How much soap is too much?

I've been thinking of ways to reduce the budget even more, and wondered to myself how much detergent I should really be using. I have to admit I always fill the laundry detergent cup up all the way to line "number 3" because it makes me clothes smell good, and I always fill up both dishwasher soap compartments because more soap equals cleaner dishes...right? Wrong! In my search I came across these two great articles "Do You Use Too Much Laundry Detergent?" and "For the Dishwasher's Sake, Go Easy on the Detergent".

Here is what I learned...
1. When using laundry detergent, you should never use more than half of the recommended amount. Some suggest even less like 1/8th the recommend amount!
2. Same goes for your dishwasher, do not fill up the dispenser! Check your soap bottle for recommended amounts.
3. When washing dishes, rinse off baked on food, but otherwise do not pre-rinse. It wastes water/money, and actually makes the soap work less effectively!
4. Clean out the compartment that holds the lint filter in your dryer, yeah...really!
5. Most newer appliances use far less water than old ones, and so are made to use less soap!

Ok, so maybe these things were obvious to you, but I'm not exactly Suzie Homemaker. I mean I would like to think of myself as a somewhat domestic goddess, but I obviously have a lot to learn!