Be Inspired by These Simple Ways to Save Money on Non-Food Grocery Items
Our $120/week grocery budget for our family of 6 (with 4 growing boys!) includes household items, toiletries and (it used to include diapers!). In order meet the $120 goal each week, I wanted to share a few more ways to cut grocery costs on non-food items….
1. Use cloth dish towels.
No need to buy paper towels when you have a stack of sturdy dishtowels to use! While I do buy paper towels on occasion, I use them sparingly…or they end up sitting in the back pantry not being used.
Dish towels last YEARS and get tossed into the laundry with our other towels once a week, so it’s easy to keep up with them.
2. Cut dryer sheets in half.
And then they will last twice as long. A giant box of dryer sheets for $5.99 when on sale with coupon will last me about 9 months when I cut them in half.
Boom…that was easy.
3. Use half the recommended fabric softener.
I use half the recommended fabric softener…and sometimes none at all.
4. Stockpile household cleaners and laundry items.
If you are not up for making your own cleaners and soaps, stock up when the price is right (insert theme song and Bob Barker, er, Drew Carey!). While I’ve bought laundry detergent for as little as $2/40-load bottle, my goal price is $5 or less for a 32-40-load bottle or box….with sale and coupon, of course!
5. Don’t pay for toothpaste, razors and soap!
Watch the drugstore circulars. Match coupons up with sales and ECB/RR deals. Cutting out these costs from your grocery bill will allow you to spend $$ on other things…like food 
We dig more into this in our Grocery Budget Makeover class – check out the free workshop and you’ll be inspired with more great tips and strategies!
6. Make your own cleaners.
Try out making your own version of a general 409-like cleaner, or this one for homemade glass cleaner, or these great recipes for fruit and veggie cleaner and more.
Do a little googling and you’ll find LOTS of options.
7. Make your own laundry soap.
It is much cheaper! LIKE TONS cheaper. If you don’t want to do that, then ALWAYS use a coupon. There are always coupons in circulation for laundry soap! {Print coupons here.}
8. Reuse foil.
Be careful how you use it. Rinse it if a little food gets on it. Let dry, fold and store for using again.
Obviously, if a ton of melted cheese gets all over the foil, don’t reuse!
Or if the foil has been in contact with raw meats!
9. Wash and reuse plastic baggies.
When you finish using up a freezer baggie or a baggie that stored something not too messy, turn it inside out, wash with dishsoap and hot water and rinse. Place the slightly wet plastic baggie, still inside out and upside down so the water will drain off, up to a clean painted wall (doesn’t work on wallpaper or textured walls). The baggie will stick to the wall and dry. Once dry, fold it back to the correct side and store for use another time.
10. Reusable dinner napkins.
We started with reusable dish towels and we end with reusable dinner napkins. <<these are my FAVES!
What other suggestions do you have for cutting non-food grocery costs? I’d love to hear!!!