April A to Z Challenge: F is for ...

I actually uttered this sentence to my husband yesterday before I knew what I was saying: “I need a good *F* word.”  Ah, that wacky A to Z challenge.  The *F* word for today is Frugality.
    My days as a single mother, when my girls were very small, forced me, out of necessity, into a frugal lifestyle. Amy Dacyczyn was my hero. I learned to live on very little money. Now that Computer Geek is job-hunting, we’re back to not only pinching pennies, but licking the salt right off of ‘em.
    Most environmentalists would be proud of me, but I promise you that my love of recycling garbage has more to do with selfish frugalista pleasure, than with reducing my carbon footprint. (I figure that as long as my carbon footprint is less than Al Gore’s, I’m safe.) My favorite things to recycle are containers of any type. I love them.
     We save plastic juice bottles, refill them with water, and store them in case the city shuts off the water without notice. We refill plastic laundry jugs with water so that we have soapy water too. Unique jars are especially tantalizing and any cool box with a lid is safe from the trash can.

Look at this chocolate brown and pistachio green beauty that originally housed peanut brittle from my husband's former boss. It is now home for all the magnets I use in crafting.

Come on. You don't really throw away these, do you?

     My favorite jars to save are the tiny ones, so that I can use them for scrapbooking supplies such as brads, beads, and eyelets. However, Mr. Twelve-Year-Old Who Puts Away the Dishes, does not share my fascination. Frequently, we have the following conversation:
     “Where is the lid that goes to that spice jar I just washed?”
     “What lid?”
     “It was small, brown, and metal and goes with this spice jar.”
     “I don’t know.”
     “ARGH!”
     The other day, Computer Geek was in the process of throwing away a perfectly good empty sandwich baggie box when I had a vision.  It was the perfect size for—you guessed it—holding smallish type lids! The kind that go with adorable little spice jars!  I turned this…

…into this!

    

 And while I was at it, I revamped that cute little gum container.

    Frugality. My second favorite *F* word, next to FREE.