My name is Katy Wolk-Stanley and I am a mixmaster. I mix the last drips of whipping cream into regular milk for baking, I mix two bottles of underwhelming shampoo and I smoosh the last gummy bits of soap onto the crisp new bar of soap. You might say I like to mix things up. I hate having multiple containers of small amount of product, whether they be liquid soap, mustard or hand lotion. It’s cluttery and gets in the way of my spa-like home. (This is totally tongue in cheek, as my house currently resembles a Monday morning frat house, as I worked 24 hours over the past two days. Seriously, my house is naaasty.)
As much as I hate waste, (food or otherwise) sometimes it’s not worth making myself eat or slather myself with a decidedly subpar product, but oftentimes mixing stuff up can create an acceptable alternative. Not that I didn’t write a most excellent product, but rather an acceptable alternative.
Sometimes, acceptable really is good enough. Overly scented lotion can be mixed with its unscented cousin, too sweet and too spicy barbecue sauces can combine to create an I-guess-this-will-work dinner option; and the last of three different liquid soaps can all pour together into a single pump, even when the colors and opacity are all different. (True story, scandalous but true!) It’s frugal, it declutters and helps to avoid waste.
Just call me Lady Mix-a-Lot.
Are you a fan of playing mad scientist when it comes to using up the last drips of various household products? Please share your experiments in the comments section below.
Katy Wolk-Stanley “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 46 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes, Yes, Yes! I do the same thing. It drives me nuts have more than one container open or one container that just has a small bit left to it. I also do this with cereal as well.
I usually squeeze the very last bit from a container before I even remember to buy a replacement, so I don’t typically have this problem with hygiene products (although now that I think about it I do have two bottles of body lotion that could probably be successfully married.) However, I have been known to make juice cocktails from the last bits of juice in the bottles. And it never tastes bad, because it’s all juice! When I used bar soap, I definitely did the same thing – stick the last puny piece of soap to the next bar.
I save bar soap slivers to be used as marking “pens” for use on dark colored fabrics for sewing. The marks or lines simply wipe off with a damp cloth. Although this really doesn’t work well on light colored fabrics, it is definitely more affordable than the disappearing pens you can find in fabric stores. Besides, those expensive pens dry out so quickly.
Ooh, great idea. Thanks!
Katy
Another alternative to the expensive pens are regular chalk. Not something you’d necessarily have bits of unless you have small children, of course.
Me, too! I will combine samples with other samples. Hotel freebies with other freebies. Leftover veggies go into a container in the freezer, whenever it gets full we have veggie soup….always a surprise…because the veggies differ. New to us sauces when I am cleaning out the end of a container, etc. One of my pet peeves are the squeeze containers of condiments…..so much is wasted because it is hard to get out. I try to compensate by adding vinegar or something similar to then add it to a salad dressing mixture. Always try to think of new ways to rescue more. Who knew we were “mad scientists” in disguise…ha!
Linda!! Thank you for that awesome veggie freezer trick! Another thing I do is save the butts of veggies and then simmer them with garlic, salt and pepper to make veggie stock. No more $4 boxes of store-bought stock.
Will have to give that a try…sounds yummy and economical.
Yes! Just save your onion butts, the ends you cut off carrots, zucchinis, celery, peppers and jalapano, etc. Save them up in a big baggie and when you’re ready, simmer them for a good long while (3 hours). Toss in some garlic cloves and season with salt/pepper. When all veggies are totally mushy and your water has some rich color, pour the batch through a pasta colandar and then let cool. Pour cool stock into quart size fridge contaners and keep for up to two weeks. I like these: http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/supply/plastic_jars.html.Use in soups, deglazing a sautee pan, making sauces, rice, etc. Anything you would add water to, use the flavorful stock. Enjoy!
Make sure you pour the broth *into* something, not down the drain.
Not that I’ve ever done this. Just saying.
And the crock pot does a nice job of cooking up the broth.
this might be a dumb question, but do you wash all the odds and ends before you put them in the freezer bag? It seems like you’d have to or you might end up with dirt in the broth?
Yes, me too. As I was combining shampoo this weekend I discovered my funnels are MIA… Really slows down the process.
Always! Multiple containers drive me nuts.
Yes, I grew up doing this so it comes naturally:). My husband has become an expert on cutting open lotion bottles so we can get the last little bit out of it. I also water down liquid soap and detergents and they are just as effective. Anyone cut the toothpaste tube in half when it’s almost gone??? I do!
I cut all those tubes open–toothpaste, hair gel, condiments. There’s always enough for a week of use in the perosnal products ones, and another serving in the food ones.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do & do without” I one of my FAVORITE sayings! it is soooooooo me! A friend of mine even did a crosstitch that hangs in my kitchen! Your ideas are great. Going to try the ones I don’t already use. Thanks!
Joy
I do this too, but in secret as it creeps my hubby out. Shhhh!
One of the best salad dressings I’ve every made was a freehand concoction in the remains of a honey mustard bottle! But my most recent coup was painting my laundry room: 3 walls are a bright aqua (from mixing odds n ends of green and blue paint I had from other projects), the 4th wall with shelves is a satiny white made from leftover flat white and semi-gloss paint, where they joined I freehanded art nouveau-ish curlycues and “flowers” with a craft paint combo from the $1 store. I do a happy dance every time I see it!
Post pictures on the Facebook group!
Katy
Yes I do. I also cut open old bottles and toothpaste tubes and keep on using um!
I also do not like multiples hanging around. I’ve been able to really pare down what I buy and make myself use up what I have before I can buy something else. The exception to the rule recently was when I mixed a smidge of Burt’s Bees rescue salve, some argan oil, and some of my new coconut oil….it was ‘aight….and I used up the remnants and now use the burt’s tin for the coconut oil. I do love the simplicity of ivory soap and coconut oil and they work the best for me. Oh, I did try the baking soda no-poo method but ended up with hay stack hair, which was seasonally costume worthy but not very attractive. So there is a bottle of shampoo in the shower.
Tna, I also tried to go no-poo but totally hated what it did to my hair. I figured I could save elsewhere, but I NEEDED my Mane-n-Tail….bad!!
I am normally completely happy with my 89¢ “White Rain” brand shampoo, so I too look for savings elsewhere.
Katy
Last night, I found FOUR almost-empty jars of peanut butter in the cabinet, plus an almost full one.
So, I sliced up some bananas into chunks, put the peanut butter on top, and served them to my kids. And now I’m down to just one peanut butter jar. Yay!
Yummy! I love peanut butter and bananas:).
Just this week, I found two mostly empty peanut butter jars (plus one unopened one) in my cabinet, too! How did this happen? I’m usually so good at maintaining inventory. First in, first out, and all that.
I buy peanut butter in a 5lb. tub. We always have enough and I don’t have all those jars.
I save the empty dish detergent bottle, when i buy a new one i pour half in the empty one and fill the rest up with water. two for one 🙂 i have done this with liquid hand soap, shampoo, laundry detergent- basically anything liquid.
kate
I do this as well. I used to do it exactly as you say, but I recently purchased a lovely bottle at a garage sale. I think it is meant for olive oil. Anyway, now I put in about one third dishwashing soap and fill it the rest of the way with water. The bottle looks lovely on my countertop, and the soap lasts three times as long.
Great ideas! I use up mediocre shampoo, bubble bath, body wash, etc by putting them in the handsoap dispensers.
yup, me too.
I also had a nearly brand new secret deodorant that wouldn’t spin up. My husband broke something inside so it could be used.
The only thing he does frugually that drive’s me crazy, is nearly empty chapstick containers laying around. He will use a pocketknive to eek out the little bit at the bottom!!!!
LOL, I am currently using a q-tip to get out the last bit of lipstick from the tube. I love the lipstick but it came out of a kit my daughter got at Christmas (one of those ones that come from Walmart with like 4 lipsticks, 15 eyeshadows & 4 blushes) so it’s not a lipstick I can go & re-purchase so I’m trying to use every bit of it up! 🙂
I do this too AND add slivers of soaps to it. They dissolve nicelly. I also cleaned out all my little hotel soaps and cut them up and added to the handsoapdispenser. Mixed with all those other odds n ends, I always have liquid hand soap.
I slosh some water into nearly empty shampoo bottles and use the suds to wash newly finished knitting projects rather than buy expensive wool wash.
The gooshy antiperspirants that dispense a little product thru holes in the top surface (like Secret Clinical, for one) have quite a few days’ uses left inside the dispensers even after the dial won’t click any more. I discovered that if I put the cap on, turn it over, and tap it on a table, I can get more out of it.
I’m pretty diligent using up the last of my products but I do not mix things (well, except for things I’ll use immediately…like the cream into the milk for baking) after my refilled-many-times travel face cream grew a lovely fuchsia biofilm. Yech.
Now I buy a limited number of basic products in bulk, decant/dilute into re-used but clean (every time!) containers and don’t experiment. Dish soap, btw, makes terrific bubble bath, looks after hand washables just fine, and bubbles up brilliantly in a foaming soap pump. Couple good squirts & the rest water…pennies.
I had not thought of cutting the toothpaste tube in half. I’m going to adopt that one!
oh my gosh, consolidating things makes me soooooo happy.
Totally off topic, but as I was reading your post a KGW commerical came on for their 5 o’clock news and YOU were on it!
Yippee, can’t wait to see the story tomorrow!
Really? I filmed that segment last week, and hadn’t heard back about it since. I’ll set my DVR for tonight’s news then!
Katy
Cheri S, that is brilliant! And I agree that consolidating and paring down and doing without makes me so content. Simple and freeing … I am one who gets much more satisfaction out of a night at home cleaning out a closet than going out and mingling at some cocktail party.
Yes! For many years, I have been well known in my family for “experiments”
Last week, I had some leftover mashed potatoes, but there wasn’t enough to make a crust for a shepherd’s pie. So I mixed in some also leftover plain rice. Added a little gravy for moisture, and the husband and kid were none the wiser!
My mom used up left over mashed potatoes by mixing in an egg and some flour and dropping big spoonfuls into a little hot oil and browning on both sides. It was one of my favorite things as a kid and I added ketchup to mine. She called them potato cakes.
Just a note about the sample size toiletries that often come from hotels or as samples: these make desirable donation for some charities. For example, I live near Boston, and there is a women’s day shelter (a place where women can go during the day to be safe, warm, eat a hot meal, have a shower, use a computer, etc.) which is always asking for these. Homeless people often can’t carry around large bottles of shampoo or soap, so the travel size items are preferrable.
By all means, use them up and combine if you like! Just wanted to point out that donation may be an alternative.
One of the most frugal tools to own is a long-handled, skinny-blade rubber or silicone spatula. They’re great for reaching down into jars and bottles and scraping out the last bits of goodness.
Instead of sticking soap slivers to a new bar, which my husband and son disapprove of for some bizarre reason, I save the soap slivers until there’s a double-handful of them, then coarsely chop them with a big knife, put the chopped soap into a micro-waveable dish, dampen it with a little water, and zap it in the microwave until it melts just enough to be squished back into a bar-shape with my trusty silicone spatula. The soap will not entirely melt, so it’ll have a rather artisan look to it your family uses different colors or types of soap. I “remade” two bars once that turned out creamy white with jewel-like bits of blue, green and amber glycerin soap dispersed throughout. The guys thought those were very cool.
So Odwalla bottles are wider mouth than most hygiene product bottles, so it is easy to prop up a bottle of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc on a bottle to drain and the walk away for 12 hours or so.