7) Soap Scraps

Tiny bits of the last of the soap can be made into a powder for laundry or tossed in a fabric bag for baths. There’s always something that needs washing!

Via/ Shutterstock

8) Save Those Seeds!

Saving the seeds from food preparation was a simple way to get something for nothing! Saving the roots or stems (like celery) was also a big money saver. Any food you didn’t have to pay for saved money. Most people had some kind of small garden where space allowed.

Via/ Flickr

9) Worn Out Socks and Clothes

There’s no sense in suffering through a hole in your sock, nor is there a reason to throw them out. Darning was the key to making an old pair of socks useable again. Anything that could be mended always was.

Via/ Library of Congress

10) Bacon Grease

Everyone knows that frying your food in bacon grease gives a wonderful flavor and that is reason enough to save it back. But, during World War II there were drives to collect bacon grease and other drippings to be taken to collection centers and used in the production of bombs. Earlier in the Depression, bacon grease, if you had it, might have replaced butter on your bread and in many recipes.

Via/ Library of Congress

All the scrimping and saving could mean the difference between eating a good meal and eating a poor one. Saving could have been the difference between being able to afford something later on and having to do without. Many of our parents and grandparents had to be frugal in order to get by. They taught us how to save money at every turn, for which we are thankful!