More tips on saving money
This is dry (and not in a humourous way) but it must be done:
1. Beware of blackbox operations, such as the laundry. The laundry is mysterious, and it is only fair and reasonable that laundry detergent makes take advantage of our ignorance. They are in a rare and lucky position –how many product makers get to tell us exactly how much of something to use, and the customer has no way of telling if it is too much or not? Food makers can’t do that because we taste the food afterwards, for example. If Crest tells you to put too much toothpaste (i.e., more than you need) and you do, you will have a big glob of that falls off the brush prematurely. You get the idea.
So let’s say YOU are in such a position, where you can tell someone how much of your product they can use. What would you do? Wouldn’t you figure out the MAXIMUM amount they can use, just before it produces ill results that can be detected by the average joe? Yes. It’s fair play, and I don’t have any hard feelings about it. But I never use as much detergent as the measuring cups say. It is just too suspicious.
2. Beware of dishwashing liquids that say “Ultra”… if you will remember, the Ultra trend started in 1993, when environmentalism and Body Shop were really cool. Suddenly we were paying more for smaller packages of allegedly more concentrated stuff. Okay, fine. I’ll buy it. But that started with laundry detergents, which we measured with the cups, which were smaller in the Ultra boxes. So far so good. BUT then the dishwashing soaps (Sunlight, Palmolive) started to have Ultra versions too! Small bottles, more money. BUT are you really using less of it? Are you that good of an eyeballer? And even if you are, can you override your old habits enough to be getting the ultra out of your buck? Think about that.
3. Underwear is the gift that keeps on giving. It saves you money over time, because underwear is the limiting agent that determines your laundry cycle. I’ve never HAD to do the laundry because I ran out of assymetrical hemlined skirts (which are OUT, btw, assymetry –nature hates on ye). But I have had to do the laundy because I’ve run out of underwear. (I regularly wear swimsuits AS a last resort, as opposed to AT the last resort, heh.) Therefore when you buy underwear, you aren’t just buying underwear, but also getting a laundry discount.
4. Speaking of limiting agents, I noticed this the other day: I have been in a position where I am surrounded by things that I don’t have enough money to buy –it is not hard to be in that position in New York of course, but I’ve also felt that in post-rural Winnipeg. I have also been in a position where I am surrounded by things that I don’t have the time to do, though I can afford to pay for them –activities, events, new openings, readings, bbqs and so forth. And I become meaner and more bitter of a person when my limiting agent is time. Because MAYBE because that’s so close to the truth, in that time is the limiting agent of life –duh. So it’s like, kind of stressful? I don’t know, it’s too hot to think and I’m using a Mac!!! Give a girl a break!!!
July 28th, 2005 at 9:58 pm
there is simply too much to say about this post here in what should be a simple comment. but, ur really onto something here. underwear and time are the vice of happiness. if we had more of each… we’d be “yelling ‘zippidy doo da’ out of our assholes’ daily.
2 pts if you know where that quote is from.. btw.
but, anyway… what i really like is your way of finding the meaning of life in laundry and other things mundane. that’s not sarcastic. but, i’m curious.. what started this fascination? did someone sue someone over whether their detergent was really ‘ultra’? or were you in a time crunch and had to improv? well, if all else fails, i think you have a promising career ahead.
ralph nader will be soo jealous, and rendered ‘insignificant’.
anyway… don’t be hatin on macs… you’ll spend less time fixin them, which should lessen your ‘meaner and more bitter’ persona.
July 29th, 2005 at 2:05 pm
Unfortunately, you will have to keep the 2 pts. But can you tell me where it’s from? It sounds familiar but like one of those “familiars” where you’re not sure if you’re making it up or not, the familiarity.
I started thinking about mundane things because we didn’t have newspapers at our house so we would read the cereal boxes over breakfast instead. Did you know, for example, that Canadian and American Raisin Bran (both from Post, or Kellogs, or whatever) have significantly different ingredients AND significantly (for the fitness fanatic that someone once was) different nutrition values?? Uh, but I continue to focus on the mundane because it is tackle-able (as opposed to thinking about War), because it is a good mental exercise that you can do anywhere (very Kegelian!) and because it improves your day-to-day in a tangible way. Finally, it usually provides for good conversation. USUALLY. Oh and also it doesn’t go to the ego and give me lofty airs.
PS> how was your bbq? im sorry i didn’t have time to go!
August 1st, 2005 at 9:10 pm
you and i are always butting heads when it comes to dental care so i’ll have to disagree with you on the crest comment.
toothpaste companies are evil too.
under conspiratorial agreement, all toothpaste companies agreed to widen the circumference of their tubes by millimeters, thereby directly increasing profits by the largest margin they had ever seen.
also, although they do not explicitly direct you how much to use, the commercials and the average person use 2-3 times more than is necessary; the tiniest glob is all that is necessary.