mom is an accidental environmentalist

[@rubywarda6871]

*”I don’t think my mum has ever bought a jar in her life”* lol… Arab moms are the same

[@azin1567]

Same as Iranian mum 😂❤

[@Mona-my5rc]

African mums high fiving!

[@webistebi8310]

Please add parents raised during the depression or grandparents who raised children during the depression to the list…💝

[@andascalise5539]

me too. Im not a mom

[@kristinyt]

I think only americans are NOT like that. Lol. In Europe is pretty common to reuse what you have first, recycle second EDIT: jesus, people, stop assuming what I am assuming. Lol. Of course it is a generalisation from what I see on the internet. I'm sure there are people in Europe who throw away everything and people in the States who recycle or reuse.

[@susieast450]

They do it out of habit. When you come from meager backgrounds, as most of us have, you learn to reuse and repurpose everything. Back then, they couldn't buy new things when their belongings broke. They had to either fix it, or repurposed it. Everything is made so cheaply that we are able to throw things away and buy new ones. We have become wasteful and materialistic in these times we live in.

[@marianakiselova6913]

For my mom it is not about being able to buy, it's a conscious decision to not let anything go to waste. And it is about sustainability for her. The amount of plastic local supermarkets produce is astounding. In Ukraine you generate about a third of plastic waste compared to Spain, living roughly the same lifestyle.

[@NanciesArt11]

I even recycle my Greek Yoghurt containers. I use the lids for mixing Gouache blends or use them for watercolour crayons blending. Then use my paintbrushes to paint whatever I'm working on. I reuse glass jars for homemade sauces, etc. We used to reuse bread bags when we packed our shoes in suitcases for trips. Also for wet beachwear, too.

[@naskyani5032]

Yes just to look more aesthetic and live "easier" we make the environment worsen

[@effytraveler6155]

We also try to appear uniformed in our style. I have those small spice bottles, but I wont throw away because they are all different. I have big spice containers too. They don’t look pretty, round, square, glass, plastic. A lot of people do throw away.

[@Madelope]

@@marianakiselova6913 so essentially you just expanded on what the OP said 😂

[@leebee9643]

Living proof that it’s not a big deal or huge chore to be sustainable love it

[@happybunnyntx]

Reminds me of my boyfriend not believing that there were cookies in the butter cookie tin. He asked, "why do you have a sewing kit in the kitchen?" They were actual cookies, my mom repurposed an old tool box for her sewing so we never had that problem.

[@sawsaw2388]

All Hispanic/Caribbean Household My dissappointment each time🥹

[@Arissiah]

I don't remember my grandmother ever buying butter cookies, but somehow she still has a tin for them full of buttons

[@irenelopezmartin2246]

I don't know why this is universal. I'm Spanish and both my mom and my grandma use cookie tins as sewing kits

[@melisroom]

I remember pouring myself some lemonade only to find out it was chicken stock 😂😅

[@agatakaczmarska6102]

My mom stores frozen herbs in ice cream containers. It's always a disappointment when you want some ice cream and you open it up only to find frozen dill or parsley inside

[@mai-khanhhuynh8452]

Had to stop my husband from pouring himself a glass of soy sauce that my mom stores in an old bottle of Starbucks cold brew coffee 😂

[@maggienbob1304]

My first laugh out loud of the day! Thank you! & the replies too! 😂 Love it!

[@snoopy_90s]

I once made seafood stock and put in a apple juice bottle and wrote not apple juice. My stepdaughter clearly didn't read my note. She took a big swig of it and came running to tell me the apple juice had gone really bad. I couldn't stop laughing.

[@breakuphouses]

My grandma boiled stinging nettles and put that tea which is almost Black into a cola bottle….never trusted her fridge again 😂😅

[@wrappitstudios]

When I set up my kitchen with pretty matching labelled jars for all my spices, my Indian mom had only one reaction… “you bought jars???….😮😮😮”

[@MeowTX]

Haha i actually bad buying all those matching jars even though they look good for our kitchen

[@austenhead5303]

I bought the matching labelled jars too, but... she's right. We're so vain and wasteful.

[@ragnkja]

Buying jars makes sense if none of the jarred things you buy regularly come in the size of jar you need, but that’s the only time it makes sense.

[@Thehouseoffail]

Counter suggestion. My mother paints beautiful designs on the jars to match. You just have to get the right kind of durable sealer for the paint.

[@radhiadeedou8286]

I buy pretty jars if they're gonna be on the counter or a shelf but everything that's hidden in a cabinet is a reused jar

[@JD-mk6zc]

The more that social media allows us to see how others live, I realize we have more in common than different

[@SILSpring]

Amen

[@LaughingInTiny]

Love this. All of this. I hack the hack by only buying things in pretty packaging the first time, then using the same group of jars for a particular thing. Olive oil mayo has pretty green lids, so they became a collection of containers for craft supplies in the craft closet. The hexagon jam and honey jars are for loose tea. The nutbutter jars are for dry baking goods because they have a wide mouth and measurement cups fit. I de-label them and make em pretty. You CAN spraypaint the lids if you want to get super fancy. But yeah, the fridge is also full of questionably labelled stuffs at my mom's house too lol. 😂

[@lemon-pop2923]

Famous childhood trauma: the hidden sewing kit 😂 It's always the Danish Butter cookie tin too! I'm still worried every time I find one in the house if it's the sewing kit or actual cookies! 🍪

[@UnicornsPoopRainbows]

I never saw a cookie tin with cookies in it until I was at Costco and they were giving out samples 😂😂

[@harleyhun13]

Yessss 😂

[@CaptainDrinkalot]

I won them once in a school competition and I almost expected a sewing kit when opening them lol

[@sarahnunez318]

literally traumatised

[@Tina-fj4xo]

Yes!

[@snakesonaframe2668]

My great aunt has an entire drawer of cool whip, I can’t believe it’s not butter, country crock, sour cream, and other plastic food containers. She uses them to store leftovers, as well as send them home with people. She’s 77 and still cooks 3 meals a day, cleans the house, and takes care of 40 chickens. I hope I have as much energy as her when I’m her age lol

[@heehoopeanut420]

nothing will ever taste as good as a warm country crock container full of leftovers from mamaws house

[@bostonterriermom]

At the family get togethers we all bring our “containers” we get a good laugh at the fact that they are all reused from something else…

[@UnicornsPoopRainbows]

​@@heehoopeanut420 I miss my Mamaw and her mashed taters and green bean casserole. Her cooking secrets are real butter, lard, and bacon grease. I'm amazed her and grandpa lived to their late 70s

[@heehoopeanut420]

@@UnicornsPoopRainbows oh yes, the mason jar full of bacon grease for cooking😂❤️ same but same here, somehow they both lived long lives

[@Drando1989]

My grandma ALWAYS had a county crock container and NEVER any butter in it! 💯❤️🤣

[@HarmlessComment]

If you had grandparents who survived the Great Depression you will see the same type of habits. I saved many of my grandma's jars ❤

[@pdatnc]

So true! Rubber bands should be saved forever apparently. Baggies can be turned inside out, washed and then left to dry in multiples all over the kitchen counters. Lol

[@angeltait4682]

Exactly

[@Arissiah]

My great grandparents. My grandparents had to empty out their house when they left us, and they found tons and tons of unused, unopened, with tag on, clothes and shoes and other things that were of course never used. They were things they had gotten as gifts

[@Insig385]

my mom's like this too, result is that i have a hard time throwing out empty jars because i keep thinking there'll be a use for it. it extends to all other things too - old (clean) socks are kept so i can use it to wipe things, i have boxes and stuff to organize drawers. the problem, tho, is that i just end up hoarding a lot of things that i legit have no use for (like...keeping 20 empty jars when i never need that many). *sigh*

[@1mamab532]

when you grow up with grandparents who lived through the depression and a world war, parents raised in coal mining and pastor families, and you yourself raised in a missionary family- yeah, the struggle is Real

[@redkitty7511]

“As all kids of immigrants knows you reuse containers” 😂 I used to think it was just my mom.

[@1rage17]

Mine too haha now I’m doing the same thing

[@Mink_Tracks]

All the white people I knew growing up did this as well 😂 especially those margarine containers. Always full of soups or gravies... nevee butter

[@rinherdez]

Mexican here, that butter is always beans or salsa

[@JustConfused_24-7]

I do that now, repurpose jelly jars, pickle jars, butter bowls i use for starting new plants…i always hated when i was growing up, finding gravy or something other than butter. Jars are used for storage, like nails and screws. I just attach the lid to the bottom of a shelf in my garage and can unscrew the jar to access whatever’s in there

[@blackdiamond2977]

This would be ALL moms no matter where they live will do this INCLUDING in the U.S. has NOTHING to do with being an IMMIGRANT and EVERYTHING to do with income level.

[@shatteredshards8549]

In the Midwest, we reuse any plastic container that food comes in, especially Cool Whip or margarine spread tubs. They're great for leftovers.

[@SundaysChild1966]

I have finally bought REAL Tupperware for myself .. me .. I .. lol .. sending leftovers home - you get an ice cream tub! NO one (except my dear neighbour) gets the Tupperware. lol

[@billiejoemerick7564]

Hey!! if you get food in one of those kind of containers you know it's going to be epic👍☮️ no matter what might be in that container- you can be assured it's SOUL food ☺️

[@dee_dee_place]

Hey, the fabulous chef, Jacques Pépin, stores his leftovers in a wide-rimmed plastic container which he freezes. Then he just cuts the container & puts the frozen scraps in a stew pot to make stock. Brilliant; everything is in one container, in the freezer, & you don't even have to defrost it.

[@urae4547]

Until recently I wasn’t aware that those mini eclairs that come in the square plastic box were like a real obtainable thing. I had only ever seen them as containers for leftovers.

[@dee_dee_place]

@@SundaysChild1966 I'm a Pyrex fan for baking to refrigerator usage. I bought 4 Pyrex dishes (2 came with their own covers) 21 yrs ago & they are as good as new. I do save glass jars & have some Tupperware to store other things in but they don't last as long as the Pyrex & you can't cook them in the oven, only the microwave.

[@TatiJBC]

As a Brazilian I can relate to many of these habits. Except the fruit peels, witch I will adopt right away. ❤️❤️❤️

[@rainnmoon114]

We are so similar 🥰 Puerto Ricans in particular know the pain of going for butter in the fridge and finding beans inside T-T lol

[@iseldaarce4074]

Yep or salsa 😂

[@ZimVader-0017]

Every single time at grandma's house. Opening 5 butter tubs, none of it is butter 🥲 Everything is leftovers 😆

[@ellebrooks13]

My grandmother kept all plastic bags, corks, plastic wrap etc and reused them. She grew up during the great depression so it was her way of life. She was a sustainable queen. I would love to know more about her when I was adult, she passed when I was a teenager. People older than us have amazing stories and wisdom.

[@nicolelouie2006]

YESSS! The rule growing up was “never trust the label” 😂 cutest video, now I’m thinking of my popo

[@nem6588]

Once I drank out of a coke bottle expecting it to be coke, but it was fish sauce…

[@SGpre75]

@@nem6588 The fish sauce has a fishy smell and you didn’t notice?

[@ragnkja]

Not even handwritten labels are trustworthy.

[@shelleysmith4017]

Once we kids moved out, my mother began using masking tape and a sharpie pen to write the contents of the tubs lol. We all demanded to know why it happened when we moved out as she had caused us so much trauma in our childhood never being sure what we were going to find when we opened a container lol. We never had ice cream, so at least we were spared that disappointment lol.

[@nem6588]

@@SGpre75 It didn’t really have a strong scent to it. Maybe because it had kind of coagulated on the surface but when it started sliding down into my mouth, I smelled it and realized my mistake too late.

[@ainaq5259]

Sometimes I wonder if my habit of collecting jars and cups are unhealthy and "hoarding" then I remember my mom who does the same and get reminded that this is normal

[@Nin3teen95]

The tea cozie one is so real. My mom loves showing off her recycled linens turned into something else and gives them away as gifts haha

[@shelleysmith4017]

Let her know those things will sell online these days! Many folks love that type of thing but do not know how to make it themselves or know anyone to make them. I have so many jars that I often crochet or macrame on them to make them look pretty. I started out doing it to make a couple of hanging candle holders, then on to making the storage jars on the shelves look a little more coordinated. Someone visited and loved the look but did not have the skills nor the inclination to learn them. She offered to buy them, and I periodically sell at farmers markets and craft fairs as well as online once in awhile. She could find herself making a load of money on the side to do something fun with. 😉

[@shellyb7726]

My friend told me (in the 1980s or 90s) her mom had made a teacozy that was such an intriguing shape -- and said it was because she had stuffed it with shoulder pads ! So clever, I thought. Fashions change ruthlessly; habit not so much.

[@shelleysmith4017]

@@shellyb7726 what a great idea! I have made a tea cozy using a pillow stuffing after I had laundered it. It was just to flat for sleeping in but was perfect for studding a tea cozy. When my favorite sweater finally began showing wear in the collar and sleeves, I pulled all the stitching out and used that to knit up a tea cozy outer. Now I reuse the yarn from my old sweaters or from charity shops if I like the color or thickness of the yarn. I like to recycle and reuse where I can. My mother always told me to worry about the pennies and the dollars would look after themselves. It was a necessity when I was growing up, 2 adults and 6 kids. But learning frugalness early on meant we were not only able to buy our second and final home, our dream home, with 3 acres of land on a Loch in Scotland, but we also did it without a mortgage, despite the pandemic causing house prices to jump. If my Mom were still alive I would move her over to Scotland where winters are warmer than northern Vermont and would thank her repeatedly for teaching me such useful skills…as a child I hated it and was embarrassed by much of it if friends came by, but as an adult, I am proud and grateful. Having land to grow our own food, I am looking forward to retirement to live up there permanently and sell the first house we bought when we got married. I was a teen in the 80’s, I remember how big and solid those shoulder pads were! 😂🤣 I can just imagine the intriguing shape! But they were so solid too I bet that tea cosy kept that tea lovely and hot for ages!

[@debbiekoortzen1154]

This is so inspiring, they waste nothing. We should all live this way.

[@chronic_payne5669]

We can’t, things aren’t built to be reused these days, they’re literally built to break/fail/wear out so that we’re forced into buying new rather than fixing it.

[@debbiekoortzen1154]

@@chronic_payne5669 That is true, I try very hard to create less waste, use what we have, repair, repurpose, compost etc. It is a uphill battle and feel a bit futile sometimes. Hope you are well. 🌻

[@monicaoketei]

My Bajan mum has entered the chat 😂 everytime I opened the ice cream tub, I was met with disappointment 😩

[@mdmonirhossain7787]

My wife does the same thing 😂 she puts blended garlic, ginger in ice cream tub😂😂😂

[@stracyb7545]

Everytime

[@gravel9270]

My parents also reuse biscuit and candy jars. Another thing is that when there's an upcoming occassion where we need to roast a whole chicken. My dad would encourage me to not throw away the peel of any citrus fruit. Instead he wanted me to put it in the freezee so he can save it so he can use this to add aroma to the chicken while it's being roasted. He puts them inisde the chicken when before he turns on the turbo.

[@amanda.a.m]

Oh wow the jar comment really hit home. I love how matching jars and containers look on Pinterest and stuff…I’ve never seen it in real life tho

[@mariaaktj]

THIS!!!!

[@BunnyBlythe]

Southern moms too o.o and any other container with a lid “is this coolwhip? No… it’s green beans nevermind ”

[@saldiamond]

Lol I do this now that I'm an adult. Have a one right now in the fridge filled with something other than cool whip 😂

[@Raddiebaddie]

Trulyyy

[@emmaesta9444]

The tub of crocker butter was always full of leftovers

[@daniedco10]

The country crock was never country crock 😂

[@deniseoates7147]

My grandma always washed and reused even some time aluminum foil, oil and grease put into glass jars to be reused. Miss you Minnie!

[@letitiakiu]

Love ya Minnie!!!

[@maggienbob1304]

Same here. Grandma n Mom always had old fat in an old food can. Washed & saved tinfoil. Passed down generations. I have a glass jar of bacon grease in my fridge right now! 😁

[@samanthashaw8329]

My grandmother did same. Comes from the great depression being a war bride being on rations with a rations book and being born at the turn of a century

[@jaegrant6441]

​@@samanthashaw8329 I don't think it's so much a relic of the great depression as it's more a sense of reducing waste and making do with what we have.

[@samanthashaw8329]

@@jaegrant6441 you know our ancestors did all of that during the world War 1 and 2 and the depression before you young whippersnappers ever came up with new fandangled fancschmancy terms for it

[@Vikanuck]

Lol love that mindset of ‘Why would I buy something just to put the thing I bought into it?? Stupid…” 😂

[@joiceraiana]

I'm brazilian and the jar thing is a staple of the brazilian houses too. Also reuse plastic bags you get buying groceries to put trash out cover your shoes when it's raining so they don't get wet ✌

[@dianadehass7616]

This throws me back to all the sour cream tubs full of potato salad lol

[@justinecamille7426]

This goes for us in the southern United States! Jam jars and butter tubs as far as the eye can see 👀

[@latifahnewton9825]

Don't ever go in the fridge for bitter and expect to find butter ☠🤣 6 tubs and several cus words later, its at the back of the fridge or worse in the door because its stick butter this time not tub🤣

[@bodyofhope]

Jars jars jars! Don't you try and throw away that pickle jar miss ma'am!

[@almarc3747]

BY GOLLY JEEE FUCKING JELLY BEANS I WONDER IF MAYBE IT JUST BECAUSE WE ARE HUMAN AND NOT OUR GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OR RACE........🙄🤮 THIS WORLD MAKES ME SICK

[@ThestuffthatSaralikes]

Country crock tubs; the official Tupperware of the south.

[@ainmiky4620]

yup jam jars are too beautiful and functional to throw out lol

[@alaaalbarazi]

The "I don't think my mom has ever bought a jar.. ever"... I felt that 💀😂

[@sanctuary6689]

Korean moms, aunties and grandmas all over the world approve this message.

[@ConstantlyRepeatingMyself]

I reuse jars/containers too. It’s better for the environment. I especially like the to go soup containers.

[@melissawright5716]

This goes from my grandma who was a teen during the depression - love it. Thank you for sharing

[@JustAnotherNameYo]

As a child of immigrant plastic container was called “Tupperware” even though none were. I don’t reuse plastic containers but my fridge and cupboards are filled with reused glass jar. We even use them as drinkware. In the summer it’s great to have a lid for your drink to keep out the tiny bugs.

[@marycerullo8455]

I love your mother! Mine was just like her and now this is me. Be proud!

[@carasomebody6477]

Oooh the pot thermos is awesome. Never seen that before

[@misst1586]

That thing looks great. I want one.

[@KarenLeos91]

And they’re absolute icons for it! My Mexican immigrant parents did the same, and as an immigrant myself, I do the same too lol

[@sandradiaz09]

Hahaha same 😂 and now my kids are experiencing the same thing with me lol. When I visit my mom I get to take left overs in her random jars and containers and the best thing I don’t have to worry about returning it.

[@Mink_Tracks]

I come from puerto rico to america. I actually thought every culture did this. All the white people families i grew up with saved jars. Escpecially the margarine jars 😁

[@StrawberryBanana86]

Commons Sense generation at its finest! I miss the good ol days and my Southern grandparents,they where so smart and thrifty!! God bless all!!

[@JuriAmari]

I paint the labels so that the trauma of mixing things up never happens again 😂 I can’t forget the day I wanted apple juice and it turned out to be cooking oil 😅

[@jannetf3006]

My Mexican mom uses a oats container to keep those plastics bags from the grocery store and y’all the container literally says it’s from 2010 which is when we moved to our current house 😭

[@marianakiselova6913]

Lol, just had to help my parents move from one appartment to another in Spain, where everything you buy at a supermarket comes in some sort of a package, I was blown away by my mom's collection of every little jar, plastic container and wrapping imaginable just from the last 8 months she has spent here.

[@sleepy.timaeus.arts.]

lmaoo i love the immigrant reusing different containers thing bc i saw this growing up & unconsciously it's become a part of me. i love finding other containers to repurpose. i even decorate some of them 😭 i wanted to start actually buying some soon, but this short made me feel happy and proud to remember where i got this trait from 🙈

[@virgoessence1233]

Mexican here, after a big party you’ll see everyone walk out with take home containers that have yummy food and aren’t even close to label descriptions lmao😂

[@jennifertracykessler2474]

I’ve demonstrated to my four children the following: reuse reuse reuse reuse recycle. I have massive respect for this mama Bear!

[@AshesAshes44]

Don't forget reduce! Because it's easy to do with a passel of kiddos in the house 😉

[@jennifertracykessler2474]

@@AshesAshes44 well said!! yes yes!!

[@lndcruz721]

the compost thing and reusable jars are very relatable. my parents do that and I have also started to collect jars - i mean its such a waste not to

[@LC-ep7ko]

Love this!!!! Also reporting a solidarity high five from the Black Community ❤️

[@helenthomas6716]

Your mom and dad are like my southern parents were. Smart!

[@blnfth87]

Your mom is literally saving the earth. We need to take notes

[@teerich2011]

My mom started collecting jam jars when they had cool designs, and then we started with some pasta sauce jars and saved the lids. My dad saves orange peel so parents can boil with onion and honey for home remedy. I started saving glass coffee jars and still do in my own home. Also saving toilet paper and paper towel rolls for crafting and bag ties.

[@roku5071]

I remember the jelly and jam jars that when empty they could be reused as drinking glasses. They had cartoon characters painted on them. And some gas stations having their promotions where you bought so much gas and earned points/tickets towards dinnerware or kitchen utensils like a set of steak knives. And of course we cannot forget the good old S&H Green Stamps 😎

[@teerich2011]

@@roku5071 those last two were before my time, but sure seemed practical. Good steak knives are expensive.

[@roku5071]

@@teerich2011 I remember my mom telling me that her set of dinnerware with a wheat design came from boxes of detergent. Search - dinnerware in laundry detergent back in the 1960's They had plates, glasses, steak knives, towels, washcloths and things like that. Before my time, but I loved moms wheat dishes and glasses.

[@teerich2011]

@@roku5071 wow! What gems. I feel like I've seen the Corelware plates with brown wheat designs before. I bought similar ones at thrift store

[@lisacrooks6281]

South Louisiana French and Choctaw here. My Chinese friend asked me “What’s with the leftover jars?” I replied that if they get broken or stolen it’s no big deal. Better than plastic and the price is right.

[@acebilbo]

I grew up that way. Norwegian Mom. They went thru the Depression, but were so poor it wasn't much different. My Grandmother came over when she was 16. I love canning once in my peanut butter jars. There is still enough sealant in those lids.

[@mystruggletobeadecenthuman5121]

Asian parents & grabs parents are the most sustainable people. My grandma NEVER throws away anything. She kept reusing every plastic bags she got from the store, even when they get dirty, she’d wash them and use them more.

[@maggienbob1304]

Wait.. I thought everybody did that. Lol

[@Mink_Tracks]

Wait until you meet a german. Your mind will be blown.

[@cassstephens9910]

Looooove. Especially the mislabeled jars!! New to me:. Down jacket, fruit peels

[@theire483]

My mom (not Asian) did all of these...except the pot thermos. We still put our food garbage in the freezer to this day....we also sometimes use the citrus peels for the small garbages, bedrooms, and closets with cloves etc., and we us them to clean the sink.

[@jcla2540]

Love it! These values are what may get my kids through if hard times falls on their generation.

[@MC-tz5zz]

Literally every Hispanic mom

[@neelamfryer1892]

💯 my Filipina mom is like that all the way!!!

[@cathyw3144]

Compost scraps in the freezer, genius idea!! Our city adopted green waste disposal, but I couldn't deal with the insects and smell until now, thanks for sharing this tip!

[@BB-TheCandleFairy]

I’m not Asian or immigrant, but my family is the same way. I live in a rural area, and we’ve never really had financial stability (for generations in fact) so the “life hacks” get passed down. Jars, tubs, containers, everything is reused and we grow/jar a lot of things ourselves.

[@jenn_pink7]

Your mom is like my Haitian mom lol. I buy more than $100 worth of jars to make my house organized and my husband laughs at me "why are you buying something that comes in a jar to put it in another jar" 🙃 😑

[@Angel-oj4zs]

I learned to put compost in the freezer from my asian in laws and it literally change my life lmfao

[@triciapena9080]

This makes me feel so normal, I don't care what my family says, lol.

[@mercedmedina9656]

And she’s saving the world trust me she’s amazing

[@laurenhornbuckle7003]

So funny how there are European equivalents to all of this-my German grandpa is so similar!

[@laurenhornbuckle7003]

@Harry9683 bruh who pissed in ur cereal

[@theFULLMoonKnight]

​@Harry9683 There's literally 900+ comments on here stating the exact same thing as this person. Go be an asshole somewhere else.

[@princessjello]

No but like all the drygoods in my house are stored in kimchi and talenti containers LOL

[@lindaseel8633]

My Italian grandma would wash aluminum foil and hang it up to dry. We still reuse jars, I can stuff we grow, so every jar from the store gets fitted for standard canning lids. If it won't fit , those hard are reused for other things from buttons cut off old shirts, to holding used cooking oil and fat.

[@askosefamerve]

Every. Single. Asian household. They are organized and they have a use for everything! Which is great.

[@ladyicondraco]

I have to try the orange peel hack.

[@marie-fz8sv]

I remember one time my brother wanted to grab some popcorn out of a popcorn bowl from the cinema but he didn’t know that our hispanic family ate all of the leftovers the day before so he grabbed into a mango juice that my grandma put into the bowl

[@tankgirllovesroos]

The orange peel and the freezer one I have now incorporated into my routine. Thank you 🙏🏻

[@rachelburgener819]

Smart mom👏👏👏 Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without! That’s how we grew up and taught our now adult children 🥰. ❤️😀

[@gailfattori6518]

I'm the same way. My mother was a world war 2 baby and went through the war, before coming here to America. Ive learned a lot and I seem to be passing it on to my girls. Lol. It's awesome , to me. ❤

[@littlegravitas9898]

My dad's Nigerian and he has never thrown away a takeaway container in his life. He has cupboards of plastic boxes from them, so anytime he needs go store something, in they go.

[@cecilbal08]

The jar thing is my mom too! She's straight Filipino and I find myself doing the same thing! 😄👍

[@lalaincbus5081]

some of these food containers these days are just like the storage containers you pay for. I love a well packaged product.

[@elizabethyow1165]

That tea cozy is adorable! I love the blue floral print 💙🩷💞

[@0denku0]

Yeah we re-use spice jars so it gets really interesting if you read the label. We have spicy chilli powder in a jar labeled "thyme". Also my mom saves all the plastic bags and we use them as trash bags. The bag collection is huge! We re-purpose her wine bottles to hold oil and we take them when she visits her parents and they fill it with homemade wine. We use old jars when we make jams or other stuff that can be jarred as long as those jars don't have a messed up lid.

[@venusburgh]

that composting hack just blew my mind, thank you both so much

[@recuerdos2457]

Your mom is super clean and organized!!

[@amandalee5378]

I agree My Mom after surviving g through a War... She hates waste. She has been composting for years They are cheap they learn value in everything . Very resourceful.

[@Anonymous-ev3rl]

My mom does things that are sustainable because they just make life easier and I love that. She's not trying to be sustainable and different or trendy. She just does what's best for her and her wallet

[@gloriaarellano5108]

Same here. My mom grew up just after great recession. She re-used EVERYTHING. My dad fixed EVERYTHING instead of throwing it out.

[@munchkinlk83]

I'm not an immigrant but do the same thing with jars and containers. My grandparents went through the Great Depression. Most people now days don't know hard times.

[@elliot__agares]

I'm from Brazil and my mom always asks us to not trow away plastic bottles so we can re-use it as bottles to put juice inside, she also was using the sugar jar to put salt, and the salt jar to put sugar

[@alusias3183]

it took me a good few years to kick the habit of saving and reusing every single jar and plastic container we get. I have since stopped reusing plastic containers not meant to be reused, but glass jars/bottles are too precious to get rid of 😅

[@alohatvj]

Your mom is a true environmentalist for sure. We do the best 👌 👍 we can to save this way where possible. Subscribed to channel for more amazing videos 😍 👏.

[@newbie4789]

The jar hack is actually quite funny. My mom actually bought me those milk flavouring things for kids so that she could get the jar to make and store pickles

[@werelemur1138]

My late grandmother was a survivor of the depression. She had a whole drawer full of old margarine containers that she used for leftovers for years.

[@Secondhandlegs]

I married into an Asian family. There was so much I had to learn! So, so much. We now have multiple freezers and I've got a years supply of rice at any time.

[@EJCmkechi]

What we call sustainable, our parents call common sense. I’m here for it!

[@KMayflower]

The freezer for the food scraps is like the best hack ever!!!

[@ChristopherSibert]

I was raised like this, my version of rebellion was buying matching food containers for everything in my refrigerator, freezer and cupboard and then sending pictures to my parents 🤣

[@debrastarr8436]

Love the large square cashew containers. They stack perfectly on the shelves in my pantry!

[@hurryslow1]

Hats off to your mum 🌸💕

[@AlwaysLime]

We reuse jars too, but we’ve been here for generations/we’re indigenous 😊. I think it’s a frugal thing for us.

[@GodzillaofTokyo]

Kids and grandkids of people who grew up in the depression will also do this.

[@karenhackbarth1801]

I grew up doing that kind of stuff! I remember when butter started coming in plastic containers. They all became bowls and storage containers. The most cherished keeper for repurpose is the blue or brown bottles!

[@SomaraSon]

While it’s not “aesthetically pleasing” or “luxe for less” these are the things that make home feel like home ❤❤

[@janetgriffin7779]

Those jam jars come in handy. I have so many!!