Teasing - Page 2

[KarenEMT]

Originally Posted by boobybunny

Why is this one so touchy for people? Our HOA actually says we can not do this, but we still do. None of the people in our HOA care, and most have asked me questions about how, how much do we save, and commented about how great everything smells off the line.

Oh yes, my in-laws remind us on almost every visit that their HOA prohibits clotheslines and sheds...... MIL insists that the clothes don't have the right texture unless you blast them through a dryer with Bounce :

[lmonter]

Originally Posted by root*children

Oh, and I've never heard of being teased for the birthday candles... how dumb! Just goes to show what a disposable society we live in

They'd be frightened of me. I have some candles my mom gave me that I remember from 20-some years ago. She kept all the candles and such that could still be lit (i.e. not teeny tiny stubs), along with the little holders and other decorations and such. I never have to go and buy anything like that for a party - for crying out loud, we still have the giant box of Costco forks we bought for my wedding. That was 5 years ago. We think we'll finish off that box for our 20th wedding anniversary.

[kijip]

Originally Posted by lisalulu

Really walking to the store? I wish I could walk to the grocery store-its just a little far for us.

Where we used to live, until last year, the store was just under a mile, uphill coming back home. No one could believe that we did not mind carrying the groceries back from the store. Usually I would use the stroller to help carry the groceries and my husband would carry our son. Now, we live much further from the store we shop at and it would be dangerous to walk anyways (unlit, no sidwalks, 45MPH road) but we will be moving soon to a place within a mile of a co-op so we will start walking again. Also, once we move we will be within 3 miles of work/school so we will trade our car communte for walk with a jogging stroller.

[sanguine_speed]

Originally Posted by boobybunny

Why is this one so touchy for people? Our HOA actually says we can not do this, but we still do. None of the people in our HOA care, and most have asked me questions about how, how much do we save, and commented about how great everything smells off the line.

We are actually prohibited by law from hanging and using a clothesline outdoors. Yes, suburbia. How blissful : . We are moving soon.

[kijip]

Originally Posted by sanguine_speed

We are actually prohibited by law from hanging and using a clothesline outdoors. Yes, suburbia. How blissful : . We are moving soon.

So it is basically illegal to be unable to buy a dryer? : That is just crazy. I suppose people can hang things inside but it is no secret things dry faster outside. I don't understand why anyone would want to put such a law on the books. Glad you are moving!

[sanguine_speed]

Originally Posted by kijip

So it is basically illegal to be unable to buy a dryer? : That is just crazy. I suppose people can hang things inside but it is no secret things dry faster outside. I don't understand why anyone would want to put such a law on the books. Glad you are moving!

It doesn't look nice. Everything must look nice in suburbia, didn't you know?
We actually do hang a line in our basement, but like you said it takes longer. And, you don't get the benefit of sunning whites, nor the fresh air in the hanging clothes.

[mommaof3boz]

Heaven forbid someone should have to look at cloth DIAPERS hanging in our yard!!

[root*children]

I know! I just *love* seeing clothes, esp. cloth diapers line-drying. There's someone living near us, that I walk the dogs by their house, who hang dries their FuzziBunz, and it just looks so cute and picturesque. I'm probably nuts for thinking that, but it's the truth (the cute part, hopefully not the nuts part) !

[boobybunny]

About a month ago I put the fuzzis out on the line for the first time this season. My neighbo went and got her camera. She ended up shooting them in black and white for a photog class. They turned out really cute, and I now need to go get a a 11X14 frame for one of them.

They are the navy ones. the day was supper sunny and clear, and there was a flowering tree in the back ground, lots of contrast and shadow.

[JanB]

Originally Posted by anthasam

We also get teased for recycling EVERYTHING. The big joke when family/friends visit, "What do I do with this?" Meaning can they put it in the trash or recycle or wash it or...?

We get this too! What they don't know, of course, is that after they leave, I pick through the garbage can and pull out all the recyclable aluminum cans and put them in the recycling bin.

And count me in as another one who had no idea that not everyone in the world saved birthday candles! I mean, duh -- you only burn them for like 30 seconds, why not save them for next time?

[justmama]

I get so much grief about my clotheslines down in the basement and my library time each week and lack of cable and internet(until last week!!!!) and buying dented produce from the reduced produce cart and keeping my house very cool. Cloth diapers and longies seem to provoke the most comments though.


Meg

[MacKinnon]

I'm laughing about the birthday candles. My MIL saves birthday candles until they are teeny little burnt out stubs that can barely be lit. She is always chastizing us to sing faster and get them blown out so she can use them again (and again). We do tease her about the candles. DH, in fact, WONT save used candles because the whole thing irritated him as a kid! Only new candles for our kids!

We don't teased so much for the frugal stuff but for the natural/earth friendly stuff-- cloth diapers, electric lawn mower, recycling, etc.

[Amys1st]

Ok, this will take a while....

I have been teased mostly good natured but some not so about:

Cloth diapering
-Cloth rags, cloth napkins, using a roll of paper towels over several weeks not hours. Reuseable bags like chico bags etc
-My friend said to me good natured- is it ok if I use a paper towel or will an alarm go off??
Dumpster divin and garbage picking
using ebay, craigslist, tp, freecycle
clothes line outside and the one inside
dh's coffee roasting
-dh's ability to literally do almost anything that is DIY or he will teach himself how to do stuff. Very handy ( I find this extremely sexy)
-composting
-making meals out of old meals aka LEFTOVERS
-feeding the freezer
-making almost anything from scratch
-having a veggie garden
-finding another use for almost anything and being asked- can we throw this out, or what should we be doing with this??
-not owning a new minivan for my two kids and us. Heck, my Avalon is 5 years old and paid in full, dh's truck is paid as well.
-haggling and walking away from deals and then waiting to get a call later. I dont have to have it now, tomorrow is fine.
-waiting until I have the cash to buy something.
-not eating out, finding something to eat in my house that night.
-not buying ANYTHING that contains hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, dyes, it goes on and on.
-not having any debt but a very small mortgage.
-making my own baby food
-reusuing containers in the sandbox or at the pool
-not shopping at certain box retailers because they are a disgusting co
-not buying from certain cos because I do not like their business practices.

I could go on and on. OTH, I have not only been teased but the flipside have been asked about or admired about for:



Cloth diapering
-Cloth rags, cloth napkins, using a roll of paper towels over several weeks not hours. Reuseable bags like chico bags etc
-My friend said to me good natured- is it ok if I use a paper towel or will an alarm go off??
Dumpster divin and garbage picking
using ebay, craigslist, tp, freecycle
clothes line outside and the one inside
dh's coffee roasting
-dh's ability to literally do almost anything that is DIY or he will teach himself how to do stuff. Very handy ( I find this extremely sexy)
-composting
-making meals out of old meals aka LEFTOVERS
-feeding the freezer
-making almost anything from scratch
-having a veggie garden
-finding another use for almost anything and being asked- can we throw this out, or what should we be doing with this??
-not owning a new minivan for my two kids and us. Heck, my Avalon is 5 years old and paid in full, dh's truck is paid as well.
-haggling and walking away from deals and then waiting to get a call later. I dont have to have it now, tomorrow is fine.
-waiting until I have the cash to buy something.
-not eating out, finding something to eat in my house that night.
-not buying ANYTHING that contains hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, dyes, it goes on and on.
-not having any debt but a very small mortgage.
-making my own baby food
-reusuing containers in the sandbox or at the pool
-not shopping at certain box retailers because they are a disgusting co
-not buying from certain cos because I do not like their business practices.

so it goes both ways!

[KayleeZoo]

My family has teased me for buying stuff on sale (I hit the Osh Kosh outlet when they are having a 50% off sale plus a 20% coupon, so everything is 70% off retail! and I buy Gymboree clothes on sale plus a coupon and earn Gymbucks) and they are totally grossed out when I buy second-hand clothes for the kids at a really nice high-end resale shop Lots of our peers feel like spending a lot of money on things is signifiant somehow, that it is a status symbol. I think it's dumb to spend more when you can spend less so I blow them off. I'm not as frugal as some, but I'm working on it and hope to become a frugal-freak someday

[quelindo]

When DH and I first got together we were desperately poor. My parents sold us their old Toyota Camry (I think it was about ten years old, but ran great and was in perfect condition) for trade-in value -- a VERY good deal. My MIL wailed to DH that he was going backward in getting such an old junker.

Ummm, we were majorly in debt, including owing HER money (DH was still recovering from his first marriage and divorce). Weird. :

My BIL (same side of the family) thinks it's ridiculous that we only have basic (non-satellite/non-cable) TV and have to use rabbit ears to get the station to come in perfectly. And now we're trying to get rid of all but one small TV that we'll have put away.

'Course this is the guy married to DH's sister -- the sister who says that credit card debt is a fact of life, and who is depressed all the time even though they have all the latest everything, travels everywhere and doesn't have to work outside the home even though their only child is in school all day. (Not saying she SHOULD work outside the home...I plan on not...but she has it made, IMO.)

[swimswamswum]

My dad is incredibly frugal and environmentally conscious, so he loves that DH and I are too. My mom is also pretty on board (they're divorced). She's a good saver and loves the Goodwill, so she gets it.

The ILs are another story. Two of them live in a house that's close to 6,000sf. MIL, who is very sweet, shops as a hobby. FIL is all about living it up. They're nice people, but they don't "get" DH and I. Luckily, we live really far away, so they don't often see how crunchy and frugal we actually are. They call us the "Crunchy Granolas".

[aiccerb]

Originally Posted by sanguine_speed

We are actually prohibited by law from hanging and using a clothesline outdoors. Yes, suburbia. How blissful : . We are moving soon.

Clothes lines were prohibited by the strata where we were living before too However, they changed the bylaw when I purposefully started hanging dipes and covers all over the top of the fence. Apparantly, there is something more offensive than a "white trash" clothes line

[serenetabbie]

I got teased for making pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving out of a cooked and frozen pumpkin from Halloween. They asked why I couldn't just buy canned pumpkin. No one said a word when they ate the darn thing though.

And people really throw away birthday candles after one use?! I am amazed at that. I also get teased for making ugly cakes with my kids instead of store bought ones for their birthdays. They are ugly, and usually lopsided, but the kids love helping me make them and I get better every year

[mightymoo]

Originally Posted by serenetabbie

And people really throw away birthday candles after one use?! I am amazed at that. I also get teased for making ugly cakes with my kids instead of store bought ones for their birthdays. They are ugly, and usually lopsided, but the kids love helping me make them and I get better every year

I haven't been teased for that, I think my family enjoys the effort for that. My DD's first birthday I made an upright teddy bear with the wilton mold, it came out really well. But for year #2, I tried to do a cat in the hat hat and I winged it, we had it eat it fast before the thing fell over! Last year I reprised the teddy mold into a frog, it wasn't exactly professional, but it did look like a frog.

I need to decide what I'm doing this year, DD's party is next weekend!

[lmonter]

Originally Posted by strathconamama

However, they changed the bylaw when I purposefully started hanging dipes and covers all over the top of the fence. Apparantly, there is something more offensive than a "white trash" clothes line

Originally Posted by serenetabbie

I also get teased for making ugly cakes with my kids instead of store bought ones for their birthdays. They are ugly, and usually lopsided, but the kids love helping me make them and I get better every year

Yeah, people get on me about not spending the $10-$30 for a store-made (with preservatives that I'm mildly allergic to!) cake - like having the kiddo help me stir up the batter takes up *way* too much time. They don't seem to have any problem eating the homemade carrot cake with homemade cream cheese frosting though... Oh, and we (well, he) also smother(s) half the cake in sprinkles. The kiddo loves his sprinkles.