Thursday, January 1, 2015

Happy New Year and too many toiletries!

We had a great NYE with the kids. I am starting to get a cold, so I was asleep at 8:30. Party animal! Even my 8 year old was up later than me. ;-)

We're off to do a family fun run this morning, & then I have a bunch of household things to accomplish today - cleaning out some closets, doing meal prep, and maybe even doing yoga! Should be a great day.

On the toiletries side, I blame Sluggy , with all of her great Rite Aid deals. ;-)

One of my goals for 2015 is to reduce my spending on toiletries, as I've stockpiled quite a bit, yet keep buying more. The boys have been out of town for a few nights (finally back!) so I've spent my time doing exciting things like: inventorying my toiletry stockpile, and cleaning closets. I'm a wild party animal, that's for sure.

Given that I know we will be moving at some point (we're renting, although we'd like to live in this house until the boys finish elementary school - that's completely dependent upon the owners), stockpiling more toiletries that we can use in a few months is not wise. We'll just have to schlep them somewhere else. Also, my current stockpile is located in an area where it's tough to see exactly what we have, which leads to overbuying of certain things (ahem, bars of soap). Anyway, I took stock of our inventory yesterday, and here's what we have. I'm hoping that buy building a concrete list, I will: reduce our need to buy more, and become more aware of exactly what we have. My toiletry budget for 2015 is going to drop down from $82/month (actual spend in 2014) to $15/month. With all of this surplus, we can do it!

Here's what we have in the stockpile:

Body stuff:

  • Sunblock - 6
  • Bars of soap - 36
  • Sunless tanner - 3 (now, don't ask me why I even have this, as I'm super pale & it never works on me. But, I just can't give up the dream of having a bit of color, I suppose)
  • Aloe gel - 2. I do, however, burn very easily, despite sunblock.
  • Body wash - 9
  • Shower sponges - 2
  • Shaving cream - 7
  • Disposable razors - 6. May donate these. Not sure why I bought them. We tend to buy nicer ones & replace the blades.
  • Blades for me - 1
  • Blades for M - 6
  • Kids body wash - 7
  • M's deodorant - 3
  • My deodorant - 1
  • Lotion - 1

Dental stuff:
  • Toothbrushes - 4
  • Toothpaste - 10
  • Floss - 3
  • Flosser replacement heads - 2
  • Mouthwash - 6
Hair stuff:
  • Shampoo - 6
  • Conditioner - 5
  • 2-in-1 shampoo - 3
  • Rubber band packages - 2
  • Conditioning treatments - 2 (again, never use these. Why do I have one, let alone 2)
Face stuff:
  • Eye makeup remover - 2
  • Night face cream - 1
  • Face makeup - 2
  • Mascara - 2
  • Eyeliner - 1
  • Face wash cloths - 3 (for my gym bag) 

So, there you have it! A bunch of excess stuff. Now I know exactly what I have, and can see which items I may want to look for on sale (bolded), as I start to run low. What about you? Do you have a good handle on exactly what's in your stockpile? Are you like me? Do you continue to buy things like body wash, bars of soap & toothpaste, even though you clearly don't need more. ;-) 

7 comments:

  1. I love that you blamed Sluggy, hahahaha!

    I love that you're starting the new year with a family fun run! How great. I hope you're all having fun together today. Happy New Year!!!

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    1. We are having a great New Year. What a fun afternoon. We did our run, ran some errands, & are getting ready for a big feast. Yum! :-)

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  2. Waaah! Everyone's picking on me!! ;-)
    I don't worry about overbuying(is it really buying if you get it for free?lol)on toiletries as much as on food. Toiletries have long shelf lives, some food doesn't.
    If there was the possibility of moving soon, I'd not continue to grow the stockpile however.....

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    1. The problem is that I'm not as good as you, so I do spend money. And, I forget to use all of my UP rewards. *blush* As long as I focus my attention on the items that we need, and get good deals there, should be good. But, maybe ease off the soap/body wash purchases. ;-) Rite Aid must run those deals more regularly than the others.

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  3. I've lost track of my toiletry stockpile, but you've spurred into action on it now!
    We received a few showers gels etc as gifts this Christmas so I might put a hold on buying and use what we have first.

    Hope you are well. Happy New Year :)

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    Replies
    1. Happy new year to you as well! Taking the inventory was a big motivator in cleaning up my stock & knowing what I have before I buy more. Love getting all motivated. :-)

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  4. Hello dear, if you really want to celebrate your new year in a special way with your friends and family, I will suggest you hiring best party venues in Chicago. These venues provide best services within limited budget.

    ReplyDelete