Here are some of my favorite money-savers for the bath:
I keep a spray bottle of homemade cleaner in the tub; I use vinegar, a little dish soap, and, perhaps some "this and that". Immediately after showering, I spray the walls, shower curtain liner, tub, showerhead, and fixtures with this. When I'm ready to launder my linens, I use a "dirty" towel (they never get too dirty, since they are used on "clean" skin) to rub down the tub and tiles (and floor). Then it goes directly into the washer. On the other days, I leave the cleaner on without a rubdown.
Have a spray bottle with 50/50 water-vinegar for spraying on my freshly shampooed hair, before final rinse.
Another spray bottle has diluted "leave in" conditioner. I spray this on after towel-drying my hair.
A small spray bottle holds Listerine. Since I wear a night-time dental guard, I spray it with this antiseptic mouthwash before wearing it, and, in the morning, when I rinse and store it for the day.
Personally, I appreciate the cinnamon-flavored mouthwash, like Lavoris. I put some in another small spray bottle. I added a couple drops of cinnamon and clove oils, and, this makes a potent mouth spray, rather than a gargle.
If I want to use the rinse-out conditioner, I have some in a pump bottle. I pump a small amount of (at least) 50/50 diluted conditioner (about a half teaspoon for my medium length hair), into my hands, rub them together, and apply directly to my hair. No need to rinse out, since I use so little.
All body wash and shampoo is diluted by at least 50-50.
My favorite bath oil? Olive oil with a favorite essential oil added, if desired. Any vegetable oil will do, of course. I have a small squeeze bottle (hair-coloring bottles are great for any "squeezy" things!), for after-bath, after-shower, while my skin is still wet. A little goes a long way on wet skin without feeling too oily, after.
I have a shower rod and curtain in one bathroom. I hang an additional spring type shower rod inside the tub; here is where I hang my towels to dry, after a shower, as well as my bath mat. In one bath, where there was a ledge above the tile, I had three curtain rods, since I would also air-dry wet laundry there. I would hang the laundry on hangers, then, arrange them on the rods. Of course this didn't work well when the bath was steamy, so, I would do this in "dry" times.
About once a week, I toss my rubber bath mat into the washer with a load of laundry for a good scrubbing.
For my favorite hair-drying towels, I tear an old bath towel in half, lengthwise. This makes a great "turban" for wet hair, and, it is not nearly as bulky as a full bath towel, nor as skimpy as a hand towel. These can be hemmed if you don't want to deal with inevitable unraveling threads.
Working on breaking my shampoo-every-day habit, and, I'm handling every-other-day rather well. On my don't-shampoo days, I still like to thoroughly wet my hair (I'm a shower person, so it's easy), so, it has a freshly shampooed feeling.
Since I appreciate fresh washcloths, I buy lightweight inexpensive ones by the dozen. Each evening, I was my face with a clean one, and, I use it the next morning for my shower; then, it goes in the dirty laundry.
Personally, I prefer less heavy-bulky bath linens. They are also less costly and cheaper to launder and dry. I air-dry nearly everything, and, in FL, lightweight is better! At the end of summer, I'll buy a couple of clearance beach towels, since they make great bath sheets, and they are also lightweight and can be inexpensive, too.
Only in my guest bath do I have matching linens; personally, that is not important to me, though it feels more attractive in a bath that visitors use.
All wonderful ideas---I will definitely use them to help extend the life of some of the more expensive brand names that I thought I couldn't live without! I also liked the idea about the towels---we have had such a problem with the towels not drying well and getting musty smelling. Where I live, there is a big problem with birds, and clothes outside on the line---so the cheaper, thinner towels work great. And like you said, I don't care if they are thin, or if they match! All wonderful ideas!
First of all. About your towels, I buy my towels a Dollar General. They are dirt cheap and take very little time in the dryer. I saved some pump bottles from liquid hand soap and put them in my shower with body wash in them. You'd be amazed at how much longer a bottle of that stuff lasts!
Glad I found this tip again. I have to say I tried the vinegar tip and it helped me so much with dissolving the built up shampoo/oil in my hair. I have very long hair and only shampoo every other day (every day dries it out). I used diluted vinegar, rinsed, then diluted shampoo, and it helped me so much! I also use olive oil mixed with spearmint oil to moisturize my hair and skin. Thanks again for the vinegar tip!
When I wash my hair every 3-4 days I use baking soda. It cleans without damage and the result is absolutely wonderful. I use apple cider vinegar for rinse. It may take a few times to work as sometimes some people feel a greasy yukky the first couple of times but persevere and it will be great.
I'm going to spray my bathroom tiles and such with vinegar too, it is a natural germ killer and very safe to use. Great idea. I knew it killed nits in hair and is good to make a tea out of Apple Cider Vinegar with 1 cup of water and 1/8 baking soda for almost any ailment, but I never thought of spaying the bathroom walls with white vinegar.This is great!
See earthclinic.com for all vinegar uses for health!
I've been experimenting with simple ingredients and practices too, and saving water. I wash with a lightly soaped wet (not drippy) washcloth under arms and the crotch area, and diluted organic shampoo for my hair, every other day. I tried those pretty nylon scrubs, but the old washcloth is better.
I think the vinegar hair rinse would be too bleaching for me, even diluted, but otherwise a fine idea if followed by another rinse.
My water use comes to about a quart each time, and the washcloth water is cold, at least in summer. Also, I soap up by the sink and then shampoo-rinse there over a bucket, not bothering with the shower. (In a more humid climate, you may want to stand in a large flat basin like area to catch all the drips, but they moisten the air here.) I then take all the used water (diluted) outside for plants. There's little soap or shampoo anyway.
For deodorant, I've found raw cider vinegar works fine, applied mornings; ordinary vinegar will do. For future experiments, I may try very hot water without shampoo, at least alternate washes, to cut the oil in my hair.
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Here are some of my favorite money-savers for the bath:
