Smart Consumer: The Soapmakers

The first rule of being a "Smart Consumer" (as opposed to one who mindlessly buys whatever appeals to him at that moment...) is this: Don't let the soap makers tell you how much soap to use. Yeah, the soap makers are going to hate me for this, but it's true. Think about it. On the shampoo bottle it says "Lather. Rinse. Repeat." Repeat? Repeat? With one word the guy who came up with those directions doubled sales overnight. Ok, maybe everyone doesn't wash their hair twice at each shampooing. Perhaps that advice made sense when people used to wash their hair once a week or less. The point is, of course the shampoo maker wants you to wash your hair twice. The real question is, why are you letting them tell you how much to use? When you do laundry, look at the levels on the detergent scoop: Medium Large Extra Large. Are we in BooksAMillion buying a coffee now? There is no small? What's up with that? Ignore the levels on the scoop and you discover for yourself how little it takes to get your clothes clean. If you stuff your washer too full, the soap doesn't rinse out well, and you can have skin problems. If you use too much soap, it's a waste. Wasting money is not smart. So stop letting them tell you.