I was flossing my teeth a week or so ago, like I normally do at night, but before I threw it into the trash I got to thinking if I could (or would) ever get to the point of reusing something as mundane as dental floss. For some reason, probably because of the continued tariff talk, that thought has stuck in my head.
I got to wondering what other items I might find myself reusing as my mind flashed back to an episode of the Hoarders TV show I watched many years ago where some very frugal people were showing how they reused items that most of us would’ve discarded without a second thought. Specifically, I remember one guy hanging up paper towels that had been previously used. He might have also been the guy who reused tea bags. This felt like a foreign concept to me at the time and, honestly, it still feels like a tad much to purposefully reuse items that are typically trash.
That said, we do have some reusable supplies that we use regularly, such as washable napkins, dish towels, dish sponge alternatives, and reusable sandwich bags that would be great if they sealed properly. We try to use mason jars for various purposes besides canning and I’m happy to reuse egg cartons. Sometimes we occasionally find alternative uses for items that normally end up in recycling, like yogurt containers. (My mother-in-law is the queen of reusing almost any plastic container.) I might also reuse disposable Ziploc bags if they’re easily rinsed out. And, of course, we compost a lot of kitchen scraps and grind egg shells into a calcium supplement, so I guess that’s reusing otherwise disposable items.
Now that I think about it, I got pretty frugal years ago when we first moved to Washington state. I wrote about making my own personal hygiene supplies, like deodorant, 10 ways to use less stuff we use everyday, how to make homemade dishwashing tabs and laundry soap, and plenty more. It was a whole thing of mine for several months. But homemade alternatives aren’t exactly the point of this post.
Clearly, it’s not like the idea of reusing disposable goods is completely foreign to our family, but I have a line. The question is: where’s my line when times get tough? Would I start to reuse floss or paper towels? Would I purposely save aluminum foil for later use? (Yes, I almost certainly would.) How about parchment paper or wax paper? I’m not sure. Would I keep carboard boxes and other carboard containers, like cereal boxes and delivery boxes, for other uses? Absolutely!
As a prepper, I could see myself saving dryer lint for use as a fire starter; same goes for toilet paper and paper towel cardboard (or anything made of combustible materials, like junk mail). I could see myself saving old clothing for use as rags or “just in case” clothing in the event things got truly horrible.
But there are some items that I have a hard time seeing myself reusing, such as butter wrappers (apparently some folks freeze them for later use), broken tools (most times repairs don’t actually last, which is a good reason to have duplicates), and previously used paper unless it can still be written on … but it would make a good fire starter, too.
What about items folks reused during the Great Depression? According to this article, they reused some obvious items, like buttons and string for clothing repairs, but they also kept flour sacks (to sew new clothing or for repairs), and tires, which they used to patch shoes, in garden beds (though I don’t know why), and for construction purposes. Apparently, clothing and shoes were difficult to keep in good repair when times got tough. They also kept mason jars and other containers, like I suspect most of us would, for use around the house. People collected every last bit of soap and candle wax to be remelted and reused.
The article states: “Every scrap of paper and paper product was saved during the Depression. Cardboard and magazines and stacks of newspapers were even used as building materials in pop-up shantytowns!” My guess is that we’ll re-discover how to make use of a wide variety of paper products, if for nothing more than as insulation and fire starting material.
The article continues: “Of all the places in the house, the kitchen was the last place that saw anything go to waste. Everything was reused in the kitchen. Every eggshell, chicken bone, end of stale bread and jar of lard or grease was put to good use in some way. Likewise, parts of animals that we don’t normally use or eat nowadays were put to good use: Chicken feet were turned into soup, innards and gizzards were gobbled up and feathers were used to make pillows and bedding.” Again, we may need to rediscover just how to squeeze every last bit of usefulness out of items we normally throw away, including food.
The article concludes with a discussion about water and how crucial it was for those in the city but also elsewhere, such as those living in the Dust Bowl states.
Obviously, reusing items is only one part of the equation. What about using items until they’re clearly past their expiration dates or even doing without? Here’s some questions for you:
- Would you use your toothbrush until the bristles scarcely stood up straight?
- Would you cut the toothpaste tube open to scrape out every last bit?
- Would you begin to water down soaps to conserve what you may have left, especially hand soaps? (My sister-in-law does this and it drives me nuts!)
- Would you do without deodorant, shaving cream, shampoo, or conditioner?
- How about medications or medical supplies? What could you do without? And what happens if you can’t replace what you need?
- Would you attempt to make your glasses last despite needing a new prescription?
- What about clothing? Would you reuse clothes before being washed? For how many times? How long might you use an article of clothing after it clearly needs replaced?
How about comforts we take for granted?
- Would your choose to do without lighting at night if the cost of power rose too high or if it became too difficult to charge batteries?
- Would you do without heat or air conditioning? Could you do without these, either because of where you live or health conditions?
- What kind of entertainment might you consider if, Heaven-forbid, the internet stopped working? Would you even have time for entertainment?
I know I’m veering from the initial subject matter, but these are questions to consider while times are good. Granted, your answers may vary from mine and circumstances may force drastic changes, but it never hurts to consider what you (and your family) may be willing to put up with … because if you’re not willing to put up with hardships, then now’s the time to make it so you and your family don’t have to.
If I had to end this with a lessons learned sort of vibe, I’d say this is a “let’s get back to the basics” discussion.
Yes, there’s something to be said for having supplies on hand so that you don’t have to reuse or do without, but there are certain items that we, as humans, just need for survival. And I’m not only talking about food and water. Clothing kept showing up as a major problem for people during the Great Depression, particularly clothing that is durable, able to withstand the elements, and able to be cleaned by hand. Most of us just don’t own much of that type of clothing. Same goes for rugged shoes and boots. I’d say that’s a good reason to ensure you have plenty.
Power is another crucial aspect of living these days. Almost everything we rely upon for our survival needs electricity. If you don’t have a backup / off-grid power source, you should reconsider. Yes, it can be expensive, but just take a look around your home and decide what you can’t live without. My guess is that whatever it is you cannot live without runs on electricity, whether that’s the refrigerator, air conditioning, or hair dryer. And if it does run on electricity, then you’d better have a way to power that appliance on your own.
It’s also wise to reconsider just how many disposable items you’re actually using. Are there items you can replace with reusable alternatives? At minimum, could you have some reusables around for when times get tough even if you choose disposables for good times?
Now’s the time to ask these types of questions because waiting until after the fact is choosing to not be prepared.
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