I lived in the Philippines for 2.5 years – that is SERIOUS poverty, which necessitates extreme frugality. I would purchase produce & fish & meat at the local market, and would naturally toss out the wilted or slightly browned leaves & fish heads & scraps, etc. I learned to put all of that in bags by my driveway because it got snatched up by the poor folks immediately. They would snag empty cardboard boxes (used to construct housing for thier families), plastic cartons and containers, old clothes, old magazines, and just about anything that was remotely useful. When you see kids dressed in rags, and 5 kids sharing a bicycle at one time, or a family living in a large cardboard box, you get ‘it’ real fast.

Absolutely use it up and wear it out. There is no shame in that game! Until you’ve seen extreme poverty, you cannot imagine how blessed we are here, and how silly our wasteful behaviors are.

And if your detergent makes your skin itch and you’re out of lotion – go ahead and use a little olive oil or sesame oil, or heck, even like Donna said – a little Crisco! )