What is the stingiest shit you do for no reason?

[mowgelijeffs]

I'm wondering what people do that is really stingey but they honestly don't need to?

We are able to afford new dish cloths and sponges but I always wash them in the washing machine until they shrink to nothing or the sponge looks like someone ate it.

My dad used to put cheap kitchen spray in my mums expensive bottle and she never knew 😂

My husband waters down hand soap? That really annoys me.

Ok I'll think of more. But tell me what you lot do!

I up-end old bottles of washing up liquid, shampoo, liquid soap etc onto the new bottles and leave for 30 minutes so everything drains out. Or water down with a dash of water.

I tear cotton pads in half.

I have a small spatula to clean every morsel out of a jar.

My tupperware collection is mainly old ice cream tubs, plastic takeaway boxes and pasta sauce pots.

I weigh all my food in individual portions, firstly so I don't eat more than I need & 2, I know how much every meal is costing me!

I measure my milk for my cereal too, I know, I get 10 servings so I know when it'll run out

I like to know what I've got, how much it cost & how long it'll last!

I water down fabric softener & use less washing powder.

I cut cocktail sticks in half when making pigs in blankets, and we also have a tendency to cut up old envelopes to use for shopping lists.

Past-it bath mats make brilliant garden kneelers by the way - large, soft and rubber-backed so you don't get damp knees from wet grass. Just the job.

Yes

Where do you all put the money saved? It's not the fact of where the money saved is put, it's the fact it doesn't get spent in the first place.
Have you heard of the saying "take care of the pennies, the pounds will take care of themselves", It's true as well! I'm tight as a drum in some areas but things like quality food, products kinder to the environment and treats for my family aren't where I scrimp.
I learnt this frugality from my parents, they grew up through the Second World War.
Not to blow my own trumpet but I will anyway, we paid off our mortgage by 35, 15 years of payments, both in low paid jobs. I feel lucky to be able to say I've never had to worry about money, always tried to live within my means.

I think it's already been mentioned but I use the bag from toilet rolls (specifically a 9-pack) as a bathroom bin liner, it's the perfect size.

Also KFC drive through always give you way too many sachets of salt so I take them home and decant them into my table salt.

i wash my bath mats in the washer without adding any soap powder-its amazing how much powder is still in your machine-they always come up lovely.
I never buy paper towels just add a few paper napkins to my bag when in any fast food joint.
use plastic bags from bread to use for sandwiches cakes etc.
Have a three minute rule for the shower.

Ooh good idea about using bags of sweets as balloon weights. Definitely doing that next week.

Don't think all of these are stingy but some good ideas. Some stuff I do.
Use the water from boiling eggs to water my plants. The nutrients from the shells is good for them.
When we have a big cake (birthday Christmas etc) I stick some bread to the cut part with cocktail sticks to stop it drying out.
I put an elastic band around pump bottle tops to prevent the kids using too much stuff.
I also cut up rubber gloves to use as bands. When I was a caterer they were great for securing lids to slow cookers, stew pots while in Transit.
You can bake boiled eggs in the oven. I put the eggs in muffin tins and cook them for about 20 mins. It was great for making devilled eggs (the yolks seem more velvety) or egg mayo as there was no sulferous smell and helped if I didn't have access to a stove top.

All those kitchen roll tearers and sponge cutters out there- doesn't it feel like an absolute freaking luxury whenever you use a whole one?
When I was a teenager I used to have those chewing gum strips. Would tear them into at least 4 parts so the packet would last ages. One time I thought sod it and popped in a whole one. It was the besy day ever. like a party in my mouth

What Backforgood said.
There are all normal.
Not stingy

All those kitchen roll tearers and sponge cutters out there- doesn't it feel like an absolute freaking luxury whenever you use a whole one? Yes, nothing like a big wad in your hand

When someone i know is oregnant i will usually make them a crocheted baby blanket out of cotton yarn. With the left overs i make dishcloths, with the leftovers from that i make little crochet circles for putting on my cleanser, until i have a little bag full of 1-2 inch pieces of cotton yarn which i really really struggle to throw away.
Im the same with all my yarn, but i recently started using the leftovers to make pom poms which i then use to decorate presents with which has helped me use it up
This may seem very frugal if it wasnt for the fact i often buy really expensive yarn! So I'd save more money buying cheaper stuff

Great ideas here.
If I use a recipe that requires a small amount of lemon juice I squeeze a whole lemon and freeze the extra fir next time.

My lovely 88 year old MIL has an amusing one. When she runs the hot water tap, a fair amount of cold water is wasted before the hot water arrives. Her water is metered, so she collects the cold water in old plastic milk bottles and uses it to water the garden. If you pay for every drop, then use every drop! However, in winter the garden doesn't need watering so she has a collection of old milk containers full of water lined up by the back door.

Mine is more practical. I insist that the family use both sides of every sheet of loo paper. We save a fortune on Andrex.

Wide, how do you use both sides??
Imagining poo on fingers here 😂

Wide if that rule was implemented in my house there would be much bemusement, nodding and passive resistance. It's one thing I don't skimp on. You need as much as you need.

Both sides of loo roll? Wtf? I'm not sure I want to know what that is.

Hear, hear, sharon we use a fuckton of toilet roll. No metering it out here.

A relative if mine buys the cheapest washing up liquid and dilutes it. Nothing is ever clean! She stayed at my mums caravan once and did it to all mums products. All the plates pots and pans were so greasy . I'm not particularly thrifty myself 😅

I know someone who makes all their guests announce whether they are going for a shit when going to the loo. If not, you are not allowed to flush and everyone goes afterwards, the last one flushes. If you do go for a shit you are allowed your very own flush.

Pax I know people who do that too. Not the announcement thing but the not flushing after a wee. I did allow it when my 3rd baby came along as even the cat cleaning herself on the stairs would wake her so we had no chance if someone flushed overnight or at nap times. When you don't t flush wee you quickly get a build up in the toilet bowl and only elbow grease shifts it. (Plus I didn't clean it as often as I should have as I was stuck on the couch attached to a baby) As soon as dd dropped her naps and we could shut her door (she wouldn't sleep with the door shut until she was 2 ish) I made sure everyone flushed every time.

OK. The loo roll thing is a joke. Sorry that so many missed it!

As for economising with water, until 2 years ago our supply was unmetered. Our water charge was based on the rateable value of our house and before the meter was fitted we were paying £60 per month. Since then our charge has dropped to £15 per month, so I don't worry too much about water consumption. There are only two of us in the house admittedly, but my DW does like her baths and we both shower every morning.

Humour fail wideboy26 sorry! 😂

If you laminated the loo roll it could be re-used many times, wideboy26 .