No to Buying Unnecessary toiletries in August 2011!

Mingle

AND HERE WE GO AGAIN FOR ANOTHER MONTH! As usual this initial post has been shamelessly copied from the many previous months! Thanks for much to EssexHebridean for running last months challenge!

Welcome all newbies and regulars to this very friendly and chatty thread where we give lots of lovely tips on how to use up your stash and lots of if you need them.
Keep up the pampering and keep down the spending. Let’s make the naughty step an empty and lonely place this month (rather than one so long that it can be seen from space! ) - will this be the month when the "usual suspects" rein it in a bit? Let's see.....




We are eternally grateful to Katie Clampet who set up this fab challenge in January 2010.


Here's her original challenge post:

"No buying any new toiletries, cosmetics, perfume etc... until I have used up ALL the ones I already have. I got a huge amount of (really nice) stuff for christmas but I am going to resist the urge to browse Boots, Asda, Superdrug etc, and pop another tub of cream, face scrub, shampoo or conditioner into my basket. I reckon the stuff I have will last me until possibly June. I have decided that the money I save I will put into my special holiday account.
Anyone else?"

Lots of us have taken part in the challenge over the past few months and are making great progress in reducing our stashes and unnecessary/excessive spending.

Regulars ignore this, but a quick resume is always helpful for newbies;

Why not add the challenge to your sig as a reminder?

We have a "Swaps Group" on Facebook when you can swap god condition items with other like-minded addicts. PM Sarah*a or xoxo for more info on joining.

How about taking a bit of time to do a stock-take and see if there are any gaps in your stash that you might need to spend on this month? Some of us set a budget for the month for essential purchases or to help with withdrawal symptoms, others like to go cold-turkey!! Other ideas which some people find useful: Listing everything out so you can cross things off as used to increase the sense of achievement, and putting a sum of money in a pot each time you use up an item to save for something you really want, or simply to assist in making future essential purchases "cash neutral".

Remember the challenge is about making the most of your money, enjoying your products, finding which products really suit you best and are worth buying, giving yourself a well-deserved pampering and breaking the habit of buying for the sake of buying. In money-saving tradition, it should also be about making your products l-a-s-t as long as possible (although the temptation of using an unloved shower gel extravagently to finish it off is sometimes too much to bear!)
Brand new products (or opened perfume) sell well on ebay
Unsuitable products can be used for other jobs (shower gel/shampoo as handwash etc)
Some items can be returned to certain stores for exchange (for essential items or gifts!!) without a receipt
Unwanted items can be recycled as gifts or for gift hampers (saving the money you'd have spent on gifts)
Unsuitable items can be donated to charity as mentioned earlier.
It helps to avoid the places where temptation lurks for you; be it QVC, Boots, Bodyshop, the supermarket toiletries aisles, grabbit board, online toiletries browsing, seductive department store beauty counter offers etc. Remember retailers are making offers and promotions all the time, so there willl always be another deal!*

*Honest!

Good luck all for August and remember to keep popping in for inspiration and support, and to report your UU's and IN's.

Welcome to all newbies - the more the merrier . Please introduce yourselves so we can welcome you properly!

Oh - and anyone thinking "OMG my stash is FAR bigger than all of theirs, I cant possibly join" - believe you me, we have been doing this challenge for well over a year some of us - you wont scare us, and I can almost guarantee that someone somewhere will have had more and survived.... we are very supportive (and protective - so dont be scared !!) oh - and we are nosey!!

Useful abbreviations!
WIBA? - Will I Buy Again?
UU - Use Ups
IN - Self explanatory - stuff you've gained into your stash - warning, lines may be given out for unnecessary purchases or you may be sent to the naughty step!
WNBA - Will Not Buy Again!
Glitch - when a shop/online store make a pricing mistake so you end up paying less or even get freebies!
PYN(M/T/W/Th/F/Sa/Su) DELETE AS APPROPRIATE! - Paint Your Nails Monday/Tuesday...... it allows everyone to try and finish those dastardly nail varnishes with group support! You can never be too groomed for this thread Also see PY(T)N... - for toenails!
Splutterer - the stage where an item is nearing the end of it's life and spluttering - also the most annoying and seemingly never ending stage!
GWP - Gift With Purchase - a sample or mini sized item
HG - Holy Grail - this is the product you would go back for time and time again, it does the job brilliantly, and is either economical, or so fantastic price becomes no object!
NPI - Near Purchasing Incident (OMG we all have those!)
LHJ - Long Haul Job - for those products - love 'em or hate 'em - that never seem to end no matter how often you use them
PRCP -Pink Rose Candle Philosophy. From Erma Bombeck who said, 'If I had my life to live over again I would have burned the pink candle sculptured like a rose that melted in storage'. Don't keep things 'for best' or 'for a special occasion'. That day never arrives. Give the best to yourself now and enjoy it. (Thanks to McCulloch29 for introducing this thought provoking sentiment to us)
GA- for an out that was given away rather than binned or UU.

If anyone can think of any more we can add to the list so newbies won't be intimidated by our jargon!



Graduates
Here is a list of our lovely, fragrant ladies who have polished and pampered their way through their products and managed to get their toiletries stash under control. Ladies - congratulations You are an inspiration to the rest of us, xx . Thanks also to Inapickle who suggested we start the Graduate list. To join the list of graduates let us know by posting that you are graduating in big colourful letters, that way the OP can easily spot you and add you to the list, or better still - pm the OP as the thread can move really quickly! You may also wish to add how many products you have used up during the challenge, good luck ladies xx

1.mineallmine - graduated with honours March 2011
2.Bronnie - graduated with honours March 2011
3. lostinrates - graduated with honours around June 2010

Lemon_Tree

Hi Mingle, thanks for starting it again, i'm in again please

LadyMorticia

Thanks Mingle. I'm in again too.

scrappie_2

Put me down for August will you Mingle?

Think I will be about for a long time to come.

Also - may be able to join in the fun more now as I'm hoping I've solved a lot of the problems at work that have been keeping me away. Time will tell.........

DorsetGirl_2

Can I join in. I have a chest of draws full of products that need using up. I buy something, use it for a bit then it gets relegated to the draw when I buy something new.

The only thing that I will have to buy is my sons shampoo as he has to have a special one for his skin, otherwise I will try very hard not to buy any more bits (especially moisturisers which are my downfall) until I have used everything up.

iamsalt

Hello Thanks Mingle. Please count me in. This has really motivated me to use up things and focus on those things i actually like using - and will use up, i have a lovely list on the inside of the cupboard where most of my stuff is, and a red pen there to cross things off. Aim for this month is to be able to get all my stash on one shelf in the cupboard and 1 drawer in my bedroom, and nothing bought at all - cold turkey for me this month. Fingers crossed x

scrappie_2

Oooohhhhh iamsalt - that's very brave!! Cold turkey - ouch!

Do like the idea of the red pen though - may have to go and find one so I can do the same.

Had 3 outs this morning - Elemis - hand & body lotion, shower gel and body oil. Put them inside a handbag for a friends birthday. She loved them!!!!!!

Must dash - need to find a red pen and strike these items off my list.

vivh

I'm in for August too. Thanks mingle for starting us off.

Welcome Dorsetgirl.

LadyMorticia

Is it okay if I post my updated stash?

sarah*a

I'M IN FOR AUGUST :T:T

Hmmmm .... haven't done too well in the last month My stash has gone from 63 items to 76 :eek: - I think my end of July report will say 'sarah*a means well but must try harder to achieve her goals' :rotfl:

I know I've got some Avon bits coming next week but (once again ) will try to avoid buying anything else this month.


Updated List
The number in red bold is the TOTAL of each item I have and the number in black bold are ones I am using:

Face Cream Day 1 / 1
Face Cream Night 1 / 1
Eye Cream 2 / 1
Face Serum 2 / 2
Shampoo 2 / 1
Conditioner 2 / 1
Hair Treatment 1/ 1
Dry Shampoo/Hair Refresher 3 / 1
Showergel/Body Wash 6 / 1
Cleanser 7 / 2
Toner 3 / 1
Toner Tabs 4 /0
Lipbalm 6 / 3
Handcream 5 / 3
Footcream 1 / 1
Cooling Foot Spray/Gel 1 / 1
Face Wipes 5 / 1
Hand Scrub 1 / 1
Pkts Wave Pads 1 / 1
Face Scrub 2 / 1
Body Scrub 1 / 1
Body Butter 1 /1
Body Lotion/Moisturising Mist 2 / 1
Face Masks 3 / 3
Body Spray 3 / 1
Spray/Roll-on Deo 3 / 1
Toothpaste 3 / 1
Perfume 3 /1

Total Items 76 / 36

My goal is to get everything down to 2 / 1 or less


Thanks Mingle for starting this months thread :A

Fiasco55

Thanks for the new thread Mingle.

I am in for August!

The totals for July are in....

19 UUs with 14 INs (12 of which are birthday gifts). Total July spend £19.98. Must do better this month. I will need to buy some more mouthwash and possibly some more night cream this month but that should be it...:cool: