Regardless of your income, everyone could use a little bit more of saving their money, which is a stress reliever once the money is saved. While most people agree that saving money is hard, these small life hacks will save you money and make your everyday items last just as long. These frugal life hacks are straightforward and will save you enough money to be blown away by the savings that accumulate.
1. Hang Dry Your Clothes
Hanging your clothes to dry them will save you money for a few different reasons, one being that your clothes will not shrink. When you hang the clothes, the heat from the dryer shrinks the clothing, which means you cannot wear them as long. To pair with that, the dryer also rips up clothes and puts massive wear on them. Additionally, the dryer is not used as much since you are hanging the clothes instead of ruining them through the dryer.
2. Freeze Your Candle
As many of us did not know, freezing a candle can help you in multiple ways. For candle lovers, freezing them will make them smell better since the scent gets to settle, and the candle will also last longer. They will burn a lot more slowly and efficiently.
3. After freezing it, Store Flour In The Freezer
Storing flour is extremely helpful, with multiple beneficial factors. The process of freezing flour will kill off all pests and bacteria that may be living within the flour. Not only will freezing the flour kill pests, but freezing it will also preserve it for a long time, even up to two years.
4. Cut Your Sponges In Half
This is a simple trick many of us do not use: cutting the sponge in half to preserve how long it will last. Many of us will use a whole sponge, and by a few weeks in, the sponge will be all nasty and moldy from sitting out, and you will have to throw it away. By cutting the sponge in half, you can use the other half once the first part becomes gross and smelly.
5. Use Less Detergent
When using most types of detergent, whether dishwasher or laundry, less is more. Using a few drops of soap will preserve the soap for a lot longer but also do the same job as using a lot of drops. To pair with that, when you use a lot of detergent for laundry, your clothes may be ruined by all the soap that gets into the fabric.
6. Let Your Soap Dry
Like a sponge, when the soap is not dried properly, it will soon become musty and disgusting. To prevent this, letting your soap property dry after each shower or hand wash will not only preserve the soap for a longer period and save you money but also prevent it from carrying any bacteria or disease.
7. Dry Your Razor
When done shaving, most people will just put down the razor and carry on with their lives, when in reality, this is just hurting you. Once again, when an item does not have a proper time to dry, bacteria will grow and leave acne and other nasty things on your face. Also, drying the razor after each use provides a more extended use since the blades will not rust or become damaged.
8. Cotton Swab For Lipstick
To squeeze every last bit of your makeup out of the container, using a cotton swab or Q-tip can be beneficial to get your money’s worth. Doing this allows you to scoop up every last drop of your makeup by swabbing the bottom of your lipstick and then applying it back onto your face. Since the cotton swabs are sanitary, they will not cause any harm to you.
9. Store Shampoo Upside down
Getting your money’s worth out of products is extremely important, and by storing your shampoo upside down, you will maximize how much you get out of the bottle. To pair it with storing it cap side down, when the shampoo is out, you can refill it with a small amount of water, giving the shampoo more life.
10. Clean Your Appliances
Most people will neglect and ignore this chore, but by doing this, you are helping yourself in more ways than you think. To start, this will eliminate plenty of bacteria, which will help you with sickness and overall food safety. Along with killing bacteria, cleaning these expensive units will preserve the appliance as long as possible.
11. Remove Hose In Winter
Removing your hose during winter is vital to keep it intact if you live in a cold area. When you remove the hose during these cold months, the hose is then stored in a warm place so the outer and inner layers do not freeze over and crackle. Along with keeping the hose working, this also prevents unwanted critters from entering the hose.
12. Keep Your Roof Clean
A simple task many people will neglect is keeping your roof clean with regular maintenance. This may involve you going up there to remove moss since moss carries moisture, which can get heavy and weigh down on the roof. You do not need to hire someone to do this; all it needs is a routine check.
13. Clean Your Shoes
A routine clean on your shoes is all they need to last a long time, just doing a few cheap things. Cleaning your boots is not complicated; you only need to throw them in a washer with a towel and wash them on delicate. Let them air dry outside to prevent shrinking; this will also keep them from getting damaged in the dryer.
14. Soak Your Windshield Wipers In Glass Cleaner
A unique hack that most people do not even consider, soaking your wipers in some glass cleaner is beneficial for keeping them for a long time and the most effective use. By soaking them in glass cleaner, the wiper blades absorb a lot of the liquid, which, when used, provides a much smoother and more efficient product.
15. Mouthwash For Flowers
Pouring a small amount of mouthwash or liquor will provide a much happier set of flowers. The alcohol is absorbed by the flowers, which will now bloom much better; they will be more colorful and blossomed. Be careful not to add too much alcohol to the flowers because too much will hurt the flower, and it will die.
16. Revive Dead Batteries
Something which most people do not believe in, but reviving your old batteries and getting every last drop of power out of them is vital for saving money. The process of saving batteries is simple; all you need to do is put them on a table and roll them back and forth many times, and you will now have a little more life out of them.
17. Break Your Bananas
Bananas tend to rot very fast, which annoys those who buy them in bulk. Something to prevent how fast they go would be to separate each banana individually, which will let them breathe and ultimately last a lot longer. Another way to preserve bananas is to freeze them since they will thaw nicely.
18. Wash Your Berries With Vinegar
A simple thing that many of us know to do but still refuse to do it for no apparent reason. Spraying or washing your berries down with vinegar will extend their lives much longer than you would think, with the vinegar providing an extra layer of protection. Along with the bananas, another way to preserve them would be to freeze them, which go well into a smoothie.
19. Wash On Cold
Preserving your clothes is vital, especially the pricey ones or the shirt you like. Washing your clothes in the cold will prevent them from bleeding from clothing piece to piece. To pair with that, this will also save your water heater by not having to provide nearly as much hot water as before.
20. Reusable Kitchen Towel
A massively crucial part of the kitchen, everyone makes mistakes and drops some liquid on the ground from time to time. This is an instant panic to grab paper towels and waste money, but using a reusable cloth in the kitchen is vital to keep money in your pocket and preserve the paper towels.
21. Meal Prepping
A dreaded task for many, meal prepping is one of the best ways to save money and your weight. Meal prepping lets you know how much to make per meal, which will keep you healthy, and having adequate portions will save you lots of money since there is minimal wasted food.
22. Change Filters
While there are many filters to change daily, keeping track of when to change them is massive for your pocket and keeping your air conditioning in good tact so you do not have to replace it. Changing your filter is a simple chore, but it must only be done in a few months.
23. Keep Paint Containers
Keeping an old paint container is simple as long as you are storing it in a safe area. By saving each paint container, if a touchup is needed around the house, you do not need to go through the process of figuring out which paint you now need, along with not having to buy a whole new paint can. So, as long as you can store the paint somewhere safe, this may save you a lot of money, along with being able to do touchups.
24. Remove Salt From Shoes
When winter time comes around, and salt starts to be put onto the road, our shoes and boots become coated in the white salt. Not only is this not appealing to look at, but salt will also eat up your shoe and the overall color of it. Removing the salt is not complicated; you only need water and a tower.
The post Stretch Your Dollar: 24 Hacks to Extend Everyday Products first appeared on Career Step Up.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Rob Hyrons.
The content of this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute or replace professional financial advice.
For transparency, this content was partly developed with AI assistance and carefully curated by an experienced editor to be informative and ensure accuracy.
