Money saving on washing powder
 

My money saving tip to Jumbletown is washballs! I bought eco washballs at Christmas. You use them instead of washing powder. I have found them very good for washing all types of clothes except whites. I continue to use washing powder for whites as the wash balls contain no bleaching agents so the whites appear dull. If you have obvious stains you are better to pretreat but I got into the habit of doing that years ago! I find them excellent and at €37.50 see www.ecoshop.ie, I haven't needed to top up the balls with refills given yet - washing for a family of 4. The other brilliant thing is they are very good at prolonging the life of your clothes as they do not wash out the dye and also they are good for people with allergies. I have found less need to iron and you can shorten the wash cycle thereby cutting on water consumption win win!!! I bought my Mother some for Christmas and she too is delighted with them.

washing powder - If your still addicted to Bold, Daz, Persil etc Dunnes & Supervalu get the big boxes all the time for around €19.00 although I bought a cheap box of Supervalu Nice Price washing powder 4KG under €4. Got it for washing pet bedding but I chanced it one day on my clothes as I'm sensitive to most washing powers & I had no reaction to it. Tested it on filthy oily work clothes which the boyfriend kindly left me & it washed them every bit as good as the leading brand if not better!

Kitchen Roll- We buy in bulk usually 20 or more rolls for €7.50

Toilet Roll - You can get 40 rolls for around €9 - €12, most are of same quility as the leading brands

Saved a fortune compared to when I think back & remember what the shopping bill in the supermarket used to be!

Moonlight for lighting hallways etc
 

Another thing I did to save money was buy a moonlight! You plug it in and it can be used 24hours for a whole year and it will only use the equivalent of 50p electricity. I have one in our hallway and leave it plugged in all the time. It gives off a lovely green glow and means you don't have to leave a light on or keep switching on and off. They can also be used as nightlights for small children. I bought it from the following website which I love http://www.naturalcollection.com/nat...ers-page2.aspx

I think I also came across it on an Irish website but can't remember which one. Anyway I think it is a brilliant idea!!

It's on the ecoshop website as well - £9.95 on english website and with ecoshop it €11.95 (special offer by the look of it at the minute).

Where are you getting 40 toilet rolls for €9 ? Same for kitchen rolls?

fairyhouse Market,
Country Store in Clane
Other shops dotted around the place, any of them shops that look like over priced pound shops always have them, you know the type of ones that sell ornaments, garden bits, household items, toys, office bits & pieces etc etc

They all tend to stock the toilet roll & kitchen roll cos alot of them drive up north to buy the shop stock

I get 12 toilet rolls in centra for €3 and I like my comfort (if you catch my drift) - they're grand. Does anyone else here think that kitchen rolls are unnecessary? Waste of trees in my opinion.

When you have four dogs & one prone to sickness kitchen rolls are a must! And the comfort of the bulk t roll is the same as leading brands lol one you know which brand of the bulk to buy lol I wouldn't allow it into the house other wise lol

Credit Crunch Tips
 

In these depressing times one needs to do what one can to make life easier. With this in mind I have trawled the Internet for money saving tips for you all. ....The simple logic of these small changes. that all of us could easily make to our lives , is astounding.

TIPS FOR SURVIVING THE CREDIT CRUNCH

- Don't waste money on expensive iPods. Simply think of your favourite tune and hum it. If you want to "switch tracks", simply think of another song you like and hum that instead.

- Don't waste money on expensive paper shredders to avoid having your identity stolen. Simply place a few dog doings in the bin bags along with your old bank statements.


- Save money on expensive personalised car number plates by simply changing your name to match your existing plate. Mr. KVL 741Y,

- Don't waste money buying expensive binoculars. Simply stand closer to the object you wish to view.


- Save electricity by turning off all the lights in your house and walking around wearing a miner's hat.

- Housewives, the best way to get two bottles of washing-up liquid for the price of one is by putting one in your shopping trolley and the other in your coat pocket.

- Old telephone directories make ideal personal address books, simply cross out the names and address of people you don't know.

- Save on booze by drinking cold tea instead of whisky. The following morning you can create the effects of a hangover by drinking a thimble full of washing up liquid and banging your head repeatedly on the wall.


- Old people, if you feel cold indoors this winter, simply pop outside for ten minutes without a coat, when you go back inside you will really feel the benefit.

- Why pay the earth for expensive jigsaws? Just take a bag of frozen chips from the freezer and try piecing together potatoes.



- Make your own inexpensive mints by leaving blobs of toothpaste to dry on a window sill.

- Shoppers, when buying oranges, get more for your money by peeling them before taking them to the counter to be weighed.

- Mix tea with coffee, and leave in the fridge to cool. Hey presto! Toffee.

....and always remember....laughter is a great tonic and is free! :-)

Money saving
 

This isn't a green so much as just a money saving tip, and only really suitable if you live near Bray in Wicklow.

There's a new "discount" store opened called www.cheepcheep.ie The deal seems to be, order on line and then pick up in x days.

I haven't used it yet. I wouldn't see it as an option for a weekly or even monthly shop. They have a limited range, but they do have main brands at reduced prices. I can see myself stocking up on toiletries/dried goods say every 6 months.

Certain things work out far cheaper, e.g. special on can's of diet coke - 30 for 8:89 (30 cent each), versus Tesco's 12 pack for 6:69 (56 cent each). I just took this as an example.

A green/healthier example would be Bunalun Organic Fusili 500g - 1.07, or by two for 1.98 in cheepcheep versus 1.53 in Tesco's.

I compared a few things, all came in around a 25 - 30% cheaper. Though some brands I didn't recognise.

Note - Saw it advertised on www.cheapeats.ie which is another fun one, they list out all of the deals of the week for the different supermarkets amongst other stuff.

Money Saving Tips
 

After reading Unapam's tips..............I was paralysed with laughter!!! Thank you so much for that.

My own humble money saving tip - Skype - everyone should be using it.

In the last recession in the 80's I bought a cookbook called "Cooking on the Breadline" by Jo Hatcher. Then I realised that I could have written the book myself as I was already following the thrifty lifestyle taught to me by my mother. My mother's favourite sayings were "you can't spend more than you have" and "you must cut your cloth according to your measure" which is the same thing of course. I've always following her advice and it has always worked for us, especially with the amount of unemployed people in our house right now.

Just one more thing - like me, does anyone else miss Roches Stores? I am still feeling bereaved since it disappeared from Henry Street in Dublin. If anyone finds it would you please return it immediately.

Washballs correction!
 

In my previous post I put down the wrong price for the wash balls I bought. They cost me €11.78 for the Ecoballs 150 wash system and I expect them to last me in total with the top up provided about 9 months washing for a family of 4. I think that is brilliant value and as I said I am saving on rinse time therefore electricity, water and ironing! I would heartily recommend them to anybody especially people with sensitive skin.

Unapam I loved your tips. I tried the jigsaw with the frozen chips but had mashed potatoes by the time I was finished!!

wash balls
 

i find the wash balls are brillant for washing the clothes, just one problem i paid 152 in dunnes for 2 and last week i came accross them in my local pound shop for 2e for 2 surely they would do the same thing?

Wash balls
 

Keep it tidy I know in the leaflet I got it said that not all wash balls are the same and some of them are not so eco-friendly. I would say if they are 2 euros they are more than likely not as good as the others you have been using! If I can get 150 washes from mine for just 11 euros I will be more than happy!! I bought a refill for them at the same time so it looks like my washing bill is sorted for a while!

bump for more tips!