Examples of extreme frugality!

amother

↑ Puce ↓

Tue, Jun 25 2024, 2:58 am

Iymnok wrote:

I don't understand the distain for used clothes.
Consignment shops and thrift stores in upperclass neighborhoods can have real metzias. It just takes time and patience to go through the rest.

Yes!!! I get loads of NWT clothing, books, and other great finds. Especially when I'm pregnant, hello I'm not investing hundreds of shekels into new clothing. I buy clearence but I'd much prefer to find second hand items. If it's great condition, is flattering, and I like it, I really don't care about if it's second hand or not.

This Pesach I found a stunning NWT H and M floral dress in a second hand shop. Needed some alterations and was altogether 100 shekels.

amother

Scarlet

Tue, Jun 25 2024, 3:14 am

A family friend who was homeless at one point in her life was by us on Yom Tov. We were using nicer disposable plastic plates, and I was contemplating out loud in the kitchen whether to wash some of them. She said, "There were times in my life that I would have LOVED to have such beautiful dishes." I washed those plates then, and continue to do so whenever disposables are salvagable.

logical ↓

Tue, Jun 25 2024, 3:19 am

amother Wallflower wrote:

True stories from a family I know-
Have one bedroom with teen boys and girls with furniture mechitza down the middle
Not buy trash bags use shopping bags and constantly take them out
Wear shmattas from 20 years ago (and I know there's nice clothes from 20 years ago. I'm not talking about that)

I use my shopping bags for so much! My taxi driver (Israel) told me not to throw out the bags since I can use them for garbage lol. sometimes its easier to prep shabbos with a shopping bag in the sink, just toss in all garbge, and then not have to take out the actual garbage seven times.

↑ logical

Tue, Jun 25 2024, 3:22 am

amother Lightcoral wrote:

You can get super cheap really plates online. You can also get disposable online. I would never I don’t think it washes properly and it’s gross. You can’t wash that type of plastic. I buy disposable containers by the dozen and throw them out. I don’t buy the reusable ones they look gross and never look or smell clean. It always smells like the last thing you used it for.

I found that putting a piece of paper towel in the container with some dish soap and water, closing and shaking well, really gets all the grease/tomato sauce off.

amother

Black

Tue, Jun 25 2024, 4:07 am

Many posters are confusing obsessive-compulsive frugality and good common sense economics - which often has the additional benefit of being better for the planet as pointed out by Brit in Israel and Elfrida)!

(I was lurking until the - ~~idiotic~~ naive/clueless - comment about water "not running out" was posted. It astounds me that this statement was made by an adult. Can't Believe It

)

As per the Barney song "We never let the water run" - makes absolute sense. I might be dating myself, but I recall drought warnings in NY. Watering lawns was limited. Even where water is plentiful, a lot of money goes into purifying it for home use.

Yes, reusing shopping bags is smart. How many people realized how useful they were when they were canceled in NJ? (Best thing for stinky diapers.) Does this mean that garbage bags should never be bought? Of course, it doesn't. But if fewer garbage bags are needed because shopping bags sometimes serve the purpose, it's a win-win.

Reusing thick deli containers: yes, it depends on what it held before. Greasy food....chuck it. But if a quick wash with soap renders them practically "new" what's the harm in making more use of it before it becomes garbage that'll take years to decompose?

No one should be ashamed of saving money (and if you reduce your environmental impact as a side benefit, all the more power to you Thumbs Up

).

Sadly, some folks are contemptuous of anyone who practices the reuse-recycle-reduce mentality. Green practices put more green in your wallet, in addition to helping the planet.

When people are careful with their spending habits, they're not being miserly. They're being smart. Everyone can benefit from such an attitude. Being comfortably wealthy does not mean that there's no need to ever monitor expenses.

Hopefully, this awareness will filter into all segments of frum society. Maybe it'll become "trendy" to be economical. Adults and kids have been using reusable water bottles and thermoses for the past several years. While I don't know how "economical" it is when these vessels need to be specific brands wondering

, it's still a good habit.

My $0.02. I'll get off my soapbox now.

amother

DarkGray

Tue, Jun 25 2024, 4:40 am

My in laws are super frugal and they can afford whatever they want.
1. Shabbos timers - FIL tries to calculate the minute exactly when the AC and lights should go on and off but it's always getting messed up and then the rooms are dark and hot , AC went off too early, light didn't go on in time for the meal.
2. Reusing shopping bags - even if they aren't clean, he doesn't realize and he puts them aside and then when you need one, crumbs fall out or you see something dripped. It's so gross
3. Buying the cheapest version of something even though no one will eat it.
Eg: in our home my kids like dips with challah. I buy the dips in a high quality store and they taste homemade and have no preservatives. MIL buys the cheapest supermarket brand and then complains that my kids don't eat them in her house.
This happens with other food items as well.
4. They refuse to buy the trash bags that have drawstring because they're more expensive , but then it's much messier to remove the bag from the trashcan and someone has to clean up the mess.
5. Go on the cheapest vacations possible and then complain that the hotel is run down.

amother

Freesia ↓

Tue, Jun 25 2024, 5:49 am

amother Puce wrote:

I usually fry whatever is left in that scenario right away and have a quick snack or give it to one of my kids. We love eggs, it's great protein, shame to just throw it out.

I understand eggs are protein and think your example is benign, but I have difficulty understanding this sometimes in relations to using up leftovers rather than throwing them away. Like what if someone really didn’t need that snack? Why prioritize not wasting more than prioritizing what you put into your body? Said as someone who watched her father who grew up in a post-Holocaust household go through the fridge every evening (after dinner) and finish all the leftovers. I used to tell him his body isn’t a garbage disposal..

amother

Amethyst

Tue, Jun 25 2024, 5:54 am

amother Freesia wrote:

Many of us enjoy eating...
Leftovers taste delicious!

amother

↑ Lightgreen ↓

Tue, Jun 25 2024, 6:00 am

amother Freesia wrote:

If they didn't need, don't eat. But if you're going to make eggs for supper, throw in the half egg left from the egg wash. Why is that bad for your body?
Same with bread. It's stale. Ok. So make it into breadcrumbs. Why throw it out? it will save you money, tastes better and avoids bal tashchis.
You don't need to eat when you're not hungry but when you're going to eat prioritize using leftovers instead of throwing them out.
I don't even understand why this is a question. Do you really throw out all your leftovers?

↑ Bnei Berak 10 ↓

Tue, Jun 25 2024, 6:18 am

amother DarkGray wrote:

You have an issue with your in laws trash bags? Speechless

Do they require you to take out then garbage?
How come I guess that even if your in laws changed all the above issues you still wouldn't like them?

amother

↑ Freesia

Tue, Jun 25 2024, 6:28 am

amother Lightgreen wrote:

No I actually never said that. I just don’t believe in eating leftovers when you wouldn’t otherwise be eating just for the sake of eating them.

amother

↑ Puce ↓

Tue, Jun 25 2024, 7:13 am

amother Freesia wrote:

Usually if I'm cooking it's between mealtimes and I'm hungry and I will definitely eat it.

If I wouldn't eat it I'd throw it away. Some weeks I'm prepping alot of stuff for shabbos and running around and don't have an extra minute or two and just throw it out.

Amelia Bedelia ↓

Tue, Jun 25 2024, 7:13 am

amother Chocolate wrote:

Using the same plastic tablecloth for all 3 meals on shabbos, even though they’re sticky from grape juice spills and dirty from everything else.

I usually use the same plastic tablecloth all Shabbos. We buy the nicest, most expensive brand (M&L). It doesn't usually get dirty, besides crumbs, which we brush off, and we don't eat formal shalosh seudos. (Men usually eat at shul.)
For that matter, I also reuse deli containers unless it originally held takeout, in which case I dump it. Iow, I reuse the ones that I bought new in bulk.