Money Saving gone TOO far?

System

I cannot read books from charity shops or libraries incase someone previously has read them on the loo

I don't read second hand magazines at the doctors or the dentist for that very reason.

Goldiegirl

No, family cloths, never heard of that before, and now I've heard it, will instantly forget.

Regarding leftovers - we rarely have any, as I've got used to producing just the right sized meals. If it's something like an apple pie, I'm quite happy to have slices from that over a few days, but I wouldn't scrape the plates and add chickpeas and lentils to bulk it up, and then serve up some sort of left over gloop.

Bath water - normally I have a shower, which uses less water, but when I have a long soak in the bath, it's a solitary affair. When I was a kid, we had a tin bath - I'd bath first, then my mum would have her turn, and then my dad, all in the same water, with just a top up of hot water for each person!

Heating - I'm not afraid to put a jumper on, but I won't be cold anymore to save money I have sat here in a jumper, gloves and scarf, with a blanket over me - then suddenly thought that I'm being ludicrous - I can afford to put on the heating! I won't suffer to save money.

I'm not a hard line old style thrift Queen. I like to get value for money, and I run my home on a lot of old style principles.

But it's too far for me to haunt the supermarkets at closing time to buy up yellow sticker items - I want to be at home with my feet up at that time of night.

Goldiegirl

Ohh, forgot to say - rarely buy anything in a charity shop - I think it's because most of them round here are not very good, and suffer from 'charity shop smell' syndrome.

But quite happy to buy second hand on eBay, I've bought some fantastic evening clothes for cruises on eBay.

[Deleted User]

I must admit I look in to charity shops and sometimes spot a bargain,but if I go into one and its got that 'musty old clothes smell I turn around and walk out again.Where I live I suppose there are around five or six CS which are fine.There used to be on that closed down and I think it was for that reason .It just smelled awful,which was a shame as it was a really good charity.The Sense shop over the road from me in the presinct is preety good and always smells fresh..I have a friend who absolutely refuses to use the library at all and would rather buy new books all the time.i'm not that bothered about the library as I have used them without any trouble for well over 60 years :):)and am happy to carry on.
Don't think I could use a 'family cloth' though a step far too far.loo rolls are fairly inexpensive to buy

homesteadchick

By using leftovers I also mean: what's left in the serving dish. most of us finish what's on our plates, and if someone doesn't, it will be just a tiny bit not worth fussing over, and the dog will welcome that in his bowl.

I will NOT ever let the dog lick my bowls or plates... YUCK!

On the family cloth.....

I know...

ieeeuwww..

I will switch to old newspaper before cloth..
I read about it on a frugal blog a while ago and decided that is a few steps too far!

Funny thread this!

I will not suffer to save a buck either. If I'm cold, and have decent clothes on, I'll put the heating or the wood fire on. A friend of mine keeps her house as a (very cold) 15 degrees Celsius and I hardly ever visit with her in winter!.. I am always absolutely freezing in her house!

No fun.

I will patch up old socks, and I will wear two different color socks if they are the same thickness, if their partners have perished. Nobody ever looks at my socks anyway.

aliama

Ha ha, you must all think I'm a right skanky mare, since not only do I not have any problems scraping leftover food from the plate back into the serving bowl (assuming there's a reasonable amount left, it's relatively untouched AND it's just me and my husband eating), when we have a roast I also use chicken bones from the plates for stock. In fact, I get quite cross if anyone throws them away.

flubberyzing

A shared loo cloth... ak! Actually, I remember seeing something about a family on the tv or internet who did this. They put them through the wash and everything, but they were still stained... I would just gag.

Which brings me onto another thought. I work with very young children, who do occasionally poo their pants. These get double-bagged and sent home. What on earth do parents do with these offerings of !!!!!! pants that might have been sitting there for hours!? If it were my kid, as soon as I'd worked out what it was, the whole lot would be going straight in the bin! A multi-pack of pants are a couple of quid. Which I'd gladly pay NOT to have the pooey pair back in my house!

Other things:
I grew up sharing baths. I remember sharing with sister, mum and cousins growing up. Also jumped in with dad from time to time when I was very little!
My family still do "first bath" and "second bath". One person gets out, and someone else comes and gets in. After all, we're adults, not filthy. Why not?

I used to buy charity shop clothes when I was a student, but don't any more. Partly because I can buy the same thing from Primark or Matalan for not much more. I do still buy books from charity shops though, and donate my own unwanted items. So I'm still supporting them.

homesteadchick

aliama wrote: »

when we have a roast I also use chicken bones from the plates for stock. In fact, I get quite cross if anyone throws them away.

I do that too. Don't worry.

EssexGirl

flubberyzing wrote: »

Which brings me onto another thought. I work with very young children, who do occasionally poo their pants. These get double-bagged and sent home. What on earth do parents do with these offerings of !!!!!! pants that might have been sitting there for hours!?.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:I nearly spat out my coffee when I read that. Straight in the bin n our house.

I work in a library and sometimes the books that come back have "interesting" odours. Not to mention some of the customers. I'd love to be able to go up to random smelly people anywhere and say look a bottle of shower gel only costs 30p in some shops! There's really no need to smell bad.

Some people use re-useable sanitary towels for more reasons than moneysaving. To avoid chemicals, they may be allergic or get sore with all the plastic. Give me a pack of Bodyform anyday though.

Sinhanada

homesteadchick wrote: »

I do that too. Don't worry.

We do too - A Sunday Roast chicken feeds a family of three for three days:

Roast Chicken Dinner
Chicken fried rice the next day
Chicken Soup on Wednesday with homemade bread

All very simple, cheap and nutritious...plus we grow some of our own veg so we save there too