It often amazes me how much product is left in many manufacturer bottles when they are “empty.” Today I “emptied” this bottle of dish soap into a hand pump dispenser. It looked empty and I bet many people would have tossed it straight into the trash, but I hate to waste and so I turned it upside-down. In a short amount of time, enough soap for more than a week had collected in the bottom.

When I moved into my current apartment, I moved my couponer’s stash of new household products before I was actually living in the apartment. A couple of days before we officially moved, I ran out of conditioner at my old apartment and didn’t think it was worth the drive to go get a new one at my new apartment (and of course it wouldn’t make sense to buy a new one when I had a stash already). So I simply cut open the bottle (that I couldn’t squeeze anything more out of) and *surprise* I had more than enough conditioner until we moved.

Now, I always cut open bottles and tubes before I toss them or add a small amount of water and shake them up. This is beneficial for my wallet and the environment and waste is not. I am shocked that sometimes I get more than a week’s worth of different products this way. Over a year or ten this could really add up. It could also save you from having to make an emergency trip to the store because you are “out” of something.

I’m not a conspiracy theorist but it seems a little too convenient that some companies who want you to buy more of product X are completely unaware that their products seem empty when there are still 4 of the promised 12 ounces left in the container. I made up those numbers but the results are visible. My mother has been doing this for years. I have to ask myself why I wasn’t?