Towels don't get grungy from drying clean bodies but from the bacteria that like moist towels.

If you air out the towel, you can use it at least one more time, maybe more, but the bacteria eventually proliferate.

If you see money on the ground, why the h@ll wouldn't you pick it up? Afraid someone would see you do it?

I don't pick coins up because I don't want to. I use my credit card for pretty much everything, I don't carry coins on me and I don't have any need for more coins to get lost in my purse. Plus there are always people who need it more than I do.

I forgot about the ball of string that mother kept, Jim. We did not buy string, and maybe it was scarce during the War. Grandma kept extra rubber bands and hung them around the kitchen door knob.

I cut my sons' hair till they went to high school. Then I decided teens need a "real" barber to give the nicest haircut. These days, I cut my grandsons' hair.

It's a way of being unselfish. Finding money or other things doesn't give me a charge. When I see something, I'll leave it for someone else to find for whom it may be meaningful. Hopefully a kid.

Am I concerned someone would see me picking up money? No. That's not something I would care about one way or the other.

We use our towels and washcloths until 'the next wash', which is more frequent in winter due to bulkier clothing. This means that clean sets are draped on towel bars every four or five days. In our HVAC'd house, everything is bone dry before the next use. I do a 'wet dry' after I turn off the shower, using my wrung-out wash cloth; there's not much left to drip onto the floor -- or soak into a towel. In addition, I didn't plan this, but it worked out that the floor supply vents in our MBA are directly under the towel bars beside our sinks!

If you follow another routine, what is it? Do you put used towels into a bin until wash day? How long do they sit there, damp? (My turn to say 'ew'.)

Do you have exhaust fans in your bathrooms?

Every few days, I gather all the bath, hand and dish towels I can get my hands on and give them a heavy duty wash in hot water.

How frequent really depends, but no more than 5-6 days.

I hang my bath towel over the edge of my door to get air all around it so it dries quickly.

Grandma kept extra rubber bands and hung them around the kitchen door knob.

*****

Rubberbands always went around the doorknob and paper bags went between the fridge and the wall.

I use "junk" mail for making hand-made paper, which is then used for fancy envelopes, gift/greeting/Christmas cards. You can also turn it into "art" pieces, lamp shades, seed envelopes, place cards, packets filled with herbs/spices used for a sachet, book covers, and so many other things.

-Grainlady

Another use for the cereal liners or milk bags is to dispose of kitty litter. I don't ever throw out a plastic bag without filling it with something. Even those flimsy produce get doubled up and used for kitty litter. That's in a pinch, though, they are soooo thin. We can recycle plastic bags (not ziploc type) and I recycle those.

At our grocery stores, they have recycling bins for the plastic bags. I hate it that the recycle pick up doesn't take them anymore. I do use a lot of them for doggy clean up though.

I remember my mother folding up and saving aluminum foil. My father would bring back the lunch bags for re-use. He never used a lunch box for some reason, never knew why, nor did I ever ask.

I always try to combine trips for more than one reason. I weigh cost of a trip to the value of any potential savings. If I'm going by a place where I know they have a better deal on something I will need soon I make the stop.

I often wonder what disease people have who have the compulsion to throw everything away. I shake my head when I see someone bring home bags of groceries and then throw away the bags when they can be used as liners. One time at some friends they had to go to the bag of groceries, take out a box of can liners, put in the waste basket and then put the grocery bags into it. It's the opposite of hoarding and a mental disease as well but one of which few will speak.

Things like bread bags were always saved growing up. I did a bit when I first moved out (force of habit), then quit. But now I do keep a few around to put greasy or messy things in when I'm trashing them. Meat trays? I usually rinse them off and use them as a garbage collection at meal prep, then the whole thing goes into the trash. Things like vegetable cans are washed and reused for grease collection and disposal. To me, it's not the frugal aspect, it's common sense. Have it handy, not have to make a run to the store to get something and money savings is a bonus.

Speaking of sicknesses, when I hear of someone having to make a special trip to get toilet paper makes me wonder what is wrong with them. There are certain things you should never allow to run out. It's a paper product, it won't spoil, why NOT buy a quantity so you have it, save trips and save money. One guy working for me was an example of how expensive that silliness can get: He mentioned how he'd wander around the convenience store and look for other things to buy because he was too embarrassed to let people know he was so stupid as to run out of cheek wipes!

Throwing out bags; our friend buys small plastic bags from the dollar store to put his kitty litter in, then throws out the milk bags. Duh.

I had to look up what a milk bag was, never heard of them before.

For those that don't use paper towels, what do you use when you have something greasy?

Bacon, fried chicken, homemade chex mix etc.

I only use paper towels for this or cleaning up if my dog has an accident in the house.

I can't imagine what I would use if I didn't have paper towels.

Our milk comes in plastic bags. 3 small bags that hold a little over a litre/quart each, and a large outer bag to hold them. To use it the small bag fits inside a pitcher, snip off a corner and pour. I would never ever want to use a large gallon jug. The plastic bags are indestructible, excellent for freezing, coating chicken pieces etc.

I just came across this article and thought everyone here would appreciate it.

This has been a great post. I remember back in the 50's. grocery stores sold aluminum foil and wax paper but not plastic wrap or plastic bags. I remember Mom would save the plastic bags carrots were sold in, rinse them out and use them around the house. For example, she'd put a wet wash cloth in a carrot bag and carry it in her purse when we went on car trips. She would use the wet cloth to wipe our hands on if we got sticky. I remember Dad bringing home white styrofoam cups from his coffee break at work. He gave them to me and I played with them and used them as doll cups. I do remember when "Baggies" showed up in stores. My Mom was so happy! By the way, I'm not saying I would currently re-use a towel for a week. I do hang towels to dry on the shower rod, so they won't get moldy and smelly. My daughters were extremely wasteful when they were younger, I'd find at least three wet towels on the floor after one took a shower- three were "needed" : One for the hair, one for the body and one to step on.Funny how times have changed...

Last night (in the middle of the night), I thought of those who've commented on picking up coins. My mother had bilateral knee replacement yesterday, so I stayed the night with her at the hospital. I was using the public rest room when I looked down and saw a dime on the floor against the toilet base. I passed that one up. :P

I seem to recall that that there are preservatives in the cereal box liners. Maybe that's of no concern.

I would be concerned if the "milk bags" aren't BPA free. And who knows what else may be leaching into the milk. Then again, unless organic or growth hormone free, the milk is likely already contaminated. (I, too, had to look up the term. Milk is not currently sold that way in my area.)

I don't use many plastic bags except for freezer bags as an overwrap. These I always do wash rinse dry and reuse, to be Mindful of landfills. And another poster mentioned reusing clean tinfoil. I will additionally reuse very lightly used tinfoil by wiping it clean.

I reuse my herbal tea bags, but not in the same way. After finishing my cup of hot tea, I add cold water to enjoy it faintly flavored - helps me drink more since I sometimes don't drink enough plain water.

As a child growing up at the tail end of the depression I have inherited some of the thrifty ways my parents did things. I vividly remember the saved bacon grease container and how that grease was used to fry other things. Imparted a pretty good flavor, too. I remember the rubber bands on the door knobs. I also remember the ball of tinfoil we were obliged to save during the war effort. That ball particularly is remembered because my father loved Limburger cheese and there was always a smelly Limburger wrapper somewhere in that ball. I think we took those balls and the leftover grease to the butcher shop for war effort use.

Remembering all the cost saving measures my family used, I also employ a lot of them. Yes, I wash and reuse plastic bags, aluminum foil, use my towel 'till the next wash', and monitor my gas mileage, among many other things. It's just the way I was brought up. I'm laughed at when I play bridge as I always will use a scrap of paper to keep score. I don't need a printer form, and when I do have it, I'll turn it over and use the blank reverse, just making my own score sheet. My friends do call me cheap.

Possibly the next generation, around the 50's, was so glad to have enough of everything they needed, and more, they simply didn't see any use in being thrifty. I see using those old practices as being mindful of earth's resources. I hate having to use Styrofoam for anything, but I'm grateful that some of it can be recycled. I picture all that in landfills along with the disposable diapers. I had two kids in diapers and never use disposable ones. I find it interesting that before curbside recycling, when I would have to take my stuff to a center it was generally the older generation who were the recyclers. At my small church several of us older generation have tried to promote the use of reusable products and less Styrofoam, and recycling paper products, etc., but the younger generation doesn't see the importance of going to the trouble of doing it.

At least my two adult male children have inherited some of what I taught them, and are thrifty, but not to the point of being cheap, in their use of their wealth. Not monetary wealth, but the vast resources that we have available in this country. It hurts me so to see pictures of the Syrian refugees, and others, and then look at all we in this country have and waste.

I certainly didn't mean to be 'preachy', but it has been somewhat of a catharsis to write this. Thanks for bearing with me.

I went in my dad's shed yesterday. There was a rubber band hanging from the door knob.

The one that I don't understand is saving the twist-tie things. I haven't used one in probably 30+ years. And yes I occasionally buy the bags that theoretically use them but for garbage bags, I tie them and it's air-tight. Bread bags? Toss the "tie", give it a twist and fold it back onto itself. Air-tight, easy to open and re-seal. Burger buns? Toss the "tie", give it a twist and set it down onto the sealed end.

cynic- I use twist ties for frozen bags of veggies and produce bags, but I never use them for bread. I've got way to many of those things!! My kids have used them to make jewelry though so they are still being reused for something!

I save & use twist ties all the time, too. Although I restrict the collection to one small container in the kitchen. I bag produce and herbs from the garden and send to work with hubby nearly every day to give it away to the masses at work, and I use recycled twist ties (and some new when they come in the box of plastic bags), for the bags. I use less expensive open-end bags (not zip-type closures), or recycled produce bags from the store, for the give-away bags. I also use twist ties in the garden to hold/guide vines.

I also have a bunch of Trudeau Silicon Tie Wraps and absolutely love them for so many things.... http://www.amazon.com/Trudeau-Set-Silicone-Multi-Use-Wraps/dp/B00285Y3BM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443862401&sr=8-1&keywords=trudeau+tie+wraps

-Grainlady

Well I save bacon grease. Not for thrift but because it's the most flavorful fat for frying eggs,potatoes etc.

I bought a package of twist-ties a long time ago. I use them for so many uses, and I don't get them on any kind of a bag. Again, because our milk comes in a large outer bag, I freeze my bread in that, and tie with a twist tie.

The bread clips (which is one our bag of milk) add up. I use them to seal a bag that has kitty litter in.

If I use a cereal bag for kitty litter, I wrap an elastic band around it. I used to get elastic bands around our paper but not any more. The only elastic bands I find, are the ones around broccoli, and now that broccoli has gotten so much smaller, so has the elastic. Not much use for anything now.

If you think bacon fat is wonderful..... I save the skin off raw chicken and render schmaltz with it. If you can find a copy of "The Book of Schmaltz" by Michael Ruhlman, it's a great read on this long-forgotten fat that once was a kitchen staple.

I don't understand saving twist-ties. When I buy a carton of baggies it comes with more ties than anyone could ever use. (I seldom use self-sealing baggies.)

What do you do with the schmaltz, grainlady? Grwoing up, we didn't use it, although I am familiar with it.

Well, twist ties are good for making paper flowers... We once bought some bags at Target because it was the easiest and cheapest way to get the twist ties, and then took like seven years to use up the bags. :)

Schmaltz is the fat of choice for cooking meat dishes if you would never use butter. :) For instance, if you have a dry bird or discount cut of beef, you can rub it with schmaltz. Use it as the base for a sauce. For sure, make matzah balls. :) We tend not to nowadays because we've been told that vegetable fats are better. Even in kosher circles, there's a lot of very interesting vegetable fat being used at meat meals, and restaurants serve "herb butter" with the bread, because of it. There's a lot of pushback about that, though, and people are rediscovering the old ways.

If I saved all that chicken fat, I'd be drowning in it. As it is, I can't wait until the weather is cool and I'm physically able, because my thrifty has been making a lot of roasted whole chickens (since I found a quick and easy method--get the butcher to cut out the spine). I've always frozen the giblets for stock, but now I have all the spines as well, and I was encouraged to save the bones from the roasts, too, and my freezer is complaining about all the chicken bits!

A long tme ago when we butchered our own hogs, we did save the bacon fat to fry other things. Two items that are very tasty using bacon fat is pop corn and fried potatoes. Healthy? Maybe not. Home cured ham and bacon was also loaded with salt. Some of that salt was carried over into the bacon fat, therefore one had to allow for this and not add much extra salt. Experience and experimentation was the cook's guide on how much salt was in the fat and adjust the recipe accordingly.

When I used to have schmaltz I used it to make really delicious chopped chicken liver, which is one of my favorites. Later I gave up on rendering the raw chicken skins out and just made fried chicken skins. I forget what it's called, but a Jewish friend told me about it. use an old skillet, put the skins in with some chopped onions and cover with water and cook it all down several times, adding more water along the way. Then finally just fry the skins in their own fat. So good, but the skillet is a pain to clean, and you diet goes to hell, but once in a while. . . who cares.

Gribenes is the Yiddish word for cracklings.

I would be concerned if the "milk bags" aren't BPA free.

Gramarows, I contacted one of the milk companies and they assured me that the bags are BPA-free.

I don't reuse my towels. Not unless I'm camping or traveling and have to. I do hang them up to dry so they don't stink. I don't wash zip lock bags but do reuse grocery bags for garbage or to take stuff to work in for lunch. My dryer finally quite drying right...well, it wasn't drying great for a while, taking forever to dry things. But before I replaced it, it was taking 3 or 4 hours to dry a load of towels. I bought a new washer, dryer and dishwasher that are energy efficient. Hoping to see a change in my electric and water bills. I also am supposed to be getting a check back from the electric company for the washer and dishwasher. A little over $100 total. I do waste a lot of food and am trying to do better. I like that lately I've been seeing really small apples in the grocery stores. It's hard to eat a whole apple sometimes and the little apples are just the right size. They're about half the size of the usual ones.

My mom used to save all kinds of containers. I don't save things like that but I do have too much stuff in my kitchen I don't use. I also cut up junk mail to use for scrap paper for shopping lists and to-do lists. It used to be the kids' homework or other mountains of paperwork they would bring home.

Jasdip -that is good news!

I pick up coins and my DH just shakes his head. Getting harder to bend over and pick them up though. My Mom use to say this, ‘Find a penny, pick it up and all day long you’ll have good luck. Give a penny to a friend, and then your luck will never end.’

I wasn't poor when I grew up in the 1950"s but we did have to count our pennys, and did all the frugal things people have mentioned. For various reason we have had to be frugal and thrifty since living on one income for the last 31 years in expensive CA. But also I never feel comfortable spending lots of money. I am always looking for a good deal. I just asked DH if we are frugal, thrifty or cheap? He said "All of the above".

If you want more tips on how to be frugal and thrifty you should read, The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. I read the newsletter published from May 1990 to December 1996 and later bought the books.The Complete Tightwad Gazette

I love, and am totally inspired by, "The Tightwad Gazette" (I have 3-volumes, purchased when they were published). Even though there are a lot of out-dated tips, it's still a great read. I go through each volume at least once a year to keep me humble and on-track. I have them filled with post-it-notes.

The best savings tip I got was from volume 1 --- the Price Book (pgs. 31-32), which I've kept on-and-off (and now more ON since the financial crisis of '07-'08) after I first read the book, which was published in 1992. I'm on my third Price Book (all purchased used from thrift stores) - wore the first two out carrying them back and forth for the last 23-years. You can find the How-To information to make a Price Book here: http://organizedhome.com/kitchen-tips/make-price-book-save-money

I have a food storage room in the basement, so I also keep a running inventory in my Price Book (after each of the common food items I track, I have a second sheet that tracks the inventory numbers). When something is at a stock-up price, I can quickly look to see how many I would realistically need - not just make a wild guess. Home food storage and the Price Book are what make it possible to keep to a $125/MONTH food budget for 2 adults, and I've done that budget amount since 2009, and you know how prices have gone up in that time frame.... I have $187.00 left unspent for the year-to-date. My last big purchase for the year is usually new crop nuts that go on sale after the holidays, and that's when I purchase the bulk of the nuts I use. I also donate at least 10% in food and cash from my food budget to the Food Bank and a local Mission.

So if you don't think you can live well on less, you might be doing it wrong....;-) I think I could actually reduce the food budget to $100/month and still maintain our home food storage and serve well-balanced meals. (Disclaimer: Actual amounts will vary due to the cost of food where you live - I just happen to live where food is relatively inexpensive, and we also grow a lot of our food) - but the average income here is also low.... $44,000 as of October 10, 2015 - 23% lower than average salaries for job postings nationwide - according to www.indeed.com/salary).

-Grainlady

There used to be a Kelloggs (?) cereal called "Product 19", its name was based on the average US family spending 19 percent of its income on food. I wonder if that's true today. I don't think so. Much of my grocery shopping is for pet food, paper products, cleaning products. And how much goes to junk/fast food?

Incorrect. True origin of the name is here.

Product 19

On the topic of thrifty, I saw a commercial yesterday that I had to back up and watch it again to make sure I heard it correctly. It was recommending everyone should pee in the shower thereby saving water, no need to flush if you just pee in the shower. Never mind that you are standing in your pee. I am OK with an extra flush personally but feel free to pee in the shower if that's your thing. Lol The commercial actually showed a person in the shower from about the knees down, suddenly bright yellow water filled the bottom of the shower and the feet were standing in a big puddle of pee, pretty gross. Our shower is slow draining it would become a lake of pee. Ick I looked it up on Google it's real because I thought sure at first it was a spoof, joke etc. Does it really have to be on TV...

OH MY GOSH! That's just bizarre! How about just not flushing every time you go? Wouldn't that be less disgusting?

Yes, Arkansas, we know people who did not flush after each use because they lived in an area where they had to truck in their water supply. We never visited them and I am not sure what they did for they had guest.

I worked at a camp upstate New York. There was a music conservatory in a old mansion. We brought our camper there for concerts. There were sign about being one with nature and conservation, basically encouraging the conservatory students (or maybe even visitors) to pee in the woods.

Well mostly I just can't believe they would make a commercial telling people that. They say that urine is sterile actually. We got used to not flushing all the time when we lived with septic systems. I would never suggest it for company! LOL!

Well I still remember the if it's yellow let it mellow thing back in the 60s/70s. Never ascribed to that practice. Yuck. However I don't see the big deal about urinating during a shower. It goes into the same sewer system. Urine is pretty much sterile until it actually touches the exterior zone of your bacteria coated body whose bacteria you are washing off in the shower anyway (temporarily) and if someone is standing over a drain and has pee water around their feet they have lousy plumbing and need to have their drains looked at.

The commercial had a phone number associated with it with PEE as part of the number. I don't remember what it was though. I did search you tube for it but didn't see that one, there are some apparently, this is a common ad on Brazil TV they however used cartoon characters not a real person and real feet lol.

To pee or not to pee; That is the question, doth sayeth he who stood in the shower.

Jemdandy, your invitation to come visit me just got ripped up. Sorry, that's not a practice I find reasonable.

I'd sooner pee in my front yard facing the street and passing cars and pedestrians than in my shower. To each his own.

I cannot tolerate a slow draining shower. All that body dirt and soapy water around my feet grosses me out far more than a bit of my own urine would. When I travel I try to get a shower only room when they have them available. Nothing worse than showering in a hotel tub with 4 or 5 inches of greywater covering your feet. If I must have a room with a tub it's the first thing I check. If it's a slow drain I request a room change if possible.