What's cheaper than cheap???

[Disney Doll]

The dental floss and not flushing thing is a bit over the top...no offense to anyone or thier relatives.

The plastic containers.. I htink pretty much everyone does that. It is a good way to send leftovers home with folks without having to worry about getting the container back. Believe me, once you've "lost" one or two of those expnsive Tupperware or Rubbermaid containers, you'll be doing it too!!!

Plastic bags...even that isn't totally "out there". I mean if a plastic bag had a piece of fruit in ti, so it may be a little sticky but otherwise OK, why not just rinse the stickiness out and reuse it?

But toilet paper?? Oh no, we are huge toilet paper users in my household. 4 squares wouldn't cut it here!!!!

 

[Shugardrawers]

My uncle once rationed the toilet paper to us. He made a chart up and under each name would place squares of toilet paper. The girls got 3 squares for #1 and 4 for #2 and we got 10 squares total for the day based on 2 pee pee trips and 1 poo poo trip. The guys got 4 squares. Woe to the person who had a bit of an intestinal bug that day! We took to swiping all the napkins we could carry from restaurants and fast food joints and using those. And Dh wonders why I insist on having 50 rolls of the highest quality toilet paper on hand at all times

 

[cardaway]

I'm thinking the whole re-using of containers thing must be cultural. My in-laws are retired and pretty well off, but they not only save any plastic containers for left overs, they ask for us to keep them and give them back.

I play along, but I can't say it doesn't strike me as a little bit odd.

 

[CEDmom]

The dental floss and toilet things are just plain gross .

I think any of us with parents or grandparents that grew up during the depression experienced their reusing foil, bags, plastic containers etc.

I will wash and reuse sturdy plastic utensils and plastic containers. I also save and reuse nice gift bags. It's my own little way of helping the environment.

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

My greatgrandma used to take all the sugar packets from restaurants. Everywhere we went, she'd take the sugar packets. I have no idea what she did with all of them. When she passed away, my mother, grandma and great aunt had to clean out her apartment. My greatgrandma was a pack rat, they knew that, but they didnt know the extent until they saw her apartment. She had newspapers from like 20 years ago and tissues everywhere. She saved it all, whether it was useful or not.

In college I used to save the ketchup packets from fast food places but this was only because the cafeteria never had any ketchup for your fries.

The dental floss and toilet things, sorry but ewwww.

 

[Poohnatic]

My mother did (and does) a lot of the things listed here. The thing that really bugs me is that she will make up dish water using a metal bowl. She'll wash the dirty dishes and save the water. Later when she's dirtied up more dishes she first heats the water (hence the metal bowl) on the stove. Totally grosses me out. What's the big deal about getting a little more water and dish soap? When I'm visiting I dump the water out.

My ex's mom did the same thing, and I did exactly the same thing you did. I also had a friend who's mom would rinse out paper towels and reuse them. Hello? They're paper for a reason, use the cloth ones if you want to wash it.

My mom was a depression era kid, so a lot of these things sound vaguely familiar! When money was tight, we had bread bag lunch bags. Also, eating out was a very rare treat-like once or twice a year.

Suzanne

 

[jennyl772003]

My grandma would save junk mail that was only printed on one side and reuse it.

My mom saves cool whip and butter containers. I really don't think that is too weird. Why spend $20 on containers when you can get them for free?

I save our plastic grocery bags. I use them to pack my lunch in and I also send my DS's snow boots to school in them.

 

[mickeysgal]

I save our plastic grocery bags. I use them to pack my lunch in and I also send my DS's snow boots to school in them.

We use the plastic grocery bags for various things also. I mostly use them as trash can liners for the small garbage cans we have around the house - such as in the bathroom. They're a perfect size...why buy a box of the same size just because there isn't any printing on it.

We don't save any plastic tubs (margerine, cool whip, etc.) The new ziplock containers are so much better. Its a one-time purchase, for goodness sakes. We also don't save the kiddie plastic cups we get in restaurants.

As far as limiting TP, regulating how many times a day the toilet is flushed, reusing floss, etc. This is not cheap, nor frugal, but unsanitary and a mental illness.

 

[kimwim8]

We don't save any plastic tubs (margerine, cool whip, etc.) The new ziplock containers are so much better. Its a one-time purchase, for goodness sakes. We also don't save the kiddie plastic cups we get in restaurants.

When I'm having a big holiday dinner, where I know I'll be sending leftovers home with others, I buy one or 2 packs of the ziplock or any other brand of disposable containers. That way I don't worry about getting them back, and if I don't give them all away, then I have them for us, or for next time. I think that might add less than $5 to my holiday meal cost, and to me that's worth it.

My grandmother lived in Florida and used to come up and stay with us for weeks at a time over the summer while my mom worked, to keep an eye on us. Anyway, she was definitely frugal, bought things on sale, and froze EVERYTHING. But the one time she was our house, and it was my turn to take the trash out, I went to grab the bag out of the can, and she jumped up & told me that bag wasn't ready to go out yet. (it was overflowing!!) But she took almost everything out of it, and folded it or crushed it to make more room. Yeah, she ended up with only a 1/2 full trash bag, but EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

But I know that she grew up in a different era. She wasn't shy about sharing her opinions either! I had a friend that had a baby before marriage. My grandmother told my friend that her baby will have no rights in this country and her baby won't be able to vote. Come on now, this was 1992 for goodness sake!!!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

My grandma would save junk mail that was only printed on one side and reuse it.

OK, watch it now, you're overstepping the boundry... When I'm making out my shopping list I look in the recycling to see if I can find a junk mail envelope to use for my list. What I like about it is that I can put any coupons in the envelope and write my list on the outside. Sometimes I'll come across a "good" envelope, meaning large without much writing on it, and I'll put it on the fridge with a magnet for when I make out my grocery list.

 

[Mommy2three]

my dh is cheaper than cheap, enough said lol

 

[malibuconlee]

DH's grandmother is depression-era and she saves everything. My MIL and FIL just moved in with her at the farm and MIL insisted the slop bucket went. (They havent' had animals in YEARS!!!)

She washes and re-uses zip lock baggies. I was there last year and she was crushing crackers to make more cracker crumbs. After she was done, she folded the waxed paper back up and put it away in a drawer to use again. No wonder she has ants!!!

My best friend was married last year. At her new in-laws she was telling me that one of the older relatives takes home the plastic type disposable plates to run thru the dishwasher and use at the next gathering.

 

[MzDiz]

I think our society treats too much as disposable. I don't think I'm cheap, I'm just not wasteful. I always keep the extra napkins from fast food. There's a stack of them on top of the microwave. I re-use tubs that food comes in, some of them are better quality than the gladware and hey, they're *free*. More vacation money, IMO. I also don't feel bad when I have to throw them out, because, hello... free. I don't think that saving ketchup packets is cheap, it just makes sense. Then again, I didn't grow up with a lot of money at times, and we go through "poverty bouts" now. Throwing away something that's perfectly good and being wasteful is irresponsible. We use plastic grocery bags for all kinds of stuff around here, scooping litter boxes is one.
I draw the line at the floss thing though. Eesh.

 

[kilee]

I had a grandmother that washed and kept the styrofoam meat trays. When she passed-- she literally had several hundred of them.

My son's father's family doesn't flush the toliet more than once a day either. This includes when they go to other people's houses too. It had something to do w/ the well they had. BUT----- they haven't had a well in over 12 yrs. As for why they do it at other's houses-- I think it's just gotten to be a habit to not flush now.

 

[gr8ful4Him]

My grandma was a depression era mom. It is almost amusing now to watch her "pick the bones" when we have a roasted chicken (or turkey). When everyone thinks they've finished with their chicken, she will sit there and get a whole meal out of what is left! She also uses the bags the newspaper comes in to gather her garbage food scraps for the day like egg shells, other wet foodlike items, etc...which, I have to say, cuts down on "stinky garbage". We save butter dishes and coolwhip containers for leftovers and use the grocery bags for various things.
As far as "rationed TP" goes...that just wouldn't do around here! I can't imagine only going to the toilet 3 times a day to begin with!? heck, if you count once when you wake up and once before you go to bed, that only leaves you one time during the day!? Not to mention you can only wipe and fold so many times!

 

[JVL1018]

We use the plastic grocery bags for various things also. I mostly use them as trash can liners for the small garbage cans we have around the house - such as in the bathroom. They're a perfect size...why buy a box of the same size just because there isn't any printing on it.

We don't save any plastic tubs (margerine, cool whip, etc.) The new ziplock containers are so much better. Its a one-time purchase, for goodness sakes. We also don't save the kiddie plastic cups we get in restaurants.

I'm with you. I save plastic grocery bags and use them to pick up after the dog, but that's it. The newspaper bags I used to use for dirty diapers, worked better than that stinky Diaper Genie.

I cannot save any container to use for another purpose, it literally turns my stomach to even think about doing so. When something is used and the empty container is left, to me that is garbage, and goes right in the trash.
I do understand why other people do reuse it, and I have no idea why it bothers me, but it does, so I don't do it.

I do reuse gift bags and the gift tissue paper if it's barely been touched and loosk new, but I think that's it.

My Mom used to wash disposable plastic cups, drove me crazy.

Oh and about the toilet thing, there was a time when we did not flush pee..but it was a short time during a water shortage and most people in the area did that as it was recommended.

 

[LoriKay]

My mother was born the day the stock market crashed....we blame alot of her behavior on that! She does many of the same things that others have mentioned although I was never limited in how many squares of TP I could use and I was always allowed to flush. When she visits at our home I sometimes throw away a barely used paper towel or foil just to watch her reaction. It seems like she can barely keep herself from diving into the trash after it!

 

[Mishetta]

Geez...I guess I must be cheap too since I do a lot of the stuff you guys are complaining of!! (Nothing to do with dental floss or toilet paper though ~ some things are sacred!)

I do save (and use) cool whip or margarine containers.
I do save twist ties & use them for various purposes, (e.g., when a plant is leaning one way & I want it to grow another way, I use a twist tie & a skewer to tie that unruly stem) or for other bags that have those plastic closure thingys with the hole in the middle ~ hate those!)
I do re-use foil if I've covered a dish to keep food hot & then I re-use it to cover left overs.
I do re-use plastic baggies ~ especially if I had bread or cookies in them (I label everything). Also have some stored in my freezer that I keep to re-use when I have an opened package of sausage or hotdogs.
I will make garlic bread/toast or french toast with stale bread, instead of throwing it away.
I too have a mega pantry in the basement because when something we use often is on sale, I will buy as many as I can possibly afford.

There are many other things I probably do without thinking of it because I hate to be wasteful. I do remember having a boss once that said to me "you remind me of a someone raised during the depression" & he said that because I used to take paper towel & fold it under a little planter I had on my desk so that if it leaked water, it wouldn't ruin my beautiful mahogony desk! So be it....it all pays off in the end. I'm a SAHM & we have managed to go to Disney twice per year! My DH is no where near making a 6 figure income either!

I guess I have more compassion for those that try not to be wasteful. Some things I would draw the line at though ~ dental floss & toilet paper being two major items!

 

[Shugardrawers]

The newspaper bags I used to use for dirty diapers, worked better than that stinky Diaper Genie.

Do you do something special with them or just wrap the dirty diaper up in newspaper and throw it out?

 

[lulugirl]

Okay...I just found out that DH's grandma rinses and re-uses her dental floss.

I knew they were cheap, (they keep the TV unplugged because keeping it warm uses electricity) but that takes the cake to me.

My husband said he was only allowed 4 squares of TP for a "big" job at their house.

Know anyone cheap??

Wow... just wow.
I have absolutely nothing that can rival that!