Apoorva 
Our lives have retracted into the current state of crises, but sometimes it’s surprising just how joyous I get over the most trivial things. Deleting irrelevant emails. Cold side of the pillow. Eating a dessert. Delicious smell in your kitchen when you cook something for the first time. A bird’s nest. Just the right room temperature. Binge-watching your favorite web series for hours.
In a recent bout of escapism, I spent some time pondering about my frugal habits. Below, I’ve listed a few random frugal quirks I regard most dear — as when everything seems to expect and demand the maximum care and attention, we need a break. And with so much financial uncertainty in these difficult times, we could also use a little frugal idea. Though such habits won’t make you rich, they can possibly make you think twice about discarding something that could be recycled or repurposed.
You may call them quirky or frugal, or perhaps cringeworthy. Your call. Still, I’m sure that you’ll see an image of yourself or someone related to you in this post.
And now, a short list of all the frugal quirks I’ll never share at parties, however, will happily share with you all!
Saving and using hotel goodies
Going camping in the incredible jungle camps? Your hygiene obviously matters. Those mini shampoos, conditioners, soaps, etc. from past hotel visits fit so easily into your toiletry bag. These miniatures are ideal for camping, future tours, or simply a pleasing reminder of past holidays while using them in your shower at home. Amusing enough, I have hoarded soaps and shampoos from vacations that have gotten me through other vacations, which makes it quite weird when you’re in Assam reminiscing about Rajasthan. Or in the Himalayas but secretly longing to be in the backwaters of Kerala. Anyway, I never let these goodies go to waste.
Collecting Food Sachets and Seasonings
This might not be something new for you. That’s right, collecting oregano and chili flakes for the future is something totally relatable for all millennials out there. Hear me out. At some juncture, these accompaniments have earned their way into your kitchen hoard. These seasonings are the ultimate taste boosters for various kinds of pasta, risottos, curries, vegetable sides, soups, roasts, BBQ foods, sandwiches & wraps, sauces & condiments, and so on; the list is endless.
Instant noodles spread garnished with oregano, chili flakes, and cheese over a toasted bread slice or a cheese toast with butter, green chilies, oregano, and red chili flakes spread over it are a few of the many delicious quick snacks. Apart from this, owing to their compact packaging, sachets of tea or coffee come in handy while traveling.
Reusing plastic storage bags of all sizes
Besides our mothers, millennials and Gen Z are in on recycling or reusing plastic bags ranging from shopping bags to food packaging bags. My Ziploc bags have seen second, third, or fourth lives as containers for hotel goodies, first aid essentials, and stationery. The ordinary plastic bags have had the distinction of becoming garbage bags (later dumped in the non-biodegradable bins or garbage trucks). And who can forget the big plastic bag of several more plastic bags that every kitchen has!
Apart from frugality, this serves the purpose of recycling plastic bags. Plastic bags, if disposed of in the marine environment, can be mistaken as food by birds and fish. Moreover, it takes centuries for them to decompose in a landfill. This is one of the small ways that can make a huge difference while doing our part for the environment.
Transforming old shoeboxes into drawer dividers
Before anything, thanks to the numerous DIY organizing videos on YouTube and other platforms, shoeboxes make a great home for tiny and cluttered stuff. Dividing your drawers and categorizing each section accordingly makes the place of every item so damned specific that you can easily find them.
Keeping envelopes and gift wraps
Be ready for the pièce de résistance: saving unused and sometimes used envelopes and gift wraps for an encore act. Although the posted paper bank statements or other letters are becoming a thing of the past in order to lessen the use of paper, you might have these along with used gift wraps flooding in drawers. It doesn’t matter—when it comes to the envelope and wraps, all are useful. Those birthday cards or birthday gifts you’re getting? Save that outer layer. That bubble-mailer that came with your shopping order can be used to store some fragile stuff later. The gift wraps can be further used to wrap small-sized gifts in the future, or maybe in some DIY crafts. The envelopes can be used to write memos for your kids or recycled to be used to list down the groceries. Or, you could mail something one day.
So there you have it from my side. However, you may have got a few suggestions of your own that you could add in the comments below — when it comes to saving money and being economical, sharing is caring!