Money Monday . . . 10 things you can stop buying at the grocery store

This post about 10 things you can stop buying at the grocery store when money is tight, inspired me to write my own 10 things.

1. Pop or soda and juice - I know that Heidi doesn't buy pop or soda unless it is on an extreme sale or she has to bring it to a party. She also doesn't buy juice that often and when she does, she waters it down (as do I). We (my husband and I) try not to buy pop or soda that often. If we get desperate for it, we just drive to the gas station and get a 44 oz. drink. It takes time and effort to go down to the gas station so this is something we usually don't do.

2. Laundry detergent - If you have looked at my (Gretchen's) blog, you know that I make my own laundry detergent.

3. Dishwasher detergent - I also make my own dishwasher detergent. I will still occasionally use store bought, but this works pretty well. There are many recipes out there. You will just need to experiment and see what works for you.

4. Swiffer dust pads and wet wipes (if you use Swiffer stuff) - I made my own Swiffer duster refill. It is not that difficult.

5. Baby Food - there are many other recipes for baby food on the web.

6. Hand soap - I buy the ORIGINAL Dawn dishwashing liquid (the blue bottle) and just fill up all my dispensers. The original dawn has no phosphates. You can find Dawn on sale at CVS and stock up playing the CVS game. You can also check out other uses for Dawn here.

7. Baby wipes - you can do this or really do homemade.

8. Paper Products

9. Cleaning Supplies - well, you do have to buy vinegar and baking soda at the grocery store, but they are not very expensive.

10. Fabric Softener - or you can just use vinegar in your rinse cycle (or with a Downy ball like I do).

How about you, what things are you trying to cut out concerning grocery shopping?