Consumables

It's easy to unconsciously increase the amount of a consumable used without noticing. Squeezing/pulling out a little more than you intended is much easier than putting it back in. It's technically possible you're using too little of something, though unlikely since you'll feel the annoyance of having too little.

Check yourself next time you use a consumable, Are you sure you're actually using the recommended or sufficient amount of product, rather than the amount you're used to using?

When you wash your hands, consider how deep you push the pump. A household soap dispenser will dispense far more than is necessary to properly clean your hands on a full or even half pump. The same goes for the majority of liquid pump products such as shampoo/conditioner. Another common example, you aren't supposed to cover the toothbrush head entirely with toothpaste (unless you have a particularly small electronic toothbrush), despite what the marketing and packaging may show.

Even for products without a prescriptively correct amount, using too much is wasteful and has minor downsides from refilling more often to physical discomfort, like the feeling of trying to rub too much sunscreen into too little skin¹. I regularly pull out too much floss by accident, which has no meaningful harm to dental hygiene, but results in long tails which are mildly annoying.

Of course, don't cut to the bare limit. Counting out individual toilet paper squares is not worth your time. Using 10% less of a product each time will cost you less in a year than one sweet treat, and cost far more in mental burden. At the end of the day, a little excess is better than lack.

But it's worth checking how much excess you actually have.

- Rew

Nightly Notes

I'm sure there's some equivalent to the nice soft toilet paper for other consumables that I'm missing out on, but I have no idea what it is. I still can't believe no one told me about frozen fruit sooner.

How much else is out there?

- Rew