10 Household Products I Don’t Buy to Cut Costs, Clutter, and Waste

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Wanting to avoid the stores? Start by cutting out non essential home products. Follow this list of 10 household products I don’t buy to cut costs, clutter, and waste.

My minimalism journey first began when I was pregnant with my daughter. I had to wear a much smaller selection of clothing, and I realized it was much easier to decide what to wear each morning, even with my rapidly changing body. Then, I stumbled upon a few books that really got me interested in minimalism, and the rest is history. The list of products I don’t buy started small, but has continued to increase. I also created a list of clothing items I don’t buy. You can find it here.

Minimalism infiltrated every aspect of my life. The next areas that I adopted a minimalist system were my kitchen and bathrooms. I had the typical under the sink array of 10 different cleaning products, all specific for a different surface. There were too many choices. I would often forget I had a cleaning product, and buy a new one while at the store.

What I realized was that I could simplify how I cleaned by making a lot of the solutions at home, and buying bulk the common ingredients: baking soda, vinegar, castile soap etc. This not only cut down on cost, but also cut down on the amount of plastic I was consuming. This idea spilled over into my kitchen. We adopted a new way to make coffee, to avoid coffee filters. We also try to avoid one time use paper and plastic products.

Hope this list inspires you to think differently about your cleaning products, and maybe even create some yourself! Here is my short list of 10 household products I don’t buy to cut costs, clutter, and waste.

10 Products I Don’t Buy:

All Purpose Cleaner

I used to buy an all purpose cleaner, and I never stuck to a specific brand. When I actually looked at the ingredients, it was alarming. I have since stopped buying all purpose cleaners and instead I make my own at home with vinegar, and orange peels. It’s cheaper, simpler, and better for your home. I use this recipe.

Bathroom Cleaner

In the past years I was always buying a new type of bathroom cleaner, only to find that I had it already or never used it entirely in the first place. This recipe is simple and can be made with ingredients found already in your home.

Household Disinfectant Cleaner

I just use bleach water as a disinfectant cleaner. Mix this up prior to every cleaning session, because the bleach water does lose its potency. I use this ratio from the Clorox website.

Febreze

No need for this. Instead, on a spring day, open up all the doors and windows.

Body Lotion

I used to buy varieties of body lotions in various scents. Now I just buy coconut oil. A whole tub lasts at least a year.

Hand Soap

I just buy Dr. Bronner’s Lavender Castile Soap. I use this recipe and I pour it into a re-purposed foaming hand soap dispenser. Two bottles of Dr. Bronner’s usually lasts a year for our house. Dr. Bronner’s soap has a variety of uses as well.

Napkins

In an effort to limit the amount of waste our family produces we stopped buying napkins. My mom actually sewed me some cloth napkins and we use those instead.

Paper Plates or Cups

We try to go without using paper products as much as possible. Sometimes there is no other option like birthday parties at a park or camping. However, while in our own kitchen we try to use our dishes and avoid one time use paper products.

Coffee Filters

We use a french press for our morning coffee. We think it tastes better, and there is no paper waste, just coffee grounds. 🙂

Ziploc Bags

We try as best we can to avoid using one time use Ziploc bags. Instead, we have a variety of containers to store leftovers, or give to guests who want some food to take home after dinner. We also freeze food in mason jars, or glass containers.

As a side note, I’m really interested in making beeswax wraps, to avoid plastic wrap. Perhaps a craft night with some girlfriends in the future?

Final Words

These minimalism changes have happened through the years gradually. Although, I do specifically remember telling my husband that we were no longer buying cleaning products. I had discovered a much more efficient way to clean my house, with less ingredients, and less variety of products. We tried to use up the products that we had, and then I started making my own. I tend to make a large batch of each, which usually lasts most of the year (except for the bleach solution). Perhaps consider making some of your own cleaning products, and avoiding one time use products in your kitchen to cut down on clutter, waste, and extra costs.

Join the Discussion

What products for your kitchen and bathroom do you no longer buy?

P.S. I always ask readers to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. I consciously try to document my everyday simple life. Since we happen to be on a debt free journey it can be motivating because most of my activities are intentionally inexpensive. However, for a direct line to my blog posts, you’ll need to subscribe to this blog.  

Author

-Maria Halcumb
B.A. in Secondary Education, English, and Physical Education
M.A. Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction and Reading Specialist