What thrifty things do you do that you're surprised no one else does?

giulia
My mother taught me never to throw away the paper wrapping on butter or fats. Use these to grease a baking dish or cake tin.

Mine taught me that too. In fact, we even used the wrapping instead of greaseproof paper to line cake tins. I still do that occasionally.

I have an allotment and save a fortune growing my own fruit and veg. One tip if you have one as well (or even just a large garden). Sainsbury's sells a "living salad" for £1. If you buy one it can be soaked overnight in a few inches of water and next day, when drained, gently teased into seperate plants and planted out.

Last year I got a whole summers lettuce out of one single plastic container and I even re-use the containers to plant veg seeds the next year.

However, my all time favourite is cutting the ends off tubes, particularly moisturiser, and scooping it into the cap end. I never fail to get at least another week or more out of what would usually be thrown in the bin.

So many good ideas here. Regarding using the last scrap of soap, does anyone remember Pears soap which was a translucent bar with a groove in one side into which you could put the remaining bit of the last bar?

Just a point to make about the summer/winter clothes swap - I do the same with my living room furnishings. Rug/lampshades/cushion covers/curtains/paintings all get swapped around in May and then again in November, stored under the bed till they are swapped back again.
I've done it for years and I'm convinced it's stopped me spending money on new furniture etc, because I don't have a chance to get tired of the look.

I must ask my housekeeper and the butler whether they have any useful tips that I could pass on ....
???

I've read every post and haven't found one which I don't do !!! Mrs Thrifty, moi…

Re the chicken carcass, roast it until it's brown to get a better flavoured stock.

I cook on an electric Aga and after switching off the hotplate, put a kettle of water on it to absorb the remaining heat and use it for the washing up---( no dishwasher in the chicken run!).

I bake my own bread ( buy bread flour by the sack from a mill) and cut the loaves into portions for just one day and freeze them (recycled plastic bags) but even then sometimes have a stale bit, so keep a bag in the freezer and add any stale bits to it until there's enough to make a delicious bread pudding.

Any lettuces in the garden that are beginning to bolt are dropped into boiling water, drained, liquidised and frozen in recycled butter spread tubs for winter when they make a lovely soup with a tin of peas and some mint.

Before eating an orange, I grate the rind onto a little bit of clingfilm and freeze the little parcel to flavour cakes.

I freeze herbs in ice cubes during the summer to use in winter.

As you can guess, I'm a wartime child and nothing was ever wasted in our house.

My husband always said I was economical to the point of meanness.
Practically all the tips already posted I have carried out.

Ok - when needing hot water, how many of you run off the cold water that comes through before it into a bucket and using it to flush the toilet (or water plants etc.)? ?

Hang washing out whenever possible, thereby saving electricity that the tumble dryer would use.

I use the lock seal top cheese wrappers to wrap DH sandwiches. They can easily be washed and reused and last a long time. Saves on clingfilm or foil.

I cut the front of Xmas cards from the previous years into fancy shapes and use as gift tags the following year

Dental floss doesn't have to be discarded after one use. Keep it somewhere so it dries out, and re-use the next morning, and the next...

I practically do a handstand in order to squeeze the last of the toothpaste out of the tube!

I cut up DH old shirts to use as pressing cloths or cleaning cloths, having first removed all the buttons for my button box.

I also turn the collars and cuffs on his shirts when they look worn. It's easy to do and can add another couple of years to its life.

Most of mine covered here. I buy black sock from the same place so if there’s a hole in one you only have to throw one away. Me and my sil use the same card every year for our birthdays. Literally the same card as we pass it back and fore. It’s never been taken out of the cellophane. It’s become a standing joke in the family now.

Pan scouters: I cut into thirds or quarters into a size that covers the ‘scrubbing area’ of my fingers. This was all of the scrubber gets used, rather than a patch, so the pack lasts longer.

Small thing.

maw, I do the champagne thing but I read in the paper that it doesn't work - I have news for them - it does.

JaneRn Pears soap is still in the shops.
We didn’t have it in our house, my mum bought Lux soap bars, and my aunt had Camay soap in her bathroom.

I made hand sanitiser, as still can’t find any in shops. Combined Dettol with Epaderm lotion (comes in massive bottle from chemist. Great for those with eczema etc). No idea if it works, but it’s all I’ve got!
I’m another that cuts toothpaste, hand cream tubes etc in half when seemingly finished. Amazing how much is in there.

I never ever pay full price for my clothes.

I make my Christmas cards

I try to grow all the flowers for picking for the house

I cut the broad part of old rubber gloves into elastic bands.

I cut the ribbon tabs from inside the shoulders of tops and use them to put through the hole in the top of brushes, mop etc to hang on a hook.
I bet that's a first!

I have just spent most of the afternoon repairing some of my hanging baskets with garden twine as i cant get out to get some
new ones. Some of the basket weave had started to unravel but with the twine i was able to tie it all together. DH said order them online, but when i showed him that they are perfectly usable he just smiled. I try to find a use for most things rather than throw away. The plastic lids from yog pots are brilliant for small flower pots as individual covers for growing seeds and also they just fit over my coffee mug so when in the greenhouse i dont get bits floating on the top. Like many others i reuse buttons, old t shirts for clothes an always wash out and reuse zip lock plastic bags. DH smiles when he sees me hanging them on the washing line to drain. lol.

I reuse gift bags and use most of my veg and make soup try to be thrifty as have limited income without being mean.

I do all of these things except cutting up rubber gloves for elastic bands, I never thought of that one.
I save loo roll tubes, I shred any paperwork too personal to go into the recycling bin, stuff the loo roll tubes with the shreds, wrap in a small piece of newspaper, then save them for DD to use as firefighters for her wood burner, sometimes I put some odd bits of dried spice or herbs in them.
I save yogurt pots cut them down in strips to the bottom, then use the bits as labels for seedlings in the greenhouse .
I also slice any unused lemon, orange, or lime, pop it into the freezer on a tray , then when frozen put into a bag, then put a slice of it into a G and T and use the orange in lemonade or Pimms.
Batch baking and freezing of course.
Save any cardboard to make into little pots for seedlings, or old magazine pages.

Great thread btw!!