Thursday, June 5, 2008

Just read "Ten Ways to Save Money in your Bathroom" (http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/06/18/ten-ways-to-save-money-in-your-bathroom/) by Trent Hamm.

A few points that stuck out (and my comments):
Shower Install a low-flow shower head - or at least an adjustable one - and stop dumping water down the drain. I generally use a pretty light water flow for washing everything except for my hair - all I need to do is wet myself down, then scrub without the water, then just rinse myself off. There’s little need for strong water flow for that.

Whether from someone who simply wants to save money, or a treehugger that wants to save every drop, I hate hearing that I should go out and buy a low flow shower-head just about as much as I hate people telling me that I should swap out all of my perfectly fine light bulbs for those crappy little fluoroescents. Anyway, EVERY shower head sold for the past 10 years (probably longer) is a low flow shower head (2.5 gallons a minute). In the past I have been known to remove the flow restrictors so I could get a better shower but in recent years the low-flow heads have gotten much better. But I aint gonna take a shower with a light water flow and do it like this joker. A 20 minute high pressure shower is my morning coffee--it's responsible for waking me up, as well as helping me smell good. And my water bills are actually quite reasonable.

Laundry At home, I typically use one towel for every two showers. I’m essentially just wiping clean water off of my clean body, so the first time around I just hang the towel on a towel rack. This reduces the bathroom laundry by half.

I typically can get away with using one towel for a whole week. After all, when I get out of the shower I am the cleanest object in my house, which means a towel should theoretically last forever. But this guy? He doesn’t use enough water from his showerhead to rinse off properly, so his towels probably only last him a day or two. But this is also the guy who makes his own detergent for real cheap… so he can afford every two days.

Toilet bowl cleaner Never buy store-bought toilet bowl cleaner unless you have exceptionally hard water. Instead, just sprinkle some baking soda all over the inside of the bowl, add a little white vinegar, leave it for a few minutes (it’ll foam a bit and such), then scrub it down with a toilet brush and flush it. No blue water, either.

Wasn't this a typical elementary-school volcano science project? I bet you could really talk the kids into cleaning the toilets for you now! I'd miss the blue water though, especially the part about re-discovering how yellow and blue make green… (we men are entertained by the simplest things)

Razors If you’re a guy and are using disposables or an electric razor, take a serious look at shaving with a traditional safety razor. Over the long run, they’re cheaper than both the electric razor and the disposable razor and I feel they give a better shave once you’re used to them.

I may be willing to try this. I only shave every four days because of razor burn. The safety razor may actually get me more days between shaves as it will probably remove both the dermis and epidermis as well, and most of the hair follicles.

The sink Master the fine art of using the plug. Instead of letting the water run while brushing your teeth or shaving or washing your face, instead just plug the drain, let enough water run so that your needs are met by the water in the basin, and do your thing. When you’re done, just let the water out. By letting the faucet run while brushing or doing similar tasks, you waste a substantial amount of water.

OK, so I am to plug the drain, put some water in the sink, wash my face (thus turning the water soapy and dirty), then rinsing the washcloth in the filthy, soapy water, and then rinse off my face with it? It's the same reason I don't take baths… I don't like marinating in my own filth.

And finally…
Toilet paper Buy it in bulk from your local warehouse store, then know how to minimize usage. It only takes a few sheets to do the job, so when you use big wads of it, you’re basically flushing money down the toilet.

Define a few sheets? I don't really want to get into this too deep, but, really now… Each wipe takes a minimum of six sheets, gently folded into a square… although most of the sheets never touch the poo, they are there to add strength to the TP so that your finger doesn't pop through. Although if Sheryl Crow can get away with only one sheet per sh!t, and this guy uses a "few" sheets, he probably smells a little bit better than Sheryl does.

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