Being Creative = Saving Money!

I just saw a great tip from one of Savings Lifestyle's readers, Gina: Once you have used a dryer sheet for its intended purpose, use it as a cleaning rag! Then, when it is all nasty with grime, you can just throw it away.

Being creative like this can really save you money...and help the environment. You are "being green" in TWO ways at once - multi-tasking!

Other ideas:
-Don't throw away a container without giving it a look and trying to find another use for it. I like to keep those Clorox wipe canisters to store personal care items in. Once you get a few, rip off the labels, write what's inside with a Sharpie, and place them next to eachother, it looks like you spent big bucks at The Container Store! I use them to store rubber gloves, cotton balls, razors, etc.

-Reuse bread bags. All they had it them was bread! Put your sandwich you made for lunch in there - or use it in place of saran wrap for leftovers. Do the same with produce bags.

-A couple years ago I ordered a bunch of photo cards from SeeHere.com for free. I created Holiday cards from their templates, but I did not include any photos. Now when I order photos I'll make a collage of smaller pictures for each photo and then cut them and glue them on the blank SeeHere.com cards (which came with envelopes!). It may sound like a lot of steps, but it's really easy and ends up looking really cute!

- tear baby wipes in half. When you get a new package of wipes, go ahead an cut the wipes in half. You can tear them individually or you can cut a stack of them down the middle so they can still be used in a pull up container. For babies at least up to 1 year of age, a half a wipe is plenty, especially when you are just freshening up the baby after changing a 'wet' diaper.

- Take your half-used shampoo, conditioner, and bar soaps home from hotels. They are obviously just going to be tossed in preparation for the next guests, so why not pack them? Just dry off the bar of soap and wrap it in some toilet paper for the ride home.

- Reuse tissue paper (not toilet paper!). It takes less time than you think to fold the paper and store it all in a gift bag for future gift wrapping adventures. Good on the environment as well.

-Cut cotton balls in half. To remove eye makeup, do you really need a whole cotton ball? Maybe i dont wear enough makeup.

- Take home the remaining bread in your table's bread basket with your leftovers. It will just get thrown in the dumpster (or so we hope), so you might as well enjoy it with tomorrow's lunch!

-water down juice as much as your taste buds will allow. Not only does this make the juice last longer, but it is healthier, too! BTW, props to you if you can stand diluted orange juice!

-Give very few birthday cards - handmade gift tags serve the same purpose and are simple to make. I save cards that were given to me and cut them up for tags. Just holepunch one corner and loop through a string or ribbon. Or, as a celebrity recently mentioned on tv, you could buy a nice card but sign it on a sticky note that says please pass on to a friend of yours". While this isnt a savings for you, you pass on the savings and reuse materials.

- Consider modifying a pet costume for your infant to wear on Halloween. You can buy greatly reduced pet costumes at TArget after Halloween at 90% off (they arent hot ticket items).

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