What frugal thing do you do that makes you an "extreme cheapskate"?

[Eric]

I use vinegar every now and then; add it as a rinse. I like to think it is making a difference on the clothes as well as helping clean the washing machine. I'm still using the powdered version of the homemade laundry soap and it seems to work just fine.

Has anyone in this thread mentioned Biokleen? I bought a 25 or maybe 50 lb bulk bag of powder detergent online for cheap many years ago and still probably have seventy years worth of detergent left. A regular load only uses 1 tbsp of powder detergent, it's supposed to be biodegradable. These days I do about 1-2 loads of laundry every two weeks. It seems I will be lugging around a heavy bag of powder laundry detergent wherever I go for the rest of my life.

Lately I have been tying lines between my window curtain rods and pull-up bar in my kitchen and dining room, turning on the ceiling fans, and line-drying indoors. The only thing I've noticed that I don't like about this method is that some of my clothes (in particular my cotton socks, boxers, and towels) seem very stiff when they dry. I worry that line drying may be making some of the fabrics my clothing is made of more brittle and likely to wear more quickly compared to drying them in a dryer. Maybe I should still be using the dryer for some things. My cotton/polyester shirts seem to dry fine on the line, it mostly seems like anything that's >95% cotton dries stiff. As much as people say using the dryer is hard on clothes, I wonder if line-drying is somehow harder on them particularly for cotton. Maybe if I was line-drying outside in a stiff breeze the cotton items wouldn't stiffen up as much when dry.

[frugal-one]

I use vinegar every now and then; add it as a rinse. I like to think it is making a difference on the clothes as well as helping clean the washing machine. I'm still using the powdered version of the homemade laundry soap and it seems to work just fine.

I use vinegar rinse in the summer for towels which sometimes have a hard time drying and smell. The vinegar helps with odors mostly IMO.

[happystuff]

Thanks for the Biokleen mention, Eric. I'm looking at some online. Still need to do a price break-down, but I like that they have a Free and Clear powder.

[Rogar]

For what it's worth, I've run a couple of laundry loads using just vinegar. They came out clean looking and smelled very fresh. I also bought a bottle of detergent for heavy soiled clothes and maybe bedding. Seems like a minor improvement over detergent all the time.

[chrissieq]

I also think it's an aesthetic thing. People don't like seeing neighbors' clothes hanging out all day. It smacks of tenement living if you are living in close quarters. For that reason I use an umbrella line, which doesn't string my clothes across the yard in view of passersby, and I also don't hang my clothes on the weekend when my seasonal neighbor is here.

I wish it weren't so that people feel line drying is offensive, but I think that's the case.

My former neighbor asked me about using our clothes line and told me her husband had considered them "tacky". What could I say but how much I loved the smell of line dried sheets. It's not likc I was hanging out our underwear but lot of linens, tee shirts, pajamas, etc.

[Rogar]

Sheets waving in the breeze have reminded me of a great Spanish galleon sailing the seas. I must have picked it up in a movie somewhere. My laundry room is in the basement and I'd about as soon go outside as run up and down the stairs. I could picture clothes lines as an energy saving requirement for new housing developments, but that's not a shared ambition.

[iris lilies]

I just saw several art works by a local artist where the subject is sheets on a line blowing in a breeze.If I thought I woukd use it often enough I would have DH make a clothesline but I just think that’s wasted effort. I can probably figure out a way to put things out on the deck to dry.

[catherine]

I just saw several art works by a local artist where the subject is sheets on a line blowing in a breeze.If I thought I woukd use it often enough I would have DH make a clothesline but I just think that’s wasted effort. I can probably figure out a way to put things out on the deck to dry.

I would love that exhibit. There are certain subjects in paintings that really move me: clothes wafting in the breeze is one, and paintings of open windows and doors is another. I went to an art exhibit in Tokyo that was just about windows. It was awesome

Regarding clotheslines, I just love this cartoon--

clothesline.jpg

I use my clothesline regularly, and it was a selling feature of the house.

[happystuff]

LOVE my clothes line tree. It is sometimes a race to be the first to get your laundry done on the weekend so you can get your clothes out and on the line before it gets full.

[catherine]

LOVE my clothes line tree. It is sometimes a race to be the first to get your laundry done on the weekend so you can get your clothes out and on the line before it gets full.

I hear you, happystuff! I feel the same!

On the subject of "extreme cheapskate" I just observed how many half-used paper towels I have saved that are good enough to use for something else. DH and I also re-use aluminum foil. I guess a better version of the re-use of paper towels would be to not use them at all, but I think I would find it difficult to never use them.