Challenge yourself to only use half of everything in your regular routine today. Not only will you save, but it may teach you exactly what you need and don’t need.
What is a half day? A half day is when you go around your home or day and consciously choose to only use half of the amount of the stuff that you usually use. To keep it simple, approach each product or service and then half it to the best of your ability. By doing this for one day, you can have fun in the challenge, while learning what products or services work just as well when using half (and of course, which don’t). If you are a list maker as I am, make a list of your results.
Home schoolers can turn this into a family scientific project, complete with lab notes on the experiments, the observation and the results.
Here are some examples of how you can find things to halve in your half day.
Use half of your regular laundry detergent in a load of laundry, half of your normal fabric softener or half of a fabric softener sheet.
Serve half the amount of meat at dinner (supplement with extra rice, pasta and or salad, if needed).
Use half the amount of shampoo and body wash, and cut your disposable cleansing cloths in half (if you use them).
Use half a packet of hot chocolate or half a tea bag (share the bag with a friend or save it for a second cup later). Drink half the amount of soda or juice (water is a great substitute).
Eat half as many snacks today.
Use half of the amount of dishwashing soap or dish detergent.
Use half the amount of squares of toilet paper (most people use too much).
Use half of the amount of lights. Either use one less light in the room, leave the the lights on for only half the time, be diligent about shutting them off, or really examine if you need to turn on a light when you enter a room.
What other ways can you find to practice as part of your half day?
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.
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