What do you do (other than couponing) to save some money?

[cutenirish]

hang wet clothes to dry
water flowers/veggies with water from the dehumidifyer
use the A/C window units as little as possible use the fans as much as possible
use those spiral light bulbs
turn off water when brushing teeth
don't flush for #1 every time you go
resure gift bags
make bday cards
use comics to wrap gifts

[wallacla]

sorry, might seem too extreme. I had a grandmother who lived through the depression, (didn't they all) and she made a big impression on me as a new bride.
I still:
wash tin foil off and reuse.
Rinse out ziplock bags if not too mucky
iron tissue paper if not torn and resuse.
Save all bows and bags at Christmas.
I try not to wig out my family by telling them not to rip paper or anything like that and I won't resue something that looks bad; ripped, worn, crushed bow, etc. But I will freshen and recycle whenever possible. I think just as much for being frugal as being horrified by the waste sometimes.
I notice that my DD will now iron ribbon and resuse. YAYYYY

[kurlisola]

You know those green scrubbies for dishes. They are about 4x6 inches? I cut them into 3 or 4 strips. Makes them last longer & I don't have to through away an entire large one when there is guck on it.

I cloth diapered with my first two children & will do it with this next one as well.

Once dh gets a line up in our backyard, I'll start line drying clothes again.

Thats about it for now. Once I start feeling better, I'll start working on being frugal again:-)

[SavingEye]

wash tin foil off and reuse.
Rinse out ziplock bags if not too mucky
iron tissue paper if not torn and resuse.
Save all bows and bags at Christmas.
I try not to wig out my family by telling them not to rip paper or anything like that and I won't resue something that looks bad; ripped, worn, crushed bow, etc. But I will freshen and recycle whenever possible. I think just as much for being frugal as being horrified by the waste sometimes.

My mother in law reuses the paper... not one, not two time but 4 times... there is one that is so wrinkle you can see through it... I do wash the ziplock bags... I work on the Chemical Plant and we make the PolyEthylene of those bags and I know how Cheap it is compare for how much we pay for the bags... I feel stupid paying so much for so little.

[MrsPinecone]

Off the top of my head:

• Slowly switching over to compact flourescent light bulbs
• Vacuum the coils on the fridge every couple of months to keep it working at peak efficiency
• Follow DH around the house turning off lights
• Started a compost heap to cut down on the amount of trash the house produces and enrich the garden for free
• Don't do a load of laundry unless it's full
• Cook for leftovers
• My extended family ALWAYS recycles gift bags-- it's gotten to be a family joke!
• Recycle FoodSaver and other plastic bags

[mama22qts]

Wash full loads of clothes, try to wash in cold whenever possible.

Use my coffee grounds and leftover coffee to condition the soil in my garden

Use way less detergent than the box/bottle says to use

Hang clothes to dry as much as possible

Turn off lights behind children...seems like I do this all day!

Have leftover night at least twice a week

Iron clothes instead of sending them to the dry cleaners, except for dh pants, suits and dress shirts which require heavy starch.

Combine errands to do several at one time, conserving on gas.

[cutenirish]

Great ideas!!!!!!!!!

I also cook for leftovers and reuse giftbags and tissue paper if it's not awful looking-- i just used a gift bag from my bday in April for a bday this past week and i'm using another one i got last month for a gift tomorrow :) It's DH's bday Monday and he we are celebrating his bday tomorrow! So he'll get the green sparkly giftbag thats in the dinning room for his gifts LOL!

[Jusk]

Carpool to the middle school for DD so I only drive every other week.

Re-gift when possible

Buy off season as much as possible ( I stockpiled Yankee Candles last Jan for this xmas)

pay bills online to save postage

reuse printer paper to make copies of rebates and things like that

save on AC bill by using gas grill more in the summer...keep thermostat up when no one is home and all blinds closed...to conserve cool air....

Use window shade in windshield of car....so it does not take as long to cool down...( can you tell I live where it is hot??)

got all of extended family on the same cell plan so all calls are free...I literally do not pay for any long distance anymore

save castoff clothes and household items all year to sell in a booth at Rummage Sale to raise money for DS to attend Band Trips (I have to pay what we don't raise)

Only attend movies right after a meal so no desire for popcorn or soda

Buy double school supplies in August to restock in January

[cutenirish]

Great ideas keep them coming

[queenofthehivemomof5]

Make my teenager walk, or ride her bike so that I am not wasting gas driving her everywhere!!!

We are switching to compact florencent bulbs (great find..my DH works at Home Depot and he keep his eyes out for discounted packs of these bulbs. He says that the 6 packs will often have 1 broken bulb in them and they sell them for like $4 for 5 blubs!!)

Grow my own herbs (I used to garden but I dont now I just have a herb garden) this saves me BUCO bucks...even just growing a big pot of basil has saved me $ this season because I have made 10 cups of pesto for less than $1 a cup, and a cup of pesto at the store is a good $3.00 on sale here.

I buy produce in season and in bulk and store it (freeze it mostly but a little canning and drying too) Recently filled my freezer with fresh corn. I buy berries, bananas, green beans, tomatoes, apples, pears, peaches, etc.

Wash clothes in batches...I recently read that doing load after load is better because you use the residula heat left over in the dryer.

Set a LOUD timer for my laundry...because I will forget and then the clothes will go sour and I will have to rewash. My timer is very very loud and hard to ignore.