# Things other people consider "disposable" that you don't **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 30, 2015, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-other-people-consider-disposable-that-you-dont/726568 "2015-07-30T11:40:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-other-people-consider-disposable-that-you-dont/726568/21 "2015-07-31T00:10:52Z")
> [@kbear](#): > > Ziplock bags. They’re just not flimsy enough to throw away after one use…unless it had raw meat in it. My kids’ babysitter thought thought I was a cheap bitch for washing them and reusing them. I wash and reuse them too. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-other-people-consider-disposable-that-you-dont/726568/22 "2015-07-31T00:18:22Z")
Cars. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-other-people-consider-disposable-that-you-dont/726568/23 "2015-07-31T11:18:38Z")
> [@edwardcoast](#): > > That’s just rude. If someone gives me a USB flashdrive of data, I copy the data off there and give back the flashdrive. I don’t see any reason I am entitled to keep it. Although they have gotten cheaper over the years, they certainly aren’t free. If I intend to give people data without getting anything back, I burn it to a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. Flash drives are not disposable–they are fungible. I’m generally not set up to burn or to read CD-ROMs anymore, and it’s certainly to the point that I wouldn’t assume someone else had a CD reader–lots of people have only laptops without them these days. It doesn’t happen often, but people certainly have given me cheap flashdrives full of whatever with no expectation of getting the drive back ( and they have said or I have asked!) and I’ve given several flashdrives away like that because it just made sense under the circumstances. However, generally speaking, the cheap flashdrive I gave away was one someone gave to me, with the contents deleted and new stuff copied over. I do know people who have “their flash drive”, a single one they carefully picked out and keep on their person at all times. And that makes sense. I have one, though I am probably less invested in mine than some people seem to be. But I also have 4-5, at least, in a drawer that were freebies at conferences or something. Those are the ones I tend to just pass on when it’s the easiest way to give someone a big set of files. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-other-people-consider-disposable-that-you-dont/726568/24 "2015-07-31T13:13:39Z")
Husband washes and saves the jars that stuff like olives, pickles, spaghetti sauce, etc. come in. He is a contractor, and he always leaves a small bottle of whatever is left in the gallon for the homeowner. He does the same with the paint we have around here - no point in keeping a gallon bucket with just a little paint in it - but those jars sure come in handy for touch up, color matching, and small projects where you don’t need or want a whole gallon. ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-other-people-consider-disposable-that-you-dont/726568/25 "2015-07-31T13:50:10Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Flash drives are not disposable–they are fungible. I’m generally not set up to burn or to read CD-ROMs anymore, and it’s certainly to the point that I wouldn’t assume someone else had a CD reader–lots of people have only laptops without them these days. > > It doesn’t happen often, but people certainly have given me cheap flashdrives full of whatever with no expectation of getting the drive back ( and they have said or I have asked!) and I’ve given several flashdrives away like that because it just made sense under the circumstances. However, generally speaking, the cheap flashdrive I gave away was one someone gave to me, with the contents deleted and new stuff copied over. > > I do know people who have “their flash drive”, a single one they carefully picked out and keep on their person at all times. And that makes sense. I have one, though I am probably less invested in mine than some people seem to be. But I also have 4-5, at least, in a drawer that were freebies at conferences or something. Those are the ones I tend to just pass on when it’s the easiest way to give someone a big set of files. Actually, what I use more of these days are services like Dropbox. I send them a link, and then can download the files. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-other-people-consider-disposable-that-you-dont/726568/26 "2015-07-31T18:22:43Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > My wife asked me if I had a thumb drive to transfer some work files. I took the one off my keys and handed it to her. She took it to the job she’s quitting, handed it to her supervisor, and left it… . . Actually, that may be how it’s done in her office. For some time we’ve asked for electronic copies of consultant proposals or final design plans, to go with the hard copies turned in. For smaller projects, a PDF sent by email is sufficient. Now, for large projects, we ask for a single CD or thumb drive. If the project is big enough that it would take more than one CD, the thumb drive is the only option. Some grant programs have started to ask for thumb drives to go with the 5 or 6 hard copies of the grant proposal. Sadly, if you’re turning in more than one application, you need one thumb drive for each application. Most of these drives end up being physically kept in files. Returning them is not an option. I can see your wife’s files fitting into the same category. The drive with the photos is squishier. The drive is sort of like a box or album that the photos are in. If I needed that particular drive, or it was my last one, or I didn’t think the transfer was worth ten bucks, I’d mention that I needed it back, and how soon I needed it back. Are you old enough to remember cassettes and floppy discs? Except for the difference in cost, I’d say they were equivalent. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-other-people-consider-disposable-that-you-dont/726568/27 "2015-07-31T18:56:51Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Receptionist: Sir, this is meat loaf. > > You: Uh-oh! Meanwhile, the wife is microwaving her “leftover meatloaf” for lunch at work… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-other-people-consider-disposable-that-you-dont/726568.md?page=1)