I'll share a few of mine and I hope you'll be motivated to give us your "craziest" tightwad tip...
- I don't cut my hair. No, really, I haven't been to a salon in five years. My coworker cut about 4" off my hair yesterday and, other than trimming my own bangs, that's the first haircut I've had since Fall 2002. (in case you're wondering, it's down past my waist).
- I use my office's kitchen to make jelly and can food in the summer. My boss lets me have free use of the full kitchen and the blessed air conditioning. It's the only time I get to use a dishwasher!
- Speaking of canning, I pick wild berries and have my own apple tree. I glean blueberries from my in-laws after they are finished with their bushes. One year my husband Thom was working at another location that had a peach tree. Free peaches! yipee!!
- I also refuse to use pectin because the recipes call for more sugar. The yield is higher, but my fruit is free so yield is less important than the cost of other ingredients and materials.
- Yes, I reuse aluminum foil. And plastic butter dishes. And zipper baggies, depending on what was in them. (I never reuse a baggie that has had meat or poultry in it. I'd rather spend the dime than get sick!)
- I wash the heavy plastic forks, knives and spoons you buy for cookouts. One set usually lasts me all summer.
- I'll take a pork chop or one piece of chicken leftover from a meal and make soup. Then I'll add rice or pasta and make a casserole. My personal record is 7 meals from one small chicken. By the end, we were calling it "essence of chicken" soup!
So there you have it. A few things that seem perfectly sensible to me that have made some of my more luxury-minded friends wrinkle their noses in disapproval. I know you've all got some good ones out there, so let's hear 'em.
... and if you can figure out a good use for already-used kitty litter, I'm listening...
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