Don't Throw Your Money Away!

In this challenge to save money (as well as be green), I have come to realize that buying the majority of disposable items is literally just throwing your money away...as well as disrespecting the resources that God has given to us on this earth.

We have not bought a single package of paper plates in close to three months. We haven't bought paper towels in about a month. We have found that our real plates are just as good as paper ones; better in fact. It involves a few more dirty dishes in the sink but not so many to be too noticeable. With paper towels I bought them for washing windows (found a new favorite product for that, which I will discuss soon!) and for pet messes. I used to have a few favorite rags that I would wash and reuse but never wanted to use it on pet messes because, well...ewww..., I don't want to rewash it! With three messy kiddos I have found the perfect solution this summer. I cut up all their stained beyond repair t-shirts, cut them into pieces, and stick them under the kitchen sink. When there is a mess I wipe/pick it up and toss it in the trash. It was something that was going to go into the trash anyway but had another use before tossing. These two substitutions are saving us at least $5 a month.

Another reusable cleaning tool? The Libman Wonder Mop. I am not getting paid for this review and I'm sure Libman doesn't even have a clue who I am; I just love this mop so much that I had to share!

For years I was buying a gross sponge mop at the Dollar store and tossing it after using it just once or twice because it got so disgusting after it's first use. It didn't even work that well but it was cheap so I put up with using that type of mop for years. When we moved to this house several years ago I noticed when washing the kitchen floor that the sponge mop was just squishing dirty water all over the floor. I purchased a Libman wonder mop for about $6 at Walmart and have been in *love* with it ever since. It works, is easy to use...and best of all...reusable!

The mop head is washable up to 50 times. I seriously bought my first mop 5 years ago, used just two mop heads in that span of time, and just recently had to buy a whole new mop as around the plastic that holds the mop head in place started to rust away. One mop and one extra mop head refill lasted 5 whole years?! That means in five years I only spent around $10 on mop purchases! As opposed to a new $1 mop several times a year. I consider that a bargain, as well as a way to reduce waste.


Later this weekend I will be posting some of my natural cleaning recipes!