No fair!

I cleaned out the bathroom closet yesterday. I have many half-empty bottles of shampoo and conditioner and assorted hair products. I have 3 different size curling irons, a backup blow-dryer, a small blow-dryer (for travelling), a blow-dryer attachment (I think it's to a blow-dryer that broke a long time ago), half-empty bubble bath bottles, an old set of electric hair curlers, and other grooming aids too numerous to mention. In another area, there are bottles of nail polish that have turned yellow and congealed, as well as many items of makeup, most of which has probably expired. (Lots of small makeup samples; even if I don't use that particular product, I hate to throw it away!) I have several brushes, one flat, one round, one heat resistant, one heat conducting. Two boxes of hair coloring (never had the courage to try them and instead got it done at the salon). Sunblockers, body lotions, face lotions, hand lotions. Makeup remover, fingernail polish remover. Assorted clips and bobby pins and headbands. Mousse, hair gel, hair spray. Contacts solution.

Then I started thinking about what my husband Ed has to fool with. A hair brush (not too much need for that anymore!). A razor. A bar of soap. Hmm...I think that's about it. I asked him what he uses for shampoo, and he said, "Whatever you have in the shower stall at the time."

OK, now this is total gender inequity! Can I help it if sometimes my hair is longer and sometimes shorter and I need different size tools for different lengths of hair? Can I help it if I need an astringent shampoo at one time, then a conditioning shampoo at another time, then a special shampoo for color-treated hair yet another time? Can I be blamed for having to walk through the makeup counters at the department store a few times a month right when they are pushing their newest product which is guaranteed to make me beautiful? Especially on days where if I spend $25 they will throw in a free gift of $40 worth of products?

All right, my rant is over for now. I have wasted a lot of things in my life, but I think grooming/cleaning products have got to be at the top of my list. This will be a hard habit to break. The older I get, the more susceptible I am to commercials which assure me that their products will roll back time.

And I promise to cut back drastically, right after I pick up my recently pre-ordered purchase from Clinique (along with the free gift!) at the mall next week. I promise!