The Frugal Mindset

Part of living a healthier financial lifestyle involves developing a frugal mindset, which goes hand in hand with conservation. If you are frugal, you are already adhereing to two of the three Rs of conservation: Reuse, Reduce and Recycle. With a frugal mindset, there are set pathways in your mind and your thoughts follow them automatically. The idea of the frugal mindset and its link to conservation came to mind after I read a newsletter from the state water district which included tips to reduce water use. One of the tips was to wash only full loads of laundry. The way I think about new sheet and towel purchases is only one example of how a frugal mindset works.

When I buy new things such as towels, sheets, and clothes one of the things I automatically consider is how I will wash them. If the color or material is such that it requires special care then I probably won't buy it (Lucky for me that my employer provides and will launder all my work clothes so I don't have to worry about business attire). I would probably not buy bright red towels unless I had lots of other things in bright red so they could all be washed in one load together. The tile in my bathroom is an unusual color scheme that goes best with black towels but since black is a common color in both my and Mr. K's wardrobe gathering a full load is no problem. Washing full loads saves me money in water and energy bill and also saves resources.

If I didn't have a frugal mindset then my main considerations would be style and enjoyment. I could end up having to wash some items separate from my other things because the fabric requires special handling or the color bleeds. Not only would this cost me money in water, electricity, and wear on my washing machine, it would also cost me in time and energy as I worried about sorting out my special items, keeping them out of the regular loads, then waited for the special loads to wash. If I take all that into account the special items don't seem worth it, do they?