Green and Frugality Gone Too Far

How frugal is too frugal? Patricia Mayville-Cox, writing for Green Daily thinks that some people take green living and frugality too far by re-using dental floss, using a teabag multiple times, and sharing bathwater, among other things.

However, even when our finances were stretched to their thinnest, there were frugal tips I wouldn't bother trying -- separating two-ply toilet paper springs to mind -- and there is only so far I will go to be green. One of the suggestions flagged by Mayville-Cox is unplugging your fridge which, as far as I can figure, is playing Russian roulette with food-borne bacteria.

There's at least one thing on her list of which I am guilty -- washing and re-using plastic bags. (And, as long as the bag wasn't holding anything nasty, I still hold by that as a useful and positive tip, even if it isn't the greenest -- considering you are using resources to clean a "disposable" item. Of course really green activists would never use baggies in the first place.

All of the questionable tips come from a very long thread at MSN Money on "extreme frugality" which is a good read, if you can keep from flinching at people who re-use toilet paper or only flush once a day....