for me, it is a balance between three things – cost, time (ROI), and not wanting to be wasteful. so, even though we can get zip bags cheap or free with coupons, i still won’t just toss them because i feel that it is wasteful. i even reuse plastic straws -weird, i know!

but, i use a ton of paper towels which i’m sure many would consider wasteful. i do use dish rags and have tried to use them exclusively, but i just can’t stand wet rags mildewing in the sink. the smell drives me crazy. so, i guess i need to add a fourth thing to my list -my own level of sanity! sometimes, that one trumps all the others.

i recently did a unit with my girl scouts on reduce, reuse, recycle. we talked about how recycling gets all the pr, but that the best place to start is with reducing what we use in the first place. yeah! because for me, that’s the easiest one to do.

again, great post! and, thanks for all your hard work on this site. you have helped me save so much money at drugstores that i have been able to donate tons of stuff to shelters. (i couldn’t stick with the grocery store part – it was too much for me). i started in january and have gotten over $600 of products for $0 OOP – you read that right! zero! i started with a couple of gift cards by transferring prescriptions and have let it grow from there!

thank you!! thank you!

On the ziplock baggies, we use them a lot as I freeze seasonal produce. For that I’ll rinse and reuse. For broths/meat/etc., no dice.

Please tell me where you are getting a 12% interest rate!!

Re-using plastic food containers worries me for the same reasons.

The older I have gotten, the more I have become concerned about overall health as well as frugality.

I have health issues that stemmed, in part, from unhealthy habits learned as a child. (My mom did her absolute best, but she did not have a very good home life as a child.) I have attempted to teach my children, now 19 and 13, healthier living so they may not face the struggles I do in this area.

We have gradually made the switch to glass. You can still freeze in glass, leaving plenty of head room for expansion, no accelerated temperature changes like freezer to microwave, etc. My glassware has plastic lids, but with the headroom, there is no contact with the food. Microwaving plastic, whether it says it’s okay or not, worries me as well. My family has damaged tupperware storageware in the microwave, so we quit it also.

I rarely re-use the bags, but I don’t use many anyway, so it doesn’t make much difference. When I take homemade bread to work in a baggy, I re-use it, but that’s no big deal to me. Anything that needs washing gets tossed.

We are frugal in many ways, but don’t line-dry all clothes. I bought a 23-pound bucket of laundry detergent from Sam’s Club for $13 and we’re about half-way finished with it. I started using it in February and use it for my husband and I. I qualify my purchase as a bargain.

I did have a question about your baking pans, though. I’m referring to the aluminum ones I see in your pictures of lasagnas and such that you freeze. Do you re-use those? Are you able to find them on a good deal anywhere specific? Just curious…I’m a novice meal-freezer

If I used them in the kitchen, I probably would not reuse them.

The other one that we ‘always’ do that I’ve been surprised that some folks don’t, is reusing their towels! One day I’ll do a live comedy show on this one: ( if I ever become a comedian!) we spend countless dollars on soaps, body washes, shampoo, scrubs, thick washclothes and water. Then, when it’s all done and over, we wipe the CLEAN water off ourselves and suddenly that clean towel is D I R T Y! Have never figured out the magic here… but… must be in some houses! Ok.. it’s all in fun.. but it is one of my little frugal quirks!