Oh yes, I am a toiletries thief. And pens and pads of paper. All types of businesses give away pads and pens to advertise themselves, I think that is unquestionable. My DH disagrees with me in re toiletries. I travel with my own preferred toiletries (travel tip, if you are really tight for space and it's a short trip, squeeze your products into a little ziploc snack bag, one for shampoo, one for conditioner, etc ... that'll keep your ounces under limit!). But I do collect hotel toiletries. I have some fabulous ones from over the years. I have a little wooden box of soaps from Le Toiny in St Barts, these things that remind me of medicine bottles from a BnB outside Barcelona, a bar of soap in a shiny emerald green plastic box that says "Hermes". I love these mementos. One disappointment is that hotels used to have their names on the soaps and bottles. In the last few years, Four Seasons for example, has gone to a combo of milk soaps and verbena soaps, all from L'Occitane in most of their properties. Lucky them, I don't take those home anymore. And I do draw the line at one set. I don't put them in my luggage to have the maid replenish to put them in again. I caught 9yo DD doing that ... apple doesn't fall very far from the tree. At home, I use them for guests, and let the kids pick a favorite to use once in a while. Some of my stuff must be 15 years old by now (am thinking of a handmade soap from a Belizean spa). I guess they have become scalps of a sort. Same thing with the airline amenity kits. I love some of the bags they come in (BA used to give one cool b/w vintage photos). Oh and tote bags, too! They are all hard earned. When we moved I finally gave up several dozen amenity kits. They are actually very useful for shelters.

Some of the tips below are for repurposing/recycling in general. Hope no one minds. Use binder clips to keep bags and other types of packaging for coffee, bread, frozen vegetables, etc. closed and to keep the air out. They provide a tight and secure closure. If your Pilates ring or exercise circle breaks, use extra thick pillows or shams to tone your thighs. Use 2 together for added resistance. Use sponges as cushions to miminize scratching the sink when washing heavy items such as stove grates. Check to see if you can get money off when you bring in your old broken items. For example, some retailers offer money off a new paper shredder when you bring in your broken one. The retailers will probably have it recycled. Not repurposed but at least there's hope that it doesn't end up in the landfill. I got a great micro cut shredder on sale with another $30 taken off. It's not green to buy bottled water but there are times when I just need to have it in the refrigerator. I recycle the corrugated bottoms that comes with cases of bottled water by using them as trays to cushion and protect pantry shelves and cabinet from stains and scuff marks. I use them to store spices, cooking oils, cleaners etc. They can also be used as drawer organizers too. Cover them with decorative contact paper. Another use: I use a corrugated bottom to create another layer inside a corrugated box. The materal/color blends in. My laptop is placed underneath the corrugated bottom and cleaning supplies are placed on top. I do this to hide my laptop from thieves in case my house gets burgled. A Shake and Bake box is used to hide my e-reader in the pantry. Place old broken laptops, Ipods, and other electronics in strategic areas to act as decoys when you're away. Burglars might take them and be satisfied with the loot and leave. I have an alarm system and I like to take extra precautions. Otherwise, drop them off at at responsible recycler. I use old terry face cloths as mats under my electric toothbrush and oral irrigator to absorb any drops of water. My bathroomm countertop is made of ultra-hard porcelain decorative squares. I feel uncomfortable not using something to at least cushion the surface. Use an old towel to clean floors by wrapping it around a Cuban mop. A Cuban mop is a simple T-shaped mop with no material mop head. Sham Wow type chamois cloths can be used with this mop too. Toss the towel in the wash. Sham Wows can simply be rinsed. At Lowes, a clerk once mistakenly threw in three 2-1/2 quart "Mix and Measure" containers in my bag without my knowledge. When I got home, the minimalist in me wanted to throw them out but I decided not to. I finally found a use for them. Instead of filling a big bucket, I fill one of the mix and measure containers with the right proportion of water and cleaner or water/vinegar to tackle small cleaning jobs such as the floor in one room. I also use them to store cleaning brushes. Keep an old toothbrush near the sink to clean ridged coffee filter holders, fork tines, ultra sharp knives etc. It sounds strange to mention soup and detergent in the same sentence. I use plastic takeout food containers with lids to store homemade soup in the freezer and store handy amounts of powder laundry detergent to keep near the washer. I designate specific containers for single purposes. Use old mouse pads as coasters or cushions to place jewelry, eyeglasses. The porcelain in my bathroom counter wore off a little of the finish on my eyeglass frame so I use an mouse pad in there. Empty garbage bag boxes are used to store plastic grocery bags. If you're using kitty litter that comes in a big plastic bucket, save the bucket when the kitty litter is used up. Wash it thoroughly and use it to brine a turkey. It actually fits in my refrigerator. I eventually switched over to a brand that doesn't use plastic. Plastic grocery bags or newspaper bags are used for dumping coffee grounds into them to prevent contents from spilling all over the garbage bin if the kitchen garbage bag breaks. Always Freecycle, and donate to Goodwill and the Salvation Army.

I have been working with a carpenter to get my house in shape and he told me his mother sold her house a few years ago. She had him retiling, refinishing floors, refacing cabinets - drove him crazy! The house sold in a month for $540,000. Her neighbor put her house on later that year. Her house was disgusting (his words). Never did a thing to it. Sold in a week for the same amount. He keeps telling me 'just put the dam thing on the market...stop fixing things!' I'm thinking that this is a tough time to sell. There are over 100 houses on the market in my area. Many are newer construction (last 5 years). Huge homes, everything looks new. Then there are the older houses which haven't done much updating. The larger houses are all priced over 1M and are sitting. I have been watching and the houses which are selling are the mid-range houses 5-800,000. Majority are in the 6's. I think staging will help. It seems to me that many of the houses appear staged. They look very cleaned up, neat and sort of generic. All the wood floors are shining and the bathrooms look updated. Some kitchens are older but look clean with updated appliances. Xamsx I like your idea. It would be so helpful to know. Jane

I actually skipped washing my hair yesterday morning. It looked terrible, but the good thing is I work from home. I ordered terriks bar soap and conditioner. Terriks, what do you keep them in? I'm also going to order the Keratase in travel size. I want to find something I like, but a part of me is hoping I don't like the Keratase, because of the price. I already bought Dove Oxygen Moisture based on a recommendation by the Paula's Choice staff. I started using it in the winter when my hair was starting to seem more thin. Once summer hit and the frizzies started, I put it away until next winter. I'll have to see what the difference is between it and Dove Daily Moisture. Thanks everyone for all the suggestions!