s all based on what you like.

What To Do With Dryer Lint

This only works if you like to camp or do some other outdoor activity like bonfires 🙂

I save all of our dryer lint, usually in an empty dryer sheet box. Once you’ve accumulated quite a bit – and we all know that doesn’t take long – you can take it and stuff bits of it into the sections of an ice tray. Then, use melted wax – you can use old candles, broken crayons, and the like – to pour over the lint. Pour slowly, so it doesn’t splatter and cause a burn. Then just pop them in the freezer.

Once they’re frozen, you can pop them out and save them in a freezer bag (no mo freezing is necessary, however) and use them for fire starters. They work great and smell great, and just one will work for a pretty good-sized bonfire. It can save you quite a bit if you use a lot of those fire-starting logs. I know they’re not cheap!

In Closing

I hope that you’ve found a little tidbit to save away for yourself. What are some of YOUR favorite ways to cut corners? If you have a tidbit of your own, feel free to share in the comments so we can all benefit 🙂

And have a great day!