37 Days ago I noticed a “used” tube of toothpaste in our bathroom garbage. The HH had thrown a tube of toothpaste away and started another one. I tried to gently tell him there was still toothpaste in there and that he was literally THROWING MONEY AWAY.
He rolled his eyes and walked away. I pulled the tube out of the trash.
Well this morning, I happily announced to him that the tube of toothpaste he tossed in the trash 37 days ago WAS ACTUALLY EMPTY.
You know what he said?
Gee, thanks for saving us $0.04. Now I can retire.
That man.
If he only adopted some of my amazeballs skills he could probably shave a year off of his working life.
Whateva.
Check your mail people. Yesterday a coupon arrived for a FREE Full Size Bath and Body Works item. Up to $13 and no purchase necessary! I think I’ll get The Girl a bottle of Vanilla Bean Lotion and stick it in her Christmas stocking.
Take a look at that beauty. Natural gas consumption DOWN over 50% from last year.
Is it weird I get excited about utility bills? I don’t understand people who do not get excited about saving money. I really think there is something wrong with them.
Am I crazy? Wouldn’t you be excited about 37 days of free toothpaste, a free stocking stuffer and half off your gas bill?
Seriously.
~Mavis
Becky says
My hubby makes me nuts. He opens new things before the old one is done all the time.
I bet there are 4 sticks of deodorant in the bathroom right now.
Bread, milk, shampoo…it’s a constant battle…..but that’s how it was in his parents house. I once cleaned out the mother in laws spice cabinet and she had a dozen jars of garlic powder.
Her makeup cabinet filled a kitchen sized trash bag ( we were cleaning out the house after she passed away) it’s just the way they lived. Me? I can’t stand it. I’m like you….use the very last drop.
I cut an X in the bottom corner of each jug of laundry detergent and let it drain to get the very last little bit.
ChrisM says
I always use a bit of water to get the very last of the detergent, shampoo, body wash, etc. out of the bottles.
Susan says
Hey, I do all the above : ) My husband and I even have a competition to see who finally breaks down and gets out a new tube of toothpaste. For Christmas one year, I got him a little roller thing from the $1 store that you place on the end of the tube to roll/squeeze out every last drop.
Lisa Millar says
I laughed reading this! Is there a prize for the person that is the winner??
Excellent!
(I would love to do this but no point – I would win hands down every time!) 🙂
Susan says
No prize…just the satisfaction of holding out and NOT being the person to grab that new tube of toothpaste!
Tamara says
Waste not, want not!
Rosaleen says
I totally get the thrifty idea, but had not tried cutting open toothpaste tubes. that same rubber spatula that I use to scrape out peanut butter and mayonnaise jars should work well for scraping the last of the toothpaste into tiny containers!
Karen says
I hate fooling with the tube of toothpaste but my husband LOVES the challenge. Nothing goes to waste in this house if we can help it! My daughter has been griping about the cold every morning but I just tell her to layer her clothes…. that darn heater is staying at 66 degrees!
Peggy Stenglein says
I would be elated! How did you cut down on the gas bill? In my house, I feel like I’m the only one trying to save and conserve sometimes. My girls get it, but need frequent reminders….lights on, too much water, unnecessary laundry, the hubby is an energy waster. I would love to ditch cable, and simpler phones…no way. It’s frustrating.
Miriam says
About a month ago, I’d gotten to the nub of my own toothpaste and I almost tossed it. Glad I didn’t. Over a month later, it is still going! I haven’t even cut it open either.
ChrisM says
I’ve done the very same thing, Mavis!
Leah says
Aside from not liking to waste money, I find it very frustrating that my husband doesn’t realize the time that it takes to constantly be making trips to the store because we are “out of” various things. I just recently read about fiscal fasts and am currently doing a 30 day fast. At the end of the first week, it seems obvious to me that at least 95% of what we buy isn’t really out of necessity, but just not being resourceful because we don’t have to be. Whether you need to be resourceful or not, I think it is a valuable skill to acquire and practice.
Maeven says
We also cut open toothpaste (we can get up to two more weeks out of it!!) and use only the small pea size amount recommended by the toothpaste companies (instead of the giant flowing glob they show on the commercials). Thankfully my husband is even more thrifty than I am so he’s on board. And, in the process, we’re teaching our kids to throw it out only when it’s used up.
lynne says
you go girl :-)! We are on budget electric (our primary heat source), and every month I look to see how we compare to last year. we are burning more wood, which has helped to lower our monthly bill $27/mo over the last 2 years – I’ll take it! Though I’ve often thought of cutting the “empty” tube open, I never have – maybe i’ll do it this time around :-). Thank you, Mavis, for your blog and sharing! LynneinMN
ilona says
I have a bag in my freezer where I put bits of veggies, i.e.: ends of onions, carrots & tomatoes … odd pieces of celery … all for making veggie broth. I am amazed at how quickly all those “little” bits adds up to a pot of yummy tasting broth for a hearty soup for dinner … and leftovers for lunches. It’s the same with anything else we use – stretch – extend … we may not always see it as quickly and clearly as the bits of veggies for soup, but the savings and benefit is there all the same. PENNIES MAKE DOLLARS! 🙂
Debbie N says
I do the same thing with the toothpaste but I got tired of taking out from the trash. Now I strategically replace it before it’s gone and I use the rest. All those pennies add up!.
cindy says
Darn, we didn’t get the same coupon in Oregon. Ours is a free item with $10 purchase. I like the idea with the toothpaste, I cut my lotion tubes (from bath and body works) in half and there is so much more left you can’t get by squeezing the tube.
Teckla says
I run anything in a tube over the edge of the counter several times from bottom to top to squeeze the contents up to the top and roll the empty tube as I go (if it will roll). Then I squeeze the “ears” at the side of the top and use my thumb to press out the last bit. Maybe I would get more by cutting the tube open, but it wouldn’t be much. I used to save veggie scraps, but since I’ve been a widow, not so much, because I don’t have many leftovers and minimal freezer space. I do try to pay attention to waste over all.
Speaking of freezers, I moved into an apartment this summer and there is absolutely no place for a freezer inside, not ever a small one. I’ve been wondering if I could put one on my deck outside. It faces east so would not get direct afternoon sun in the summer; just the heat of the day. Has anyone tried keeping one outside? Have any thoughts to share? Any recommendations? Mavis, what are your thoughts?
Kayla says
Just to add my two cents… We live in an apartment and had no room for a freezer either. We bought a small chest freezer and put it on our patio. It has remained there for over 5 years and is still going strong. It does get really dirty (on the outside) and we defrost and clean it out once a year. We have it against the wall mostly protected from rain. It still gets wet, but we try to keep it mostly dry. Just make sure your electric outlet and connection will not get wet. Our patio faces west and our poor freezer gets sunlight during the hottest part of the day. Our freezer has worked like a champ during 115 degree weather in direct sunlight. We bought our freezer from Costco and it has been wonderful.
Lisa Millar says
I got a laugh reading this this morning!!
Last night my husband – getting ready for his night shift – had a slight tanty over the toothpaste tube
“Have we got a new toothpaste THIS IS KILLING ME!”
He hates mucking about getting out the last bits
I hide the new one (haha – in plain view on the kitchen bench) so as much of the old one gets squeezed out first.
Thanx Mavis – I will now be scrummaging in the bin for the old toothpaste to see how far I can stretch it!
Tracie H says
Hahaha! I think we live in the same house. Same thing here. Only I have it times three, my daughter just opened a new I’ve because hers was “empty”!
Kaysie says
I got the B&B coupin today!! Yay!! I read your comment earlier and thought to myself- I never get any good coupons from them. It was a nice surprise. 🙂
Kaysie says
Coupon
Jenny says
I got my B&BW coupons today. They’re a little different than yours. Free item with $10 purchase and $5-15 off depending on the amount spent. Still good deals though, so I’m happy! 🙂
Julie says
Hahaha! I love this post sooo much, Mavis!! I just sent it to my husband to read…maybe it’ll convince him I’m not the only crazy lady on Earth!
Natalie T. says
Hi Mavis,
Besides not wasting money, using every last drop of anything also means not wasting precious resources! Perhaps adding this eco-friendly lens to your explanation to HH would convince him to drop his slightly wasteful practice.
Hubby and I hate waste and cut tubes and bottles open to fully use up the products as well. However, we usually cut them in half and never thought of this funny but ingenious way of “dissecting” the toothpaste tube as you’ve done in the photo! Will try this out next time. Thanks for this “photo tip”!
Mavis says
So true. I’ll give that explanation a shot, but I’m not sure it will make a difference! And so glad my little “photo tip” is helpful! 🙂
Chris says
My wife sets the “used” toothpaste tubes aside for me to finish before she opens a new one. She’s good enough to at least let me know it’s there.
Rhonda says
I do the same. Cut the toothpaste open, lotions, etc.. Put water in the shampoo at the very end, the dishsoap, handsoap, laundry detergent, etc. Sounds crazy but I get weeks more use out of everything. It’s less product to purchase, less perfectly good stuff going into landfills, less resources to manufacture, less packaging to deal with, and on and on. I think it’s weird that this isn’t an automatic. But my husband thinks I’m crazy.
Donna in VA says
Your gas bill a year ago only had 13 days in the cycle instead of 30 days. You may have had 13 really cold days so it is not a true average.
Sarah says
I’ll admit that I don’t cut open the tooth paste. I think it is a good idea- just not for me. I go through not quite one tube a year- it would probably take me 50 yrs to save $5.00. I’m not sure all the time wasted in searching for the scissors is worth that!
Jen Y says
Yes! We are constantly comparing our bills from the year before.
I’ve gotten lazy though as I’ve aged & don’t work to save money like I did when I had no choice.