I've had the same toothbrush for seven years. How's that for shock value? Okay, actually, the handle has been the same for 7 years and the "head", where the bristles are, gets changed regularly.
Crystal over at Biblical Womanhood is hosting Frugal Fridays now and this is her second week. I've been wanting to write about this topic anyway under my "Go Lightly" category and it just seems to fit well. The beauty of many frugal ideas is that they also allow you to be a good steward of the home God so lovingly and imaginatively created for us.
I spotted these toothbrushes in the local health food store and quickly snapped one up. I always hated the idea of throwing away that thick, plastic handled toothbrush every 6 weeks anyway (and what's up with toothbrush designers giving running shoe designers a run for their money? You'd think brushing your teeth had become a major athletic event!). The company who makes these toothbrushes, called Ekotec, is Fuchs. You can read about the toothbrushes here. You could order the brush and the replacement heads online, but I just order them through my local Whole Foods. You can choose soft, medium, or hard bristles and the pack comes with 4 replacement heads. Where I shop, they charge me $4.75 for their order which is about the price of two of those new-fangled regular brushes. I know you could go cheaper with some plain toothbrush, but then, you're still throwing away the plastic. My brush has easily paid for itself these 7 years.
My razor beats that, though, because I've had it for at least 16 years - maybe more! Thankfully, I can still find the blades that fit. I'll be awfully disappointed the day they stop making blades to fit my sweet, little Personal Touch razor. I confess, I really don't know if this is a frugal value or not, but part of the way I view my choices of simple living is to add in the environmental cost, as well. I'm pretty much anti-disposable. Not that I don't ever use anything disposable. But if there's an alternative, I'm all over it!
Happy Frugal Friday, everyone!
Comments
Sep. 15, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Anonymous
Wow! I've never heard of toothbrushes with disposable heads! I always get toothbrushes for free on sale with coupons so I guess that could be considered the more frugal, less environmental approach. :)
-Crystal
http://www.BiblicalWomanhood.com
Sep. 15, 2006 - Toothbrush
Posted by Anonymous
Mom2fur here. Wow, I've never heard of a toothbrush like this. What a great idea!
I have to say, though...when I married my husband 25 years ago, he brought the same toothbrush to our apartment that he'd been using since childhood. I kid you not...the man had the same toothbrush for about 10 or 15 years. It had no bristles! I threw it out and bought him a good one, of course. The thing that annoys me though, is that I've always taken good care of my teeth and I'm the one with 9 crowns (with root canals) and 2 implants. He uses a bristle-less brush for 10+ years and has, like, maybe one cavity in his mouth. It ain't fair, but I guess it's genetics, LOL!
Sep. 15, 2006 - Toothbrushes
Posted by Jennifer
Hi. I never buy toothbrushes either. I do get the disposable kind, but always for free with coupons. I actually just came back from the frocery store with 5 free Colgate toothbrushes. The other day, I was able to get ten tubes of Aquafresh toothpaste for free. So I guess we won't be needing toothpaste for a while... :) But your toothbrush idea is great... thanks!
Sep. 22, 2006 - toothbrush and razor
Posted by Sara
That toothbrush looks like a great idea!!!!
Ha, you can tell your razor is from the 1990's.... it doesn't look all modern and hi tech aerospace shaped, LOL.