Goodness we buy so so so many household products weekly & monthly and just waste our money.  In this post I am going to be discussing 10+ items I stopped buying which started saving our family over $100/month in the long run.  Initially it may be an investment if you don’t have some of these items but if you look at it for years to come you will save tons of money.

So I’m giving you my two lists below! The first list itemizing things I no longer buy and the second list provides you all the ingredients you’ll need to create all your homemade items and STOP wasting money every year on store-bought items that are also unhealthy for your family.

1. Starbucks: Now it’s okay breathe. Take a deep breath in and slowly exhale.  I still get Starbucks once in a while but I stopped my morning routine after I had my kid. $2.5/cup of coffee + $3/scone = $5.5/day which equals roughly $123/month and $1,400/year!!  Now multiply that by TWO if you and your partner BOTH do that. Yikes.  Only going once in a while SAVES YOU ALMOST $1,000/YEAR
2. K Cups: Again, breathe deeply for me.  K Cups were costing us about $40-50/month!! I now buy a LARGE 4 pound bag of awesome fair trade coffee and it lasts us a whole month. And it’s only $12.99. Yearly K Cups: $600 | Yearly Ground Coffee: $144.  YOU SAVE $456/YEAR
3. Paper Towels.  I stopped buying paper towels and instead I bought a large bag of car rags from Costco. They cost me $14 for 52 rags.  You can also use old towels and just cut them up.  I keep them in a drawer in the kitchen ready for use.  When ever I need a paper towel BAM I just use a towel. You’re welcome Earth. Stop buying paper towels and you save $160/year!
4. Laundry detergent:  I know I know…but it is SO easy to make your own laundry detergent.  It last 10x longer than liquid detergent AND all the ingredients you have to buy will easily last you longer than a year. {Click Here for a Recipe on how to make laundry detergent} I used to buy laundry soap 6 -8 times/year from Costco. It cost me roughly $80/year.  Making your own laundry soap you need 1. Borax 2. Organic Soap 3. Washing Soda.  All of which will cost you $12 and the whole lot will last a year.  You save $65-$70/year.
5. House hold cleaners: Throw them all away. Yuck.  Bleach, chemicals, GMOs…bye bye. I use Thieves Oil Household Cleaner.  Thieves oil is an all natural disinfectant and antiviral without all the yucky extras you get in other cleaners.  Thieves can literally clean anything.  One bottle of Thieves household cleaner (28 oz) will make 120 bottles of cleaner…so it lasts forever? Maybe. It can be used to clean anything and it costs about $28/bottle.  No more glass cleaner, 409, bleach, all-purpose cleaner, bathroom cleaner, kitchen cleaner, carpet cleaner! Thieves Oil Household cleaner is an ALL IN ONE and it disinfect AND is safe for your family.  No brainer.   So for $28 you get roughly 28 oz. Use 1oz (a cap full) of the cleaner to 30oz of water (a traditional cleaner bottle size).  That way this one bottle will last you over a year AND it cleans everything from the floor in the bathroom to the carpet in the living room and your windows 🙂 If you want to buy it click here or email me at homemadehandbook@gmail.com all in all I stopped buying everything 409, Windex, Resolve (carpet cleaner because I have a dog), all purpose cleaner, bathroom cleaner, shower cleaner! It’s all gone. I replaced it with an organic natural plant-based cleaner and I couldn’t be happier!! Not to mention it gives me piece of mind that my daughter doesn’t have a chance to ingest unhealthy chemicals
   

   Thieves replaces all these AND more!

6. Hand sanitizer:  Antibacterial should be a thing of the past in your home.  Google it! You should research the negative effects of using antibacterial hand soaps.  An all natural alternative is a couple drops of thieves oil, water, and salt mixed together in a small 2-4oz spray bottle.  Carry that with you to sanitizer your hands 🙂
7. Water bottles:  STOP buying them. They are terrible for our Earth. Did you know last year alone we purchased enough water bottles to wrap around the Earth like a thousand times.  I use hyperbole but still. Yuck. Buy our own reusable water bottle!! Guess what? Water is FREE.
8. Hand soap: I still buy soap but only by the bar.  I purchase Mrs. Meyers Basil bar soap and I boil it into a gallon of water, with 2 Tablespoons of glycerin, and use a cheese grater to grate the bar of soap.  Click Here for the directions!
9. MEAL PLANNING! Stop going out to dinner because you are too tired to cook!! In the long run this could potentially save you $500-$1,000/month!  Instead meal plan. Meal planning allows you to schedule your meals and purchase only groceries needed to cook. That way you waste zero food and save money! Win Win!  Click HERE to view my meal planning. I’ve done all the hard work for you! So start saving today. ALL of the meals I provide you with take less than 20 minutes to get on the table.
10. Reusable items: To go coffee mugs | Lunch bags | Plastic sandwich bags
    1. I stopped using paper to go coffee mugs I bought at Costco (which may seem like common sense but it was easy and I didn’t care)
    2. I stopped using paper lunch bags and bought my own HUGE lunch bag ( I eat a lot ). Better for the environment & I save money 🙂
    3. Plastic bags for snacks and sandwiches.  I stopped buying those to save a small amount weekly. Instead I simply purchased different sizes of Tupperware and I use those.  Better for the environment & saves me a lot of money 🙂

I could really go on but these are just a few things we’ve stopped purchasing monthly and have cut our expenses down about $124 dollars/month. Which is awesome. That money can be used to pay back debt and if you don’t have debt you can save it!

1. Washing Soda —-> bought mine at target for around $4
2. 20 Mule Borax —-> also purchased this at target for around the same price
3. Ivory soap —> Costs around $3 for 8 bars and it will last you all year-long
4. Essential Oils —> I use essential oils in every thing I homemake for my house.  I only use therapeutic grade.  I suggest if you want to start using essential oils in your home that you do the same.  A quick google search will show you why.  Unless essential oils are therapeutic grade you should not be inhaling or placing them topically on your skin or your children.

That’s all 🙂 I hope this is helpful for your homemade ventures.  Please feel free to email me at homemadehandbook@gmail.com for any questions or comment below and I’d love to chat!

Love,

Jen