Picked up a few....for 50 cents. BONUS!
I'm taking off all the stuff so my kids can wear them....and as I am cutting off the strings I see
elastic.
the same as what I use for my crayon rolls....
so I untied it
and saved it.
(and to tell you the truth, I was pretty psyched...One elastic from one pair of flip flops would yield two crayon rolls and I had bought 3 pairs of flip flops...so that's 6 crayon rolls!)
(what can I say...simple mind simple pleasures!)
Okay, So I saved myself 17 cents in elastic.....
but I do this alot..
you know those twist ties that come with garbage sacks...yup save them...
and when I use all the stickers off the sheet...I save the sheet because you can use it as a stencil to make polka dots....
I think I am being ingenious and thrifty
My husband calls this hoarding and cheap.
So, here's my plea...if you do anything "weird" (completely normal) like this...please share so I can
A. feel better about this
and
B. Tell my husband to shut it.
To my husband: If I get no comments on this, I will agree with you and throw it all away.
It will cause me physical pain....but I will.
I do this ALL the time!! I just recycled something and used it in a headband :) Haha Super clever for you to think to use it on something you make all the time!
ReplyDeleteI buy food for the packaging and its art potential. Does that count?
ReplyDeleteI am in the same boat- I think what you are doing is a little bit of genius and there is nothing wrong with saving stuff that you will use again. Both our husbands can shut it (in a loving way of course).
ReplyDeleteI do this so much I have my six year old boy saving everything too. Daily I hear him say "I could use this for something!" My husband goes around saying "We don't keep garbage!!!" So it is normal at our house :)
ReplyDeleteThis is kind of similar, but when I get my Scentsy packages during the summer/spring I save the ice packs that are meant to be thrown away afterwards and use them for my husbands lunch and on picnics. Beats me having to buy them from walmart!
ReplyDeleteOkay here goes.. I save ALL of our coffee cans because I can use them to organize craft supplies, I save ALL of the scraps of paper from projects because there may be that SOMEDAY when I could use it and I even save cereal boxes so that I can use them for templates when I make wall hangings! So you are NOT alone in hoarding!
ReplyDeleteI do this ALL the time. Especially for little hardware off an old purse or jacket. You are not alone!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry! I do this too!!! I think all crafters do, I even save the scraps of fabric so I can make something later with it, and it works, I have made little flowers and stuff to put on things, so don't feel bad..... my husband also says I'm a hoarder when it comes to my craft stuff.... =)
ReplyDeleteHaha! I love it when I come across things like that! Bet it made you want to go back and buy more flip flops huh? I just pulled a tin that we received a gift card in last Christmas and altered it into a mini for a Christmas bazaar!
ReplyDeleteI am with ya too! I would have saved that elastic too! I have scraps of stuff saved and save all kinds of little treasures I should throw away. But17 cents is 17 cents! So go tell your husband to HUSH already!
ReplyDeleteOK...I will join in...I admit to being a hoarder of all things that could possibly be used in a craft project at a later date! You never know when you might need that little something... to make a little something! It's a crafters code of honor not to throw anything away..or at least that's what I tell my husband!
ReplyDeleteSo it IS normal!! That's a relief. I save every jar to organize crafting supplies and I even save the teeny tiny saftey pin that sometimes comes with a new pair of jeans. (You know, the tiny one that attaches the fancy tag to the pants? Yeah, that one, they're all mine!)
ReplyDeleteTotally normal! I can't even list all the things I save for a later date. :)
ReplyDeleteI save EVERY single piece of ribbon that comes on ANY thing!!! Yes and my husband laughs at me and thinks I am bit crazy.. All well!
ReplyDeleteI save bottle caps, some containers, ties from bread, and more. When my husband see's me washing something out or quickly scurrying to hide it somewhere, he just shakes his head. HAHAHA. You are completely normal! ;)
ReplyDeleteAll. The. Time. Lady. I save everything.
ReplyDeleteI have been hoarding frozen juice can lids for months!
ReplyDeleteI do it too :) Yogurt drinks, the containers make great football (or other sport) noise makers. When someone blows out a pair of jeans they know to give it to me. All parts are reused. Clothing tags get repurposed into scrapbooking tags. It all just needs to happen :)
ReplyDeleteI like to buy the ribbon belts at Savers that have the d-rings. You get a cute piece of unique ribbon and a pair reusable d-rings for 99 cents. So much cheaper than just buying the d-rings.Score! I also keep those little bread wrapper tags and use them with rubber bands to make labels to jars I've cleaned removed the labels from.
ReplyDeleteGuilty. I have this drawer...
ReplyDeleteOh I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one! I have found that it is so much cheaper to buy hardware second hand... There is a thrift store in my area that has 4 for 1.00 clothes sales. Buttons on a blouse, D-rings on belts, Even zippers... I once bought an old convertable strap bra for the swimsuit hooks to turn my tank tops into nursing tanks. 25 cents for 4 of 'em vs. $2.00 for 2. I win! I cut a strip of plastic from a cool whip container for boning in a nursing cover and used the aforemntioned d-rings. I'm worse than my hoarding 99-year-old grandma that lived through the depression!
ReplyDeletea simple awesome money saving treasure! you rock. tell him to zip it! heh.
ReplyDeleteMy kitchen counter has several jars with different things that I save: twist ties, bread tags, plastic bottle caps, plastic bottle rings, soda tabs, shirt labels, etc. And I use them! Now it looks like I'll be saving the elastic to, because that is awesome!
ReplyDeleteWe're moving soon so we got a ton of boxes from the nearest liquor store. When I opened them up, many of them had these dividers made out of cardboard, and they were in the shapes of giant tags! So, I kept them all....like 10 of them. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteI'm late, but I'm a weirdo, too. I save diaper wipe containers and use them to store my bathroom stuff in. One day I dream of buying fabric and covering them, but for now my bathroom just looks like I've wiped a lot of butts.
ReplyDeletei save everything, too ... this was unbeknownst to my dh until we moved about 2 months ago. he and the movers kept asking me "how much craft stuff do you HAVE?" *lol* now he understands why i insisted on my own craft room when we moved. *lol*
ReplyDeleteIt's totally not hoarding if you actually use it I save all sorts of "treasures" and then if I don't use it after a while I toss it lol
ReplyDeleteOh SO normal! So when 'He' comes home and asks if I have something...where does he think it comes from?? I have a great new one - took the kids to the pottery place and they allow the extra paint to dry and then they scrape it off and save it to make paint 'confetti'! New one for me...the brain is already spinning on ideas for it. TP and Paper towel rolls, bread bags, twisties, cat litter buckets, cottage cheese containers, milk rings, you just never, never know...
ReplyDeleteStaunch policy here of save it for 6 months and if you use it good if not ask around in your circle of friends or family if they can use it. If not hold onto it for 3 more months and by then you will probably come up with a use for it or someone else will. Bread ties, onion bags, almost everything can be reused.Meat trays that come from the crocery store make a good plant holder. Wash it with hot soapy water first.You can even use some of those pebbles to cover the tray. Find a use for everything. That is what it was created for. I don't throw much away to clog the landfill. I use cans that food comes in to make some bathroom containers to keep the counters looking clutter free and beautiful.You name it there is a use for it. Growing up we recycled not even knowing that is what it would be called. Oh I could just go on and on. Thanks for letting me put my two cents worth in.
ReplyDeleteSolution: Make yourself a piggy bank out of some of your recycled materials, and whenever you "save" some trivial amount by re-using things that others throw away, pay your piggy bank the amount of pennies you saved. They will add up quickly, and you will have something tangible to show your hubby.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you! Ribbons on new shirts to keep them on the hangers in the shop... heavy plastic packaging goes to hold fabric scraps... tiny safety pins - gotta be kept!
ReplyDeletewahoo I'm not alone...and my husband isn't the only very tolerant -yet losing patience quickly with the box of denim in the garage that is waiting for me to have time to quilt it--love this post!! by the way saw that very same display at the Walmart and was thinking about picking some up for some crafty little girls to create with next summer...I mean really 5o cent flipflops--can't say no to that!
ReplyDeleteI think most crafters do this! Especially with bottles and containers. When they have a pretty ribbon that attaches the tag or label I always keep those! Oh and shut it Mr. GG! Lol
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, I save all kinds of 'junk' that I might be able to use later. hubby hates that I pick stuff out of the garbage....but it's still good!!!
ReplyDeleteYou and the rest of us are obviously not alone! I do it a lot more these days for some reason. I save glass containers for my pantry to put beans, lentils, chocolate chips, and rice. The look great and so much easier to see what I have instead of plastic bags. And they are sort of free!
ReplyDeleteI also save all of my toilet paper rolls. I just posted on this topic today!
http://handsalwayscreating.blogspot.com/2010/09/tp-flower-art-for-wall.html
You are totally normal!
I save:
ReplyDeleteany piece of ribbon I come across.
tissue paper, bows & bags.. all kinds.
safety pins.. i dry clean A LOT! I'll never run out!
the extra buttons that come on clothing.. I get so excited when I see them! I use them for crafting all the time!
I love the idea to save the sticker sheets for polka dot stencilling. Must tell my husband later!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou know those plastic tubs that baby food come in? Well, I save them. I think they'd be great for sorting buttons in the craft room. They're also great for putting cheerios in for the diaper bag and for putting little toys in for the baby to shake around. They drive my husband crazy and he wants me to throw them out but I think they're great!!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I've gotta know.....what to you save your twist-ties for?
ReplyDeleteThis isn't exactly crafty, but I use the plastic bread tags to label all of our phone and mp3 chargers. Just write on the tag with a sharpie and pop it onto the cord. I also put them on the end of a roll of tape so I don't have to find the beginning every time.
I cut cardboard from soda and beer boxes and toy packages at Christmas into ATC backings. They are sturdy and no one has ever complained! I just posted on my site how I turn stickers into magnets for the kids: http://ksj1717.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI think it's a great idea! I keep ribbon off of gifts/packaging & reuse it. Extra buttons, too.
ReplyDeleteMy husband threw a hissy fit when I spent $1 each on gift bags at the dollar store. He boycotted them and wrapped his Christmas presents to me in bathroom handtowels(which I had searched and searched for). Now I save every part of everything so I have whatever I need when I need it. For some reason he doesn't understand why I do it and it's all his fault.
ReplyDeleteActually, my husband and I have been talking about this a lot lately. Where do you draw the line between saving items for reuse and hording? We haven't come up with a good answer to that question, but I'm afraid we may be approaching the wrong side of the line. At least you're actually USING the stuff you save. We're full of good intentions, and our closets are just plain full.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the same boat as everyone else. Twice a year I go through all my kids clothes, I used to donate them or throw them if they were really bad. Now... I save it all! Use them for patterns, cut off embelishments, buttons, ribbon, I take apart the jeans, use the jeans for quilts and I even take out the elastic band in the kids' jeans. I covered them in fabric and used them as a waistband for some tutus I made! :)
ReplyDelete