# "Waste Not, Want Not"  Were you raised in this era as I was?



## helenbacque (Jun 23, 2017)

If so, have you found a constructive use for dryer lint?  It bothers me to toss this soft, fluffy little mass.


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## Camper6 (Jun 23, 2017)

When you collect all that lint you wonder how your clothes hang together.


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## terry123 (Jun 23, 2017)

Don't know about the lint but I was raised that way.  Even today I will smooth out foil and reuse.  I try not to waste anything.  If I can't use it then maybe someone else can.


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## hauntedtexan (Jun 23, 2017)

Since times are tight now, as they were then, it is a daily concern. It is easy to be funny and a bit crude by saying I just turn certain clothing articles inside out and re-wearing them to save water, but I won't........


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## debodun (Jun 23, 2017)

We had a saying in the family "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."

BTW - https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/responsible-living/stories/7-creative-uses-for-dryer-lint


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## helenbacque (Jun 23, 2017)

Thanks for the link, debodun. Great ideas.


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## Raven (Jun 23, 2017)

I was brought up in  "the waste not, want not" era, and back then there was a lot less garbage going to landfills
because of finding a use for everything.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Jun 23, 2017)

Yes,I was brought up that way also. I smooth out the foil and wash out baggies. I splurged and bought a hand held Swiffer duster for in between dusting. That was several years ago and I'm still working on my first box of refills because I wash them out and they last forever. I use them slightly damp and they do a great job. I also buy the disinfecting wipes for the bathroom for a quick clean up each morning. I found them to have so much liquid left in the canister so I squeeze them out back in the canister before I use them and when there is room I put paper towels in the bottom. I get more than double the wipes out of them. Of course most cleaning is still done with rags. I'm the queen of leftovers also. My Thanksgiving turkey bones are shiny and white by the time I'm done with them.


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## SeaBreeze (Jun 23, 2017)

I was brought up in that era, my mother and father taught us not to waste things, especially money, since I was a picky eater as a kid, I got a lot of grief for leaving food on my plate.  Our dryer was a clothesline at the time, but I don't think my mom would have saved the lint.   I have tried using used dryer sheets to wipe down my shower doors when taking a shower, a tip that didn't work too well and wasn't worth the hassle.  I still rinse out a ziplock bag if it's only been used for bread, crackers, etc.


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## Aunt Bea (Jun 23, 2017)

My grandmother was the thrifty influence on me, she always scrimped on the necessities of life, had cash on hand, and enjoyed the luxuries of life at bargain prices.

Toss the dryer lint outside for the birds and squirrels to use in their nests or hang the clothes on the line to dry and eliminate the lint altogether.


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## Don M. (Jun 23, 2017)

I was raised by frugal hardworking parents.  "Waste" was Not part of their vocabulary.  If I put some food on my plate, I did not leave the table until the plate was clean.  Even today, I hate to see food wasted.  With anything else, if I can't find a use for it...an old shirt becomes a grease rag, for example....I take it to a local recycle center.  

The people of the U.S. waste, or throw away, as much as 40% of our food...enough to feed 10's of millions of people. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...merica-throwing-away-food-too-soon/320035001/


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## HiDesertHal (Jun 23, 2017)

DRYER lint?

Are you kidding me?

You younger "Baby Boomers" think that the labor-saving appliances you're used to were always around.

NOPE!

In my childhood from the late 1930's  through the 1940's, our clothes dryers were a clothesline, clothespins, and sunshine!

NO LINT!

HiDesertHal


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## jujube (Jun 23, 2017)

Put balls of dryer lint in an egg carton and drip some candle wax over them.  Use them for firestarters in the fireplace.   Compliments of the Girl Scouts.

Have I ever done that?  Nope.  I use the firelogs that come in packages.  You just light the wrapper.  That's good for my once-a-year fire.


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## Warrigal (Jun 23, 2017)

Growing up I remember Mum turning the collars and cuffs on Dad's business shirts. She would extend the useful life of bed linen by cutting them down the middle and then joining the edges together. That way the worn part of the sheet was moved to the outer edge. Woolen adult sweaters were unpicked and reknitted for children. Boiling water from the kettle was poured over little pieces of soap in a wire cage to produce soapy water for washing the dishes. I learnt to darn socks at an early age.

These days I recycle and compost to reduce landfill and I buy clothing that will last for many seasons because I am not comfortable with the throw away society.

In Australia one of the lessons we need to teach our children is not to waste water.


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## Granny B. (Jun 23, 2017)

Growing up, money was tight at our house too.  I brought a lunch to school everyday in a brown paper sack and had to bring the sack back home for my lunch the next day.  I was kind of embarrassed by that because most of the other kids threw their sacks away everyday.   But to this day, I reuse everything I can.


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## Butterfly (Jun 23, 2017)

My parents lived through the Depression, so I was raised in the waste not want not way also.  I still cringe if food gets wasted.  I think the Depression thinking I grew up with plays a part in why I have such a hard time getting rid of stuff.  I have to force myself to get rid of stuff that still has some "good" left in it -- I do it, of course, but it's uncomfortable.  I've been on a downsizing "stuff"  campaign lately, and I spend entirely too much time looking at each thing thinking "I could use that for something . . ." before I put it in the Goodwill bag.


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