Comments on: Extreme Frugality: Twenty Memories of My Mother

By: Ruth

Ruth — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 19:48:01 +0000

So many of these were just normal when I grew up – i was always amazed at the waste and extravagance I saw in my friends’ houses. As children, we always shared baths and then recycled the water, pumping it out into the garden – in my grandmother’s house the water was never more than a couple of inches deep and usually cold.
My mother only uses half a stock-cube each time, and adds water to the dishwashing liquid to make it last longer. She also counts potatoes and slices of bread so that there is exactly enough for each person, and no more! She has never bought a sandwich bag, but re-uses breadbags and the plastic wrappers that magazines come in. Also, envelopes are re-used with an address label on top of the original address.
Now the 3 of us girls are married and our husbands complain that we are stingy – it is just against our nature to be wasteful. One husband keeps repeating “the war is over now!”

By: Hannah

Hannah — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:09:50 +0000

I like that napkin idea, but don’t think my husband would go for it! Thanks for commenting, Julia.

By: Julia Munroe Martin

Julia Munroe Martin — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:51:04 +0000

This sounds so familiar! My grandmother lived by the motto: Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without. One of the ways her daughter (my mother) embodied that was by allowing us as kids only 1/2 a paper napkin at dinner — as we got older, we were switched to only cloth napkins with personalized rings, and they were washed once a week! Thanks for a great (and useful!) post!

By: Hannah

Hannah — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 19:21:58 +0000

Eran, my mother was a refugee from Germany before WW II.

By: Eran (Aran) Ariel

Eran (Aran) Ariel — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:35:40 +0000

Was your mother a holocaust survivor by any chance?
Not limited to concentration camps… if you get my drift…
If so, then we have more than enough in common…

By: rivkayael

rivkayael — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:06:00 +0000

I put chicken into the slow cooker–however I’ve seen it both ways (food alongside, or in the congee). My mother serves the omelette on the side. I actually miscalculated–it’s 1 cup cooked rice + 1 cup water (or 1/2 cup raw rice + 6 cups water). The consistency is variable, and Cantonese and Teochew people have very strong opinions as to what the “right” consistency should be.

By: Faye Levy

Faye Levy — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:07:20 +0000

Hi Hannah,

I’ve had congee or very soft rice (some restaurants even call it rice soup) with bits of chicken in it. In Taiwan I had it in soup bowls surrounded by little dishes of savory condiments (some salty, some spicy) that people could add. It was served for breakfast.

By: Hannah

Hannah — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 05:55:09 +0000

HI rivkayael,
Thanks for the idea! I’m confused about the proportions. You serve it in a soup bowl, alongside the omelette or chicken?

By: rivkayael

rivkayael — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 01:35:34 +0000

I’ve used leftover rice for congee (rice porridge)–is a Chinese peasant’s way of saving (and expanding) food. It’s 1/2 cup of rice : 6 cups water, or 1 cup rice : 2 cups water, can be scaled up. I used a slow cooker , though I imagine you could also use a rice cooker. My mother served it with omelettes, I prepare it with chicken. I think my inlaws reuse leftover rice as fried rice (another Chinese specialty…).

(I was your little one’s biggest fan in Roslyn )

By: Hannah

Hannah — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:23:15 +0000

I hope so too, E-S. Losing weight is a great frugal tactic!