I have been opening my dishwasher door not only to conserve energy but also to speed up drying, super hot dishes dry faster. Allowing me to empty and put away dishes quicker. I mentioned this to a friend and she laughed. Well I was in Lowe’s not long ago and noticed they now have a dishwasher by Bosch that the door automatically pops open when the rinse cycle is complete. Not crazy after all. 😉
I hate pulling out wet dishes after running high heat so definitely going to try this. It happens allot bc I often need to open before it’s done anyway (or my kids do) so thinking I’ll just turn the heat off and pop it open
You are so right about the small changes making a difference. Dozens of them, grouped together, helped to get me out of debt! I turn my heat OFF before going to bed. My pipes are well insulated so I don't have to worry about them freezing. I pile on the blankets and stay plenty warm all night - for free!
The last couple of months I've been shutting my hot water heater off at the breaker. It's electric so I don't have to worry about a pilot light so this wouldn't necessarily work for gas. I've learned that it only takes about 15-30 minutes to heat it enough to take a shower and about every 2-3 days I run the dishwasher so I leave it on for about 30 minutes to get it hot enough to run the dishwasher and shower.
My mom gave me a tip many years ago. When buying bath towels do not buy the big and thick ones. The regular size will fit more in the wash load and will dry faster.
While you can't wrap it around your whole body, I have found I really love to dry off with cotton receiving baby blankets. They are soft, very absorbent, and they don't pill up. I hang them up and they dry quickly. They also make excellent dish towels. Often I can find them reasonably priced at thrift stores.
Its true. I have just regular ole towels and have no issue washing and drying. My daughter's washer went out and she had to do laundry here but has big THICK towels and it took more loads and longer drying.
These videos are absolutely amazing. And I love how you include your viewers in your videos and everybody's working together as one big frugal family learning from each other.
My former next door neighbors never cooked using their oven or stove top after the man lost his job. He turned the backyard into a garden and used their grill for everything they ate. Even after he returned to work when Covid restrictions were retracted. It really helped them with their food costs and electricity with 3 kids
For those first time gardeners, don't forget to save seeds from your favorite heirloom tomatoes. Simply scoop out the seeds, spread thinly in a paper towel until dried, store in small storage bags or envelopes, be sure to label. Saves from buying seeds yearly. Cheers!
Well, my grandparents immigrated here from Sweden back in the early 1920’s. They both worked very hard and were extremely frugal. This is nothing new. 🤷🏼♀️
@@lizadivine3785 My parents were frugal and didn’t have to be, so they used that extra frugality to be able to take all of us on trips to Europe and Asia 😃 And the wealthiest of people are actually quite frugal just look into Warren Buffet 😉
@@cjhoward409 that’s true but my parents weren’t constantly obsessing over the economy. They stimulated it. They owned a business. Anyone who is worried about our economic future is already poor. And we are being FORCED to pay those who are giving future generations DEBT with their idiotic out of control spending.
After 25 years, our stove/oven finally bit the dust. Many new stoves have an Air Fryer built-in. I always wanted an Air Fryer but never wanted yet another small appliance on the counter. Problem solved with the new stove and it's Made in the USA. Cheers.
I recently installed the heat on demand water heater....my monthly utility bill plummeted from $250.00 monthly to $65.00....incredible!!! I live in Florida....I love your show...keep up the good work.
Putting a hot water bottle into the freezer with water. Once frozen use it to cool the body when putting 😎 it behind your back. I did it recently and it lasted 5 hrs. Blessings Maria 😊
Hi guys i'm from the Uk 🏴🇬🇧❤️ Single mamma, I never use fabric softener for towels, dry outside not always possible with Uk weather so drying racks and i'll use my dehumidifier, buy cheaper brands in the food shop, Laundry and cooking meals for the freezer late evening for cheaper bills, no car costs, Xmas coming soon 🎅 looking for half price sales, black friday I follow the want and need rules for presents no unnecessary spending, Wrap gifts in recyclable brown wrapping paper and tape, we use stamps, string to make look pretty, buy half price biscuits and chocolates, sweets after Halloween, always use my points card when doing the food shop we have the club card here for Tescos store, points add up to £ which I save for the xmas food shop x
Hiya, I live in Belgium. Yellow stickers are really a godsend. Just freeze and eat it later. I do try to cook as much as I can from scratch. And I start buying Xmas gifts (or birthday gifts) on sale.
Got a laundry tip that I read in The Tightwad Gazette a quarter century ago but never tried out until recently. Put a dry towel in your dryer with the wet clothes and they'll dry faster. I finally tried it last weekend and this weekend and it does work. The clothes dry at least 5 minutes sooner, which doesn't sound like a lot, but it's 5 minutes of gas and electric that I don't have to pay for with each load.
I wouldn't do it either. I save money in many other ways, I'm willing to spend a bit more for a HOT shower. Maybe according to Hope, it's not truly a luxury since it loosens up my shoulders. That helps me to be able to tackle my work better for the day. Although I still need the coffee that I might have been able to skip if I had a cold shower. It's still worth it to me.
Overly warm showers aggravates skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema and strips your skin of natural oils . I take tepid showers. So just warm enough to not cause goosebumps. I also only do a full bath once a week. Which saves heat and water.
I save water by getting wet, turning the shower off, soaping up, turning back on to rinse. Also, in and out in 5 minutes. I have a watcher. My dog puts his head in to watch. I've told him it's creepy. So better to go fast.
When I did use the dishwasher, I would turn it off when the dry cycle started, open the door just slightly, let the steam escape and the heat fill the room. In the dry Colorado climate you can steam your face...getting the dishes done and getting a facial at the same time. ~Debby
Thank you for your tips!! I reorganized my daily living tasks so I was able to complete them outside the high peak, high cost period which was 4pm to 9pm. So now I start cooking dinner at 3pm and finish before 4pm. Another example is the new household rule is that laundry has to be done before 4pm or after 9 pm. The lowest charge is between 12 am to 6am. So a load of laundry might be thrown in at 5am and coffee is brewed at 5:50am. I have challenged myself to keep busy with other tasks besides eating dinner during the high cost period such as going for a walk, washing the car, watering the front and back yard and cleaning the house so the television stays off. The drop in the electric bill was immediate!
Lucky you for having a power company that encourages low peak incentives. Unfortunately my city doesn’t do that. Don’t know why. They are always asking the public to use less power during peak hours. Shame on you CPS in San Antonio, Texas. I’m calling you out.
One of my best money saving tips is using the washer and dryer after 9pm and before 10am. Makes a significant difference in my bill.I also unplug all of my chargers when not in use, and I unplug my microwave and other small appliances when we go away.
Same. Those unused small appliances draw power even when not in use. But I also rarely use my dryer. I hang everything outside. Our denim lasts much longer too not getting beat up in the dryer.
When doing my laundry, each time the washer runs through the cycle I reset the washer to spin and spin out more water before putting the load in the dryer. Then the load will dry faster.
I keep my dehumidifier by the washer and dump in the water to use on the clothes. Years ago, there was a wonderful newsletter and book series called The Tightwad Gazette. The suggestions were amazingly helpful (and some pretty out there. lol.) The freezer soup idea saved me one time when we had zero money, and I had two kids to feed. In high school I had to make a solar cooker and it was pretty easy to do. Works well if you have hot or sunny days.
You have forever changed my nosy crock pot peeping. I knew it was not a good idea, but I was forever peeping at my soup or beans. Note. My money saver is I cook in the crock pot in the basement in the Summer and save on electricity on air conditioning on main floor.
Thank you for all the tips! I backed down my water heater to 120 from 190 😧. I replaced our outside flood lights with a solar light! I went around the house to unplug everything I wasn’t using. All my bulbs are now LED. I wash only on cold water. Turned off the heat dry setting on my dishwasher. I will be doing some more hacks to be frugal soon! I also signed up to get your checklist in my email! Thank you so much!
I used to work on charter boats in the Caribbean. Rice with lunch? water boils, add rice, water boils again, turn off and set timer 15 minutes. Lived in an RV (by frugal choice) for a year or so. Used my collapsible huge clothesline I used outside at the home I used to own IN THE RV to dry. A/C dried things almost as fast as a dryer! And a word about the kitchen if you eat chicken of any sort that has bones: save all the bones in a quart or gallon bag in the freezer. Save remnants of onions and other aromatics. Load in crock pot for an additional six servings of chicken soup or broth. Vegetarians should do this too with anything you're going to toss. Put it in the crock pot and make broth and THEN toss the rest in the compost pile.
Lower electricity by cleaning dryer vents,lint trap very well. Also,run vinegar through the washer to remove rust,limescale,etc. Same with a coffee pot.run vinegar through it once a week.more,depending on how much coffee you use.it will work. To clean drains,baking soda,vinegar,boiling water.cheaper than draino ,or liquid plumber,and non caustic
When our traditional 55 gallon water heater flooded the laundry room (ruining the appliances) we replaced it with a tankless/on demand water heater. We immediately noticed a $10.00 savings on our natural gas bill. This month, we also saved nearly $50.00 in electricity because we invested in new water saving energy efficient appliances. :)
If you have an electric water heater, invest in a timer that is 7 day/24 hr. The 7 day allows for a different weekend schedule. With the 24 hr time you can schedule 2 period of more with the hot water turned off. Sleeping 10pm-6am and if house is empty during the day 8am-4/5pm. This should save about 67% of your hot water cost daily M-F. Saturday/Sunday will vary.
@@UndertheMedian we also have a propane tankless hot water heater.. It really lowered our electric bill.. We have had it for 5 years with no repairs.. Had it cleaned.. Our electric bill is $146 budget plan with $84 budget for propane.. I recently got a statement from Dominion that in our area we are using less electricity than others but want to reduce it more… Love all of your suggestions.. I use wool balls in the dryer.. Use Dawn and always water it down-usually 50-50… Still plenty of soap.. Shampoo, liquid hand soap, liquid bath soap I add water.. Use white vinegar a lot to clean.. Use Dawn on clothes stains..
@@carolecoffman4276 , I was just reading something yesterday about using Dawn to pre-treat stains on clothing. Makes sense since it's really designed to break up grease and dirt.
I use a hay box/thermal cooker. My electric slow cooker is sulking on top of the freezer collecting dust! Now I know a hay box really works if I have to cook any other way I feel resentful about all the money and fuel I am using. I can even make my favourite macaroni cheese in it!!😁 Its quite nice looking and I keep it in the bedroom. It looks like a small blanket box.
In preparation for our 50th anniversary trip in October, I looked for small amounts of extra money in our budget to add to the anniversary account that I had set up. We were pleasantly surprised how small amounts of coins added up to many dollars. When you made the statement in this video about how small changes do add up, I was cheering you on because small changes do add up and make it possible to save for extras in your life. Thanks!
@@UndertheMedian We are going to Eureka Springs, AR to start with and then moving on to other sites in other northern states {if they are open to Texans.}
one tip on the dish detergent, use a pump bottle like you would for hand soap, fill it with the dish soap and keep the large bottle under the sink. stretches the dish soap out a long way :)
I especially liked this video. Hope, your zest for life is contagious. And Larry is your perfect counterpart. You remind me so much of me and my husband and things we did during the Seventies as newlyweds to save money during the gas crunch and recession. Shutting curtains to save on AC was done even way back in 1960 (or maybe a few years earlier) when my family first got AC. And doors. We kids would run in and out the back door and Mom would yell, “Shut the door!”
I have done three simple savings tips for my life and I realize now I am saving approximately 500 dollars a year. The oven is a hard one for me. I am going to try not using the oven to just cook one food item. This is my next small goal! You are right small changes makes big resultes! Gina in lights
I make my own biscuits, cornbread and usually have two items at a time when I use the oven. In hot weather I use my toaster oven. I save 10$ per month on lower cell phone plan.
When leaving for vacation I go to the electrical main panel and turn off the breakers for stove,washer,dryer,dishwasher, microwave,and bedroom areas, TV and stereo surge protector and unused lamps are unplugged also during vacation time.
I live in South Tx, where we had 57 days of triple digits this past summer. I purchased blackout curtains, place them on all southeast to northwest windows, used portable fans in the kitchen, dining area, night stand and raised my ac temp by 2-3 degrees. My Electricity bill went down 19%. Now I want to get those power surges with individual on/off switch. I add Pinesol to my smelly dirty laundry and add a bit less of my laundry detergent. Now I also want to try make my own detergent, your subscriber who made laundry detergent super low is my new mentor. Thank you for all the tips.
Get the foam pumps for hand washing. You can refill them with about an inch of any dish liquid and water. Soap your hands thoroughly before you even turn your water on.
Love all your tips! We live in home HOA, no clothes line allowed. We hang our clothes on a rack in garage. My daughter used cotton, heavy bed pads & they dry in our 83 degree garage. I get crock pot liners from pan savers. They have a strong elastic band & truly helps my crock cleaning. We run washer after 10 P.M. We unplug everything not in use. Unfortunately, Fla. does a " average of all homes!!! Block out curtains work great. Daughters room gets so much sun. NOT ROOM DARKENING!!! BLOCKOUT!
Hi I love your show and so much Free help. Dawn dish liquid. Is great at killing fleas. My daughter and I volunteer in cat rescue. All must have a dawn bath upon arrival at our home. One of our cats got into oily poison. She had 3Dawn baths asap like an hour. She lived and is fine 12 years later
Tried cooking the pasta as suggested by bringing it to the boil then turning off the cooker and leaving it for 20 minutes and it will cook on its own. It works perfectly.
Such a good list. I heard news that in 90 days things will be harder on every household and it has been presently, or in our past(this is the last week of March ‘22)
I use my All American Sun oven often. When I lived in Southern California, it quickly reached 350-375, but when I moved to Idaho, it only gets up to 325-350, but does so even in the snow. I just leave it out to cook a little longer. It’s awesome. I’m glad I bought it years ago because they are a lot pricier now, but still worth every penny.
Omg I need one cuz I saw it and I was like yeah if I would have known more about solar I would have gone with solar instead of gas stove. Im a bit 🦥 slower than most I'll admit.
An awesome invention is the wonder bag designed in Durban South Africa 🇿🇦 it isulates a pot of food after its brought to a boil and cooks for 5 hours without using any electricity whatsoever.
Yes, they're brilliant, and buying one supports women's charities too. I grew up with a home made one of two wooden boxes inside each other with hay packed in-between. It did the same thing, but didn't look as nice.
I use the method you mentioned to hard boil eggs. I may not save much money, but I save my pans. I always forget the eggs and burn the pan. I enjoy your videos .
On the COLD SHOWER comment.... Just yesterday I saw a video by Dr. Eric Berg called “What happens after 14 days of cold showers”. The benefits (which include losing weight) are insane! So I just found another benefit to cold showers! Thank you guys...y’all are amazing!
I saw an interview by a woman who used a power strip in every room for lamps, chargers, etc. Before she left the house each day she unplugged the chargers and saw electricity savings.
Hi Hope and Larry. I absolutely love your videos ! I'm currently binge watching many of your playlists with notebook and pencil in hand ! Here's a tip I haven't seen anyone suggest yet. I stretch my store bought dish soap. I use an empty foaming handsoap bottle. Fill it 2/3 - 3/4 with water, then add the store bought dish soap. Don't shake it but turn the bottle, repeatedly to mix. I buy the 90 ounce bottles of Ajax dish soap from Walmart for $4.57 each. That one bottle has lasted me and my husband up to a year ! It's just the two of us, but it lasts my son and his family (7 members total), about 5 - 6 months. Thanks for sharing all of your tips and hints with us !
Add a tablespoon or two of isopropyl alcohol to the water/liquid soap mix and you’ll get foam like store bought. I do this to make my own refills for my dawn power wash.
Wow, absolutely fantastic video. Your work keeps getting better and better. Just when you think I've heard it all, you teach us something new. These viewer suggestions are awesome!
Pumice is great for scrubbing pot's and pan's does a brilliant job on burnt pot's and pan's when walking beaches or lakes pick pumice up they come in all sizes. Have some in the bathroom for your feet to scrub dirt or dry skin off, pumice looks nice in a bathroom maybe in a wooden bowl .Love your video's thank you 😄❣️
I grew up with my grandfather and step grandmother. She would cut old towels that had holes in them and cut them into squares. Then she would sew 2 together on 3 sides and fill them with small bits of soap that otherwise would have been thrown away then sew up the open end. We each had our own personal washcloths with soap already built in. I imagine today you could sew up the open end with velcro and continue to reuse and even empty the soap out to wash them.
I have a good one for y'all. When making hard boiled eggs clean them and then put them in pasta and cook them that way. The shopping bags cut in stripes and wind them then make a crochet scraper for dishes.
I actually use home-made citrus vinegar where your fabric softener compartment in your washer is....it sanitizes and softens your laundry--I also use those woolen dryer balls you talked about...it's awesome! Love the video! :) Very helpful! Dawn @ Rich & Dawn in MN :)
@@dewaynelyle5991Citrus vinegar I make with water, sugar and orange and/or lemon peels, let ferment, then strain-use vinegar to clean surfaces and then I use it as fabric softener.
Wonderful video. Packed with great money saving tips...I like the pressure cooker better than the slow cooker. It cooks faster, saves more energy and retains more nutrients. Looking forward to next week's video.
Another great set of advice! You are spot on guys and thank you very much. I would throw into tips… collect rain water and use it for example for flushing toilet or general washing. Cuts water bill by half. And of course… make your own bread. In England bread is around £2 for a loaf. Bread mix is £0.40p and you can make 2, 2lb loafs. Great video. Keep up the good job. ❤️
I have used the washballs. They do work. It was good for 1000 washes. You recharge them in the sunlight. They work fine. I would sometimes add Nellies laundry soda to it for extra cleaning.
@@reneejohnson5787 I guess I didn't put that too clearly. It sounds like a great idea. Seems like it would bash your clothes around in the washer which is similar to how all humans kind of traditionally cleaned clothing. I'd like to try them! Sorry I wasn't clear. :-)
@@nitanice I see what you're saying now. The little beads inside are made up of trace minerals, that's my understanding. The reason for the sunshine is that it sort of sterilizes them if you will. I think people are looking for more environmentally conscious products.
If I remember correctly you and Larry have SaladMaster cookware. They actually show how you can cook using the stacked method with those pans. High price but the pans are worth every penny. We love ours and everything comes clean easily . Because like you we cook without oil (also vegan or whole food plant based) our dishes could really could be cleaned with almost no detergent and just hot water. Great videos thank you Karen
I have been using the wash balls instead of detergent, and the wool balls instead of dryer sheets for 3 years. They are wonderful! I have saved so much money!
Love you guys! I have a solar oven and live in southern Oregon. I have made brown rice, baked potatoes, chocolate cake, homemade applesauce, roast chicken, bbq pork chops, and much more. The joy I feel when I cook something in it is priceless. And the food tastes so good. It is a Sun Oven and I bought it with my saved up tips from food service job about 7 years ago. One of my best purchases ever.
I've seen Sun Ovens advertised, but never seen one in use. Good to know that they are so easy to use. Our solar cooker doesn't get as hot as a Sun Oven, but since we're vegan we are never cooking anything with dairy, eggs, or meat. So, the lower cooking temps have never been a concern for us. I have to turn my unit to face the sun pretty often. It doesn't have the big aluminum "fins" like the Sun Oven.
Family dollar sells affordable but good quality black out curtains!! They also have a great $1 cleaning and odds and ends aisle at dollar general where you can get $1 items that now cost $1.25 each at dollar tree!!!
It you read the directions on the back of the laundry bottle, it tells you to fill to A or B that's on the inside of the cap, its about 2 to 3 tablespoons (depending on how dirty). I'm 60 & just learned this.
Just in the laundry section and had to comment on the washer balls. My husband does HVAC ( crawls under houses and in attics) and there's no way I could get his clothes clean without hot water and soap. The lady said her son's basketball uniform got cleaned, well that's sweat not grim! Anyway, love your channel and thankful for the great info!
We bought a large pack of cotton cloths from Costco auto aisle and use them for cleaning and as napkins. They aren't "cute" but they were inexpensive and clean easy.
I use soap nuts with a few drops of tea tree or lavender oil then hang dry. After they are done you compost them. Zero waste! Sometimes for really yukky things I add a tiny bit of soaker powder but that's pretty cheap at Coles. The small bags are about $16 here in Australia so a bit dear
I love watching the two of you and listening to all your great ideas for furgalism so much I have gotten serval of my family watching as well keep up the good work thank you
My tip is to wash your clothes LESS FREQUENTLY. I think in USA, many people wear something 1 x and throw it in the dirty laundry. Of course, undies get a fresh pair every day. Other than that, I suggest doing sniff/sight test. Does it look dirty? Is it stained? Does it smell? If not, hang it up to wear again. That's what I do in my house. I have stinky teen boys, so often with hoodies. THey aren't dirty, but can smell funky. I will turn things inside out and put outside for the fresh breeze to air it out. Then they can wear again.
Yep. I work at a computer. I don't really get my clothes very dirty. Why wash? I generally wear my clothes -- excluding undies -- two days or more depending on my activity. If it's not dirty, why wash it?
We planted hops rhizomes at the front of our house we’re the sun is the strongest and we have a poorly insulated window. It grows from ground level in early spring to over the roof before it gets hot out. Keeps our indoor temp low during the summer then we cut it back in fall so that strong morning sun heats our house all winter
I'm looking forward to the wattage/electric calculations for instant pot, etc! I use vinegar in my softener dispenser for towels and water down Downy 1/2 water in the bottle so anyone using it uses half. I got really nice 100% wool sweaters at the thrift store and took them apart and unraveled them to recycle the yarn. All the tiny pieces I couldn't use to crochet with I used to make dryer balls. I got one Virgin lambs wool sweater for under $4. So much yarn and several dryer balls from one sweater. Also if there are blankets at the thrift made out of nice yarn, I recycle it as well.
What a great list! The only thing I would say is: You are lucky if you can use Economy 7 or the equivalent where energy is cheaper to use at night. However, you need to balance this out with keeping safe. The government and fire and rescue services here in the UK strongly advice against using appliances unattended and overnight in case there is a fire, so for instance using the washing machine, tumble dryer, dishwasher while you are asleep.
I have had my pots 15 years. They looked terrible on the bottom. I used Bar keepers friend. Let the paste sit for 15min and use steel wool. Dunk in hot water and scrub. Repeat weekly until you can see an improvement. Save your pots still good.
I found Bar Keepers Friend when I moved to WV to take care of my Dad. He was a huge fan. That stuff is magical - it cleans everything! So far I have only found it in store at Home Depot, but I'm sure it is on Amazon as well.
