I was talking to a woman who owned a housecleaning business and I asked her if she had any tips for us non-professionals. She did say that there are wonderful products at janitoral supply houses which are cheaper and more effective than what we buy in grocery stores.

However, her main recommendation is to use less product. She said most people use way too much of their cleaning solutions and cleansers, etc. Not only does this waste the product because we're using more than is necessary to do the job, but we also waste so much water and time trying to remove the product we used.

The same concept extends way beyond cleaning products. For instance, TV commercials show a long stripe of toothpaste on a toothbrush which is a huge waste. Even the directions on the side of the toothpaste tube says to use an amount about the size of a pea. Children need even less.

Since most of us shampoo more than once a week, the 'rinse and repeat' directions on the shampoo bottle are hardly necessary. I've even taken to not using shampoo every single day as my hair really doesn't get that dirty anymore.

Others on this board have mentioned using half the amount of clothes detergent which is a great idea.

Even with half size paper towels, do we really need a full sheet of even the smaller size? Same goes with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and a whole host of other products that only end up going down the drain or into the trash after we use them.

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"I've been rich and I've been poor but independently wealthy is where it is at."

That is so true. I have shopped some of the janitora l supplies. I have also found that our feed store here has baking soda 50 pd for like 4 to 5 bucks. that is alot cheaper then what i was spending at sam"s.