I started keeping a clean bucket in the shower, instead of wasting water as the water heats up, the water goes into the bucket, I remove it to keep soap/shampoo from getting in it and I use it to water plants or fill up the dogs dishes.  I've heard some stories of people using it to flush toilets or to wash dishes.

Instead of separating the plies of toilet tissue, why not just use half as many sheets?

Granted, it doesn't give you the opportunity to spend an afternoon sitting around, unrolling, separating, and re-rolling while cackling about your frugality, but it'll yield the same results.

Over the past few months I've have dog-earred a copy of the Tightwad Gazette.  I wish Amy Dacyczyn was still writing her newsletter, because I know there are frugal tips out there that have yet to be published.  

Some of my lastest frugal transitions include- using my vegetable scrapings, like carrot and onion peels and the less desirable parts of celery, to make vegetable broth(I freeze the broth in food storage containers). I'm attempting to make a braided rug from a bunch of old fabric I had stored, rather than buying a rug.  We don't wash baggies for reuse however, I will keep and reuse bags for pantry staples.  I buy powdered sugar in a bag (because it's cheaper), or marshmallows, chocolate chips etc.  Pantry staples that I want to keep from becoming stale, I will place in a zip top bag.  Then once they run out, I reuse that same bag over and over for the particular item.  I 've had the same zip top bag for powdered sugar for at least 3 years.  

If no one has mentioned it already, I stopped purchasing paper plates and plastic cups. Although they are convenient on a busy night and with get togethers, but I was finding I was using them way too often for just my husband and me.

I love how frugal people stress out and pinch pennies like they have OCD or something.  What kills the budget is the dollars, not the pennies.  Alcohol, dinners out, clothes, casual spending...that is what hurts you.  The .20 cents worth of toothpaste you throw away is NOT the problem.

Frugal people are people who avoid WASTE, and happen to save money at the same time.  Frugal people are always looking for better ways to use what they have or make something that have last longer, instead of buying something new.  Frugal people typically aren't concerned with alcohol, dinners out, clothes.... because they either never spent money on those items in the first place or have eliminated those items from the budget long ago.  Avoiding waste and a serious psychological disorder are not one in the same.

There is a difference between avoiding waste and worrying about the ten cents worth of shampoo that you can't get out of the bottle.  Or getting carpal tunnel syndrome because you can't squeeze the last dab of toothpaste out of the container.  

I'm not saying frugal people are all OCD, but some of this stuff is just silly.  Reusing dirty sandwich bags?  Riding in the trunk of a car?  Life is too short to make yourself miserable if you don't have to.  I clip coupons and save money, but I didnt' go to college and work hard just to live like I'm broke.  

I'm not going to be riding in the trunk of a car voluntary.  That's dangerous.  

However, reusing bags is usually too easy for me not to do.  Then again, I don't use many zip top bags to begin with.  I prefer using glass jars that I've saved.  And those I just clean like any bowl or plate.  

Anyhow, I agree with jwhit.  For me, frugality is about reducing waste -- not just saving money.  I'm not going to get carpal tunnel trying to squeeze out the last bit of toothpaste.  When it gets so low that I can't squeeze anymore out, I just cut the container open for that one last use.  It's not that I can't afford to get a new one, it's that I don't see any reason to throw away that perfectly usable product.  Similarly, I wouldn't toss pennies out of vehicles -- though I have seen kids throw all sorts of money out of vehicles (and yes, they're own -- unless you count that there parents probably gave it to them).  

And as far as things like hypermiling or seeing how long you can use a bottle of shampoo... have you ever considered that it might actually be fun for some people?  I love challenging myself and I love the sense of pride and accomplishment when I meet or exceed goals.  For me, I love seeing how little garbage I can throw out -- though I'm far from OCD about it (plus I live with two other people).

Also, there are many ways I could save money where I don't.  For example, I have a thing for really good chocolate.  If it was just about saving money, I might have to flog myself for that and other purchases.  But I believe that being frugal includes focusing on those little things that do make you really happy because they're one of the best values for your money.  Spend money on things you really care about.  Don't spend more money than necessary on things you don't care about.        

In my opinion (and only my opinion) there is nothing fun about living like a welfare case just to "challenge yourself".  Like I said before, why would I work hard and go to college just to worry about 1/10 of an ounce of a $2 tube of toothpaste?  I could have quit school, moved to the projects, and worked at Burger King if I wanted to live like that.  (Maybe I could scrape the cheese off some old pizza boxes in the dumpster!) Hypermilers save money on gas, but they wear out the other parts of their vehicles and sometimes do illegal things to their cars. (Removing the mirrors, etc.)

Why not reuse sandwich bags?  Do you use a tupperware container only once?  No - you wash it and use it again.  It's silly not to wash the sandwich bags and reuse them.

I wash and reuse the Swiffer cloths too.  Why put more trash into our enviornment? I look at frugality as being not only conscious of how every dollar is being spent, but also being conscious of my surroundings, and not being wasteful.

Oh - and we're far from a welfare class.  Being frugal is a lifestyle choice we (my husband and I) chose. We're happy we live the way we do, and friends comment on us being environmentally friendly and wish they could be more like us. No one has ever called us penny pinchers.