During WWII, the British Government issued a pamphlet to British housewives (SAHM?!), Make Do and Mend, it was intended to provide tips on how to be frugal and to repurpose during in times of extreme rationing.
Now that we are in very strange times, and some parts of the country are experiencing shortages, what are you doing to save on waste / economize on purchases / stretch your budget etc.
I was thinking about this yesterday as I was getting ready to throw away a qt of milk that had turned, but instead of throwing it away, I looked at what I could do with turned milk, and fount I could ‘turn’ it into cottage cheese!
We do a lot of things with an eye to eliminating waste:
Juice all vegetables that are not salad-worthy (or use in soups/stews)
Make salad dressing out of wine that doesn't pass the taste test
Use cloth napkins (pretty much cloth everything, no paper towels here)
Use steam for cleaning (no store-bought products other than dish soap, we have a commercial steamer)
Re-use aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and sandwich/freezer bags until they disintegrate
Re-use store bags for garbage liners
Mend clothing and wear until threadbare (I have clothes from every decade that are perfectly fine IMO)
Cut everyone's hair (and do my own hair/nails; I went to beauty school out of high school)
Great thread. I will post anything else I can think of, but these are the common things we do off the top of my head. Looking forward to more ideas from others.
This reminds me of one very popular thread on frugality we had here in the Cafe during the Great Recession. It died naturally as the economy recovered.
The optimal thing is to avoid spoilage in the first place with the milk, so is that overbuying? Milk lasts for ages in the fridge, and freezes pretty successfully. in WW2 there was no overbuying and spoilage for your average ration recipient.
@milee30 mentioned in the Cooking thread saving food scraps to make stock. We do this, too. I haven’t used the IP for stock, but will try it out as that is a great idea for reducing the time it takes to make a good stock.
Yes, I also use peelings and such to make veg. stocks, and chicken bones etc for meat stocks As for the milk 'advice - the milk was given to me by my elderly neighbor bc she is moving north, to her daughter’s house, and I guess she couldn’t take it with her.
Maybe ‘made do and mend’ was not the right analogy. And, yes - I have milk in my freezer. Guilty!
Washing baggies, already did save all leftovers and freeze, getting shelf safe milk (so no waste), cloth instead of paper towels, freezing bacon bits and freeze dried cranberries and blueberries.
Using shampoo (had alot) for hand soap and to wash groceries, always used bags for garbage cans- but since Covid throwing away the bags, cut H’s hair, always did own bangs and nails.
^^^ More cloth as opposed to paper goods here, too. We store almost everything in reusable containers. Have always tried to minimize food waste, but I did find myself using more of the broccoli stems than in what my son calls “the beforetimes” when I roasted the most recent batch.
I had a king sized fitted sheet that got a rip in it. I kept wanting to throw it out as my rag bag was full. Something stopped me. Last week I asked a friend to make masks for me, and offered her the sheet. DH and I got 4 masks. She was thrilled with the fabric and said that it was the best that she had made masks with. She will make over 40 masks with it.
I just got a rip in a sheet too. but it was because it was so worn in that spot. I looked at it and thought “Do I want to make masks out of this?” and decided I didn’t. My mother might use it to cover plants outside for last snows/hail storms.
“avoid spoilage in the first place with the milk, so is that overbuying?”
I have been buying more milk when I do go to the store, because I do not want to return. I have been shopping at most once per week, and am trying to reduce that further. However, as you said milk does seem to last just fine for more than a week.
I have recently taken up a very old hobby from my childhood: Darning socks. One daughter was not impressed. I expect my other daughter to quite like it when I get to see her (postponed due to coronavirus).
My habits haven’t really changed because much of the “waste not, want not” stuff I’ve done anyway partially because I’m a tad frugal (hate food waste, leftovers get eaten here) and mainly because it’s the environmentally sound thing to do.
Like others I use cloth instead of paper for napkins, paper towels and such. Wash and reuse ziploc bags unless using them for something messy but usually just forgo them completely for a reusable container.
Broccoli stems are my favorite part of broccoli actually. Very good roasted.
Any piece of citrus I eat, I zest first and it gets stored in the freezer for other purposes - to put in fish rubs, baked goods, etc.
We try to buy quality and then take really good care of our things to make them last, and try to fix things before tossing - appliances, cars, etc. It amazes me how long things last sometimes. I’ve found from others, like house guests and such, that some people are really rough on their belongings. It doesn’t have to be shiny and new or trendy if it still works.
I always try to find a new home for anything we no longer need.
I often try home remedies first before buying OTC medicine. It’s amazing what works for different things.
I’ve been reusing bags from the grocery store, even during the pandemic. I put them in the garage, and assume within a week they should be fine. I’ve been doing the same with my limited vinyl gloves. I haven’t read anything (yet), that indicates the virus lasts longer than a week on any surfaces. Am I missing something?
Today when I chucked some moldy veggies and fruits into the compost bin, I vowed for the umpteenth time to only buy the ones I will eat readily, and to keep them where I can see them so I remember to eat them.
I have been doing the same with my grocery bags, once they sit I think they are fine. I do feel strange having a pile of bags stacking up as I’ve become so accustomed to taking my own bags. The produce stand I go to doesn’t allow you to bring bags inside but you can just put your produce back in the basket and bring it outside and fill your own bags.
I thought this thread was going to be about a book I recently got from the library, “Mending Matters”. I have a pair of jeans I love that have a hole that has gotten to big and I’ve been searching for the best way to patch them. Of course even with staying home I haven’t got to them. The library is closed so at least I can hope I’ll get to patching them before the library reopens.
Ok, I just chopped the limp carrots into chunks and put them in the freezer bag with the chicken bones for the next pot of stock. Thanks for the reminder!
It died naturally as the economy recovered.