Either recently or in the past, what was the most outlandish, craziest thing you did (or do) in the name of frugality? Dumpster diving? Recycling your dryer lint?

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I rinse out plastic storage bags and reuse them. I also spread out damp papertowels to dry and reuse them for non-food contact (of course).

Well at the time it was more out of no time to go to store and need to vacuum NOW so yep we dumped it out and reused. It did work fine

Brandy that shower idea is not crazy. It is proper water conservation and all americans should do it. I do that all year long. It is the same as turning off the faucet when brushing your teeth. When I run water for dishes or the shower I use a bucket or container to catch the cold water that comes out before it heats up. I use that to water the house plants and flower beds.

Haley try washing out the inside of Potato chip bags. By turning them inside out to use as gift packaging or mailing envelopes. If you have a food sealer machine you do not even have to tape them shut.

I save the mesh bags oranges come in and use as pot scrubbers. When my son was little I used them for his bath tub toys, hanging them on the handles so the toys could drip dry.

I save foam packing peanuts and use them for drainage at the bottom of pots for my plants.

I have used the remainder of a flat 2 liter bottle of soda in place of water for cakes.... Orange Shasta cake is one of my favorites. Many grocery stores have caught on and sell these soda flavored cakes at $8.99.

There are just too many things I could list... Yes, I am frugal/crazy

I am fortunate to have lived in Military communities that have a high turnover rate of occupancy. I don't recall ever climbing in a dumpster but I have stopped and picked up items off the curb: an antuque steam trunk is now my side table in the living room and it's glass topper (was the front of a broken down stereo unit), my ironing board, many of my flower pots, my baker's rack, a metal set of bunk beds, several travel trunks (I use for storage), stackable plastic drawers (I now use for my craft supplies), the table my printer sits on, my file cabinet, lrg 9 drw dresser, love seat in the guest room, my rolling hamper, Books, magazines, toy boxes (some of which were filled with toys and one even had Gameboy games in it), etc.,. If I pick up things I don't have a need for then I clean them up and pass them on. Most of the toys and toy boxes got washed/cleaned and sold or given away. I find leggos can easily be cleaned by throwing into a small mesh laundry bag and tossed into the top rack in the dishwasher. I have a sanitize setting on my washer that lets me clean stuffed animals and bedding very nicely.

My mother and grandmother give me their coupons so I do not have to buy the paper on Sundays.

They also give me their "save on you next shopping trip " coupons that are printed at checkout.

I also watch videos on Rite Aid.com, so each month I get their coupons plus a save $5.00 off your purchase of $20 or more.

I purchased 2 bags of goodnight training pants(on sale plus the $2.00 of each one from watching the videos, I still have another one to use) and 2 purex 3 in 1 laundry detergents(they were buy one, get one plus I used their $2.00 off coupon for watching the video) for less than $16.00.

After I make a pot of coffee in the morning, I pour it into a big thermos, so I can unplug the coffee pot.

I have spent an entire day on the computer, looking for and printing coupons. Also, when I purchase a box of baby wipes, I cut them in half so they go twice as far.

I've done so many crazy things to save money. The craziest, I'd drive around to look for inserts, even in the snowy winter with the temperature -40.

To save on paper towels, I will use coffee filters to do my dusting. They work especially good on mirrors, windows & tv screens. I also wash & reuse my ziplocs as long as there was no meat or anything too messy. i sometimes save any plastic bags from the store that i get my fresh fruits & veggies in. And bread bags for storage.

Mine I would grab some tissue from some fastfood or restaurant and use this at home.. When I also open canned goods, I just consume half of it and leave the rest for the next day..