Are you thrifty in your home life and work life?
Share your top thrifty tips here!
I always try to get the most out of make-up items by cutting the ends off of bottles to get to the very last drop of concealer or liquid eyeshadow. I open up my twistable eyeliner to get the last inch of eyeliner stick out.
I decant the last bit of tomato sauce into the new sauce container.
I save the ends of the soap and squish them together to form a new bar. When I was a kid, we had a special plastic mould to do this in. I wonder where that ever went!
My Mum still washes out the cling-film and tin-foil and re-uses it (although I do find that slightly excessive lol)
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I come from the same mold as you!
I spend a day with one tomato sauce bottle carefully balanced on top of the new one, to get the last drop out.
I have that soap mold!! I think it came from bettaware, my children are always intrigued as to the flavour of soaps that go in!!
Suzzie xx
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My thriftyness is mainly concerned with my fabric stash. I hate throwing away even the smallest piece of fabric, because I love it, so I use tiny pieces in small projects, I don’t save anything less than 1.5" though, the rest goes in a bag and is taken to my local charity shop, as they add them to their “rag” collection which are then sold to textile recyclers.
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Regarding the soap mould, I think Lakeland Ltd do one…I tend to use right down the final sliver, so never have any waste anyway.
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Yesterday I found myself scraping out the stubs of two sticks of lip balm, and putting it in a saved lip-balm tin! 
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I keep all those plain white envelopes that bank statements come in.
I cut them up and use them to write labels on as they are thick. If you turn them over they have a some amazing patterns on the inside and I’ve used the other side to make washi tape with and in card makin
I tend not to buy plastic freezer/food tubs as I simply reuse margarine tubes and takeaway tubs once washed out and inspected for suitability. I use and reuse them until they are not longer viable.
I keep all jiffy mailer bags that come through my front door. I take off the labels clean them up cover then with glue and some cheap wrapping paper I was given or use the glossy pages from my old seed catalogues or from a glossary pages in newspaper which I don’t buy but my friend gives me a few every once in while. This means the jiffybags/mailers get reused at least once and I save a wee bit on packaging costs for my customers.
I keep all my scrap ends of yarn and then when I have a bag full I use them up in small projects. Same with my fabric.
I make my note books out of two old Christmas cards stick together and sew in the pages made from old used envelopes.
If I have items of clothing that are not good enough for the charity shop I take off any lovely buttons etc add them to my stash and they get reused eventually.
I’ve undone jumpers etc even shop bought ones that I’ve damaged and made a hole in. Then I use the yarn to remake items for charity like pet blankets.
For cotton skirt and dresses that have got ripped (I’m forever catching them on my door handle) so no good for the charity shop I will sit down and cut out the good fabric and re use it.
I don’t buy cleaning rags Instead I keep all the old not good for the charity shop cotton T-shirt and cut them up for cleaning rags.
Just of few of the things I do re use, recycle.
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Wow Eileen - you have got some great tips there!
You just reminded me - I also recycle my Christmas cards and make them into tags for the following year. I think I’ve still got some tags in my bag made from cards from the 80’s!
Thanks Dotty and I’ve just got put together the results of my great recycle the spring onion Experiment.
I bought a 2 bunch of spring onions last year from the supermarket.
As I used them up I would cut off the beaded ends with a bit of the spring onion still attached, put them in water for 24 hours then planted them.
Some in a terracotta pot and yes they regrew and I had more spring onions to eat, that came free.
I put 4 into a plastic bottle that I lay on the horizontal cutting a long gap along it. Filled it with garden soil and popped in the 4 spring onion beards.
I’ve just harvested them and 4 have multiplied and become 10 spring onions I’m going to have 2 with my lunch and cut their beards off and replant them again.
oh I made sure only to cover the spring onion beard/root with soil otherwise the other bit rots and you don’t get new growth.
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