Simple Suggestion #130... Use half as much

Ever tried to use the amount of toothpaste that gets put on the brush in a toothpaste commercial? I don't know about you, but I grew up using just a smidge of that amount. Using the TV prescribed amount just meant that blue toothpaste globs got stuck to the bottom of the sink! But some marketing person  somewhere back in the sixties decided that toothpaste would sell better if we all loaded our toothbrushes with more than we actually need to clean our teeth. Marketers also want us to glop on the shampoo, bodywash, shaving cream and other personal care products out there in advertising land.

Come to think of it, most commercials for almost any product that you care to name exaggerate the amount we need, because commercials are promoting consumption to the max. In many cases, we can get away with using half -- or even less than half -- of what's portrayed in advertisements. And if we cut the amount in half and find it's still too much, or not quite enough, we have the ability to adjust our amounts. We're fortunate in that regard. How often do we think about our brothers and sisters who have to skimp on everything just to get by?

So today's simple suggestion is to make a conscious effort to use half as much of the commercial products in our lives. If we give some thought to it, we become more conscious of how blessed we are, and if we can get away with using less, we're saving $$ -- and our planet's valuable resources, which are worth more than $$.

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