We went shopping at the Goodwill yesterday, and it got me thinking once again about the different standards that people have when it comes to living frugally. Some people won’t shop at a thrift store, for example, because the stuff is used and that is “gross.” But, these same people will gladly shop at a garage sale, where the stuff is also used. Some of these standards, such as the one above, don’t make sense to me. While some practices that others find routine tend to “gross” me to no end. So, I was wondering, where do you fall when it comes to frugality and squeamishness? Here is what I mean.
Food
In our household, we have no problem eating our own leftovers. Back in my pre-frugal days, I wouldn’t touch leftovers. But now, we take full advantage of boxing up our restaurant food (including bread)or reheating yesterday’s dinner. I also don’t have a problem with giving one child a half-eaten apple that the other child hasn’t finished (as a close family, our germs are already communal) or eating another family member’s lunch (assuming they are finished with it).
I admit that I will sometimes allow a child to eat a cookie that he or she has dropped on the floor. I’m not saying that my floors are clean enough to eat off of, but we try to keep our shoes off in the house, and keep the floors relatively clean. Plus, young children constantly drop toys on the floor and then put them in their mouths, anyway. But this practice may “gross out” many others.
I just can’t make the leap, however, of dumpster diving for food or sharing half-eaten food with someone outside of my family. I know that grocery stores throw away perfectly good food, just because a label is damaged or one container in a package is broken. My compromise here is that I shop the clearance bin instead of the dumpster. I will gladly buy bargain food that is past its sell by date, but I won’t buy food that is past its expiration date, and I stay away from old milk and meat.
Next up, let’s talk about standards for clothing, and a truly “gross” factor: sanitation.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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