How can you make household products last longer?

Due to inflation, we’re paying a lot more for the stuff we need. So why shouldn’t we get to use them until the last drop? Most people don’t know the following tricks we’ve rounded up in this article, but stay with us and you’ll find out how to get every last drop out of your household products!

And there are other people familiar with this technique who have stepped up the frugal game and found genius ways to make different things last longer. For example, there’s a now-famous authour who recycled lip balms. When they got too low to use, she’d scoop a few at a time, microwave the content on low, then pour it into a small container.

We’re not sure that everyone would do that, but when you’re tight on budget, you’d want to make household products last longer in any way possible. So, we encourage you to get what you pay for, too.

Wihtout further ado, here’s how you can get every last drop out of some household products!

1. Food items in jars

The first entry in our article on ways to make household products last longer is dedicated to food items in jars. We’ve all been there; whether it’s jam, peanut butter, or mayonnaise, most of us throw the jar in the trash can with at least a drop of the content on its walls.

Jars with shoulder or other consumer-unfriendly shapes make it pretty hard to use all the product. An idea would be to use a jar scraper, which is specially designed for cleaning out the last drops.

Or you can get creative and scrape out as much as possible with regular spatuals. For example, you can shake a little water in the salsa jar, then pour the mix into homemade soup stocks. Or you can add some milk to “empty” jam jars, shake well, and then drink the fruit-flavored result.

2. Food items in bottles

The next tip on how to make household products last longer targets food items in bottles. If you’re sick of shaking those ketchup or mustard bottles to get the last stubborn bits, stand them upside down overnight. While you may have already tried this trick, you’ve probably not allowed the bottle to stay in this position overnight.

Or you could get the Spatty Daddy spatula set from Amazon. These are tiny-headed spatulas with long handles that will help you remove every last drop of mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, BBQ sauce, and so on.

The earth-friendly, long-lasting, and thin-handled applicator with plastic rubber material and a curved head means no more wasted food.

3. Laundry detergent

No. 3 on our list of ways to make household products last longer will help you get the last drop out of your laundry detergent. Most detergent caps have “fill lines” inside to show you how much of it to use. But because most modern laundry detergents are very concentrated, you need just about 1.5 ounces for a typical load of laundry, per Consumer Reports.

It’s in the manufacturer’s best interest for you to overuse its products. What you should do instead is use a shot glass to measure the liquid. Not only will you save money, but you’ll also cut down on the amount of detergent ending up in our water systems.

Pro tip: When the bottle is empty, add some water and shake vigorously. Now you have detergent for one more load of laundry! This is by far our favorite hack to make household products last longer!

4. Personal care products in pump containers

The next hack to make household products last longer targets personal care products that come in pump containers. Whether it’s lotion, shampoo, conditioner, or face wash, the pump always stops working toward the end.

That’s because the tube doesn’t touch the bottom of the container, where you most likely still have a couple more drops of product behind.

Here’s what you can do: Unscrew and remove the pump, flip the container over, and then tap it onto your palm. It takes several seconds to do that, but it’s worth it. You do this, and you’ll make household products last longer, getting at least another half of a week’s worth of product by being patient.

Keep reading to find other genius ways to make household products last longer!

5. Personal care products in tubes

We have to admit: we love these creative ways to make household products last longer! The next one is for personal care products that come in tubes. We know what you’re thinking: “I hate when I have to squeeze the last drops of toothpaste out of the tube!”

You can do that only so much before it refuses to spill out. But that doesn’t mean it’s empty! What you need to do when this happens is cut off the end, then carefully cut down one side of the tube. You do this, and you’ll get at least a dozen more brushings. You’ll thank us!

You can use this trick on facial sunscreen tubes too, and you’ll get at least several more applications. Face sunscreens can be pretty expensive, and even a few more uses make a difference.

6. Stick deodorant

Next on our list of ways to make household products last longer is a hack that will help you use even the last bits of your stick deodorant. At some point, you are left with a small amount if it doesn’t extend above the edge of the container. We’ve all tried, but rolling it on simply leaves you with no protection and scraped skin.

One idea would be to pop the leftover chunk out and then apply it manually. Or you can step up the game and use the same trick we’ve mentioned earlier to use every last drop of lip balm. So, pick out all the last bits of deodorant and melt them in the microwave oven (you can also use a small glass dish placed in a bigger dish of water).

Let the liquid cool a bit, then pour it into one of the old deodorant containers. Let it harden overnight. The trick works best when you have several almost-empty deodorant containers.

According to people who’ve done this, there’s no problem mixing different brands of deodorant. Now that’s a great way to make household products last longer!

7. Soap

Last but not least on our list of ways to make household products last longer is something that will help you use every last bit of your soap bar. It surely happened to you too: you buy one, you vow to use the entire bar, but you end up tossing into the trash those last skinny bits because they are so annoying!

They are devilishly hard to pick back up once they get to the bottom of the bathtub, and they break on the washcloth or on your hand. But here are some ideas to avoid that!

An option would be to let the last scraps of the soap get good and wet, then press them onto a new, dry bar overnight. Another idea would be to save the last bits for a while, then melt them in the microwave with a little water. Pour the soapy mix into a plastic-wrap-lined container or box, and pop out a new bar the next day. Ta-da!

If you liked our article on ways to make household products last longer, you may also want to read Being Too Frugal Is Not Always the Best Solution! Here Are 9 Examples.