HBAs: how much?

[greekislandgirl]

Maybe this is a nosy question... Everyone talks about "I have 12 months of HBAs on hand" or "I want to have 6 months of HBAs in my stockpile." How much is that, really?

I went through my records and it turns out that in our household (two adults) we use the following:

1 large bottle of shampoo (750mL) lasts about 18 months for me.
DH's shampoo (400mL) lasts about 6 months.
Neither one of us uses conditioner.

1 large bottle of body wash (750mL) lasts about 6-8 months for both of us. I opened one in October and threw it away in April. 2 big bottles per year.

Neither one of us uses face washes or face creams/lotions.

Maybe TMI but I only use tampons and I only use about 5 per month.

We both go overboard with the Q-tips. 1000 of them last us 5 months.

Hand soap: 500mL (medium-large pump bottle) lasts us 5 months because we use foamers (which only use a tiny amount).

Razors: DH uses an electric hair trimmer and no razors or shaving cream. I throw away a razor about once every 1-2 months. I had half a small bottle of shaving cream in September and it's now about 1/4 full. (I usually just use soap suds.)

A standard size roll-on deodorant (50mL) lasts each of us about 6 months.

Toilet paper: I buy 200g rolls, one roll lasts exactly 2 weeks.

So if I say I have HBAs for 12 months, it would be:

26 rolls of TP, 4 deodorants, 6 disposable razors, 4 oz. shaving gel, a large bottle (1L) of hand soap plus a little extra, 2400 Q-tips, 60 tampons, 2 bottles of body wash, 2 bottles of shampoo for DH and 1 for me.

Is that a lot or a little or about average? I'm just curious!!

[frugalwarrior2]

Thats incredibly low. Almost to the point of not believing it. wow.

[greekislandgirl]

I got the amounts from my stockpile list so it's accurate ... I've been keeping a list since Sept. 3 so I could plan for future stockpile purposes. I guess we're doing well then.

[zakity]

It's different for each family. We are a family of five. We go through about a 30 deoderants a year, about a 15 oz bottle of shampoo and conditioner a month, and 130 bars of soap a year.

[Jamielane]

Wow, thats shockingly low. We use triple those numbers at least. In some cases Quadruple. We are a family of 4 . Sounds like your doing a great job.

[greekislandgirl]

Wow, okay I honestly had no idea that that was really lower than average. We do shower daily, I promise LOL!!! We use those foamer thingies and I guess it makes a big difference.

I think we probably use more dental products than average, I forgot to put those on. DH uses up a bottle (300mL) of mouthwash every 3 weeks and a tube of toothpaste (75mL) lasts us about a month. My mouthwash is 1x/day only and 500mL bottle lasts me a few months. A box (50m) of dental floss lasts me about 3-4 weeks.

[Debbie-cat]

Wow. That seems extremely low to me as well. Great job in keeping it done that low!

[baxjul]

It seems llike we go through a ton of HBA's.

[FrabjousDay]

Ours would/could/should be a much smaller amount, but my husband has a "more is better" mindset when it comes to personal care products that is absolutely maddening to me. A toothbrush does not have to be entirely covered with toothpaste to be effective, a huge glug of shampoo is ridiculous for a person with his limited amount of hair. He goes through large amounts of everything he uses. I can get by with buying two bottles of shampoo/year, two sticks of deodorant, two bottles of body wash, etc. Products that I do use a lot of...floss, cotton rounds, and sunscreen.

[Neeley]

Family of four - DH, myself, DD (18) and DS (15) Our average six month usage is...

Deodorant:
12
Shampoo:
18 large bottles
Conditioner:
12
Bar soap:
12
Body wash:
12
Toothbrushes:
24
Toothpaste:
6
Shaving cream:
6
Dental picks/flossers (90 ct pack):
6
Toilet paper:
180 double rolls (1 roll per day on average)
Liquid hand soap:
6
Feminine products:
6 - 36 count packages
Hair spray:
4
Hair mouse:
4
Hair gel:
2
Hair de-frizzing cream:
2
Hair straightening cream:
2

[Libby]

Wow thats a really detailed account of your usage greekislandgirl

I don't think your usage is 'low'. Different areas of the world have different focuses on how much HBA items are used. I know when I traveled to China they focused on not using much OR used multipurpose stuff - ie one type of soap for hand, hair and body. Plus usage differs from person to person - some people try to play the 'lets see how lil we can use to get the most outta the product' game.

If that is your true usage from your tracking - congrats! I'd keep tracking just so you can ensure your 'estimates' are accurate.

I read a womans blog a while back - she barely used 2 regular sized bottles of shampoo & conditioner each and 1 small bottle of lotion/yr - all b/c she used what the public pool facility and her private gym provided. She did all her bathing there vs at home. Kinda smart huh? (she did admit to bringing in empty bottles and pumping them full to use at home as well - I think thats bordering on stealing)

[Dancing Lotus]

WOW.. I know it's already been said but thats so low it's hard to believe. How much hair do you have because I use a bottle of shampoo a month.
Your doing great and I'm impressed.

[piney]

In April i started keeping track of some things i use and i know a 12 pkg.double roll tp don't last a month just me will like about 5 days beign a month.when i start a new bottle of shampoo and conditioner i am going to keep up with that and body shampoo seem like i go through a lot of dedorant,hair spray and mousse.

[monkeywrangler71]

We use way more shampoo, but there are five of us. We go through conditioner at about 1 bottle for every 3-4 bottles of shampoo. I honestly don't know howmany bottles a year though because I'm always dumping more into the same bottle.

We also use a lot more toilet paper, probably a roll a day. But, on the other hand we don't use nearly as much toothpaste or floss, don't use body wash or mouthwash at all, and I've never bought a Q-tip in my life. Deodorant lasts me a year, we probably buy razor blades twice a year.

[nuisance26]

~We use very little HBA here too.
Deodorant: 6
Shampoo: 4 adult 11oz bottles(wash every 2-3 days), 2 kids', 2 baby(doubles as her body wash)
Conditioner: 1
Detangler: 1
Bar soap: 24 bars
Body wash: 4 8oz bottles(I make this from 3 bars of soap)
Toothbrushes: 24
Toothpaste: 4 adult, 2 kids'
Shaving cream: 3
Dental floss : 2 large boxes
Toilet paper: 60 single ply, 1000 sheet rolls
Liquid hand soap: haven't bought in years, use samples in a foaming dispenser
Feminine products: use cloth
Razor blade refills: 3 packs of 4 each
Bubble bath: 4
chapstick: 6
body lotion: 4 large bottles
facial lotion: 2 small bottles
lotion with sunscreen: 1
baby lotion: 2
sunscreen: 1 large, 1 baby
badger balm: 1
healing cream: 4
facial bars: 1
mouthwash: 1
bandaids: 2 boxes
antiseptic spray: 1
eye cream: 1
contact cleaning solution: 6
eyedrops: 1


I think that's all of it. I include cleaning products, paper, OTC meds and make up and nail care in my HBA budget totals but I won't list those. ~