This evening I was about to run a bath when I noticed that my daughter had started using the new shampoo and conditioner bottles when there were clearly small amounts left in the old ones that she’d put to one-side.
I was going to say something to her along the lines of ‘There’s still some left in the old bottles. Can’t you try and squeeze some out?’ but then I stopped in my tracks.
I gave it some thought and decided to discard the bottles for a change. Do I really want to teach my youngest to do things ‘my way’ which is to squeeze every last drop out of everything including myself?
I laid in the bath reflecting on this very point. Nothing bad was going to happen if I discarded the ‘almost empty’ bottles. She was probably finding it hard to squeeze out the remains. I use the same shampoo and conditioner in my en-suite bathroom and I’ve been shaking out the dregs for over a week now. It’s quite irritating when I wash my hair. Could I learn something from my daughter?
There are many areas of my life where I can relate to ‘squeezing out the last drop’…
- The soap. I’ve been known to swill it around with a bit of water to use up the last bit. Is it really worth it?
- The laundry detergent. The same as above, I stand there waiting for the last few drips to come out and even turn the bottles at different angles to assist with this waiting game.
- My time. I’m getting better at this one, but I still take on more than I can handle at work and at home. I squeeze my time by just stretching that task for an extra 10 minutes, which then becomes a whole hour and takes over my time with the family or time to myself.
- The end of the day. I go to bed late, because I’ve squeezed every last minute out of the day to do things on my list and more (sometimes borrowing time from the next day as well). This impacts my sleep time which I know is important to me.
How do you get the balance right between using something until it’s completely gone/warn out/empty, compared to being more relaxed and laid back about everything?
Until next time…
Sandra
Sandra Madeira 
I squeeze out every drop from my bottles by leaving them upside down all the time while like that.
As for squeezing the last drop in other parts of life I go to bed when time, rather than later because there was something to do, because I know I won’t feel good the next day for it.
And if I need to nap in the day, I take it because I know I need it to balance the other areas of my life, that I am doing, or how its affecting me thats happening at the time.
Hi Liz, sounds like you have got a very good balance in your life. I could learn a lot from you by going to bed earlier. I do love a nap during the day though if I can fit it in 😴. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Take care
I like your metaphor of ‘squeezing the last drop’, and it’s definitely something I do in lots of areas of my life, similar to you. I’m trying to slow down this year so this is something I’m going to bear in mind. Thank you!
Thank you for taking the time to comment Marina. I agree that sometimes we just need to bring these things to the front of our minds. I did so much last year that I too am planning on slowing down this year. Good luck & take care 😊
I agree with the time issue but not the shampoo. Are we teaching our kids that if getting the last bit of something out of a bottle is too much trouble, just throw it away. Since I always use the same shampoo and conditioner I just upend the old bottle on top of the new and leave it. Then it all drains and I can recycle the old with a clearer conscience. Would you pour out the last inch of milk in the bottle because the new one was right there?
I think you are right with the shampoo as it’s been bugging me ever since I posted that blog yesterday. I would need to empty the bottles before recycling them anyway so it needs to come out! My children receive so many toiletries at Christmas and for birthdays that I don’t think they value them as much as me. There is too much choice around for them to use. I opened a drawer in my other daughter’s old room today and found bottles of toiletries that have never been used. I feel a bit of decluttering and organising coming along so that I can work out what we need to use up before buying anything else. Thanks for commenting and for your honesty 😊