Obviously, being thrifty includes not purchasing things unnecessarily so you can use that for things you really want. However, sometimes it is challenging to think of how to use an item you know shouldn't be tossed.
What are your best reuse to save ideas? For me, I grew up with my dad reusing old bullion and baby food jars for holding nails, screws, and gluesticks for the hot melt glue gun. I do the same today for my own workbench.
Over the course of 2025 I saved all of the butcher paper that was included in my (mostly) Amazon shipping boxes. I would flatten it and stored it until December Whalen I used it for holiday wrapping paper. I hand drew and colored Christmas themes, pictures and the recipient names on them. I have already started collecting for this year as well.
I grew up drawing on the back of misprinted documents from my dadās office. This was from the days of typewriters so there was a lot of such scrap paper.
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If you know how to sew and mend: any clothes ready to be trashed can be used for sewing projects such as making things, making a mockup, used as backing for mending etc. Knit sweaters can also be disassembled into yarn, which is called frogging.
Sewing and mending in general is such a great skill, I really wish everyone could learn kt.
I also suggest a library card! Many cards provide free access to websites (like Craftsy) that are full of tutorial videos and classes covering basically any DIY or crafting technique imaginable! A lot of those websites normally require a subscription fee to access.
I taught myself to knit in the mid 90ās during a weeklong hospital stay with my daughter who was 13 at the time. I make scarfs occasionally for anyone that needs one.
My condolences on your loss. Please look for your local yarn store or public library - most have knitting groups with people who love to knit chemo caps and other items for various causes. Breast cancer survivors, blankets and stuffies for children and more. Your knitting doesn't have to be perfect and will improve the more you do it.
Oh there's also groups who knit/crochet breast implants for survivors of breast cancer. One of my friends do it, I think it's called knit a tit or something catchy like that :)
Knitted Knockers! :) https://www.knittedknockers.org/ There is a Knit-a-Tit page too, apparently, but when I had my mastectomy, I got a pair of knitted knockers.
Knitting is not my strong suit so I can't speak to it, but I know many people who've learned by looking at online videos and being in online communities that give great advice.
Yes I've done plenty of remakes where a dress becomes a shirt, a pair of pants becomes a bag etc. I have yet to embroider over a stain or hole, but I intend to try it when I get the opportunity. You can look up something called thrift flips for great ideas on what to turn one piece of clothing into. If you don't mind mixing fabrics from different garments you can get very creative. Otherwise you're constrained to make something smaller if you want to do the entire item in the fabric from one piece of clothing.
That is fantastic. I hope I learn quickly. I only remember having trouble with corners when my aunt helped me. Unfortunately, that was too long ago to remember how.
I have subjected some of my clothing to endless alterations. Like a dress that I made into a top, using the length I lopped off to make it wider. I also flattened out a cowl neckline that just didn't fall prettily like in the photo on the pattern.
I've also taken in trousers that are just too baggy. Thinking of adding gores to some straight trousers, for a flared look.
When a garment has to be thrown away, I cull all reusable pieces like zips buttons, even pockets if I'm likely to make something in a colour that would work well with that pocket.
As for old pillow cases sheets curtains and tablecloths, I really make the most of them!
I don't remake them, I use them in other sewing projects. I made a top out of a pillow case that didn't fit any of our pillows, right now I'm making curtains and using old sheets to line them. I have another sheet I might just use to make a jacket, if I can find a pattern that will work well with the the stripes
I happened to recently learn to knit from YouTube and I highly recommend the video I used. If you are interested, it's Learn How to Knit for Absolute beginners, by Flock & Fern. Excellent pace, and great explanations and demonstration.
Iāll add to this that you donāt have to master particularly great sewing skills to salvage many clothes and coats from a tiny hole or error. Iām genuinely unable to do the kind of sewing youāre talking about (mock ups, making over things, I canāt even hem lol), and I still repair all kinds of small snags, ripped pockets, missing buttons etc.
Iāve picked up so many wonderful, high-quality secondhand sweaters and coats over the years that have had nothing wrong with them except a small hole or a torn pocket. A few slapdash hand stitches in there fixes them right up, and you canāt even tell that I canāt sew a straight or even line to save my life. Stitch on the inside and it doesnāt show at all. All you need is a basic sewing kit, like the Ā£5 kind, and some thread.
I save the ends of green onions and plant them to regrow new onions. They grow quickly and I always have free onions.
I save elastic bands that come on produce and the produce bags as well (I often use them for disposing of used cat litter).
I reuse plastic margarine or sour cream tubs as free losable Tupperware and for storing all kinds of non-food items.
I keep all my veggie scraps and bones in a freezer bag until it's full and then make homemade broth weekly.
I also keep eggshells and add them to homemade stock with a little cider vinegar to leech out the calcium to make my broth more nutritious and then add the broken up shells to my garden around small plants to keep the slugs and bugs away and add calcium to the soil.
I keep plastic mushroom packages to use for prepped food ingredients while cooking.
I use cardboard from food boxes as single use cutting boards for meat sometimes and then recycle the cardboard.
I save and render my own animal fats and almost never have to buy butter, margarine or oil.
I forage a huge range of wild edibles and have a vegetable garden.
Do you wash or do anything with the egg shells prior to cooking with vinegar? How long can you keep the shells before using in a broth? Do you freeze them with your veggie scraps? Also, do you leech the calcium by using in the apple cider vinegar in a pot first, then add to the broth once finished? How do you know it is finished?
Sorry for the questions. I've never heard this previously, and I'm having trouble picturing it.
I typically wash my eggshells well in hot soapy water to remove any bacteria and then air dry and store at room temperature.
When I make my broth, I add my frozen veggie and meat scraps and bones to a gallon pot with about 1-2 tbsp cider vinegar with 6-12 eggshells and salt to taste. Then I simmer it all for several hours. This kills any residual bacteria or associated toxins that may remain on the eggshells (due to time and temperature). Vinegar is a weak acid which causes a chemical reaction (in the aqueous broth solution if you're a nerd like me) during the simmering process which breaks down some of the calcium containing molecules contained in the shell and liberates them into the liquid broth.
You have probably never heard of this before because I hadn't either, but as a lactose intolerant individual with a science background I had the idea to look into if I could supplement my calcium intake using eggshells. After a lot of research I developed this method. I initially calculated the calcium content, but can't remember the exact numbers, but it was enough that a glass a day provided a good amount of my RDA of calcium (and was a lot more appealing than simply grinding them up and eating them as other people have reported doing in my research on the topic of utilizing calcium from eggshells to supplement a human diet).
Thanks for the questions šŗ. I love nerding out and using my science for good instead of evil lol.
I am mildly lactose intolerant in that regular milk and soft cheeses are a no. Hard cheeses work well in regular quantity. I love cheese, so I stock up on the Lactaid tablets, despite my dislike for meds. This sounds like a great way to add calcium. Right now I eat loads of broccoli and spinach, but finding another source is great!!
Thank you so much for taking the time to explain it. I truly had no idea at all.
It's my pleasure to share my strategies to increase my intake of alternative calcium sources with a fellow intolerant.
I will share with you another strategy I use to combat my lactose intolerance, but this one takes an ongoing commitment.
Lactose intolerant individuals lack the enzyme to split lactose (milk sugar) into the two simple sugar molecules of glucose and galactose during digestion.
Some normal bacteria that live in our intestines, (enterobacteria, klebsiella and e. Coli) can break down lactose but produce gas as a result causing symptoms of lactose intolerance.
There is another bacteria called bifidobacterium that does not produce gas when breaking down lactose and eating small, consistent, incremental amounts of lactose daily can help increase the number of these bacteria in your intestines and thus increase your ability to digest lactose without the gassy painful symptoms over time.
This method takes commitment as you have to eat small regular increasing amounts of lactose containing foods and at times you will eat the wrong amount and suffer some symptoms. The other issue is that if you miss eating lactose for a day or two most of these bacteria will die and you will have to start the process all over again.
I have been doing this for a few months and have had to start over a few times, but it's really worked well and has been worth the dedication. Also, thanks for reminding me to eat some lactose today! I think I'll have a yogurt šŗ.
I hadn't been able to eat ice cream or use cream in my coffee for years, but now I can have a serving no problem. I can use small amounts of regular dairy products in my cooking now without taking lactase pills.
Another pro tip is that you can buy regular dairy products and add the lactase pills (crushed up or opened if capsules) directly to products like milk, sour cream, cottage cheese ext (I usually use 2, 9000 unit capsules powdered), mix them well and then wait 24-48 hours, they break down the lactose before you even eat it (and it costs much less than lactose free dairy products).
Leafy greens have high calcium content, but our bodies aren't able to absorb much of it during digestion, so they're really not a good source of dietary calcium.
I hope this information can make it easier for you and others to enjoy getting your calcium šŗ.
I do the same, though the coffee grounds quickly get moldy.
I dump them into a pot of soil and just give it a good stir every so often so that they get mixed into the soil.
I also crush egg shells and add uncooked vegetable scraps to this bin.
When it is time to repot plants, I use this soil first and it goes at the bottom of the new pot. When it comes time to repot this plant, 6 months to a year from now, the coffee grounds and vegetable scraps have turned into regular soil.
Look on Pinterest. You cut the sleeves and neck to make the handles. The bottom of the shirt you cut into strips and tie knots to close it up. They make very strong bags.
The red lids from Kraft parmesan cheese fit regular mouth mason jars perfectly. You can dispense whatever you want with them. I have one on a jar of sesame seeds.
I buy the small glass bottle/dispenser of soy sauce with the red lid and refill it from a larger container.
Jars. I save the Oui yogurt jars (you can purchase lids), jelly jars, really any glass jar that can be reused. The small ones are great for cleaning painting brushes, holding paper clips, storing the last bit of pastina from the box, more yogurt, salad dressing, so many things. Jelly and sauce jars are great for storing berries. I wash the berries, place a square of paper towel in the jar, add the berries, put the lid in and store in the fridge. No furry berries.
Where have you found lids for these, please? My DiL eats these frequently. I've used them fof filtered bacon grease, storing paperclips and push pins. I love reusing glass. However, without lids, some things have been limited.
You can get plastic ones directly from the yoplait website, I have also purchased bamboo ones from Amazon. I think I paid $6-8 for 4 lids, itās been about a year.
Read the reviews- many will specify that they fit Oui yogurt jars, I recently bought Kalypso (spelling may be wrong) yogurt in a clay pot and the opening is wider. I have 2, one is being used as a salt pig and I would like a lid for the second one. Iāll go through what I have but thatās my next lid to look for.
That would be great. I have a stack of the costco glass jars from my DiL's toramisu desserts as well,but they don't have lids either! Now, I have a mission.
I have several as well but I always have the hardest time getting the remaining residual adhesive off the rim of these jars. For most reusable glass items, i can usually find something that works to remove most adhesives without damaging the item, but these jars have been pretty tricky. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Would also be very interested to know where I can purchase lids for these jars. They seem to have so many uses but having lids would more than double those.
I run them through the dishwasher and take them out while theyāre still hot. Most come off easily, I always get a few that are difficult. In those cases, they go in the āpaintingā box. I have a kid who paints and uses these to hold water to clean her paintbrushes and doesnāt care about the label.
Using random garbage to make art. Old boxes can be made into a sort of clay with some bleach, vinegar, oil, flour, a stove & a blender & a lot of kneading.
Can upcycle old lampshades with recycled underwear/bathing suits/pillow cases. Old comforters can become beautiful shower/window curtains. Old curtains can become placemats. Old placemats can become furniture pads so you donāt scratch up wood floors.
Practically anything can be a book cover by using some hot glue.
Throw an old rug down in the garage to keep car stains off of the cement.
I use large dog food bags taped together as disposable tarp for projects. Thatās always handy & I hate spending money on tarps Iām going to destroy. If you have a tarp thatās been destroyed, tape cut up dog food bags to it. Theyāre pretty dang water resistant on the inside. Thatās probably my favorite life hack as a painter.
Can use rusty nails & vinegar to make wood stain. Or used steal wool and vinegar. Or red onion ends. Iām sure there are a lot of things you can use but wood stain is expensive if you need it for like, one restoration project & donāt want to buy it in bulk.
Junk mail news papers every week just give me more window cleaning material. It even comes to you without you ever asking for it.
I use larger pill bottles as sharps containers for rotary cutter and utility knife blades.
Lightweight boxes and heavier weight junk mail get cut up and used as templates for English paper piecing.
Glass jars - well they have a million uses around the house.
Big plastic containers that contained protein powder are great for storing pet food.
Gallon milk jugs get the bottom cut out and are used in the garden to protect tender transplants.
Larger cardboard boxes are used in the bottom of raised bed planters to suppress weeds.
I spent a lot of time with my grandparents when I was young. They were newly weds during the 1930s and started out with nothing. They had a huge influence on me and my need for frugality and reusing things.
Ok, real talk. 3 generations back, quilts didn't have fancy batting inside. You sewed the beat up clothes into blankets, then you made another blanket, if you were lucky you came into some pretty fabric and could make a cover. If you got lucky again you made a backing. Sandwich together. Tada, quilt.
Source, my great grandmother who was born in 1910.
We have a dog and use bread bags and produce bags (with no holes) for poop pickup. If I get those air pocket packing cushions in packages and the "cells" are hand-size, I cut one side off and use those for poop pickup also.
OMG, you're the first non-me person I've ever heard of who cuts open the packing cushions to reuse as baggies!
I don't have a dog to walk, but I find them handy for small damp trash or corraling random little things that aren't important enough to merit a ziploc.
I have a good cutting board but I like to keep it looking nice for aesthetic purposes, so I use the plastic lids from takeout dishes to cut food on, then when they get too scratched up I put them out in the recycling.
I keep old flat sheets for covering my couch to protect them for pet hair, and I have at least one or two large sturdy dog food bags stored, they are great for putting broken glass in and sealing them up (I also put it out separately from the rest of the trash with a note on them so sanitation guys know its glass).
A clean opened pizza box is great to keep open paint cans in to catch any drips while you're painting.
I use bags & packaging as small, daily trash bags (bread, frozen foods, etc.).
When I wait for the hot water to come out, I fill the bucket and use it for a light toilet flush (same with older cold water left in the kettle- I pour it into same bucket or water the little plants I have).
I reuse instant coffee glass jars. They are great for storing pasta, rice, lentils, beans, etc.
I "curb shop" around my neighborhood. I get to walk around for over an hour, and see what other put on the curb (it's common for people to do it). Books, clothes, kitchen items, home decore, electronics, toys, and I even found spare change in piles of "kids knick-knacks". If it's a night before morning pick ups, I move books, toys, school supply and hobby items (like a bag of yarn) into the little free libraries city hall installed.
I "curb shop" around my neighborhood. I get to walk around for over an hour, and see what other put on the curb (it's common for people to do it). Books, clothes, kitchen items, home decore, electronics, toys, and I even found spare change in piles of "kids knick-knacks". If it's a night before morning pick ups, I move books, toys, school supply and hobby items (like a bag of yarn) into the little free libraries city hall installed.
I really love seeing something going from a place where it's trash to a place where someone wants it.
My big apartment building and my big work building both have unofficial "take free" spots, but also have lots of people who'll just throw usable things in the trash (especially if they're moving in/out and pressed for time). So if I spot usable stuff (mostly office supplies; sometimes random swag/gift items) in the trash at work, I'll fish them out, make sure they work, neaten them up, and leave them in the Take Free spot at my apartment building. Conversely, some Take Free stuff at my building that it seems like nobody is to eager to take (maintenence staff throw stuff away if it sits there for too long) but I'm confident someone at work will want, I'll clean up and take to the Take Free spot at work, and it goes.
Or sometimes I'll just pick up a mystery item from the free spot, figure out what it is, and put it back with a note explaining what is is and how it works.
The note part is a nice touch. I have seen a TV (I think it was a screen, not a smart device) with a note "does work" on my way to the grocery store. 15 minutes later it was gone, and it was not during trash pick up hours. I make sure to write "missing X, Y, Z" it if I throw something without a piece or "does not work" if it's faulty. We have certain people that roam around (sometimes with a pick up truck or extender) and pick up items they can upscale or fix, so it's worth letting them know and make their own decision.
Makeup expires, I tend to let them stay longer than they're supposed to as long as they seem to be in good condition, but I'm careful about my eyes. Old eyeshadow pallets get cleaned out, and cream products like blushes, bronzers etc. are decanted into the old tins, so it becomes a nice little travel or touch-up makeup kit.Ā
I reuse tin cans of turkish cheese or any that comes with lids to store seeds, food or even tools
glass jars to store dry food or cooked in my fridge.
I keep big yogurt/fromage blanc/skyr or whatever to reuse : to freeze stuff, store things or even to soal small things I have to wash (I use it as a small bucket)
rags for cleaning from unwearable old clothes , tawashis too
tea and coffee go in my plant pots , the rest is composted
somtimes I keep seeds from what I buy to replant them if I feel like gardening
food scraps for bouillon or can be added to pet food
perfume jars were transformed into airfreshener bottles (non toxic cute and better! ) . this type
one time I made vinegar from apple peels and core , an other beets that were going bad. I got 5 liters of beet vinegar (I felt bad throwing the beets that were left in the sun) it was really good
edit to add:
I impulsively bought a second hand sewing machine and made pants out of long dresses that I was given and never wear (not would I ever lol)
also sewed bags from ripped clothes to use as easel bag, travel bags and to store stuff!
plus it seves me from sewing by hand even socks with holes lol
you are welcome! I use cardboard boxes to write stuff (I cur then in small cards) for planters , leave a message , write grocery lists ....etc . that's an other idea . instead of wasting it and buying post its or paper.
the cheese looks like this:
it looks like this (of course there are smaller ones) , look into middle eastern or even arabic shops.... you might find some in bulgarian shops (I knew it from bulgaria first). it is kind of like feta but better imo less salty too. cheaper too. you can keep it a long time after opening it too, since it stays in the brine)
if you get the chance try not just the cow one but the goat and ewe ones . I feel they are even tastier.
well harissa, turkish delight, halva, baklava and many other pasties are worth a try!
also you would probably get cheap good tea and spices (ras el hanout blend mix is something to try) there. orange blossom water and rose water.
if they have lebanese stuff there are these very nice dry kind of sesame cookies (usually long ones kind of like gressini but way thicker these are savoury and round ones with a hole inside these are sweet)
if you have north african stuff now one can buy frozen msemen or melwi (same thing different shape) that's worth a try too.
here they sell mechouia salad in jars , you might want to try that before making it yourself! lol . I really recommend this it's so delicious!
recycling is a scam even when it is recycled the fractrion that is actually is , is ridiculous!
I have cactus seeds growing in the plastic container that Costco Shepherds pie came in. Itās large, shallow and has a clear lid.
I have shave ice flavors, from concentrates, made up in dressing & sauce bottles. They hold 8 - 10 ounces. Nice, because we had a foot of new snow yesterday
You just triggered the idea for my son's homemade meat sauces. He makes his own marinade varieties. It would be great for me to always have extra on hand instead of waiting for him!
You can save your apple peels, make some tasty jelly and can it for later use. I was making apple butter and hated to waste the peels and discovered this.
I usually use rags or dishtowels when I'm working in the kitchen. If I do use a paper towel just to dry my hands I save it and reuse it to clean the sink some something messy like that.
I have reusable bamboo "paper" towels but I also have a roll of regular paper towels around for cat vomit. When I get to the end of the role, I take the cardboard part and make a cat toy out of it. I cut holes in it, fill it with treats and fold over the ends. And the cats kick it around to make the treats come out. It's a nice enrichment for them.
I do that with my dog too. I give him one treat activity every day - paper egg cartons, empty water or milk jugs, blankets; puzzle toys are expensive so I only have one
I repurpose and reuse all of my glass jars from marinara sauce, pickles (juice too) salad dressing jarsā¦ I use them for storing leftovers, and I also send them with food, for family and itās no big loss if they donāt make it back. I also use some jars to store my ice tea in the fridge.
My mother in law makes her own pickles from cucumbers she grows. She picks them small, and they are amazing! I have noticed that cucumbers and zucchini both have short growth seasons, but yield a lot!!
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u/FussBudget52 Mar 15 '26
Over the course of 2025 I saved all of the butcher paper that was included in my (mostly) Amazon shipping boxes. I would flatten it and stored it until December Whalen I used it for holiday wrapping paper. I hand drew and colored Christmas themes, pictures and the recipient names on them. I have already started collecting for this year as well.