text: Laundry detergent: Keeping your clothes clean can start to add up. Laundry detergent is one of those household items that costs a great deal. You can pay about 30 cents a load at the store, or make your own for about 3 cents a load. Courtney has a great recipe for do-it-yourself laundry detergent.
  Household cleaners: Most of the cleaning you need done can be accomplished with the help of simple, everyday items that you probably have in the house. You may need to buy some Borax, rubbing alcohol or chlorine bleach, but all of these things are relatively inexpensive. From window cleaners, to floor cleaners to disinfectants, Living Easy offers helpful and easy recipes for household cleaners.
  Pesticides: You can create your own bug killers. This is great for the garden, and the lawn. Greeniacs offers a handy guide to making generic pesticides yourself, as well as targeted pesticides.
  Generate electricity: A movement for more individual energy production is underway. You can actually set up your own personal wind turbine and/or install solar panels. There are tax credits available for these efforts, and a number of products available, some of which you can install yourself. Depending on how you go about it, it is possible to make back your initial outlay sooner than you might have thought. Rod Warnock offers a common sense guide to figuring out the best way to approach building your own solar or wind system. However, be warned that many of the small, do-it-yourself systems will not generate a great deal of power. But they can help defray some of your costs.
  Healthy and beauty products are among the most expensive items on the market. You can save a ton of money by creating these yourself. It is important to note, however, that you should be careful when dealing with health and beauty concoctions. It is not a bad idea to consult with your doctor, since some of the ingredients used can have side effects for people with certain conditions (like pregnancy).