That last half inch....?

exlibris

irenee wrote: »

I grate (have a dedicated old grater!) the last bits of soap into a squeezy bottle; add some boiling water to the end of an olive oil bottle, well shaken ; add to the soap bottle
Put the lid on and shake vigorously - makes a great liquid soap for hand cleaning in the kitchen

I do someting similar but also keep a small bottle of the mix in my bedroom. When I find dirty spots on clothes I put a little of the mix on them before putting the clothes to wash. Mostly the stains are removed after washing.

Mad4camping

I bougt from the "The Book works " a pack artists tube squeezers. They were meant for paint tubes. They are shaped like the metal key you use to get on pilchards (gross) In the pack there are varying widths, fab for cream, tooth pastes purees etc... i have saved a good few pennies I'm sure. I think they cost £1.59. It really does squeeze every drop out .. Hope this helps

tahrey

Hmm, I think there's a law of diminishing returns... those jarbusters are interesting, but how many times over how many years do you have to use them before they pay for themselves? (Ditto the tube-squeezers - it's a pretty neat idea, but oil paints are typically somewhat more pricey than tomato puree or toothpaste, come in smaller, more rigid tubes, and you get through them more quickly if you're a jobbing painter; if my 100g (?) tube of tomato puree costs 50p, or the toothpaste £2, and I can extract all but a half-teaspoon's (or one brushing's) worth using just my fingers... how much are we actually saving, and at what time cost?).

I have a rep for stretching things (not just food) long past it's usual use-by date or state of emptiness (not to mention surviving off the Whoops Shelf, which is basically scavenging what other people don't want!), but if one more useful serving can't be easily extracted... time to bin it. Not worth the effort, and certainly not worth any cost for a tu'ppenorth of whatever.

Though I did feel bad throwing out the mouldering scrag ends of a tub of raspberries, a jar of salsa, and a pot of ricotta this weekend (all otherwise as well-used as they could be, and the latter one originally reduced down to 5p!). Had to find justifications for it. That and a remaining half of the liquor off a ball of mozzerella, and the fruity vinegar off a jar of beetroot. This stuff can actually enrich other things you cook, but if you don't use it quick enough, it just goes bad... still feels like dropping the ball, even though most people don't use it, the list of applications is limited, and it's technically worthless.

Sally_A

When washing up liquid is down to the last 1/2 inch, it gets diluted, same for shampoo.

Tomato passata/sauce jars always get a quick splash of water and a good shake.

Old Colman's English Mustard jars are kept, and next time I make a stew, they are swooshed around with hot water and added to the stock: as do Marmite jars.

Fabric conditioner, also gets water and a shake to use up the last dregs.

meg72

Lovelylot of tips here.I always freeze the last few crumbs out of the biscuit tin and add them to crumble andI get a real kick out of saving ALL my glass jars to use for HM jamchutney etc sousually endup having to give some away.

katieowl_2

Saver0811 wrote: »

Don't forget to cost your time when squeezing the last drop out.

Minimum of 10p per minute approx, is it really worth it ?

(I will NOT be defeated !)

Does anyone on here actually get paid for the time they spend at home, squeezing out their last drops? No...

So you are still quids in squeezing IMHO!

Kate

tahrey

What about swilling everything out of e.g. a tin of soup?

re: the laura ashley bottle... I'm sure you can get some kind of tool, a bit like a plumber's pipe-scorer, that can cut glass cleanly and safely? How much one of those would set you back I hate to think, but when it comes to expesive product like that it may be more worthwhile than getting the last ha'pennorth out of a tube of tomato puree!

Also I finally finished off a bottle of Branston Afrikan Chalakata Relish last night. Had to cut it open and get all the remainder out with a spoon because of the stupid design of the neck - pretty much guaranteed to waste a couple-a-three teaspoonfuls because it's completely unsuited to thick sauces.

Kinda wish I didn't though. Was feeling pretty rotten for much of the rest of the day soon after. Whether that was the sauce, the "meat free falafels" that I was dipping in it (one of those rare things - reduced-to-clear freezer fodder... I was out of ideas & needed the drawer space, so come sunday lunchtime out they came and into the oven), or the slightly limp mixed salad leaves on the side, I don't know, but it's the main suspect at the moment! Was a little bit past date after all...

How much is your HEALTH worth?

hansi

I use Poligrip and when the tube has been rolled to the maximum and you think it's empty, don't throw it out, it's not! Just cut off near the top, keep the cap on, on you'll find that there's almost a week's supply of fixative left there, just keep it in a sealed container, same applies to toothpaste and anything in tubes.

Pink.

Hi hansi,

As your thread has now dropped down the board I've added it to a recent existing thread on the same topic to keep the replies and suggestions together.

Pink

shandyclover

Where we live in Ireland your bin is weighed when its collected, and you pay a monthly rate according to how much rubbish you produce. There are recycling centres where you can drop off your plastics, bottles, cans, paper etc for free, but everything but the paper must be washed! Because of this it's now become almost second nature to rinse out everything, even the milk jugs. I've one DD who had a habit of opening new a shampoo/conditoner/shower gel/handwash bottle as soon as she sees theres only an inch or so left. So I started hiding the replacements till I see it's all used up!