(Photo by Shutterdos, Dreamstime.com)
My mother had some frugal "procedures" back in the days before I appreciated frugality. I used to tease her about them. But now I do them, too!
First, when I use something in a tube (such as hand cream, anti-itch cream, etc), there is always a lot of it still at the bottom of the tube when I can no longer squeeze any more of it out. So I cut the tube in half, making it possible to reach all of the product that is still in the "empty" tube. To close the tube to prevent drying out, I stick one half inside the other half. A tube of something lasts so much longer when you do, indeed, use ALL of it! (If you've never discovered how much cream is wasted simply because it doesn't come out of the tube, cut a tube in half that you think is empty--you may even gasp!)
Secondly, I collect all the little pieces of soap left when I'm finished using bars of soap. I grate them and put them (plus water) in an empty dispenser bottle. And just that easily, I have a new bottle of hand soap! I've also used it for a few loads of wash.
No big bucks saved here--but hey, it all adds up! If I can buy one less tube every year of everything I use in a tube, I will have saved some small cash.
At the same time that I'm cutting tubes and saving soap pieces, I have the thermostat on my central air set at 74 degrees instead of the economically recommended 78 degrees.This means a higher electric bill for sure. But I don't care so much about that--I like the house cool! So call me "penny wise and pound foolish!"
I'm sure that everyone has at least one thing they do that is uniquely frugal or "penny wise." What's yours? Please comment and share!
No comments:
Post a Comment