And my pet peeve. Shampoo bottles always say: Lather,rinse,repeat. Who says you have to wash your hair twice? Mine is never caked with mud or motor oil.

jannie,

I wet my hair, put a small amount of shampoo on my fingers, share with the other hand, and rub around the edges of my head (there's only a few lonely hairs on top). Which produces almost no lather, as I guess the soap is too busy getting all that dirt rounded up. Well, most of it.

Rinse.

Put a smaller amount of shampoo on my fingers, share again, then rub around the sides of the head (three only - four ain't no fun, as it gets in your eyes).

Get a certain amount of lather, this time, so I guess the soap has succeeded in getting all of the crud collected. Which it hauls away down the drain with it.

I got a tall round bottle of generic shampoo, must have been over 3 years ago, as I've lived in my current place for over 2, and the bottle is not 1/5 used yet.

I think that it cost me about $1.50.

Not complaining ... and my hair is long enough, recently, that it tickles my neck.

Time to cut it, I guess.

Let's see ... when was it that I had it cut last?

ole joyful

ole joyful

P.S. Seems to me that I'm seeing double, today ... or is it soap in the eyes?

o j

P.P.S. Remember how in the laundry discussion a while ago, quite a few folks said that if you use nearly as much in the measuring cup as "recommended" ... the clothes don't seem to get any cleaner ... but the box of detergent gets empty a lot sooner!

o j

There's also the way to fool yourself or others into using less. For instance, mix the shampoo 50/50 with water (not bottled water, though, get it from the tap, or Joyful will get upset! :D)... anyway when you have to use a handful of shampoo, soap or whatever, it's 1/2 as much.

When I use liquid laundry detergent, and it starts getting low, I dilute it to get as much as possible out of that blasted bottle! Give 'em credit. They've found a design that holds quite a bit of product in there and with it thick enough, few want to wait for it to drain. Oh, and if you don't dilute it, leave the bottle upside down when it's down to the last bit and it'll pour (most of it anyway) into the measuring cap and you'd get another load or two out of it.

I started using liquid hand soap years ago and have gotten into the habit of putting my fingers on the top of the bottle and using my thumb to press down the pump. With my fingers blocking, I use about 1/2 pump. That's plenty of (diluted) soap for washing my hands. Buying cheap dish liquid to use for hand soap, now it's REALLY CHEAP! (not unlike me!)

BTW, reuse some of the pump bottles for shampoo or body gell will help with some portion control too. People with kids, teens especially, have found great savings this way.

Couple other thoughts.... Find some smaller scoops for your powdered additives. I have some nice small ones I use for powdered laundry soap, borax and OxiClean when I use them. Although I still just pour the dishwasher soap into the laundry tub as it's filling so it'll dissolve a bit before adding the clothes. Suppose I should start measuring it...

One other that's worked well, I took a small spray bottle and mix about 1-4 or 1-5 dish soap to water. When I only have a dish or two needing washing, a quick spray, a little water, wipe down with a dishcloth and rinse. No sense filling a sink with water and full load of dishsoap when so much less will do. And works great for a quick spray on the hands when I want to wash them at the kitchen sink. I used to keep a pump bottle there for handwashing, but this replaces it and does double duty.

This is the fact that if u use less and u will easily save money ..like in telephone bills , electricity bil and others shopping things like shampoo, detergent ,soap etc...which depend upon thier usage:)

I used to be a hairdresser, and actually, shampoo straight out of the bottle (especially cheap shampoo) is very bad for your hair. The rule we were taught was to dilute it 7:1, water to shampoo. It lathers more quickly, and you use MUCH, MUCH less.

How to use less toothpaste? Don't use toothpaste at all! Baking soda works fine, and once you get used to the taste, it's not so bad. I use baking soda, and follow with a diluted mouthwash to erase the taste. Over time, it really brightens your teeth, too.

My daughter recently left my bottle of shampoo in the bathtub, and a lot of water got in it. I noticed my shampoo seemed awfully "runny". I used it as is and it works fine. I get lots of suds and it seems to rinse easier. I think it got diluted about 1:3 or 1:4. This is another great tip!

I've been using about 1/4 the recommended laundry detergent for years (with the shortest cycle) and find my clothes actually come out CLEANER than when you use the recommended amount of detergent. You don't that that detergent build up when using less detergent.

As to shampoo? I have hair that comes halfway down my back, and I never use more than 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of shampoo. It's plenty to work through your hair, and I don't think you strip as much of the healthy stuff from your hair when you use less shampoo

Hey, speaking of toothpaste--have you ever noticed that when you see a toothpaste commercial on tv and someone is shown brushing their teeth, they're never actually USING toothpaste? No one is foaming at the mouth or dripping, nor is there anything on their brush. DD noticed that years ago, and she's right!

I bought some hair conditioner, it says on the bottle use a quarter-sized portion. I've been using WAY too much conditioner on my hair,it's literally money down the drain.

For me, I really try to stay away from the "ultra" or whatever they call the concentrated soaps and products.

If I am handwashing dishes, I find I use the same amount whether it is ultra or not because I add the soap by habit, not with thought as to the needed amount. I think the concentrated formulas are a scam to make me have to buy soap more often.

Pump dispensers for shampoos and handsoaps are great. Otherwise, I mean to use less but just dump an unregulated amount in my hand when I'm taking a shower.