Detergent, paper towels, trash bags, small appliances. Housekeeping expenses seem to be minor compared with many of the “big ticket items” we have to buy from time to time. But if you’re not careful, these seemingly small expenses and up too big money. The reason? There’s no end to housekeeping. As soon as we take care of one chore, another needs doing, and the chore we completed last week needs to be done again this week.
The following tips will help you keep your housekeeping expenses under control. We’ll tour you home, and you’ll find a lot of small money saving ideas that can help take the pinch out of the hidden expenses of maintaining your abode.
- Be happy with what you’ve got.
First things first. Most of us spend more than we should because we try to maintain a life-style beyond our means. The only way you’ll be able to achieve financial peace of mind and, ultimately, financial security is to live beneath your means, and the only way to live beneath your means comfortably is to be happy with what you’ve already got. If you spend some time thinking about all you have rather than all you’d like to have, you’ll probably discover that you’re already quite fortunate.
- Read the label.
Always follow storage and care instructions on clothing and food. Spoilage and discards are money down the drain.
- Buy it to last.
Many people seem to have forgotten that non disposable razors and cloth napkins still exist. These items will cost you more than their short-lived counterparts in the short term, but they’ll save you money in the long run.
- Organize your storage rather than pay rent to a mini warehouse.
Mini warehouses were a great growth industry in the 1980’s. I guess we were acquiring so much so quickly during the “decade of greed” that we couldn’t store it all in our own homes. Having a mini warehouse was probably a status symbol. As you were pulling out of your driveway you could say to your neighbor, “I’m off to the mini warehouse to pick up our Wedgwood service for sixty for tonight’s banquet.” In the 1990’s this kind of nonsense is out. A little organization of your in-house storage area will almost certainly allow room for everything you have acquired. If you still have too much after you have reorganized your storage, hold a yard sale.
Please come back for the next series in being a penny pincher.
I hope this helps.
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