It basically blows my mind that someone could only have one pair of shoes. Just one? One for one season, or is that just one? I mean, I have a couple for day to day living, but then so many different ones for when things change.
I never knew that litter boxes were disposable. But then, I don’t have cats, so…that one makes some sense.
This reminded me of mine. I gave myself permission to throw out the underpants I blow out during my period, rather than trying to scrub them and then having them possibly fall out in front of people at the laundrymat. :o
I should clarify on the onesies. I don’t just throw them out if they are stained (that would be all of them 
) but if the pre-cleaning involved say, scraping off poop over 50% of the outfit, it would get tossed. Sometimes you look at them and say “there is no way that is ever getting clean.” When it looks like the baby just exploded on there or something. But I know my MIL would pre-treat, hand soak, wash the thing 5 times, and use it as a rag before she would ever toss it.
If it was grandma’s heirloom knitted sweater or a designer outfit I would put more effort into it.
I guess that’s possible. I’ve never watched ELR, but I guarantee that this happened to her before the TV show was even dreamed up.
My Granny didn’t use that exact label, but definitely had the same concept.
In fact, she had several jars for odd bits of string (sorted by size), re-used rubber bands (also sorted), and re-used twist ties.
She even had a jar for those little plastic things that are used to hold plastic bread bags closed (and no, she did not use 'em for guitar pics. 
)
Hee hee. I inherited towels - from my grandmother.
My mom noted that one particular one was her favorite. In grade school. In the early fifties.
Yeah, I hate doing that, but my wife has a great idea: Take clothes that are almost ready to be thrown out with you when you travel, and just throw them away along the route after you wear them.
One of these days I’ll actually do that, too.
Actually, I much prefer old towels over new ones, but I only realised that after I had replaced them 
Old threadbare towels have less “mass”; they are lighter, more absorbent, and they dry sooner, so there’s less chance of them getting smelly. And if you don’t use fabric softener, they are so rough they have that delightful scrubbing effect. No need for expensive scrubbing cream! Besides, those old towels have taken everything years of stains and generations of washing machines have thrown at them and are still going strong. Compared to them, my “have to stay fluffed up, no bleach, have to be washed with similar colors” towels are a cumbersome pain in the ass.
I miss my old towels. But I sure as hell don’t miss my old flaking Teflon pans, my household-appliances with “just a eensy bit crucial piece” missing, and those crappy pens.
I have one pair of shoes for the year. These shoes, to be exact. They’re the perfect shoe.
I think I’ll be stopping at Target on my way home. Although, I did just throw away all my socks, and bought 3 new bags (18 pair). Partially because half are worn out, and partially because they’re a pain in the arse to mate!
Seriously. I wear flip flops almost everywhere I go, but I also have:
Hiking boots
Work boots
Rugby boots
Sandals
Golf sandals
Running shoes (waterproof)
Chopos (Spanish for house shoes)
Slip ons
Brown going out shoes
Black casual dress shoes
Black formal dress shoes
And three pair of cross trainers, for racquetball, tennis, etc. (two of which I should throw out)
I probably still have my wrestling shoes somewhere, and would have a pair of climbing shoes if I went more often.
FoS Annie, for going against the spirit of the thread! :o
We never have broken slivers of soap at my house. Why? Because when the soap gets small I open a new on and after I’m done soaping up I press the little bar firmly into the new one and they sort of weld together.
We also just recently learned about cheap shower curtains. As a matter of fact I removed the glass doors and installed a rod because it was a pain in the butt to clean them properly.
Okay, that makes perfect sense.
My mom is horrible though, I came across a pile of baby sleepers/pjs that she still has… ones with these eensy holes/runs (he got tall, fast, so this is mostly in the toes and ass) that she plans to sew up and take to the thrift store because she can’t stand to waste them.
My son is almost 4.
I finally told her she should just use them as rags if she’s going to keep them and she told me that was a great idea. Too bad we don’t use rags for anything (cleaning walls and stuff? Microfiber cloths… they work the absolute best).
That makes sense; it is quite versatile. I’m told they’re amazingly comfortable too.
My grandma would take those dishrags that are pale yellow and just a step up from a paper towel, and wash and iron them for reuse. She’d fret that even bleaching them didn’t get them sparling clean. Um, they’re supposed to be disposable after a few uses. I can’t find a good picture (I tried “pale yellow dishrag” in Google and got “Did you mean: pale yellow discharge?” :eek: ) but if you saw it you’d know what I mean!
Ooh, I’ve got another one in the spirit of the OP. **House plants. **
I’ve looked with feelings of guilt at my ever so slowly dying ferns for years. For ten bucks, I get another green and fresh looking house plant and some professional advice on what might survive that particular climate in my house.
I put the dying plant out on the curb. Some plantlover is bound to pass and take poor abandoned plant back to his place to rescue it with loads of TLC. Who knows, she (it’s mostly women) might even succeed. If no plant-loving noble lady comes along, it’s in the recycle bin with the plant. Hurts no more then throwing out a head of lettuce that has gone bad.
I’ve got a bad case of the “I might need that.” I’m also trying to sell my house. Bad Combo.
I like nice towels. I like using kitchen towels rather than paper towels. I have an ongoing battle with my husband over “good towels” and “bad towels.” I’m losing.
I swear, tomorrow morning, I am going to wake up and look at my house and think “if and when my house ever sells, do I really want to see THIS item ever again?” Wouldn’t it be nice to have all matching towels, a new sauce pan, a new toaster oven…
Toaster oven. The one we have predates “I Love Lucy” and looks like it. Our realtor asked us to get it out of sight. New ones are $19. $19! I’ve spent entirely too much time trying to clean that damned thing over the years…
And my husbands socks? Are outta here!
My microwave is my Mom’s old one from the early 80s. What’s a new one, $50? But this guy works OK and I don’t need the ten square feet it takes up.
Socks. I always feel vaguely guilty about this, but I now throw out socks that get holes in them.
I also throw away my off-brand tupperware thingies when they get skanky, rather than break my wrists trying to wash them.
But in general I save just about as much as I can, trying to repair or reuse whatever’s practical to do so. I’m trying to reduce my footprint even further than I already have, and cutting consumption and trash helps with that.
I spent 10 years using a plastic measuring cup I hated. It was inacurate and ugly.
One day I was just wandering down the housewares aisle at Target and realized that a new 2 cup measuring cup I would actually like cost $4. I dropped it in my cart and promptly went home and tossed out the old, yucky one.
two weeks later I dropped the brand new measuring cup I liked shattering it.
Sometimes it doesn’t pay to replace things. Although the replacement for the replacement is still whole after 6 months.
Ha! I figured out the dollar store shower liner thing years ago, I go through el cheapo socks and pens at alarming rates, and my everyday cookware is made by Glad. I’m planning to replace the bathroom rug just as soon as I convince myself to wash that pile of dirty towels laying next to it. I hate washing the towels because I wash my clothes by hand and I really don’t have anywhere to hang a bunch of towels to dry. Still, I suppose I have to do it anyway, since…
Holy shit I can buy new towels.
This thread has changed my life.
What a great thread. I’m totally guilty of some of the things mentioned so far. It’s just that I hate wasting things. I gotta get over it.