Name the MOST FRUGAL thing that you do!

[IntlMom]

Me? Ok, I admit it.....I rinse and reuse my kids straws!!!!!

I've thought about asking this question for a while now, and I just rinsed a bunch of them and it made me think about it again. I buy this box of multicoloured straws, and each boy likes a colour, and my daughter doesn;t care (yet). So when they are done, I rinse out and put it in the drawer, and they reuse them 5 or 6 times. My mom was MORTIFIED when she saw that I did that, but my kiddos don't know any different.

What's the "worst" thing you'll admit to?

[Moor]

for me, it's to use an item until it should be well buried, and then find another use for it. lol
like my scrubbies in the kitchen. i buy the never rust s.o.s. pads, and use them till they are so thin. then i will take them into the bathroom and use them to clean in there. my dh gets so angry with me about that. but you know what, i can make one box of those last me about a year. so i think i am doing good. HA!

[Laurie in Bradenton]

We don't run the air conditioning til July and August and then only at 80 degrees and only at night .

Laurie in Bradenton

[julieb]

ok..when I rinse my glasses off with water and dry them with kleenex I set the kleenex on top of the box to use again. It is only water on them and they do dry, perfectly usable again.

[peanut]

Doesn't everyone wash and reuse straws???LOL Okay, I've been doing it for years...hmmm...most frugal thing...my wardrobe...

I buy used/secondhand. I buy classic styles and basic colours. Everything has to go with at least 3 other items in my wardrobe. When things wear out, they are recycled into other items - rugs, quilts, potholders, aprons, etc. And, if they really have bitten the dust, I give them to goodwill to turn into rags or resell (assuming I can't use more rags or resell them myself).

Jean

[frugalfriend]

I'm the heater nazi! LOL! DH turns it up, I secretly turn it back down a degree or two . . . I don't run the heater at all from 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. when he's at work. I also run around the house turning off lights behind everyone all the time (they can't seem to remember to do it themselves ) and unplugging everything . . .

[Moor]

ok. i must admit there are other things that i do.
like, we use flouresent (sp) bulbs in almost every light socket and lamp in the house.
we have our heat set at 68 and i DARE someone to change it.
i wash all my clothes in cold water and hang almost everything to dry.
my house is very dark, but i get a lot of sunlight. so i have the curtains open ALL the time, so i very rarely have to use a light during the day. i also painted everything a light color so it will reflect to other areas that don't get any light.
i wash and reuse the straws.
i wash and resuse the baggies, some of them, anyway.
instead of buying dog treats, i use soup bones, neck bones, and such. that way i can have the broth.
i have a triple loader for a washer, so i have to wash less.
i find multiple uses for EVERYTHING!
i hardly ever buy a store bought cleaner. i just use vinegar.
my granny helped raise me and she grew up in the depression. so i learned a lot from her on how to make do with what i have and to make what i can.
one thing that really gets my dh is my use for cereal boxes. i use them to put cakes on, i use them to hold yarn and such when crotching, i use them for kids art projects.
coffee cans are another thing that i reuse a lot! i have them all over the house holding all sorts of things. if you were to look under my bed, you would see about 20. lol they are great to help keep shoes together, collect change in, magazines, seperate bills, i keep one by the bed to hold things like chap stick, vick's rub, tum's, lotion, and such.
so yeah, i have a lot of frugal things that i do. dh thinks that they are all extreme, but you know what, i have caught him doing some of them, so i think they are catching on! lol

[LexTysMommy]

I reuse straws too.

But I think that the if its yellow let it mellow etc....is what is most frugal here. For daycare we flush every time, but just us nope.

I also am a heater/ac freak. I will turn heater off even if i am leaving for 5 minutes. The a/c is set at 80, the heat at 67 everyday. Less when there are no kids here.

[starsapphire]

I am not the most frugal of frugalistas here LOL (I do my best) but the one I think of is add some water to the liquid hand soap dispenser to get it all out when almost empty (and the shampoo and conditioner but DH has his own). When I read this post it came to mind because a couple of days ago he asked about it because he doesn't like it. So I got a new one for him and set it next to the old one with the watered down soap in it. The next day I found the old one in the bathroom garbage can and I took it out again. DH noticed and it was quite humorous. I don't mind using it up

[POOTERSMOMMY]

You guys are great. I do many of the same.
1. Wash and reuse straws and baggies, and foil
2. Use new round florescent bulbs
3. Keep heat at 68
4. Don't use AC till absolutely nec. Love fresh air
5. Water down everything !!!!
6. Reuse everything I can
7. Old worn jeans become shorts then scraps for crafts
8. Don't waste food
9. After making stock from turkey or ham bones (neighbors dogs or wild critters get them)
10. Never, ever waste anything

[shortstack]

-Instead of buying disposable straws we use the sturdy straws that come with sippy cups and we put them in the dishwasher
-I replace all of dh namebrand products that he can't live without with less expensive brands. For instance he goes on and on about how he can only use Listerine mouthwash but what he doesn't know is that for a whole year now I've been refilling his bottle with store brand mouthwash. Wonder when he's going to realize that he has the never ending bottle of Listerine

I do a lot of the things already mentioned too.

Andrea

[Jskell911]

I guess my most frugal and/or odd things are:

* Reuse coffee grounds to make a new pot (just add one more scoop)

* Always bring coffee from home (thermos or thermal mug)

* Send away for samples I know others would like to make gift baskets.

[Dancing Lotus]

The most frugal thing I do is make something out of nothing.

This week I picked up an oak medicine cabenit that someone put to the curb. I sanded it down, painted it black , removed the knobs and cut out the center of the doors to put punched tin it.
It's totaly new now, totaly awsome and cost me nothing.

My clothes are the next frugal thing. I buy used and buy only classic peices and solid colors that will last a long time and match anything. When I am done with them I cut them up to make quilts.

[dcompton]

I guess it would be the hand crank washing machine I posted about, and the spin dryer, that runs only a few minutes each month. So not much water, hardly any electricity, very little detergent -- my laundry is almost free.

[Bethany]

I guess some of my most frugal things are things I don't do:
I DON'T buy books, I BORROW them from the library.
I DON'T eat out as much as I used to.
I DON'T buy bottled water, the tap is great for me.
I DON'T drive anywhere unless I have to.