Savings and Thrift around the House

The last time I attempted this blog, and attempted to get super organized, I made the mistake of trying to do too many new things at once, and becoming very discouraged with myself when I failed to live up to the examples that others had set, and the "perfection" I envisioned for myself. This time I really want to try to do better. Yesterday I made a small list of the minor things that I did in my own home in one day that helped me to either save money, or at least not be wasteful. I also made a list of a few things that I could have done better, and will try hard to work on. I like to look at the small daily things because they make me feel like I am at least working towards my goal of being more organzied, less wasteful, and just a better stay at home mom. I won't Blog about the list each and every day because what I am doing in my home may be totally different from what you can do, or even would want to do. So...here's my list from yesterday:

Ten Ways that I saved or at least was not wasteful:

1. I constantly turned things off, or unplugged things that were not in use.
2. I used my "leftover" New Years Eve champagne to make mimosas in the morning. (these ended up NOT being made with OJ because my teen son drank all of that in the evening. So I used Cran Raspberry juice instead....not bad, but OJ would have been better!!)
3. Turned down our thermostat by 2 degrees...this was really hard for me because I HATE being cold in the winter time, but I just threw on a few extra layers and was ok with the new temp. of 68 degrees.
4. I cut open a bottle of hand lotion because I knew there had to be enough left for just one more day...actually there is enough for at least three more days.
5. I used my scented lotion and opted for no perfume...why bother using both, especially since the two scents don't even match??
6. I reused the leftovers from the day before to create an "appetizer type" dinner.
7. I managed to get more conditioner out of the bottle that my husband threw in the trash as "empty"
8. I reused plastic baggies to cover left overs, and to empty trash. (I save my grocery bags and use them to line my trash cans rather than buying trash bags...and any ziplocs that can be reused, get reused)
9. I got creative with our lunch recipe. I was making Southwest Chicken Paninis with my new Panini press (Xmas gift from my mother in law) and realized that I did not have Chili powder...I used Taco Seasoning instead with a touch of crushed red pepper and they were fantastic!! I am really not one to veer away from a recipe so this was a big step for me.
10. I did not leave the house even once...no wasted gas, or money at a store.

Five ways that I wasted money:

1. Let the water run for too long when my son was in the tub, and when hand washing a few dishes.
2. In my organizing frenzy I tossed five baby bottles that could have been sold or donated.
3. I cleaned out the fridge and tossed 2 bottles of dressing that expired, 2 oranges that went bad, and a bunch of crab dip that did not get eaten in time. I hate throwing away food...might as well be tossing moeny in the garbage. I really need to work on that better.
4. I sprayed perfume on myself at night...not even sure why I did this. I opened up my medicine cabinet, and the bottle fell out. For some reason, I spritzed myself with it...I had just put on my pj's...so this made no sense to me.
5. My husband was making popcorn for our son, and I did not realize which bag he grabbed, and just gave him the timing instructions for the larger bags. The popcorn was overdone, and ended up being tossed out for the birds. (it had been a freebie bag, but it was still watseful)

How have you been doing with saving and not wasting?? I am hoping to get much better with this in the new year. As long as I continue taking little steps each day I figure they are adding up. Even if everything I do only saves me a little bit each month, that is more than we had when we started. :)