Don't Waste Your Money! Items I've Never Bought, & Never Will.

Between a month-long spending strike, from-scratch cooking, and lots of frugal home renovations and DIY, you might say John and I are budget-conscious. In a way, we live by the mantra:

Use it up, wear it out, make due, or do without.

We really value our money, but treat ourselves to things like dinners out with friends and a vacation (i.e. - camping trip) every now and then. We also don't have a problem spending money on quality items that will enhance our lives. There are some things, however, that we've never bought and have no intentions to purchase, like:

pajamas

I wear a tank top and shorts to bed. These are items I can wear out in the garden, or while working out (hahaha, that's funny). I think it's silly to buy a special set of pajamas. And, trust me, nothing at all is just as alluring as those pricy nighties. We choose to save our money here.

dental floss

We go to the dentist twice a year, and ask for a few extra rolls of dental floss. Our hygienists pass them out like candy on Halloween. I am very diligent about flossing daily (one bad experience in the dental chair made me fanatical about good preventative oral hygiene!), and go through quite a bit in six months.

I got my hands on a pack of Young Living Thieves dental floss a while back and really like it. If I ever broke down and paid for dental floss, I would buy this stuff in a heartbeat.

fabric softener sheets

Growing up, my mom never used fabric softener sheets. She was doing a lot of laundry when we were at home, and this was an unnecessary expense. Now that I am on my own, simply stated: I don't want the extra chemicals on my clothing that comes from a dryer sheet. In the winter, we can 'suffer' through a little static electricity. Our wool dryer balls eliminate most of that, though. I also add a few drops of lavender, lemon or Purification essential oil for scent, if I really want it.

We also use white vinegar in the rinse cycle as a fabric softener, after using this homemade laundry soap. After a few weeks of using our unscented version and ditching the fabric softener sheets, we didn't even know we were missing them.

spice blends

Many of the prepackaged spice blends at the store are loaded with MSG or other fillers.

They're also really easy to customize and make at home from my already huge spice drawer. Plus, I like that by making my own spice blend, I can make only what I need for one recipe and not have a leftover blend that I rarely use.

food coloring

Nature colors my food. The end.

immersion blender

I am on the line with this item. I have a food processor that I love and use regularly in the summer to help me make short work of all that garden bounty. In the winter we make a lot of soups, and it's really inconvenient to puree a soup in a bulky food processor that hasn't seen the light of day since September. These are the times I really wish I had an immersion blender. I've never purchased one because I convince myself that it's a luxury and I don't really need it.

Do you have an immersion blender? Tell me about it. What are some other items you don't purchase, either out of principle or frugality? 

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