Save Soap Slivers!

Benefits

Environmental Benefit: ★★☆☆☆
Not a huge benefit here - we're just making sure we don't waste those little bits of soap you get when a bar is nearly used up!

Money Saved: ★★☆☆☆
Again, you're not saving a lot of money on soap - but it's not costing you anything either.

Lifestyle Benefit: ★★☆☆☆
Not sure what the lifestyle benefit would be, other than feeling good about not wasting stuff!

What We’re Doing
When the bar soap we use by bathroom sinks and in the shower gets to be a little "sliver", Shannon collects them into a piece of coarse fabric like that one pictured and ties it off. You can then use the little bundle as you would soap - when wet the soap soaks out through the fabric. Not exactly a decorator soap you'd put out in your guest bathroom - but it works! By the way, those hand-pump liquid soap dispensers are quite handy and look nice but waste a lot of soap down the drain and cost significantly more than most hand soaps.

A Little Humor

Dear Maid,Please do not leave any more of those little bars of soap in my bathroom, since I have brought my own bath-sized Dial.Please remove the six unopened little bars from the shelf under the medicine chest and another three in the shower soap dish. They are in my way.Thank you,S. Berman

Dear Room 635, I am not your regular maid. She will be back tomorrow, Thursday, from her day off.I took the 3 hotel soaps out of the shower soap dish as you requested.The 6 bars on your shelf I took out of your way and put on top of your Kleenex dispenser in case you should change your mind.This leaves only the 3 bars I left today which my instructions from the management is to leave 3 soaps daily. I hope this is satisfactory.Kathy, Relief Maid

Dear Maid -- I hope you are my regular maid.Apparently Kathy did not tell you about my note to her concerning the little bars of soap. When I got back to my room this evening I found you had added 3 little Camays to the shelf under my medicine cabinet.I am going to be here in the hotel for two weeks and have brought my own bath-size Dial so I won't need those 6 little Camays which are on the shelf. They are in my way when shaving, brushing teeth, etc. Please remove them. S. Berman

Dear Mr. Berman,My day off was last Wed. so the relief maid left 3 hotel soaps which we are instructed by the management.I took the 6 soaps which were in your way on the shelf and put them in the soap dish where your Dial was. I put the Dial in the medicine cabinet for your convenience.I didn't remove the 3 complimentary soaps which are always placed inside the medicine cabinet for all new check-ins and which you did not object to when you checked in last Monday.Please let me know if I can of further assistance. Your regular maid, Dotty

Dear Mr. Berman, The assistant manager, Mr. Kensedder, informed me this A.M. that you called him last evening and said you were unhappy with your maid service. I have assigned a new girl to your room.I hope you will accept my apologies for any past inconvenience. If you have any future complaints please contact me so I can give it my personal attention.Call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM. Thank you. Elaine Carmen Housekeeper

Dear Miss Carmen, It is impossible to contact you by phone since I leave the hotel for business at 7:45 AM and don't get back before 6PM. That's the reason I called Mr. Kensedder last night.You were already off duty. I only asked Mr. Kensedder if he could do anything about those little bars of soap. The new maid you assigned me must have thought I was a new check-in today, since she left another 3 bars of hotel soap in my medicine cabinet along with her regular delivery of 3 bars on the bath-room shelf.In just 5 days here I have accumulated 24 little bars of soap. Why are you doing this to me? S. Berman

Dear Mr. Berman,Your maid, Kathy, has been instructed to stop delivering soap to your room and remove the extra soaps. If I can be of further assistance, please call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM.Thank you,Elaine Carmen,Housekeeper

Dear Mr. Kensedder,My bath-size Dial is missing! Every bar of soap was taken from my room including my own bath-size Dial. I came in late last night and had to call the bellhop to bring me 4 little Cashmere Bouquets.S. Berman

Dear Mr. Berman,I have informed our housekeeper, Elaine Carmen, of your soap problem. I cannot understand why there was no soap in your room, since our maids are instructed to leave 3 bars of soap each time they service a room.The situation will be rectified immediately. Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience.Martin L. Kensedder Assistant Manager
Dear Mrs. Carmen, Who the heck left 54 little bars of Camay in my room? I came in last night and found 54 little bars of soap. I don't want 54 little bars of Camay. I want my one bar of bath-size Dial!Do you realize I have 54 bars of soap in here?! All I want is my bath size Dial. Please give me back my bath-size Dial. S. Berman

Dear Mr. Berman, You complained of too much soap in your room so I had them removed. Then you complained to Mr. Kensedder that all your soap was missing so I personally returned them. The 24 Camays which had been taken and the 3 Camays you are supposed to receive daily.I don't know anything about the 4 Cashmere Bouquets. Obviously your maid, Kathy, did not know I had returned your soaps so she also brought 24 Camays plus the 3 daily Camays. I don't know where you got the idea this hotel issues bath-size Dial.I was able to locate some bath-size Ivory which I left in your room.Elaine CarmenHousekeeper

Dear Mrs. Carmen, Just a short note to bring you up-to-date on my latest soap inventory. As of today I possess:On shelf under medicine cabinet - 18 Camay in 4 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2.On Kleenex dispenser - 11 Camay in 2 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 3. On bedroom dresser - 1 stack of 3 Cashmere Bouquet, 1stack of 4 hotel-size Ivory, and 8 Camay in 2 stacks of 4. Inside medicine cabinet - 14 Camay in 3 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2. In shower soap dish - 6 Camay, very moist. On northeast corner of tub - 1 Cashmere Bouquet, slightly used. On northwest corner of tub - 6 Camays in 2 stacks of 3. Please ask Kathy when she services my room to make sure the stacks are neatly piled and dusted. Also, please advise her that stacks of more than 4 have a tendency to tip. May I suggest that my bedroom window sill is not in use and will make an excellent spot for future soap deliveries.One more item... I have purchased another bar of bath-sized Dial which I am keeping in the hotel vault in order to avoid further misunderstandings.S. Berman

Hand-me-downs are Fun!

Benefits

Environmental Benefit: ★★★★☆
A lot of energy goes into growing cotton, making synthetic cloth, sewing, distributing, selling, and shopping and/or shipping clothing. When they can be used again, there is a large savings in energy and reduction in growing and manufacturing chemical usage. And the landfill reduction from not throwing them out (whether recycled in your family or donated to others).

Money Saved: ★★★☆☆
If you are able to reuse them in your own family, you save money on expensive clothes. If you donate them to a service organization or neighbors then you save them money.

Lifestyle Benefit: ★★☆☆☆
Most people would probably rather have new clothes than hand-me-downs. But our young kids at least do sometimes get a kick out of owning something that they remember (or have seen in pictures) their older sisters wearing previously. Besides, by saving money this way you can buy better clothes - so even if they're not the latest style they are better quality.

What We're Doing

Well, I guess we got a little luckier than most families! With four girls growing up one after the other, we get rather a lot of use out of our clothes. By the time they get to the youngest child, some items like shoes need to be replaced - but others are still good. I imagine this is one thing (recycling clothes) that most people are probably good at doing - hopefully no one is throwing out serviceable clothes when it is so easy to donate them to organizations like Salvation Army, Goodwill, Disabled Veterans, etc. Most of them will even come to your door to pick them up! Note: Regarding the photograph, you'll note that shoes don't always work well for hand-me-downs. Particularly from one generation to the next. There are other unmentionables that probably don't need to be passed down either . . .

A Little Humor

"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society."
— Mark Twain

Quilt with Old Clothes

Benefits

Environmental Benefit: ★★★★☆
When clothes have gotten too worn or stained for hand-me-downs, there are nearly always small good areas of fabric left in them. Making a blanket from them "recycles" the fabric and reduces landfill.

Money Saved: ★★☆☆☆
A nice quilted blanket can be quite expensive! These are nearly free (except for your time).

Lifestyle Benefit: ★★★★☆

While it takes quite awhile to make one of these (mostly to do the hand-stitching), much of the work can be done while listening (to music, kids, spouse, a movie, etc.) and the work can be spread out over months or years. The resulting quilts become family heirlooms as well as practical bed-warmers!

What We're Doing

Shannon is working on her fourth quilt I think it is now (for our bed). She saves our old clothes that aren't worth handing-down or donating, and cuts them into several sizes of quilt squares. The squares are sewn together on the sewing machine, and then hand-stitched with a quilting hoop into a blanket. It's fun to see the resulting blankets and remember the various items of clothing that we used to wear that now make up the blankets. Several of my "ex" favorite shirts are in those quilts now. I know the girls will appreciate the blanket made for each of them for a long time, perhaps for the rest of their lives.

A Little Humor

Wedding advice: In marriage, one good turn gets most of the blankets.

Save Plastic Containers

Benefits

Environmental Benefit: ★★★☆☆
Saves landfill space, as well as the energy for making plastic containers you didn't buy.

Money Saved: ★★☆☆☆
Why buy tupperware cups, plastic storage tubs, etc. when you're always getting them for free?

Lifestyle Benefit: ★☆☆☆☆
Not having matched cups at the dinner table isn't a lifestyle benefit I suppose, although our kids have their favorite "cups" that are more interesting than "plain blue" I suppose.

What We're Doing
Any time we get a reasonably sturdy plastic cup or bowl, it gets washed and saved in a lower kitchen cupboard. Since everything's plastic down there, it makes a great play area for toddlers (see photo). Also, we've always got containers (old butter tubs, etc.) in the right sizes for saving leftovers in the fridge. And the cup-sized containers get used for . . . cups! And if they get used up, you can still recycle them! Yes, we do have a few actually purchased plastic cups and storage bowls - but they were mostly purchased many years ago before Shannon started this "collection". Biggest problem for me is trying to figure out which lid goes with which container . . .

A Little Humor
Q. Why do builders have see-through Tupperware lunchboxes?
A. So they know if they are going to work or going home.

Share the Bathwater!

Benefits
Environmental Benefit: ★★★☆☆
Conserves water, and the energy to heat it and later treat the wastewater.

Money Saved: ★★☆☆☆
Most places you won't save a lot of money with the water, although you are also saving money on the energy used to heat it.

Lifestyle Benefit: ★★★☆☆
Isn't it more fun to take baths together? Great social/play time for the kids. And not just for kids . . . also a great idea for their parents after the kids have gone to bed! :-)

What We're Doing
Our kids until they are around 10 or so have enjoyed taking paths together. Also, we don't bath them "every night" as I understand some folks do which seems awfully unnecessary! If they get particularly dirty they might get a special bath, but usually it's just about once a week. We have also discovered that you use considerably less water when two or more are in the tub - since the extra bodies help to bring the water level higher! Just make sure not to throw the baby out with the bathwater!

A Little Humor

"Sponges grow in the ocean. That just kills me. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that didn't happen." — Steven Wright

The Bathtub Test
During a visit to the mental asylum, I asked the director how you determine whether or not a patient should be institutionalised.
"Well," said the director, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub." "Oh, I understand," I said. "A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup." "No." said the director, "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?"

Reuse Candles

Benefits
Environmental Benefit: ★★☆☆☆
By reusing your birthday candles, you reduce landfill waste from partially-burned candles and packaging, and possibly save fuel from extra trips to the store for candles.

Money Saved: ★★☆☆☆
Probably just a couple of dollars, depends on how many times they are reused!

Lifestyle Benefit: ★★☆☆☆
Saves having to go buy more candles all the time for birthdays!


What We're Doing
Those little thin birthday candles are really only good for one birthday - they burn up so fast! So we've mostly been using the "numbers" at least for the kids' cakes. They don't melt much unless you sing the birthday song reeeeally slooooowww! So far we've been able to use them for all four girls and on some of our cakes, and you know what? They really don't care that they've been used before. In fact, it almost adds to the fun when they realize that the candle number was on their sister's cake a year or two before and now it's on their cake!

A Little Humor
Why do you blow out the candles on your birthday cake?
Because throwing water on the candles will ruin your cake, silly.

Make Pumpkin Pie

Benefits

Environmental Benefit: ★★☆☆☆

By eating your Halloween pumpkin, you are not only getting valuable food from it - but preventing it from going into the landfill (hey - if you don't eat it at least compost it!)

Money Saved: ★★☆☆☆

How much is 4 cans of pumpkin pie filling worth?

Lifestyle Benefit: ★★★☆☆

I consider pumpkin pie a definite lifestyle benefit.

What We're Doing

If you carve a Halloween pumpkin, chances are it sits around until getting all moldy and soft and gross and then gets thrown out, or hopefully put in the compost pile. If you wait until a few days before Halloween to carve it, and then promptly bake it up afterward - chances are you can still use it for pie! Best not to light it inside with a candle, as the heat may dry it out and you might have puddled wax to deal with as well. Better to use an electric bulb - or even one of those cool spooky green glow sticks! A good-sized pumpkin will make four pies. And you can also toast the salted seeds in your oven for a tasty snack!

I know your excuse. I can hear it already. "But I don't know how to make pumpkin pie without the recipe on the can!" OK, OK . . . here's the recipe:

Ingredients
1 small pumpkin
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie
2 eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cinnamon)
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

Directions
I presume your pumpkin is already cleaned of seeds! Cut pumpkin into several pieces and place cut side down on a cookie sheet lined with lightly oiled aluminum foil. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the flesh is tender when poked with a fork. Cool until just warm. Scrape the pumpkin flesh from the peel. Puree in small batches in a blender. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C.)
In a large bowl, slightly beat eggs. Add brown sugar, flour, salt, 2 cups of the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and evaporated milk. Stir well or blend in blender.
Pour mixture into the unbaked pastry shell. Place a strip of aluminum foil around the edge of the crust to prevent over browning.
Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C), then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake an additional 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove the strip of foil about 10 minutes before the pie is done so that the edge of the crust will be a light golden brown. Cool pie, and refrigerate overnight for best flavor.

A Little Humor

Why do Jack-o-lanterns have stupid smiles on their faces?

You'd have a stupid smile, too, if you had just had all your brains scooped out!

What's the ratio of a pumpkin's circumference to its diameter?

Pumpkin Pi (3.1428571 . . .)