# What "dumb" stuff do you save



## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

Everyone must save/collect something that your family or friends think is just plain dumb. Our family doesn't think Inor and I are too far out there when I save the coffee packets and shampoo stuff he brings home from his trips. I probably have ten pounds of sugar saved in those little packets.

I also save the little straws that come with the condiment packets - great for tying up seedlings. I have a big jar of corks. An even bigger jar partly filled with twist ties. These the family think are "dumb".

What are your "saves"?


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## survival (Sep 26, 2011)

Ziploc bags
Grocery bags
Pine needles (beekeeping smoker)
Dryer lint (good lord the size of the bags)
Thrown away wire
antistatic bags from computer parts
desiccant packs
old cd roms (attach to garden fence by fishing string to rotate)
bent nails
empty 2 liter bottles
straws
expired garden seeds (I dumpster dive for these)
egg shells (garden)
cracked walnut shells (shell cleaning)
brass casings (reloads)
screws
thrown away old underwear (don't ask)
turkey feathers (now its sounding like a fetish hoard)


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

Maybe a more salient question is: once you have collected all of this stuff, where do you keep it?

We have decent sized home, not huge, but good size - about 2500 sq ft. There are only Mrs Inor, me (when I am not traveling), 3 dogs and a cat living here. The place is starting to look like a warehouse! :lol:


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

Inor said:


> Maybe a more salient question is: once you have collected all of this stuff, where do you keep it?
> 
> We have decent sized home, not huge, but good size - about 2500 sq ft. There are only Mrs Inor, me (when I am not traveling), 3 dogs and a cat living here. The place is starting to look like a warehouse! :lol:


And the dust bunnies are starting to stalk us.


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## Meangreen (Dec 6, 2012)

I feel kind of dumb keeping surplus gas masks and filters. I know that they really are not good for anything and better masks can be had from the local hardware stores.


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## tks (Oct 22, 2014)

MrsInor said:


> Everyone must save/collect something that your family or friends think is just plain dumb. Our family doesn't think Inor and I are too far out there when I save the coffee packets and shampoo stuff he brings home from his trips. I probably have ten pounds of sugar saved in those little packets.
> 
> I also save the little straws that come with the condiment packets - great for tying up seedlings. I have a big jar of corks. An even bigger jar partly filled with twist ties. These the family think are "dumb".
> 
> What are your "saves"?


I save those too! DH (dear husband) travels a lot for work and I do several times a year for work but I attend several conferences, I leave nothing behind and I don't let DH either. Hey, I figure I'm paying for it, it's going with me.


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## tks (Oct 22, 2014)

survival said:


> Ziploc bags
> Grocery bags
> Pine needles (beekeeping smoker)
> Dryer lint (good lord the size of the bags)
> ...


Now I have to know what you do with the underwear!


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## Sockpuppet (Sep 6, 2014)

Unfortunately, everyone has a libtard in their family or circle of friends that believes anything that is readily available at the local Wal-Mart, is stupid to keep around in any quantity beyond the current use.

So my "collection" of food, water, firearms, and ammunition is considered "stupid" by the aforementioned people. They also look at my bread maker, dehydrator, solar panel charger, BOB, generator, safety can, fire extinguishers, chest freezer, and portable power unit as a both a waste of space and money, if not just downright silly.

Though it is amazing who they call or come to when they need something.


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## Kahlan (Sep 16, 2014)

I have learned to start saving pretty much everything and anything. I must have thousands of old grocery bags but to be honest I have no idea how I would ever use them. What do you all do with them?

Also was curious about these 2... the cd roms deter birds maybe? And bent nails I just can't figure out.



> old cd roms (attach to garden fence by fishing string to rotate)
> bent nails


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## alterego (Jan 27, 2013)

Brown paper bags are fantastic for starting fires. And we use them to insulate items when we are going camping. Plastic bags can be used for waste disposal. Plastic bags are used for a lot of crazy stuff. Look it up. Almost an art form.


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## sparkyprep (Jul 5, 2013)

Grudges.


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

I never tell friends/family what I collect  My stores reflect my "fall of Soviet Union" experience.. Even though I was only 13, I remember people missing every day items and going from house to house asking if they can trade this or that for whatever vital item.
I collect small sewing kits, small first aid kits, small glass bottles and ziplock bags for possibly trading vodka/grains..etc
Few other things.


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## Oddcaliber (Feb 17, 2014)

I'm up to 20 Coleman lanterns for now,my GF collects Star Wars toys. At least my collection is useful!


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## sparkyprep (Jul 5, 2013)

Nothing wrong with Star Wars toys


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## Sockpuppet (Sep 6, 2014)

Kahlan said:


> I have learned to start saving pretty much everything and anything. I must have thousands of old grocery bags but to be honest I have no idea how I would ever use them. What do you all do with them?


Plastic bags have dozen of uses.

Not only can you use them for packing materials to prevent breakage, but also wrap the body parts without leaking blood all over the place.


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## ntxwheels (Oct 25, 2014)

My lovely wife is a dyed in the wool pack rat..Nuff said.


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## GTGallop (Nov 11, 2012)

I don't keep anything. We have two hoarders in the neighborhood. I've convinced them that guns are evil. When the SHTF, I'll go see what they have. Gotta be something good in one of the homes.


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## hansonb4 (Aug 17, 2014)

My dad is a pack rat, not as bad as someone you see on Hoarders, but pretty damn close to it. He is almost retired, has a small brief case that he uses everyday, but has a pile of 8 - 10 of them that he has used over the last 30 years. That isn't even 1/10th of 1 percent of what he does. It was always like this growing up. I had a junk drawer in my dresser as a kid and I vividly remember tossing stuff I no longer needed, only to find the stuff back in my junk drawer after my dad took out the garbage and saw the little trinkets in the trash can. I vowed, in this instance, to never be like him. My wife and I have a 12 month rule. If we haven't used it in 12 months, pitch it. My dad is abhorred by the idea, but we have a nice, uncluttered house.

With that being said, I have plenty of camping equipment, food, water and prepping stuff. I save the wetnaps from BWW or other barbecue joints we frequent.


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## A J (Oct 16, 2014)

All electrical/mechanical parts from broken home appliances. I have some great magnifying lenses from rear projector TV's, tons of Caps/Transistors/Resistors/connectors etc. Motor and gears from dead Breadmaker etc. I've built/repaired a lot of items without ever needing to go to the store. It's amazing how many small electrical components can be stored in a bucket! I also can't throw away pieces of wire unless it's under a foot long. I haven't found one in a while, but I'm always on the lookout for wheel weights at old RR crossings where they may have fallen off (I cast bullets/buckshot with them). I always ask at farm sales/garage sales if they have any old lead laying around.

AJ


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## James m (Mar 11, 2014)

I had a problem saving wood scraps. And electrical components. With the wood you never know when you will need a small piece and don't want to buy a whole sheet of plywood or an 8 foot piece. Just used a piece of 1x10 or 12 to connect a mailbox. If I would have had to buy it I may be looking at a 8-10 foot lenght? Electrical components, electrical components everywhere!


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## 1skrewsloose (Jun 3, 2013)

Strange as it may seem, I save my belly button lint. Just kidding, put that out there for s & g's.


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## James m (Mar 11, 2014)

1skrewsloose said:


> Strange as it may seem, I save my belly button lint. Just kidding, put that out there for s & g's.


You beat me to it 

But it would be similar to dryer lint wouldn't it?


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## sparkyprep (Jul 5, 2013)

My barn is so full of construction materials, I could probably build two houses without going to the store.


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

Instructional and how to books about anything that I might need some day. Lighters, steel wool and fire starters. Small packets of condiments and sugar, I must have a few hundred soy sauce packets. Jars of all sizes and shapes. Fabric, I am not a good seamstress but I feel we may need it because I can't make my own fabric. Yarn and thread fill up 4 totes under my bed. The one that drives my sister craziest is bricks, I am always getting free bricks on craigs list. Right now I am making walkways and flower bed edgings with them. I use them for anything I can that doesn't require mortar so they will be clean if I ever need them.


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## 1skrewsloose (Jun 3, 2013)

James m said:


> You beat me to it
> 
> But it would be similar to dryer lint wouldn't it?


Could anyone think of a handier place to keep it, for me at least, no matter what, there's always some there!!


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Kahlan said:


> I have learned to start saving pretty much everything and anything. I must have thousands of old grocery bags but to be honest I have no idea how I would ever use them. What do you all do with them?
> 
> Also was curious about these 2... the cd roms deter birds maybe? And bent nails I just can't figure out.


Another use for the plastic bags is insulation.


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## Jeep (Aug 5, 2014)

Dryer lint, the small red plastic Folgers coffee cans/containers.


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## machinejjh (Nov 13, 2012)

Jeep said:


> Dryer lint, the small red plastic Folgers coffee cans/containers.


I have about 20 blue Maxwell House plastic canisters, but not sure what to use them for.

I also hog dimes from coworkers and family. I buy them and sort them for silvers. Then roll and bank it. Rinse and repeat. Found a few silvers, but honestly not a lot for the effort....


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## thepeartree (Aug 25, 2014)

machinejjh said:


> I have about 20 blue Maxwell House plastic canisters, but not sure what to use them for.
> 
> I also hog dimes from coworkers and family. I buy them and sort them for silvers. Then roll and bank it. Rinse and repeat. Found a few silvers, but honestly not a lot for the effort....


Use those plastic containers for pet food. Even pets need to eat after shtf.


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## Tennessee (Feb 1, 2014)

MrsInor said:


> Everyone must save/collect something that your family or friends think is just plain dumb. Our family doesn't think Inor and I are too far out there when I save the coffee packets and shampoo stuff he brings home from his trips. I probably have ten pounds of sugar saved in those little packets.
> 
> I also save the little straws that come with the condiment packets - great for tying up seedlings. I have a big jar of corks. An even bigger jar partly filled with twist ties. These the family think are "dumb".
> 
> What are your "saves"?


I always live by "waste not want not". My wife always ask me why don't you just throw that away. You'll never going to need it. I just keep on.

Just got back from a trip to Destin and have 20 coffee packets. I don't drink the coffee in my hotel room due to my Mysophobia :shock:. Never know what people do to those coffee pots.

I will give coffee packs to my boys for their bugout bags or drink it.


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## thepeartree (Aug 25, 2014)

Dryer lint can be recycled into firestarters. I'd like to say that belly button lint will work as well, but I've never had the urge to find out.

Me? I like to save older computer parts. And older computers, if they're near free. Let's see... certain magazines back issues. And books. My wife can't figure out if I'm crazy or just hate throwing things out. On the other hand, the wife wants to repair our 8 year old rear projection tv. It now has a bad mirror chip and a dead sound system. It will likely cost more than an entire new tv. Not only that, but I'm not sure I can get the thing to a repair shop. It weighs more than I could lift alone.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

It's nice to know that there are other like me in this world. My father went thru the depression as an adult, and after that he saved everything. As a kid I helped him load 6 drums of garbage on a trailer to take to the town dump. He came back with so much other stuff it wasn't silly. So I am almost a chip off the old block. I have a 3-10 year rule. If I haven't used it in 10 years, I give it another 10 years and finally another 10 years. When I moved out of ILLannoyed, I had so many moving sales the city thought I was running a flea market out of my garage, plus I had 2- 20 yard garbage hoppers to boot. Down he in AZ, I have barely enough room for my preps in 1/2 of the garage and I have the smallest bedroom for storage too. 

So what do I hoard: disposable plastic containers (like ziplocks for reloading), working on a nice supply of brass from the range but that's about it, for now.


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## 1skrewsloose (Jun 3, 2013)

That's funny, when I lived rural and went to the dump seemed like I always came back with more than I brought!


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## 7515 (Aug 31, 2014)

Metal coffee cans
dryer lint
old phone books
milk jugs
silica gel packs
river birch branches (two trees in the yard - excellent kindling)


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## Dinah (Sep 22, 2014)

I have a collection of old bills I can use for firestarters. My husband has so much junk there is not much room left. Rusted chains, horseshoes, hatchets and the list goes on. When I think of it I save tin cans and any good jars with lids. My favorite coffee is Cafe Bustelo .. it comes in nice cans with a tight fitting lid.


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

Wow..a few of guys/gals are one piece of belly lint away from a padded room.... (Just joking)

My wife saves stuff.. magazines (for the articles) Heard that before right
Kids clothes...


I have about 10 Kilts...does that count


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## thepeartree (Aug 25, 2014)

Auntie said:


> Instructional and how to books about anything that I might need some day. Lighters, steel wool and fire starters. Small packets of condiments and sugar, I must have a few hundred soy sauce packets. Jars of all sizes and shapes. Fabric, I am not a good seamstress but I feel we may need it because I can't make my own fabric. Yarn and thread fill up 4 totes under my bed. The one that drives my sister craziest is bricks, I am always getting free bricks on craigs list. Right now I am making walkways and flower bed edgings with them. I use them for anything I can that doesn't require mortar so they will be clean if I ever need them.


That brings up a point: how many preppers keep instruction and service manuals for everything they own? Seems important, but maybe that's just me.


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## thepeartree (Aug 25, 2014)

Maine-Marine said:


> Wow..a few of guys/gals are one piece of belly lint away from a padded room.... (Just joking)
> 
> My wife saves stuff.. magazines (for the articles) Heard that before right
> Kids clothes...
> ...


You're just one kilt away from a polka dotted room


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

I have instruction manuals on everything I own and some things that don't have anymore. My husband was an engineer so he liked to see the schematics of anything and everything so I have those too. If any of us have to take something apart and fix it if the SHTF we probably will not be able to look it up online. 

I was telling my sister about this thread and she asked if I mentioned that I vacuum seal seeds that I pick up at the end of the season. Turns out this is the thing she thinks is craziest that save. I have about 1/2 a file cabinet drawer full. That isn't excessive is it?


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## Go2ndAmend (Apr 5, 2013)

Sanford and Son got nothing on me! Mostly all construction and building materials along with assorted ranch supplies - piles of wire, fence posts etc.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

Maine-Marine said:


> Wow..a few of guys/gals are one piece of belly lint away from a padded room.... (Just joking)
> 
> My wife saves stuff.. magazines (for the articles) Heard that before right
> Kids clothes...
> ...


Kilts?!? As in Scottish kilts?

Many years ago, Mrs Inor and her mother drug me to Antigonish, Nova Scotia to witness their Highland Games. The kilts were bad enough, especially when they were throwing that steel ball with the chain on it and the kilt would fly up around their ears. But the bagpipes! I still have nightmares about all those ****ing bagpipes!


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## survival (Sep 26, 2011)

The bent nails I'll go through and bend them back (just a habit my grandfather taught me). The cdroms do deter deer and birds but do get tangled up if your not in the garden each day. The old underwear and socks are used for shop towels (to stain beehives, wipe wood glue off, clean up spills or wipe down oily tools).

I do keep service manuals of gear (ATVs, lawnmowers, tractors, power tools etc) I have on a USB drive and I have a clipboard in each of my units with the service guides as well (I throw away the table of contents and unnecessary pages and keep the core service help to cut down on paper size).


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

Inor said:


> Kilts?!? As in Scottish kilts?
> 
> Many years ago, Mrs Inor and her mother drug me to Antigonish, Nova Scotia to witness their Highland Games. The kilts were bad enough, especially when they were throwing that steel ball with the chain on it and the kilt would fly up around their ears. But the bagpipes! I still have nightmares about all those ****ing bagpipes!


Aye - Kilts as in Scots..

I have Clan Keith Tartan Kilt, USMC Leatherneck Tartan Kilt, Pride of Scotland Kilt, Scottish National Kilt, Wisconsin State Tartan Kilt,


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

Men in kilts... good stuff


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

My mother was a Scot. Clan Gorden.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

MrsInor said:


> My mother was a Scot. Clan Gorden.


Mrs Inor was adopted. We both understand the Gordens were not the most appreciated Scots...


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

Inor said:


> Mrs Inor was adopted. We both understand the Gordens were not the most appreciated Scots...


The Gordons are fine... The Campbells are the bad ones...


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## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

Sewing machines and fabric. I have 5 machines (down from 7). Two are treadles, two are old electric Singer workhorses, and 1 is an old Kenmore workhorse. I have a real hard time tossing cotton fabric as I always think it will fit into the next quilt. However, I have started collected pieces of heavier sturdy fabric - I call it my survival stash. It can be used for mending, bandages, slings, and making work clothes. It's very hard to be selective about what to keep. I could fill a house with fabric.

It was pretty funny when we first went overseas. When my carry-on was going through the security Xray machine, the guy stopped the belt and said, "What do you have in there - a sewing machine???" My husband just about flipped. "YOU BROUGHT A SEWING MACHINE IN YOUR CARRY-ON????" Yup. That little Singer Featherweight made many trips across the Pacific Ocean. Couldn't imagine life without it!


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## tirednurse (Oct 2, 2013)

Cast Iron pans. I have a collection of more than 50 including skillets of every size from 3" to 16", dutch ovens in 3 sizes and a waffle iron, 5 tea pots. cant help it, I see one someone has cast aside and I bring it home clean it up and add to my stash. I have them in all the rv's as well as in the house.


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## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

Bread bags
Straws
twist ties
coffee cans
plastic water bottles gallon size
and a growing collection of hard drives from recycled computers


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

MrsInor said:


> Everyone must save/collect something that your family or friends think is just plain dumb....
> 
> What are your "saves"?


Mrs Slippy saves me... (does this count?)


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## SDF880 (Mar 28, 2013)

I have many different items I could put here but my 2 biggies are plastic grocery bags and plastic utensils. Someday I tell my wife those grocery bags will come into play you'll see!
I do not want to waste any water down the road so I grab/save every eating utensil I see. I try to grab wrapped ones but if they are used I wash them and put them in sealed bags for down the road.
I also save almost every condiment packet I find. I think I got through college taking ketchup packs and mixing in some water and a little this and that spices and wala....tomato soup


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## MI.oldguy (Apr 18, 2013)

Too much stuff to list.we are re-purposers. I save bits of metal for when I am welding something back together.wife saves all kinds of stuff.

Recently,we demo'd her dads old shed,found some good romex,shelf brackets,and some primo 2x6x8's and 2x6x12's.

We just are running out of places to put this stuff!.


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## diamondjim (Aug 19, 2014)

Good thing my wife doesn't use the computer! She'd be telling all the stuff I save that drives her crazy.
Scraps of wood from my woodworking projects may be top of her list, but they come in handy, and I hate to waste anything! Having retired and down sized to a gated community, I don't have the space I once enjoyed to tuck things away. But I still do OK.
I usually bring up her propensity to hoard fabrics, when she gets on my case too much! But after 50 years of putting up with each other, it all works out.


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## Pir8fan (Nov 16, 2012)

If it might be useful, we will save it.


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## scramble4a5 (Nov 1, 2012)

Quarters and dryer lint. My family thinks I am nuts because I won't spend a quarter. But the method behind my madness is I am saving them to fund a nice trip for my wife and I when we celebrate our 25th anniversary in another two years - quarter century get it?

Dryer lint to use as tinder when camping. That's not weird is it?


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

survival said:


> Ziploc bags
> Grocery bags
> Pine needles (beekeeping smoker)
> Dryer lint (good lord the size of the bags)
> ...


can you explain in more detail what you use the cd roms for? thanks


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

tinkerhell said:


> can you explain in more detail what you use the cd roms for? thanks


Hanging them on a fence deters deer. They have to swing free/ be able to rotate.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

Kahlan said:


> I have learned to start saving pretty much everything and anything. I must have thousands of old grocery bags but to be honest I have no idea how I would ever use them. What do you all do with them?
> 
> Also was curious about these 2... the cd roms deter birds maybe? And bent nails I just can't figure out.


you can fuse multiple layers of grocery bags with a clothes iron set for rayon. I've seen a website where the heavier plastic was used to make reusable shopping bags which are stronger than anything you will ever find.

Personally, I've wondered if I could turn them into a large tarp, but it probably wouldn't be worth the effort considering that tarps are so cheap and easy to be had.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

I save receipts for my fluorescent bulbs. They piss me off because they are expensive, but try to justify it by claiming a savings over their 5 year warranty, yet they never last 5 years. 

So, I decided that I would be the kind of person that loves to claim their warranty on it.


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## SDF880 (Mar 28, 2013)

tinkerhell said:


> I save receipts for my fluorescent bulbs. They piss me off because they are expensive, but try to justify it by claiming a savings over their 5 year warranty, yet they never last 5 years.
> 
> So, I decided that I would be the kind of person that loves to claim their warranty on it.


Those CFL's just don't last as advertised! I do have one very weird CFL that is 15 years old use everyday and still going strong but most of what I have burn out long before advertised time and I wish I saved the receipts!


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## Doc Holliday (Dec 22, 2012)

Milk crates.... They make it easy to store stuff in and stack. I now have way too many!!! the wifey made me stop!


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

Doc Holliday said:


> Milk crates.... They make it easy to store stuff in and stack. I now have way too many!!! the wifey made me stop!


Send them my way.


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