Everyone has their own personal “ick” line that they are reluctant to cross when it comes to frugal living. And while I have come a long way, there are somethings I have either tried and found not to be worth it, or just have too much of an ick factor for me.
I just can’t bring myself to…
Buy used shoes. Yes, I know that they can be disinfected with Lysol or with that stuff they use in bowling alleys, but the idea of sharing someone else’s confined bacteria just creeps me out. Plus, shoes usually conform somewhat to the wearer both in the shape of the shoe and the areas of wear. There are a couple of exceptions to this rule: baby or toddler shoes that show little wear (baby feet seem less gross) or kids boots.
Use non-disposable sanitary products. With three kids, I have dealt with my share of bodily fluids that need to be addressed. And while I understand that these products would reduce both my budget and help the environment, I just can’t bring myself to go down this road.
Dumpster diving. While I can happily curb shop items, there is something about pulling things out of a dumpster that I can’t get past. This might be something I can try in the future, but for now it would be hard to fathom, especially if it came to food.
I’ve tried but rejected…
Letting it mellow. We tried not flushing the toilets so often, but we couldn’t keep this up for a couple of reasons. The main one is that my kids started learning never to flush the toilet which lead to some pretty gross surprises. The other factor was that it made cleaning harder to do. The one concession, is that right before bedtime or going out, I’ll sometimes allow the flush to be delayed until all of the kids to empty their bladders.