down to the last click on my lip balm

[PMG]

Maybe you know how hard it is to not lose a lip balm and to actually use it up!  I am down to the last little click and turn! 

Buddy, I feel badass. 

I changed my method of lip balm use last winter.  Instead of having multiples in rotation to regularly lose and hunt for I decided to have just one. I knew if I had one I would always know where it was. I gathered all the lip balms I could find, probably a dozen.  I threw out the ones I didn't like and carried one. 

I've actually upped it to two this winter.  One in my school bag, one on my night stand, but I always know where each of those are.  They don't get lost in dirty pants pockets.  Or dropped in the car.  Or sent through the wash.

In another day or two I'll get the great joy of choosing my next lip balm out of the bathroom cupboard!  ;-) oh yeah.  Laugh and celebrate with me!

[netskyblue]

Heh I never lose them, but I'm always using them up :(

Just recently I had to migrate my "knitting bag lip balm" to work, because my "work lip balm" went empty.  Now that one is going empty, too!  The only one I have left is in my purse, so I'm going to have to buy more lip balm.  Stupid winter.

[superkookyburra]

Thanks for posting this.  I've been trying to get rid of stuff, so I can find the stuff I actually need and use.   I went through a I-finally-have-money-now-I-can-buy-everything-to-make-life-easier phase, but as you found, having 20 tubes of chapstick doesn't actually make life easier.  I have so many of each item (from chapstick to jeans to office supplies) that I can't find anything.  I actually even have a glut of containers, because I went crazy buying organizational items as well.  It's good to read that having less is working out for you.  :-)

My new guiding phrase is "You can't organize clutter."  (Anyone remember where that is from?) Last weekend I brought a carload of donations to Goodwill, so I'm working on it!

[driftwood]

Every consider not using lip balm/chapstick?

I quit in Jan of 2014, and used chapstick about 5 times last year.  I love having one less thing in my pocket, and not being dependent on it anymore.

After the first week or so of getting used to it, I didn't need it anymore.  I can't prove it scientifically, but I think that chapstick only makes you need more chapstick later.  I could see a need for it in the desert in summer or really cold places in winter, but most places most of the time it's not needed.  Our bodies weren't designed/evolved to need lip balm all the time.

[PMG]

Every consider not using lip balm/chapstick?

I quit in Jan of 2014, and used chapstick about 5 times last year.  I love having one less thing in my pocket, and not being dependent on it anymore.

After the first week or so of getting used to it, I didn't need it anymore.  I can't prove it scientifically, but I think that chapstick only makes you need more chapstick later.  I could see a need for it in the desert in summer or really cold places in winter, but most places most of the time it's not needed.  Our bodies weren't designed/evolved to need lip balm all the time.

Driftwood, yes.   That was some a part of my thought process. It felt like an addiction, always reaching for lip balm when I know a lot of people who have never used it.  Since my shift last winter I use it once or twice a week, vs multiple times a day.   I continue the reduced usage this winter.  I've also shifted to more health and Ecofriendly kinds. Im sure it's even gone months between uses, but for some reason this week my lips have been painful and dry so I've upped usage again.

Does anyone else have experience with this?

[Rural]

I find I need it only if I've been using it regularly or if I have a cold. And if I have a cold, Vaseline works much, much better.

[driftwood]

Im sure it's even gone months between uses, but for some reason this week my lips have been painful and dry so I've upped usage again.

Does anyone else have experience with this?

My lips get chapped if I haven't been drinking enough water, if I've been sick, been licking my lips a lot (stress), and when I work longer shifts/night shifts.  It seems directly related to what's going on with the rest of my body.

It's good to hear that you already barely use it.  I really didn't like feeling addicted either. 

[kander]

Thanks for posting this.  I've been trying to get rid of stuff, so I can find the stuff I actually need and use.   I went through a I-finally-have-money-now-I-can-buy-everything-to-make-life-easier phase, but as you found, having 20 tubes of chapstick doesn't actually make life easier.  I have so many of each item (from chapstick to jeans to office supplies) that I can't find anything.  I actually even have a glut of containers, because I went crazy buying organizational items as well.  It's good to read that having less is working out for you.  :-)

My new guiding phrase is "You can't organize clutter."  (Anyone remember where that is from?) Last weekend I brought a carload of donations to Goodwill, so I'm working on it!

I think it's from Flylady :)

[Elle 8]

Haha, I love this thread!  I have my work bag lip balm, my weekend bag lip balm, my work desk lip balm, my nightstand lip balm, etc.  So as you can imagine I rarely finish off any of them.  Then I have a few more in a drawer.  I should just use one at a time but I like having one always at hand.  Lip balm is one of those impulse buys for me which I need to get under control!

[Lian]

Funny thread!  I am somewhat obsessed with lip balm - it is a necessity because I live in a dry region. I have several lip balm stashes - work, bathroom, purse, etc. My favorite brand periodically goes on sale for about 70% off, so I stock up. And my stashes are almost gone - it hasn't been on sale for awhile.

[KD]

Overly tired or eat too many salty nuts/chips, and I will need lip balm or fear the dreaded canker sores.  Down to one?  Me too, also have done this with the emery boards and ink pens, black kitchen markers, cloth scissors and paper scissors.  One of each and fear the wrath of Mom if you've moved it out of it's 'spot' and not returned it!!!  ;)

[BooksAreNerdy]

I like desert essence tea tree oilhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0082346G6/ref=pd_aw_sim_bt_1?refRID=13PQPM08T5BK1V7BPN4W

All of their stuff is great. I also use their face lotion and shampoo.

[NeuroPlastic]

Plain old lanolin makes the best lip balm, and it doesn't make you need more (like chapstick does).  It also works great for chapped fingers/hands.

[Emilyngh]

Maybe you know how hard it is to not lose a lip balm and to actually use it up!  I am down to the last little click and turn! 

Buddy, I feel badass. 

I changed my method of lip balm use last winter.  Instead of having multiples in rotation to regularly lose and hunt for I decided to have just one. I knew if I had one I would always know where it was. I gathered all the lip balms I could find, probably a dozen.  I threw out the ones I didn't like and carried one. 

I've actually upped it to two this winter.  One in my school bag, one on my night stand, but I always know where each of those are.  They don't get lost in dirty pants pockets.  Or dropped in the car.  Or sent through the wash.

In another day or two I'll get the great joy of choosing my next lip balm out of the bathroom cupboard!  ;-) oh yeah.  Laugh and celebrate with me!

Congrats!   

If you want to up your badassity one more notch, try making your own balm next time.   Just mix bees wax with the oil of your choice, microwave and pour into an old chapstick container or tub of your choice and let cool.   I use a ratio of 1:1 wax and oil for harder stuff that goes in the chapstick container and a ratio heavier in oil for the stuff you'd put in the tub (play around with ratios until you get the cooled consistency you prefer).

[Indio]

I make my onw lip balm too. It costs me about 35 cents to make after buying the tube. You can reuse the tube many times. I make mine with olive oil for extra moisturizing, beeswax and honey. Sometimes I mix it up and use plantain oil and the balm doubles as an anti itch stick for Summer. I also add my own essential oils if I want peppermint or lavender or cocoa powder flavor to it. To get the last wee bit out of the tube, I scrape it out and then make another batch of 20 tubes.

[Danny929]

     Linda Greenlaw is  a  fishing boat captain who wrote a book called "The Hungry Ocean", in it she tells a story about leaving the dock for a weeks long swordfishing trip. The owner of the boat whose name is Bob Brown was at the dock seeing Linda off.  He was famous around New England for being frugal. Bob asks Linda if she forgot anything, and  she realizes that she's forgotten her chapstick.
     Not wanting the boat to be delayed any further Bob reaches in his pocket and says that she can borrow his chapstick but he wants it back. Linda thanks him and then looks down at it. The chapstick is so old that it's not the black plastic one with the white cap, but actually the old  metal kind that  the chapstick company hasn't made in years!
     Bob Brown has since passed away but I think he was mustachian, and I now realize he was probably making his own lip balm.
  Keeping your chapstick container for that long is pretty bad ass.

[kathrynd]

I love chap sticks.

I have one everywhere, and always one in my pocket.

I have about 30 new ones in my stockpile...mostly all given to me, because people know I like them.

[NoraLenderbee]

My friend used to say that Chapstick was the symbol of Eternal Life, because it never ran out (you always lost it first).

I switched from Chapstick to Neutrogena Naturals recently, because I felt like the more I used the Chapstick, the more I needed it. So far, the Neutrogena is working well. My lips don't feel as dry, and I don't get the waxy crud on my teeth when I'm outdoors for a while that I did with the Chapstick. I'm also trying a version with sunscreen.

[NV Teacher]

I'm one of those multi-tube people.  I have one on the nightstand, one in my sewing room, one in my wallet and two in my classroom.  I don't keep one in the car because they melt and make a mess in the summer so I keep one of the little pots in there with a screw on lid.  When a tube gets to the end, I take it home and use the end of a paperclip to scrape out the bottom and add it to the little pot in the car.  It's not a big thing but works for me.

[kathrynd]

I'm one of those multi-tube people.  I have one on the nightstand, one in my sewing room, one in my wallet and two in my classroom.  I don't keep one in the car because they melt and make a mess in the summer so I keep one of the little pots in there with a screw on lid.  When a tube gets to the end, I take it home and use the end of a paperclip to scrape out the bottom and add it to the little pot in the car.  It's not a big thing but works for me.

Same here...have 2 on the night stand at the moment, scraping out.
Gives me an extra week or two