Frugal RVing
- Thread starter Wendy
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Hi Wendy,
I own my own Class A and handle all of the inside and outside jobs myself. I am fairly new at this, but have already discovered that I am spending way too much money on cleaning solutions for simple cleaning and disinfecting chores. Windex, 409, and all the other big brands, along with paper towels, seem to get used in abundance when I am underway, doing routine clean ups, or doing the big "inside and out" overhaul clean up. Boy do they cost a lot, even when bought in bulk sizes!
I am now saving the spray bottles and filling them with home made cleaning solutions for pennies. The recipes can be found at http://www.Heloise.com/hints.html
Make sure to label any home made solutions correctly, and add dates that they were made, for obvious safety reasons.
I have also found inexpensive sanitizing hints right here at the forum for cleaning up grey/black water spills, managing the hoses, and other outside cleaning needs. Store bought cleaning products are made up of mostly of things that we keep under the kitchen sink, and some things that we keep in the shed, but not much else. If you are careful not to mix the wrong ingredients, you can get the "Lysol" disinfectant with the "Pinesol" appeasing smell using home made solutions from ingredients right from your own cupboard.
The other hint that I have learned at the forum is not to carry excess weight in your holding tanks, as in more fresh water than needed for the trip. I travel with the fresh water tank only half full, unless I know that I will not have access to hookups at my next destination.
I am new at this RV thing, so many of you have probably been doing these things all along. I can't wait to see other ways that Framily members have found to save money on trips.
jozee
I own my own Class A and handle all of the inside and outside jobs myself. I am fairly new at this, but have already discovered that I am spending way too much money on cleaning solutions for simple cleaning and disinfecting chores. Windex, 409, and all the other big brands, along with paper towels, seem to get used in abundance when I am underway, doing routine clean ups, or doing the big "inside and out" overhaul clean up. Boy do they cost a lot, even when bought in bulk sizes!
I am now saving the spray bottles and filling them with home made cleaning solutions for pennies. The recipes can be found at http://www.Heloise.com/hints.html
Make sure to label any home made solutions correctly, and add dates that they were made, for obvious safety reasons.
I have also found inexpensive sanitizing hints right here at the forum for cleaning up grey/black water spills, managing the hoses, and other outside cleaning needs. Store bought cleaning products are made up of mostly of things that we keep under the kitchen sink, and some things that we keep in the shed, but not much else. If you are careful not to mix the wrong ingredients, you can get the "Lysol" disinfectant with the "Pinesol" appeasing smell using home made solutions from ingredients right from your own cupboard.
The other hint that I have learned at the forum is not to carry excess weight in your holding tanks, as in more fresh water than needed for the trip. I travel with the fresh water tank only half full, unless I know that I will not have access to hookups at my next destination.
I am new at this RV thing, so many of you have probably been doing these things all along. I can't wait to see other ways that Framily members have found to save money on trips.
jozee
Jerrygroah
Well-known member
I have found a very economical solution for hand cleaner. When working in the garage or else where, your hands can become very dirty. I used to buy Fast Orange cleaner, but have discovered that dishwasher detergent works just as well and in some cases better. The fast orange costs around ten bucks whereas the detergent is only one buck for a large bottle. I buy it at Dollar General.
Kirk
Well-known member
We have lived very inexpensively in our RV for more than six years now. One of the major things that we do is to volunteer at agencies in return for our site and utilities. I would invite you to visit our web site, found in my signature, and check out the way in which we live. It is a wonderful life!
D
D2
Guest
Wendy,
This is an excellent idea for a thread and I was disappointed not more folks responded to it.? Sorry I am tardy but as we are travelling, I am at the mercy of free or low cost WIFI.? I refuse to pay $6-$7 a night for WIFI service (1st cost saver!).
When we travel, we try to find an RV park in close proximity to several places we want to visit.? We can then get the weekly rate that most RV parks offer - usually 7th night free.? We then put the miles on the tow vehicle which gets better mileage than the DP MH.
When shopping, I always look for the marked down meat.? Sometimes it may be a little discolored but years ago, DH worked for a grocery store and says this is caused by the flourscent lights (assuming of course it is not way over the date to sell).
We have the washer/dryer combo.? Since my loads are smaller, I cut the dryer sheets in half.? Seems to do just fine.
Speaking of the washer/dryer combo, I know there have been discussions regarding the pros and cons of having one.? I personally love ours and I figure being away from home the last 8-1/2 months, we have saved hundreds of dollars doing the laundry in the couch instead of the laundrymat.? There has only been one RV park that we have stayed in that metered electric, so the majority of the time the water and electricity used to wash/dry has already been paid for in the lot rental.
We enjoy visiting the national parks.? DH has the lifetime membership so a great deal of our touring has been focused around the NP - it doesn't cost us to visit each one and they are truly amazing and national treasures.? Anyone who is considering touring several NP or national monuments should look into the membership programs.
Over the last few months since this thread originally started, I have thought of many items to add but now as I try to put them down, I can't remember them all.? I will add new ones as I think of them.?
I hope by reopening this thread others will share their cost savings ideas and maybe we could consolidate them and add a list to the library as this is very useful information for all RVers.
D2
This is an excellent idea for a thread and I was disappointed not more folks responded to it.? Sorry I am tardy but as we are travelling, I am at the mercy of free or low cost WIFI.? I refuse to pay $6-$7 a night for WIFI service (1st cost saver!).
When we travel, we try to find an RV park in close proximity to several places we want to visit.? We can then get the weekly rate that most RV parks offer - usually 7th night free.? We then put the miles on the tow vehicle which gets better mileage than the DP MH.
When shopping, I always look for the marked down meat.? Sometimes it may be a little discolored but years ago, DH worked for a grocery store and says this is caused by the flourscent lights (assuming of course it is not way over the date to sell).
We have the washer/dryer combo.? Since my loads are smaller, I cut the dryer sheets in half.? Seems to do just fine.
Speaking of the washer/dryer combo, I know there have been discussions regarding the pros and cons of having one.? I personally love ours and I figure being away from home the last 8-1/2 months, we have saved hundreds of dollars doing the laundry in the couch instead of the laundrymat.? There has only been one RV park that we have stayed in that metered electric, so the majority of the time the water and electricity used to wash/dry has already been paid for in the lot rental.
We enjoy visiting the national parks.? DH has the lifetime membership so a great deal of our touring has been focused around the NP - it doesn't cost us to visit each one and they are truly amazing and national treasures.? Anyone who is considering touring several NP or national monuments should look into the membership programs.
Over the last few months since this thread originally started, I have thought of many items to add but now as I try to put them down, I can't remember them all.? I will add new ones as I think of them.?
I hope by reopening this thread others will share their cost savings ideas and maybe we could consolidate them and add a list to the library as this is very useful information for all RVers.
D2
Jerrygroah said:
Think "DAWN". it cuts grease much better than most hand cleaners on the market. When I was building custom cabinets I even used it for the final cleanout of my spray guns. It will perform most of the cleaning chores in the RV and is cheaper than most major brands.
Woody
I use dryer lint to start barbques and camp fires. Doesn't smell like strter fluid, it'ss free, it's little ziploc baggies doesn't take up much space.
I clip & uses coupons, get some from online sources & the rest from 'found' Sunday papers. Since I only want small items anyway I go to a double coupon store, buy the smallest sometimes paying pennies for it.
I make my own sauces, ketchup and horseradish makes shrimp sauce. Barbcue sauce is ketchup, honey, chili, paprika, & whatever else I decide to throw in there, teriyaki is lite soya sauce, honey, & powerdered ginger. Salad dressing is jazzed up with a bit of oragano rubbed in palm, s&p then oil & vinegar.
I clip & uses coupons, get some from online sources & the rest from 'found' Sunday papers. Since I only want small items anyway I go to a double coupon store, buy the smallest sometimes paying pennies for it.
I make my own sauces, ketchup and horseradish makes shrimp sauce. Barbcue sauce is ketchup, honey, chili, paprika, & whatever else I decide to throw in there, teriyaki is lite soya sauce, honey, & powerdered ginger. Salad dressing is jazzed up with a bit of oragano rubbed in palm, s&p then oil & vinegar.
