What thrifty things do you do that you're surprised no one else does?

I practically do a handstand in order to squeeze the last of the toothpaste out of the tube!

Dental floss doesn't have to be discarded after one use. Keep it somewhere so it dries out, and re-use the next morning, and the next...

I cut the front of Xmas cards from the previous years into fancy shapes and use as gift tags the following year

I use the lock seal top cheese wrappers to wrap DH sandwiches. They can easily be washed and reused and last a long time. Saves on clingfilm or foil.

Hang washing out whenever possible, thereby saving electricity that the tumble dryer would use.

Ok - when needing hot water, how many of you run off the cold water that comes through before it into a bucket and using it to flush the toilet (or water plants etc.)? ?

My husband always said I was economical to the point of meanness.
Practically all the tips already posted I have carried out.

I've read every post and haven't found one which I don't do !!! Mrs Thrifty, moi…

Re the chicken carcass, roast it until it's brown to get a better flavoured stock.

I cook on an electric Aga and after switching off the hotplate, put a kettle of water on it to absorb the remaining heat and use it for the washing up---( no dishwasher in the chicken run!).

I bake my own bread ( buy bread flour by the sack from a mill) and cut the loaves into portions for just one day and freeze them (recycled plastic bags) but even then sometimes have a stale bit, so keep a bag in the freezer and add any stale bits to it until there's enough to make a delicious bread pudding.

Any lettuces in the garden that are beginning to bolt are dropped into boiling water, drained, liquidised and frozen in recycled butter spread tubs for winter when they make a lovely soup with a tin of peas and some mint.

Before eating an orange, I grate the rind onto a little bit of clingfilm and freeze the little parcel to flavour cakes.

I freeze herbs in ice cubes during the summer to use in winter.

As you can guess, I'm a wartime child and nothing was ever wasted in our house.

I must ask my housekeeper and the butler whether they have any useful tips that I could pass on ....
???

Just a point to make about the summer/winter clothes swap - I do the same with my living room furnishings. Rug/lampshades/cushion covers/curtains/paintings all get swapped around in May and then again in November, stored under the bed till they are swapped back again.
I've done it for years and I'm convinced it's stopped me spending money on new furniture etc, because I don't have a chance to get tired of the look.

So many good ideas here. Regarding using the last scrap of soap, does anyone remember Pears soap which was a translucent bar with a groove in one side into which you could put the remaining bit of the last bar?

I have an allotment and save a fortune growing my own fruit and veg. One tip if you have one as well (or even just a large garden). Sainsbury's sells a "living salad" for £1. If you buy one it can be soaked overnight in a few inches of water and next day, when drained, gently teased into seperate plants and planted out.

Last year I got a whole summers lettuce out of one single plastic container and I even re-use the containers to plant veg seeds the next year.

However, my all time favourite is cutting the ends off tubes, particularly moisturiser, and scooping it into the cap end. I never fail to get at least another week or more out of what would usually be thrown in the bin.

giulia
My mother taught me never to throw away the paper wrapping on butter or fats. Use these to grease a baking dish or cake tin.

Mine taught me that too. In fact, we even used the wrapping instead of greaseproof paper to line cake tins. I still do that occasionally.

Yes, a teaspoon works but we do have a champagne stopper which is effective and keeps it fizzy.

Cut the end off handcream tubes, antiseptic cream tubes and you will find lots left in the tube even if no more squeezes out.

Oh, I see Alexa already posted that! Two minds.

Yes, I put summer clothes away and vice versa, although it is a bit of a faff. I'm wearing all my old-but-decent-but-wouldn't-wear-them-out clothes at the moment and they may well be ditched at the end of lockdown.

MawB leftover champagne
Hic

I was only joking, Maw

Although I probably could drink the whole bottle, I wouldn't, because I know that I would bitterly regret it as soon as the inevitable hangover kicked in, so I suppose OH is actually doing me a favour.
We have no silver spoon (well, apart from the sugar), but we do have a few bottle stoppers just in case.
Cheers,

I cut circles off the cuffs of rubber gloves: make very handy giantsized rubber bands. Handy for lots of things. I also cut off one or two of the fingers at the base and keep these to protect bandaging/plasters clean and dry any time I cut myself. Extremely useful as we use our hands all the time.

My mother taught me never to throw away the paper pping on butter or fats. Use these to grease a baking dish or cake tin.

She also converted used envelopes into shopping list paper. I remember she was quite indignant once when I bought her one of those pretty blocks of coloured paper squares for notes. "What a waste of good paper!" she said.

We don’t buy birthday or Christmas presents for adults in our extended families. We have all saved a fortune and a lot of trips to the charity shops in January

Annab275 Oh dear! I thought -everybody- put their clothes away at the end of the season and brought them out again the next year! I do this repeatedly, year after year. Throw away when they are too worn or damaged. Am I the only one?

Mamacaz no OH here so despite one’s best efforts....there is occasionally a little left.

I always drink the whole bottle of champagne at one sitting (reluctantly sharing with OH, if I must) so it doesn't get the chance to go flat!

I cut clingfilm in half with a serrated knife .... this gives smaller strips which are useful for covering small things and less fiddley.
I peel chunks thumbsize chunks of fresh ginger then wrap individually in cling then into bag for freezer. It can then be grated direct from frozen.
I like applesauce on dinners but OH does not so I make a batch and freeze discs of same in a silicone muffin tin, into bag when frozen. Then can have small amount when needed... also with raspberry sauce and fresh cream.

And I must check with the housekeeper and butler to see whether the staff do any of these money saving tips ...
???

I now cut the ends of plastic tubes of hand cream.

There is always loads more stick at the very end.
When I think of all the tubes I’ve thrown away and wasted in the past. Also do it with toothpaste tubes.

I always put a silver teaspoon in the neck of a champagne bottle to stop it going flat