Thursday, March 5, 2009

My frugal limit

I am all for a good deal. I use a few coupons (those I can find online), I buy the store brands, and I wait for things to go on sale. I always comparison shop. I find getting a good deal rewarding. I am not as frugal as some I know and I could do better. Therefore, I am always interested to hear someone doing something different and saving money in the process. This week I have been reading the posts of a group I am a part of as people have shared how they got rid of things they thought were "must have" items. I have read with great interest about living without paper towels, more than a few clothing items (3 outfits per family member only), television, and even living totally off "the grid". I would love to try a lot of these. However, today I found my frugal, simple life limit. Most of the time when I pass on a chance to be more frugal minded it is just a personal preference for the moment-often I keep the ideas in the back of my mind to revisit later. I can (with all my being) promise you I will never attempt the idea that came across my email today. The suggestion was that one can save money in a large family by not using toilet paper. Instead, one uses "family cloth wipes." No way, never. Recall my dislike for potty training because of the cleaning??!! There is no part of me that will ever be tempted to save a buck by cleaning cloth rags filled with the toileting remains of 6 people. Recall the favor gained by Sears and their catalog?? There was a reason for the delight of their patrons and it wasn't just the access to more goods. Even those who lived much more simply than me valued disposal in some cases. Some will disagree and I am happy for them to save in this way, but I won't be joining in. EVER.

2 comments:

janie said...

Yup. Toilet paper is one "luxury" I'll gladly splurge on. Matt told me once about an older lady he knew who would hang her toilet paper to dry if it were just used for number 1! Again...I'm all for recycling...SOME things. Not that!

Anonymous said...

I am with you girls! Something has to be said for the grandest invention of all - tp!