What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[Molpet]

Dear Wife bought me a new pair of blue sweatpants. They were on sale for $14.00, which evidently is a good price these days. Last time I bought sweatpants for myself, back ~1970's, it was less than $5.00. IMHO, the sweatpants back them were better quality than the new ones today.

View attachment 4253254

Dear Wife insisted that I get a new pair of sweatpants because my old ones are getting ripped and have a few small holes. So, a new pair showed up last week. Of course, the real reason I got new sweatpants is because Dear Wife bought herself some new clothes and she felt guilty about her purchase. Somehow, buying me a pair of sweatpants makes her feel less guilty about her clothes purchase.

I keep telling her that sooner or later I would probably see a good pair of used sweatpants at the Thrift Shop. She did not have to buy me a new pair. I really don't care about buying used clothes. I looked for maybe 3 months at the Thrift Shop for a pair of blue sweatpants, but nothing came through.

Of course, she buys the new sweatpants last week and this week I find a really nice pair of blue sweatpants at the Thrift Shop for only $2.00. So, I bought the sweatpants from the Thrift Shop. Oh well. Now I have two good pairs of blue sweatpants.

BTW, why can't an old man wear some old sweatpants with a few small rips and/or holes in them? I see young ladies running around town wearing brand new pants with rips and holes in all the inappropriate places and they call that fashion! My rips and holes in my pants were well earned. I'm just saying...

View attachment 4253252

And yes, I have seen some young girls wearing pants like that around town. I don't get it. But I'm really getting old, I guess.

I had just declared a pair of jeans too holy to wear mowing when I seen a pair worse than mine with $150 price tag

 

[FrostRanger]

Dear Wife bought me a new pair of blue sweatpants. They were on sale for $14.00, which evidently is a good price these days. Last time I bought sweatpants for myself, back ~1970's, it was less than $5.00. IMHO, the sweatpants back them were better quality than the new ones today.

View attachment 4253254

Dear Wife insisted that I get a new pair of sweatpants because my old ones are getting ripped and have a few small holes. So, a new pair showed up last week. Of course, the real reason I got new sweatpants is because Dear Wife bought herself some new clothes and she felt guilty about her purchase. Somehow, buying me a pair of sweatpants makes her feel less guilty about her clothes purchase.

I keep telling her that sooner or later I would probably see a good pair of used sweatpants at the Thrift Shop. She did not have to buy me a new pair. I really don't care about buying used clothes. I looked for maybe 3 months at the Thrift Shop for a pair of blue sweatpants, but nothing came through.

Of course, she buys the new sweatpants last week and this week I find a really nice pair of blue sweatpants at the Thrift Shop for only $2.00. So, I bought the sweatpants from the Thrift Shop. Oh well. Now I have two good pairs of blue sweatpants.

BTW, why can't an old man wear some old sweatpants with a few small rips and/or holes in them? I see young ladies running around town wearing brand new pants with rips and holes in all the inappropriate places and they call that fashion! My rips and holes in my pants were well earned. I'm just saying...

View attachment 4253252

And yes, I have seen some young girls wearing pants like that around town. I don't get it. But I'm really getting old, I guess.

As a young woman myself (although a tomboy so not that interested in fashion) I don't get it either lol. I buy my clothes at the thrift store especially shorts and pants. Cheaper and better quality. Not sure why someone would pay an arm and a leg for ruined pants

 

[gtaus]

I had just declared a pair of jeans too holy to wear mowing when I seen a pair worse than mine with $150 price tag

Yep, my ripped and torn pants earned it the hard way, after years of service. I don't understand buying a new pair of pants aged and stressed to look like they should be retired. But I'm hardly a fashion critic.

I had an old tee shirt that was full of rips and holes. I know it was in bad shape, but I mainly used it on those terrible hot days where a little extra ventilation feels good. Anyways, Dear Wife told me I should get rid of it. I told her that I was OK with the tee shirt for work, but that if she was really upset about it, I'd take it out to the garage and make it into shop rags. I'm kind of of frugal that way and I can always use more shop rags. Nope. One day it was gone. When I asked her about it, she said she threw it out because she could not stand to wash it one more time.

As a young woman myself (although a tomboy so not that interested in fashion) I don't get it either lol. I buy my clothes at the thrift store especially shorts and pants. Cheaper and better quality. Not sure why someone would pay an arm and a leg for ruined pants

I know some people don't like the idea of buying clothes at a Thrift Shop. It never bothered me. Mostly, I get better quality clothes for pennies on the dollar compared to buying new.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

I've never understood buying torn-up clothes, either. I was raised that clothes don't need to be fancy or expensive but they should be clean and in good repair. Why buy ones that are already torn?

 

[Sally PB]

I'd take it out to the garage and make it into shop rags

When my socks wear through the heel, I turn them into rags. To know that they should not go back into the drawer, I turn them inside out.

Socks make fantastic rags or dusting cloths. So do old T-shirts. The nice thing about these is they are washable and reusable. And for the really nasty cleaning jobs, I feel no guilt at all about throwing them out.

 

[fuzzi]

When my socks wear through the heel, I turn them into rags. To know that they should not go back into the drawer, I turn them inside out.

Socks make fantastic rags or dusting cloths. So do old T-shirts. The nice thing about these is they are washable and reusable. And for the really nasty cleaning jobs, I feel no guilt at all about throwing them out.

While cleaning out my office at work I discovered a pair of socks stowed in a drawer, JIC my feet got wet. I probably won't wear them again, they're too worn to donate, and it came to mind how we used to tie old socks together as a dog pull toy!

Caleb might enjoy them. I am bringing him home next Wednesday!

 

[Molpet]

Yes I also cut up clothes for rags..... Shop rags, snot rags ECT. I rarely use paper towels or Kleenex, just for things I don't want to go in the washer.... Grease(not good for septic) or dog's accident.
At work they would buy bags of rags for the shop, they were cut up clothes

 

[gtaus]

Socks make fantastic rags or dusting cloths. So do old T-shirts. The nice thing about these is they are washable and reusable. And for the really nasty cleaning jobs, I feel no guilt at all about throwing them out.

I just bought a 50 pack of washable shop towels from Harbor Freight. Well, more precisely, I got a FREE pack of 50 shop towels from Harbor Freight when I made a purchase on another item. For light cleaning of dust and dirt, I'll wash my shop rags. If I have to clean up oil or grease, those rags are disposable and I have no regrets, either.

BTW, I am an Inside Track Club (ITC) member at Harbor Freight. I only had to buy any item in the store to get the free gift. I bought a battery terminal brush on sale for $1.00 at the time and got the $14 shop towels for free.

You have to pay for the ITC membership up front, but if you frequently shop at Harbor Freight, then you have all these special ITC membership sales and FREE gifts to take advantage of. In my case, the membership price pays for itself many times over.

We only got our Harbor Freight about 3 years ago. However, back in the day, I used to go to larger towns and visit Harbor Freight. Back then, they were mostly noted for cheap, disposable, low quality products. One and done tools and supplies. However, over the years, Harbor Freight has grown into their Good, Better, and Best line of tools. If you need a one-time tool for a weekend project, that Good tool line is more than enough. If you want to step up a notch, the Better tool line will last the average DIYer for life. The Best line of tools is considered contractor grade tools and they get a lot of respect on the YouTube reviews.

If you want to be frugal on your purchase, you can match the tool and price to your need and save money. Unless you make your living with your tools, often times you can get by with the cheaper tool for a once in a lifetime project. Well, that's my thoughts on that subject.

 

[gtaus]

Caleb might enjoy them. I am bringing him home next Wednesday!

to you and Caleb.

 

[gtaus]

I rarely use paper towels or Kleenex, just for things I don't want to go in the washer.... Grease(not good for septic) or dog's accident.

When I fill up the car at the gas station, I'll grab a few extra blue paper towels from the dispenser and stuff them in my cubby holes on the side of the doors, or stuff a few under the seats. Like you, I use those types of paper towels first for the grease and oil. Those towels are meant to be disposable, and it will save having to throw out your shop towels that could otherwise be washed and reused.

I just won't put an oily or greasy shop rag into Dear Wife's washing machine! Even I know better than that.