Mustachian things you do that "ordinary people" think are strange...

[Zikoris]

I talk enthusiastically about how great the rewards points program is for one of the major national gas stations, despite the fact that I've never had a car, driver's license, or bought gas. People think that's REALLY weird.

It's actually my second best rewards program because I get tons of points on it for a) booking flights, and b) doing online surveys. The points can be redeemed for gift cards to a few large electronics and video game stores that we frequent, so it's extremely useful at cutting down on one of the few remaining areas of our spending that's substantial.

[RetiredAt63]

I just did a three question survey for Air Miles (being a responsible host over the holidays, answers were no-brainers) and got 25 free Air Miles points.  This was a first  ;-)

Fun!

It's actually my second best rewards program because I get tons of points on it for a) booking flights, and b) doing online surveys. The points can be redeemed for gift cards to a few large electronics and video game stores that we frequent, so it's extremely useful at cutting down on one of the few remaining areas of our spending that's substantial.

[Artemis67]

I'm staying with my non-Mustachian sister this week. Her household eats a lot of take-out food, especially prepared salads. Not my choice, but she has money to burn.

After she went to bed last night, I stayed up and did the dishes--which included fishing plastic salad containers out of the recycling bin, washing them (and the 2oz cups for dressings that came with), and sneaking them out to my car so I can take them home. I don't buy pre-made salads very often anymore, so all of my existing clamshell containers are looking pretty grotty, but now I have a fresh supply.

Sure, I could just buy myself some containers, but they inevitably get lost or damaged. Disposable plastics will fall apart eventually, but I can get at least 10-12 uses out of a container that was meant to be tossed after one use, and if I lose it it's no big deal.

[catpartm3nt]

I don't have cable, and I never plan to. Aside from 2-3 series that I can follow online, I just don't spend time watching TV.

Let's see...I also don't pay for haircuts, or color my hair. I trim my own hair when I need to and paint my own nails. I never buy bottled water, just use my own reusable water bottle (this seems totally normal to me and just common sense, but I have so many coworkers who bring bottles of Perrier or go through 1-2 bottles of spring water a day. The tap/drinking fountain water in the office is completely safe...we even have a community Brita pitcher in our work fridge...I will simply never understand this.)

[OutBy40]

I save.

[Gin1984]

I save.

Lol

[iwasjustwondering]

Use homemade mixes for pancakes, brownies and hot chocolate. Saves me loads of $$$.

These are the ones I love:

http://www.sixfiguresunder.com/homemade-fudgy-brownie-mix/ (this kind of needs to be iced)

http://www.sixfiguresunder.com/homemade-pancake-mix/

Hot chocolate mix (sorry, I don't have the source!)
Makes 5 1/2 cups of dry mix

2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed
2 1/2 cups powdered non-fat milk  (NOT whole milk, which tends to lump)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Fill mug halfway with mix. Pour in hot water. Mix well.

(It might sound like a lot of mix, but remember that the largest ingredient is powdered milk.)

Made this today. Filled a jar to the top with just enough left over for one large mug. Delicious! Thanks :)

Thanks for the recipes!  Have you tried adding vanilla to the hot cocoa one?  I use the cocoa recipe on the back of the Hershey's cocoa box, and it calls for vanilla, which I think adds a lot.  The salt makes a huge difference, too, doesn't it?

[iwasjustwondering]

I'm a single mother with a challenging job that pays very well, and yet I work a "second job" as an adjunct professor each spring.  I'm not really doing it for the money, but for a hedge against a layoff, and to lay the groundwork for a fulfilling semi-retired career.  I also believe I can get a f/t job there in time for a significant college tuition benefit for my kids, if the stars align in the right way.  I'll see how I feel after this next semester.  It is a tremendous effort, and I ended last semester 10 lbs heavier and much more stressed out.  I do love it, though.  But if people knew what I made, they would wonder why I am "working two jobs."

[flamingo25]

Here is something I didn't even think was Mustachian -

Went with a coworker to a conference. Took an airplane. Brought along a library book to read. Took it out and started reading. Coworker exclaims, "You get books from the library? Why not just buy them? I don't even know where the library is and I have lived [in our town] for 4 years!"

She doesn't know I am frugal and I told her they take up a lot of space after being purchased and I didn't want to bother with donating them.

Sigh.

I participated in a book club a few years back. I was the only person who rented the book from the library instead of buying it. Everyone thought it was so strange and commented on how they didn't even have library cards. Also worth noting that a very nice public library was two blocks from where our book club met.

[homehandymum]

Here is something I didn't even think was Mustachian -

Went with a coworker to a conference. Took an airplane. Brought along a library book to read. Took it out and started reading. Coworker exclaims, "You get books from the library? Why not just buy them? I don't even know where the library is and I have lived [in our town] for 4 years!"

She doesn't know I am frugal and I told her they take up a lot of space after being purchased and I didn't want to bother with donating them.

Sigh.

I participated in a book club a few years back. I was the only person who rented the book from the library instead of buying it. Everyone thought it was so strange and commented on how they didn't even have library cards. Also worth noting that a very nice public library was two blocks from where our book club met.

Weird. The book club I was in 2013, we deliberately chose books that there were multiple copies at the library, or owned amongst the group already.  But we had a high proportion of single-income/struggling artist/raising kids on a shoestring members in our group.  It was a cool idea, actually.  In addition to reading the book, each month we needed to bring along a 'creative response' to it.  I did a series of mini-art-quilt panels, another member filled a jar with things inspired by each book, someone else did a completely different thing each time (e.g. baked shortbread in response to Billy Connolly's autobiography, knitted a hot water bottle cover with flowers on it in response to the novel 'Perfume').  It was great fun, and I'm just sad I didn't have the headspace to keep attending this year.

[1967mama]

I make buns/rolls about once a week, 6 dozen at a time. I freeze 2/3 and we keep the rest out for eating for a couple of days.  I use an
Electrolux Assistant that was purchased new over 15 years ago and is still going strong .. it was $400 when we bought it and I am shocked to see how much they are now! Mind you, I have been making bread for 15+ years with this machine, so I'm sure we passed the payback point a long, long time ago.

http://www.breadbeckers.com/store/pc/Ankarsrum-Original-Kitchen-Machine-AKM-6220MW-Mineral-White-Mixer-w-FREE-Shipping-p3322.htm

[Artemis67]

I never buy bottled water, just use my own reusable water bottle (this seems totally normal to me and just common sense, but I have so many coworkers who bring bottles of Perrier or go through 1-2 bottles of spring water a day. The tap/drinking fountain water in the office is completely safe...we even have a community Brita pitcher in our work fridge...I will simply never understand this.)

If I lived in a place with nasty-tasting tap water (such as Southern California), I'd have to find a source for decent water in returnable 5-gallon jugs. Buying individual bottles is so wasteful, and where I live it's unnecessary--we have perfectly clean, safe, good-tasting tap water here.

But I refuse to keep buying reusable water bottles, only to lose them. My solution? At one of my volunteer gigs, there's a lost and found. I'm always pawing through it to see what's in there. If I see something I'm interested in, I give it a full month before claiming it for myself, figuring that if the item was that important to somebody, they would have come for it by then. And that's where all my stainless water bottles and coffee mugs come from.

What amazes me is how squeamish other people are about using someone else's water bottle. Somehow, the bottles still have cooties even after a thorough washing in hot water. I swear, I could autoclave the damned things and people would still not want to use them--and these are the same people who have no problem shopping at thrift stores, or using common mugs and dishes from the office break room. It's just...strange. But it means I'm never without a water bottle, so I guess I'm cool with it.

[wearfannypacks]

We have a child, anticipate having another. We drive a Yaris. No intention of "upgrading" to a minivan. Secret: smaller carseats still pass safety standards. They fit in my car.

[LiveLean]

I never eat anything that makes crumbs. Such food provides the least value, both financially and nutritionally, and makes your home messy.

I have never tasted coffee or smoked anything. When I was a kid, my dad got up at 5:30 a.m. and commenced pounding coffee and chain-smoking. My first breath every morning was coffee and cigarettes. To this day I find the smell of either repulsive. Saves a ton of money, though. I've been to Starbucks many times because people want to meet there, but have never purchased anything. People find this very strange. (Like I'm going to buy a $4 bottle of water!)

[Daisy]

In addition to reading the book, each month we needed to bring along a 'creative response' to it.  I did a series of mini-art-quilt panels, another member filled a jar with things inspired by each book, someone else did a completely different thing each time (e.g. baked shortbread in response to Billy Connolly's autobiography, knitted a hot water bottle cover with flowers on it in response to the novel 'Perfume').  It was great fun, and I'm just sad I didn't have the headspace to keep attending this year.

Great idea! If I ever start a book club I'd like to do something like this, and hopefully find others willing to do the same. Maybe combine it with a creative dish somehow associated with the book being read.

[1967mama]

Making token gifts for neighbours instead of buying them something. Today we delivered 2 jars of homemade hot chocolate mix and tonight we made candy cane bark that will be ready for delivery in the morning to the remaining neighbours. I've decided that next year I will make "Christmas Cranberry Granola" for the neighbours and will start EARLIER next year! haha!

[Inkedup]

Get my hair cut at home.
Cut spent tubes of toothpaste and lotion to extract whatever is left (usually there is another 2-3 days' worth of product in there).
Laundered clothes are air-dried on hangers, doorknobs, etc. instead of in the dryer.
Drive a 15 (almost 16!) year-old car which I love and will never volunarily give up.
I loathe clothes shopping and prefer to rotate the same items in my wardrobe.
No cable. Between streaming accounts with Netflix/Amazon and YouTube, I have an abundance of viewing options. (More like an embarassment of riches.)
Still using my 1st generation ipad despite people telling me to get a new one (Why? This one hasn't died yet...)
I use an old flip phone, which is unheard of among my peers. (I'll replace it when it dies...probably with another flip phone :)
Selective flushing (I am tempted to relax this since I'm rarely ever home, but old habits die hard).

[cheapbutchic]

I am new here, in fact this is my first post.  I love this thread though because one of the things I do that drive my friends insane is re-sell my clothing.  I love vintage clothing and and buy from yard sales, estate sales and the GW.  I find amazing things but when I tire of something I'll sell it on eBay for a very nice profit.  For some reason this drives my friends crazy.  To me it's common sense and seems quite normal.

[minority_finance_mo]

4.)  Paid only $11.50 out-of-pocket for our last all-inclusive beach resort vacation.  I posted on "Share Your Badassery" about how we accomplished that.

WHAT? *Clicks on Username* I need this knowledge in my life, haha. Traveling is my weakness, and I've been looking for ways to do it on a budget.

[2ndTimer]

Use loose tea in a teapot and only empty it at the end of the day.  Just keeping adding another tsp of tea and more hot water.  The Hub routinely gets the last of it at dinner

[jjcamembert]

• Stopped buying deodorant and shampoo. Use baking soda and apple cider vinegar instead, or just good ol' water.
• Ride the bus to work. People at work think this is strange, yet everyone gets a free bus pass if they work here.
• Bring lunch to work 99% of the time, and therefore not going out to eat with coworkers.
• Opening windows instead of using air conditioning.
• Using the library! Free books and movies!
• Ugh, sad that this even makes the list, but drinking water from the faucet instead of bottled.
• As many others have said, no cable/Netflix/Hulu subscriptions
• Have never bought new furniture. My friends are always surprised that I still have that used chair/couch/table from when we lived together 10 years ago.

And, one benefit of living cheaply: if I want a long vacation, opting for leave without pay. This upsets people sooo much!

[slackmax]

My sister was recently horrified to hear me say I have never remodeled anything in my 27 year old home.

[1967mama]

@slackmax,

Your post about not remodelling reminded me of this article that I read today on http://rockstarfinance.com

http://momastery.com/blog/2014/08/11/give-liberty-give-debt/

[tmac]

@slackmax,

Your post about not remodelling reminded me of this article that I read today on http://rockstarfinance.com

http://momastery.com/blog/2014/08/11/give-liberty-give-debt/

That's one of my all-time favorite blog posts. I too have a magic box in my kitchen that keeps my food cold. And clean water just pours out of the faucets! I've got it so good. :)

[Newtonium]

We have a child, anticipate having another. We drive a Yaris. No intention of "upgrading" to a minivan. Secret: smaller carseats still pass safety standards. They fit in my car.

We're in the same boat (car?). We drive the luxury of a VW Rabbit and people told us we'd never get a carseat in it. Wrong. We were worried two wouldn't fit, but a local baby store helped show me two could fit. New, solid brand carseats are a choice luxury for our kid.

A friend who was adament it wouldn't work for us drives around in a full size hyundai that seems spacious from the front, but has almost no back seat space. When they out a car seat in the front passenger is pushed almost up against the airbag... No thanks.

[I'm a red panda]

I don't exchange gifts with my spouse. Not for Christmas, birthday, anniversary, Easter, valentines day, or even more made up crap like Sweetest day.  We usually don't even celebrate any of these things (especially not the last two!)

[Badfish]

I gave up my convertible and drive a 14 year old car. I don't even miss what I thought was my dream car.

I've heard" You work so hard you deserve to have a nice car!" No, I deserve to retire early.

[lizzie]

Given the season:
I reuse tissue paper, wrapping paper, bows and ribbons. I know a lot of people will reuse bows but attending a coworkers baby shower they other day she was putting all the tissue paper in the garbage and I had to stop her. I was like, "wait, you don't want to reuse this?" and she was like, "uh, no?!" and then everyone looked at me strangely. Unfortunately I still care what others think and I quickly thought and said, "well do you mind if I take it, it will be perfect for a craft a I am planning on doing with my son."  Even though, nope it went into my wrapping drawer as I know if I said well I will use to wrap presents I would get the side eye.

All the torn up paper tossed around on gift-giving occasions gets on my nerves. It's like, here you are supposedly having an enjoyable time but you're slowly being surrounded by garbage. You've got a good solution, but here's another one: sew your own gift bags.

I learned this trick fromy sister-in-law.  Experiencing Christmas at her house for the first time was a revelation: she wrapped her presents in pretty cloth bags and ribbons. It was so pleasant to quietly fold up the bags for reuse rather than crumpling and crunching up a bunch of paper garbage. And as a bonus, it's a great way to get started on learning to sew. You can use cloth remnants and experiment with linings, different kinds of closures, etc. Or you can just make really basic bags and use ribbons to tie the bag closed. I love it.

[Cookie78]

Given the season:
I reuse tissue paper, wrapping paper, bows and ribbons. I know a lot of people will reuse bows but attending a coworkers baby shower they other day she was putting all the tissue paper in the garbage and I had to stop her. I was like, "wait, you don't want to reuse this?" and she was like, "uh, no?!" and then everyone looked at me strangely. Unfortunately I still care what others think and I quickly thought and said, "well do you mind if I take it, it will be perfect for a craft a I am planning on doing with my son."  Even though, nope it went into my wrapping drawer as I know if I said well I will use to wrap presents I would get the side eye.

All the torn up paper tossed around on gift-giving occasions gets on my nerves. It's like, here you are supposedly having an enjoyable time but you're slowly being surrounded by garbage. You've got a good solution, but here's another one: sew your own gift bags.

I learned this trick fromy sister-in-law.  Experiencing Christmas at her house for the first time was a revelation: she wrapped her presents in pretty cloth bags and ribbons. It was so pleasant to quietly fold up the bags for reuse rather than crumpling and crunching up a bunch of paper garbage. And as a bonus, it's a great way to get started on learning to sew. You can use cloth remnants and experiment with linings, different kinds of closures, etc. Or you can just make really basic bags and use ribbons to tie the bag closed. I love it.

Fantastic idea!

[infogoon]

I fix things when they break.

This is really, really strange behavior to some people.

[JLee]

I fix things when they break.

This is really, really strange behavior to some people.

That sounds like my job at work. :P

[Threshkin]

Given the season:
I reuse tissue paper, wrapping paper, bows and ribbons. I know a lot of people will reuse bows but attending a coworkers baby shower they other day she was putting all the tissue paper in the garbage and I had to stop her. I was like, "wait, you don't want to reuse this?" and she was like, "uh, no?!" and then everyone looked at me strangely. ...

All the torn up paper tossed around on gift-giving occasions gets on my nerves. It's like, here you are supposedly having an enjoyable time but you're slowly being surrounded by garbage.

We used to do this when I was a child.  We would carefully unwrap the presents, saving as much paper as we could.  Then we would re-use the paper the next year.  It was fun to see the same paper again. "I remember this paper!  Grandma used it last year for that that sweater I love to wear"  Re-using the paper and the memories it brought helped tie the family members and the holiday together.  We still save ribbons, tissue paper, and some wrapping paper for reuse.

You've got a good solution, but here's another one: sew your own gift bags.

I learned this trick fromy sister-in-law.  Experiencing Christmas at her house for the first time was a revelation: she wrapped her presents in pretty cloth bags and ribbons. It was so pleasant to quietly fold up the bags for reuse rather than crumpling and crunching up a bunch of paper garbage. And as a bonus, it's a great way to get started on learning to sew. You can use cloth remnants and experiment with linings, different kinds of closures, etc. Or you can just make really basic bags and use ribbons to tie the bag closed. I love it.

My sister does this.  We save these bags and reuse them as well.

[2ndTimer]

I wrapped Christmas presents in recycled Valentine's Day paper.

[BPA]

I post on another board and mentioned this last summer (probably ~August 1) that my wife and I hadn't used our air conditioner yet.  If you live in Iowa you know last summer was one one of the best we've had in years.  I live in a house with plaster walls and no west facing windows.  It was built in 1978 so it's closed off and stays pretty cool throughout the day. 

When I posted that I got an enormous amount of shit (which is pretty typical for that board...nobody pulls punches there) for about three weeks.  One guy repeatedly brought up that my house must just stink horribly.  He also reminded everyone that my wife and I are "freaks" that say a couple should spend $300/month on groceries.

I mentioned that I actually said $400/month on groceries was reasonable for a couple and talked about all the advantages my house has re: keeping out heat in the summer.  He didn't believe me on the house, said anything over 78 degrees was awful.  When I uploaded a picture of my thermostat from noon that day showing 76º (cooler than his!) he then was convinced it had to be humid as shit there.  At that point I gave up.

I laughed in sympathy at this.  Self-Employed SWAMI and I met on a message board and she got shit for suggesting that someone who always has preventable money problems, save some when things are good, and that an emergency fund would help prevent some of the problems she was having.  If you spend every dime as soon as you get it, it's just common sense that at some point in time, you are actually going to need some money for emergencies.  SES got jumped on because it was easy for her, who make a good income, to say such things, but it couldn't be helped for most people.  She was "finger waggy" and didn't understand what it was like to struggle.  These are people with too many cars, expensive data plans, and expensive Ivy League type activities for their children, or people who spend everything they have on what they think of as a "need."

So frustrating. 

Anyway, sure enough a few months later the same thing happens with this same poster only now she was counting on a Christmas bonus her husband wasn't going to get and overspent on Christmas presents for the kids.  At least at that point people told her to return some gifts.

[mlejw6]

I fix things when they break.

This is really, really strange behavior to some people.

I had a boss that did this. I thought it was so cool: you mean this thing that doesn't work, you can just open it up and find out what's wrong with it and fix it yourself? You don't have to buy a new one?

We had bought a cheap, old gps unit and it had problems, and he just opened it up (taking off the tape that said DO NOT REMOVE), tested some components and found it was a bad transistor. He had me pick a new one up at the electronics store. Once it was all put back together, it worked perfectly. Miracle of miracles!

[viper155]

I have never, ever eaten a McDonalds hamburger...does that count?

[1967mama]

We take things that people offer us. Husband's parents offered us their "old" built in vacuum system (including the canister, hose and power head/attachments). We took it all off their hands, since they were just going to take it to Goodwill. Our current powerhead is held together with duct tape, and now, we can have the convenience an upstairs hose and a downstairs hose.

5 years ago, they were helping my husband's brother move and he was donating his stereo system to charity, since it was old. Ummm, well I'm sitting here listening to my favourite radio station on a Harmon Kardon system which I would NEVER buy for myself. I know he paid a lot for it at the time.

I like to be known as a person who will take old things off people's hands. We have scored some real gems over the years. Sometimes, you get something that isn't as useful as you'd thought, but then you just give it to another family, or take it to Goodwill. 

[kathrynd]

I post on another board and mentioned this last summer (probably ~August 1) that my wife and I hadn't used our air conditioner yet.  If you live in Iowa you know last summer was one one of the best we've had in years.  I live in a house with plaster walls and no west facing windows.  It was built in 1978 so it's closed off and stays pretty cool throughout the day. 

When I posted that I got an enormous amount of shit (which is pretty typical for that board...nobody pulls punches there) for about three weeks.  One guy repeatedly brought up that my house must just stink horribly.  He also reminded everyone that my wife and I are "freaks" that say a couple should spend $300/month on groceries.

I mentioned that I actually said $400/month on groceries was reasonable for a couple and talked about all the advantages my house has re: keeping out heat in the summer.  He didn't believe me on the house, said anything over 78 degrees was awful.  When I uploaded a picture of my thermostat from noon that day showing 76º (cooler than his!) he then was convinced it had to be humid as shit there.  At that point I gave up.

same here.
I also post on another forum, and I am chastised for being cheap. Some of them really get offended by frugal people. I thin because iit makes them need to take a hard look at themselves. They defend it by saying they aren't going to retire unless they have at $100k each year. Wow. We live very comfortably on $16K year. We have more, but that is all we spend.

So , anyways, people think it is odd we house sit when we travel. We live in our van between travelling to house sits. We try not to use a/c when house sitting, even though it doesn't cost us anything extra.
We eat a lot for free. We buy a lot of food using our  'points'. Our out going tenants, leave a lot of stuff behind including cleaning products and unopened food.Our house sitting placements also have chickens (free eggs) and fruit trees...to help our self.However when we do buy food, we eat very well for $50 a week.We are not vegetarians. Cook from scratch, including bread, and fresh produce.

My husband like to keep busy, so while travelling, we keep going back to this one particular place (4 years now) for a few months each time. All our meals are included and a motel unit. In exchange he does maintenance. Its also a campground. On occassion the army will stop (husband is ex-military) and they were throwing away their ration packs...so my husband gave them a container for all their unwanted rations....and that is a LOT of food for us.

We also don't exchange presents with each other...but we do buy for our 4 adult kids.
I reuse tinfoil, ziplock baggies until they fall apart.
Only shampoo once a week.Use shampoo as body wash.
Cut open tubes, to get the last bit. Use a rubber spatula in food jars.

Our pets come from the SPCA. They provide everything, including the food and litter. We foster care for momma cats and her kittens,and orphaned kittens, until they are all old enough to go to their ' forever' homes. We  do this every summer, when we are not travelling.

[pumpkinlantern]

Haha, great responses from everyone.  I'm picking up lots of tips!

Nothing crazy, but here are mine:

1) No TV.  I routinely get asked "What do you do with your spare time?"  And I usually say, "I zone out for hours on my couch.  I'm a really boring person."  It usually get a good laugh (I read a lot and generally have lots to talk about, so people know it's not true).

2) I had a flip phone up until a year and a half ago.  Then, I got a smartphone as a gift.  Now I use it, but with regular voice/text only - no data.  I don't know why people think it's weird.  Honestly, even for a smartphone junkie, who needs data?  There's wireless everywhere. 

For the anti-smartphone people out there, I agree that I probably wouldn't spend excessive amounts of money getting one, but they can be quite helpful especially if you travel a good amount - you can get onto hotel wireless and make phone calls, text, and look up things for free!

3) Yes, I wash and re-use ziploc bags, especially the freezer ones - they are pretty sturdy and can go through quite a few cycles

4) Someone mentioned credit card rewards...my (free) credit card had a 6 month promo for 5% cashback on all gas and groceries up to $400 a month.  I promptly went and bought grocery store gift cards (don't drive - so no gas) for $400 every month for 6 months and used the gift cards long after the promo ended.  Hey - that was worth $120 tax-free for like 5 minutes of work!

[Roadhog]

I bike commute, and while that should not be considered strange, my commute is about 26 miles round trip.  I'm not exactly young (55) so I constantly get questions about it and comments like "I could never do that".  When it's cold..."you're not still riding are you"?   I don't even commute by bike 100% of the time and in December and January it's rare (my goal is to do more).  The questions and quizzical looks keep on coming.  When I don't ride my bike I ride the bus and the costs are subsidized by work.

[nzmamma]

Given the season:
I reuse tissue paper, wrapping paper, bows and ribbons. I know a lot of people will reuse bows but attending a coworkers baby shower they other day she was putting all the tissue paper in the garbage and I had to stop her. I was like, "wait, you don't want to reuse this?" and she was like, "uh, no?!" and then everyone looked at me strangely. Unfortunately I still care what others think and I quickly thought and said, "well do you mind if I take it, it will be perfect for a craft a I am planning on doing with my son."  Even though, nope it went into my wrapping drawer as I know if I said well I will use to wrap presents I would get the side eye.

All the torn up paper tossed around on gift-giving occasions gets on my nerves. It's like, here you are supposedly having an enjoyable time but you're slowly being surrounded by garbage. You've got a good solution, but here's another one: sew your own gift bags.

I learned this trick fromy sister-in-law.  Experiencing Christmas at her house for the first time was a revelation: she wrapped her presents in pretty cloth bags and ribbons. It was so pleasant to quietly fold up the bags for reuse rather than crumpling and crunching up a bunch of paper garbage. And as a bonus, it's a great way to get started on learning to sew. You can use cloth remnants and experiment with linings, different kinds of closures, etc. Or you can just make really basic bags and use ribbons to tie the bag closed. I love it.

In this same vein; we saved the thick brown paper that came with gifta ordered online, laid it out ans got my 4 and 1 year ols girls to stamp on Christmas patterns with green amd red paint. Looked awesome, used it again before recycling, and was personal too.

[Artemis67]

I fix things when they break.

This is really, really strange behavior to some people.

I own several cans of shoe polish, know how to use it, and never cease to be astonished at the number of grown adults who see it as some mysterious substance, or believe that shining one's shoes is too difficult to attempt at home.

I have a pair of 12-year-old Cole-Haan loafers that I got from an acquaintance who was going to donate them because they were scuffed and a bit dirty-looking. When I suggested polishing them, she gave me a look as if I'd suggested she apprentice as a cobbler so she could hand-make all her own shoes. I took them home, cleaned them up, and all these years later they're still a nice-looking pair of shoes, with the added benefit of being completely broken in.

I should have kept in touch with that acquaintance, as I'm sure she would have given me more pairs of expensive cast-off shoes, but her unthinking consumerism and cowlike passivity in other matters annoyed the shit out of me. Oh, well.

That said, I'm always seeing people in expensive shoes that look all grungy and beat to crap because shoe polish doesn't exist in their reality.

[10dollarsatatime]

I fix things when they break.

This is really, really strange behavior to some people.

This.

My family does it as well.  My mom was given a "broken" vacuum cleaner last week when no one else wanted it in her women's group.  She handed it off to my little brother and told me that in less than 15 minutes, he had it working like new.  All he did was unclog it and beat all the dust off of the filter.  Mom immediately called the lady who had given it to her to see if she had already bought a new one... she had.  So now my family has a basically new $250 vacuum cleaner.

[MidwestGal]

I own several cans of shoe polish, know how to use it, and never cease to be astonished at the number of grown adults who see it as some mysterious substance, or believe that shining one's shoes is too difficult to attempt at home...(snip)...
That said, I'm always seeing people in expensive shoes that look all grungy and beat to crap because shoe polish doesn't exist in their reality.

Blame my time in the service, but I love clean and shiny shoes.  My one really nice pair are Cole Haans and should last for years and years.  I mean, what's the point of buying a nice pair of shoes just to wear them ratty-looking with your fancy clothes?  It's mind-boggling that caring for things can be beneath people.

[chasesfish]

I own several cans of shoe polish, know how to use it, and never cease to be astonished at the number of grown adults who see it as some mysterious substance, or believe that shining one's shoes is too difficult to attempt at home...(snip)...
That said, I'm always seeing people in expensive shoes that look all grungy and beat to crap because shoe polish doesn't exist in their reality.

Blame my time in the service, but I love clean and shiny shoes.  My one really nice pair are Cole Haans and should last for years and years.  I mean, what's the point of buying a nice pair of shoes just to wear them ratty-looking with your fancy clothes?  It's mind-boggling that caring for things can be beneath people.

I'm going to have to agree with this.  I have an odd foot and the only dress shoe brand that seems to work for me is Allen Edmonds. I buy them from an outlet store but I have two pairs that are going on 10+ years because I always care for the uppers.

[CheapskateWife]

All the torn up paper tossed around on gift-giving occasions gets on my nerves. It's like, here you are supposedly having an enjoyable time but you're slowly being surrounded by garbage. You've got a good solution, but here's another one: sew your own gift bags.

I learned this trick fromy sister-in-law.  Experiencing Christmas at her house for the first time was a revelation: she wrapped her presents in pretty cloth bags and ribbons. It was so pleasant to quietly fold up the bags for reuse rather than crumpling and crunching up a bunch of paper garbage. And as a bonus, it's a great way to get started on learning to sew. You can use cloth remnants and experiment with linings, different kinds of closures, etc. Or you can just make really basic bags and use ribbons to tie the bag closed. I love it.

Fantastic idea!

Our Christmas and home decor is really a shabby chic look with rusty bells and a bandana garland I made years ago.  This year, the boys got lots of smaller things and I bought the $1 bandanas to wrap them in.  Now everyone has lovely thoughtful gifts, and very useful bandanas :)

[MidwestGal]

I'm really loving this cloth gift bag idea!  Saves so much waste and some money to boot.  My only concern is, how do you all keep prying curious kid eyes from untying the ribbons or undoing the knots-just wait till the last minute to put stuff under the tree?

[pbkmaine]

It's more what we don't do. The kitchen in the house we just bought has white tile floors, stainless steel appliances and painted countertops. I am not crazy about any of these things, but they look fine, so I am not going to rip them out. We don't buy new furniture; we paint or repair the old. Redecorating involves moving stuff around and sewing new pillow covers or curtains from interesting remnants. We rarely move a wall. This minimalist approach to our houses has saved us many thousands of dollars.

[CheapskateWife]

With lots of boys to practice on, I have gotten really good at haircuts.  So last night we had 3 to do, and the first gets done and cleans up his hair while I work on the next, and so on.  This is such a normal thing now that I have a 6 yr old who will sit perfectly still while I cut his lovely blonde locks.  No wiggling or fussing.  Two military guys in the house (one AD and one JROTC) so there are lots of high and tights every 2 weeks.  My clippers are easily 6 yrs old...so only counting the two regular guys I cut, we have saved 2boys/men x 6yrs x 26cuts per year x $8 =$2496 Holy cow!

[Elliot]

Both my partner and I have at-home hair cuts. We use shears. A few youtube tutorials and we never looked back!