Of Frugality and Waste.

We've just finished decorating three rooms. I've always done things in the best way to save money, but waste is much more a consideration for me than it used to be as well.

The carpets were over 25 years old and not just stained, but getting holes too. However, the underlay was still useable, so we kept that and just replaced the carpet. We saved a bit more on removal of the old carpet by taking it out cutting it up small enough for the household bin. We have the room in our bin to do this, because we don't produce much household waste each week. Some bits of carpet have been redirected for use elsewhere, such as lining the rooster’s nighttime box for better sound proofing and going in the back of the utility vehicle. The new carpet wasn’t cheap, but it is hard wearing and should last at least as long as the previous one, saving us money and waste in the long run.

There were left over paints in the shed from previous decoration projects, but some a bit dark for what we wanted. The solution was to combine a light and a dark and this way we got enough to complete all of the rooms without buying any more. We prefer to keep a neutral theme going through the house, so we didn't want to paint each room a different colour anyway. Everyone can make their bedroom their own with accessories.

In many ways being frugal means wasting less and wasting less means saving money. It's a nice cycle which benefits in many ways. Doing things yourself even adds another dimension of keeping active. This often doesn't appeal to us, because we can tend to be lazy and take the easiest path. This laziness and cutting of corners can often end up costing us more and causing more wastage. I use cloths and rags for a lot of my cleaning and even handkerchiefs for runny noses. This means they need washing, but it's generally no more time consuming than dropping them in the wash with the clothes to be washed anyway.

The concept of cleanliness and germs is something that puts some people off using cloths, rags and handkerchiefs, so they'll use disposable tissues, towels and surface sprays. This way they can dump everything in the bin for someone else to dispose of. However, as much as adverts make us paranoid about the germs in our homes, wiping down surfaces well with a cloth and tap water and making sure it dries thoroughly will keep germs from having a breeding ground and most will not survive the clean, dry conditions. Tap water is generally treated with chlorine anyway, which kills bacteria and other germs, so you're not exactly using dirty water to clean. Washing the rags and handkerchiefs, then allowing them to dry thoroughly will also keep them clean, especially if you can dry them out in the sun.

Rich or poor, there are many things we can do in our households to reduce waste and save. It was always a common thing amongst poorer households anyway, to reuse as much as possible. Today, however, we have a new phenomenon which actually has saving money causing more waste than spending more and it impacts our day to day lives. I'm talking about food. Have you noticed that cheaper foods often have much more packaging than their more expensive counterparts?

Cheap ready meals and junk food comes in lots plastic and that's the cost of convenience. Healthier ready meals are often more likely to be packaged with compostable materials, but you pay more for them. The cheaper option used to be to cook and package yourself and it still is compared to the nutritious ready meals, but it's often more expensive than the junk ready meals. Then with prepackaged fruit and vegetables often costing less than loose ones, you're still getting more waste for spending less.

There is a long term saving for avoiding the junk food and that's often with health costs as your body suffers from the malnutrition and overload of artificial ingredients. For many, however, they don't have the option other than buying the cheap junk food or going hungry. It really is a vicious cycle for our poorest communities.

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