Squeeking your Pennies

I do try to re-use a lot of things. I re-use ziploc bags, aluminum foil, grocery bags as trash bags, food containers (like jelly jars) to store food and other things. I water down juice all the time because it's usually too sweet for me. I chew half a piece of gum at a time but that's because I only like half...saving money is just a perk there too. I also often use half a paper towel or half a tissue for "small jobs". Yes, I'm sounding weirder and weirder :)

I'm pretty frugal. I used to be the Thrifty Guru at Lifetips.com's thrifty site, and most of the tips there are mine. What strange things do I do? Well, I guess that all depends on what you call weird. I collect the refundable cans/bottles some times, in the summer, when we go away. I don't think I could bring myself to do that around where I live. I try to wear gloves when I do this though. I'm one of those that picks pennies up from the ground, and anything else that I find interesting. I'm a beachcomber too. I'm thinking about getting a metal detector too, but haven't gottten to that point yet. If food was in a Ziplock bag, I don't re-use it, unless the same thing is going in (nothing raw thought - ick!!!). If I just get kept snacks in it, I'll re-use it for craft stuff. I try to re-use everything that I can. I buy the biggest bag/box/etc. of whatever I'm buying to save on packaging materials. I could go on forever, but I won't. I can't think of anything else that I do that others would have a problem with, that I could share here.

Now what's wrong with washing out ziplock bags? They're expensive! LOL I probably do some things that would make your hair curl: Only use 1/4 inch of toothpaste. It works just as well. Never "shampoo, rinse, repeat." Once is enough; hair gets clean the first time. Use plastic grocery bags to line small waste containers instead of buying the small bags. That's a start. :)

I responded to this discussion just as the site went down so my post didn't make it on here. I wash out my Ziploc bags. If I didn't I would be buying a new box every week. I also wash out Gatorade bottles and re-use as water bottles. When I rinse out things like that I pour the water into a jug I keep by the sink. That water is used to help fill up for the next sink of dishwater. I am considering getting a rain barrel so I can use rain water. I will reuse foil paper too if it is not too dirty after covering a casserole dish in the oven. And you should see the boxes of paper under my desk. I don't need to buy pads of notepaper because I keep paper I printed on and use the back. I was at a meeting at church tonight. I held up a piece of paper to read some notes I had written down and the Priest said, "Oh, Sudoku." The game was printed on the back of the piece of paper I had printed notes on. LOL! Even if I cut something out of a piece of paper I will keep the strips of remaining paper. Since I am in a writing group, occasionally we use a baggie of writing prompts. I keep blank strips of paper in an envelope in my writing bag so I can write prompts on them when they come to me. They have also come in handy for our writing group when someone comes up with an idea that requires pieces of paper but comes unprepared. I have a pyramid of Slimfast cans piling up in my basement. I can't figure out what to do with them but they seem too good to throw away. I am considering checking to see if the school can use them for the junior classes puzzle pieces and things. They would make great piggy banks or pencil holders, just decorate the outside! Last year my daughter made an angel from a styrofoam cup glued upside down to an old CD (you know the ones AOL used to send in the mail?). What I can reuse I put in the recycle bin.

i reuse ziplock bags, i recycle my water bottles, i use sample shampoos from the paper and magazines, its earth conscious and better i guess, but yea, sometimes i have to catch myself being a freak and just throw stuff away.

well when i use to buy paper towels ( i dont anymore) I would use them about three or four times before I threw them away.I would just wash them in the sink and let them dry buy it. I dont think this is as bad as some stories I have heard of people doing wierd things to save money. Such as pulling apart toilet paper so that you get twice as much.

I guess I should be more frugal as I'm not. Idon't reuse water bottles because the plastic starts to break down and can be harmful to your health. Especially if you freeze water in them. I reuse bags only if it hasn't had food in it. I just can't make myself wash and reuse it, especially if its had any kind of meat in it. I have had to water down my daughters milk because she can't drink whole milk and my hubby has to drink it. I ran out of milk and my daughter wanted some cereal. As far as juice, I usually dilute it anyways because of the natural sugars in it.

I wash out my Ziplock bags depending on what was in them. If they only had a block of cheese or fruits or vegetables in them I will wash them out. It is not really about being cheap; it is more about not being wasteful. I water down my daughters juice cause she is only 10 months old, but a lot of the time I give my son who is 7 the same watered down juice. He does not really notice and he does not need all the sugar. It also saves some money on juice.

How funny my mom washes out her plastic ziplock bags. My husband saves aluminum cans, I save change all the change from the day goes in a can, once or twice a year I turn it in usually have a couple hundred dollars, we have went out of town for the weekend after saving change for a year. Have a great day!

I try to save everything I can Even plastic bags Its funny how some litle things save big money