In the comments on a previous post, I mentioned that I get a lot of my toiletries free or very cheaply at CVS and Walgreens, and one of my readers was wondering exactly how that works. Probably the best place to learn about this is at Money Saving Mom’s blog. The posts CVS 101,andWalgreens 101 would be helpful places to start.
In a nutshell, CVS and Walgreens have rebate(or rebate-like programs) that can often give you free or nearly free items when you combine the rebates with sales or coupons. This is not the easiest or most convenient thing to do, and so I’m not one of those people that faithfully goes there every week. I’m a little too busy for that…so I just kind of go when there are really good deals to be had, or when we’re running low on free toothpaste! 😉
Money Saving Mom posts the best deal ideas for CVS and Walgreens each Saturday, so if you’re interested in giving this a try, I’d heartily recommend checking out her site.
Honestly, if the thought of running around to drugstores each week to pick up a few free things makes you want to scream, I wouldn’t sweat it. I don’t consider CVSing and shopping at Walgreens to be absolutely essential to my frugality. I used to do this kind of thing more often when I had two kids but now that I’ve got four to haul around with me, things are a little different.
If you can’t or don’t want to mess with drugstores, another option is to clip coupons for toiletries and then watch for good sales at your regular grocery store. Using the coupons in combination with good sales can net you some pretty cheap toiletries. Or yet another way to get relatively good prices is to use your coupons at a store like Target or Walmart, since their everyday prices tend to be lower than the ones at grocery stores.
Photo by Toasty Ken.
antoi
Wednesday 12th of November 2008
hi kristen,
the baking soda tastes salty, so you do have to get used to the grittiness (which i like), and salty taste. i did see a few sites online that made a mixture of baking soda, food grade glycerin with a few drops of mint or cinnamon extract. the glycerin, i think, gives some slip and makes it more like a conventional toothpaste.
my hair is very oily and thick/wavy. i used to use a lot of shampoo & conditioner to try and weigh it down, but since i've been budgeting, in addition to trying to use less ingredients on my skin/hair, the baking soda/vinegar has been a godsend.
the main thing is you have to work in the diluted baking soda, as you would normally shampoo, then make sure to rinse very well. at first i made the mistake of applying dry baking soda onto my partially wet hair, working in, then quickly rinsing off. this resulted in major dry-feeling "beach hair." i did more research and discovered you have to do a really good rinse to make sure all the baking soda water comes out. i also used too much baking soda in the beginning. the diluted apple cider vinegar rinse, afterwards, is supposed to be the alkaline property that smooths out your hair shaft. i realized this is very similar to the old-fashioned beer, or lemon juice, rinses done back in the day.
i can attest to my hair feeling ultra clean, and i swear i only have to shampoo every 4-5 days (really). i was a major product junkie, so this method is really amazing for me. another thing i found out, is there's a movement of mothers using this method to shampoo their babies hair, instead of regular baby shampoo. i can't speak for them, but i admit it was a nice coincidence to come upon this info when i was researching this method.
Chricket
Thursday 8th of November 2018
Nice!
Kristen
Tuesday 11th of November 2008
Doesn't the baking soda taste weird?? lol
I'd be willing to give the shampoo thing a try, though. Is your hair oily or dry? Mine is on the oily end of things, and is rather thin.
antoi
Tuesday 11th of November 2008
i've been on a tight budget for a few years now. for the past year i've been using baking soda for toothpaste and shampoo, and i love it! it's quite strange at first, but you get used to it and it feels incredibly clean.
the shampoo is a dilution of 1 tbs baking soda to a cup of water. i work this in, then rinse well. sometimes i do a "conditioner" rinse of 2 part apple cider vinegar to 4 parts water.
i doubted this would work, but can't believe the results. i know it's stripping it back to basic ingredients, but it's a good alternative. i used to love the expensive, name brands, but no more thankfully. btw, i love your blog and just subscribed.
Kristen
Tuesday 11th of November 2008
Bethany, nope, I didn't take that one. My camera can do stuff like that, though. I love it so much. lol
Laci, I don't know why it wasn't working before. It should be fine now, though. It should take you to www.moneysavingmom.com
Laci
Tuesday 11th of November 2008
The link you have for the money saving blog isn't working for me. :( Just thought you should know.