My Old Man: Frugal, Cheap, or Just Strange?
I have to preface this post by saying my Dad grew up on a farm in Nebraska with NO running water.
I think they did have electricity when he got a bit older.
Here are some of his “unusual” conservation techniques:
– He puts a brick in the back of the toilet tank so he does not waste water when flushing.
– He puts a five gallon bucket in the shower and when it gets filled he uses the water in the bucket to water his garden. (I am not kidding!!!)
– He gets in the shower and then turns the water on. Once he is wet, he turns the water off, soaps up, then turns the water back on to rinse off.
I don’t think he has had a warm shower since 1986.
– As a kid, I can remember him constantly going around the house turning off light switches that were not being used by anyone.
Funny thing is, I find myself doing this now when my kids leave the lights on.
– He has a wood burning stove and the furnace is NEVER to be turned on.
He will sit in his living room and read the paper with a heavy sweatshirt on during the winter.
When my sister and I would say “it is cold in here”, his response never changed, “Cold? Are you really cold? I think it’s nice in here”.
– He will NOT throw food away. I have seen him cut mold off cheese then slice some for his sandwich. He is a human garbage disposal and claims that “everything always tastes great”.
– We had some pigs on a small farm that I grew up on, and my Dad would get old bread from a local bakery to feed the hogs.
Without fail, at least one of the loaves of bread would end up in our pantry. I could tell because the packaging always had a big black line drawn through it.
So what do you think?
Frugal, cheap, strange, or perhaps a man whose vision has yet to be fully recognized?
Looking forward to your comments.