what frugal thing(s) do you do that...

[Sara Noel]

save the least amount of money, but are still simply a force of habit that gives you the frugal feel goods? I think many of us do little frugal things in our daily lives that don't really contribute much to our finances, but are ways to be less wasteful.

For example, making sure both sides of paper are used or reusing envelopes. Or reusing a tea bag or coffee grounds or a paper towel or twist ties.

The really super small stuff (extreme pennypinching )that there are times you think you might even have gone overboard because it doesn't make much significant difference, but still a small difference.

[Palooka]

Squeezing the very last amount from the toothpaste tube and maybe even open it up, just to get the dab left.

Deoderant, when that little plastic thing is down to were it scratches your underarms, but still determined to get one full day out of it before you toss it. lol

Those stupid little amounts of bar soaps that will melt in the shower faster when you pick them up under the water and think you can clean your legs with it.

The reuse of foil. Using dull razors when you realize the hair on your legs looks the same after.

[Surilda]

Using a Q-tip to get the rest of the makeup out of a jar.

Storing shampoo, dish soap, and things of this nature upside
down to get every drop, when they are low.

Wetting my mascara brush with water when the mascara tube seems to be dried out/empty.

Using spagetti as a "match" for deeply burned or tall candles.

[pollypurebred39]

Save every leftover even if it's only a tablespoon full and put it in a freezer container in freezer. When it's full I make a pot of surprise leftover soup or a potpie.

take the lids off of empty perfume bottles and stick them in drawers to get every last scent out of the bottle. Same with used perfume samples from magazines.

simmer orange, lemon and lime rinds on the stove before discarding to freshen the house.

Keep old almost empty nail polish and add to other almost empty polishes and create a new color good for a few extra toe nail polishes.

[joyofsix]

I think all my frugal stuff falls in this category, lol
~cloth napkins
~turning the ketchup upside down to get the rest or rinsing the spaghetti sauce jar
~never using baggies
~dh taking his sandwich in old bread bags
~saving mail envelopes to write lists on

[scooby8themall]

Saving lint to start camp fires
mixing the last of the barbecue sauce with water
going out on dirt roads to pick raspberries,blueberries instead of paying 3.99 to 4.99.
cutting cardboard packages(as in cereal) to save room in the trash bag.

[Bournecrazy]

I try my best to recycle since i moved i have gone thru 3 small bags of trash compared to my 4 1/2 bags of recyclable items

i try not to waste food items either and i seem to be spending less on food so all is good.

[Grainlady]

-Not only do I use tea bags a couple times, but after that I stick them in a container in the freezer to use them for making one quart of tea concentrate used for making by-the-glass ice tea. A quart of tea concentrate takes up a lot less space in the refrigerator than a pitcher of tea.

-When I boil water for tea, the minimum amount of water you can heat in the electric kettle is enough water for the cup of tea PLUS one more. I put the rest in a small Thermos to use later. Heat once, use twice...

-I bring home hotel shower caps and use them for kitchen use - covering bowels and pans.

-I dry citrus rinds in my dehydrator. They work in baked goods, potpourri, or simmering along with cloves and allspice for air-freshener or mulling spices in cider/apple juice.

-Collected water from the dehumidifier in the basement is added to the washer (Top-Load washer) for doing laundry. Secondary benefit, the water is soft (mineral-free).

-All bread heels and crumbs in the package are collected, dried, and used for making bread-crumbs. They are used in typical bread crumb use, but also in muffins or bread-crumb cookies (Tightwad Gazette I). Bread crumbs can be used as a portion of the flour in many baked goods.

[Bournecrazy]

When I boil water for tea, the minimum amount of water you can heat in the electric kettle is enough water for the cup of tea PLUS one more. I put the rest in a small Thermos to use later. Heat once, use twice

I too have been thinking about this i havent got myself a thermos yet but i will do soon, i am hoping when it goes cold that all the camping items will be on sale and get a cheap one there.

when i get one i am going to see how many cups i get out of it without using the kettle - if filling the thermos full.

[Grainlady]

I too have been thinking about this i havent got myself a thermos yet but i will do soon, i am hoping when it goes cold that all the camping items will be on sale and get a cheap one there.

when i get one i am going to see how many cups i get out of it without using the kettle - if filling the thermos full.

In the winter I'll fill a larger Thermos than my 1-cup size because I consume more hot beverages during the day, or may need a bit of hot water for cooking or baking.

When we went through an ice storm and were without utilities for several days, we'd heat water on our camp stove and then fill EVERY thermal container in the house. We had hot water for tea, coffee, instant cocoa, instant soup, instant oatmeal, as well as hot water for washing up a few dishes as well as washing ourselves. At the end of the day we filled our hot water bottles with hot water and used them to take the chill off our bed. The warm water left in the hot water bottles was used the next morning for washing US.

A quality thermos, such as a Nissan or a Stanley, will pay for itself over time. I "cook" beans/grains/pasta/oatmeal in a thermos, rather than long, on-the-stove, cooking times.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2275972_cook...rgy-money.html

[nuisance26]

~Ironing tissue paper and re-using gift wrap, gift bags and ribbon.
~Saving scraps of leftover veggies and boiling water for soup.
~Not turning on the light when I use the bathroom.

I don't think I save more than a few pennies a year doing these things but I get a frugal kick out of them!~

[Judi Dial]

Cleaning the bathroom mirrors when steamy with a chamois. Vinegar and water spray wouldn't cost so much, but I've been doing this for years!

Judi

[sunshine]

Turn on the hot water, last and turn it off first -- to save a few ounces of hot water.

Watch gas prices between home area and work -- will purchase gas which ever place is cheapest - -usually saves me 2-3 cents a gallon, but a few weeks ago, it was 25 cents a gallon difference.

[Shelli_wnj]

I do lots of these things, too! It drives my husband crazy when I wash the ziplocks. He asks if one ziplock is worth the hot water useage to clean it. I do it anyway out of habit.

[MrsClaus]

I reuse tea bags.

Last night when I fixed dh's sandwich for his lunch I used the last hamburger bun. After fixing the sandwich, I just put it back in the bag and sent it in his lunch.