WOW, Judy. I still have my Grandma's button box. Lots of nice stuff in there. Over the years I added to it and still to this day save buttons. My mother did the same thing with zippers and hooks and eyes. I remember cutting hooks and eyes off old braziers to replace worn out ones or make extensions if there was a weight gain. My husband gets on me every once in a while to throw containers out because I save oleo tubs and Reeser's salad tubs until they are coming out of my ears to the point where they don't fit on the shelf any more. I used to save Styrofoam trays, too. I'd clean them with soap and water, then use them to repackage large purchases of meat. I guess that's why I am a packrat. I was raised at a time when we hardly ever threw anything out because some one else might have need of it; it they did, we'd have it. Those were the good old days. Thanks for the memories. Hugs, Mary -----Original Message----- From: padutch-life-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:padutch-life-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Judy Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 8:23 PM To: padutch-life@rootsweb.com Subject: [PD-LIFE] lights and being frugal At one point I tried switching to fluorescent bulbs, but didn't see a difference on my bill. Now I only use a couple fluorescent bulbs: one on the back patio because I leave it on all the time, and the other in the fan because it is too high to change regularly. My eyesight is sure worse since I started my job that uses only fluorescent bulbs. They are very bad for the eyes, skin and lungs. I also avoid things made in China as they have defied all the safety laws, and the US doesn't care what comes into this country, unless it is less expensive medication! Yea Canadian meds! It is all about the almighty dollar. Makes me sick. I can be frugal in other ways like walking instead of driving, mending clothes instead of replacing them, making new things out of discarded clothing, (quilts, shopping bags), and saving buttons to use on sewn items or crafts. Remember Grandma's button box? I'd sure love to get ahold of it now. What fun we had sifting through her buttons. Most of them had been used on clothes, probably things purchased at the thrift store. In one of her old diaries she said she bought the boys coats for 35 cents at a second-hand shop. This was in the mid-1930s. I'm pretty sure it was the Salvation Army. Not sure when they started. She also ripped out zippers from discarded clothing to reuse. Grandma also saved "oleo" tubs and styrofoam trays that fruit used to come on. She was "green" before her time I guess. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PADUTCH-LIFE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message