Which thrifty thing do you do that you're surprised that no one else does?

[Sizeofalentil]

Basically, that

I'm always surprised when people don't bulk buy things (toilet paper, store cupboard staples etc) or only buy name brands. How much tastier can a posh tinned tomato really be?

Dh is mortified when I reuse bath water to water the plants or make my own cleaning cloths from old pants. But he does love a charity shop bargain (most of his coats are from there).

What are your favourite thrifty tips or what thrifty things are you surprised that other people don't do?

80s- the broccoli stalk is my favourite part. I always slice it up in a stir fry.

I use cloth hankies and never boil them or give them their own washing machine cycle.

The purpose of a washing machine is to wash things and rinse away dirt. They rinse several times, so I really can't get worked up about the presence of homeopathic concentrations of snot or other nasties.

Didn't know about Timpson and Brexit, but if you didn't use any shops or services who acted immorally, you'd be restricting your level of choice to almost nothing, because you'd never be able to use any of those associated with Philip Green, Mike Ashley, the Wetherspoons bloke, any of the major supermarkets with the possible exception of Waitrose, Nestle, Coca Cola, big Pharma and toiletries/household products and probably many many more.

Unless of course you support Brexit, which half the population do. Please remember that MNetters.

My DP cuts open creams, toothpaste, conditioner etc to use everything that’s left. I used to just chuck it in the bin when I couldn’t get any more out!

CheddarandCrackers - if I've got a cold, a real hankie can get sopping wet with snot within a day. My tissue thing will still get through a day even if I've got a cold!

I am a hankie user too and I never boil them. I use a fresh one daily and just stick them in with normal laundry, so they don't create any extra work or use any more resources.

Gwenhwyfar - I'm blowing into the tissue... the kitchen roll is just a wrapper for the tissues to stop them breaking up & provide a layer to keep dampness inside.

IToldYouIWasFreaky - if I've got a cold, a real hankie does not last a whole day, but my tissue thing will.

I don't drive

I colour and often cut my own hair, do my own nails, eyebrows, facials etc.

But tbf, the odd massage or reflexology treatment aside I don't really enjoy being faffed with by other people, so even if I could afford to go to a salon/spa I probably wouldn't.

Loving all the snotty hanky chat

Well, it's lovely if it's working for you Kabia, I can't really see it catching on though! 😂

I usually extend use by/best before dates a little bit - milk one day (sometimes two, and after that I might use it in cooking/baking for a couple of days), butter and (hard) cheese perhaps a couple of weeks, eggs are fine if they pass the 'sink in a bowl of cold water' test, spices/soy sauce and stuff I'll use for months after. I don't eat meat (another thrifty thing!) so don't have that issue.

Since DD turned vegetarian 3 years ago we all eat less meat. 3 meat free meals a week at least has reduced our food shop bill significantly.

Fucksake of course hankies don't need boiling. People aren't sneezing out plague bacilli these days. No wonder the environment is going to hell in a handcart.

we do the following:

• buy and eat less meat;
• everything on dh's AMEX which means we get points which can be converted into avios points for flight upgrades or amazon vouchers etc;
• i use cash back sites (topcashback and quidco) for all online purchases;
• before i buy anything online i also use voucher cloud to check for offers;
• look for clothes on eBay;
• i tend to try and buy all of ds' (and soon to arrive dd's) clothes from the sales in next. when i last did this i went in and grabbed everything i could fine in ds' next size up. he needed clothes and everything was half price or less. i spend around £80 but probably grabbed about £200 worth of clothes.
• bar soap - im a new convert to this.
• using up what we have - i have plastic tubs of toiletries which i was gifted and was saving. when we started planning to move house i started just using them up and decluttering them.
• meal planning
• reheeling shoes/boots. i only do this for my "good" shoes. ones which i have bought relatively cheaply i tend to wear until they are pretty much trashed then throw away.
• i bought my phone outright 4 years ago now. and pay £20 a month for my sim only contract. to change it i'd have to pay a lot more now. so am sticking with this. when my phone gives up i'll buy a second hand one from amazon or will save up and buy a new one again.
• use all spare change i can in the self service tills.
• take lunches into work - am aiming for 4 days a week at present.
• drink tap water and have a water bottle which i take everywhere with me;
• travel mug for hot drinks;
• reusable make up wipes;
• reusable san pro - although currently pregnant so not needing these as much at present!;
• bought washable breast pads too;
• bulk buy washing powder, stain remover, toilet roll, dishwasher tablets, kitchen paper, cat food and litter on amazon using subscribe and save;
• dh does the food shop as he sticks rigidly to the list an isn't afraid to buy unbranded stuff. we have a huge international section here in our supermarkets, as have a massive local portuguese and polish community. the portuguese brands and polish brands of some things (ie tinned tomatoes) are much cheaper than the "usual uk brands"
• proper dishcloths and cleaning cloths;
• dry washing outside or in garage except towels. towels i throw in the tumble dryer to fluff up. i cannot stand a scratchy line dried towel;
• we have started growing our own veg so will see how this works out.

I’m wondering if those disgusted by washing hankies in a normal wash boil their knickers. How come snot needs boiling but other bodily secretions don’t?

This is MN. the knickers are probably bubbling away in a cauldron for 7 days and 7 nights to ensure full decontamination.

Use half a dishwasher tablet and half the recommended amount of washing powder!

Everything comes out clean, and the half a dishwasher tablet goes a small way to assuage my guilt on the individual plastic wrapping of them

Hankies are kinder to your nose when you have a cold.

I recently invested in some in the charity shop (new)😊

Also take a picnic and flask of tea on a car journey

Would buy a hot drink out in London as I don't want to carry a flask etc but it's a treat rather than a regular occurrence but would still take a sandwich if the weather is good.

Used clubcard vouchers for meals but the deals are not so good now

Packed lunch at work rather than buying a sandwich or soup.

I don't get why people don't turn shampoo bottles upside down and open up pump action hand creams to get the last millilitre of gloop from them. I don't chuck stuff like that away until the bottle is completely empty. Same with marmite, peanut butter etc. In other ways I'm not thrifty at all but this one is second nature for some reason.

Packed lunch at work rather than buying a sandwich or soup.

I don't eat lunch very often, but on the odd occasion I fancy something, I keep cereal/random packs of supernoodles/flavoured couscous etc in my drawer.

Or if I want a break from my desk, I go and buy a loaf of bread and some cheese/pate . It's usually cheaper than sandwich lunch and makes meals for a couple of days.

This is MN. the knickers are probably bubbling away in a cauldron for 7 days and 7 nights to ensure full decontamination

And then the resultant potion is presumably used for stock...