Modern people are just like us!

I've always been frugal. Waste offends me even when I'm not personally affected and I don't fully understand why it does. When a 5 item Amazon order arrives in 5 different boxes by 3 different carriers, I am bothered although my cost is no different than if all packaged in one box.

And I'm not stupid, I do understand the logistics of why this is necessary.
 
Pinky said:
I had a boyfriend in the late 60's whose mother re-used the wax-paper from lunch sandwiches, paper bags, plastic wrap - rinsing and hanging them on a line over the basement sink. She got into the habit during the depression, and never stopped.
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The only example I thought was going too far was when I had to wash aluminum foil that'd been used in the oven to cook meat. Didn't think it was worth the time and effort to clean off all that grease just so the foil could be reused!
 
OMG, Janice, your started thread tells on me so bad! :giggle:

I was just a young child when I was introduced into the world of frugality, as my mom was the queen of frugal. Clothes were mended, hemmed, altered... Halloween costumes were all homemade for us kids, and may I say we had some of the best costumes around! Whatever could be fixed, repaired, or pressed into service a smidge more, was. That was my mom.

I recall there being times when I was wanting to wash something in the kitchen sink, a cup, a bowl, whatever, and mom would pipe-up and say, just a drop, that's all that you need, just a drop, referring to the amount of dish detergent needed to get the job done.

Homemade everything in our house, drapes, curtains, clothing, toques, hats, gloves, mitts, you name it, and when it came to doilies and such, all homemade. Mom prided herself with such, and all of our quilts were homemade, as were the throws and afghans we used.

There was no such thing as tossing washables into the electric tumble dryer if the weather was nice and the clothesline was free, and dare any of us girls try (and we used to, LOL), mom was right there redirecting us with a pointed finger... out on the line, she'd say.

Old towels, washcloths, shirts, socks... and when baby brother graduated out of diapers, all ended up in what mom referred to as the rag-bag, and dad was NOT allowed to pillage the rag-bag for anything. The rag-bag was in moms words, OUT OF BOUNDS, LOL! For messy things such as checking the oil in the car, it was up to dad to find his own cloths and rags for that, and mom stood her ground on the matter.

I remember the smell like yesterday, mom just loved washing floors with a vinegar and water mix, she swore by it, but I can't complain, as our house was always spotlessly clean.

In the kitchen, Rubbermaid and Tupperware was moms best friend, so little in the way of foil and wrap was used in our house.

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Now, speaking for myself, all the above, with a few added additions...

I practice rinsing out and reusing plastic bags, Ziploc bags included, and all are pinned up on the line to dry. As frugal as I am, I'll admit, seeing plastic bags hanging on my outdoor clothesline still strikes me as looking a little odd, even silly, but it doesn't stop me from the practice.

In the diaper days in our home, when the elastic waistband of a pair of rubber pants grew tired and lost stretch, I'd pin-fasten the pants on just like a diaper, to get every last stitch of use out of them that I could, and boy, did it ever used to drive my mom mad when she babysat! ROFL!
 
@AuntMarg: I go even further with the Tupperware/Rubbermaid topic- after I loaned out most of mine and few were returned, I started using Folger's canisters- both the instant style and regular style- for storing leftovers, catfood, cosmetics, etc. etc.
A couple of years ago when the building inspector noticed a quantity of the canisters in the cabinet, and I guess he thought they were full, remarked "You sure drink a lot of coffee!" :ROFLMAO:
 
JaniceM said:
@AuntMarg: I go even further with the Tupperware/Rubbermaid topic- after I loaned out most of mine and few were returned, I started using Folger's canisters- both the instant style and regular style- for storing leftovers, catfood, cosmetics, etc. etc.
A couple of years ago when the building inspector noticed a quantity of the canisters in the cabinet, and I guess he thought they were full, remarked "You sure drink a lot of coffee!" :ROFLMAO:
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Great thinking, Janice, and very comical about the building inspectors take on the matter! :)

Your story reminds me of a friend I grew up with, her dad had a big shop in the basement of their home, and I remember he had affixed the lids of dozens of those old tiny baby food jars above his workbench, and all in a row, each little jar was filled with odds & ends such as nuts, bolts, washers, nails, etc, and he had a collection of plastic tobacco containers that had the equal underneath the work bench.

I remember with my parents, there was no going out and buying new paintbrushes with each job they did, they cleaned and reused their paintbrushes again and again, until the brushes could be used no more, and then and only then did they replace the old with new.
 
My parents were born in 1913 and 1915, so the depression era made a lasting impression on them. I 'inherited' their philosophies. Re-use, re-purpose, repair, etc. My mother re-wove her straw brooms! I go above, saving glass instant coffee jars for grain storage and the waxed bags inside cereal boxes for repackaging other food items. We always bought 'used,' never new. For me, I've always owned a car outright since the age of 16 and owned houses since I was 18. What I saved in these 'major' expenses more than compensated for any repairs that needed to be done - and I learned to repair most things by myself.
 
Although my mother did differently, I don’t reuse food packaging to keep any other foods. Even if well washed the odor can often still be detected suggesting possibility of eventual growth of mold or bacteria. I do keep foods like cheeses, cold cuts etc in their original packaging as long as possible, often over wrapping with plastic or foil. I find they keep fresher that way. I will use clean study food containers for non food items, like clean yogurt cups for little hardware parts etc.
 
To me being thrifty just makes sense and is oftentimes environmentally friendly.

Why would anyone want to spend more than they have to for the things that they need/enjoy?

The thing that I'm curious about is the more I have the more frugal I become.

Maybe it's a case of becoming more knowledgeable or needing less I'm not sure.
 
gennie said:
I've always been frugal. Waste offends me even when I'm not personally affected and I don't fully understand why it does. When a 5 item Amazon order arrives in 5 different boxes by 3 different carriers, I am bothered although my cost is no different than if all packaged in one box.

And I'm not stupid, I do understand the logistics of why this is necessary.
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When hub and I were in both the medical biz and later the food biz, we often discussed the high cost of the cardboard boxes we had to buy to ship out in. We concluded we should have been in the box business instead!
 
Aunt Bea said:
To me being thrifty just makes sense and is oftentimes environmentally friendly.

Why would anyone want to spend more than they have to for the things that they need/enjoy?

The thing that I'm curious about is the more I have the more frugal I become.

Maybe it's a case of becoming more knowledgeable or needing less I'm not sure.
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We're the same and have become the same.

At not point has there ever been a time in my life where I can honestly say I was cheap, but my level of frugality over the years has definitely increased, and considering how comfortable dear husband and I are now compared to the past, if anything at all, I would venture to say most people may let their guard down somewhat, but those like yourself and people like us have only intensified our actions, and I think that's highly admirable. 😁
 
Aunt Marg said:
We're the same and have become the same.

At not point has there ever been a time in my life where I can honestly say I was cheap, but my level of frugality over the years has definitely increased, and considering how comfortable dear husband and I are now compared to the past, if anything at all, I would venture to say most people may let their guard down somewhat, but those like yourself and people like us have only intensified our actions, and I think that's highly admirable. 😁
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I'm not sure if it's admirable or just a case of old dogs having a little trouble with new tricks.;)
 
Im all for waste not want not to a point but many frugal folks use it as an excuse to cheap out in general.

Straightening out old rusty nails instead of buying a new box. Saving every plastic bag, paper clip, elastic bands, reusing every piece of wrapping paper, gluing cups and saucers back together , keeping socks and underwear until they have holes everywhere, not flushing the toilet to save on water, not wanting Christmas lights cause they use up to much electricity, not throwing anything out since it might be worth something.

People like this often become hoarders where they end up with so much stuff that it clutters up everything and becomes more like a OCD mental disorder.

I’m ALL for saving money but some people push those limits to an extreme. People who like to be generous to others often get taken advantage of by these types since they are always trying to save a buck where it can be not only embarrassing but annoying.
 
Keesha said:
Im all for waste not want not to a point but many frugal folks use it as an excuse to cheap out in general.

Straightening out old rusty nails instead of buying a new box. Saving every plastic bag, paper clip, elastic bands, reusing every piece of wrapping paper, gluing cups and saucers back together , keeping socks and underwear until they have holes everywhere, not flushing the toilet to save on water, not wanting Christmas lights cause they use up to much electricity, not throwing anything out since it might be worth something.

People like this often become hoarders where they end up with so much stuff that it clutters up everything and becomes more like a OCD mental disorder.

I’m ALL for saving money but some people push those limits to an extreme. People who like to be generous to others often get taken advantage of by these types since they are always trying to save a buck where it can be not only embarrassing but annoying.
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I've known a few folks who lived exactly as you describe, right down to saving bits and pieces of bar soap.

The underwear and socks thing is (and always has been) totally out for me. Growing up in a poor home, I remember the uncomfortable feeling of toes sticking out of socks, bare heels sticking to the linoleum flooring, and just the overall unsightliness of holey things, so when I got out on my own there was no more panties or socks with holes for me.
 
Liberty said:
When hub and I were in both the medical biz and later the food biz, we often discussed the high cost of the cardboard boxes we had to buy to ship out in. We concluded we should have been in the box business instead!
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I know a couple who inherited a box business from family .. cereal boxes, etc. - they are multi-millionaires. Every morning when I have my cereal, I think of them.
 
Aunt Marg said:
I've known a few folks who lived exactly as you describe, right down to saving bits and pieces of bar soap.
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I almost choked when I read the part about the soap. My parents had an odd object in their bathroom that was specifically for the purpose of saving and using bits and pieces of bar soap- it was a large sponge with an opening to put the pieces into, and the pieces kind of melted together, and a long handle so people could use it when they bathed or showered.

Of all the items they bought from those mail-order catalogs, I thought that was one of the dopiest- or at least came in first-place along with the square egg maker... :ROFLMAO:
 

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