We’re all looking for ways to save money these days. There are a few ways to save big money (like buying used instead of new or downsizing) but there are thousands of ways to save a little money.
One way to save a few cents every month is to make sure you get all the toothpaste out of the tube before throwing it away. If your kids are like mine they probably squeeze the toothpaste like this.
This usually leaves a big mess and lots of toothpaste on the counter. If you can get your kids to squeeze from the bottom of the tube you won’t end up with a mangled mess when the tube is almost empty.
If you really want to get every last drop of toothpaste out of the tube use the palm of your hand and press the tube along the edge of your counter. It will push the remaining toothpaste to the top.
One more tip when it comes to kids and toothpaste. Make wiping out the bathroom sink and counter a daily chore for one of your younger children. They don’t need to use cleaner, they can just wipe it with a damp rag or paper towel. It keeps the bathroom clean and free from all the toothpaste clumps kids seem to leave in the sink. This tip might allow you to go longer between deep cleaning.
I’m giving away a $25 gift card courtesy of Arm & Hammer, which will buy you a nice supply of toothpaste, or anything else for that matter. To enter leave me a comment. Giveaway ends August 4, 2011.
Don’t forget you can get a free sample of Arm and Hammer Advance White toothpaste by going to http://ahchallenge.com. You need to cut and past this link in a new tab or window.
This is a sponsored post for Church & Dwight Co., Inc, the maker of ARM & HAMMER branded products, who is paying me to try different products. Visit The Switch & Save Challenge to keep up with all of the bloggers and enter to win $25,000.
Great tip! I just love your blog. =)
I could definitely use $25 more dollars!
Oh, and the Switch & Save link at the bottom of the post doesn’t work. FYI.
thanks for the money saving tips!
I love your ideas on saving a little here and there. I was raised to use the counter to keep the toothpaste tube nice.
I lay my tube on the counter and use the handle of my toothbrush to push the paste from the seam to the top of the tube. Works very nicely!
Wonderful tip for kids and hubby….I love reading your blog =)
I love getting my money’s worth and always try to get the very last bit of everything out of any container. I do this with my toothpaste, also, but use a flat comb instead of my palm. It really flattens the tube out to get every last drop!
So true with the clumpy messes that kids leave behind. I always use the flat side of my toothbrush to push the toothpaste up toward the top. easy and quick!
Love saving money! Great tip and I love your blog.
I saw in Wal-mart these niftly little things that slide on the end of your tube to make sure you get it all out. Less than a dollar for two–at least in this house, it will pay for itself in one use on the kids’ toothpaste!
I do that for *my* toothpaste.. but for the girls I gave up and just got them one of those plastic toothpaste pusher-upper do-kickys that does the same thing but looks cooler. lol :0)
I use the edge of a butter knife to flatten the tube and get the last bit out. I think of how my Grandmother used salt & soda and rinsed ziplocs long after the depression because she never wanted to be wasteful. It helps keep me mindful and thrifty.
Thanks for the tip-I am a horrible toothpaste squeezer and should try and be better!
great tip! I love your blog, I’m a military wife & could always use frugal tips
Great tips…THANK YOU!!*S*
When I was a kid, my dad put a clothespin on the end of the toothpaste tube. He taught us to squeeze from the bottom and slowly roll up the empty end of the tube, securing it with the clothespin. When I was little, I thought it was a fun trick.
We have those plastic things that push it up. My daughter can’t seem to get tooth past out of the tube other wise they work great on diaper cream tubes also.
I lay mine one the counter and use the handle of my toothbrush to push it up the tube.
We have the little plastic thingamajigs too, I think from the dollar store. They work great! But I do remember my grandmother cutting the tubes open and getting the last bit out… there was always a lot left!
My biggest pet peeve is middle squeezers! Ha! Thanks so much for posting this and the chores tip….my oy is only 16 months but I will make a mental note of that!
I always tried to get my husband to do this, he may be harder to train than our future kids
The funny thing is, when I was in Jr High, we had a science fair. I ‘invented’ the exact thing that they sell now to squeeze the toothpaste out!! Man, I should have patented that idea!!
Great tip! We also put a binder clip on the end to keep it from unrolling.
I wish my mother had trained me to wipe down the counter every day. I’m trying to train myself now.
Thanks for hosting the giveaway. The prize is great!
Great tip! Love your site! Lots of great info!
We use one of those tube squeezers. I love it! It goes all the way down.
Great tip. I gave up with the kids and bought a thing that is basically to plastic rods with rubber bands on each end, it cost a buck and has lasted for 3 years now.
Great tips!! Thanks for the giveaway!
I hate the toothpaste blobs!
Husbands tend to squeeze the tube like that too! I’m the last-drop-getter-outter! Good tip, thanks for posting, and for the giveaway!
Great tip! Thanks for the post.
Great tips. I’ve also heard about when tubes of things like these come to an end, in order to get a couple extra uses out of them is to cut the tube open horizontally at the bottom and then in the center make a vertical cut to where the tube opens up fully and then use the product from there until it’s empty. I haven’t used that tip before, but it’s something nice to know whenever money gets really tight.
I found a great little plastic (curved) piece (comes in pack of 3) that you put on the end of the toothpaste tube and just push it up as you go. It gets all the toothpaste out and you don’t have to worry about having the kids or husband use the ‘counter trick’. Works great since I got these.
I think I will be starting the tip about the kids wiping down the sink, so smart and easy!
In my house we have these silly little white things that go on the tubes of toothpaste, Aquaphore, and such that squeze every last drop out. So worth the tiny bit of money spent at the Container Store for them years ago.
I use facial cleansing cloths to clean make-up off my face, when i am done, i wipe out the sink with the cloth before i toss it.
Yup – this would definitely help! I am a hopeless squeeze from near the bottom and than run the tube on the side of the counter.
I’m hoping to start new chores for kids soon…I need to remember this one, and great idea about not only using the toothpaste that way yourself, but teaching your kids to also.
Great idea to add that chore, for sure! It’s all those little things we can delegate that can make a big difference in our day, and can encourage some autonomy, sense of responsibility and working as ‘team’ in your family. I don’t do this enough….I know I’m not helping them any favours by just doing it myself….must get outta this bad habit and adopt some of these simple things my kids CAN do. Thanks.
I am SO making it my 8 yr old boy’s job to wipe out the sinks. Since it is his toothpaste blobs in there….wonder how long before he stops leaving the blobs
Great tip on making the kids wipe down the sink with a towel. I never thought of that. I have a plastic thingy that I use for my toothpaste and it works really well. I honestly believe it has extended the life of my toothpaste.
You have done a great job on your site! I love reading through it.
I must admit, I’m a “squeeze wherever
toothpaste user! But I do try to get all I can out of the tube
Thanks for the tips! I always have lots of toothpaste on hand from buying them with sales and coupons, so I can REALLY stock up if I won!
I need to get my kids to wipe down the counter. It is a great idea. For some reason they like to clean the toilet, but don’t like to wipe the counter and sink.
Great tip! our issue around here is the kids always squeezing out to much and wasting the toothpaste.
I do this and my kids always say the tube is empty and I can always get more out
I love Arm and Hammer toohtpaste!
Thanks for the great tips! I LOVE your blog!!!!! I wish I could get my husband and my kids to clean up the bathroom sink I leave clorox wipes in the bathroom and it still doesnt get done:(
My husband actually bought a tube wringer for something like $5 before we were married. Over the past 16 years it has paid for itself and then some.
Great tip!! Thank you for the post and the giveaway!!
Great tip. If they learn to do it young its much more likely they’ll do it when they’re older. My teenage boys are responsible to clean their own bathroom. It’s awesome!
I go a step further. When we can squeeze any more toothpaste out. I cut off the end. We usually can get at least 4 more brushing.
change 1st can to can’t
Great tip! Now, if I could just get my *husband* to wipe out the sink after brushing his teeth…
I love your blog!
I use one of those toothpaste things that rolls the ends up as you use it, & it really works. It was a giveaway a bridal shower we went to from a counseling company that advertised them as marriage savers because that way couples wouldn’t argue about who was squeezing the toothpaste tube in the middle!
I do the same thing with my toothpaste, but my kids rarely remember to wipe their sinks and counters. Perhaps if I hold them like a toothpaste tube and pull them across the edge of the counter, I can squeeze a little more blood into the memory regions of their brains. ;o)
Great tip, thank you for sharing. I always go to tube squeezer for help, now I can just try the counter.
Thanks for the post! I think this is a battle I choose not to pick with my husband.
I’ve actually cut the bottom off to get the last bits……
Excellent post! Wish I had required my kids to clean up the sink after using it! My current toothpaste tube is plastic and I end up cutting it in half and scrapping out the leftovers; I usually get 5 more days.
One of my pet peeves! We sometimes roll ours up and put a binder clip on the end.
I’m lucky if my son actually gets any of the toothpaste ON his brush!!
We used the old toothpaste rollers. You slip it on the end of the toothpaste tube and roll it up as you go. We usually get every last drop that way. Wish we could find more of those!!!!
Oh I’d definitely like my sons to wipe down the counter after they’ve brushed! Great tip!
We bought a little thing to slide on the end but haven’t ever used it!?!
Thanks for the quick giveaway, I want to get some of those plastic clips too.
Thanks for the great tip! I’ll need to teach the kiddos to do this!
I have been trying to get my younger two to not squeeze the tube from the middle with no such luck. Love the tips! Great giveaway!
Despite being very frugal in a lot of ways, I’m a “squeeze wherever” person with toothpaste, but at the end I do run it flat to squeeze all I can out. I’ve seen some people use the clips that ride up with the tube as it’s used, they seem effective too!
I’m a squeeze wherever person too, but I do my best to use something to squeeze out the paste while flattening the tube.
My husband is a bad toothpaste tube squeezer too and it gets all over the flip cap and then it won’t close so I have to soak it in water to clean it too!
i’m a sqeeze wherever person as well
We’re rollers at our house!
I like the idea about having kids clean out the sink. Thanks for the tip!
Love all your tips! Keep it up!
After I think I have squeezed it all out, I cut the end off and can get 3-4 more uses from that tube. You have to stick your toothbrush into the tube, so at this point the tube should not be used by more than one person. However, if you’re like me and you are the only one who uses the expensive “sensitive” toothpaste, it is well worth it. Try it, you’ll be surprised by how much is still in the tube!
I enjoy reading your blog very much. Thanks for hosting the giveaway.
I would love to win!
I like your idea to have one of the kids wipe out the sink everyday. My 3 and 5 year old girls get toothpaste everywhere!!
Would love to win.
I have a friend who actually cuts open the tube when it gets near the end. She definitely get every last bit of toothpaste out that way!
Why did the toothpaste in pumps disappear? Also, must confess, we still buy the toothpaste in the small container. Another way to save on toothpaste(with an initial investment) is to use an electric toothbrush. It takes WAY LESS toothpaste…”a little dab will do ya.” Have not done a full cost analysis on replacement brushes & electricity…but I do know we use far less toothpaste than before.
we tend to have toothpaste clumps in the sink also. I will get my little ones on that right away!
I pretty much squeeze anywhere too, but I have one of those plastic things to push the toothpaste up once in a while.
I have been doing this for years. I can’t imagine just throwing away the toothpaste. I squeeze out every last bit! LOL I hope to win to buy some more toothpaste!
I got one of those plastic slide-on tube squeezers years ago, free with a tube of Colgate. I love it, feels good to get the last drop & see the tube flat, lol. You can also buy these squeeze things really cheap. Yuck, I can’t stand toothpaste globs in the sink, one of my pet peeves.
Thanks for the tip. I have a new 2 year old squeezer in the house.
Once one of my co-workers was making fun of a frugal person he knew. Apparently he cut the top off toothpaste container to get the last little bit. The rest of the office was laughing at the absurdity. I was thinking “great idea.” So now, I squeeze until there is no more and then cut the top off. I get at least 2 more days worth
My kiddo still gets his teeth brushed by me – it’s my husband I need to convince to not squeeze from the middle!
We LOVE A&H toothpaste..this would be awesome!
Thanks!
I don’t share toothpaste with my boys. I can’t stand that they squeeze the tube from the middle. My tube is always meticulously rolled; theirs is a smashed mess. In order to get more out of their tube, I smooth it out every week or so until it’s gone.
I usually use a binder clip, but I really like that idea of using the counter edge to squeeze it – much easier on hands.
Our dentist told me that we really only need a ribbon of toothpaste the size of a pea…I taught my girls to only cover half the bristles…it was sort of a “game” for a while … they tried the 1/2 closest to the handle as a challenge ~ try it ~ it’s way easier to cover the tip of the brush half! =) I “scrape” mine on the inside edge of the sink before I “pour” out my own pea sized ribbon! Love the paper towel chore idea … think my girls will “get it” now that they are teenagers!? =)
sorry ~ I meant to mention that “pea sized” ribbon lends to no (or very few) “blobs” in the sink when they are finished …
Enter Shelly.