Tips for Reducing Spending on Non Food Grocery Items
I always find tips hard to write. It can be rather laborious to wade through tip upon tip that you’ve already heard or read. The best tip I can offer you is to take a look at 1 item you buy regularly and really think hard about how you might go about reducing spending on that item.
Having said that, this week I’m going to go through the list of non food items that I include with our grocery budget and explain what I do/have done to reduce spending in that area. Hopefully there is something here that will help most of you.
For those not familiar with the term “generic”, it is simply a reference to a stores own brand. We have many different generic “brands” now in Australia.
TOILET PAPER
This is one item where I tend to be rather fussy. I have a limit of 50c per roll and stock up big when a good special is on. Our personal preference is Kleenex Cottonelle. For some reason most people like Quilton these days but I really don’t like it much at all. It all comes down to personal preference.
I did find a great recycled, made in Australia pack that was more like 35c a roll in Bi-Lo one time but when I went back they no longer stocked it and I haven’t seen it since. I also didn’t write down the name of it. 
TISSUES
Everyone in our family has hankies. The kids don’t use them as much as DH and I. I don’t push this one way or another. DH and I just happen to prefer hankies. I buy generic branded tissues (usually Coles) and then I purchase the Aloe Vera tissues if someone has a cold. We’re lucky to go through a box of tissues a month.
CLEANING CLOTHS
As I mentioned last week, I use old face washers and cut up towels for cleaning cloths. I do occasionally buy cleaning cloths and when I do I tend to buy generic and wash them many times. We’re hardly ever use the “chux” style of cloth.
For dishes I do buy those yellow sponges with the green scourer on one side - again, generic branded. We also have a dishmop (although they’re getting harder and harder to source these days) and occasionally use plastic and metal scourers (which don’t need replacing very often).
My biggest expense with cleaning are those George Foreman Grill cleaning cloths. DH loves them and who am I to deny him if he’s happy to do the cleaning up?
PAPER TOWEL
We don’t tend to use a LOT of paper towel. Most spills get wiped up with an old cloth nappy (if you see any of these in op shops - they make AWESOME mop-up-spills cloths).
When I do buy it, I tend to go with a generic brand. It’s usually just used for grease based spills or stuff that we really want to throw in the bin rather than wash a cloth from.
SOAP
I’m not a big user of soap (and no I don’t STINK!). DH on the other hand tends to need quite a bit of it. He’s quite limited in what he can use due to my sensitivity to perfumes so we tend to stick with Velvet which just happens to be about the cheapest soap there is.
I seem to accumulate a never ending supply of liquid body washes so that’s what the kids will often have in their bath (if anything).
For handsoap at the basins I prefer a liquid soap and most commonly I use a very cheap shampoo (watered down) for this. It’s also a great way to use up bits of shampoo that I’ve bought to try and haven’t liked.
SHAMPOO AND OTHER HAIR PRODUCTS
My biggest money saving tip? Cut everyone’s hair short! 
Since Farmboy has decided he likes his hair razor cut, we’ve used nowhere near the shampoo we used to! The kids hair gets washed once a week (or less often for Leighton if I forget to remind him 
). I wash mine whenever I’m going out (which is 2-3 times a week at the moment).
Most people use TOO MUCH shampoo. Try cutting back how much you use. You can also put it into a pump pack to prevent other family members overusing. You can also use either soap or bicarb soda for washing your hair.
I used bicarb for quite some time but apparently it can strip any colour (artificially added that is) from your hair so I haven’t used it for a while. Must try it again one of these days. My hair was amazingly soft and silky when I was using bicarb.
We use very little in the way of conditioner. I use apple cider vinegar to condition my hair. I have it mixed in a spray bottle with a little Rosemary essential oil and about 3/4’s water to 1/4 vinegar.
For the kids I have a bottle of water with a small amount of conditioner in it that gets sprayed onto their hair before brushing. It gives them more than enough conditioning treatment for their hair and in fact has solved the problem of trying to wash all of the conditioner out of their hair. The diluted amount from the spray bottle seems to be enough to get rid of tangles and leave their hair shiny and manageable (well, mostly).
HAIR REMOVAL EQUIPMENT
Farmboy uses an electric razor so this tends to come out of a different budget (his first one was a birthday present). That requires no other products so I’m not constantly buying shaving foam or anything else for his shaving requirements.
I use a reusable razor with heads that have their own product for shaving. I also use some Nair but one tube lasts me the whole summer quite easily.
TOOTHBRUSHES, TOOTHPASTE AND FLOSS
I prefer to use Colgate Total Gel so look out for this on special. I will sometimes alternate with a generic brand. One of these days I’ll get around to trying a more natural toothpaste.
We mostly use pretty basic toothbrushes. The kids get fun ones in their Christmas stockings and the rest of the year just have plain coloured ones. I’ve found the Coles generic brand quite good in terms of the kids toothbrushes and tend to buy whatever is on special for Farmboy and I (Colgate do a reasonably priced multipack).
CLEANING PRODUCTS
As I mentioned last week, I use a LOT of water for cleaning. Then a mixture of bicarb, vinegar and Tri Nature natural cleaning products as needed. Tri Nature products are highly concentrated and last me ages (it’s been over 12 months since I’ve bought any).
DISHWASHING
I use Tri Nature Chamomile for handwashing and Tri Nature Citrus Dishwashing Powder in the Dishwasher. Both of these are concentrates and last us a long time. As a member of Tri Nature I get a 15% discount on these items when I order.
LAUNDRY DETERGENTS
I’m currently using up Tri Nature laundry products that I have always used in the laundry. When they are gone I want to try some different ideas I’ve read about natural alternatives (such as soap nuts).
One thing I have found with the laundry is that we need much LESS detergent than we were using. This is one of the reasons I still have product to use up - it’s taking a lot longer to go through now we’re using LESS. Keep cutting back until you notice a difference in how clean clothes are getting.
I very rarely use a fabric softener and when I do I use a natural one. When that is used up I intend to try vinegar as a fabric softener.
PEGS
I use a mixture of more expensive pegs and generic branded pegs. I always bring them inside when not in use as the sunlight ruins them very quickly.
In a pinch you can actually use bread tags as pegs (for thinner fabrics). We get plenty of wind and they seem to stay on the line!
GARBAGE BAGS AND BIN LINERS
I try to reuse grocery bags and fruit and veg bags (which fit our toilet bins perfectly) for rubbish as much as possible.
Garbage bags is one item where I have found generic to be inadequate so we tend to use Glad. I try to stock up when on special and buy the larger packs as they end up being cheaper per bag.
For white bin liner bags (yes, I do buy some) I can’t remember the name of the brand (and we currently don’t have any). It’s not generic and it’s not Glad but a brand that is somewhere in between in terms of cost. I *think* it might be Hercules.
WRAPS AND BAGS
I try to avoid using throw away wrapping where possible. We still use more than I’d like. I know it’s an area we could cut back on but it’s also an area out of my control at this time.
When we do use plastic wrap, I tend to buy generic. You do need to shop around a little to find the generic brands that work well. I’m not a big fan of much in the Black and Gold brand but have found a lot of the Coles Brand quite good.
I use generic brand freezer bags but up until recently preferred to use Hercules Snap Lock Bags (cheaper than the top brand but dearer than generic). For Princess Singstars birthday party I bought some Coles brand snap lock bags and found them to be great. I don’t reuse freezer bags but I do wash and reuse snap lock bags (unless they’ve had raw meat in them).
I also reuse bread bags for freezing items in. Not so much for the actual “savings” as for environmental reasons. Still, a few cents here and there can add up.
Items like alfoil and baking paper I tend to use generic brands as well.
But I generally work on the principle that if I can use something reusable rather than throw away, I will.
Now I’m going to throw it over to you. Do you have a tip or two that have saved you money when buying non food grocery items? Feel free to share in the comments section so we can all learn together.
Are you looking for budget kitchen items? If you want to find discount bakeware for your household, let the internet give you the best prices. You can find a huge selection of discounted kitchen goodies. Whether you are looking for discount cookware or you want to find discount cutlery, we can help!
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Cloth nappies are amazing things.
I use vinegar in our front loader (just put it in the fabric softner draw) and it is amazing. Hubby never can remember to only put a little detergent in and each time he does a load of washing my laundry gets flooded in suds. Front loader really only likes a very little bit of the laundry powder - even the special front loading kind.
Not sure why he can’t understand more is not necessarily better - we have the same problem when he washes the girls hair, he uses a ton of shampoo.
We’ve been buying 2L pump packs of the girls bath gel as they require a special soap free soap or their skin gets rashes. Mighty expensive stuff and most of the time they just have water in the bath - or I get them to shower with me.
I found to my surprise that IKEA have really good dishbrushes for washing dishes and they were really cheap and sturdy. Unlike the cheap dishbrushes from Safeway which fell to pieces.
Very timely post…it’s grocery shopping this weekend I will undoubtedly need to stock up on non-food items
* I’ve found a nice generic brand of t.p. that I like. I did try the GREEN t.p. and found it a tad too thin, and rough. A 12 roll pack lasts between 1-2 months. I also use t.p. as kleenex in the washroom and to clean up Buddy’s messes should he happen to get sick.
* generic brand 2 ply tissues (or kleenex as it’s universally known in Canada). I keep a box in the living room, and bedroom as well at my desk at work and can go through quite a bit, I seem to have developed all-season allergies, though I find in the winter months my nose drips like a tap. I think they cost 89C/box
*cleaning cloths? what’s that? lol I’ve got quite a collection of hand me downs and I’m currently knitting new dishcloths.
*soap/shampoo/conditioner — Have also developed bad reactions to scented products. I use Dove’s unscented hypoallergenic products. I had tried a variety of different things and found they either a) irritated my skin to the point of hives or b) dried my skin out. Yes Dove can be expensive so I try and buy it while it’s on sale or use coupons courtesy of mum
*paper towels: with the exception of the roll currently on the go, I no longer use this product. have decided to switch to cloth napkins and cleaning rags for spills. T.p. works great for cat upchuck.
*razors: winter’s great for that, hairy legs make for great insulation haha. I use Daisy brand and good ole Dove soap should the mood strike.
*Dental products: Colgate household as well. And I think I have a generic brand toothbrush. Toothpaste costs about 80cents/tube
*dishwashing: Lemon scented and rubber gloves. I inherited a large jug of liquid soap from an old neighbour when they moved away 2 years ago. Still working my way through the jug.
*laundry: Can’t think of the brand name at the moment, but again, due to my sensitivity to scents, it’s an unscented detergent, and I use very little of it. I think I’ve bought 2 containers of detergent in the last 5 years. I usually do between 3-4 small loads a week. Don’t use fabric softener or drier sheets as I hang dry my clothes.
*have purchased dollar store wooden laundry pegs. Just waiting for an outdoor line to hang my clothes on!
*have a garbage bag in the kitchen bin and that’s it. Though I do have a small collection of plastic bags that I will on occasion use. My other bins can easily be washed and I don’t put food into those bins.
*wraps and bags: I think I still have some if it around the place but try and avoid using it. I’ve been using the Rhonda Jean technique of a small plate or bowl overtop another bowl as a cover. Works just fine. Do use small bag to cover my opened bricks of cheese or for bringing crackers to work with me. Should really stop that habit.
Awesome ideas.
Just wondering how dou u use bicarb when washing your hair? Love to see how that one goes so might have to try it.
I have found like you that bulk and more environmentally friendly seems to be a great measure of also frugal. I use Amway products, have always regretted changing to other brands of dish detergent or washing powder as I have a sensitive snoz.
I had changed to homebrand baking paper but for the things I bake, like multiple trays of biscuits, I found I could re-use 2 sheets on 2 trays a couple of times over for a large batch of biscuits while I had to put a new piece of baking paper on for each tray and remember to spray it with oil too (or pay the price of levering warm bickies off a hot tray!).
In my house there are levels of container usage depending on time of storage eg. Gladware for quick storage in fridge (last a good couple of months before someone reheats tomato dishes in them and they are binned), Decor for biscuits and things that may be around for a week or two, and then Tupperware for longer storage of flour, sugar, etc. I barely ever use plastic wrap, a roll lasts years, and foil only gets used on top of casserole dishes that have lost their lids so it lasts a long time too.
Just as an aside I found bulk buying works well. I buy rolled oats, flour of both types, sugar and sometimes nuts in bulk from Trumps in Brisbane. Even with delivery to mid NSW I am getting a better price for rolled oats than the homebrand supermarket price (and better quality). I store my goods in their bags (usually plastic lined anyway) with pegged tops rolled over in a 125litre plastic container under my dryer table. Knowing that I will run out of baking basics very rarely makes it easy to whip up a batch of biscuits when the kids are starving and it doesn’t require a run to the shops like fruit or dairy snacks needs when the cupboard (and fridge) is bare.
Sorry for such a long comment. This has been an area of interest for me for a while and I have learnt some great things with experience (like buying in bulk with friends if a hindquarter is too much for my budget, and getting bulk chickens from the butcher too!). I have even shared my chest freezer space to just have the benefit of T-bones at only $6.50/kg instead of $*%#@*& .
Whoops, shut me up please!
Jen in Maitland, NSW
I’m wondering why you don’t wash and reuse snap lock bags that have had raw meat in them. I rinse them out as soon as I remove the meat, then they get washed in the hot soapy dishwashing water, rinsed again, then hung on the line to dry in the sun. They never smell bad and I’ve not had any contamination problems. Some of my snap lock bags have been in use now for quite a while. Snap lock bags are also used for marinating, they take up less room in the fridge than a container and to turn the meat or chicken I just flip the bag over. In the freezer I also have snaplock bags with crumble topping mix(make much more than you need, it freezes really well) grated parmesan cheese, I buy a block and grate the whole thing then it’s ready for whatever I use it for and it freezes without becoming a solid lump, just open the bag, take out what you need, reseal and pop back into the freezer. I did have a couple of bags with home made shortcrust pastry ready to use but I’ve used them and not yet made more.Things that come in boxes such as crumbed fish fillets etc are also moved into snaplock bags because they take up much less room that way, ditto sausages, bagged into meal sized lots, and bulk buy bacon, separated and frozen, bulk packs of just about anything really, frozen in meal sized portions. The newish type of non stick baking paper works well to separate uncooked home made hamburgers so you can open your (you guessed it) snaplock bag, remove the number of burgers you want an put the rest back in the freezer. Can you tell I’m a huge fan of snaplock bags?
I also use bread bags for freezing but not for food I’m going to eat. My bread bags are used for scraps that would otherwise go stinky if put into the bin (kitchen or wheelie), i.e. fat trimmed from steak or chops, crab or prawn shells, stuff like that all goes into bread bags, that way we can easily distinguish food from rubbish and besides that the rubbish has its own freezer shelf.
Giggling at Maggie inheriting a jug of liquid soap from a moving neighbour. When I move I take EVERYTHING except an individually wrapped single roll of T.P., just in case the new tenants move in and forgot to buy or pack some.
Marita - I hear you on the blokes getting heavy handed with stuff.
I didn’t even know Ikea stocked things like dishbrushes so there you go. I’ve only ever visited an Ikea store once. But it’s on my list for mid-year when I need to get bits and pieces for the caravan so will keep my eyes open.
Maggie - good luck with the stocking up! I always need to be very careful when I have it in mind to do a stock-up shop. I tend to buy more than we need. LOL. Sounds like you do pretty well with non food items.
Caroline - I added a small amount of bicarb to my hair (at the roots) before I went for a shower and then allowed it to get wet under the shower as I rubbed it in. I hope that helps with your question.
Jen - It’s good to know buying bulk works well for you. I wish I could get a bit more in bulk. I have found one place in Adelaide that has some stuff in bulk (get there about once a year) but not the more general stuff like rolled oats. Long comments are fine BTW.
River - I’m pretty cautious when it comes to contamination from raw meat. I guess I figure some things aren’t worth the risk. Mind you, I don’t usually use snap lock bags for raw meat anyway. Interesting how different things will bother different people isn’t it? I often put raw meat into bread bags because I figure it still has to be cooked but wouldn’t put it in a bag that had had raw meat in it previously. With a dog, cats and chooks we don’t tend to have too much in the way of food scraps that end up in our bin. Unfortunately, we still seem to have way too much rubbish.
So many great tips here and it the comments $10 -$20 a week saved is $500- 1000 a year. So it makes good CENTS.
We buy glad catering plastic wrap and it lasts 2 yrs and the foil too. I only use foil to cover roast meat. I have loads of Tupperware containers heehee.
We now buy OMO front loader powder in a huge bucket 10kg, it was a box beofre but we will get a bucket when we finish. For nearly ayear I have only used half the normal front loader dose. It still works, I don’t use fabric softener.
I found great ‘name’ brand toothbrushes (like Colgate) in ‘go lo’ (super discount stores for US people) but they have foreign writing not english but who cares when they are 57c -$1.
I have dozens of cloth terry squares since I use modern cloth nappies - I should use them more often for spills and stuff.
Thanks for sharing these great ideas.
My Little Drummer boys
Love handy tip lists like this, thanks for taking the time to compile and share.
river, my neighbour was moving out of the country hence why I inherited all sorts of interesting items, such as dish soap, dishes, clothes, a washing machine, cleaning products, food. I actually had great fun going ’shopping’ in her place for items that she couldn’t pack and take with her and yet she didn’t want to throw away.
Great tips!
I’ve had to print it out so I can remember it. Think I might start a book on Lightenings tips!
Cheers
Sharon.
Maggie-sweet!
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