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?

[mydogisthebest]

Me and DH are vegetarian so eat lots of lentils, chickpeas etc. Our favourite food is indian so we cook a lot of indian meals at home.

We do a large shop about every 4 months or so to an indian supermarket to stock up on lentils, chickpeas, paneer cheese, spices etc. They are much cheaper than other supermarkets and sell things like lentils etc in much larger quantities. The silly little bags in Tesco etc last 5 minutes in our house. Spices are much cheaper too and we get a really big bag of onions often for £1.

[pennycarbonara]

Cut open nearly finished tubes and bottles to get the last of the shower gel, toothpaste. A very posh family we knew when I was a kid did this for everything, and we did for a few things. Also, keeping bottles stood upside down so you can use the last bits. I am always surprised when it's described in tips for being economical or green, or when people put the bottles upright again (very irritating) and that it isn't as normal in some areas as I always thought it was.

[pineapplebryanbrown]

My Mum and I have a pact that we don't buy anything without checking the other one has surplus. Just in the last week I have given her a single duvet, 2 single duvet covers, a dressing gown and body oil. She's given me 2 pillows, a pan and hand cream. All of which we would have had to buy.

[CheddarandCrackers]

Cheddarandcrackers
Lidl bakery is amazing though- their sourdough is to die for!

Yep, agreed!

[pineapplebryanbrown]

My sister has a posh B&B and she gives me all the toiletries the guests leave behind. I do sometimes dream of a new bottle of something.

[Meckity1]

Re hankies - I read somewhere that a 60C wash will kill most germs with modern laundry powder. You can get laundry disinfectant that works on 99.9% germs (that's the claim, anyway) at 40C. I suppose you could even soak the hankies overnight in zoflora and water before a normal wash. Biggest part of the expense of a wash is heating the water, so the lower the temperature, the less expensive the wash.

Unfortunately when I have a cold my nose runs a lot. I mean, really a lot. I can go through a large box of tissues in eight hours, and that's seriously damp and yucky tissues. It's embarrassing. I use tissues or I'd need to use a bedsheet.

[MissLadyM]

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