Life's Too Short To Use Dull Razors

I've wanted to start a Blog for years, and for some reason I found the thought to be overwhelming!  Well, thought conquered and Blog started - welcome to day one and an explanation to my title and Blog name. And I want to add, life is hard, may as well laugh through it.  This is where I hope to come in, any time I can make someone laugh out loud, or in their mind, is a good thing!

Here is the inspiration to why I wanted to start a Blog so many years ago - an interview on Oprah.  No, not some enlightening interview, with warm fuzzy feelings of happiness, but one that just shot  home a sense of reality and a really big thought (which I'll share later).  The show was about frugality, good show premise, but again, not what struck a chord in me.  And wow, what some people do to save a few nickels.  I'm frugal and we recycle, but really, really frugal stuff.  Maybe you will recognize the tricks of penny pinching in some of your loved ones when I go on at the end to mention the other two things that I remember from this show many years ago - but for now - the reason for my title.

There were two adult daughters who had written in to Oprah and had told of their mother’s use of disposable razors.  They had said as long as they can remember, long before they had went off to college, moved out of the house and had families of their own, their mother had always used the same two pink razors.  Not the kind of razor that you can change the head and put on new blades as they wore down, but the ones that are a solid plastic mold casting in bubble gum pink (you know the ones).  In your head, flash to a picture of the razors in the woman's bathtub.... that's what the show did, it's a good visual. 

It wasn't that mom just loved the brand and only bought this type of razor; it was that these two razors were the SAME TWO RAZORS the girls remembered from their youth.  Mom never ever switched them out or bought new ones.  Dear old mom said they still shaved her legs just fine, even though they were more than a decade old.  OK, first thought - ewww, second thought – really? And third thought - OMG, how old are my razors??? 

At that time in my life, money was super tight, I was single, living blocks out of Detroit, working two jobs and razors were not on the top of my priority list.  But after seeing that show I thought, why am I using old dull razors?  Surely I could swing the extra couple bucks for a multi-pack and make sure to change them out every two months.  At what point in my life am I allowed to only use sharp, new razors?  Is there an age this decision is made?  This lady never made it.   

So I made a decision right then and there - Life's too short to use dull razors!

Young and in my 20's, shaving my legs was a super important thing.  My first job was an office job, my second job was bartending - both places I wore skirts (the latter called for shorter ones, to pull in the dough).  And I was in my twenties, hello, the only time your legs are ever going to look fabulous without any effort!!

Well, I believe Oprah went on the visit the woman, brought her some new razors, they made her shave then and there and then asked what it felt like.  She confessed it felt great and promised to change out her razors more often, although I don't believe it was a very convincing promise.  If Oprah were still doing her talk show today she could do a revisit to check if the razors she gave her are still on the edge of the tub, ten years later.  My bet - yes.

As for the other two people they featured:  One saved all the water that came out of the sink in the bathroom and kitchen.  They disconnected the drain U plumbing, set up buckets and caught all the dirty water that came out the pipe. That also gets an ewwww.  I can't remember what they used it for, it seemed a bit extreme, especially if they didn't have a gray water tank setup to decontaminate/purify the water - or whatever it is they brilliantly do with those tanks in the west (i.e. New Mexico Earthships come to mind).

The other, the person saved all the soap chips from old bars of soap and put them in those mesh bags that oranges and onions come in.  They cut the bags down, fastened them, then continued to use the soap chips in the bags – forever,  basically hardly ever allowing anyone in that house to ever use a new bar of soap.  I don't know, this is the one I thought probably just saves mere nickels a year.  God Bless them all, green before it was trendy!