Introduction

This is a list that I'm keeping on how to conserve and therefore money, adding to it from time to time and posting it online in the hope that it will be helpful to people. Many of these ideas are common sense, others are passed-down knowledge, and a few are the result of my own creative problem solving.

Recycling and reusing

While I've never been a hoarder of materials, in fact I'm more of a minimalist, I do think that if I can recycle or retain some material in order to avoid expending energy and money later to get a new one, that's just common sense. Have an extras box in which additional items that you may not use for years to come can be stuffed, or good-quality items that have fallen into disuse.

Some examples:

• Always buy the loss leaders at stores so that you can store up basic, useful things. For instance at Staples once or twice a year you can buy plastic 3-ring binders for 25 cents each. I bought ten.
• Cardboard packaging such as cereal boxes is very useful. Cut it apart so that the large faces can be used as something to write to-do lists or signage on. It's harder to misplace a piece of cardboard than a scrap of paper.
• Cut up old shirts to use as rags.
• Use old socks to collect tennis balls.
• Use old socks to protect delicate ceramic and glass items during shipment.
• Reuse old jeans by cutting long strips of denim from the legs, using them to create coverings, blankets, etc.

Glass

• Reuse kombucha bottles, which are typically stronger and have better caps than most glass bottles, as water bottles or as portable coffee and tea containers.

Plastic

• Reuse plastic rather than going out and buying new containers, which is wasteful.
  • Many items such as lunchmeat come in containers with lids.
  • Some larger pill bottles can be used to store small items, such as
    1. Coins
    2. Screws, nuts
    3. Paper clips
    4. Drill bits
• If it is difficult to find weight lifting equipment (e.g. due to a pandemic) you can reuse plastic 1-gallon water bottles for exercise e.g.
  1. a 1 gallon plastic water bottle weighs 8 pounds and you can hang two of them on a wooden dowel to stand-in for a 16-pound barbell;
  four jugs gives you 32-pounds, etc.
  2. a 1.5 liter plastic water bottle weighs 3 pounds and can stand in for a 3-pound dumbbell.

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