My grandmother did not turn on the oven unless she could put three or four things in at the same time. Cooking some meat? Put roast vegetables, baked apples and a crumble in there too!
My mother is also a thrifty queen. No paper towels, no paper napkins, no store bought cleaning cloths, no extraneous specialised cleaners. And, most important of all, she makes no extra purchases at all. Nothing unnecessary enters her house (such as storage containers, cushions for outdoor chairs, new cookware, rarely used condiments).
She reuses screws and repurposes old blankets, sheets and towels, clothes, jars, cans, grocery bags, etc.
She uses electronics until the repair man declares them dead and she spent most of her life without a dryer. She does not use the oven in the summer, she does not open the fridge door randomly, she reuses teabags, she never throws food out, and her electrical bill is ridiculously low.
She takes very good care of everything (like paint brushes) so they last.
The thing for me is to really take this to heart and fit some of these things back into my life. Thanks for this thread sd.