Letting your inner cheap out

[AussieSharon]

Quote:
Right there with you. I've lived in the States for 17 years and this is the first home I've had where clothes lines were allowed. Gosh every home in Aussie has a clothes line! The worst part is I am too lazy to walk down 2 flights of stairs to get outside to hang clothes on a line so I still use the dryer.

 

[Wildsky]

Even though we could put up a line for laundry - when the wind blows (always) the dust and dirt fly as well - I'd hate to have to wash again, or have gritty sheets!

 

[chicamama]

i do not use plastic bags. i use

http://laptoplunches.com/

I also bring my own shopping bags to market. Guess it sounds more lke recycling, but same difference whatever the reason.

 

[Mom 2em All]

My grandmother was the ultimate frugal...
She reused her ice-cubes.
I remember being a child, dumping my glass in the sink- and her yelling at me for wasting.

She had a bowl in her freezer where she kept her ice- cubes, after she rinsed them off. (and I never used ice at her house again-

)

She also had a drawer in her house full of aluminum foil squares- foil would come off whatever pan was in the oven, carefully folded- and reused the next time you needed it.

She said a shower was too wasteful- take a bath instead. My mom told me that as a teenager, she remembers arguing that point, saying it takes more water to fill the tub than to take a shower- and my gramma got mad at her and said, "Why on earth would you need a full bath tub?"

Flushing the toilet at her house was only done once a day unless you stunk it up.

Very rarely was a light ever turned on at her house- she said if you could no longer see, you should be in bed sleeping. Having a television on while you were asleep? Ha! There was only one t.v., and it was a small black and white one- in the living room.

There was also NO holding open the refrigerator, contemplating what you would like to eat. You better know what you were going in there for, before you opened that door. And if you were going to get out lunch meat- you had BETTER also grab the mayo, or the mustard while you were in there- or else you ate a dry sandwich.

She had a ringer washer. Then the clothes were lugged upstairs and out to the clothes line. Absolutely nothing as stiff and scratchy as a pair of jeans put through a ringer, then hung on a line. I think those jeans could stand on their own once off the line.

I sure there were more-but those are the things I remember from child hood.

 

[Rosalind]

Crikey, I am a dirty hippie by youse's standards...I only wash sheets and towels once a week, as my parents, grandparents, etc. did for centuries. I suppose the idea is, you're not supposed to be doing anything to get your sheets and towels all that dirty! When I leave for work, DH is still in bed, and he never makes the bed after he gets up. Even if I did put clean sheets on daily, I'd never enjoy 'em myself.

Guests get fresh clean sheets and towels, if youse ever come visit.

Yeah, we dry on the line as much as possible. Horrible past few weeks though, it's been raining at least one thunderstorm almost every day, and 100% humidity when it's not raining. Nothing dries in this weather, I had to use the dryer. No A/C in the house, just fans.

I make my own soap. My own eggs, obviously. Pack bag lunches to work in reusable containers. Grow or fish as much on my own as possible. edited to add: Whenever I go to any restaurant, I only order appetizers or soup if I can't take a doggy bag home. Otherwise, all restaurant meals are cut in half and leftovers eaten the next day. I rarely finish a restaurant meal in one sitting. Added health benefit: my cholesterol and blood pressure are super-low, and I always look pretty good in a bathing suit. Also, microwaving and rice cookers use less energy than stovetops or ovens. It cuts the electric bill down if you make everything in the microwave, rice cooker or toaster oven.

I get live Xmas trees that can be planted as landscaping, so we end up with some Xmas Bushes once in a while. Holiday decorations usually consist of one large box of candles from Ikea ($9) and one large roll of ribbon from the fabric store ($6), plus whatever greenery we clip from our yard. I have a bunch of ornaments I inherited, I'll never buy any.

I have this giant stash of old clothes too worn even for Goodwill, sorted by color, and I'm planning to make quilts out of them. I repair a lot of clothes for a long time to make them last--got a few shirts that I've had since high school. Never buy anything fashionable, everything is neutral colors and either antique or sort of generic-looking so it can all mix and match.

Grew my hair super-long so I can trim it myself and don't need haircuts. I just put it in a braid or bun with a few drops of grocery store olive oil on it most of the time. Fingernails get clipped and buffed, I am too cheap to buy so much as nail polish.

OK, this one you will laugh at...I have a Great Pyrenees dog, and in summer he blows his undercoat. This is kinda woolly fur, like lambswool, and it all comes off in one big batch over a couple of weeks. I'm saving it in paper grocery bags to spin into yarn and knit. Don't know what I will knit yet, though...

 

[chicamama]

MomtoemAll...

We need more people like your gramma nowadays!
(although the ice cube saving is a riot)

I think it's our duty to teach children these lessons at this point. Everything is throwaway in their minds. We can't blame them, it's what they are being taught. I believe our parents and grandparents did a lot of frugal behaviors due to the economy, depression, war.... Now the irony is it's due mostly to pollution and the fight to recycle.

 

[chicamama]

Rosalind..

""Crikey, I am a dirty hippie by youse's standards..."""

I love you.

 

[chicamama]

My chcicken coop is right next too my clothesline now.

I may need to move it? Then again, it's not really smelly back there? Hmmmm

My dh hates his clothes and towels dried on the line. Say's they're "too crunchy"

cry baby.

 

[miss_jayne]

Quote:
there was a movie where the mom was using the dog's fur to make these awesome sweaters and everyone thought it was wool! it was hilarious.
she also had a winning apple pie recipe that was a major secret. she busts loose and admits it tastes different because she used PEARS!!!

can't remember the title, but her sweaters were pretty! you could give it a whirl!

 

[EweSheep]

Hubby suggested to save cardboard toliet rolls and stuff them with dryer lint for excellent fire starters. I take them downstairs and set them on the shelf next ot the dryer and stuff each roll with lint. When full, I would put them in bags, ready to go camping!

Now I got that special soap and wanted to make our own washing detergent. Got one in the newspaper but not sure if it will work. Iknow the ingredients includes Hammers Baking Soda (washing only) and salt????????