Come on, frugals, we have to do more posting

[Curmudgeoness]

in this group or they will think that it is dispensable!!!!! I don't have all that many idea, and can't keep coming up with new posts, so I am depending on the rest of you to get into the game!

The phrase of the day is "double duty". I want everyone to come up with ways that you make things do double duty. I'll start, and I am hoping that everyone reading this is FRUGAL, or you will think I am a nut case.

1. When socks wear out and can't be worn anymore, I use them as dust rags. A sock on each hand and I can really go to town, as well as dusting all the knick knacks at the same time I am moving them around.

2. I have a huge pot in one side of my double kitchen sink. When I need hot water and have to let it run, I collect that water. Then it can be used to water plants, fill my tea kettle, etc. I mean, it IS clean water.

3. This one is a little iffy, because people are often appalled when they hear this, so please don't judge too severely. When the cemetary clears the artificial flowers in the fall, I go andl find the ones that are still new and use them to decorate in the house, to make wreaths, or to use on the grave the next year. Why should they go to the landfill when they are in excellent shape!

Your turn, folks. Start a new post if you want to get activity going here.

[Little Star]

1. OK....

My husband's old undershirts do triple duty around here when cut up.

They become dust cloths for me

They become rags for both of us

They become ties to tie tall tomatoe plants to a stake for him

They use to become practice tye dye shirts for my kids when they were young but those days are long gone now.

[Curmudgeoness]

2. I like the tomato ties idea.

They are soft and stretchy enough to work well. Good one. Rags and dust cloths are a given for all of us, I hope---there are times I have more rags than good clothes!

[canoeist52]

3. Hey, We still use our kid's cloth diapers from 1986 in the woodshop.

[Curmudgeoness]

4. Cloth diapers are wonderful!!!!!

They last forever, and are just the perfect texture for a great rag! I wish I had some.

[MADem]

17. Head for a thrift shop--you often find them there. nt

[maddezmom]

5. only have one right now because I just cleaned it out

Plastic mayo jars, soak off the label and reuse for all my misc craft baubles, hair ties for my daughter crayons, etc. She of course like to decorate hers but I just keep mine clear so I can see what is stored inside.

[Curmudgeoness]

8. I love clear jars, of all sizes. A trick I learned from the ex-SO....

if you have shelves in a work shop, put a hole in the lid, nail it into the shelf, and you can twist the jar onto it. That keeps the jars out of the way.

[maddezmom]

10. my dad used to do that with baby jars, pickle jars etc....in our basement over his workbench

just nailed into the two by fours for the flooring above. Wish I could get him to post here, he would love this forum and probably could learn a thing or two while sharing as much.

He's 72 and still wears his plaid-ish wool coat with suede elbow patches and one on his shoulder that was his graduation present from his mom from uni. I think it was a hunting coat even though he's never hunted a day in his life. Must've been in fashion. Doesn't fit well but it brings back fond memories and it's warm. When I go home for the holidays I'll take a pic and post it here.

[Curmudgeoness]

11. I can't wait for the picture!

I have to give him credit for still having that coat, and (kinda) fitting into it. I don't know that I could get an arm in a coat from that long ago!

[maddezmom]

21. Here ya go

https://twitter.com/madezzmom/status/150642314035994624

[NMDemDist2]

6. i use hubby's old tube socks every fall to insulate the pipes outside

i buy six 1 liter bottles of water every june, re-fill them all year then when i 'retire' them, they get cut up and become seedling pots before they are recycled

[Curmudgeoness]

7. And if you do seedlings, you should save dryer lint.

It is great for putting at the bottom of pots with holes in them to keep the dirt from washing out when the plants are watered.

[NMDemDist2]

9. that's an AWESOME tip!!! n/t

[MADem]

18. BRILLIANT....it sounds so logical, but that's the first time I ever heard that idea. nt

[badhair77]

12. the socks

If we have an old tube sock and a used 12 oz water or soda bottle, we put it in the sock for the dog. It's a new toy for awhile. We just have to watch her or she'll chew thru the sock to get to the plastic. She has a grand time for about 30 min.

Also, I take the water in our de-humidifier and water the garden. I try to recycle what I can.

[Curmudgeoness]

13. I do that too, with the dehumidifer water.

And if there is enough rain, I use it in my washer when I do a load. I have a couple of five gallon buckets to hold the water until I use it. My basement is really humid---at least a gallon a day.

I love the simple things!

[yardwork]

14. Put a bucket in your shower and use the grey water for plants outdoors.

The soap actually works as fertilizer.

[Phentex]

15. We catch water from the A/C in summer and do the same...

we started doing this during a water ban but we kept on even after the ban was lifted. We have at least one neighbor now doing the same thing. My sister's husband runs the air like mad and she catches a ton of water from their A/C!

[Curmudgeoness]

16. All soaps? I did not know that. Awesome.

I wonder if there are any soaps that are not good for this purpose.

[yardwork]

19. I suppose if there are other ingredients in the soap, some might be toxic to some plants.

But generally, soap is very similar to fertilizer.

[Curmudgeoness]

20. "soap is very similar to fertilizer"----

That kinda freaks me out.

But I will stop worrying about putting water on plants if it is soapy now. Thanks for letting me know.