Hello!

Just wondering if you've ever tried showering by candlelight.  I love that.  Bonus:  I can't see my face too well inthe mirror.  Seriously, it would save a few more pennies and be nice if that boyfriend's involved, too.

And there was a tip not long ago about keeping bottles of water in the fridge and freezer when they aren't full; they run more efficiently without empty space.

I agree that nothing's too weird!

Judy

 

 

Nothing weird about that ,,   Thats so cool..

Im using white gas lamps...And big over sized blankets I made from years back now  going to tear them aprt and remake the queen sized blanks doing it with a chrochet hook and double or triple the yarn now thats nuts wwell to me it is...

I love all these ideas! I am going to try and stop using my dryer so much - I have plenty of space to dry my clothing upstairs, because it does not dry fast enough down in the basement. The water bottle tip is a great one, I am going to fill up my half-empty freezer downstairs.

1. I am enjoying reading all your posts. Some of your responses are hilarious.

2. I find it depressing to sit in the cold and dark, so, as long as I can, I will turn on my two or three lamps and run the heater. Much more cheerful.

3. I buy lunchmeat "by the slice". I'm the weird lady that asks for, "Four slices of bologna, please." "Three slices of swiss cheese, please."

4. I've thrown out too much spoiled fruit, so now I purchase ONE banana, or ONE orange, or ONE apple.

 5. Although I wash plastic bags over and over again, I throw out that last sliver of soap.

6. I add water to the dishwash liquid bottle in order to get the last little bit of detergent.

7. That's all I can think of, for now. (:

 BW

juditur:

Just wondering if you've ever tried showering by candlelight. 

 

I haven't showered by candlelight, but I have showered by the natural light coming in the window. I get fussed at sometimes for doing that.

Joyous,

Not so weird!  But you DO have to worry about visibility to people outside.  If the window's blocked by shrubbery or whatever, then I say, "Go for it!"

Oh no, no one could see in. I just have family who became concerned that showering in the "dark" is a sign of depression. It's certainly not in my case - showering is relaxing to me and the natural light coming in is much prettier than the harsh light bulbs above my mirror.

Hi, BW,

My parents were young adults during the Depression, and all their thrifty ways are second nature to me.  I was dollar-stretching even when my husband & I were well off. 

But now I'm slowly letting go of some of that.  For example, I use bobby pins, and you know how the rubber tips get loose and snag your hair?  I'm at the age where every strand of hair counts, so I started throwing out the snaggy pins. 

Also I decided that when I buy a 6-pack of panties, I get to throw away the 6 worst, most elastic-challenged old ones, and not keep them for that (let's face it) mythical day when I'll put in new elastic.  Bonus:  I get to reclaim 6 safety pins for other uses.

About those future sewing projects:  when I moved here there were cartons and bags of holey socks, torn jeans, etc.  My husband wore those steel-toed workboots and would get one wearing out of a pair of socks, so I was forever darning or resewing or patching socks by cannibalizing other, holier socks.  it was sort of fun, actually.  Now that's not necessary but I'm thinking, "well, I could make potholders out of this material."  But how many potholders can a person use?  Like so many of us, I have only 2 hands.  So I'm slowly letting go of some of this old stuff.

Your posting makes a good point - we all draw our "stretchy" lines in different places.  Whatever makes sense to you, you should do.  Or not do.  Whatever.

Judy

P.S.  Living alone, I'm missing rescuing detergent and shampoo bottles from laundry room and Dumpster, setting them up the bathtub to drain out, swishing the last little bit out with water.  Great stretching!  Do any of the rest of you routinely add water to your shampoo and dish detergent?  It works well if you give the bottle a shake every time, and rinses out more efficiently. 

Amen! to the harsh light bit.  I had my brother-in-law remove half the bulbs in each bathroom mirror - the previous owners liked a movie-star look.  He said, "But don't you want to SEE yourself?" and I just LOOKED at him till he finally got the point. 

Don't you LOVE people telling you you're depressed just because you want to stay home and have quiet time?  I have a sweet and generous friend who wants to share her family with me - 6 kids in and out, their little ones, hordes of in-laws coming & going, friends and extended family dropping in.  It IS kinda fun - I don't even get a headache from the noise any more - but, please, only on Sundays.  Needless to say, they all think I'm VERY weird. 

So I guess that makes 2 of us, eh?

Juditur

Juditur, I'm enjoying your posts! Yes, I add water to shampoo, or make my own. I keep the furnace at 60 - 62 in the day and use a space heater in the room I'm in, with a blanket on my lap. When a certain someone comes to visit, I keep the house warmer for him. I use the same tea cup or glass for two or three days before I wash it. When that certain gentleman is here, I feel obliged to use clean cups and glasses at every meal. I eat LOL (Little Old Lady) food quite often. I learned this from an elderly woman I knew some years ago. She told me that she never had dinner guests, because afternoon tea was so much easier. I adopted this immediately. It also lets me get to sleep before dark. I often keep the house with no lights on. I know quite a few who do this. Esp. the very elderly who grew up before electricity was everywhere. I know someone who turns the electricity off completely so that the house is as quiet as possible. I bought a tiny refrigerator, and have learned not to fill it full. Just a few, not unique, but helpful to me.