BellaOnline Forums Money Frugal Living Extreme Frugal Confessions

My ideas are not extreme and may have been mentioned before, but these are few ways I am frugal...

-Adding water to hand soap, shampoo, detergents, etc., when they get down to the end so that I can get out every last bit

-Turning lotion and conditioner bottles upside down to draw out the very last amount

-Reusing bread ties to seal any bag, including bagged frozen foods, and wrapping them around flowers I want to dry, making a loop at the end to hang them wherever for drying

-Reusing plastic grocery bags for my trash cans, picking up after my dogs outside, and for disposing of smelly kitchen wrappers, etc. on a daily basis instead of smelling up the kitchen trash can

-Using old kitchen scrub sponges for bathroom cleaning and for cleaning outdoor items

-Using old toothbrushes for cleaning jewelry and other small surfaces

-Reusing the larger plastic nursery pots until they get broken to plant flowers in, instead of buying plants already in big pots every year

-Grabbing extra napkins if readily available when dining out to keep in my car

-Extending the life of tomatoes and fruit that I don't want to refrigerate by placing them on a soft towel and turning them over every day to allow air to circulate

Pictures can convey so much or maybe it's just me w/my adult ADD..., lol.

But anyway I posted that I recycled, end tips of chives. I'm pretty much into anything that takes hold of common sense and isn't invasive.

This is just one, I never knew until I did it. Why I'm so proud is that I got a lot of guff. It was garbage, basically and many people told me it wouldn't grow. So here it is

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I like your ideas, Elleise.

The envelope saving was a new one for me. Since reading that, I have since started keeping all the little envelopes that come with bills. I haven't bought envelopes yet! One of the billing services many of the medical offices use locally puts in a totally blank envelope with a small open window in it. The way their cycles work, I get several of these things when I need to only use one. So, I reuse the others! Just tape the go to address over the window, or arrange your own written letter with address in the window , and mail away.

Eliese, I used to grow my onion bits just so I had some houseplants - I am going to start doing this again, and using them! Green onions don't last when coming home from the store, and the problem is worse during our cold winters - its like they can't handle the grocery bag to the car or something.

That is so cool, Debbie .... I do the same things you do for recycles.

I also use old toothbrushes for nail brushes. They work better than the actual nail brushes that cost too much.

Tea bags: I can use a tea bag up to four times if I dry it out in between uses. Then the bag and tea inside goes into a little compost pot for my patio containers gardening. Now that is getting a lot of use out of a tea bag!

I never buy new books. I always buy them used, usually from Amazon. Then when I have read them, I resell them on Amazon. I use the library a lot too, but prefer to buy and then resell.

In fact, if I want to buy anything I always check used before buying it new.

Instead of paying high prices (about $5) for "Lite" grape juice, I go to ALDI and buy a can of frozen 100% grape juice. Then, I add two more cans of water than the instructions call for and some artificial sweetener. Truvia works well. Shake and chill, then enjoy its sweet taste!

Okay, I totally love all you guys. Seeing these cool ideas makes my day every time I see them.

Elleise, I am going to plant some green onions tomorrow. I have a bunch that I am going to chop and dehydrate, but am excited to grow some roots into entirely new plants. How fantastic is that? Thanks for including photographic proof, lol.

I regrow my spring onions, when I use them I cut them about a half inch from the base and place the ends in just a little puddle of water on a saucer or short bowl and they will regrow. I do the same thing with my celery. I cut it about an inch and a half from the base all at once and put the base in a saucer with very little water it will regrow from the center.
It's also kinda nice to always have something green in my kitchen window.

Ooo, celery! Neat idea. I am going to do that too.

I've heard you can also do this with carrot tops.