Reducing waste and being thrifty, too

Many of us have blogged about sustainable life in Japan - how we observe the Four Rs - reduce, recycle, reuse, and refuse. 

In the last year some not very sustainable habits I have traded for better ones. Rather than buy drinks in PET bottles, which cost between 100 yen and 150 yen, I've taken home a few aluminum coffee bottles. I washed them carefully, and now carry to work home brewed coffee in a can tucked into my coat for added warmth and my morning jolt. 

The environmental impact of aluminum vs. PET plastic is complicated by the cost of recycling and wasting. It's a tough one. How about just not buying them? 

In the past year, I've striven to make my own bento box lunch as often as possible. But sometimes, I do get takeout bento box lunches. These I also carefully clean and reuse to pack a homemade bento box lunch. Some of these reused containers hold up well for a few lunches. The savings add up because I make "okazu" dishes for both dinner and bento in one go. 

Are you as miserly as I? Are you becoming a junk hoarder like me? Do you have some other cost- and materials-saving habits you recommend?