(Apologies in advance for this, but this little idiosyncrasy of hers is really starting to get on my nerves.)
Dear Flatmate:
The world will not come to an end, and you will not go broke and wind up homeless and hanging round Benburb Street, if you do not get every last sub-atomic particle of washing-up liquid out of the bottle before throwing said bottle away.
The point at which you can get only one drop of liquid out of the bottle for every eight hours you have left the bottle standing upside-down is the point at which it is time to throw the bottle away.
There is a brand new bottle of washing-up liquid right there by the sink. It is the same brand and same scent as the old bottle and it is already opened. There is no need to go rummaging through the rubbish for the one I threw away BECAUSE IT WAS FRIGGING EMPTY!!!
Yes I’m unfamiliar with the term “washing up” used in that sense. I have heard “he’s washing up for dinner” (washing his hands and getting ready for dinner) for example… but never heard it used as a reference to dishwashing. In America it’s usually called “washing the dishes” or “doing the dishes” (and no, we don’t all have dishwashing machines or maids… man I would kill for a maid!)
Actually, she rarely does that either. I overlook it firstly because I use more dishes than she does (due to the fact that she rarely ever eats anything more than toast, usually with some bizarre spread like Gnutella or this Paté-in-a-tube thing, at least I think that’s what it is, I’m too scared of it to investigate further), and secondly because she’s a lot more of a compulsive cleaner in other respects than I am, so I reckon it’s a fair compromise - she does most of the hoovering/mopping etc., I do most of the dishes. But still you’ve got to admit there’s something a bit … not right about someone who’ll dig through a rubbish bin just to save .00005 ml of washing-up liquid.
Oh, and thanks for the suggestion Larry. I’ll point it out to her next time this happens.
Might I suggest what I do with things like shampoo? When you get down to the end of the bottle and you buy a new one, turn the old one upside down and let it sit overnight opening-to-opening, and what’s left from the old bottle will drain into the new bottle.
