On the Cheap

I realized today after putting foil over the crockpot lid that I am steadily turning into my mother and grandfather. I have to put foil over the crockpot lid because I broke the original lid and I picked up a crockpot lid at a garage sale and it is just a little too big so I use the foil to hold in the heat. I store the foil piece with the crockpot so I can reuse it because why throw away a piece of foil that never touched any food?

I can afford to replace my crockpot just like I can afford to replace my colander with no handles and my rolling pin with a crack in it. I just don't want to. I can still make them work with very little inconvenience and save that money (and landfill space) for something else.

Yes, I am "that" woman. The one that thinks duct tape will fix just about anything, the one that cuts the lotion container in half once it runs out because it still has about an ounce of lotion in it, the one that washes out big peanut butter jars to store grains like rice, quinoa, and pearl barley that comes from the store in bags. To me it becomes kind of a game - I like things to be organized and to get good use of out things but I don't want to have to get a job to buy crap from the container store.

When I was a child and I saw my mother wash out ziploc bags and my grandfather tear a paper towel in half because he thought your toweling needs did not merit a full towel all I saw was the inconsistency. Why wash out the bags and then blow a wad at Carmellos, why tear paper towels in half when grandma wears diamonds and emeralds the size of Latin America. Now I understand - I won't replace my colander which would cost about two dollars because my old one still works but I use a chef's knife that could buy me 100 new colanders.

I enjoy being frugal and I treat it like a game. But I don't hesitate to invest in things that matter to me and being frugal in other areas allows me to do that. Being cheap doesn't mean always buying cheap.