Going Too Far in the Name of Saving Money
Tip It!I was recently perusing the comments on some of my more popular articles when I ran across a rather amusing exchange in response to my list of ways to saving money while saving the planet.
A commenter named guysmiley00 suggested the following as a way to save water:
Take a cue from truckers, and pee in a lidded plastic container (e.g., windshield washer fluid container), then pour out the urine and flush it down when the container’s full. You can reduce your daily flushes from 6-7 to 1, easy as pie.
Women might be able to do this too, although the lack of male “external aiming apparatus†could be an issue.
A commenter named ikes jokingly (I hope) took it one step further…
Take a cue from truckers […] pee in a lidded plastic container, then throw it out of the window of your vehicle into someone’s backyard.
I guess this is just a more hardcore version of the old saw: “If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.”
Anyway, this all got me to thinking… What are you limits when it comes to saving money (or reducing your environmental impact)? What’s the most extreme thing you’ve down in this vein? C’mon, spill the beans… Leave a comment. You know you want to!
Published on June 22nd, 2007 - 6 Comments
Filed under: Frugality
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
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6 Responses to “Going Too Far in the Name of Saving Money”
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June 22nd, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Too disgusting for words. No matter what color stuff I put in my toilet, I’m flushing. Every time, no question. To do otherwise ( except in extreme drought conditions ) is just disgusting… ugh.
I love saving money, and I’m onboard with saving the environment too. But not at the expense of good personal hygiene, and I think flushing falls into that category.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Hmm, ladies could buy one of the, uh, appliances that allow one to pee standing up — but the cost might offset the water savings, at least financially. Our water costs something like $0.0019 per gallon. Gosh, if you were going to save urine like that, the least you could do is toss it on your compost pile to fire things up!
I have a blog specifically about saving money and the environment. I think my most extreme action is an upcoming move to a spritz & wipe system for dealing with #1 in our bathroom — I think we can eliminate most toilet paper use this way, if I can get my family on board.
And I’ll confess that I flush the toilet with recycled washing machine water … lugging five gallons of used water through the house has got to be a little extreme (is that an oxymoron?).
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:11 pm
We keep a bucket in the shower and collect the water that runs while waiting for it to get warm, and use that in the toilet tank. Saves a flush or two a day.
I am in the camp of “if it’s yellow let it mellow,” particularly because I drink a lot of water, so it’s not very yelllow, but my husband isn’t. He’ll flush first, then use the toilet, then flush again, if I’ve left it.
June 24th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Well i think as far as I would go would be adding solar panels to a house to reduce electricity
June 27th, 2007 at 9:10 am
In case no one know in the island most people have something under the bed to use at night. And to your surprise many Americans have something as well. I have a large hot sausage jug. I keep wet wipes by the bed. My daughter uses it at night. Or she will have an accident if I can’t wake up at night. She is afraid to go the the toilet at night alone. I know so many people who save water with one of their own. I am all for hygiene as well. More than most. But that is just fine. I also wipe down my supermarket shopping cart with clorox wipes. Not many do that and boy they eat and walk.
July 9th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
OK, now I’m waiting for the phrase “large hot sausage jug” to leave my head. Please.