Do You Save Condiment Packets?
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Frugalites get hassled a lot. Those of us who want to be good stewards of our resources might be mocked for some of our frugal ways. Ah, such is life, when you go against the stream.
That’s not to say that some people go to pretty far extremes when it comes to saving a dime. And there are some frugal practices that might be considered dangerous to one’s health or even illegal. Each of us needs to find our comfort and health level when it comes to frugality and be wise.
One benign and often mocked frugal practice is to save condiment packages.
I’m not talking about “going shopping” at McDonalds when you run out of ketchup. That is unethical at best, illegal at worst.
But, do you save the condiments that you receive at a restaurant or do you toss the unused packets?
We have a small box in our pantry that holds the extras that we receive from takeout restaurants. Those in the know can tell that our eating out is almost exclusively from Costco’s food court, Panda Express and DelTaco.
To me, it seems wasteful to throw away perfectly good condiments just because I’m “above” saving them. When I know that we have a supply at home, I decline more when we’re at the restaurant. And we use them up. Occasionally, I bag up what we have and donate them.
Miserliness or good stewardship?
This isn’t necessarily a way that I “save money,” but rather a way I save resources and avoid waste. Somewhere along the line, that saves somebody money, even if it’s not me. And I think that’s a good thing.
What do YOU do to save money?
Share your favorite money-saving ideas today. Leave a link to a post that shares some frugal wisdom. (Please no giveaways or deals posts. Teach us how to fish!)
I do save them when we get them. 🙂
But I have to admit that I always roll my eyes when I hear about people snagging tons of ketchup packets from McDonalds. Honestly, if you want to save money so badly, just eat at home. You’d have to save a LOT of ketchup to make up for a meal out, you know?
@Kristen@TheFrugalGirl,
I save the mayo and ketchup and mustard packets they work great to send in lunchboxes also I used the red peppers to refill our red pepper shaker. Or we buy crushed red peppers in the organic section at our grocery store. I bought sleeves of condiment size containers from mt Tastefully simple consultant and we use these for condiments if we don’t have packets. I find it very wasteful to put mustard in little container and end up throwing part of if away because the kids couldn’t use it all. I found even the smallest ziploc or tupperwarecontainers are too large and the condiment just gets spread on the sides. I especillay say mustard because the kids like to dip meat and pretzels. Stephanie
Hmmm… I don’t have condiment packets saved… because we never get them I guess? 🙂
But when I worked at Taco Bell, I would get free food and taco sauce on my shifts. And yes, some of that taco sauce made its way home and into homemade chili. 😉
Thanks for hosting Frugal Fridays! 🙂 I posted about spreading water on our bread in order to use less butter. 😉
@Tammy L, Oh, whoa, I use way too many smileys 😐 Sorry!
I saved these things for years – until recently. And wouldn’t you know it – my grandson was visiting and wanted ketchup on his hot dog (I prefer mustard but that’s just me). A thorough search of the fridge and pantry revealed that his coupon lady grandma was completely out of ketchup (hard to believe!). If I had saved a few of these little darlings I could have racked up some “cool” points in his eyes – but I missed out. It was traumatic but I think in time it will fade from his memory.
I totally save them, because I can’t bear to “waste” them and throw them away. However, I am not very good at actually USING them- I have a pretty large collection right now!
Of course I save condiment packets too! My favorite is soy sauce from the Chinese restaurant. I keep them in the refrigerator door and try to use them up first before getting out the soy sauce bottle for cooking.
Sometimes I go a step further and separate the condiments by type into separate containers (it’s true)…
Danelle Ice (Home Ever After)
We save the packets, too. When we save up enough, the kids love to use them at home. I don’t know why, but they love those little ketchup packets with homemade french fries.
http://www.lindaslunacy.blogspot.com
We do save these little packets and I find them very handy for sending with my husband for his lunches, for picnics and for camping. The mustard and mayo ones are especially handy when I make a stack of sandwiches for a picnic. Then we can customize when we arrive at our destination.
Yep. I save those packets too. Ours are mostly from Chinese takeout. I have refilled my soy sauce bottle on occasion from the extra little packets that we’ve received.
I am also ‘guilty’ of saving condiment packages. I have a small container quite like yours that I keep in my bakers rack drawer. I do it also to avoid waste, and they are nicely sized to put in lunches for the hubby to take to work…and sometimes they save a trip to the store when Im in the middle of a recipe & realize that I am out, or nearly out, of something like mayo or soy sauce.
I laughed out loud when I saw this photo! I almost posted about this same thing this week. I have a bin in my pantry with condiment packets as well. As I was getting out some ketchup I was thinking… I need to write a post about this. 🙂
Great minds I guess?
Toni