Saving Stuff

Simple ways to make toiletries go further - Part II

Published: Donnerstag, 27. März 2008

Personally I hate bars of soap as they create such a mess and get really slimy but somehow I always end up with some in a toiletries gift pack for Christmas.  I discovered a great way to use bars of soap, get one of those bath mitts with pockets and pop it in the pocket.  Similarly if you have lots of broken pieces of soap you can put them in the pocket or even get an old pop sock and put all the pieces in there and tie a knot in it, now you can wash yourself with it.  Alternatively, if you have lots of slivers of soap, you can melt them in the microwave and pour into a plastic container to create one bar of soap.  Once cooled the soap will go hard again.  If you prefer liquid soap, put the pieces of soap in a small saucepan, add a little water and gently heat until the soap has melted.  Pour in to a bottle and voila, now you have your own shower gel!

sink toiletriesWhen you're down to the last drop of toothpaste, carefully start rolling the tube up from the top end, this will push the last of it down to the end so you can squeeze it out.  As you get nearer the plastic cap you can fold in the sides and use it to push that last bit of toothpaste that's stuck in and near the cap.  The amount of times I have managed to get an extra week's use of toothpaste where my partner had given up is amazing!  Use a bulldog clip to keep it rolled up! If you like your gadgets, you can always buy one of those "toothpaste squeezers".  It's basically a roller that you slide on to the end of a toothpaste tube and you twist the knobs to roll it up.  It's great and really gets every last little bit out, so no waste at all!

Trying to squeeze out the last bit of hand cream can be a complete nightmare.  If you cut off the top of the of tube about a couple of inches from the end you can use your fingers to wipe out the cream stuck to the sides, you'll be amazed how much hand cream is still in there that you could not squeeze out!  The end that you've snipped off can then be put over the tube like a lid to stop it from drying out.  When you've used all the cream your fingers can reach snip some more of the plastic tubing off the end until you can get right to the bottom.

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