Put A Pump On It.

Putting a pump on cleaning products and toiletries can save you small fortune.  A few years ago I noticed a family member preparing to wash some dishes.  Out came the dishwashing liquid and SQUIRRRRRRRTTTT.  Yes you guessed it.  An enormous squirt of dishwashing liquid went into the sink.  Combine that with fast flowing water and the family member ended up with a sink full of bubbles and very little water.  Infact,  you couldn't see the water and the bubbles were a foot high.

I know I've been called tight or cheap but sometimes portion control just makes sense.  I don't like to see waste whether it be money,  consumables or possessions.  I would prefer to be a good steward of what I have.  Yes it might save a few dollars here and there.  It could help the environment too.  Portion control in my house really makes life easier.

Quite a few products now come with pumps on them.  You'll find them on large bottles for easy use.  What do you do with those pumps when the bottle is empty ?  If you are throwing them out because you don't have a need for them,  think again.

Here are some examples of how I reuse pumps to save us money -

*  Large bottles of shower gel come with a pump.  I'm unlikely to refill a large bottle simply because it's not cost effective to buy small bottles of shower gel for that purpose.  Sometimes those pumps will fit large bottles of shampoo and conditioner.  TRESemme shampoo and conditioner doesn't come with pumps and those large bottles are hard to manage in the shower.  Put a pump on it and you have portion control.  Dilute the shampoo and conditioner and you'll save even more money.

*  As I mentioned above,  dishwashing liquid is hard to portion control.  I saved pumps from liquid hand soap ( before foaming hand wash days ) and put them on the dishwashing liquid bottles.  I know two pumps of the liquid will wash my dishes.

*  Darren uses hair gel each day to tame his curly hair.  For years he used containers of hair gel and it was messy.  A couple of years ago we found hair gel in a pump bottle.  Now when the bottle is empty we refill it with other brands of hair gel.  No more trying to screw on a lid with sticky hands.

*  We've saved liquid hand soap bottles and refilled them with shower gel.  Portion controlling shower gel,  no matter how small the bottle is,  can be tricky in the shower.  We've even emptied all the little bottles from hotel accommodation into a pump bottle.


Each time you go to throw out a pump bottle,  think again.  Can you refill that bottle with something else ?  If not,  will that pump fit onto another bottle ?  It's well worth a try.