Using Less of Everything – Deodorant Update

In my last post about using less of everything, https://apartmentprepper.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/using-less-of-everything-hair-product-update/, I mentioned the next project was trying to use less deodorant.

The main purpose to these experiments is to try using less of common products to make our supplies last longer.  A side benefit is the money saved from not having to buy new supplies as quickly as before.  Regarding the use of antiperspirants and deodorants, many people are concerned about the aluminum content of these products and the effect this may have on health.  Interestingly, I found the enclosed article on MSNBC, “Great Unwashed Raise Stink about Being Clean Enough”  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39937951/ns/health-skin_and_beauty/ Is there a trend here?

I am now ready to post the result of the experiment.

I tried the following on different days:

• Using no deodorant, but bathing daily.
• Using a natural Crystal Deodorant.
• Baby powder
• Baking soda
• Rubbing Alcohol

I did the experiment on days when I was working from home.   I was the test subject and I also did the evaluation.  As a backup, my family also gauged whether the remedies were effective or not according to the degree of complaints.  The main variable was the weather on various days;  I also tried the remedies on days with no workout, and on days when I did work out.

To my dismay, we had several days of intense heat and humidity in our area.

• On cooler days (under 80 degrees), with or without a workout, all the remedies worked well.

• On very hot days (around 85-100 degrees or more), WITH a workout, none of the remedies work.  At the end of the day, I checked it myself and I felt need to run, not walk, for a second shower.

• On hot days WITHOUT a workout,  a combination of the crystal deodorant and baby powder worked very well.

• Baking soda applied under the arms worked as well as baby powder on a standalone basis.

• Rubbing alcohol under the arms is supposed to be a good substitute, as alcohol kills bacteria; this remedy also only worked well on cooler days.

• On very cool days (75 degrees and under), without a workout, doing without deodorant altogether, with a daily shower actually worked well for 24 hours.

• During the experiment, I found I was having to wash my shirts after wearing only once, particularly on the intensely hot days.  Therefore we used more detergent on those days.  This gives me an idea that my next experiment will be to try to make homemade detergent to see if is works as well as store-bought.

As a conclusion, the use of antiperspirants/deodorant is only necessary on intensely hot days, as I did not find a substitute that works as well.  So I am not tossing out the underarm products as truthfully, I won’t feel “confident dry and secure” on those hot and humid days.  However, on cooler days these remedies all work very well.  I actually bought the crystal deodorant for everyone in the family as I was satisfied with the result.  I am pleased that we can actually cut down on using antiperspirants or deodorant depending on the weather and level of physical activity.  Just between us, I think the family is relieved that this experiment is over.  🙂

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A Way to Rotate Your Canned Food: Cansolidator Review

I happily won ModernSurvivalOnline.com’s Cansolidator Giveaway a couple of weeks ago.  The item is the Cansolidator “Pantry” which fits 40 cans and is available from Shelf Reliance (http://www.shelfreliance.com/food-rotation-systems).   I’m not a paid sponsor, just reviewing the item since I have never used a food rotation item before.  As you know, I am always on the hunt for an efficient way to store our supplies, since we are always so short on space in our apartment.

We finally decided on a spot to place it and were ready to assemble the Cansolidator.

Here is what it looked like while sitting on our countertop, right out of the box:

The instructions are pretty simple and I was starting to assemble it when my son got interested and decided he would do the assembly.   I was happy to oblige, as this gave me time to empty out the designated pantry shelf.  I actually found a few cans of chicken stock in the back that I had forgotten about.

Here is the way it looked getting assembled on the floor.

We started inserting canned goods into the Cansolidator and enjoyed seeing the cans slide down the path.  We then emptied it out and tried moving it to the shelf and found that… it didn’t fit! Oh no!  By now my husband was home and wanted to know what we were fussing about.   He measured the shelf and found it should all fit, it just needs to be assembled INSIDE the shelf instead of outside.  So they took it apart again and re-assembled.

Here is the first version:

This configuration was okay but we found a lot of cans were left out.  So they took it apart and again and reassembled into the final version below:

We still had a few cans left over so we stored them in the corner of the shelf.

Overall, the Cansolidator is a good item for organizing your pantry shelf.  I originally had the mistaken notion that it is a space saver.  It is not so much a space saver as it is a shelf organizer.  We checked the expiration dates and positioned the items with the closer expiration dates so it is in front of the shelf.   As far as the number of cans it can fit, it actually fit the same number of cans as when the cans were stacked on top of each other.   However, because you can see more of what you have, it will help avoid waste. It performs well as intended:  a food rotation system.  I found a few cans were close to expiration, so this makes me aware that they need to be used soon.

A few tips if you are planning to use the Cansolidator:

• Measure your space before assembly, or you will find out the hard way, as we did.
• Group your cans by brand, size and expiration dates ahead of time
• The cans you have the most of will likely be housed in the Cansolidator to maximize the space
• Assemble the Cansolidator in the space it will be housed in.

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