A chronic illness can be costly - energy, health, money, relationships and time. A waste-not attitude can save you money, with the added bonus of doing your small part to decrease the amount that goes to the landfill.

It's surprising how much product remains in a squeeze tube, even after using a tube sqeezer. Once I can't get any more toothpaste, cream, mustard or whatever is inside out, I use either scissors or a utility knife to perform "minor surgery" on the tube. I then transfer the contents to a clean container. There's actually quite a bit of product left in the tube. By doing this I usually have at least an extra month's worth of toothpaste!

I had to laugh when I was telling a friend about this little trick. She commented that she also does the same thing. Maybe that's why we're friends - we think alike!