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

I learned much from my mother who kept us well fed during the days of rationing. Old habits die hard and many the time late H would ask 'what's on the menu today mum's ww11 pie' ? frequently asking for 'seconds'.

To save on my water bill, I heard this saying about the toilet.
If it's yellow let it mellow. If it's brown flush it down. :-) It's fine living on your own. My sons thought it hilarious.

When I can't scrape any more out of a jar of Marmite I put some very hot water in and give it a shake to get the last bit out to use in a bolognese, stew or whatever I'm cooking that day.

I make chutney out of fruit going a bit off, add water to dilute anything in a pump dispenser, or shampoo, conditioner etc, make soup from leftover veg, added nettles to soup, made 'honey' from dandelion heads, check ebay for clothes before I buy new, (was doing charity shops) and put clothes away at the end of the summer and bring them out again the following year - nice surprise since I forgot I had some things!

I don't use soap for showers or shampoo any more, and boil eggs in only about an inch of water, as they cook in the steam as well.
Use the slow cooker, which needs the same electricity as a light bulb, to cook stews overnight in winter. It will also cook a whole chicken, but the skin won't be crackly as it is when roasted.
And the carcass goes into the slow cooker too, no steam, and you can leave it on safely all night, or when you're out during the day.
All our moneysaving tips are also good for the environment too.

I have so many lotions and potions lying around, with all the hand washing (I used to use sanitizing gel a lot) I'm using them up! Also shampoos and shower gels both bought and acquired. I also re-use cotton vests and tee shirt for dusting and washing surfaces, they are very absorbent. Old sheets, I am presently cutting up to make laundry bags for the NHS

I shall adopt the cutting off the end tip for toothpaste, and other cream substances as recommended here. Thanks for the tip

Nanny27 - you made me think of my mum who did this. I do now along with using old good quality pillow cases to make face masks as they are closely woven.I do most of the other tips as well as new labels on those envelopes suppliers enclose with some bills or catalogues. I haven’t bought envelopes for years.

If I have any hand cream or face cream you are not keen on decant it into a small jar, mine says Dijon mustard, and stir in a teaspoon of granulated sugar and you have a body scrub. You can make it as strong or as mild as you want.

I get the best bargains I can. Look on eBay for high ticket items that I'd like but prefer to pay less for and that includes toiletries. Having said that, Lacura from Aldi are fantastic and I have stocked up on their face creams in fact, Aldi have other great bargains in homeward and garden stuff so I'm happy to shop there.
I do miss Primark but look forward to the sales once shops open.

I always use tea bags twice.

We use all the food we buy. Never throw leftovers out. It always horrifies me to hear of someone putting food in the bin.
Tapas days take care of all the yummy leftovers.
Even broccoli and cauliflower stems get added to coleslaw.
Peelings go into the compost heap and bones into the slow cooker for stock.

Same as most people here. My granny used to make tea towels from old clothes, boil water for tea and put the remainder in a vacuum flask for later, never wasted any food and all sorts of other “tricks” but then she’d had to bring up 2 children single handed. She wasted nothing even to the extent of pickling betroot using left over mint sauce - do not do this as it tastes horrible!!

A little thing to add to this fabulous list but one I learnt from my mum. When making a roast beef dinner with yorkshire pudding, save the last little bit of batter mixture to thicken the gravy.

I always cut the buttons off shirts and other clothes for my ‘button tin ‘. It’s surprising how often they come in handy!

Cut the top off toothpaste and other tubes, leaving about 3cm at the bottom. There’s always enough left for at least two more weeks’ use. Cover the top with the cut-off bit overlapping

Like some others, I always cut the end off hand cream tubes, or any other tubes, there’s always loads left in the apparently empty tubes.

I turn everything upside down, salad cream, washing up liquid, etc. to get the very last drops out.
I keep white paper, backs of letters, envelopes, and cut them to size then staple them to make little notebooks for shopping lists etc.
Any left over vegetable etc I simply cover with cheese sauce and eat. Anything tastes good with cheese sauce.

When I used to wear tights I used to cut them up and us them for tying up floppy plants in the garden !
Net body scrubbers end up being used to clean the bath etc, followed by a wipe round with a microfibre cloth.
Any pump containers from beauty products are washed out and re used - I find it a lot easier to decant bottles of bodylotion into one of those, especially when your hands are slippy from the lotion and you are getting to the bottom of the bottle! I do the same for hand lotion. You should also see the mixture of shower gel I have in one pump bottle!
Like others I put the last bits of chicken in a bag in the freezer to use later - brilliant chucking them into a pot with odd bits of veg for a soup.
Breadcrumbs - son is gluten intolerant so turn the crusts of his GF loaf into crumbs to use.

I buy a joint of sirloin/rump/topside of beef and cut it into steaks, it saves a small fortune.
I too recycle gift bags,it`s become a joke with friends and family.

I buy a medium size bag of potatoes on my grocery order every week as pots are a staple with our meals,
When the new bag comes whatever is left in the old bag I make into mash and freeze it and use it to put on top of shepherds/cottage pie when I need it,

Hubby and I love Tea.....we’ve changed from using tea bags to using loose tea. The leaves get repurposed onto our garden.
I hate the..dunk the tea bag in the cup..tea. I prefer tea from a pot...so it was a natural progression.
Metal tea pots don’t work as well as pottery and the tea isn’t in the pot long enough to warrant the need for a tea cosy.

We give each other the same xmas and birthday cards each year
Been doing it for 40 yrs. Makes us laugh each time we receive them. Small things amuse us.

Instead of wrapping paper I made some fabric gift bags. I love the Japanese idea of wrapping gifts in fabric and have seen a wonderful idea of using scarves from charity shops for this. It is hubby’s birthday soon and...I haven’t been in a shop (other than the chemist) since before the start of lockdown...so it will be fabric.
I hated the idea of buying something to then throw it away. I also made fabric bottle bags....great fun.

I love a challenge and can make a meal from pennies which is lovely, I make my own cakes and pasties also. I buy yellow sticker food when I can and can buy 500g of mince for 40p and turn it into chilli,cottage pie of lasagne and freeze the leftovers in portions. I make curries from leftover chicken or beef in my slow cooker and freeze what is left. I also buy wonky fruit and veg and make soups etc. Cauliflower cheese soup is fabulous and cheap if you can buy cheap veg. I also buy reduced double cream and turn it into butter which is so pure and tasty plus cheap. I love cooking and enjoy finding a bargain and turning it into something special. I think I got this from my lovely nan who was an inspiration to me. I always spend time when shopping and compare pack sizes as an example asda were selling hob nob biscuits and the twin pack on rollback was the same price as the single pack so always worth taking time to look for the offers.