Ten tips for making savings in the home

Ten Top Tips to Save in Your Home

The credit crunch means we all need to cut down on our household expenditure. Here are ten tips to reduce your spending that require only small changes to everyday life. Start having a go and you could save a packet:

1. Embrace old-style cleaners

Forking out for 'miracle' cleaners that don't work is a pain. But there's no need. Have a go with an old-style cleaner instead. White vinegar will unblock sinks, remove limescale and clean your workshops. All you need to do is mix it with a bit of water and a few drops of essential oil to mask the smell. Bicarbonate of soda works on descaling teacups and teapots, gets rid of smells in your fridge and is a great microwave cleaner. Just make a paste with a small amount of water for cleaning - or mix with water and leave to soak for de-scaling. These products are much cheaper than cleaning products. Plus there are loads more - see this website for ideas.

2. Cheap lick of paint

Save money on sprucing up your house by checking out the 'oops' gallons at DIY stores. These are paint tins left over from when the mixer doesn't quite get the colour right. Some shades are not so nice, but you may find exactly what you're looking for, for half the price. You may also get lucky and find a really nice shade that is on sale because someone has just forgotten to pick up.

3. Cover it up

Never boil water (or heat anything actually) in an uncovered pan. The lid will prevent heat escaping, the water will come to a boil faster and you'll use less energy. Boil water in a covered pan or a kettle or don't boil it at all! You can also save energy when cooking by using pressure cookers. These reduce cooking time so you use less energy. Same goes for a microwave. If you don't fancy cooking your meals in the microwave, try part cooking and then finishing meals off on the stove. You can also save energy by never pre-heating the oven unless absolutely necessary. If you need your dish to go into a hot oven (rather than one that is heating up), never pre-heat for more than 10 minutes.

4. Revive your carpets with a quick steam clean

Floors need a revamp? Replacing your carpets can cost a small fortune. However, giving them a good clean can restore them to almost as good as new. At HSS you can hire a professional carpet cleaner for just £40 per day or £50 for a weekend. Put some legwork into it and your newly-restored carpet will be looking great for the fraction of the price of new ones.

5. Do your own DIY

Save money by taking a local adult education course in DIY instead of hiring a handyman. They only cost around "100. This is an initial investment but should pay itself off fairly quickly. You'll get all the skills to fix up your house yourself at no extra cost. You can also use your skills to make more money by helping others out. Take it up a notch and have a go at plumbing courses to save even more. Find your local course on Learn Direct.

6. Make a clothes shopping list

If you know you're a bit of a shopaholic this is a really good tip to keep the habit under control. Make a list of all the clothing items you and your family need. Put it in your wallet and keep it there. Then when you are out and do a bit of impromptu shopping, you know exactly what you should be looking for. This way you can say no to items you don't need and stop spending money on stuff you've already got.

7. Have a 'use it up' week

This is where you don't buy anything new, but make yourself use up the odds and ends of things you have already bought. Whether it's a half-finished bottle of shampoo or open cereal packets, using everything up will save you money. Start by clearing out your cupboards so you don't waste anything. If you've got ingredients you don't know what to do with in your larder try cookingbynumbers. You can type an ingredient into the search engine and it will come up with loads of recipes that you can make from it.

8. Batch Cooking

Cooking up a big batch of Bolognese sauce is great - mainly because it's much cheaper to buy the ingredients in bulk. A big pack of meat is much cheaper per kilo, and all the other ingredients will be too. So it will work out cheaper overall despite the bigger initial spend. It's also great as you can make several meals at one time and then pop extra portions in the freezer. This saves time in the future when all you've got to do is defrost a few portions. This works with loads of dishes, try it out.

9. Re-use your old clothes

Make old jeans into draft excluders by cutting the legs off, stuffing them and then sewing up the ends. You could re-use baby trousers by turning them into shorts for slightly older kids, or use odd socks for puppet making or stuffing to make dog toys. They are also good for storing onions! Tights are great for making cress-heads, storing onions and bulbs, packing together to make abrasive cleaner for your sink or wrapping around ordinary coat hangers to make them padded ones. If there are any retro jewels, start a dressing up box for your kids. This will keep them entertained for hours and it's free.

10. Give yourself a budget

Take control of your spending by sticking to a budget. Make a list of everything you spend on in a week and weed out all the little extras you don't need. Total up the costs of things you really have to buy and this is your budget. Make sure you can afford this budget and keep a little left over. If you don't have enough money for this budget, then more things need to go. Do you really need to buy lunch at work? Can you live without that DVD? Make your budget realistic and then stick to it. This should leave you with a little extra every month. You can use this to pay off loans, or make more money by putting it into a savings account.

Jasmine Birtles is from Moneymagpie.com - the website that gives you a richer life.