8 Ways to Save Money in Your Home

Posted by Wisebread.com on November 21, 2008 1:04 PM PST

Tags: budgeting, environment, finances, money, saving money, widebread.com

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Here are eight small changes you can make in your very own home that will result in easy savings! The best part is that you’ll be helping the environment too. Everyone wins!

1. Use cloth towels

It is amazing how many paper towels we can use up, and just for small cleanups or to dry our hands. It doesn’t help that they keep making each sheet bigger and thicker. Buy a pack of cheap terry cloth towels (you don’t need soft fluffy ones) and have them on hand to dry your hands after washing the dishes or to wipe up the counter. Then throw them in with your laundry and reuse.

2. Get Dryer Balls

These non toxic Dryer Balls are great. Clothes are soft and fluffy without needing to use chemical and fragrance laden dryer sheets. They cost less than $10 and should last for years. It also reduces drying time, which will help with lower your energy bill.

3. Take off your shoes

I learned at an early age that I had to ask friends to remove their shoes when they came to my house. They probably thought my family was strange, but I always thought it was strange that they’d walk around their home with their shoes on. Even now, I cringe when I see people on TV lie on their beds with their shoes on. Consider where those shoes have been! You step into public restrooms and onto streets layered with motor oil. Pick up this habit of removing your shoes upon entering and you’ll find that you’re no longer rubbing grass stains out of your carpet or vacuuming dirt from your bed. Less mess means lower costs.

4. Turn down your water heater

It takes a lot of energy to keep that water heater operating, especially considering how little we actually use it. Most of us have the thermostat turned up higher than we need. You save 3%-5% in energy costs for every 10ºF you turn down on your water heater. Most standard settings will have it at 140ºF but you should be able to get by comfortably at 120ºF. That can cut your bill up to 10%!

5. Stop buying specialty cleaners

There’s a cleaner for everything. If they could, they’d try to sell you a different cleaner for cups and plates. But it’s mostly the same thing, and usually it’s the old fashioned stuff that works the best anyway: vinegar, baking soda, and mild dish soap. You’ll be surprised how a little warm water and mild dish soap does the trick on most stains – even on your clothes.

6. Wash clothes in cold water

Speaking of clothes, you don’t need to set the washer on “hot” to get your clothes clean. About 90% of the energy used in a clothes washer goes to water heating. Heavy stains can be pretreated before going into the wash. Not to mention, cold water helps prevent color bleeding. This helps your clothes keep their vibrant colors longer, and there’s no need to sort!

7. Air-dry your dishes

Turn off the “heat dry” setting in your dishwasher and let them air dry. It uses hot water to wash, so the interior of the washer remains pretty hot anyway. Your dishes will dry in no time without needing the extra blast of heat.

8. Get supplies and toiletries for less

Everyday items often get overlooked in the budgeting process. It makes sense to comparison shop when buying pounds of meat, but discounts on toothpaste and toilet paper might not be worth the additional effort. However, since these are items you use every day, considering the costs is just as important. There are many ways to save on these items, including free samples and finding the clearance boxes, especially if you’re not particularly picky about the exact brand and type. Don’t let convenience make you lazy about saving on these essential items.

This is a special guest post by Lynn Truong of Wisebread.

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45 Comments

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Great tips. These seem like small things but they add up, I am sure. I plan on following several of them. We all need the extra money right now.

Good tips on how making small changes in your everyday life, can make a difference.

Thanks for the awesome tips! People never seem to realize how much the small things add up. I've long since stop using paper towels, it's always nice to see it appreciated! People tend to forget the simple things when "going green".

These are some good simple tips that people can follow. Though I do not understand how removing shoes will help save money in the household. I see this more as a time saver but nonetheless still a great tip. Less cleaning always makes this mom very happy!

Thanks for the great tips! I often feel I am surrounded by people who are throwing money away on every little convenience that comes along and never counting up the cost, so this is right up my alley. Almost all these tips have been used in my home for years, but there was a new one & I appreciate that. I will recommend this blog to some young married couples I know.

Great tips, especially the one about taking off your shoes in the house!~ The only one I didn't find helpful was the tip about the dryer ball. I've tried one and they don't work!

These are some great tips. I had no idea that simply washing my clothes in cold water would save that much energy. I'm definitely going to try the dryer balls as well. Thanks!

Thanks for the advice. It seems with all the advertising inundating us that we tend to forget the simple solutions. I'm always open to new ways to save money especially in this economy.

These are really good ideas that I have not even thought about. I didn't even know about dryer balls until I read your blog. Making your own cleaner and air drying your dishes are very simple ways to really save a little bit of money. A Penny saved is a penny earned. Great advices. This is pretty unique list and I'm totally happy you wrote it.

Thank you very much for this post! A few of these things I try to do myself (taking my shoes off, air drying dishes, etc.), and a few of them are things I really need to start doing. These are tough economic times we are in, and I really appreciate any advise that helps me save in any way I can!

These were great tips - a few I already put into effect (like one cleaner for everything) and others I think are great ideas and hope to try them out soon. Great job. We all need to save cash this holiday season and it's the little things that really add up.

These are great tips! I am definitly going to try and put some of them to good use.

Good recommendations. I plan on trying out a few of them, like the dryer balls and turning down the water heater. I already wash clothes with only cold water and that helps a bit.

Great post, and timed perfectly! I don't believe I know anyone who isn't looking into how to save a little money this winter. With our economy officially in a recession and the Christmas shopping season upon us I believe your tips will certainly come in handy. This is a time that calls for financial discipline and your ideas will get us off to a great start!!

This is a very good blog. I especially liked the linking you used in your post. I thrive on freebies, so I always respect others who believe in the power of them, also. ;)

Great blog! I wanted to comment about the paper towels in particular. You are so right. Just a few days ago, I took notice of how many I was using. It's unbelievable how many I was going through while cooking a meal. Every time I washed my hands, I grabbed a paper towel...every time I spilled something, I grabbed a paper towel. Before long, half the roll was gone.

this is a fantastic blog, especially concerning the toiletries. by refusing to pay full price for paper goods or toiletries, and stocking up when it's on sale AND i have a coupon, we save so much money. i love when people are preaching thriftiness in this time of real financial turmoil.

Love it! I am always looking for ways to save!

Thanks for the great ideas. I love the free samples idea, I love to get free samples in the mail. Thanks!

These are some very good ideas. I have to say, I am totally with you on,"take your shoes off" one! That is one of my biggest pet peeves too! The same goes for socks. I feel that socks should certainly be taken off before getting into the bed.

I do have a hard time with using towels. They tend to stack up rather quickly, especially because we do not have a washer and dryer in our apartment and must go to the laundry mat. We do our best though! I wish this were some how easier, but buying paper towel is not the solution, I have to agree!

This are very simple and somewhat obvious, but not things that we always think of. Thanks for the ideas!

Great tips on saving money someof them I knew already but like the cleaning one I thought they were the best and if you buy the cheapest they wouldnt work, I guess I was wrong I am surely going to start shopping for the cheapest items now.

quite a list. and most seem to be without additional costs. however, i'd like to say that swapping your incandescent lights with compact flourescent lights can save a lot of cash in the long run. In addition gettin timers and dimmer switches and low output/flush toilets. always great to think about saving money!

All great ideas and I do many of them already. I was surprised to see that you did not mention switching all of your lighting over to LED or CFL lighting. That will save you a lot of money. For example, I just read that if you light a holiday tree for a month using traditional mini-lights, you will spend about $30 extra bucks for that month; however, if you used LED lights for that tree, you will spend less than $1 extra for that month. They may cost more upfront, but the savings over the life of the bulb is amazing!

All of these tips are so true. Some people can be so anal about dises air-drying, they claim that bacteria grows on them. I wonder what they did before dishwashers came along? Crazy how lazy the world can be sometimes, and it's even more hilarious the excuses to back up their reasoning. I've always been the type of person that was a pro at saving money, especially during the holidays. I couldn't agree more with these tips. I wish you would've added more. Lucky for you, the commenters pretty much covered the rest. All in all, this is a pretty great blog. Well done.

I liked your ideas! Thanks for sharing. I have never heard of dryer balls but will check them out!

These are awesome tips! I am moving into my first home soon and will definitely be utilizing these strategies.

One thing about number 6, if you have one of those HE front loader machines it's not recommended to use cold water because if you don't dry it out properly it can cause mold to grow inside the washer.

These are amazing tips to save money. I especially like the tip to take off your shoes. I vacuum my house all the time and i bet i could save tons of electricity and time. I also like your tip on using cloth towels. I personally do the same thing. I constantly see my friends using roll after roll of paper towels and just laugh.
Thanks for the tips.

Great tips that are quick and easy. I never really thought about how gross it is to put your shoes on the bed because of all the dirt that accumulates on them. Yuck! I am going to turn down my water heater and start washing more of my clothes in cold water. Thanks for the advice!

Great post! Especially with the economy the way it is, every little thing done can make a big difference when it comes to saving money, Although I had heard some of these tips before, many were new and helpful ideas.

Thanks for sharing these tips. It's amazing how many things we can do to save. We will try all of these!

Great ideas! It's always a good idea to try to save money, but it's even more important with the state of the economy as it is today. The dryer balls really do work - I've used them, and I only paid $10 for a set of two. It may seem a little high for two rubber balls, but when you consider that you pay $4-5 for a box of dryer sheets that last a couple of months, it makes a lot of sense. Lowering the temp on the hot water heater works too. Look at it this way - can you plan laundry, dish washing, etc. so that you can lower the hot water heater and not need as much hot water at one time? Thanks for the great tips!

These tips are very useful! Some of them seem like common sense, but I never would have thought to turn down the heat on my water heater in particular. Also, while washing clothes in cold water is good for the reasons you mentioned, it does not kill dust mites and allergens as well as hot water, so for people with allergies (like me), it makes more sense to cut costs elsewhere and save on antihistamines.

I never really stopped to think about how removing your shoes saves money, but you are right!

I do agree these tips would really help you you to save considerably.The basic concept is that small things add up. I can't follow certain tips given in this article ,though.

I think we can follow some of the tips given by the author. I personally some tips are not worth to implement. But overall I think we can save a considerable amount if we follow these tips.We can't compromise some comforts that we are presently enjoying for money.

These are all such great ideas I'm going to start doing this.

there are a lot of hidden cost in the homes nowadays. this will help if you plan on making it through tough times!

Good article. As the mother of a large family, I already have some of these in place, but I will check out some of the others, especially the one about the dryer ball!

Saving money these days is always something that attracts my attention, so I clicked on this blog. We need more of these for sure. Turning down the heat a few degrees, limiting the soda pop by drinking water instead, and foregoing the weekly nights out at restaurants or fast food places are a few other tips I can add.