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

[Greg44]

hmm, could not think of any extreme frugal practices. Riding my bike to work to some may be considered extreme? I have an old plastic McDonald's cup I use for re-fills at the convenience store next to work. 32oz refills for 69 cents, compared to regular price of 99 cents. Or, when I just use the office water cooler and refill my water bottle, I stick $ 1.00 into my desk drawer and save. I drink to much Diet Coke and hence the old McDonald's cup has saved me a bunch of money over the years!

[nswef]

I just cleaned the rose sprayer and used the water from a jug I keep if the power goes out, then rinsed the sprayer and dumped the rinse water in the watering can ( it's baking soda, epsom salt and drop of detergent spray), I really don't like seeing water go down the drain...but I'm not as extreme as I could be. One summer I emptied the bath tub water into drywall buckets for the yard. Too old and weak and lazy now to do that. We also dump the dehumidifier water in a bucket for the watering cans.

[pinkytoe]

I keep a bucket by the tub and collect the shower water as it is warming up. Use to water outdoor plants since we are in a drought and every drop helps keep plants alive.

[Greg44]

I keep a bucket by the tub and collect the shower water as it is warming up. Use to water outdoor plants since we are in a drought and every drop helps keep plants alive.

That is such a good thing to do. I hate to see all that clean water being flushed back into the system.

[Eric]

I never really thought of them as extreme, but ever since the start of the pandemic I've made my own bread, except when it get too hot to bake. I also make my own pizza crust and granola. My 50's house had one of the few clothes lines left in the neighborhood and I use it routinely instead if the dryer. It's sort of a mystery to me why clothes lines have fallen out of favor. Also, I've never thought of it as extreme, although others may argue, but I am still using my Tracfone instead of a standard cell phone subscription. I now have carry over talk and text minutes to last for years, although I have to be careful about using to much data. And, I don't buy meat being somewhat of a vegetarian, other than occasional fish.

Rogar, what recipe do you like for making granola?

The only real trouble I see with using clotheslines here in south Louisiana is the rain and high humidity, especially in the summer.

[Eric]

A few more, smaller ones:

Use cat food/litter bags as garbage bags, and put them in the cupboard under the kitchen sink so they're out of sight. Never have to buy garbage bags and make use of plastic bags from things I pretty much have to buy anyways. Put all food waste in sealed gallon containers in the fridge then blend and use as instant liquid compost. The garbage never smells because no food or wet stuff ever goes into it, and as a result only has to be taken out when the bag is full.

Use pellet fuel as cat litter (about $10 for a 40 lb bag, which is maybe about a 6-8 month supply for one cat/litterbox). Make litterboxes out of plastic bins, perforate the upper bin so spent litter (when peed on pellet fuel desintegrates to sawdust) can be sieved into the lower one. Put a little homemade enzyme cleaner (enzyme laundry detergent plus water) in the bottom bin to help reduce odors. Empty the bottom bin and refill with a little enzyme cleaner once per week, top off litter regularly, and fully change the litter once every 1-2 months depending on how things are smelling. The spent litter, more or less carbon/wood sawdust with a very high surface area to volume, is biodegradable and can be used to help reduce soil pH.

Thrift store shopping: target stores in less trafficked but wealthier communities. For example a while back I visited Isla Vista near Santa Barbara, CA, and a few of the thrift shops there were well-stocked with higher quality reasonably priced used goods. Closer to home I've found a thrift store in Mandeville, LA (a wealthier city just outside New Orleans) with an awesome selection relative to the Goodwills and St. Vincent's' (?) in the more typical middle/low income rural Louisiana areas to the north of Mandeville. And, proceeds for the thrift store in Mandeville go to a local animal sanctuary, so presumably people intentionally donate their better things to help kitties and puppies.

[happystuff]

I like some of the things you have described, Eric. Hoping I can talk the family into doing some of them. Thanks.

[ToomuchStuff]

Extreme cheapskate, uhm, using this forum, without donating. (not a big paypal fan)

[early morning]

Ok, I do a lot of things you all have posted, lol - but like many of you, I don't think of them as "extreme". :-) Word about not running water down drains - over all it's a good thing, and I do it too. But do take care, as lack of water flushing thru pipes can result in blockages, as stuff settles out of the water and is not moved away before it solidifies. Just sayin'. :-)

I admit to not flushing the toilet with each use if it's not needed, and paper goes into the trash, not toilet, unless, again, it's really needed. Half of my family thinks this is extreme. The other half agrees with me, lol.

[ApatheticNoMore]

As far as bags for trash I've taken to using supermarket paper bags. However this isn't even particularly frugal as they charge us for bags here (but then one pays for plastic trash bags too of course). But compared to plastic it's better for the environment IMO. Green and probably extreme.