One of the primary things to look at when you’re working on getting out of debt is where you spend your money.
Where are some areas your money is going that you could make with ingredients you already have at home?
All you need is to buy some extra supplies like citric acid and lye and adding it to oils you likely cook with (olive, grapeseed, coconut or nearly any other plant based cooking oils), water or milk (or even coffee) and you can make cold pressed soaps. You can also use lye to make cleaners- lye is a dangerous chemical that can cause burns, but once the soap is processed, it’s safe to use. All soaps have had lye in the beginning.
Citric acid is what is typically put in bath bombs to make them fizz. There are subs if you don’t have citric acid.
Mixing coconut oil with shea butter, cocoa butter or any other natural plant based butters
Shampoo is another needless expense. All you need are a few ingredients from your kitchen and you can make shampoo and conditioner (or a conditioning rinse). I tried the “No Poo” method for about 4-6 months a few years ago. Baking soda and apple cidar vinegar didn’t work long term for me, but everyone’s hair is different. The Apple cider vinegar rinse was amazing, I still do it occasionally. After one rinse (I didn’t bother measuring, just used roughly half a cup of apple cider vinegar and filled the rest of the container with water, poured it over my head after washing my hair, waited a couple seconds then rinsed it out- it left my hair soft and fluffed up.
Produce can be grown. You may not have room to put all your normal foods, but some veggies can easily be grown from inside your home or in containers outside.
Herbs are easily grown in containers by your window or on a sunny sill. They don’t require tons of maintaince and seeds cost less than jars at the store.
Napkins, paper towels, even feminine hygiene and toilet paper are all available. Look up “unpaper towel,” “unsponge” or even “family cloth” and you’ll find reusable napkins, paper towels and toilet paper. All you do is keep them in a bucket and wash in your washer and you can say goodbye to all those paper products.
With products like the cup and cloth pads, even feminine hygiene products can be made or purchased less frequently.
Bread, rolls, buns all cost. All you need is the internet and you can easily replace any breads or you eat regularly for less money.
Store bought microwavable and other convenience foods are more expensive due to the convenience. There are easy meals to make in just a few minutes or batch cooking is also good- on a day off, cook for the whole week and freeze for later use. This also works well for staying on track while you’re at work.
These are just a few small changes you can easily make to replace more expensive items with homemade versions. Depending on your skills, you could even take up woodworking and make your own furniture, decor or anything else. It all depends on how far you’re looking to go.
What changes are you making or have you made?
DIY MOMMY 