Alternative Options For The Things You Use Everyday

[DDrew]

Plus can you imagine folding that thing in half for wipe number 2?

Agreed, most cats don't like being folded in half...

[A Pawn]

Plus can you imagine folding that thing in half for wipe number 2?

LOLOLOL.....  Stop it!....I can hardly breath... Too Funny... I'll never be able to look at my cats the same again... 

[archer]

LOLOLOL.....  Stop it!....I can hardly breath... Too Funny... I'll never be able to look at my cats the same again... 

If you get the cats to work with you on this, imagine how useful the tail will be!!!

[Hare of Caerbannog]

I'm no expert in canning but just to ring in here.
Using wax as a sealant in canning is THE traditional method. It goes back at least 2500 years and likely back to the Neolithic age.
Of course, be careful and do it right or you can die as is the case with all canning methods.
But YES wax has been used long before rubber was available for sealing.
In Appalachia, I have encountered many of the old folk that can using this method.
Latex and rubber may not always be available in North America, but if we guard our bees, wax is just as useful.

[Beetle]

I'm no expert in canning but just to ring in here.
Using wax as a sealant in canning is THE traditional method. It goes back at least 2500 years and likely back to the Neolithic age.
Of course, be careful and do it right or you can die as is the case with all canning methods.
But YES wax has been used long before rubber was available for sealing.
In Appalachia, I have encountered many of the old folk that can using this method.
Latex and rubber may not always be available in North America, but if we guard our bees, wax is just as useful.

My mom always used wax, especially on jelly.. Or is that the norm? not to knowledgeable on canning

[sage0925]

Oh, do stop with the cat already...my husband can't see anymore...too may tears from laughing.

Sage

[sage0925]

As for toilet paper...well, don't know how well ya'll are going to like this, especially for those messy whole grain poops, but it would be better than nothing...rectangles of cloth...but you'll have to figure out a way to wash and sanitize them afterwards...and everybody will have to clean their own...I sure as hell wouldn't wash out anybody's but my own, and even that would gross me out some... and everyone would have to have their own personal cloth pile.

Not a great alternative, but better than NO alternative...I've already thought this one out...after all. toilet paper takes up a LOT of space...and if the SHTF, you WILL run out eventually anyway. You have any idea how much toilet paper you'd have to buy a family of four? Even just for one year? How many people have that much storage space?

After a couple years, TP will be worth its weight in gold...lol

Sage

[Chemsoldier]

This may seems mundane, but pork sausage and pork burger (sort of like sausage but no spices) can be a good substitute for ground beef.  I go hog hunting twice a year and I havent bought beef in ages (accept for steaks).

The boar meat is lean and I use it for Chilli, Spaghetti Sauce, Hamburger Helper, burgers and a wide range of other dishes.

Additionaly, I bought a 10 lbs bag of cheese sauce mix to make my own mac and cheese.  Its  a resteraunt size bag soyou will need to do sub bags to keep it from going bad/clumping from humidity.  But getting the cheese sauce and elbow mac seperate is a bit of savings over prepackaged.

[LvsChant]

Our electricity bills here are outrageous (particularly in the hot months, it seems). I thought I would go on a little cost-saving focus by

1) gradually turning the thermostat to a higher temp (so that we have time to acclimate). We are up to 81 degrees and it really isn't bad (don't try this cold-turkey).

2) buying a clothes drying rack and hanging much of the laundry to dry. I find I really like it a lot. The scent of the drying clothes is very pleasant in the house and this method also prevents some of the heat generation that comes from the dryer anyway (thus helping with item (1). I found a rack for $20 at target that will hold an entire load of laundry.

[soccer grannie]

Use cheap coffee filters for TP -- don't flush them down the toilet. Cheap & takes little space to store.

[soccer grannie]

Our electricity bills here are outrageous (particularly in the hot months, it seems). I thought I would go on a little cost-saving focus by

1) gradually turning the thermostat to a higher temp (so that we have time to acclimate). We are up to 81 degrees and it really isn't bad (don't try this cold-turkey).

2) buying a clothes drying rack and hanging much of the laundry to dry. I find I really like it a lot. The scent of the drying clothes is very pleasant in the house and this method also prevents some of the heat generation that comes from the dryer anyway (thus helping with item (1). I found a rack for $20 at target that will hold an entire load of laundry.

Kmart and Walmart sell drapery panels that block out the sunlight. The ones I've bought have ranged in price from $30/panel to $16/panel, depending on the measurements. They come in a good assortment of colors. I only have one more window to replace with these panels. After hanging the set in the living room (gets the afternoon sun), you could feel a drastic change in the temp in the house & less AC running.

[homesteader]

Re: toilet paper

I've been using cloth diapers (all-in-ones) with my children and use washcloths for the messy ones.  if they are rinsed immediately in the toilet they will wash perfectly clean through the washer in hot water with soap.  If you we left without the option of a washer and had to wash the old fashioned way then make sure to boil your washcloths and could sanitize with bleach if you're really worried about the germ factor.

[mamabear]

OP asked about fabric softener. You can use vinegar for this. I put in 1/2 cup for a normal size load in my washer at the start of the rinse cycle. I don't use fabric softener anymore, just the vinegar. I also clean with vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and water mixed. I fill a spray bottle with vinegar about a 1/4 of the way, 1/4 of a bottle of the hydrogen peroxide, and fill the rest of the way with water. Not too bad of a vinegar smell that way. I have also heard the idea of coffee filters for tp before as well. Coffee filter have lots of uses. I also have three cats, if I get someone to test that theory, I will let you know! 

[pug-shadow]

My wife made homemade soap , shampoo and such using old methods that use lye and oils and fats (like lard)
She always bought the lye, but I believe you can make it out of ashes.

Anyway also all of the ingredients would be things you could probably get or make in a true survival situation..

We haven't purchased fake commercial soap for a couple of years.

Sometime we do get anti bacterial soap during flu season and such, but generally just use homemade soap.

She used to make enough to sell the extras at farmer's markets, but there wasn't much profit so we just make it for ourselves.

it is a lot of work and lye is dangerous.
But it might be a good skill for both self sufficiency and if you like being a home chemist 

[LvsChant]

Would you share your shampoo recipe? That is something I haven't seen here (unless it is somewhere I haven't found).

[ClarkB]

As I was told, my grandparents used outhouses, and the most common form of toilet paper used was old Sears catalogs.  It provided reading on the throne and was free.  If the SHTF then the phone book will be of little use; so it will go right next to the commode.  The it will be a case of the SHTPB.

[homesteader]

Good point about the phone book idea...Lord knows I get more than I could ever use.

[LvsChant]

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/09/10/12-clever-substitutions-that-save-money-nearly-effortlessly/

Found this article with many great ideas on The Simple Dollar today...

[Jason from PA]

We've got a weird problem. We have friends who make their own detergent and soap.  But my wife is so damn good with coupons and the CVS system that she balks at paying $2.00 for such products. 

We have boxes full of soap and shampoo. My wife probably spent a few dollars on the entire box.  So it's tough to have the incentive when we're giving away soap at church cause we have so much. (Essentially we give away shampoo and non-foaming hand soap every few months).

*LOL*

[LvsChant]

good problem to have, nugun... I like knowing how to make my own and substitute for basic ingredients. for the less-talented coupon-clippers, it is also a great money-saver.

[LdMorgan]

Mineral Salt can be used for deodorant.  They now have large salt rocks you can purchase.  You wet them with water and apply under the arms.  No aluminum, no other chemicals, just the salt.  Now it's not a antiperspirant just deodorant.

This is technically off-post, but I just gotta...

Thank you, Susan1957!

This is a very important thing. Every woman should know that the aluminum in underarm deodorants has been positively linked to breast cancer. It apparently accumulates in the lymph glands in the underarm area, and that's where the cancer starts.

Men don't get breast cancer as often as women, but that doesn't stop me from avoiding deodorants with aluminum in them.

There are alternatives out there, as Susan1957 and others have posted. Find them and use them. You won't be sorry you did.

[mamabear]

LdMorgan, do you happen to have a link to that study?

[Nophix]

Something else to consider as alternatives, is buying generic. Almost every generic product is a re-labeled premium product.

For instance, the company I work for hauls canned goods for Del Monte. On the same truck, for the same delivery, I could have half a truck of green beans labeled Del Monte, and half labeled Great Value. They came from the same line, and the only difference was the label they placed on them at the end of the line. The GV are a good bit cheaper.

This is the same with most products.

[LdMorgan]

I don't want to get anything with claws that nasty near my derriere. Especially after the first wipe, the cat might have a different opinion about it.

I think there is a reason bears use rabbits...

[jgar]

My wife & I make out own window cleaner

In a spray bottle, the 30-40 oz size,  (in this order so you do not get suds) fill it up 90% - 95% with water, add a cap full of ammonia, and 3 drops of liquid dish soap.  shake & you are done.

This is the same as the big guys make except they add blue coloring also.

And if you use old newspaper on the windows they look better than if you used paper towels.

Hope this helps

Holzster

Always use old newspaper on windows and mirrors.  It is life changing.  So much easier to get streak free.

[Cave Dweller]

Thanks for the tip on the soap.  I have millions of little pieces of soap due to 3 kids that break soap in half for some reason.  I will start melting it down and re shaping it this weekend.  I've been putting it in a jar and adding a little water to make liquid soap and putting it in dispensers for hand soap. 

If you have kids that wear black patient leather shoes...you can make them shine by rubbing them down with a biscuit. 

I can think of better uses for biscuits

Here's a scary one:

Toilet paper.

Take a 20 0z soda bottle (plastic)
remove the lid
poke/bore a sizable hole in the lid (you want a good squirt)
recap, fill with water and use as a bidet.

It takes practice, I've tried it, not partial to it, but It really saves ya when raw from diarrhea.

[LvsChant]

Take a 20 0z soda bottle (plastic)
remove the lid
poke/bore a sizable hole in the lid (you want a good squirt)
recap, fill with water and use as a bidet.

It takes practice, I've tried it, not partial to it, but It really saves ya when raw from diarrhea.

Good one, cave dweller... would never have thought of it!

[Conductor71]

I'm with CaveDweller -- don't waste those biscuits!  To shine patent leather, just use some Vaseline on a dry rag.  Apply, wait a few minutes then wipe off.  They'll be shiny as new. 

[GunslingR]

 A neat way to clean up your tarnished pre 64 coinage and silver rounds is toothpaste and an old toothbrush. It works great but dont use it on collectable coins as it removes the patina and can affect the collector value.

[Cool Blue]

Something else to consider as alternatives, is buying generic. Almost every generic product is a re-labeled premium product.

For instance, the company I work for hauls canned goods for Del Monte. On the same truck, for the same delivery, I could have half a truck of green beans labeled Del Monte, and half labeled Great Value. They came from the same line, and the only difference was the label they placed on them at the end of the line. The GV are a good bit cheaper.

This is the same with most products.

Yep, and that goes for other products too.

I used to work in a brake plant and the "premium name brand brake pads" were the same as the "Econo store brand pads".  Only difference was the box.