Re-using your teabag (And other unconventional sustainability tips from my grandma)

I was visiting my grandma a few weeks ago. She lives in Calgary, a one-hour flight from where I live in Vancouver, so I spent a few days with her. 

She’s great. Grandma-y in all the best ways. Kind, caring, gives great hugs, tells stories, shares recipes, and all the rest of it. She’s truly the best. 

But she’s got her quirks. (We all do.) 

You see, Grandma was born during the Depression to a farming family in Saskatchewan (Rocanville: population, very few). As a family they had to be thrifty and frugal, learning to stretch things and make things and save things and re-use things and preserve things. 

And while Grandma doesn’t need to scrimp and save anymore, she’s always had this frugal mindset. She doesn’t want to spend more than she has to and she’s the original champion of reduce, reuse, and recycle… but for financial reasons. 

As I spent time with her and saw some of these frugal quirks in action, it got me thinking: This is kind of what sustainability looks like. These money-saving hacks are actually unconventional sustainability tips we should all be using. 

So, allow me to unpack why I think sustainability is becoming a little more like my grandma (and maybe yours, too). 

Frugality and sustainability: Same, same

As I mentioned, most of my grandma’s habits stem from her desire to keep costs low, but I would argue that there is a lot of overlap between frugality and sustainability. 

• Frugality is the practice of being economical with resources, avoiding waste, and making the most of what you have. 
• Sustainability is the ability to maintain balance in ecological, social, and economic systems over the long term… often achieved through practices of being economical with resources, avoiding waste, and making the most of what you have. 

Both are values centered on waste reduction, mindful consumption, and the conservation of resources. You may choose to eat veggies from your garden because it’s cheaper, but it’s also better for the environment to reduce packaging and tend to the soil. You may choose to keep using old dishes that still work because you don’t want to spend money on new ones, but it’s also more sustainable to avoid buying new all the time. 

Frugality and sustainability are both important concepts that have a positive impact on your wallet and the environment’s well-being. Win-win.

3 unconventional sustainability tips: Grandma edition

(Left to right: Paper towel grandma reused multiple times, one tea bag getting a lot of use, and the price of this Taster’s Choice coffee at time-of-purchase.)

If you were to look up “sustainability tips” online, you’d get tons of great answers: 

• Buy local or second-hand. 
• Use renewable energy in your home. 
• Conserve water and energy. 
• Compost. 
• Reduce waste. 
• Take sustainable transportation. 

These are great, we should be doing them! But, I’ve got a few more unconventional sustainability tips directly from my grandma. 

I think you’ll notice she’s a little extreme in her practices—adjust accordingly.

1. Re-use your tea bags

Like any grandma, mine enjoys a good cuppa tea every once in a while. But she doesn’t like it too strong, so “why waste a whole tea bag if you can use it for multiple cups?” Yes, that’s right—my grandma’s solution is to re-use her teabag, sometimes up to five times. 

Does she submerge it each time and re-use it that way? No. She opens the bag, pinches a few kernels of tea, puts them in her mug, and pours hot water in. Teabag is kept open on the counter so she can do the same a handful more times. 

In her words, “I just need a touch of flavour. This is good enough.” 

You can only imagine how long her box of Tetley lasts in the cupboard. 

• Grandma’s sustainability life lesson: Only consume what you need and want. Be mindful about what you’re using and what you’re throwing away. Can you get a little more life out of that item? 

2. Write prices on your purchases 

Another famous quirk of my grandma is that she writes the date of purchase and price of the pantry staples she buys directly on the container. If you look around her house, you’ll see her handwriting on boxes of cereal or coffee with the date and price. 

She doesn’t buy all her groceries anymore (“I would be horrified by the prices!”), so it’s less common now, but I still found a few examples when I was there recently. 

• Grandma’s sustainability life lesson: Keep track of your spending so you don’t overconsume. Again, it’s about only buying what you need and being mindful about it. If you keep track of your spending, you can make wise choices and spend according to your values. 

3. Alternate the side of the bed you sleep on

The last unconventional sustainability tip from my grandma is to alternate the side of the bed you sleep on. Grandma told me recently that ever since my grandpa passed away years ago, she has been switching the side of the bed she sleeps on, I think every week. 

There’s a dual-purpose to this: you even out the indents on the bed and you don’t have to wash your sheets as often. I’m not quite sure how that last one holds up in cleanliness court, but you can’t argue the logic. 

• Grandma’s sustainability life lesson: Care for your items so they have a longer lifespan. Yes, it is reasonable to have to replace some items over the years, but caring well for them can help them last longer. 

Sustainability is a big conversation today, isn’t it? And it can feel complex and unwieldy and difficult and guilt-ridden. 

So, I propose simplifying things a bit and do as my grandma does. Consume mindfully. Spend wisely. Care for your belongings. Her methods may be unconventional, but it works.