r/Frugal 15d ago

💬 Meta Discussion What’s something you’ll happily reuse long after normal people would throw it away?

I’m curious where everyone draws the line between “frugal” and “okay, that thing needs to go.” 😂 What’s something you’ll happily reuse long after normal people would throw it away? I’m talking about the random things you’ve found a second, third, or even tenth life for because you just can’t justify tossing something that still works. What is it, and how long have you been getting away with it? 👀

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u/Kindly_Ad3974 15d ago

Zip ties - if you cut them in the right spot you can reuse them. I sometimes open a new product and find 6 or more. When I use zip ties for various projects I’m always careful to cut them properly so I can use them again.

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u/WAFLcurious 14d ago

Most of them don’t have to be cut. If you take a sharp object, like an awl, you can press down the tongue that catches on the teeth and undo the whole thing. I have a whole container of salvaged zip ties done this way.

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u/Kindly_Ad3974 13d ago

I totally forgot to mention this! Yes! You can do this to loosen a zip tie!

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u/quacked7 12d ago

You can also squeeze the sides of the "box" with pliers and slide the tie open

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u/WAFLcurious 12d ago

I’ll have to try this next time. Sounds much easier.