Mountains and molehills

Have I mentioned that, while it's true that I live on a LARGE piece of land, my actual abode is rather, er, humble, I think what realtors would describe as cozy. So as not to overwhelm what space I have available, I buy small containers of household products. This of course is impractical and expensive because you run out very quickly, and ounce for ounce the small stuff is made out of liquid gold. So I finally figured out that I CAN shop at Costco, the wholesale circus warehouse and store the excesses out in my garage. It is the trip back and forth outside to replace what I quickly use up that makes me understand how fast I go through these small containers. Anyway, this morning I found myself refilling my small dishwash detergent container with the super-duper-gallon-sized one. And ounce for ounce, I didn't blanch at all about the amount I mopped up and threw away. I also now understand that this isn't a particularly good product to clean up with a damp sponge. But here were a few of my uneasy thoughts while doing so: are two brands compatible with each other, can you "mix" them if the first one wasn't 100 percent gone before adding the other? And, can you safely dispense brand B out of a container that quite plainly advertises brand A without express written consent? What about if there is still trace amounts of brand A mixed in, does the product behave similarly after having been mixed, or has it been altered to a more mellowed result by keeping some of the original but adding to it, like a good Sourdough starter, or a fine port wine?

I do know that the smell of excess dishwash detergent brings back memories of backyard barbeques, when dad would concoct home-made soap bubbles with dish soap, glycerine and unbent wire hangers for us kids. Come to think of it, he used to carefully alter and age the soap then, too, for the perfect consistency and coloration and mellowness. Like a fine port wine!