Silly Frugality?

[Morricol61]

Refreshes tea leaves

Leftovers are great. DW and I both grew up in large families where the food budget was tight. We saw and learned from our parents how to stretch it.

YES It is a common thing for us to cook enough food that will last 2-3 days. As was mentioned above, some food is better after a day or two. And we are also guilt of making soup stock from the bones. Tastes delicious!

NO Our Australian restaurants tend to serve smaller sized meals but fill the plate with lashings of hot chips which is a waste as far as I am concerned. So many restaurants now serve so much food that we regularly bring enough for another meal. No reason to waste perfectly good food.

NO But - I make my morning tea in the thermos with fresh loose leaf tea leaves. After my first cup I top the thermos up with more boiling water, which makes another cup or two. My silliest frugal action is probably reusing teabags - I saw my parents do this regularly. While I rarely do it these days, I still feel funny throwing out a tea bag after using it for just a small amount of tea.

Other frugal things we do is plan our trips to town so that we shop, go to the library, attend appointments etc in the one journey, thus avoiding a long drive just for milk or bread, for instance.

 

[Music Lover]

What’s an “unfinished beer?”

I wasn't sure either...I had to look that up

When I cook something, it's almost always more than required for the specific reason to have something leftover for another meal. I've always considered it to either be planning ahead or lazy, not frugal.

 

[scrabbler1]

Scuba mentioned lotion bottles being turned upside-down to get more out of them. I do that too, and I do it for other bottles such as pancake syrup.


But my most frequent item is reusing scrap paper. Two ways. The first is to watch out for regular 8.5/11 sheets whose back sides are clear so I can use them in my laser printer a second time. (I do keep clean sheets around in case I need to print something more official and not just for informal, home use.) The sheets can be folded into thirds, as most are when stuffed into envelopes. I can carefully remove staples so all that is left are some tiny holes. Most of my own printing I can reuse later and print on the back side.


I began reusing scrap paper a lot when I was working, as it was very easy to generate scrap paper but rare to use it. In my final weeks of working, I took home hundreds and hundreds of sheets of accumulated scrap paper at my desk. That scrap paper lasted me about a year at home for printing purposes.


Another way I reuse paper is for scoring my weekly Scrabble games with my best friend, the snake-bit one. About 25 years ago, I had accidentally printed a large thing at work on continuous-feed paper but I took the paper brick home and would rip each page in half and score a game on the back side of each half-sheet. That large printout lasted me about 20 years! Since then, I look for printed sheets not being reused for printer purposes but have at least half of both sides unused. I cut out the used parts (top and bottom) and put the clean section away with my Scrabble equipment so I can use it to score future games.

 

[Nemo2]

Scuba mentioned lotion bottles being turned upside-down to get more out of them. I do that too, and I do it for other bottles such as pancake syrup.

Isn't that S.O.P.? Does anybody not do that? (Shampoo, conditioner, et al.)

It's just like tilting your head backwards to finish a beer.

 

[Crewer]

I also cut off the top of the lotion bottle to get the last bit but the overly-frugal part is putting up with leaky tires that have to be filled about once a week.

Had to fill the tires during the deep freeze last week when gas station compressors wouldn't work because of the cold so I pumped using my bike pump but at least was in the garage. I did it on the high of 10 day so I wouldn't have to do it on the high of 3 day. The tires have good tread etc. so It's probably leaks around the rims. Turns out the dealer charges $20/tire to try to fix the problem (scrape around the rims and reinstall the tires) but my husband figured they'd also ding him for realignment etc. so we'll continue with the weekly fill in all weathers until we need tires.

My husband's aunt lived on a farm all her life until they started spending winters in Florida. By then their farming empire was pretty big and they were quite wealthy and in FL lived in high-priced water-front place with gorgeous pool etc. But she could not bring herself to pay $2/pound for tomatoes so they drove to Homestead to pick them themselves.

Yep - I reuse tea bags, too. Habit from my college days, I think. But I prefer the tea made by adding more hot water to the tea leaves.

 

[Meadbh]

Isn't that S.O.P.? Does anybody not do that? (Shampoo, conditioner, et al.)

I also put some water into shampoo bottles and shake it to wash out the dregs.

Once I cut the top off a two litre plastic bottle, poured in some disinfectant, and used it as a toilet brush holder. At the time, I had a cleaning service once a month. The cleaning lady threw out my holder and my brush! So I fired the cleaning lady for being wasteful.

 

[athena53]

I don't use fabric softener or dryer sheets. Never have. I don't want that stuff on my clothes and often it smells. Or at least I think it probably does.

Same here- I also don't use cosmetics or perfume- just don't like the feel/scent of them. I can sense when the pores of my skin are covered over with goop.

Someone mentioned Starbucks- I don't have a daily habit but I go there occasionally and have funded my account on my Starbucks app for years using credits from donating frequently at the blood bank and from e-Rewards. I'm heading for India in March and will be deferred from donating for a year. It's gonna kill me if I have to put real money into that account, but my granddaughter LOVES their cake pops.

 

[Nemo2]

So I fired the cleaning lady for being wasteful.

After the flogging I presume?

 

[scrabbler1]

I also put some water into shampoo bottles and shake it to wash out the dregs.

Similarly, when I used chocolate syrup to make chocolate milk (my pre-diabetes days), I would pour a small amount of milk into the syrup bottle when it was near the end to get the last bit out for a glass of choco milk. And more like your example, when I am near the end of my liquid dishwashing soap, I add a little bit of water to it to get the last bit out - only when I use some to soak used dishes in soapy water.

 

[Ronstar]

We are frugal when it comes to food leftovers like most here. But I get a little extreme in my woodworking. I very seldom throw away any scrap pieces of wood unless they are pencil size. Just made a cutting board from scraps from baseboard trim, a drafting table, a gun stock, and entertainment center. And I make bowls and boxes from trees that have fallen on our property. But not very frugal when it comes to buying tools to do all of this.

 

[athena53]

I wish I could find more produce "reduced for quick sale". Mom bought that all the time- if you were going to throw it into soup within the next 24 hours it didn't need to be perfect. I can find reduced-price bananas at my local grocery store and load up on them and put them in the freezer after peeling them- they're a great snack- but I never see anything else.

I'm assuming that stores get rid of near-ripe or over-ripe produce now rather than let it take up shelf space because people want it to be perfect- I wonder where it goes. I do a lot of stir-frying and would be happy to buy it.

 

[6miths]

Yes too all of the maneuvers to get the last bit of whatever is in the bottle out. Shampoo - upside down and water at the end - check (though often I am refilling the smallish bottle from the megabottle that I have bought at lower unit price). Laundry detergent - same. Conditioner - don't use - don't like the feeling it leaves on my hair and cost of course. Food jars - ketchup, apple sauce, salsa - upside down at the end - check. I don't like this new trend in plastic jars - the dramatically concave bottom to make the bottle look bigger compared to what it contains and all of the ribs in the plastic which makes it very hard to get things out at the end. Oh the waste!

 

[Meadbh]

I wish I could find more produce "reduced for quick sale". Mom bought that all the time- if you were going to throw it into soup within the next 24 hours it didn't need to be perfect. I can find reduced-price bananas at my local grocery store and load up on them and put them in the freezer after peeling them- they're a great snack- but I never see anything else.

I'm assuming that stores get rid of near-ripe or over-ripe produce now rather than let it take up shelf space because people want it to be perfect- I wonder where it goes. I do a lot of stir-frying and would be happy to buy it.

Selling ugly produce is now a “thing” in many countries.

'Ugly' fruit and vegetables prove a hit in France - Telegraph

https://globalnews.ca/news/3004818/...-store-debut-in-alberta-save-on-foods-stores/

In fact, in France, it’s the law:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/04/french-law-forbids-food-waste-by-supermarkets

You might want to look here:

https://www.imperfectproduce.com

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesal...sfit-fruits-and-veggies-coming-to-whole-foods

 

[athena53]

Selling ugly produce is now a “thing” in many countries.

There are a couple of stores that sell a brand of "misfit" produce here. Interestingly, they're the stores in more upscale areas. I haven't found that much of a savings because they're generally smaller than the standard size of cucumber, etc. I did get a bag of odd-sized oranges that were delicious. I hope that trend continues.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

I wish I could find more produce "reduced for quick sale". Mom bought that all the time- if you were going to throw it into soup within the next 24 hours it didn't need to be perfect. I can find reduced-price bananas at my local grocery store and load up on them and put them in the freezer after peeling them- they're a great snack- but I never see anything else.

I'm assuming that stores get rid of near-ripe or over-ripe produce now rather than let it take up shelf space because people want it to be perfect- I wonder where it goes. I do a lot of stir-frying and would be happy to buy it.

My guess would be to a landfill for most items. I think carrots and like items could be used to feed horses, but I think the majority of food thrown away in grocery stores is just lost. I guess the grocery stores could mark some produce items down but maybe they are afraid of someone getting sick and being sued. I don't know, just a guess.

 

[Meadbh]

My guess would be to a landfill for most items. I think carrots and like items could be used to feed horses, but I think the majority of food thrown away in grocery stores is just lost. I guess the grocery stores could mark some produce items down but maybe they are afraid of someone getting sick and being sued. I don't know, just a guess.

Food banks love to receive such donations.

https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/reduce-wasted-food-feeding-hungry-people

 

[harllee]

DH and I are hot natured. We keep our house at 62 at night, 65 during the day. We wear sweaters and thick socks and are perfectly comfortable. When we go places that are heated to 70 degrees we feel like we are roasting. Of course we live in North Carolina so we don't get too cold, although last week we never got above freezing for a week.

We always use our leftovers and ask for a take out box for leftovers in restaurants. Most restaurants serve enough food to make 2 meals easily. I grew up poor (although I did not know it--most people I knew were in the same situation) and I was taught that wasting food was a sin. I remember one time that my mother fussed at me for not finishing my vegetables and said they were starving children all over the world that would love to have those vegetables. I made a smart mouth crack and said why don't we box up these vegetables mail them to the starving children, boy was I in trouble for that.

 

[Meadbh]

I remember one time that my mother fussed at me for not finishing my vegetables and said they were starving children all over the world that would love to have those vegetables. I made a smart mouth crack and said why don't we box up these vegetables mail them to the starving children, boy was I in trouble for that.

I don’t know anyone who has not had this discussion with their mother!

 

[kcowan]

What’s an “unfinished beer?”

It is one of those one liter bottles that you open when the first liter is not enough!

 

[kcowan]

At the time, I had a cleaning service once a month. The cleaning lady threw out my holder and my brush! So I fired the cleaning lady for being wasteful.

We had flushable kitty litter so always left the dirty scoop in the waste basket. The former cleaning lady always threw it out.

 

[LOL!]

Rinsing out glass and plastic containers is normal in a locale where all those things are required to be recycled. So doesn't everybody do all that?

Plastic laundry detergent containers
Dishwashing detergent
Already mentioned: dish soap
Any cans of soup (rinse and add to the soup to heat)
Hair products

I rinse 2-liter soda bottles and add to ice cube trays to get cubes with micro amounts of caffeine and sugar.

If I need to rinse a spot off a piece of clothing, I do it over the top-loading clothes washer so that the water does not go down the sink drain, but is used to fill up the washer a minor amount for the next load.

 

[kcowan]

Yes too all of the maneuvers to get the last bit of whatever is in the bottle out. Shampoo - upside down and water at the end - check (though often I am refilling the smallish bottle from the megabottle that I have bought at lower unit price). Laundry detergent - same. Conditioner - don't use - don't like the feeling it leaves on my hair and cost of course. Food jars - ketchup, apple sauce, salsa - upside down at the end - check. I don't like this new trend in plastic jars - the dramatically concave bottom to make the bottle look bigger compared to what it contains and all of the ribs in the plastic which makes it very hard to get things out at the end. Oh the waste!

I keep those small hotel shampoos to take for overnight trips. That way I can always use the large economy size at home.

With the need to recycle clean glass and plastic bottles, I wash them out. Jam goes into a fruit drink, salsa and ketchup into my bloody mary mix.

In Mexico, leftovers past due go to the street dogs and cats. Same with chicken carcasses, steak bones...

Even our defunct appliances and clothes go to Mexican workers to have new lives. I find living here to be very satisfying. The airlines are very good at waiving extra baggage fees for "parcels for the poor" too.

 

[dirt_dobber]

One of the many reasons RE came about was very thrifty DW.
I came home unexpectedly early from work once only to find her squeezing ketchup packages you get at the drive-thru place into the larger ketchup bottle.

 

[John Galt III]

I don't buy booze at restaurants or bars anymore, unless I just want to be wild and crazy because it's so overpriced, and happy hour doesn't save much money anymore, either. I buy up multiple cases of certain beers when they are on sale at my local distributor. I've been know to go dry for 2 or 3 days in a row (!) while traveling, due to overpriced booze.

 

[HadEnuff]

I love left-overs, however, every once and a while I simply prepare too much, and don't get around to freezing a portion.
I have a rule: once fresh, once left-over, and it it's still around I can throw it away without guilt. If it's good and I like it, I may continue to go at it.

I find that the way my store sells food points me in a certain direction. For example, 8 ounces of cheese may cost $2.75, and 16 ounces $3.50...so I buy the bigger package. I usually freeze some, but if a small portion gets dry or moldy, hey...so what.