Cooking, household, shopping - save money with grandma's tips

Created: 09/01/2023, 16:00

By: Anna Heyers

Saving was simply part of life for many grandparents in the past – and we can also benefit from their tips in times of inflation and the energy crisis.

Electricity, food, clothing - everything is becoming more and more expensive and an end to inflation is still not in sight.

How good that we can benefit from the knowledge of the past.

Because the generation of grandparents, especially the so-called boomers, has a few simple savings tips in their luggage that we may not have had in mind in this way.

Saving energy - Grandma's cooking tip

One of the best tips from grandmothers: Always cook in advance!

Why make just one or two batches of soup when you can make it one size larger?

Then at the end there is less of the soup greens and Co. and you can simply freeze the rest.

Filling them hot in sterilized jars (e.g. cucumber or yoghurt jars) also ensures a longer shelf life - useful if you don't have a large freezer.

Advantage: Anyone who cooks a lot can leave the stove off on other days.

Brief heating, for example in the microwave, is much more economical.

Cooking helper duvet: continue cooking without electricity

A down duvet (alternatively: cooking box or normal duvet) also helps to save electricity – if you know how.

The food is pre-cooked on the stove, but not cooked through.

For potatoes, for example, that would be about ten minutes (otherwise around 20 minutes or even).

Then the still hot pot is wrapped in a tea towel or towel and placed on the bed under the duvet, where the food then continues to cook in peace (for potatoes: around 90 to 120 minutes).

This method is a bit more time-consuming, but works without electricity.

Grandma's hot tip for savings: the pressure cooker

It already exists in many households, but it often leads an existence in the basement or closet.

The pressure cooker is a real secret weapon in the fight against electricity costs.

Because it cooks food many times faster.

Goulash, soup chickens, stews - everything takes only a fraction of the time and therefore less energy (rough rule of thumb: without pressure cooker 30 minutes, with pressure cooker ten minutes).

The pressure cooker was invented in 1679 and became particularly popular in Germany in the 1950s.

Food is cooked under pressure faster than in a normal pot.

© nordpool/Imago

Household: Leave the vacuum cleaner for a while

A little dust here, a few crumbs there.

Of course you can use a vacuum cleaner.

However, grandma's first choice works completely without electricity: the broom.

With it you can get into most corners and dust and dirt are simply swept up with the hand brush and dustpan and you're done.

Advantage one: you save electricity, advantage two: you don't have to change the vacuum cleaner bag as often.

So that the very fine dust and hair can also be removed, there are broom models with foam instead of bristles.

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Grandma's dishwashing tip: Do you know the dishwashing bowl?

A good dishwasher is in many cases cheaper and more economical than washing dishes by hand.

But not all people own one or have the opportunity to buy the latest, most efficient model.

In many cases, grandma's solution was the dishwashing bowl.

The square bowl was plastic and smaller than the actual sink.

Hot water was filled with washing-up liquid and everything used was washed off while cooking or baking: chopping boards, knives, measuring cups, etc.

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Put on thick socks instead of turning up the heat

Of course, always dressing thickly at home instead of turning on the heating is not always the right solution.

Also because mold can quickly develop in unheated rooms.

Here it is worth knowing what the numbers on the thermostats mean.

But dressing in a bit of layers or throwing on a pair of thick woolen socks over your feet is a cost-effective alternative.

Natural materials such as wool or natural fibers are particularly suitable for keeping warmth.

Keeping warmth: Do not throw away towels and blankets immediately

If the closet has been cleaned out, bed linen or towels often end up on the pile of old clothes.

You can also roll them up and temporarily place them in front of doors or windows to minimize draughts.

This leads to less heat loss and thus lower heating costs.

When shopping: the price per kilo is more useful than the unit price

When shopping, there are many stumbling blocks - especially when you have to watch your money.

Promotional goods, such as tomato passata, are not always cheaper, for example.

Here you should definitely go to the shelf with the other (tomato) products and compare the prices there.

The price per kilo and per liter is at least as important.

Especially with fruit or products from the fresh food counter (e.g. cheese and yoghurt) you can save a lot with the price per kilo.