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The original was posted on /r/lifehacks by /u/Noxski on 2023-08-08 00:34:18+00:00.

Howdy!

This may greatly differ based on where you’re located & it’s mostly useful for those with lower incomes, but urban foraging is a neat resource for students, those looking to fill out their cupboards & anybody looking to save a few bucks. Mostly useful for students.

Glasses/cups:

Near bars/pubs, drinkers tend to wander off & ditch their glasses, especially late in the evening. This results in glasses & cups being sprinkled around the town on window sills, in flower planters or just on the ground. If nobody claims them, they’ll likely be binned anyway.Go on an 8am walk on Saturday or Sunday morning to fill out your cabinet with an assortment of glasses.

Cutlery:

A lot of fast-food places offer plastic or wood (less preferable) utensils, which are great when you’re on the road or have a limited amount of utensils in student housing or in the place you’re renting. Most of them are washable, so as a temporary solution, they can be pretty decent.

Condiments:

Depending on the country you’re in, delis, shops, restaurants or fast-food places offer free condiments in individual packets. Especially for those living by themselves, filling up a jar or a box with packets like this means you won’t have to buy bottles of condiments (which will likely mostly end up in the thrash before they can be fully used anyway). Some people may call this stealing, so be aware.

Jars/bottles

There are a number of ways of preservation, like lacto-fermentation, which are cheap & surprisingly effective. Being aware of bargains & having a number of glass jars on reserves lets you build your own backup of cheap, fermented vegetables. You can either stockpile your own or forage them from pretty much anywhere.