# Mom, The Whole "Reusing" Thing Is Going Too Far **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 23, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736 "2012-04-23T19:36:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/41 "2012-04-24T13:18:01Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I love this story. Hal, how old is Mom, if you don’t mind my asking? I’m wondering what could possible have made her reuse to the point of…kitty food containers. She’s a relatively young 85 (she was _very_ young for her age at 75, but she’s lost a step of late). And I will say this – the containers _are_ a perfect size for something like a serving of jello. And I know that there’s no logical reason not to use them – I mean, I _know_ they’ve been completely, utterly, thoroughly washed of every molecule that was once cat foot. Still…c’mon mom… ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/42 "2012-04-24T13:52:18Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Have you ever known anyone that washes out used paper coffee cups? I’ve known a couple. No, but my ex-MIL used to reuse teabags. Make a cup of tea, sit the bag on a plate on the bench… several hours later make another cup of tea with the same teabag. Fine for her, she liked weak tea. I don’t, but that’s how she’d make it for me too. -shudder- ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/43 "2012-04-24T14:05:05Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > We stopped by over the weekend, and among the goodies were little orange plastic bowls filled with jello. The bowls are a perfect size for a little treat like that, and she asked that I hang on to it and return then when we’re done. Sure, no problem. > > So, I just finished one here at work. And as I finished it, I noticed some writing on the side. “Market Select”. Hmmm…I wonder what kind of containers these are, anyway. A quick googling, and… > > …[goddammit, mom](http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2750052). But they don’t have lids! Why reuse something that you are going to have to waste foil or plastic wrap to cover? You need to tell Mom that they can’t save the planet by recycling if old plasticware isn’t reintroduced to the recycling stream, and that if she keeps hoarding the catfood containers and not returning them to the stream, each time she buys catfood she will be forcing the catfood company to use resources to make new plastic! Last time my mom went into the nursing home for a short stay, I reduced the size of her used ZipLoc bag stash by 50%. I’ve warned her that the neighbors will know when she passes because all those white margarine tubs from 1972 will be out in the recycling bin! In fact, I recycled all the old Gladware-type boxes she saves from all that lunchmeat because I was fed up with trying to match up lids. Anything that had a lid went up to church for the leftover-box-drawer, the rest went to the curb, and I pared it all down to one brand of storage container that has lids that nest together so there is less scatter effect. Now I don’t have to sort through at least three lids each time I try to cover something, everything stacks better and my stress level has dropped. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/44 "2012-04-24T14:06:28Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > I’m not saying there isn’t useful stuff to do with old rice, I’m saying I had a perfectly lovely shepherd’s pie, green beans and dinner rolls already prepped for dinner and we did not need to figure out how to use up 38 cents worth of rice because, “it would be a shame to throw it out.” We live in the land of plenty and holding onto stuff (especially easily biodegradable stuff) out of fear of waste is ridiculous. Unless she wants to pack it up and send it to those starving African kids my mom was always talking about it needs to be thrown out before it starts rotting in my fridge, TYVM. > > Saving cheap, useless stuff is the way to end up a hoarder and I have issues enough with neatness that I’m not willing to even start going down that road. In the trash with all of that junk, I say! Wasn’t it you who had to go to war over a ham in the fridge? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/45 "2012-04-24T14:13:34Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > No, but my ex-MIL used to reuse teabags. Make a cup of tea, sit the bag on a plate on the bench… several hours later make another cup of tea with the same teabag. I don’t think that’s as unusual as you think it is, but I concur with your _shudder_. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/46 "2012-04-24T14:16:46Z")
soap and water cleans food off containers of cat food as well as human food. if you don’t wash either well you could have health problems. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/47 "2012-04-24T14:27:35Z")
> [@Buttercup\_Smith](#): > > We have a friend that was environmentally correct before it was the cool thing to do. One night he dropped by right at dinner time and ate with us. We were having fried chicken. He ate the bones.:rolleyes: What’s funny is that animal agriculture itself isn’t environmentally correct. _Not eating chicken at all_ is WAY better for the environment than carefully using every part of the chicken. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/48 "2012-04-24T14:38:44Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > And I will say this – the containers _are_ a perfect size for something like a serving of jello. And I know that there’s no logical reason not to use them – I mean, I _know_ they’ve been completely, utterly, thoroughly washed of every molecule that was once cat foot. Still…c’mon mom… Storing dryer lint with flint & steel for the kids Boyscout pack, I can see. But old catfood cups for human food storeage? Ick. Besides, no matter home much she scrubbed, oils could have leached into the plastic only to later leach out into whatever your eating. But only you will ever know if it was tuna, shrimp, or ocean whitefish. Look on the bright side: I’ve checked that link and there’s No Way it was lamb… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/49 "2012-04-24T14:44:49Z")
> [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](#): > > I know I’ve mentioned this before but when my family was cleaning out my grandparents house after they were dead, we found a bag full of chicken feathers. Because you never know when you might need a bunch of chicken feathers, apparently. Why waste money BUYING pillows when you can just make your own, feather by feather 😃 As for the dishwashing thing, it was an issue because she was an old Polish lady who cooked either Polish food or the sort of stuff \*The Gallery of Regrettable Food \*is filled with: starchy, greasy, creamy heavy stuff so that everything was coated with a film of grease and meat detritus and starch and god only knows what else. On holidays my mother and aunts would get people to distract her while they basically went through and scoured the living hell out of every dish and glass and piece of silverware. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/50 "2012-04-24T14:58:22Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Wasn’t it you who had to go to war over a ham in the fridge? [That was **Harmonious Discord**.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=499118) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/51 "2012-04-24T15:05:25Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > _Not eating chicken at all_ is WAY better for the environment than carefully using every part of the chicken. You beef lovers are so sure of yourselves.😛 ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/52 "2012-04-24T15:16:55Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Wasn’t it you who had to go to war over a ham in the fridge? I don’t think that was me, though I could be wrong about that. > [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > But old catfood cups for human food storeage? Ick. Besides, no matter home much she scrubbed, oils could have leached into the plastic only to later leach out into whatever your eating. But only you will ever know if it was tuna, shrimp, or ocean whitefish. This is incredibly disgusting. Bleugh! Hal, tell your mom if she throws out the cat food containers you will buy her jello-sized tupperware of her very own to keep forever and ever. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/53 "2012-04-25T00:21:50Z")
I have, as a matter of fact, washed paper plates, that is the sturdy plasticized ones. Why not? They’ve only been used once, (assuming there’s no grease or sauce to soak in) - I don’t soak them in the sink, I wipe them off with a damp sponge, dry with a dishcloth, and use them again. I’ll re-use a square of saran wrap if it held a slice of bread or a dry cookie, and I’ve been known to wash and reuse lightly used ziplock bags. I have Tupperware, but also those deli meat containers and the clear plastic round containers with lids, the kind you buy olives from the grocery olive bar in. Use them as needed a few times, then into the recycling bin, there are alway more to come. And I cook a big batch of rice and keep it in the refrigerator ALL WEEK. I have never actually seen any go bad, but we use it up in 6 or 7 days. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/54 "2012-04-25T01:59:33Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > [That was **Harmonious Discord**.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=499118) Man, I was so sure! At any rate, perfect example. And EW. (I still think about it and chuckle because it reminds me of my granny.) ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/55 "2012-04-25T02:02:06Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Man, I was so sure! At any rate, perfect example. And EW. (I still think about it and chuckle because it reminds me of my granny.) The phrase “dog-chewed ham” still gives me a horrible shivery feeling when I think about it. That thread is a classic. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/56 "2012-04-25T02:18:05Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Ha! Oh, dear. > > Though I will say: it was my understanding that a lot of that type of plastic ware is not meant to be reused-- washed, heated, anything— because it’ll start degrading and putting all kind of nasty chemicals into what ever you’re consuming. I’ll readily accept if I’m wrong, but yeah. I really don’t think this is true. I remember looking into it in relation to PET bottles and the actual scientific consensus after you waded through all the new age “nasty chemicals” crap was that to the extent leaching occurred at all from PET, it was a factor of _time in bottle_. In other words, you will get more leached chemicals from food or drink that was originally in the container (which will have been in there for, potentially, months) than from food or drink that is in there for a day or two while you use it at home. Not only that but I think most disposable food containers are I think made from HDPE rather than PET, and the former is regarded as even safer than PET. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/57 "2012-04-25T02:23:23Z")
There’s a really sick joke about a “repurposed” plastic slim jim carrier in here somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![cherry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cherry)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/58 "2012-04-25T02:27:11Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > No, but my ex-MIL used to reuse teabags. Make a cup of tea, sit the bag on a plate on the bench… several hours later make another cup of tea with the same teabag. Fine for her, she liked weak tea. I don’t, but that’s how she’d make it for me too. > > -shudder- My MIL does this too but she doesn’t make any for me. Every time I find a tea bag out on the counter I throw it out in my home. My husband had surgery on his hand and after being in that hand cast for several weeks it was removed and he threw it out. Well MIL picked it out of the trash and pointed out to me the wasteful DIL that it was a perfectly good hand sling. But I told her that her son threw it out and then she confronted him. It was bizarre for the both of us even after he told her it was gross, he bled in it and his hand was oozing and he didnt think she should keep it she ended up taking it home. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/59 "2012-04-25T02:30:42Z")
Snip: > [@pbbth](#): > > \*… we live in a magical country full of excessive amounts of food at extremely low prices… \* This is a profound statement, and somewhat quite true. Well said. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736/60 "2012-04-25T02:39:14Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > The phrase “dog-chewed ham” still gives me a horrible shivery feeling when I think about it. That thread is a classic. Ha, it is FAR weirder than I remembered! All sorts of threadshitting, and then I had completely forgotten that I replied to it! (And I still feel that Hamlet is by far the best name for sentient ham.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mom-the-whole-reusing-thing-is-going-too-far/619736.md?page=4)