Inspired by the budget thread - what's the strangest 'frugal' habit?

[Margie J]

When my cousins were young their Mom made them put their chewing gum in a glass of water at the end of the day. That way they could use the gum again another day.

My Mom was big into saving used baggies, wrapping paper, boxes, jars, foil, twist ties, straws, etc. I can't even begin to tell you how many trash bags full of these items I have thrown away since she passed away.

I will reuse some items myself, such as boxes and bags on occassion. Gum .... never!

 

[shortbun]

My parents never buy toilet paper or kleenex. They take it from
the rooms when they travel so they have this big closet full
of cheap paper products that are awful! My mother's motto
when I was growing up was: Use it up, wear it out. Make it do
or do without.

She can pinch a penny!

 

[sue1013]

My grandmother had 2 that I remember. If we went to stay with her for few days the napkin you got with your first meal was yours the entire visit. She'd tell us this is the only one you're getting so don't eat like a slob and it will last. She also would only give us milk to drink, you'd get that same glass until you finished it. She'd put the glass in the refrigerator after each meal. She apparently had many more we weren't aware of until she died. When we cleaned out her house the things we found in the kitchen was amazing.

 

[Disney Doll]

When I was a kid, I can remember my mother rinsing out the plasticbread bags, but she would then reuse for little garbage bags for "sink scraps" like veggie peels etc. And then she'd throw them out, so I don't think that was too nuts.

I have been known to reuse a ziploc bag that had dry stuff in it by rinsing it out and using it in the car for a garbage bag the when we take a car trip. Any bag that's wet, or slimy or whatever gets tossed right away, but if a Ziploc held something dry, then it's 2nd life is a car travel garbage bag.

I don't reuse tissue paper or wrapping paper. I do reuse gift bags if they're not too worn looking (and they do get that way after a few "reuses").

I try to recycle what I can in terms of plastics, newspaper, catalogs etc...our town dump has different bins for that kind of stuff, so I do try and do that on a monthly basis.

Since it's just DH and I , we don't create a lot of garbage.

 

[zakatak]

I agree with Brermom that this nation is becoming very wasteful. How many people would change their habits if there was no garbage pickup? If you had to deal with your own garbage, either by reusing it, burning it or burying it? What I think would happen is this: people would not use plastic utensils, plates, cups, etc... and would also start composting their vegetable waste. I did an experiment once to see how much I could get my garbage down to for a family of 5 (young kids). I composted like crazy and recycled everything I could. I got it down to one kitchen garbage bag per week (and that included two bathroom garbages and cat litter). I think if we start thinking about what we use and throw out and where it GOES, we might start reducing our waste.

Back on the thread, I reuse some ziplock bags, paper bags, I save all plastic bags and take them back to the store, I buy in bulk and whole foods to reduce packaging costs and waste, and I shop in consignment stores first before hitting Target. One thing I do that some people might find annoying is that I refuse to buy any books lately, just hit up the library. If it isn't in, I wait.

Down in Disney, I will split meals between my kids and me/dh IF I don't think they will finish a full meal or it is just a snack. Waters get shared (unless they want to carry their own all day). Desserts always get shared (we get the big ones meant to be shared). It isn't about being cheap (well, somewhat), it's more about wasting food and money. But I never bring canned food into Disney! Granola bars and fruit snacks, maybe, but not canned corn.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

I try very hard not to contribute to polluting the environment. I drive a very small car that is quite good on gasoline (39 mpg) and I keep it tuned up to be sure it runs efficiently.

I do not use disposable products except for those that are considered to be a matter of sanitation (toilet paper, tissues, that sort of thing). I use cloth napkins, and towels, etc.

For the pool deck, I use acrylic plates that are meant to be rewashed. I have tin ones too, but they are pretty noisy!

Where I do have to use disposables (tin foil, plastic bags, etc.) I try to use as little as possible, and again, if it is not a matter of health or hygeine I may reuse it on food items. Otherwise, I use them for other purposes (tin foil makes a great protector for some things, and I reuse bags as disposable containers for very messy garbage).

My grandparents were depression era folks. I learned a lot from them and consider it to be valuable lessons in life.

I surely don't advocate reusing items that would make a negative health impact, but I do believe that as a whole, we need to look at how we purchase convenience items and think of the long term impact instead of the immediate short term relief.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Originally posted by KimR
When we were kids we used to play Yahtzee at my grandparent's house. My grandfather used to make us ERASE the scores on the Yahtzee pad instead of just crossing them out and using the next column!

Also, DH used to know someone who would pull all of the grapes off of the stems at the grocery store before putting them in the bag so he wouldn't have to pay for the stems (hey, that's an extra .0002 ounces at $.99 per ounce - I guess it does add up after a while! )

Ditto on the Yahtzee pad!!

The grape one is hilarious....

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Originally posted by Jolie C
Washing out and reusing ziploc bags. Seriously, I know someone who does this.

What's wrong with that?? I do it so I am not adding another reusable piece of trash into a landfill. So now you know another person who does this...