Save Money with Your Bathroom! blog by Ann Marie Dwyer

Zone Ann Marie Talks Money > Blog Post

How much money is going down the drain or in the trash basket?

Drop food coloring in the toilet tank. In 30 minutes, if it is in the bowl...YOU HAVE A LEAK.
Put a cup beside the sink. Use 4 ounces of water to dip your toothbrush and rinse your mouth. You can rinse at least twice!
Turn off the shower while you shampoo and condition...save more than 500 gallons of water per year.
Hang your towel on the shower rod- straight out of the washing machine and after you shower. Use it twice and never put it in the dryer. You save electricity, and the towel will last twice as long
Use a handtowel. On laundry day, wipe your shower with the handtowel before you wash it. No paper towel waste and no money in the waste paper basket.
Use the washcloth. On laundry day, wash the tub with the washcloth...see last hint.
Toothpaste dispenser. Use the correct amount of toothpaste: Save on toothpaste, dentist bills, water (getting the extra toothpaste out of the sink) and toothbrushes.
Add a teaspoon of baking soda to your shampoo. No need for conditioner that day!
Use the toilet paper wrapper. (WHAT?!) Place toilet tissue in a hat box (pretty and discreet). Use the wrapper as a garbage bag to remove all trash from bath and bedroom.
Use grocery sacks in the waste paper basket. Do not buy those small ones!
Use the magazine. Before you pitch the reading material, use it to clean the mirrors. Crystal shine, no money wasted.
Low flow shower head: Pays for itself in four (4!!) showers.
Low flow toilet. Can't afford to install one? Fill a two liter bottle with water from the tank. Cap it and leave it in the tank. Now, it is a lower flow.
Plug the hand vacuum in the bathroom. By charging it in the bath, you are using an underused plug in your house. You also have it at your finger tips to grab little messes (like hairballs) before they become mopping nightmares.
Replace expensive bath potions with a mix of epsom salts and essential oils in a canning jar. (Add food color and a ribbon to dress it up.) For less than $5, you can make enough for you and your best friend. It would have cost you more than $18 at the store for half as much.