February is 'use up' month

shanny_3

omega wrote:

C_q::rotfl:Repeat after me: "there will always be another offer.... there will always be another offer...."

I have to remind myself of this - all our family are hoarders and love a bargain.

Every so often I remind myself of how much money is 'stored' in all the stockpile - it is scary.

There is a balance between getting a bargain and tying up money that could be used for other things - let me know when any of you find it please.

Thanks

Downsizing__for_sanity

RE: lipsticks...

I have used the bain marie method for melting down half used lipsticks into different colours. You need a little empty lip gloss pot - like the ones the body shop do. Great fun on a girly night! You can experiment and add vaseline etc to make them more like a gloss/balm, but you will need a lip brush if you want to put it on exactly. It's great for making the EXACT colour you want (and I'm the one who has about 40 lipsticks all subtle variations of one shade!)

DFS

meanbean

Pandrea - to recycle old lipsticks you just get a bowl of water thats just been boiled and place another bowl (plastic ideally) over the top of it and put your lipstick pieces in it. slowly and surely they'll melt. i ususally chuck in some old eyeshadow powder also if its red or brown in colour, and then add some vaseline to the whole thing. it makes a great tinted lipgloss that is not sticky like most ones you buy, you can add bright reds and random colours as you know they'll be toned down by the vaseline, and you get to use up all those old (soooo many in my case) lipglosses/sticks that you bought and have never really since worn. plus you know no-one else will be wearing the same colour as you. once its melted, pour quickly into a small pot and stick in fridge for 30 mins. no germ issues as far as I know.

Silver_Lilly

I tend to get a cleaning fit and clear any odd bits out but have never thought of trying the rule of using up things in the kitchen!

i do where ever possible though recycle any thing that may be able to be used as Xmas ,Birthday presents and stash away ,my baby girl and husband always gets very romantic bits and bobs on there birthdays and and our anniversary as they fall in march and april so i can get lots in the sales and the Feb 14th left overs.

Boyd_2

My first message reply - so here goes.

This is a great idea and one I use all the time. When my two girls left home I didn't buy any soap for five years!! I just used up everything they left behind.

Also sachets of free samples from magazines I save and then take in my wash bag when I go away for a weekend/short stay. They are light to carry and you don't have to waste space in an overnight bag on large bargain sized bottles of toiletries.

Also I don't unwrap gifts of toiletries especially if they have nice packaging, and I don't need them, these then form a stock of presents for other people - when short of either time or money for shopping.

They can also be used to donate to other peoples fund raisers, tombolas etc.

Recycling at its best!
cheers

shetitasatic

Hairbrained??
I've checked the basket I keep my 'Hair stuff' in and found:

hairdryer, hotbrush, brushes, wide-tooth comb
AND
1 x volumising spray
1x blonde styling mousse
1x sheer blonde 'gleam creme'
2x sheer blonde spun gold shaping balm
1xleave in cond.
1x spray bottle overnight treatment
1x tub deepcond. mask
1x can Elnett hairspray

- all opened /half used!! This is as well as all the opened bottles of shampoo/cond in the bathroom. Reckon I can use all this up this month??

I am currently using a gift size of cinnamon bath soak as shower gel.
The bathroom smells like a bakery!! :rotfl: :rotfl:

HOLsale

again in the spirit of this thread we've been clearing out all those packets of food things in the cupboard and stuff from the freezer

so tonight's tea is a steak and kidney pie i had to free from the ice in the freezer

spicy potato wedges using up the spicy wedge mix i've had for at least a year, and the last remaining organic potatoes i've had in my fridge for at least a month. i used more potatoes then it said so i also tossed in the last bits of parmesan cheese and finished off a bottle of garlic granules (i always buy more before i run out so have a lot of nearly empty jars floating about)

and we're having steamed cabbage that was looking a bit dodgy on the outside but once we removed the first few layers it's fine

tomorrow i'm going to make macaroni cheese using up some of the cheese sauce packets i bought

oh, and every night this week we've had a different flavour of cheapy brand angel delight as these packets have been in my cupboard forever!

Gers

I have to admit to defeat - I threw out the 10 year stock cubes! I just looked at them and decided that being out of date by 10 years (use by 1996) was too long for my peace of mind.

Actually my committment to this 'use up' has been accelerated by the news that my new kitchen is being delivered on 27 Feb, now I HAVE to clear out the cupboards.


Is there an optimum number of yoghurt pots and plastic containers I should keep?? :rotfl: :rotfl: Most are making there way to the recycling box.

Have 'relocated' the toastie maker and the Foreman Lean Mean Machine to our school staff room which brought pleasure to many.

And I have decided that the 12 little plastic bottles with lids which used to contain bio-yoghurt drinks are perfect for freezing orange juice from left over fruit and could also be used to store one portion amounts of apple puree or something similar. Keeping my kitchen drawer full is not an appropriate use for such things.

Boomdocker

I have just sorted out my bathroom cabinet and smellies in my bedroom and I am embarassed to see how many bottles of product I have on the go.

I am fairly new to this OS way of thinking and I have to say in the past my spending was just manic buying things that I thought I needed that I didnt, grabbing offers, reductions and BOGOF's that I didnt need.

So now I hereby do pledge to use up all those unopened, half used, forgotten about toiletries to reap back some of the value. I really thik I have enough shampo and conditioner for at least a year! Have about 8 huge bottles!), loads of shower gel and even Christmas presents that I haven't used yet. :rolleyes:

So a great tip, if you do the same, is STOP buying more and use up what is lurking already paid for!! :j

Caixta

Like Gers, I have an impending arrival... our new bathroom is coming in March. We have saved up for it like crazy - mostly thanks to advice from these forums. (My husband then went to the cheapest bathroom shop and haggled HARD, saving even more money, and finally insisted the loo seat be thrown in free!)

Therefore, we have included in our bathroom plans, a little bit of storage space for our modest stock of toiletry bogofs and samples. I think that these things have helped us save real cash, they have earned their keep and deserve to stay!

We don't have an excess of these things but I must admit to bending the rules of this challenge. I'm not trying to use them all up in February, but I'm not allowed to buy/collect any more. I don't really want to use them all up just yet as I have enough to last a little while longer. But I won't have several bottles on the go at once. I do the "Flylady" program so I'm gradually getting better at the clutter thing.

Incidentally, to say thanks for all your help here on MSE, you're all invited round for an inaugural bath - though not all at once! We couldn't have done it without you!