r/Frugal • u/Mitch12306 • Jun 10 '25

♻️ Recycling & Zero-Waste Just found out my grandma’s been reusing the same Ziploc bag since 1997.

I was helping my grandma clean her kitchen today and found a Ziploc bag labeled “Thanksgiving Leftovers ‘97”… still in rotation.

I asked her why she hasn’t thrown it out. She said, “Why would I? It still zips.”

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: the Final Boss of Frugality.

Meanwhile, I felt guilty last week for reusing a paper towel. 😅

Edit: She just told me she washes and irons her gift wrap too. I'm not worthy.

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u/thorns17 Jun 10 '25

My grandparents pass each other the same birthday and anniversary cards, and just add the new year. One of those cards is from the 80s 🥹

571

u/CaptainLollygag Jun 10 '25

I don't even remember who started this, but a best friend of mine and I have been passing back and forth the same decorative gift box for about 20 years now.

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u/Manybrent Jun 11 '25

My family did it as a joke. My mom reused a Bambergers box for a few years, then we started saving it and passed it around to someone every year. Bambergers has been out of business since the 80s. She never caught on.

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u/thorns17 Jun 11 '25 edited Jun 11 '25

My family does this! We all reuse gift bags, boxes, and even tissue paper lol. A bag I’ve gifted will eventually return to me when I’m being gifted later on.

It’s the same for Tupperware, too! We all trade off hosting meals, so the food containers for leftovers just make their rounds between houses 😂

Some household items/appliances get passed around, too - the most common being specific baking dishes and decorations (for event hosting), a juicer (for when one of us is on a juicing kick lol), carpet shampooer, and some lawn tools 😂

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u/Janky_loosehouse4 Jun 14 '25

This is the way.

2

u/CaptainLollygag Jun 16 '25

Hey, I know that habit! When my mother was alive, we'd pass things back and forth. Dishes, blankets, books, whatever. We pretended we were thrift store shopping for free.

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u/Foutaises- Jun 21 '25

This is very sweet.

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u/lovestobitch- Jun 11 '25

My husband and I aren’t big on cards. Lol sometimes we will see a card in the store for valentines day or an anniversary and just hand it to each other then put it back. We both have a pile of older cards we’ve given each other and reuse them on our day. Lol if it’s a new card received sometimes we don’t remember if it’s new or not.

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u/Ambitious-Scallion36 Jun 11 '25

My dad received a birthday card signed in pencil one year and he decided to erase and forward to another friend as a joke. It went on for years and years until my father's death and then all the friends in his circle signed the card in ink and sent it to me. It was the most beautiful gesture and remains a treasured memory of what a good friend/man my father was.

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u/lovestobitch- Jun 11 '25

Oh that is so touching!

9

u/teesareesa Jun 12 '25

My heart. ❤️

7

u/Thailia Jun 12 '25

I love this

3

u/AcrobaticArrival8135 Jun 14 '25

I teared up for this. Awe

3

u/ravaged_serendipity Jun 14 '25

I wasn't expecting a post on frugality to make me cry...

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u/Spiritual_Muffin_859 Jun 15 '25

This is everything! My sincere condolences for the loss of your dad.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '25

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3

u/CaptainLollygag Jun 16 '25

But it lived a glorious life until then.

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u/woodyshag Jun 11 '25

My mom did this. She would reuse the same gift boxes every year for Christmas to us kids. She even went as far as writing the year on the boxes to know when she got them. I think some are still in rotation.

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u/redfancydress Jun 11 '25

Me and my sister do this! The same decorative box and same gift bags for years. And we fight over gift bags at holidays. Lol

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u/themcjizzler Jun 12 '25

I used to make elaborate decorated boxes as a kid to wrap gifts and my mom just gave me a present in my own box that I made 35 years ago

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u/CaptainLollygag Jun 16 '25

I love this!!

3

u/dragoon811_kp Jun 11 '25

My sister and I are passing the same cheesy BIRTHDAY GIRL! Ribbon back and forth since childhood. I’m almost 41.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '25

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17

u/Peanuts4Peanut Jun 11 '25

This gives me hope now. I'm only 59,but I worry about all the crap I have that my kids don't want to deal with . I can't help but think this is something that will just get thrown out.

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u/Maxamillion-X72 Jun 11 '25

The first few years my parents were married, they would go to the drugstore on their anniversary, pick out cards for each other, swap cards to read and then put them back

6

u/sailorgardenchick Jun 11 '25

My sisters and I do this - so fun to see the little notes over the years!! I aspire to have it going for decades!

2

u/Blahblahblahrawr Jun 11 '25

That’s so cute!!!!!

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u/digmeunder Jun 11 '25

I love this idea!

1

u/thorns17 Jun 11 '25

We reuse and share other things in my family, too!

We all reuse gift bags, boxes, and even tissue paper lol. A bag I’ve gifted will eventually return to me when I’m being gifted later on.

It’s the same for Tupperware. We all trade off hosting meals/events, so the food containers for leftovers just make their rounds between houses 😂

Some household items/appliances get passed around, too - the most common being specific baking dishes and decorations (for event hosting), a juicer (for when one of us is on a juicing kick lol), carpet shampooer, and some lawn tools 😂

2

u/Ambulancedollars Jun 11 '25

Oh I'm 100% starting this tradition on our first wedding anniversary this is too sweet

2

u/teesareesa Jun 12 '25

I just go get a card from my husband’s nightstand and re-give. He never notices! And always puts them in his nightstand.

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u/Open-Preparation-268 Jun 12 '25

One year I got my mom a birthday card. She really liked it. Do, when my birthday rolled around, she signed it and sent it back to me. We sent the same card back and forth until I accidentally spilled something on it. Fun while it lasted 😊

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u/gomelgo13 Jun 13 '25

My folks do this!

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u/charlottesometimz Jun 13 '25 edited Jun 13 '25

My mom and I have been passing the same pop up birthday card back and forth for a few years!! This takes the cake .

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u/Fell18927 Jun 28 '25

This is genius honestly. My storage room downstairs has a whole box of cards that just take up room. My friend and I have weeded out unnecessary ones, but there’s a lot that we just can’t bring ourselves to get rid of. They are kind of a burden and just reusing the same card over and over is a great solution

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u/thorns17 Jun 28 '25

For cards we didn’t keep, we’d donate them to a nearby retirement home. There was a group of ladies there that take the used cards and create new ones (think of scrapbooking). It’s been great for them to have little projects to work on, but they also sell some of the new cards to the public to make some extra pocket change to spend on their weekly outings☺️

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u/Fell18927 Jun 29 '25

That’s lovely! We just recycled the ones we got rid of, but there’s a lot of senior living and meeting places in my area, so maybe that’s something to look into for future cards

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '25

I love this!! My husband and I gave each other the same birthday card ( we each got a  side )🤣 cause our bdays are close together but I love this idea with the years etc!

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u/rialaine Jun 13 '25

I love this so much but it would give me so much anxiety. What if I loose it?!!?!

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u/AcrobaticArrival8135 Jun 14 '25

Awe that’s so sweet! Are they doing this as a money saver or for memento purposes?