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SeaStar
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| Posted: Jan 26 2013 at 10:28am | IP Logged
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want to stop buying
We had a thread going recently about how to save money in the New Year, which got me started thinking about things that I never buy. And things I want to stop buying.
These are little things, but they can add up.
Two things I never buy:
1. Kids birthday cards
When my dc get invited to a party, we always make a card for the birthday child. Card stock and stickers, ahoy
2. Pencils
They seem to multiply at my house. Where do they come from? 
And 99% that are out for general use are mysteriously still unsharpened.
Two things I would like to stop buying:
1. Muffin tin papers
Are they really necessary? We eat a lot of muffins, so I do go through them. I try to get packs of fifty for a quarter at MIcheals on clearance, but still.... and the paper never does seem to make clean-up any easier!
2. Wrapping paper
I still want to make gift bags for birthdays and Christmas. I've got the fabric 
And for other gifts... comics, old maps, large sheets of scrapbook paper (great and pretty for little boxes), pillow cases (which in themselves can be a gift if made from fun fabric), murals the kids have made on rolls of butcher paper.
The mural is also a good rainy day activity. Roll out the paper and have everyone decorate with a birthday theme, winter theme, etc. The voila- you have wrapping paper to spare.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Jan 26 2013 at 11:21am | IP Logged
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We never buy post-it notes. Or staples. My father-in-law collected office supplies by the ton. He died 15 years ago and we are nowhere close to using up the packs of post-it notes and boxes of staples.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Martha
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| Posted: Jan 26 2013 at 12:24pm | IP Logged
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I don't use muffin papers or bakers cooking spray of any kind.
Use miracle bakers release.
Equal parts of
Shortening
Vegitable oil
Flour
1/4 cup each mixed and stored in an airtight container in the pantry will last me months even with lots of baking. Use a pastry brush to brush a light coating on and I've yet to have anything stick. I just turn the pan over and they fall out. A couple teaspoons, tops, will do 3 of my 24 count muffin pans.
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Martha
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MaryM
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| Posted: Jan 26 2013 at 12:27pm | IP Logged
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I never buy indoor garbage can liners. We use the plastic bags from the grocery store bagging as liners exclusively.
Nancy, wow to have such a stash of office supplies! When you said you never buy post it notes I thought Jen would probably have a heart attack, but you just said you never buy them - not that you never use them.
And I agree with you on muffin tin liners, Melinda. We use them for cupcakes but never muffins (hence my desire for self cleaning muffin tins  ). My problem with them is we always have trouble with a good portion of the muffin sticking to them - that is why I don't use them. Cupcakes come out good, but not muffins. 
And I don't ever do cards with kid's birthday gifts either - just put names on a tag...
I would like to not buy paper towels, but need a consistent system of good washable rags to compensate.
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Mary M. in Denver
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MaryM
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| Posted: Jan 26 2013 at 12:33pm | IP Logged
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Martha wrote:
I don't use muffin papers or bakers cooking spray of any kind.
Use miracle bakers release. |
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Thanks, Martha, for the info. Do you find that with this release the tins clean up good, as well?
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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jawgee
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| Posted: Jan 26 2013 at 12:33pm | IP Logged
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I don't buy paper towels. Well, I sometimes will buy a roll or two over the course of a year. I've been using the blue surgical towels as rags for years, and facecloths for general kitchen/dining room cleaning. They are a different color than the ones we use in the bathroom.
I don't buy muffin tin liners. I just spray with non-stick spray (although Martha's idea sounds great!).
I don't buy printer paper, either, but that's only because Staples has reams free after rebate so often!
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Monica
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CrunchyMom
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We hardly ever buy paper towels. Years ago I bought some towels from the automotive section of Costco. It cost the same as the giant bulk pack of paper towels and while, 7 years since, I've replaced most of the originals, it is certainly cost effective.
In the same vein, my mother always used cloth napkins, and we've habitually used those rather than paper as well.
I do buy paper napkins for our large, annual 4th of July party, and the leftovers usually last all year for those times when you really don't want to use cloth for the mess or need something disposable for the road.
It isn't a big deal at all now that it is a habit, and it means I don't feel a bit guilty for using paper plates while pregnant .
I'll have to think about what I'd like to stop buying. Vegetables, maybe  When I go from having things from the garden to having to buy, I think how much I would save if we just grew more
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Jan 26 2013 at 12:36pm | IP Logged
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Wow, cross posted with lots of other paper towel posts
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Jan 26 2013 at 1:13pm | IP Logged
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So I thought I would be original and say I don't buy paper towels, but I guess not!
I don't buy paper plates or paper napkins either, unless it's for a child's birthday party.
I don't buy cream of mushroom soup, or any canned soup for that matter.
Like Mary, I don't buy liners for our bathroom garbage cans. Grocery store bags work well for that.
I don't buy dog treats or expensive dog food. We really love our dog, but she gets Purina. (And she's quite healthy!)
I would like to not buy sugar, as that would mean we have eliminated it from our diet.
I love your idea Lindsay, of growing enough produce that we wouldn't have to buy that too!
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Becky
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Jan 26 2013 at 1:14pm | IP Logged
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I occasionally buy paper towels but never paper napkins.
I have cloth napkins- most bought on clearance at places like Marshall's, etc.
Never going back to the paper ones- cloth is so much nicer 
Martha-
thanks for the recipe for the baking tins!
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Jan 26 2013 at 1:16pm | IP Logged
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Oh, and I really want to stop buying so much wrapping paper too! I love the idea of making cloth gift bags. That's on my to do list before next Christmas!
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Becky
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Martha
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| Posted: Jan 26 2013 at 1:54pm | IP Logged
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MaryM wrote:
Martha wrote:
I don't use muffin papers or bakers cooking spray of any kind.
Use miracle bakers release. |
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Thanks, Martha, for the info. Do you find that with this release the tins clean up good, as well? |
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I use it for all my baking in all my bake ware. Cheap tins from goodwill to expensive decorating bundt pans.
It cleans up extremely easy. Just wipe out with a dry towel. And it doesn't seem to leave those icky hard to clean off brown oil stains either.
ETA: I also use it for casseroles or whatever that calls for greasing the pan. If its going in the oven and says to grease the pan, I use this instead.
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Martha
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Martha
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| Posted: Jan 26 2013 at 1:58pm | IP Logged
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jawgee wrote:
| I don't buy paper towels. Well, I sometimes will buy a roll or two over the course of a year. |
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Me either. I keep rags for stuff that I need to clean and throw away. Otherwise I just use my towels and wash them. I recently ran short on kitchen towels and was fed up with the ones I can afford being so thin and having such a short lifespan. Hit on the genius idea of using prefold clothe diapers! I had a huge plastic storage bin of them in the attic just in case I needed to use them again. They are perfect. Durable, über absorbent. Way cheaper than the same number of store bought kitchen towels.
I was going to buy the shamwow type fabric by the yard at the clothe store until I hit on that Idea to use what I have.
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Martha
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Martha
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We don't usually buy paper napkins. We have the left overs from when we eat out or order pizza.
Also, I started buying nice clothe tableclothes for under $15 when I see them that we change out almost daily due to messy toddlers and such. I decided to start buying two of the same. Then I can cut up the second one to 14 equal largish sized sections,, sew the edges up, and have matching napkins for my tableclothes way cheaper than buying a ton of them. If you have left overs and want to get fancy, cut the left overs into thin strips, modpodge as you them around a set of cheap shower curtain rod circles ($1 store), then mod podge to seal them. Now you have napkin rings that match the napkins and the tablecloth. I have a huge dining table that seats 12, so being able to have tableclothes, napkins, and rings that all match for less than $20-$30 is a very good deal.
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Martha
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guitarnan
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My daughter's friend made her own archery arm guard out of half a paper towel tube, some scrap fleece fabric and duct tape. It works so well that my daughter is going to do the same.
(Said friend also made a quiver out of another paper towel tube...)
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Jan 26 2013 at 3:16pm | IP Logged
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I also use all my old prefold diapers in place of paper towels and/or rags.
I use them for a ton of things- wish i could find a good deal on buying more.
I very rarely buy juice boxes, Capri Suns, bottled water...
just use our good old Kleen Kanteen drink cups for all that, much to the dismay of my dc
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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MaryM
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| Posted: Jan 26 2013 at 3:22pm | IP Logged
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guitarnan wrote:
My daughter's friend made her own archery arm guard out of half a paper towel tube, some scrap fleece fabric and duct tape. It works so well that my daughter is going to do the same.
(Said friend also made a quiver out of another paper towel tube...) |
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Now, that is being quite resourceful!
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Mary M. in Denver
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JodieLyn
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Well i do buy paper towels but we started using them as diaper wipes.. cheaper. And I like them for greasing the cast iron or baking pans and using for draining things that are fried (tortillas or bacon).. and the occational clean up (like dropped eggs) that i'd just as soon use the paper towel and toss than rags.. but we have lots of rags and so our paper towels do last a long time.
oh.. I dont buy glass cleaner. I find a bit of dish soap in water for washing off glass with a rag is great for washing glass and if it doesn't need the soap just plain water works great.. a dry rag to dry it off good and it looks great.
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CrunchyMom
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Oh, and I never buy lotion or moisturizer. I cook with coconut oil, and I find it works just as well for just about any skin issue.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Jan 26 2013 at 4:03pm | IP Logged
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I would love to stop buying dishwasher detergent. I don't like all the chemicals- and who knows how much really gets rinsed off in the final rinse?
I like Seventh Generation brand, but it's expensive.
I've never been successful at making my own, though- or laundry detergent either.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Things you never buy... or
