Save money by reducing the quantities of cleaning products used

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Cosmetic and detergent companies would have us believe that if we don’t use large globs of their products on a frequent basis, our friends will all desert us, and we’ll develop a host of communicable diseases. Your authors suspect that they may be keeping their profit margins – rather than our best interests – at heart when doling out advice.

By the time we’re teenagers, most of us are convinced that a legion of body washes, facial wipes, pantyliners, skin serums, foot deodorisers and mouth gargles* are required to prevent ourselves from becoming repellent. Then there’s protecting ourselves from our hideous homes with kitchen wipes, surface sprays, grout bleaches and air fresheners. Folks, it’s all a big swindle. Even basics like soap, laundry detergent and dishwashing liquid can generally be used at one quarter the suggested rate to exactly the same effect, and all the other stuff is pretty much unnecessary.

If you work in an office and take a bus to work, you probably don’t need to wash your clothes after a day’s wear. Heck, it’s unlikely that you need to wash yourself after a day’s wear, especially if you’re pretty healthy via your Frugal Hedonistic living. Don’t get us wrong here, we don’t like having the funk any more than the next guy, but we’ve experimented a bit and found that being clean just isn’t that complex.