Cutting Costs with Foam

I have noticed an interesting trend in various public bathrooms.  Instead of a soap dispenser they have switched to a foamy soap dispenser.  This means that people use less soap and thus cost the company less money.  Shortly after I noticed this I started watching these little wonders pop up in people's homes also.

This got me to thinking, "how much soap do I waste at home by not using foam?"  As I started to pay attention I realized that the amount was quite substantial.  The biggest culprit being in the shower with body wash and Shampoo.  No I have managed to cut down on my shampoo usage by trial and error of how much I need based off of the size of the drop in my hand, but body wash has been really hard.  So I decided to make my own foam.

I did this by taking my last (and now empty) bottle of body wash and filling it 1/3 full from the new bottle.  I then filled it another 1/3 with water.  I left the rest of the space for the foam that will form when I shake it.  Now this may seem a little extreme since I have at least four more bottles of body wash sitting in storage (especially since I got them all for free using CVS Extra Bucks), but I just do not want to spend my money on things that are vital but do not make my life better.

Of note, my wife quickly mocked me that I was watering down the soap.  Which I see as an OK alternative since that too would make the soap last longer (as long as I am still getting squeaky clean).  After my first trial run I am pleased with the early results and will update you in a couple of weeks with how this experiment worked out.