In Defense of Stupid Frugality
Written by Cathy
I use 2 tablespoons of cocoa. I conserve toilet paper. I am, what you would call, a stupid frugality person.
Why do I like stupid frugality tips like use 2 tablespoons of cocoa instead of 3? Conserve toilet paper? They can’t save you more than pennies. What’s the point? Use as much as you want, they’ll make more!
Both my grandmothers grew up in the post war Depression era. One in the United States; the other in Korea. While their circumstances were different, the lesson taught to me by both of them is waste nothing. Both my grandmothers used every scrap they had, whether it was food or clothing. They were remarkably resourceful. They conserved salt or tea because they were incredibly smart women who knew how to make efficient use of anything they had.
I’m always horrified when I go to restaurants and see people leave a table of uneaten food. It could have easily been boxed up and taken home, but they don’t care. It gets thrown away because it’s so plentiful, it’s not valued. When I drink a cup of tea or cocoa using one or two spoons instead of three, I think of my grandmothers. They conserved it because they didn’t have much, and it was a precious. It’s not going to save me millions of dollars, and I’ll retire a millionaire because of it, but does that give me an excuse to throw it away callously?
I don’t do it because I think this will save me riches. I do it because I don’t want to be wasteful.
2 Responses to “In Defense of Stupid Frugality”
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Well, maybe they weren’t going straight home!
I know the feeling, though. I hate waste. To me frugality is the exact opposite of waste and isn’t just about saving money by any means.
However, when I do eat out, I try (though rather unsuccessfully) to be the person who leaves food on their plate — at least when I can’t take it home or know that I really shouldn’t make a second meal out of it for my waist’s sake. Sometimes I take stuff home just to compost, but I hate wasting a takeout container to do so.
In fact, I feel guilty bringing home takeout containers even if I will eat the food. Eventually I want to get some reusable containers to bring for leftovers, but I haven’t quite worked up the nerve yet.
I know what you mean. We usually order a number of appetizers ‘tapas’ style, so we end up with less food waste, and often don’t need to take anything home. Seattle restaurants are pretty good in that respect – most take away containers are made from cardboard instead of Styrofoam, so they just get put in with the paper recycling.