Extreme Frugality from the Victorians

We’ve all read the click bait headlines: How I cut my grocery bill in half! I saved 50K in one year! Most of the time those tricks of saving are just reigning in frivolous spending, or benefiting from a nice income to start with.

I’m not going to bore you with tips to save money by cutting out that extra coffee every week or bring your own lunch to work or even growing your own vegetables. Those things should be old hat to someone who really wants to save some money. I’m going to give you some tips for saving that come from the pages of history.

Note: Some of these tips seem a little extreme and they are. While they aren’t for everyone, I believe that these tips will take you to the next tier of saving.

Reuse Bed Sheets

The Victorians repurposed everything. When the sheets from the bed became too thin because they were slept on so much, they just cut the sheet down the centre and sewed the outer sides together. Think about it. The sides of the sheets are usually hanging off the edge of the bed or tucked underneath. They don’t see that much wear and tear, so it makes complete sense to reuse them in this way. You get to love your own sheets that much longer.

When the sheets are too ratty or have too many holes to be used as bed linens, then they are repurposed as napkins or dust rags. Most sheets are made of cotton and they are the best for cleaning or dusting. Just cut them into squares, hem the edges, and voila: napkins and cleaning cloths.

Reuse Kitchen Scraps

I recently made my own apple butter and thought there must be some way to use the scraps up instead of just throwing them out. Of course, they can be composted or used as feed for chickens or pigs, but if you’re one of the many who don’t live near a farm, you want a more practical solution. All the peels and cores can be used to make apple jelly. Just boil everything down, strain, and then add sugar, boil down again to make the jelly. There are many recipes online. Apple peels have a natural pectin which help make the jelly thick. The same is true for pears.

When you’re preparing you next dinner, keep all the peelings from your onions, carrots, and celery. Get a large freezer bag and store everything in that in the freezer. When the bag is full dump all the contents into a large pot with water, herbs and salt. Instant vegetable stock that’s virtually free.

Forage

This may not be for everyone, but I said that some of these ideas will be extreme. If you’re lucky enough to live near wooded areas, you can forage for your own food. I go on walks and see rose hips ready to be picked, berries ripening, even trees laden with apples. (Yes, I’m writing this in the fall, but there’s enough food around most of the time.) Caution: foraging is not easy. There are many things out there which can make you very ill or worse. Pick only things you know for sure are safe and eat small quantities. Your local library may have book on local flora which are edible or you can search for someone who is more knowledgeable.

Make Your Own Sanitary Pads

Okay, we all know that feminine hygiene pads are expensive, but convenient. This is the ultimate for extreme frugality. The Victorians didn’t have the luxury of going to the local to get a fresh box of pads for that time of the month, so they made their own. You can even use the old sheets again for this purpose. Get out your sewing machine and get to work. Here’s how. While some of these ideas seem to be on the extreme side, I hope I’ve given you some chances to tighten that pocketbook just a little more. As they say “mind the pennies, and the dollars will look after themselves.”