Penny Pinching

These days most people are concerned about money, and you'll see lots of hints about how to save pennies. My grandfather used to tell me about his Scottish grandmother who taught her family, "Waste not, want not," and "Many muckles make a mickle." Gramp said that last phrase was Scottish dialect for "Many littles make a big."

We're probably all aware of hints like those to save electricity by turning lights and electrical devices off when not needed, water lawns late in the day to save water, use fabric towels instead of paper ones, re-use things instead of throwing them away, buy and store quantities of things we often use at a discount, and shop with coupons, but here are a few more 'littles' I haven't seen elsewhere.

Unless clothes are extremely dirty, using slightly less laundry detergent than the bottle or package suggests usually works fine. The same applies to dishwasher detergent, fabric softeners, toothpaste, etc.

When buying applesauce avoid the oddly shaped bottles that make it nearly impossible to get it all out.

Packages of tissues usually have several folded together at the top of the box and, if someone is in a hurry to catch a sneeze or wipe a runny nose it's easier to grab and use them all at once. Separating them when the box is opened can avoid wasting those.

Save computer paper by using the backs of previously printed things to make copies of things that don't need to look good.

These hints, and others like them, mean we can buy a few less of each item in a year. The saving from each one is small, but they do add up over time. Many 'littles' really do make a 'big.'