This is definitely one for the “Little Things Add Up” files! You know when your tube of toothpaste is totally empty? You’ve squeezed every last bit out of it, and can’t even get one tiny speck more for one last teeth-brushing? Well, for a few years now, I’ve been cutting off the very bottom of the tube (easy — just use scissors) after it reaches that point. Then I stick my brush into that newly open end of the tube to get at the toothpaste. I’ve found that the “empty” tube ends up being good for about 7 to 10 more toothbrushings! Since I’ve probably done that with 10 toothpaste tubes now, that’s like a month of free toothpaste.
The “empty” tube that ends up containing a lot more toothpaste is a great find if you get a charge out of being thrifty as I do. It also seems like a great metaphor for many things in life. Though none come to mind right now, I bet some will, and I bet you can think of some!
Update: I just now heard from one of my most loyal readers (thanks HH!), who tells me he has been doing this since he was a kid, and that his parents did it also. Not just with toothpaste tubes but with mustard tubes, lotion pump-bottles, and so on. I bet many other people out there are doing the same.