Skimping and cutting corners doesn’t usually have a positive ring to it…unless it’s on your budget.  These are helpful tips even if your budget is rock solid and your main concern is de-cluttering or breaking material accumulation habits!  But listen: read through these and pick out ONE thing to try first.  Completely re-vamping your lifestyle takes slow change, it’s not an overnight accomplishment and will end up feeling stressful and overwhelming if you try everything all at once!

1. DIY Cleaners.  There’s plenty of ways to cut back on household needs simply by making them yourself if you have the time.  Laundry soap is one of the easiest things to replace, and once you start making it yourself you’ll never buy the commercial stuff again!  I’ve tried a few different “recipes” and this is the one I like the best.  (The recipe calls for Dawn, but I actually use Gain dish soap though to make it smell like apples.) For those of you who dally in skincare, I highly recommend switching to the oil-cleansing method.  It costs less than your fancy 5-step regime and is so easy to make!  Click here to learn about the method, then click here to fine-tune it.  If you want to experiment with more DIY cleaners, check out this website.
2. Drink water.  Quit spending money on beverages!  Juice and pop are expensive initially, and expensive in the long run with dental work!  (*Sigh*   It cost me $1300 to learn this lesson.)  Buy a decent water pitcher with a filter instead and learn to enjoy the taste of water.  It takes a withdrawal period, but eventually you’ll prefer water to anything else and begin to treat sugary or carbonated drinks as, well, treats.
3. Go Without.  When appliances break down, consider if they REALLY need to be replaced.  Obviously some appliances are pretty crucial to modern society, but others are actually dispensable, despite what the Joneses think!  When we moved into our house the dishwasher didn’t work at all.  We assumed we’d replace it as soon as we could afford to, but once I got used to washing dishes by hand I realized I preferred to do so.  I’d always hated emptying the dishwasher, and now I find that I stay on top of the dishes so much better without a dishwasher!  Other appliances that you could probably learn to live without and still feel happy: dryer, stand mixer, garbage disposal, bread machine, toaster oven, food processor, food sealer, and…the microwave.  (Although admittedly, not having that first and last one would add more work to my day!)  The point is, you don’t NEED these things.  They don’t need to come out of your budget, anyway.  Put them on your Christmas list!
4. Buy Used.  Cars aren’t the only thing that lose a good chunk of value the minute you drive them off the lot!  Checking out craigslist.com for gently used appliances is a great way to replace the ones that you DO need.  (And some would even argue that buying older appliances is smarter anyway, since they seem to be making them pretty sloppily nowadays…)
5. Re-purpose clothing.  If you are even remotely handy with a sewing machine, an entire world of thriftiness is opened up to you!  Pinterest will teach you how to re-purpose just about anything into anything!  Have a tear in your shirt?  Sew a fabric flower or a skull patch over the top and now you have a custom shirt!
6. Move past the brand name.  Chances are good that you’re already doing this, but see if there are any items that you’ve been holding onto brand names with and give the store brand a chance.  (Obviously not toilet paper… some things are sacred, right?)
7. Use coupons.  Extreme couponing is intense, I can tell you!  Read up on it to learn how to match up coupons with store deals to get the best savings.
8. Start a garden!  You can save a lot of money by growing your own vegetables and preserving the harvest for the winter.  This one is closest to my heart, obviously.  You can follow my blog to learn more about canning, freezing and dehydrating!  (How’s that for a shameless plug?)
9. Walk, bike, take a bus or carpool.  By reducing your dependence on your car, you also save money on gas, maintenance and insurance!
10. Create your own art.  Obviously if you are unemployed or just on a tight budget, you aren’t going to be spending money on decorations for the home.  But there’s still ways for you to add to the color and mood of your home without spending much, if any, money.  If you have young children, let their artwork adorn your walls!  It’s cheaper AND morale-boosting.  Win!  Even if you aren’t artsy, there are clever and inexpensive ways to decorate your home.  Here’s some images for DIY fall decorations to get you started!  ****Keep in mind though that the trick with keeping homemade decorations truly inexpensive is ideally to use things you already have, rather than hitting up the craft store and buying ten shopping bags full of stuff.****

What do you think?  Anything else that you can add from experience?  I know I’m still always looking for ways to cut back on the clutter and expenses!

Featured Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net