Living the Frugal Life (Semi-lighthearted) ?

I've started chopping the bottom off my 'squeezy' condiments when they won't 'squeeze' any more.

Chopping board with a tea towel over it, bread knife - and I wear the oven glove on my 'holding hand'. Still loads in there reluctant to come out, once open easy to scoop out with a spoon.

I used to wear contact lenses and found the little clear pots were just the right size for squeezing my handcream into and popping into bags and pockets.
Because I'd only need to pop a fingertip in to get a small amount of cream out, I found this to be very good for saving wastage!
And I cut the tubes, too - if you've never done this you'll be amazed at what you've been wasting!
I now buy the tubs of handcream, and decant into my little pots for bags and around the house and I save much!

Baggytrazzas

I still cannot bear to throw away the last sliver of a bar of soap. I don't save them up either, I spend ages tying to soften them and stick them on to the new bar! Which is then lumpy and uncomfortable to use at first. I probably get about another 3 washes out of the sliver..............

Last Christmas, I bought my son some supposedly posh soap, and a couple of little hessian (I think) bags. The soap could be popped into the bags for a body scrub, OR you could put slivers of soap in to build up to a sizeable amount and use as a body scrub. Maybe you could try that.

To get the last out of tubes of cosmetics etc I cut the end off and take off the top. In most cases the top will fit perfectly into cut open end and I push it right up to the top. It takes every bit of the cream to the top.

I use my Lipbrush to get the last of the lipstick out too.

Thanks to the people who recommended the 15 minute wash cycle. It really works and I will save a lot of money this way.

If eating out at our local Bangladeshi restaurant I always take some food home and have it the next evening heated up in the microwave. It tastes even better the next day. I used to be embarrassed about asking but have got over that now! Taking my own box to save on the restaurants tin foil and cardboard covers. They appreciate that.

Regularly buy lamb mince in bulk and freeze some. Love making Moussaka but make double quantities so some left over for freezing and reheating. Same with venison chilli.

TwinLolly

When I get to the end of the lipstick I can't get the rest out of the tube, so I get a thin narrow blade and scrape out the rest and put it in a small pot. There is quite a bit in there.

Sometimes I might have 2 lipsticks on the go and when they come to the end - I scrape out the barrel and put them in the small pot. It doesn't matter about mixing the colours - the end result is usually quite pretty on the lips!

I just use a lip brush ?

Sorry, soften the butters, not melt...

I also make my own body/face cream - it is just about good enough to eat, non-toxic and good for the skin.

Shea butter, coconut oil, cocoa butter and a bit of sweet almond oil. Melt the oils and whip it in a a mixer until light, fluffy, creamy, and decant into jars. Leave to 'firm up'. I can use a few drops essential oils for scent but essential oils are expensive.

The mixture goes quite soft in hot weather and quite firm in cold weather. But.... just grab a dollop and rub it between your hands to soften/melt a bit and rub on your skin and face.

When I get to the end of the lipstick I can't get the rest out of the tube, so I get a thin narrow blade and scrape out the rest and put it in a small pot. There is quite a bit in there.

Sometimes I might have 2 lipsticks on the go and when they come to the end - I scrape out the barrel and put them in the small pot. It doesn't matter about mixing the colours - the end result is usually quite pretty on the lips!

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Maw glad to see you are on top form . One look at my wrinkly saggy body they would run a mile ☹️?.

I put my soap in a sisal bag. Soap lasts longer and once it's got still enough trapped in the fibres for a few more washes.

I swill out bottles so you always get another lot of washing up liquid ,laundry liquid and hand wash.

Grow as much of my own as I can but still very new at it. Buy wonky veg from Oddbox. Use dried pulses cheap and filling and that way you can cut down on amount of meat and chicken you use. Good source of protein also classed as a veg. Always use bendy carrots and other veg if there is any mould just cut it off same with cheese.

Buying things when on offer . Making sure your freezer is full and good stock cupboard. Cooking from scratch.

MawtheMerrier

To save water I have compiled a list of “nice young men”,” with whom to share bathing.

And also to save water, brushing my teeth with chilled white wine.

Best tips yet!

Our electric car is now only charged at free chargers so the last 4000 miles have been completely free saving us £100’s.

That won't go on for much longer. They will have to start charging very soon. Especially the Council and Supermarkets.

I slightly compensate for my book buying habit by reselling them on Ziffit. It’s an app on my phone which scans the barcode and gives a price. I put them in a box or boxes and book a slot for someone to come and collect them. The money appears in my account a few days later. It is also a good decluttering tip as there’s no carting heavy boxes about to the charity shop or book recycling bin.

I use the Libby app to read books and just about any magazine you can think of on my phone and listen to audiobooks - all for free. You just need your local library card number and a PIN number that you can get from your library (I just phoned them up and they gave me one over the phone). It has saved me loads of money. Also my daughter pays for an online newspaper subscription and they let her name another person to get it, so I get it too. Another daughter pays for Amazon Prime but it can be shared by up to 4 people so other daughter and I share the cost so get free Amazon deliveries and also Prime Video on TV. I also make my own deodorant with coconut oil, arrrowroot and bicarb. Lots of YouTube videos on how to do it. Not sure if its actually money saving but I do it to avoid putting toxic chemicals on my skin. And yes, it really does work.

I use press reader through libby, the library app. To read for free!

BABs758 I was told that method by a Chinaman years ago.

I use soda crystals and only small amount of detergent in washing machine drawer and most of the time a 20 degree programme.

We’re self-sufficient in - lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, (small ones) ?

You know those bits of stick antiperspirant that get left in the push up bit.... I dig them out and press onto to new one. Is quite a lot...easily enough for a week or two.

I save by working from home on : footwear, clothes, petrol to hairdressers and blow drys, clothes, washing and drying clothes, make up, perfume, wear and tear on my car, lunches, coffees .....and only use computer at home ..no extra light, no printing etc. Most of all I save 2 hours a day travelling ....

minimum

As I live on my own, I use a small travel kettle instead of a normal size one. I found that even just filling to the minimun mark on the normal kettle used more water than I need for a cup of tea. The travel kettle is better and I've drawn a line on the outside to show the exact amount of water I need.

grandtanteJE65

Oh yes, we remember IZAL. It was a feature of Scottish council schools and public toilets in my childhood in the 1950s and 60s.

We tooks sheets of our own paper with us to school, carefully wrapped in a hankie case so the other girls didn't see what it was in case we had to "do a job". As small girls we didn't wipe efter weeing.

A toilet roll in a small bag was a feature of summer outings too.

It would have been no good me taking sheets of loo paper from home to school because my DM bought Izal and Bronco!

It was mildly medicated, I think.

NotSpaghetti

Thanks AussieGran59.
The thing about online is that like text messages, no one can quite "hear" the intended tone!

Perhaps not, but we managed it in the days when we wrote letters.

Perhaps we should re-instate the use of underlining words, using quotation marks to denote sarcasm etc. that we used as schoolgirls until taught it was incorrect usage by strict English mistresses.

People you know well and who know you well are unlikely to misunderstand your particular form of humour.