Do you lather, rinse, and repeat when washing your hair? Or is one lather plenty? If you are like me, once is enough, and the repeat, an ad agency’s idea to increase sales, is simply a waste of product. How much are you wasting by using too much, even when following the recommended amount on the package?
Not wanting to waste products or money, I have been keeping this idea in mind and trying to increase the lifespan of consumable products by using less of them. So was born the 10% rule: Can I use 10% less and have an equally pleasing result? Yes? How about 20%? And so on until I’ve hit the lowest amount that hits my desired result.
I write the starting date when I open a new package or start a new bottle, and try to get 10% more days out of that product. I have been surprised to find that by intentionally using less, I have nearly doubled the length of time a bottle of dishwasher detergent lasts. It takes just half the recommended amount to get my dishes clean.
The same thing happened with shampoo; my last bottle lasted almost twice as long as the bottle before it, and my hair is still clean. Conditioner is lasting even longer.
Try it! Use 10% less toothpaste tonight and see if your teeth still feel clean. Use 10% less than that tomorrow morning. Spray 10% less window cleaner and notice if the streaks are still gone. Add 10% less laundry detergent; are the stains still gone?
It doesn’t sound like much, but saving just 10% of your consumable products could add up quickly. If you spend $100 a month on consumable goods, saving 10% leaves an extra $120 in your pocket!
To see what works for other families, visit Works for Me Wednesday at www.wearethatfamily.com!
What a wonderful idea! Being aware and just tracking how we use things really does help.
I’ve started doing this, too, and have really noticed a difference! Particularly when it comes to toiletries. I admit, I’m still really bad about using too much dishwashing detergent…if my sponge isn’t super sudsy, I tend to think there’s none left, so I squeeze more soap on it, which is silly. Must stop!
Tracking really does seem to be a motivator for me. I got 2 months out of it last time, so let’s see if I can get 2 months and 1 week! It’s a competition with myself, haha.
Cate, that’s funny. The suds aren’t actually doing the cleaning, and your stuff would get equally clean with no suds, but I am the same way. If the suds are gone, I want to add more. I used Dr. Bronner’s for a bit, but it doesn’t suds up and I wasn’t sure of its effectiveness until rinsing. Silly, since it did the job just fine!
Great tip! I’ve hardly ever kept track of this, but I do try to use the smallest possible amount of stuff. I’m amazed by how much dish soap a lot of people use!
What a great idea! I think I may give this a try.
Stephanie