favorite budget household items

[dreamin_disney]

I don't know what's gotten into me but I'm on a budget planning kick. It all started with dd heading to college (August 2017) . I used coupons to buy several bag of tide and large box of fabric sheets. Then I started buying little things here and there for her college dorm. I also bought stuff for dh and I like large box of downy fabric sheets, some bottles of fabric softner (ensueno). We still have fabric sheets and softner. I also started buying bulk toilet paper(charmin) and paper towels (Bounty). Name brand is pricey even on sale.

Currently I'm also on a meal prep kick so I'm just looking at how much money can be saved. Its getting addicting-lol!

Today Dh and I went to buy toilet paper and paper towels. He tells me we have a $100 visa gift card we need to use up (we've had it maybe 2 years) and he's getting 2- $50 visa gift cards from rebate from tires he bought. I tell him how I want to start buying certain items in bulk to save us money like less trips going to buy one items that's needed like toliets paper or tide then coming out with $80 worth of stuff etc. He tells me he's using his visa gift cards for gas and I can use the $100 one for whatever I want.


So I want to know what budget household items you use and are just as good as name brand stuff

Toliet paper -we buy charmin but whats a cheaper version that's good
paper towels- we buy bounty but what a good cheaper version
laundry detergent-I have allergies to stuff like itchy but do fine with tide but willing to try a genric or cheaper brand equal to tide
Cleaning supplies

what are some house hold items you stock up on

 

[kymom99]

I don't know what's gotten into me but I'm on a budget planning kick. It all started with dd heading to college (August 2017) . I used coupons to buy several bag of tide and large box of fabric sheets. Then I started buying little things here and there for her college dorm. I also bought stuff for dh and I like large box of downy fabric sheets, some bottles of fabric softner (ensueno). We still have fabric sheets and softner. I also started buying bulk toilet paper(charmin) and paper towels (Bounty). Name brand is pricey even on sale.

Currently I'm also on a meal prep kick so I'm just looking at how much money can be saved. Its getting addicting-lol!

Today Dh and I went to buy toilet paper and paper towels. He tells me we have a $100 visa gift card we need to use up (we've had it maybe 2 years) and he's getting 2- $50 visa gift cards from rebate from tires he bought. I tell him how I want to start buying certain items in bulk to save us money like less trips going to buy one items that's needed like toliets paper or tide then coming out with $80 worth of stuff etc. He tells me he's using his visa gift cards for gas and I can use the $100 one for whatever I want.


So I want to know what budget household items you use and are just as good as name brand stuff

Toliet paper -we buy charmin but whats a cheaper version that's good
paper towels- we buy bounty but what a good cheaper version
laundry detergent-I have allergies to stuff like itchy but do fine with tide but willing to try a genric or cheaper brand equal to tide
Cleaning supplies

what are some house hold items you stock up on

I use northern toilet paper. I like it better and coupons tend to be more generous.

I like Downey but snuggle is good too.

I use the works toilet cleaner. I buy it for $1.

I buy some home sense cleaning stuff from Kroger.

 

[barkley]

laundry detergent-don't know how it prices as compared to others but I get the biggest box of arm & hammer that Walmart sells (I itch w/most brands also-and can't do scented b/c of migraines).

orange cleaner-'awesome orange' at $1 a bottle at the dollar store

floor cleaner-**** and span, again $1 a bottle at the dollar store (same bottle is over $3 at the grocery store/over $2 at Walmart)

paper towels-I get bounty BUT I get the ones that are perforated into half the size of regular sheets so we go through them less quickly (and I wait till they are on sale or target is giving out a $5 gift card w/a $30 purchase)

otc meds-if equate makes a generic of it it's much less than the brand name (unless you catch one of the big dollar off specials at Costco-then if it's something you use on a regular basis the big bottles save $$$)

deodorant-women's: keep an eye on avon ads for 99 cent sales, mens: they have a wealth of name brands at the dollar store

 

[dreamin_disney]

I use northern toilet paper. I like it better and coupons tend to be more generous.

I like Downey but snuggle is good too.

I use the works toilet cleaner. I buy it for $1.

I buy some home sense cleaning stuff from Kroger.

I'll price the snuggles . I'm sure its cheaper than Downey. I'll add the northern to my list to compare I don't have a Kroger in my area

 

[miztressuz]

I don't know what's gotten into me but I'm on a budget planning kick. It all started with dd heading to college (August 2017) . I used coupons to buy several bag of tide and large box of fabric sheets. Then I started buying little things here and there for her college dorm. I also bought stuff for dh and I like large box of downy fabric sheets, some bottles of fabric softner (ensueno). We still have fabric sheets and softner. I also started buying bulk toilet paper(charmin) and paper towels (Bounty). Name brand is pricey even on sale.

Currently I'm also on a meal prep kick so I'm just looking at how much money can be saved. Its getting addicting-lol!

Today Dh and I went to buy toilet paper and paper towels. He tells me we have a $100 visa gift card we need to use up (we've had it maybe 2 years) and he's getting 2- $50 visa gift cards from rebate from tires he bought. I tell him how I want to start buying certain items in bulk to save us money like less trips going to buy one items that's needed like toliets paper or tide then coming out with $80 worth of stuff etc. He tells me he's using his visa gift cards for gas and I can use the $100 one for whatever I want.


So I want to know what budget household items you use and are just as good as name brand stuff

Toliet paper -we buy charmin but whats a cheaper version that's good
paper towels- we buy bounty but what a good cheaper version
laundry detergent-I have allergies to stuff like itchy but do fine with tide but willing to try a genric or cheaper brand equal to tide
Cleaning supplies

what are some house hold items you stock up on

I wish I could tell you but that's the 3 brands we "splurge" on They're just that good for us. What I do is mix in cheaper stuff so it's not exclusively the expensive brands being used all the time. That's what stretches our dollar.

For Charmin, Charmin Basic. It's still 2 ply I believe but it's thinner so it saves a little $ and there's still coupons for it. I think Angel Soft is the other one. We found Cottonelle to be very linty so I won't even buy it on sale.

For Bounty, Bounty Basic It's definitely thinner but I use it in locations where quantity is more important than quality, like the garage or bathrooms. I keep a roll of the select a size regular Bounty in the kitchen as we get more wet things there and the absorbency is needed more. We buy in bulk when I find sales so I'm rarely out but I think Marcal and Sparkle were the alternates I used that were similar to Bounty Basic.

For Tide, I haven't found a good substitute. I was buying All for a while because it had the best sales but I noticed we had more stains on our clothes and the whites were getting dinghy. I happened to have bought a bottle of Tide on a good sale and noticed how well it cleaned over All, it was taking out stains that had been there through a couple washings and the socks started looking a little whiter. So I make sure to mix in Tide every couple weeks at least just to keep things fresh. I've been buying whatever was part of the Target FWP gift card deals, so I have Gain, OxiClean, All, there was probably something else too. They all seem to work the same, for us, and when things don't look as fresh start using the Tide again to see if it makes a difference.

When I was college I bought all that Fabuloso and Enseuno type, cheap cleaning supplies and discovered sometimes it pays to pay I sound like a TV commercial, and to this day I'm really surprised, but I do get better value out of the more expensive products because I can use less or save time. I just make sure to check sales, clip coupons, and look for rebates or GC deals to go with it.

ETA: For the Tide, my mom noticed the same thing. I think she was also buying All and she mentioned to me one day that her socks weren't getting white out of the wash, as an example. I told her about our Tide strategy, she bought a bottle, tried it a couple washes and agreed that everything she was noticing was reversed. So she's started doing the same, doing a load in Tide every so often.

 

[kymom99]

I'll price the snuggles . I'm sure its cheaper than Downey. I'll add the northern to my list to compare I don't have a Kroger in my area

I actually like northern better than charmin. It's thicker. And snuggle smells good.

I use store brand bleach.

 

[yeahdisney]

Personal products for DD in college; don't stock up but try to buy what she needs on sale, so when she needs the product I have one ready. She has a Walgreens close to her and they can be expensive.

 

[pinkpenguin]

Costco Kirkland brand for everything! I’ll never go back to tide, Charmin, etc. Kirkland brand is awesome and much less expensive. (Unless you play the coupon game, which I do not have time to do).

 

[dreamin_disney]

Personal products for DD in college; don't stock up but try to buy what she needs on sale, so when she needs the product I have one ready. She has a Walgreens close to her and they can be expensive.

She's a freshman so we didn't know better but now we've learned. I am glad I stocked up on tide pods because it was a super good deal and she is set until May. The only thing she needed more of was those fufa sponges , tooth paste, 6 pack of sprite, pack of Gatorade, forks and spoons. She might need more toilet paper but I'll find out this weekend. Only thing we've do need to replace more often is the water bottles

Costco Kirkland brand for everything! I’ll never go back to tide, Charmin, etc. Kirkland brand is awesome and much less expensive. (Unless you play the coupon game, which I do not have time to do).

It never crossed my mind to try Kirkland brand. I'll check it out

 

[QueenIsabella]

A good rule of thumb is to try products that are cheaper, then move back up on the scale of cost/brand name if there's a problem. Like you did with the laundry detergent. For example, all "regular" toothpaste has flouride and is good enough to get your teeth clean. However, you may not like certain brands, or may want a whitener, whatever. But it's worth at least trying the cheapest flouride toothpaste. (Note: Some natural toothpastes don't have flouride).

Along a similar note, we go through a lot of cereal. After experimenting, we found that my family prefers the cheaper Malt-o-Meal brands, with one exception: DH prefers plain Cheerios, name brand. Which is fine--if I need Cheerios for some reason, I get the Cheerios, not the cheaper stuff. He's actually okay with flavored "cheerios" in other brands, it's just the plain. We don't eat enough plain Cheerios for this to have a significant impact on my budget.

I'm fond of the Sam's Club brand of toilet paper, but Walmart sells it, too, just under a different name (and in smaller packages). It seems like store brand/generics have come a really long way in terms of quality. I've also noticed that sometimes there are several "styles" of generic, so you don't have to go rock-bottom to save money (I'm thinking specifically of toilet paper).

 

[gopack]

I second the Kirkland brand! Anything I have tried is great! Some of my favorites are paper towels, toilet paper, nuts, prosecco, wrapping paper and OTC medications.

 

[hsmamato2]

???? I don't know that I can add much here that's helpful except for the tp.... Kirkland and Sams both sell a store brand that very nice and comparable to the charmin type stuff... paper towels I buy a cheap 8 pk of pick a size at Aldi every 5 or 6 months and we don't use them often. (we use dishtowels or cloth napkins mostly that's more economical anyway) I'm trying kirkland laundry detergent next time I shop at costco I've heard really good things about it from friends(I usually use arm and hammer,it's cheap and does a good job) I don't ever use fabric softener so nothing there(saves me 100%) and dishwasher detergent I only use cascade packs (b/c anything else does terrible things to my dishware) and I buy it on sale in bulk at costco(one of the only 'brand names' I'm loyal to) general household cleaner is my diy mix that cleans and sanitizes everything (just mix equal parts white vinegar, isopropyl alcohol,and water in a spray bottle,it's perfect)it costs pennies per year to use that. Cleans everything from toilets to windows to walls to counters with it.(I buy cleanser to scrub toilets with also)

 

[DisneyHardin]

The Sam's Club house brand, Members Mark, is great. Their "Compare to Charmin" toilet paper is fantastic.

I generally buy most of our TP and Paper Towels at Target by combining coupons when they do their "buy 2 get a $5 gift card" type deals.

I do stick with Tide - I use the powdered kind and only use like a teaspoon at a time in our HE washer. Again, I generally buy it at Target when they have the gift card deals.

Other cleaning supplies I'm not really brand loyal too. I used to use Norwex to clean, but now we have a cleaning lady and she prefers traditional cleaning supplies. I just buy the Target brand of most of things and they do fine.

 

[scard192]

White Cloud toilet paper at Walmart. Consumer Reports always rates it very highly. I like Charmin, but White Cloud is a cheaper alternative

 

[krysenchips]

I'm to the point where I don't use fabric softener, general cleaning solutions, or window cleaner any more. I use plain white distilled vinegar.

Plain vinegar instead of laundry fabric softener.
Vinegar and Dawn Dish soap for cleaning solutions and window cleaner.

 

[Candlelady]

We mix vinegar with the Kirkland fabric softener in the laundry. Summer 2/3 vinegar to 1/3 softener, winter is 1/2 each to combat static cling. It's mixed and put into a large cleaned out dish soap squeeze bottle. We just squeeze into the softener compartment instead of measuring.
Also do the same with JetDry for the dishwasher. That stuff is expensive so we cut it 2/3 vinegar to 1/3 JetDry. No spots and saves me money.

 

[Hikergirl]

I prefer Arm & Hammer powder detergent to Tide. I can get a bucket (290 loads) of it for $15 at BJ's with a coupon.
I don't buy fabric softener, I use white vinegar.
I do not like Charmin, it makes too much "dust", I prefer White Cloud. It is thick and soft and cheap.
BJ's or Sam's has a good paper towel alternative to Bounty.
I make some of my own cleaning supplies using white vinegar as a base.

Unfortunately though up at our camp I can't use anything that has chemicals that will end up down the drains. I splurge on supplies for up there. I also have to use RV/Marine toilet paper so that stuff has raised my household supply budget. What I save at home gets eaten up buy buying for up there.

 

[MEM]

I don't know what's gotten into me but I'm on a budget planning kick. It all started with dd heading to college (August 2017) . I used coupons to buy several bag of tide and large box of fabric sheets. Then I started buying little things here and there for her college dorm. I also bought stuff for dh and I like large box of downy fabric sheets, some bottles of fabric softner (ensueno). We still have fabric sheets and softner. I also started buying bulk toilet paper(charmin) and paper towels (Bounty). Name brand is pricey even on sale.

Currently I'm also on a meal prep kick so I'm just looking at how much money can be saved. Its getting addicting-lol!

Today Dh and I went to buy toilet paper and paper towels. He tells me we have a $100 visa gift card we need to use up (we've had it maybe 2 years) and he's getting 2- $50 visa gift cards from rebate from tires he bought. I tell him how I want to start buying certain items in bulk to save us money like less trips going to buy one items that's needed like toliets paper or tide then coming out with $80 worth of stuff etc. He tells me he's using his visa gift cards for gas and I can use the $100 one for whatever I want.


So I want to know what budget household items you use and are just as good as name brand stuff

Toliet paper -we buy charmin but whats a cheaper version that's good
paper towels- we buy bounty but what a good cheaper version
laundry detergent-I have allergies to stuff like itchy but do fine with tide but willing to try a genric or cheaper brand equal to tide
Cleaning supplies

what are some house hold items you stock up on

I am allergic to most detergents and all fabric softeners and I can use only Tide Free and Gentle. I would not try and save money there. For me there is no equivalent to Tide - I don't use anywhere near as much as recommended and I add about 1/4 cup of white vinegar to each load to enhance the detergent and deodorize as well as sanitize. Tide seems to last forever and Target has regular sales on it plus you get a $5 gift card for buying a certain amount. For toilet paper we buy Kirkland from Costco.

 

[Lvsdisney]

Target has a good version of Charmin. Not as thick but still nice. I have found brawny to be as good as bounty and even the grocery chains have comparable versions. Giant/shop and shop has a premium paper towel that is just as good as bounty. I also buy the select a size version because I rarely need a full sheet.

 

[mousefanmichelle]

Save yourself some money and buy white vinegar for laundry and for cleaning. I don't use softner at my house only because it breaks down the fabric of your clothing and I don't use fabric sheets either - waste of money in my book.

I bulk up on TP and paper towel at Sams club but that's about it now that my 2 oldest have moved out and there is only 3 of us at home.