Paper Products and the Women in my Life

I am a frugal person. I was raised by frugal parents who, as a part of their life experiences, lived through the Great Depression. That experience profoundly impacted them and all of their generation. They were clear in their understanding that the future could bring difficult times and that money wasn’t guaranteed. They appreciated what they had and were aware that those things could disappear from their lives. They were careful with their money and possessions and did not take anything for granted.

I watched. I listened. I learned. And I am frugal. Those around me; many of those near and dear to me, don’t see me as frugal. Some of the words they have used to describe me are: tight; cheap; chinchy; stingy; miserly. Me, I like frugal.
 

Being frugal doesn’t mean I pinch every penny. But I do think about things before I do them and carefully consider most purchases. (An often repent of making them.) I often wonder if there is not a more inexpensive way to do what I am doing. I do tend to turn out the lights in a room as I leave it. I will reuse something that may not be specifically designed to be reused. I will never leave the water running. (I do not water my yard. It is on its own.) Did you know that coffee grounds can be reused – to make more coffee? I do other “green” things but I won’t tell you what they are… I don’t want to gross you out.

I have two particular women in my life that I love deeply… my wife Nancy and my daughter-in-law, Elizabeth. They are both amazing women; charming, beautiful, smart, sweet, thoughtful, kind and loving. I must tell you that they are danged near perfect. They are two of my favorite people in the whole world. But these two women can go through paper products like gang busters; like a dog after a bone; like a wild fire; like a fan after a foul ball. Okay, enough, you get what I l mean.

When they walk by, trees pull up roots and run. They have won awards of appreciation from some of America’s largest paper companies. There is not a roll of toilet paper, paper towels or package of napkins or box of tissues that is safe from these ultimate paper consumers. Their policy is, if one tissue or square will do, then five or ten will do better. They use paper products for things I never imagined they could be used for. I won’t tell you what they are since they may want to, one day, collaborate on a book; 1001 Uses for Paper Products.

I thought of this because when I moved to Memphis, that first week, Nancy went shopping and fully and completely stocked my new home with paper products. Stacks of them. Closets full of them. And in my few weeks in Memphis, before her first visit, I had yet to go through a single roll or box or package of any paper product. She visited this weekend and suddenly my paper products stash was significantly reduced. I started finding bare, used rolls in the trash. My trash can was filled. My frugality (Okay, chinchiness.) rose to the surface and I made an observation. Not a complaint, just an observation. Her take on the situation was that I had pretty much depleted the rolls and she just finished them off. And she was probably right. It is just interesting that the supply took such a hit during her visit.

Don’t misunderstand me. Being with her is worth anything and everything. Heck, I wouldn’t even take a giant economy size package of toilet paper from Sam’s Club for her. She’s the best. And I have the empty toilet paper rolls to prove it.

Copyright © 2013, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved