Save Money by Recycling Your KFC Buckets

More often than not, when we are running out of time to prepare for a meal to go (i.e. picnics, roadtrips, etc.) we go to KFC to order their Bucket Meal. It is actually cost-effective when you compare it to other food to-go.

 

As I've mentioned before, I hate throwing out plastic. As such, we end up with quite a lot of these plastic buckets.

So, I've come up with a list on what to do with those buckets:

1. As a laundry detergent holder. You can place your detergent sachets in the bucket so that they won't get wet.

2. For marinating. If you're like me who can't seem to find a plastic container that can fit a whole chicken for marinating, then you can try what I've discovered. I use the plastic bucket for marinating a whole chicken. You can also use it for other meat, like pork chops or even fish.

3. As a project holder. Let's say you're into arts and crafts, you've probably thought about buying a lot of baskets or containers to put your stuff in. You can just use a plastic bucket! If you're into crocheting or knitting or even cross-stitching, the bucket can hold your yarns, thread and what-have-you's.

4. Temporary kitchen trash can. When cooking, I don't like throwing the peelings or the wrappers very often, since I would get my hands dirty. So what I do is I place a plastic bucket nearby to put in all of the things I need to throw. After cooking, I just empty the bucket in the proper trash can. Saves me from washing my hands very often.

5. Small toys holder. If you have boys like me, you probably know how they love matchbox cars. I don't like placing those cars in the toy box since it will be hard to look for them later. So I use a plastic bucket to put in all of my boys' small cars, then I place the bucket inside the toy box. It's easier to store them this way.

6. Potato, onion and garlic bin. I store potatoes, onions, & heads of garlic in a plastic bucket (separately). I haven't thought of buying a plastic or basket container for this purpose.

7. Basin for cleaning bottles. When my boys were still babies, I used plastic buckets to wash their bottles in. It's big enough for that purpose.

8. Jewelry box. I have used 3 plastic buckets to store my chunky bracelets and other chunky accessories.

9. Car trash can. All you need to do is line it with a plastic bag and it's good to go.

10. Bath-time helper. My boys love taking baths and along with it comes the plastic bucket holding all of their bath toys. All you need to do is turn the bucket upside down (with the lid and with the toys inside) after the bath so that they can dry up fast.

11. Clothespin holder. When hanging clothes outside to dry, I am accompanied by a plastic bucket holding all of my clothespin.

12. Pots for plants. The plastic buckets work as fine as the clay pots.

13. First-aid kit & medicine holder. All you need to do is to clean the plastic bucket thoroughly.

14. Tissue/Napkin holder. As tip # 13, you just have to make sure that the plastic bucket is really clean for this use.

15. Computer cables / earphones / computer gadgets holder. We use a plastic bucket to organize all of our computer related things.

Now, you may notice that I have come up with a lot with recycling these plastic buckets, and I guess you're wondering how did I acquire a lot of it. Well, some of it came from our own to-go purchases, a lot of it came from my parents & in-law's. They also love ordering the bucket meal and they save the plastic buckets, for their use and some to give to me.

These buckets don't necessarily come in the usual KFC logos, some of them have cartoon or movie designs. Last year we had some extra paint so some of the buckets were painted baby blue.

Total money saved for these projects: Php 1500 in 6 months and counting!

There are just too many things to do with an empty KFC bucket!

Save Money While Cooking Rice

As Filipinos, our diet has too much rice.

We eat it almost 3 times a day, even more for some.

So how can cooking rice help us save money?

By not throwing away the water we wash the rice with!

Usually, rice is washed at least 3 times before cooking it. After each wash, I place the water in a pail and use it for something else for later.

Here are some ideas on where to use rice water:

1. For watering the plants.

2. For your dog's drinking water. It's clean enough, don't worry...

3. For cleaning gardening tools.

4. As a facial toner. Yup, you read it right, I was able to watch this tip in a japanese-english channel last year. They said that Sake handlers have very smooth skin hence the conclusion that rice water is good for the skin. Just wash your face with your normal facial wash, then rinse your face with the rice water. You have to be patient with this one since results don't show immediately. But as per my personal experience, it does help in giving you smooth skin.

Money saved for this tip: at least Php 100 a month on your water bill, and another Php 100 a month on your beauty bill!

That translates to Php 2400 in a year, not bad for rice water huh.

Make Your Own Baby Wipes

I'm a mommy of 2 toddler boys. And when they were still babies, I was so frustrated on finding the best baby wipes so that they would not get rashes.

I checked the internet back then and found some baby wipes "recipes" that worked for me.

I would link back to that blog if only I could remember the URL, but sadly, I don't (baby brain!). I tried searching it in google but I can't find it. Anyway...

You would need a roll of paper towels for this project (no, not the usual tissue roll). If you are a member of S&R or a frequent buyer of Puregold, you would find these rolls on sale more often than not.

Recipe #1:

2 tablespoons of baby wash
2 tablespoons of olive oil or lavender oil
2 cups of water

Recipe # 2:

2 tablespoons of baby wash
2 tablespoons of olive oil or lavender oil
2-3 drops of tea-tree oil
2 cups of water

Recipe # 3:

1/4 cup aloe vera gel
2-3 drops of tea-tree oil
2 cups of hot water

All you need to do is mix the ingredients in a clean bowl.

Cut the roll of paper towel in half using a clean sharp knife (or an electric bread cutter).

In a cleaned tissue holder (or circular plastic container), place half of the roll of tissue and then pour the mixture, making sure that every surface gets wet with it. Then take out the cardboard roll. And there you have it, your home-made baby wipes!

This is cost-efficient as well since baby wipes can cost twice as much as tissue paper.

Summer-Time Money-Saving Tips

It's summer once again!

And what does that mean?

Heat.

And according to the news last night, it seems like we're on for a VERY hot summer.

Check this equation:

Heat = sweat = added energy consumption = higher bills

So how can we save during this incredulously hot summer?

1. Turn off the air-conditioning. Don't get me wrong now. I'm not suggesting that you suffer the sweltering heat. You just have to be aware of the weather so you can maximize it's efficiency.

Here's how you can do it: In the morning and afternoon, you can just use an electric fan, open up the windows so some air comes in. At night, if the heat is really terrible, use the air-conditioning but be sure to set it's timer to at least 4 hours (you'll be sleeping by that time). There are some units that connect to an electric fan so that when the air-conditioning unit powers off, it triggers the electric fan to power on.

2. Dry laundry outside. If you have an automatic washing machine (the type where you put the clothes in and they come out ready to be folded away), you can skip the dryer and let the sunshine & summer breeze dry your clothes. If you have a regular washing machine, turn the spinner timer a quarter of what you usually set it to. You'll see that laundry smells a lot better when dried outside.

3. Take a nap at the most coolest place in your house. In the middle of the afternoon (2-3 PM), roam around your house and try to feel which place is the coolest (usually this is the most ventilated and out-of-the-sunshine room). Set up a comfortable make-shift sleeping area in that room (since it may be your laundry area, ours is!). Start taking naps there and you'll find out that you can just set your electric fan to it's lowest level or, if it's really cool there, you may not need to use it at all.

4. Make your own ice. For those of us who don't have a refrigerator which makes ice on it's own, we tend to buy ice from the community store nearby. This not only wastes time & energy of the person assigned to buy the ice but also a money-waster. It may only cost Php 2.50-3 but it still counts. The next time that you go to the grocery store, buy some ice trays or small plastic bags for ice so that you can just make your own.

5. Use a jug. I noticed that we only use our jug when we're going out of town. I also noticed that we keep on opening our refrigerator to get some cold water. So I figured, what with having made our ice and all, we can just use the jug and eliminate constantly opening the refrigerator, which in turn, lowers energy consumption.

6. Cook outside. When you cook, the heat stays inside your house until it finds it's way out. And before it does, it would be so warm in your house that you'll need to use 2 electric fans to cool down the place. Consider a make-shift kitchen outside so that your house stays cool inside.

7. Clean your air-conditioner filters and electric fans. When the filters are dirty, they tend to restrict airflow. Meaning, more run-time and higher cooling cost. Filters are on the cheap-side so you can just replace them regularly (like quarterly). A dirty electric fan is not only disgusting but also restricts airflow, making you turn the level higher than usual. Clean your fans once a week or if you're too busy, every other week would suffice.

8. Dress down! When your in your house, use your most light clothes. My S wears only his boxer and my kids only wear light sleeveless shirts with their diapers and I wear the most short shorts and the oldest sleeveless shirt that I have. This way, you wouldn't feel so warm.

There are a lot of ways to save money during summer-time.

You just have to be innovative and open to changes.

Grocery Shopping Money-Saving Tips

Ever since I found out that my money increases in value when buying directly from the grocery store, I started to make mental notes on how to save even more.

So here are some of my tips on how to save some money when doing your grocery shopping:

1. Never, and I mean NEVER, ever go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. If you do, you tend to buy MORE than what you intended to buy. When you're hungry and you're doing your grocery, everything seems to be so appetizing that you feel like you just got to have it. But when you do your grocery shopping right after a meal, you can (& you will) just follow your grocery list - which leads us to our next tip...

2. Bring a grocery list and stick to it! Before heading for the grocery store, check your pantry and your supply cabinets. List down all that is needed to be bought right away and those that can wait or that can be bought if you have extra cash. Also, note down the quantity that you would need to buy. This way, you won't go over board with your grocery items.

3. Bring just enough money and don't bring your credit card. If you still don't know how much to bring, check on your previous grocery receipts and you'll be able to estimate how much do you really need to bring on your grocery shopping excursion. By doing this, you will not be capable of impulse-buying since you are on, technically, a budget during your shopping.

4. Stock up on non-perishables. This is effective when your favorite grocery store has announced a sale on their items (usually 1-2 weeks before the exact date). Great things to stock up on are pasta, cereal and canned goods. Just remember to check on the expiration dates of the items before placing them in your cart.

5. Check for special promos. Some items are sold on special promos for a limited time offer. Almost all of the grocery stores have a special section for these items. For example, a soy sauce bottle may come with a free smaller sized vinegar bottle. Others come with a gift. In other words, they are freebies. And who wouldn't want a gift, right? Just be careful with these offers: check on the expiration dates, check on the free item (if it's broken), and think if you would need the free item or would it just add up to your junk. If you don't have any good use for the free item, it would be better to just grab the regular item instead of the one with a promo.

6. Don't be afraid to try the in-house brands. Almost all of us are used to buying certain brands when grocery shopping. But it would not hurt to try the in-house brands. In SM, they call it Bonus. Why? First, they give the same results (if not better) and second, they cost less than the commercial brands. This might take a trial and error method for some, especially if you feel like this brand does not give the same result as your previous brand. What you can do is buy the smallest size and give it a test run. If it turns out to be fine with you, then you can buy the bigger size the next time you go grocery shopping.

7. Compare, compare, compare. This is related to tip # 6. If your grocery store does not have an in-house brand, compare your usual brand with the other brands available. Chances are you will be able to get a lot more on a lower cost with some other brands. My favorite brand of detergent soap was so expensive, so I checked on the other brands with the same ingredient, bought a couple and tried it at home. Turns out that you cannot tell the difference at all! So from then on I kept on buying the less expensive brand. It adds up if you think about how much you can save in a month then for a year.

8. Buy food that are in-season. Check the newspaper or the internet to learn which produce is in-season. When a product is in-season, it is priced to sell (since they have a lot of it). Great examples are fruits. With vegetables, always remember that during the rainy days, their prices go sky-high!

9. Buy refills. May it be cooking oil, ketchup, shampoo or soy sauce. You already have a container at home (from your previous buy), so why would you need another one right? A refill costs much more less than the ones in containers. All you have to do is transfer the foil or plastic refill to your hard plastic container.

10. Make a grocery shopping schedule. My family goes on a grocery shopping excursion every 2 weeks. We buy all that we will need for 2 weeks, rough it out and come back after 2 weeks. It saves money on transportation and helps us stick to our meal plans & grocery budget.

11. Subscribe to your grocery store's membership or frequency club. It gives you different perks every quarter or so. Some times it may offer an exclusive discount for certain items or it may give out free items. Some stores convert your total bill into points which you can use at a later time. Signing up for these membership makes grocery shopping a lot more fun and a lot more cost-effective.


These tips can save you very little cash on your first few tries, but if you add them up, you'll realize that it does help a lot.

Remeber, practice makes perfect!

My family and I have been doing these methods for the past 3 years. And in total, we were able to save Php 3000 a month on groceries. That means Php 36000 a year!

If we can do it, why can't you?