Jane Thynne tells us why being thrifty is the next big thing. Why shouldn't we make things stretch a little bit further? And you don't have to be poor or old to be thrifty, she says. Being frugal is a lifestyle choice and she reckons we should all be doing our bit to use less and save more.
Jane Thynne
Tips for Meanies: Thrify Wisdom from The Oldie
Posted on: Wed 22-Oct-14 15:57:44
(41 comments )
Some time ago, at the height of the recession, I was enjoying a ‘credit crunch lunch’ with Richard Ingrams, editor of The Oldie Magazine, and discussing the fact that the Girl Guides were about to resurrect their badge for Thrift. Richard said that had he ever been a girl guide he would certainly have won the badge for his scrupulous saving of spare bits of string and his frugal way with teabags. I countered this with a recipe for chrome polish using lemon peel. We carried on swapping odd and ingenious uses for household items and wondered if Oldie readers ever did the same. And, intrigued, I carried on researching.
Anyone who has ever kept candle ends in a drawer knows that thrift is about more than money; it’s hard wired into the DNA. You don’t need to be either old or poor to be a Meanie – indeed it’s a common virtue among the very rich. John Paul Getty, while the wealthiest living American, installed a payphone for guests in the hall of his Tudor mansion. The Queen, recently photographed enjoying her breakfast cereal from humble Tupperware containers, is probably the patron saint of Meanies, and Diana Fox, wife of the governor of the Bank of England, blogs about the joys or re-using gift wrap and re-purposing Mason jars.
Anyone who has ever kept candle ends in a drawer knows that thrift is about more than money; it's hard wired into the DNA.
Why should it matter to know that hotel shower caps make brilliant containers for storing shoes in a suitcase, or that salt water makes a perfect, and practically free mouthwash, or that it’s better value to fill up your tank in the cold because the petrol will be more dense? Or that a squirt of hair spray can cure a grease stain without the expense of dry cleaning? I’m not sure, but every tip I learn gives me a little thrill of satisfaction that I’m fighting back against a culture of instant obsolescence and conspicuous consumption. Thrift satisfies something deep within us. Now that recycling and repurposing are ecological virtues, Meanies can claim brownie points for saving the planet, but my hunch is that the impulse is far more primitive. Perhaps it goes back to our caveman days when we had to make every scrap count. Either way, it’s always fun to learn more.
But would such a column for Oldies be seen as teaching one’s grandmother to suck eggs? We worried that passing on wisdom about unusual uses for loo rolls and silica sachets might seem presumptuous for a readership raised on make do and mend. Yet as soon as the column started, the tips – some brainwaves and some frankly bizarre – began to pour in. Meanies, it seems, are never averse to learning new ways to save.
Thrift is certainly in fashion, as TV programmes like Super Scrimpers prove, but I think it’s more an attitude to life itself – one that’s inventive, ingenious and deserves to be celebrated.
Tips for Meanies by Jane Thynne, illustrated by Martin Honeysett, is on sale from Square Peg, £6.99
